moussaka

i’m a big fan of greek food. and moussaka is definitely one of my all-time fave dishes. when i’m too lazy to cook or craving comfort food, i order greek takeout from one of my fave restos in the neighbourhood. my fave dish on the menu? moussaka!

so i thought it was about time that i learn how to cook this hearty greek dish at home. perfect dinner party fare that paired nicely with ouzo prawns & fennel arugula salad (check out my recent post for the recipe). with a little inspiration from clean eating magazine, i embarked on my own greek culinary experiment. here’s how i made my (somewhat unconventional) moussaka…

- preheat oven to 425F

the potatoes:
- bring water to boil in a large pot
- place 4 large white potatoes (peeled, whole) in boiling water
- reduce heat & simmer potatoes in water for approx 15min
- remove from heat, drain potatoes & set aside

the eggplant:
- line a medium-sized baking pan w/ cooking parchment paper
- place  2 baby eggplants (stems removed, sliced) in baking pan
- lightly brush eggplant slices w/ extra-virgin olive oil (evoo)
- add a dash of sea salt
- roast eggplant in oven for approx 8min at 425F
- remove eggplant from oven & set aside on plate to cool

ouzo prawns & fennel arugula salad

it was one big fat greek farewell dinner. one of my besties is moving out east this week (tear). so i cooked up another culinary experiment in celebration of good friendship and, of course, good food & wine. no plate-smashing that evening — just plenty of yummy noises and lots of laughs!

this is part one of a two-recipe post. to start: ouzo prawns & fennel arugula salad. opa!
stay tuned for part two: moussaka!

fennel again, you ask? well, apart from being on a fennel kick, i thought that the anise flavour of fennel would pair nicely with the licorice flavour of the traditional greek aperitif, ouzo. if you prefer to skip the ouzo in this recipe, there will still be a decent amount of licorice flavour from the fennel alone.

the fennel:
- remove 1 fennel bulb from green stems & fronds
- slice bulb into quarters along the vertical and remove the inner core
- slice fennel into thin sticks

the prawns:
- heat up 2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil in large wok on medium heat
- add 1.5 cups raw prawns (deveined, deshelled) to wok
- carefully drizzle 1 tsp ouzo over prawns (optional)
- season w/ ground black peppercorns
- add a dash of sea salt
- sauté prawns & stir ingredients for 1-2min until partially cooked

- then add 2 tomatoes (rough chop) to prawns
- sauté prawns & tomatoes for another 2-3min until cooked
- remove from heat. prawns & tomatoes best served warm w/ the fennel & arugula.

greek-ish salad

greek-ish, you ask? call it my improv version of the traditional greek salad. a culinary experiment with whatever random ingredients i had in my fridge that day. (read: no red onions, no cucumbers, no lettuce on-hand.) but somehow it just worked. opa!*

the improv salad:
toss together the following ingredients in large prep bowl:
- fresh organic mixed greens
- 1 hothouse tomato (sliced rounds)
- kalamata olives
- black olives
- 1/3 zucchini squash (sliced half-moons)
- light feta cheese (crumbled)

instead of a traditional plain-jane dressing with lemon juice, black pepper & olive oil, i thought i’d switch up and try a fruity homemade concoction. thanks to my lovely friend marylynn for bringing me a bottle of fantastic raspberry wine vinegar all the way from montreal! so yummy.

the vinaigrette:
whisk together the following ingredients in small prep bowl:
- 2.5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp raspberry wine vinegar
- dash of sea salt

food styling:
- toss salad in bowl
- lightly drizzle w/ raspberry wine vinegar
- pairs nicely w/ your fave pinot gris on the patio

* note: there was no plate-smashing this time around. ;)