Creamy Eggplant Puree (Hünkar Beğendi)

Thursday July 30th, 2020Sunday August 30th, 2020 aglaia 1 Comment

This is my take on Hünkar, which is traditionally prepared with sheep’s milk butter; but I find that this olive oil variation can be equally sumptuous. Cheese plays a very important role in my version and can alter the taste dramatically: Gruyere and cheddar make a richly sweet dish, but smoked cheddar or provolone combined with Feta adds a spicier note.

An Ottoman Sultan, a French Princess…and Hünkar Beğendi – all the necessary ingredients for romance, intrigue, and culinary invention. According to legend this rich and creamy eggplant puree was created in the 18^th century by one of the Sultan’s cooks. The occasion was a dinner given in honor of a French Princess visiting the palace of the Ottoman ruler in Istanbul. The French were known for their love of vegetable purees, so the cook paid homage to the Princess by presenting an Oriental version, using the Empire’s most admired vegetable. The dish was a great success. We know less about the Sultan’s pursuit of the Princess…

In Turkey and in Greece hünkar traditionally accompanies a tomato lamb or beef stew. I love it on its own, or topped with my Basic Tomato Sauce. You can also serve it with braised kale or other hearty greens. Hünkar makes a great appetizer: serve it with toasted pita triangles to scoop-up the creamy puree or spread it on toasted, garlic-rubbed multi-grain bread.

Adapted from my Mediterranean Vegetarian Feasts

Serves 4 as a main dish, or 8-10 as an appetizer (more…)

Oven-cooked Eggplants and Peppers in Tomato Sauce

Wednesday June 3rd, 2020Thursday September 3rd, 2020 aglaia Leave a comment

A kind of Greek, rustic ratatouille that can be made with any combination of summer vegetables. I particularly like it with just eggplants and green bell peppers plus plenty of onions and garlic, all baked slowly in my fragrant tomato sauce.

We can find all kinds of delicious eggplants here and choose whichever we want for our summer dishes. For this I prefer the long ones –which are similar to the Chinese and Japanese– because they better retain their shape. But any kind of eggplant is fine, and I strongly suggest you use the fresher you find in your farmer’s market —Molly Stevens explains beautifully the flavor variations between the various eggplants, which make little difference for this particular dish.

Serves 4-6 (more…)

Aglaia’s Mousaka (or Moussaka)

Tuesday June 9th, 2015Wednesday September 2nd, 2020 aglaia 5 Comments

My Mousaka (or moussaka) with layers of eggplants, potatoes, and peppers, is topped with yogurt and olive oil béchamel. I recently added the spicy and smoky Kea sausage to the lamb, to deepen and enrich the flavor.

Read HERE about the origin of this iconic Greek dish.

‘Pseudo-moussaka’ is the meat-less, vegetarian version of the dish that my mother often prepared in the summer (scroll down to see this delicious Variation).

Mousakas-pot-CUT-S

See the video of My moussaka from Joanne Weir’s Plates and Places.

Little did we know how idiosyncratic the name of the vegetarian version were to our home. We all loved it and I thought the term ‘pseudo-moussaka’ was common until my first husband burst into wild laughter upon hearing the name of my family dish! After much investigation he concluded that it was family jargon, but it was ours, and it was delicious.

I serve large spoonfuls, as with all gratin dishes; not perfectly cut squares. If you prefer a more elegant presentation make it in individual clay pots.

Makes 6 servings

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