The Hangry Chef

Ohhh pasticcio... This recipe gives me so many warm and fuzzies. My mum always used to make it for me when I was younger for special occasions like my birthday and Easter so I associate it with fun times and getting presents and all that good stuff. The one my mum made came from the old faithful Margaret Fulton Cookbook circa late sixties/early seventies... I'm not sure what my Italian mum was doing making Greek recipes written by an Australian cookbook guru but anyway... it must have been en-vogue when the book was written and I'm not complaining because it's delicious. Mum's pasticcio was put together 'lasagna-style' with layers of curly-edge lasagna sheets that would get all crispy and brown on the edges. She would layer the pasta sheets with the tomato and beef sauce and béchamel and then bake it, and it would usually take her a while to prepare. My New Favourite Cookbook! I like this recipe by George Calombaris because it still has all that wo...

I took inspiration for these yummy biscuits from the Greek biscuits 'Kourabiethes'. They are nutty and sweet with a citrus-floral flavour that is to die for. They were easy to make as I whipped them up in the food processor and rested them in the freezer for 5 minutes before baking (usually shortbread needs to rest for a while in the fridge but I was under a time crunch). You will need... (makes about 30 biscuits) 250gr unsalted butter, cold and roughly cubed 160gr caster sugar 1 cup of natural almonds 2 cups plain flour 1/2 tsp baking powder 2 tsp rosewater zest of one orange Method... 1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius. Line two large baking trays with greaseproof paper. Place the whole almonds on one tray, and toast in the oven for 5 minutes or until you can start to smell them roasting. Remove the almonds from the oven and transfer to a food processor. Keep the tray lined and set aside for when you want to bake your biscuits (this will minimise washing up...