Serbian Ground Beef Casserole
My agenda was to use about 1 pound frozen ground beef and celery in the fridge. I googled any potential recipe that accommodate to my request. There was a recipe of Serbian Ground Beef, Veggie, and Potato Bake online, which received very well reviews. I was very curious because I had never come across Serbian cuisine before. The recipe was something like moussake, a Greek dish. In fact one of the reviewers said it is called a mussaka. I see my guess was somewhat right, but the spelling apparently is different. Without any clue the actual relationship between mussake and moussake, I decided to try the recipe anyway. The recipe itself was easy. The spice choice was unique for me - paprika, red pepper, cinnamon, and cloves for ground beef filling. Plus red wine, but no tomato paste or sauce. No dried herbs either. I used Turkish dried red pepper and added a little flour to make the filling slightly thicken. Other changes I made were more carrots, more red wine and skipping a cube beef bouillon. Also I added an extra potato layer in the middle based on some reviewers' recommendations.
