A Fairly Low-Fat Moussaka

 

Moussaka is a great Greek dish, of layered potatoes, fried eggplants and cooked meat, topped with a thick layer of either Béchamel sauce (milk based sauce, thickened with flour), or Mornay sauce (Béchamel sauce with cheese), creating a highly delectable and tasty combination.

Tomato, Rosemary and Cheese Flat Bread

Most times, when I’m up to baking bread, I opt to my basic focaccia recipe. This time, however, I wanted something different, and started looking around, to see what I can add to the dough I was about to create.

As I had some tomato sauce ready, I was wondering, how it will work as part of the bread itself, rather than as a topping. This led to another idea – why not add some cheeses to the dough, along with it?

Sephardic Eggplant and Tomato Relish

The following tasty eggplant-tomato relish, or side dish – called “alburnia” in Ladino – comes from the Sephardic cuisine, which I’ve mentioned here quite a few times.

Lamb Stew with Eggplant, Tomato and Parsley

The following dish was prepared due to the strange weather we had lately. After a few hot days, the weather turned chilly again, and I’ve decided it can be a good time to use the lamb shoulder chops I had in the freezer. I also had some nice eggplants and tomatoes, and decided to let these shine with simple rustic preparation, and just a few more added ingredients to the basic mix.

Tomato-Pepper Soup with Clementine and Celery

Despite the fact we recently had a few warm days; the weather has changed to a bit colder again, so a warm soup came to mind. However, since it’s really not that cold, I’ve decided to skip the heavier wintry soups, and make a lighter vegetables based soup.

Beef Stew with Red Beans and Tomato Sauce

On a cold day, sometimes all that is needed is a straight-forward simple comfort food, without too much elaboration. The following stew is exactly that.

Filo Triangles with Zucchini-Tomato Filling

The following tasty and crispy filo triangles are a quicker version of the Sephardic savory “Boyos” pastries (click HERE for recipe), which require a fairly lengthy preparation of their delicate dough. Here, I’ve used store-bought filo pastry, and filled it with the traditional tasty zucchini-tomato filling, which is also used for making “Burekitas” (click HERE for recipe).

Herbed Fishballs with Tomato-Chickpea Sauce

I prepare fried fish patties fairly often, but this time, I’ve decided to try something different; I formed the mixture into balls, and instead of frying them, I placed them over a tomato-chickpea sauce, inspired by the Moroccan-Jewish cuisine.

Pan Fried Gulf Shrimp with Tomatoes, Anchovies and Capers Sauce

Hot summer days mean quick to prepare light dishes, and the one I have here is a good example of that. The sauce can be cooked in less than 15 minutes, the shrimps cook quickly, and a tasty dish is served in no time.

Braised Chicken Thighs with Olives and Tomatoes

In the following tasty and easy to prepare dish, cooked green olives are the dominant flavor component, and impart their unique flavor to the chicken and the sauce. While the concept of cooked olives is not widely familiar in many cuisines, it is an integral part of the Moroccan cuisine, as well as other Mediterranean cuisines, such as the French, Spanish, Italian, Greek and more, and the dish was inspired by them.

Shredded Braised Skirt Steak with Tomato-Parsley Rice

Skirt steak is one of the most flavorful beef cuts. The outer part is mostly suitable for pan-searing or grilling (see recipe HERE), while the inside part is more suitable for slow cooking, which is the method I used in the following recipe.