Catch the Spoon

I’m a bit under the weather this week, so I’m naturally seeking out comfort foods and easy throw-together meals. This is a bit like the Greek classic moussaka, minus the eggplant; it’s savory, creamy, satisfying, and filling.

Be sure to use plain tomato sauce and not spaghetti sauce — the added Italian seasonings aren’t necessary here. The breadcrumbs thicken the sauce and sop up any grease from the beef.

Greek-Style Beef and Potato Casserole

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds white potatoes
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/4 cup minced onion
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup unseasoned breadcrumbs
• 1 cup plain yogurt (homemade if available)
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Peel potatoes and slice into 1/8″ thick rounds. In a small bowl, whisk eggs until well-blended and stir in yogurt. Set yogurt and potatoes aside.

In a nonstick skillet set over medium heat, brown beef, onions, and garlic. Add salt, potatoes and tomato sauce and cook 10 minutes or until edges of potatoes become translucent. Sprinkle breadcrumbs on top and stir to combine. Pour into a baking dish and top with yogurt mixture. Sprinkle cinnamon on top.

Bake at 350° F for 90 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Serves 4-6.

I like my yogurt very, very thick and rather tangy. While tanginess is usually not a problem for homemade yogurt, thickness sometimes is. I experimented with various recipes before combining them into something that makes the perfect recipe for my taste. If you’d like a thinner yogurt, use less starter, or stir the finished curd to break up the proteins. If you prefer an even thicker finished product, strain your yogurt in some cheesecloth set over a bowl in the fridge. You’ll end up with a creamy yogurt cheese that’s similar to cream cheese.

I use Stonyfield Farm Organic Whole Milk Plain Yogurt as my starter, because it’s my favorite store-bought yogurt and has active cultures. I buy the big (32 oz.) containers and freeze the remainders in 1 1/4 cup portions to use in future yogurt batches, thawing it overnight in the fridge (not in the microwave!) to gently bring it to temperature.

Note: please use your own judgment and caution when making this recipe. While I have no problems eating this and feeding it to consenting, fully-informed adults, I probably wouldn’t feed it to small children without their parents’ OK.

Yogurt

Ingredients:

• 1 quart whole milk
• 1 cup powdered milk
• 1 1/4 cup plain full-fat yogurt with active cultures, at room temperature

Combine milk and milk powder in a medium heavy-bottomed sauce pan and gently heat on low. Cook for 45 minutes or until the temperature reaches approximately 115°. Remove from heat. Whisk a few tablespoons of the hot milk into the yogurt to warm it up; add yogurt to hot milk, whisking until yogurt is completely incorporated and mixture is of a uniform temperature. Pour into glass jars (these will be the yogurt’s final resting place), place in a warm, draft-free area, and cover tightly on all sides with heavy blankets. (Don’t forget to place a blanket underneath the jars.) Allow to sit overnight. Remove blankets and transfer jars to refrigerator. Chill and enjoy.

Will keep up to one week in the refrigerator.

Makes slightly more than 1 quart of yogurt.