Thursday 27 August 2015

Grilled vegetables


Ingredience 

3 aubergines sliced in rounds
4 courgettes sliced lengthwise
4 onions sliced in rounds
4 tomatoes sliced crosswise
350 gr. mushrooms halved
1 head of garlic with skin
virgin olive oil
2 teaspoonfuls oreganol
salt, freshly ground pepper

Cooking instructions:

A different mixed grill. A light, tasty dish suitable for a diets or an evening meal.

Wrap the garlic in aluminium foil and boil in plenty of water for 15 minutes. Heat the oven.
Place the sliced vegetables on the grid and grill until golden brown. Turn over and grill until quite soft.

Arrange on a platter. Season lightly with salt and fresh-ground pepper. Dress with olive oil.

The boiled garlic can be used to prepare a delicious sauce. Press the cloves lightly at the bottom and all the inside will emerge.
Put in a bowl and work with a few drops of vinegar and a spoonful of olive oil. Beat with a fork into a smooth paste.
An excellent sauce for the grilled vegetables, it is tasty, sweet and the garlic has a delicate flavour.

EKMEK

Greek Ekmek Kataifi recipe (Custard and whipped cream pastry with syrup)

Base ingredients

  • 250g kataifi dough (9 oz.)
  • 50g butter, melted (2 oz.)
  • 80-100g pistachios, chopped (3.5 oz.)




For the syrup

  • 200g sugar (7 oz.)
  • 200g water (4/5 of a cup)
  • lemon peel from half a lemon
  • 1 cinammon stick


For the custard

  • 750g whole milk, cold (3 cups)
  • 150g sugar (5.5 0z.)
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 75g corn starch (2.6 oz.)
  • 4-5 egg yolks (depending on the size of the eggs)
  • 75g butter (2.6 oz.)
  • a pinch of powdered mastic (

For the whipped cream

  • 500g cold heavy whipping cream (2 cups)
  • 60g icing sugar (2 oz.)
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract



Directions

  • To prepare this traditional Ekmek kataifi recipe start by making the base. Preheat the oven to 170C and unroll the kataifi dough from the plastic sleeve. Work the kataifi dough with your hands, tearing apart the shreds and spreading the strands out a bit if they clump together, in order to get fluffy. For this ekmek kataifi recipe you will need a 25cm square non-sticking baking dish. Butter the bottom of the baking dish and spread the kataifi dough to form the base of the ekmek kataifi. Pour over the melted butter and bake in preheated oven for 30-45 minutes depending on your oven, until crispy and nicely coloured.
  • In the meantime prepare the custard for the ekmek kataifi (steps 2-4). Add in a large bowl the egg yolks with half the sugar (100g) and whisk until fluffy. Add 3-4 tbsps of the milk and the corn starch and whisk again until the corn starch has dissolved. Set aside.
  • Pour the rest of the milk in a large non-sticking pan and add the sugar and the vanilla extract. Place the pan over high heat and bring to the boil. As soon as the milk comes to the boil, remove from the heat and ladle gradually 1/3 of the milk into the egg mixture, whilst whisking. Place the pan (with the remaining milk) again on the stove and turn the heat down to medium. Add the egg mixture into the pan with the remaining warm milk. Whisk continuously, until the mixture has thickened and is smooth and creamy. Remove the pan from the stove, add the butter and stir.
  • Pour the custard in a large tray, cover with some plastic wrap (the plastic wrarp should be touching the custard, so that it doesn’t form a crust) and let it cool, while you prepare the rest of the ekmek kataifi recipe.
  • Turn the kataifi out of the oven and let it cool down completely.
  • Prepare the syrup for the ekmek kataifi. Add all the ingredients for the syrup into a small pot and bring to the boil. Simmer the syrup of 3 minutes (without stirring), until slightly thickened and remove from the stove. Leave the syrup aside to cool down for a while, until lukewarm. Ladle slowly the lukewarm syrup over the cold baked pastry, enabling each ladle to be absorbed. Set aside to cool down for a while.
  • Prepare the whipped cream and assemble the ekmek kataifi. Top the kataifi base with the custard and even out using a spatula. Put the cold heavy cream into a mixer’s bowl, add the icing sugar and whisk on high speed until medium peaks form, about 1 minute. Top the ekmek kataifi with the whipped cream and even out. Sprinkle with the chopped pistachios and a pinch of cinnamon.
  • Store the ekmek kataifi in the fridge and serve cold. Enjoy!















Lamb chops WITH Bougiourdi


1kg lamb chops small
1 clove garlic crushed
1 tbsp oregano
1 tbsp thyme
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp mustard
1 tbsp mayonnaise
1 chopped tomato
1 tbsp salt
freshly ground pepper
2 red peppers cut in four
2 yellow peppers cut in four
2 green peppers cut in four
2 onions, quartered
2 whole cloves of garlic
250 grams. slice (hard), cut into cubes
1 tbsp oregano
1 tbsp red hot chili pepper
salt
4 tbsp olive oil
few drops of vinegar
In a bowl, add the olive oil, mustard, mayonnaise, tomato, thyme, oregano, garlic and salt and plenty of pepper rub. Beat the ingredients with a fork, to join well. Pour in the chops and stir very well, cover with the marinade. (If we let marinate 1 hour in the fridge to make them more delicious). Lay parchment paper on a deep oven dish. Empty means marinated lamb with all liquid marinade and bake in preheated oven at 200 ° C for 50'
Put all ingredients in bowl and mix very well, wet. Lay parchment paper in a deep pan, pour through the whole mixture and bake at 200 ° C for 20. In a large serving platter in the middle of the chops drizzled with the sauce and mint.

Tuesday 25 August 2015

Beef with Potatoes Peas in tomato and wine sauce

Ingredients 
1 pound lean beef over medium pieces
¾ cup of olive oil
1 large chopped onion
2 gloves of garlic 
500g of frozen peas
1 glass of  rosé wine
2 large ripe tomatoes, grated
1tbls of tomato paste
Allspice berries
1 tbls of chicken stock powder 
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper
4-5 potatoes, cut into large slices

Method
Sauté beef in oil until it just get a little color, add garlic and onion
Mix briefly together, add the tomato paste and peas and let it sauté then add the wine and let it evaporate
Add water covers the meat and let it simmer until meat has partly cooked.
Add the tomato, salt and pepper and chicken stock.
Lightly fry in hot oil the potatoes and add to food. 
Add the allspice and bay leaves and continue cooking until the meat is quite soft
Cook together over low heat until meat and potatoes are cooked 
and the food has stayed  with a nice gravy. 




Good luck and good appetite