Παστίτσιο! ( Pastitsio )

Hello there whoever you are! :D

I don't think my recipes have been a big success or I don't know...but still I won't stop putting recipes because I like to do them and who knows maybe somewhere out there one of you is going to try them :)

I guess I am going through a "phase" again and I have been making Greek food. Probably because I miss being there...no wonder I have been gaining a bit of weight lately! So the last time I made tzatziki  I promised I would make pastitsio and put the recipe on here so I want to keep my promises! Every Greek mom knows how to make pastitsio, but my mom didn't make it when I was little because it is too hard to make. I guess she is right, but cooking isn't only about the food, it's about the whole process. I usually put some music on or invite friends over and socialize at the same time.

So here is what you are going to need!

500 g of Bucatini spaghetti ( some kind of thick spaghetti with a hole in the middle )

800 g of ground meat

3 onions

390g of crushed tomatoes

1,5 l of milk

4 dl of flour

a teaspoon of nutmeg (muskottipähkinä)

salt and pepper
The oven on 200 degrees


this is the spaghetti I was talking about

Okay! So this is the process of this difficult food:

Chop the onions and "fry" them in a hot pan, add the ground meat and the crushed tomatoes. Leave it in the pan for about 15 minutes till the extra fluid has evaporated. Add salt and pepper.

Cook the Bucatini in boiled water, when they are ready add butter so they don't get sticky. To make the besamel ( the sauce that is going to come on top ) add in the milk the flour, a couple of teaspoons of salt and the nutmeg and mix it very well! In a casserole( that you have greased with butter ) put the layer of Bucatini then add on top the ground meat.

To make the besamel put the milk-flour mixture in a pan and warm it up by mixing it very well at the same time. I have to say that it took me about 20 minutes to get this sauce thick so just be patient and keep mixing or if you want you can add an egg yok in case it doesn't get thick at all.

Add the besamel sauce on top ( I added also some gouda that we had left in the fridge...some people add bread crumbs ). Leave it in the oven for 30 minutes with a cover and then another 15 minutes without a cover to get this beautiful golden brown color. 

Bon appétit! :D

Karoliina

Tzatziki!

OPA!

I  bought a brand new laptop finally and this is the first post I am writing from my new computer!

So my recipe for today as you might have guessed is tzatziki! In Greece we eat it a lot and it is really good! I just usually dip some bread and eat it just like that mmmm. I guess there are different versions of tzatziki but this is how I have learned to make it. Some people like to add dill, but I like to keep it simple. I remember there was one time that I watched a cooking programm on TV ( or however you call them ) where they were making tzatziki. I wonder if they had ever tried a traditional Greek tzatziki because what they made was not tzatziki! So that's why I want to show you how it is made the right way :)

This is what you are going to need:

300 gr of natural yoghurt ( it has to be a bit stiff. I used turkish yoghurt...a bit ironic :P )
1½ dl of grated cucumber
2  Garlic cloves
olive oil
salt
vinegar

Start by adding the grated cucumber to the yoghurt. Remember to remove the extra fluid of the cucumber. I usually just squeeze it in my hands...that usually does the trick :P  Cut the garlic into small pieces and add it to the mixture. In the end just add a bit of olive oil, salt and vinegar. That was about it! Simple but good!   

I am planning on making pastitsio next week and I promise I will put the recipe on here. My friends really liked it when I made it. But that was it for today! Hope you try this recipe and tell me whether you liked it or not :)

Karoliina

Τυροπιτάκια ( feta pies )

Hello, hello!

Surprise! Another recipe once again! This time I made something salty... feta cheese pies. They are pretty simple so I don't think you will have any difficulty making them.

For 12 pies
Ingredients:
350    gr feta cheese
4        eggs
puff pastry ( in finnish: voitaikina)

Mix the feta cheese with three eggs ( you are going to need one egg in the end ). Cut the puff pastry into twelve squares.

 





















Take one square of pastry and put the filling. The rest is shown in the picture below. :P I am not very good at explaining things which is why I take a picture of each step.

Beat the one egg that is left and with a brush put it on the cheese pies. ( Oh my English is so excellent! :P ) I hope you understand what I am trying to say!

Leave them in the oven ( 220 degrees ) for 10-15 minutes, depends on the oven you have. My cheese pies were ready after 18 minutes exactly! :P

Karolina