Casserole

Chanakhi (Čenakai)

Sources: zinaukaip.lt, delfi.lt, myrecipe.ge, livemaster.ge

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A juicy traditional Sakartvelian lamb stew with tomatoes, aubergines, potatoes, greens, and garlic.

Chanakhi are normally prepared on clay pots. A clay pot normally holds one ration worth of food. If you do not posses such a pot, it can be substituted with a dutch oven.

There are several accepted methods of preparing this dish that can be classified into two broad categories: one pre-fries all ingredients and then later assembles into a clay pot, the other assembles everything into a clay pot and then lets all ingredient get prepared in the oven. Additionally, one may choose to marinade the meet prior to cooking.

In this recipe we will focus on a simpler method, where we assemble all the ingredients to a pot and prepare it fully in the oven.

Yields
 1 servings (1 clay pot)
Prep time
 0:30
Cook time
 2-3 h

Ingredients

Preparation

  1. Preheat the oven to 210 degrees.
  2. Apply the oil to the clay pot.
  3. Arrange the eggplant slices on the sides.
  4. Place the meat at the bottom of the dish in the center of the eggplant circle. Season with salt, pepper, and cumin.
  5. Place a layer of the potatoes on top of the meat.
  6. Then place the cloves of garlic.
  7. Then place tomatoes.
  8. Season with salt, pepper, onion, and herbs.
  9. Put the pot to the oven. For 2-3 h.

Gefüllte Peperoni

From: bettybossi.ch

Tasty long papers filled with ground beef.

Prep 0:15
Cook 0:15
Yields 4 servings

Ingredients

Peperoni:

  • 8 spitz-peperoni, long capsicums
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3 tbsp oil

For the filling:

  • 2 onions
  • 2 tomatoes
  • 125 g olives
  • 100 g mozzarella
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 400 g ground beef

For the garnish:

Instructions

  1. Heat the oven to 220.
  2. Halve the capsicums, remove the seeds, and place on the baking paper.
  3. Add oil on top of the capsicums and bake for 10 minutes.
  4. Cut the onions finely.
  5. Cut the tomatoes in cubes.
  6. Cut olives in rings.
  7. Add oil to the pan.
  8. Fry olives, onion, and meat for 2 minutes.
  9. Add tomatoes and salt to the pan then mix well.
  10. Take out the capsicums from the oven and put the filling into the capsicums.
  11. Top the capsicums with mozzarella.
  12. Put the capsicums back to the oven for 10 more minutes.
  13. Finally, top cooked capsicums with the fresh oregano.

Kugelis

Yields 6 servings

Another (Yiddish) Lithuanian classic. This time of a jewish origin.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Finely grate potatoes and onions together.
  2. (Optionally) half of the onions may be fried with the bacon instead.
  3. Combine all ingredients and mix them well. Fill the baking form with the mixes mass and bake it in the pre-heated to 180 C oven for 90 minutes or until the sides become brownish and the top golden.

Moussaka

From: littlecookingtips.com

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Prep
 1:00
Cook
 2:00
Yields
 8 Servings

Moussaka is by far the most popular Greek dish worldwide. It's a very tasty casserole, and one of the top Greek comfort foods.

Ingredients

Middle layer:

  • 500 g ground beef
  • 600 g (2 big) tomato, grated
  • 160 g (1 medium) green capsicum (or carrots), finely chopped
  • 280 g (2 middle sized) onion, finely chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 250 ml (.5 cup) wine
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
  • 250 ml (.5 cup) olive oil
  • salt and pepper

Base layer:

  • 440 g potato, cut into thin slices
  • 360 g eggplant, cut into thin slices
  • 500 ml (1 cup) olive oil

Top layer:

Instructions

Faster version

  1. Preheat the oven to 200 C.
  2. Slice the eggplant. Add it to a bowl, add generously salt and mix well. Set it aside to let the salt extract the bitter juice.
  3. Slice the potatoes. Cover all the bottom of the baking pan with potatoes. Spread olive oil then add salt and pepper. Bake it in the oven for 20 mins.
  4. Chop the onions, garlic, and bell pepper.
  5. Add the olive oil in a medium-sized pan, on medium to high heat. Once hot add the onion and the capsicum. Saute for 2 minutes.
  6. Add ground beef. Continuously stir and cook until all moisture evaporates (about 3 minutes).
  7. Reduce the heat to medium and add the garlic, the cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring often, for 4 minutes
  8. Add the wine, and tomato. Cook about 10 minutes, until all moisture evaporates. While it's cooking, Pour away all liquid juice from the eggplant bowl. Squeeze eggplant to the bottom of the bowl to squeeze a bit more juice. Start cooking the Béchamel sauce.
  9. After the potatoes spent 20 minutes in the oven, take it out. Add slices of eggplant on top of the potatoes, add olive oil, salt, and pepper. Put it back to the oven for another 20 mins. Then take out of the oven.
  10. Prepare the Béchamel sauce.
    1. Take a pot (on the scale) and add the required amount of butter, flour, salt and nutmeg!
    2. In a separate bowl pour milk and heat it to 60-70 C.
    3. Put the pot with butter and flour on medium heat and stir continuously until the butter melts and everything combines.
    4. Pour in the hot milk, continue stirring until Béchamel reaches the desired creamy consistency.
  11. Add beef on top of the eggplant, then add bechamel, and sprinkle cheese on top of it.
  12. Put it to the oven for another 20 minutes.

Slow full version

Middle layer:

  1. Add the olive oil in a medium-sized pan, on medium to high heat. Once hot add the onion and the capsicum. Saute for 2 minutes.
  2. Add ground beef. Continuously stir and cook until all moisture evaporates (about 3 minutes).
  3. Reduce the heat to medium and add the garlic, the cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring often, for 4 minutes
  4. Add the wine. Continue cooking for 2 minutes more
  5. Add the tomato. Cook about 10 minutes, until all moisture evaporates.

Base layer:

  1. Add the olive oil in a medium size pan, put it on high heat.
  2. Fry the potatoes for about 3-4 minutes (turn once). Don't to fry the potatoes all the way through. They need to be soft but not completely done.
  3. Remove them from the pan and let them drain on paper towel.
  4. Then fry the eggplants for 2 minutes (turn once). Don't to fry the eggplants all the way through. They need to be soft but not completely done.
  5. Remove from the pan and let them drain on a paper towel as well.

Top layer:

  1. Melt the butter in a small pot on medium to high heat.
  2. Slowly add the flour, while constantly whisking. The butter must be completely absorbed by the flour, forming a thick mixture.
  3. Reduce the heat to medium and slowly pour the milk into the pot, constantly whisking.
  4. Add the nutmeg and the salt.
  5. Cook, until you get a not too thick., creamy result.

Assembly:

  1. Put the fried potatoes in the bottom of a small baking pan, then add on top of them the fried eggplants.
  2. On top of the eggplants spread the ground beef.
  3. Pour the bechamel sauce into the baking pan on top of the ground beef.
  4. Sprinkle with the cheese.
  5. Baking. Put the baking pan in the oven, in the middle rack at 180°C for 50 minutes.
  6. Remove the pan from the oven and leave aside for at least 30 minutes to chill before serving.

Shepherd's Pie

Source

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Ingredients

Method

Quiche with Vegetables

From NYTimes Cooking and personal experience.

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Yield
 4-6
Time
 1h

Ingredients

Base

Variant: Grilled Mediterranean Vegetables

Variant: Cabbage and Spring Onion

Method

Variant: Grilled Mediterranean Vegetables

  1. Heat the oven to 200C.
  2. Take a shape of ~29-30cm, put the dough in it and shove it to the oven for 5-10 minutes.
  3. Cut the aubergines into bit sized pieces, place it on an oven tray, and cover in salt. Let it rest for 15 minutes.
  4. Finely chop the onion and garlic.
  5. Cut the rest of the vegetables. Prepare them for grilling by placing them on an oven tray. Brush olive oil onto them. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste. (For dried oregano, for fresh, see below) Sprinkle oregano on top of tomatoes.
  6. Remove the excess liquid from the aubergines, brush olive oil generously, add pepper to taste.
  7. Shove the vegetables to the oven. Switch the oven to the fan mode.
  8. In the meantime fry onions with the garlic.
  9. Once everything is ready, assemble. To the form with a dough add onions, aubergines, bell pepper, carrots, and tomatoes. (In case of fresh oregano) sprinkle the chopped fresh oregano on top.
  10. Beat eggs with milk, add salt and pepper to taste. Carefully pour them onto the vegetables.
  11. Sprinkle the cheese on top.
  12. Switch the oven to heating mode (switch off the fan). Shove the quiche to the oven for around 30 minutes until readiness.
  13. Let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Variant: Cabbage and Spring Onion

  1. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet and add onions. Cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add a generous pinch of salt and continue to cook 3 to 5 minutes, until beginning to color. Add cabbage and cook, stirring often, until cabbage wilts, about 5 minutes. Add another pinch of salt and caraway seeds and continue to cook for another 5 to 10 minutes, until cabbage is sweet, cooked down, lightly colored and very tender. Taste, adjust salt, and add freshly ground pepper. Remove from heat.

  2. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

  3. Beat together egg yolks and eggs in a medium bowl. Set tart pan on a baking sheet to allow for easy handling. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the bottom of the crust with some of the beaten egg and place in the oven for 5 minutes. (The egg seals the crust so that it won’t become soggy when it comes into contact with the custard.)

  4. Add salt, pepper, and milk to remaining eggs and whisk together.

  5. Spread cabbage and onion in an even layer in the crust. Sprinkle cheese evenly on top. Very slowly pour in the egg custard over the filling. If your tart pan has low edges, you may not need all of it to fill the quiche, and you want to keep the custard from spilling over. Place quiche, on baking sheet, in oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until set and just beginning to color on top. Remove from oven and allow to sit for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Tip

Lasagne

From bettybossi

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Yield
 8
Time
 1h 30 min

Ingredients

400 g Rüebli
400 g Sellerie
4 Zwiebeln
4 Knoblauchzehen
2 Zweiglein Majoran
2 Zweiglein Rosmarin
  Öl zum Braten
1200 g Hackfleisch (Rind)
150 g
 cubetti di pancetta
8 EL Tomatenpüree
6 dl Rotwein (z.B. Chianti)
8 dl Fleischbouillon oder 1 Dose gehackte Tomaten (ca. 400 g)
  Salz, Pfeffer, nach Bedarf
50 g Butter
6 EL Mehl
12 dl Milch
1.5 TL Salz
wenig Pfeffer
30 Lasagne-Blätter
140 g geriebener Parmesan

Method

Chicken & Quinoa Broccoli Casserole

A nutritious, protein-packed casserole that’s creamy, cheesy, and satisfying.
This recipe uses pre-cooked quinoa and chicken but skips pre-cooking the broccoli to save time.
It’s perfect for meal prep and a family-friendly dinner!

Recipe Details

Yield Prep Time Cook Time Total Time Calories (per serving)
6 servings 15 minutes 35-40 minutes ~50-55 minutes ~400 kcal

Ingredients

Main Ingredients:

Seasonings & Toppings:

Instructions

1. Preheat Oven

2. Cook Quinoa

3. Cook Chicken (If Not Using Rotisserie)

4. Assemble Casserole

5. Bake (Covered)

6. Remove Foil & Add Crunch (Optional)

7. Rest & Serve