Moussaka, a chickpea soup/stew and homemade vienetta: Georgina Hayden’s Mediterranean party – recipes

Traditionally, this would be a Tunisian breakfast, and it’s not a million miles from one of my favourites, Egyptian ful medames. But here I’m proposing it as an evening offering: make a big pot of delicious flavourful chickpeas, then lay out a spread of accompaniments (pickles, olives, capers, boiled eggs). Second, a good traditional moussaka is a wholesome but time-consuming process, but that’s not the case with this simplified version, which you can easily make on a weeknight. Finally, you might not be surprised to learn that this basil viennetta was one of the most popular recipes when we were testing dishes for my new book, MEDesque. First, of course, because it tastes unreal. Second, because everyone got a huge tug of nostalgia, and third, because everyone became giddy with excitement, trying to figure out what the flavour was.

Lablabi party (pictured top)

Everyone gets to jazz up their own bowl however they like it for this fun dinner that’s also nourishing, healthy and delicious. I’ve heard that Tunisians eat this when they get home from a night out (in Cyprus, we have avgolemoni for the same purpose, served in bowls at a handful of late-night cafes at 2am). So you could use it for a crowd after a night on the tiles, if you want: a big bowl of these chickpeas will always sort you out.

Prep 10 min
Cook 25 min
Serves 4

Meanwhile, tear the ciabatta into 3-4cm chunks and spread these out on a baking tray. Lightly crush the cumin and coriander seeds in a mortar. Drizzle the torn-up bread with olive oil, then sprinkle over most of the crushed spices, season well, toss everything together and massage in the flavours. Spread out the bread into an even layer, bake for eight to 10 minutes, until the it’s golden and evenly toasted, then remove and leave to cool.

Put the garlic in a mortar with a good pinch of salt and bash until creamy. Add the aleppo pepper, crush that in, too, then stir in the harissa and two tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil.

When the chickpeas are ready, stir in the garlic-harissa paste, the baby spinach and most of the chopped herbs and spring onions. Squeeze in the juice of one to two lemons, to taste, then season.

Set up the table for your chickpea party Divide the toasted bread between four shallow bowls. Put the leftover toasted spices in a small bowl and take that to the table along with the jar of harissa (with a teaspoon) and a bottle of extra-virgin olive oil. Then assemble any extra toppings you want to include: a bowl of capers and olives or pickles; boiled eggs if you wish. Ladle the hot, brothy chickpeas into each bowl, top with the remaining chopped herbs and spring onions, and let everyone prep their chickpeas as they wish.

One-pan moussaka

Georgina Hayden’s one-pan moussaka.

This will impress, and also absolutely satisfy that Greek holiday moussaka craving we all get from time to time.

Prep 10 min
Cook 1 hr 25 min
Serves 4-6

Olive oil
1 large aubergine, peeled and cut into 1½-2cm cubes
Salt and black pepper
400g minced meat (I like half beef and half pork, but use what you like: even lamb is good)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp dried oregano, plus more for the top
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
2 red onions, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
2 tbsp tomato puree
400ml meat stock
750g waxy potatoes, red-skinned, ideally
250g mascarpone
250g greek yoghurt
1 large egg, plus 1 egg yolk
50g parmesan

Set a wide, shallow flameproof casserole that has a lid over a medium heat and add enough olive oil to cover the base. Fry the aubergine for around five minutes until golden. Season as you go and stir just a couple of times; you want to get a nice crust. Once golden, add the minced meat and increase the heat to high, break the meat up with a wooden spoon and seasonwell.

Add the ground cinnamon, dried oregano and cayenne. Brown for a few minutes, then add the chopped onions and garlic and fry for a further 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the oven to 190C (170 fan)/375F/gas 5. Stir the tomato puree into the meat, fry for a few minutes, then pour in the stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer while you slice the potatoes.

Scrub, then slice the potatoes as finely as you can – 2-3mm thick. Remove the casserole from the hob and lay the potatoes over the top, overlapping them as you go, a bit like a hotpot. Season and sprinkle with a little extra oregano, drizzle with olive oil and cover the casserole with the lid. Transfer the covered dish to the oven for 30 minutes, removing the lid for the last 10 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.

Mix the mascarpone, yoghurt, egg and egg yolk in a bowl. Finely grate in most of the parmesan, season and stir it in. Remove the casserole from the oven, pour over the sauce, then finely grate over the remaining parmesan. Return to the oven, without the lid, and bake for a further 25–30 minutes, until golden all over and bubbling. Leave to rest for five minutes before serving.

Basil viennetta

Georgina Hayden’s basil viennetta.

I love herbs used in sweet things. Don’t tell anyone what’s in this: make them guess. It’s much more fun that way.

Prep 5 min
Cook 30 min
Freeze 6 hr+
Serves 10-12

150g dark chocolate

Line a 900g loaf tin with clingfilm, leaving some overhang on all sides. Roughly chop 125g of the chocolate and melt in a microwave or in a heatproof bowl set over, but not touching, a small pan of simmering water. Keep stirring until just melted, then stir in the salt and set aside for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, pick most of the basil, stalks and all, put it in a high-speed blender and blitz with half the sugar, 100ml of the double cream and the vanilla, until smooth. Whiz in the mascarpone and milk.

When you’re ready to serve, melt the remaining 25g chocolate, then set aside for 10 minutes as before. Turn out the ice-cream on to a serving plate, drizzle with the cooled melted chocolate, scatter with the remaining basil leaves (unless you’re keeping the flavour a secret!) and serve.

• These recipes are an edited extract from MEDesque by Georgina Hayden, published by Bloomsbury Publishing at £26. To order a copy for £23.40, go to guardianbookshop.com