Meatless Monday - Moussaka

So it's not the most photogenic dish in the world. Trust me it looked worse after it was served up. But this was delicious!!!

I've never made a vegetarian moussaka before and this one was all vegetables, no fake mince, and let me tell you, even my meat-loving husband really loved it! This is a great alternative to lasagne if you are trying to cut back on carbs. Or even if you're not, it's well worth a go and perfect for this time of year.

Moussaka

1 onion, diced

2 carrots, grated

2 zucchinis, grated

2 large eggplants

3 cloves garlic

1 ts mixed dried Italian herbs

1 tin diced tomatoes

1 tin red kidney beans

2 ts chicken style veggie stock powder

2 x 2tbs olive oil

60g butter

1/4 cup plain flour

2 cups milk

125g grated tasty cheese

2 tbs grated parmesan cheese

2 tbs dried breadcrumbs

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees celsisus fan-forced. Lightly grease a lasagne style baking dish and set aside.

To prepare the eggplant - slice crossways into 1cm rounds. Spread the pieces out on 1 or 2 baking trays, sprinkle each piece with salt and leave for around 20 minutes. You should see liquid on the top of each piece. Rinse them well under running water and pat dry.

To make the sauce - heat 1 tbs olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Fry off the onion, garlic, carrot and zucchini until they are soft and any liquid has evaporated. Add the herbs, tomatoes, beans and stock powder, along with 1/2 tin of water. Stir well and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer while you prepare the rest of the dish. Season to taste.

Once your sauce is simmering you can cook the eggplant. Heat 1 tbs oil in a large non-stick frypan over medium high heat. Fry off the eggplant in batches until it has softened and is golden brown on each side.

To make the white sauce, melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Once melted add the flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the milk all in one go and whisk well. Keep stirring until the sauce begins to thicken. Add the cheese, stir to combine and set aside.

To assemble the moussaka, place layers of tomato sauce, eggplant and white sauce into the baking dish finishing with a final layer of white sauce. Sprinkle over the breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese. Bake for approx 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and everything is bubbling and golden. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving with plenty of crusty bread to soak up the sauce.

Serves 6-8.

Creamy Rice Pudding

While I've never really jumped on the '4 ingredients' bandwagon, this recipe does have just 4 ingredients and it takes just 40 minutes of simmering on the stove to get a creamy and luscious rice pudding. It doesn't really get much better than that!

Arborio Rice Pudding

1/2 cup arborio rice

4 cups full cream milk

1/4 cup sugar

1 heaped ts vanilla paste

Place all ingredients in a medium sized heavy-based saucepan.  Bring to the boil then reduce heat to low and simmer gently for approx 40 minutes stirring occasionally to prevent it sticking. Start checking for doneness at 30 minutes, the rice should be soft and plump and the pudding melt-in-the-mouth smooth.

Scotch Eggs

So Scotch Eggs are pretty retro. I remember them from childhood dinners but I had never attempted them before, partly because I was put off by having to deep fry them. Luckily there are an abundance of  baked versions out there. I took a photo of this recipe from an old Better Homes and Gardens magazine and then promptly lost all other details. 

The verdict? Really tasty! The kids loved the surprise egg in the middle and I loved that they tasted just as good cold from the fridge the next day. Perfect for school lunches or a picnic. I guess some things are a classic for a reason!

Baked Scotch Eggs

Better Homes and Gardens Magazine

6 large boiled eggs

500g pork and veal mince

2 rashers of bacon

1 small onion, finely diced

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 ts dried oregano

1 tbs worcestershire sauce

1 tbs tomato sauce

1 1/2 cups fresh breadcrumbs

olive oil spray

Preheat oven to 180 / 160 degrees celsius fan-forced. Lightly grease a baking tray with oil spray and set aside.

In a large bowl add the mince, bacon, onion, garlic, oregano and sauces. Add some freshly ground black pepper and mix well to combine. Use your hands for best results. Divide the mixture into 6 equal portions and roll each into a ball. 

Using wet hands, flatten out each ball into a large patty, place the egg in the middle and wrap the mince patty around the egg, making sure it is completely enclosed. Repeat with remaining mince and eggs then roll each of them in breadcrumbs and place on the baking tray.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Serve hot or cold.

Fruit Scones

Apart from being absolutely delicious, what I love about scones is that they take no time at all to prepare! There are lots of scone recipes out there, most of which contain cream and most of which I find very rich and a bit heavy. This recipe is one I have been making since I was a kid. It's virtually foolproof. I even make it in a food processor and they still turn out well!

Fruit Scones

Recipe from The Australian Women's Weekly Original Cookbook, ACP 1977, p194

3 cups self-raising flour

1/4ts salt

1/4 cup sugar

60g cold butter, in chunks

1 cup milk

1 egg

1 cup sultanas or dried fruit of your choice (I used mixed fruit)

Preheat the oven to 270/250 degrees celsius fan-forced. Lightly grease a baking tray and set aside.

Sift the flour into a large bowl and rub the butter in using your fingertips. Stop when the mixture resembles rough breadcrumbs. Stir in the sultanas and sugar then add the beaten egg and most of the milk. Use a butter knife to bring the dough together, it should be soft and not too sticky.

Tip the dough out onto a floured surface and gently bring together, patting it out to approximately 2cm thick. Use a 5cm (2 inch) cutter to cut out rounds and place on prepared tray, leaving a centimetre or so between them. Gently press together the scraps and dough and repeat. Brush the tops with milk and bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until they are golden brown and smelling delicious.

Makes approx 12 depending on the size of your cutter.

These are also great to freeze for snacks. Scones do tend to dry out a little when frozen but if you don't overbake them, a quick zap in the microwave will freshen them up. A generous smear of butter also helps!

TWD BWJ - Biscotti

I think every baker has something they fear, whether it be caramel, pastry or decorating cakes. For me in the past it has been biscotti. Sounds crazy for something so simple but I have never been able to get it right! So in an attempt to overcome this silly fear I made this week's pick twice (which I never do).

I have a huge bag of raw almonds in the fridge so that's what I went with rather than buying hazelnuts. 

Batch one I made with almonds, vanilla and cinnamon and replaced the booze with milk. The dough mixed up well, looked great when it was baked but then pretty much fell apart when I sliced it. So I ended up with chunky crumbly-edged tooth-breakers. Really tasty dunked in tea but not much good for anything else!

Batch two I made with almonds, cocoa and brandy. I chopped the nuts up more finely and when it came time to slice I used my best serrated knife and took it really slowly. 

Success!  These were pretty much the perfect biscotti. I got the size right, they sliced cleanly and were lovely and toasty. And of course delicious! I would happy giving these as gifts come Christmas time which is a pretty big tick of approval!

Our hosts this week are Jodi of Homemade and Wholesome and Katrina of Baking and Boys. They will have the recipe for the original hazelnut biscotti on their blogs so make sure you go and check it out!