MEAT LOAF

An American staple. I love meat loaf. It is a very rewarding dish. And it is easy to make. I am sure many of you have your own way of cooking meat loaf. I have my way too. I use a flour wheat tortilla in my meat loaf. I cut it in little pieces and add it to the rest of the ingredients. It is something different. You can do it if you want.

Ingredients:

½ lb ground beef
½ chopped green pepper
½ chopped onion
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
Some oil
Some salt
1 flour wheat tortilla
2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
½ cup shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons tomato sauce or ketchup
1 beaten egg
½ teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon cilantro

When I came to America I fell in love with Meat Loaf. It was a simple recipe. You could even do it your way. But it was always good. And I made it mine.
I do not like my meat loaf to be just meat so I add vegetables to make it a bit different. And the tortilla too, of course.
First I sauté the onion and the green pepper. We will add the garlic at the last moment, sauté a bit and remove the pan from the stove. Let it cool for while. Then we will mix the rest of the ingredients but reserving some of the cheese. Mix everything well adding the onion, the green pepper and the garlic as well. I like adding the tomato sauce or the ketchup to the mix. This makes a creamier meat loaf. But if you want, you can pour the tomato over the meat. Or you can do both things. And then the only thing you have to do is to put the meat loaf in a greased tray. You will have a preheated oven to 350ºF and will cook your meat loaf for about 60 minutes. To finish the dish, we will add the rest of the cheese five minutes before turning off the oven. Serve hot and add some tomato sauce or ketchup if you want. And enjoy.

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PINCHITOS MORUNOS

Pinchitos, Kebabs, Kabobs, Brochettes… Food on skewers. Grilled, boiled, even roasted. They are popular in many countries. And delicious. I will make my own pinchitos. This is the way we call them in Spain. Pinchitos Morunos. Moorish Kebabs in English. They are called like this because Arabs were the first ones to introduce this delicacy in Spain. My pinchitos are pork pinchitos, something that Arabs, of course, would never do. Mix of cultures. This is one of the many things I like about food. You can mix cultures, you can mix ingredients. You can adapt a good recipe to your culture. And that is what pinchitos morunos are. Of course, you can adapt your pinchitos as well. Use lamb, beef or even chicken. Use vegetables too: red or green pepper, tomato… Use your imagination.

Ingredients:

1 pound pork, cubed
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 cloves of chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
1 teaspoon chopped parsley
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

First we will marinate the meat. To do this we will put the pork in a container. And then the rest of the ingredients. We will mix well, cover the container and put it in the refrigerator for at least four hours. If you let it marinate overnight, it will be really good. The longer, the better. I use the oven to make my pinchitos. You, of course, can grill or barbecue them. They will be good no matter how you do it. You can use metal or wooden skewers. If you use wooden skewers, you should wet them before threading the pork. That will prevent them from burning. Take the skewers and thread the pork. Put the skewers with the meat on the sides of the tray so that they do not touch the bottom of the tray. When you are doing it, put every piece of garlic and ginger onto the pieces of pork. We want to make the most of every piece of garlic and ginger. And now to the oven, which must be preheated to 400ºF. You will cook your pinchitos for about 30 minutes. And enjoy. They are perfect served with a Couscous Salad. You can serve some mayonnaise sauce as well.

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COUSCOUS SALAD

A delicacy. And something very easy to make indeed. Healthy, good for vegetarians. A perfect accompaniment to other dishes.
Now that you can find precooked couscous very easily, nobody has an excuse not to cook it. If you have not tried it, you will love it. If you have tried it before, you know what I am talking about.

Ingredients:

1 cup precooked couscous
1 cup water
1 teaspoon Ras El Hanout
¼ cup chopped onion or green onion
¼ cup chopped squash
¼ cup frozen corn
¼ cup chopped carrot
¼ cup chopped green pepper
¼ cup chopped lettuce
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup chopped tomato
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon chopped mint leaves
½ teaspoon chopped basil leaves

First we will prepare the vegetables. We will cut them in little pieces. Then we will sauté onions, carrots and green pepper in a pan. Five minutes later we will add the squash, the corn, the garlic, the salt and the black pepper. In the meantime, we can prepare the couscous. We will heat the water with some drops of oil in it. When it is hot, remove from the fire and add the couscous. Let the couscous absorb the water and add the Ras El Hanout, a Moroccan mixture of spices. If you cannot find it, you can use a good curry powder. Mix well. Now we will add the squash, the corn and the garlic to the pan. A couple of minutes later we will add the rest of the ingredients: the tomato, the lettuce, the salt, the lemon juice, the mint and the basil. We cook it for two more minutes and remove the pan from the stove. Then we will mix everything with the couscous. If we need it, we can add more olive oil and lemon juice before serving. This is a different salad. I like to eat it a bit warm but I know that some people will like it cold also. Anyway, enjoy it.

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MOUSSAKA

I discovered Moussaka in Greece many years ago. It was something good. I was travelling in Greece by myself. I remember being in Mycenae, the old archaeological site in the Peloponnese. I was in the porch of a restaurant. And I ordered Moussaka. It was good, really good! I loved it.
Cooking Moussaka takes time and work, but it is not hard. Eggplant is the main ingredient. Ground lamb should be used to make Moussaka but I normally use ground beef. It is good too. And this time, use extra virgin olive oil. It will give a special taste to our Moussaka. I love cheese, so my Moussaka will have loads of cheese. Maybe this is not very orthodox, but it is delicious.

Ingredients:

Some extra virgin olive oil
Some salt
3-4 potatoes
1 eggplant
½ lb ground or chuck beef (or ground lamb)
Some tomato sauce
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon rosemary
1 teaspoon parsley
1 teaspoon basil
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Some ricotta cheese
6 gruyere cheese slices
Some grated parmesan cheese
Some grated romano cheese
Some milk
Some flour
A pinch of nutmeg

Cooking Moussaka takes time, as I said before, but it is worth it. We will start preparing the potatoes and the eggplant. We will peel the potatoes and cut them into ¼-inch thick slices. A bit thicker if you want. To know how many potato slices I need, what I do is putting the potato slices in the tray that I will use later with the Moussaka in the oven. In that way I will know the amount of potato slices I will need for a layer of potatoes. Once I have the potatoes I will fry them in a frying pan in two batches. The potatoes must not be completely done. Leave them on kitchen paper towel because we do not want too much oil. Then we will do the same with the eggplant. After washing it, we will slice it in the same way. We will slice enough eggplant for a layer. Then we will fry the eggplant slices. We will need more oil for the eggplants, but it is a good idea not to use too much. We can fry them using a wooden spoon. Press the slices with the spoon so that they get enough oil. Once fried, leave the eggplant slices on kitchen paper towel.
The next step will be the sauce. We will put the meat in a frying pan and we will start cooking it. When the meat starts browning, we will add the tomato and cook it in a low heat for about ten minutes. Then we will add the spices (cinnamon, oregano, thyme, rosemary, parsley, basil, salt and pepper). Keep cooking it for a while in a low heat. And then we will take the tray and start layering the Moussaka. First of all, we will grease the oven tray. Then the first layer will be the potatoes. On top of that, a layer of the tomato sauce with the meat. Then the eggplant slices. At that moment we put the tray in the preheated oven to 400ºF for about ten minutes.
We will prepare the sauce now, a Béchamel Sauce. To do this, we will put two tablespoons of olive oil in a pan and we will heat it. We will add three tablespoons of flour. Stir continuously and add some milk, little by little. We will add the nutmeg now. We have to get a creamy Béchamel Sauce so we will have to be adding milk to get the sauce we need. Stir and do not let the sauce get too thick. Once it is done, remove it from the fire.
Now we will take the tray out of the oven. And now the cheese. First we will spread some ricotta cheese. On top of that the gruyere cheese slices. Then we will top it with the béchamel sauce. Then we will put some parmesan and romano cheese. You can use some mozzarella cheese if you want too. And then back to oven so that the cheese melts and makes a really creamy Moussaka. Some fifteen minutes will be OK, but you can check the oven to see when the Moussaka is ready. And enjoy! I can’t wait to make it!

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