AUTUMN COMFORT FOOD

We are very lucky in Greece.  In mid-October, the weather is wonderful with warm days and blue skies!!

On the other hand, the credit crunch continues to torment us.   Moreover as the civil war in Syria continues, killing thousands of innocent civilians, including many children,  boatloads of refugees,  keep arriving at our island shores, fleeing from disaster.   As I have already mentioned, we try to assist these unfortunate people but, due to the economic situation, we can't afford to help and support them the way we ought to.  There is, also. great concern, that heated housing may not be ready or sufficient for accommodating the refugees, during the cold winter months.      

 I'm giving you below the recipes for starters, main dishes and desserts that may, console and comfort us, during these difficult days.

  

                                                  COURGETTE SOUP

  Do prepare this delicious soup.

750 g (1 ½ lb) courgettes, thickly sliced

2 leeks, white parts only, thickly sliced

1 large onion, thickly sliced

1 clove garlic

4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

2 scant tbsp butter or margarine

1 litre (4 cups) tasty, hot vegetable or chicken stock

1 bouquet garni (1 bay leaf  + 2 sprigs of dill + 1 sprig of parsley)

1/8 tsp Cayenne pepper

2-3 tbsp yellow cheese of your choice

Salt

1 liqueur glass of brandy, optional

Cream for serving 

Melt the butter or margarine in a saucepan over low heat, sauté  the vegetables and keep stirring for about 5 minutes.    Pour in the stock, add the bouquet garni and simmer,  covered, for 20 minutes, and allow to cool.  Discard the bouquet, blend the vegetables until smooth and sieve for a velvety texture.  Heat the soup, add the cheese and the Cayenne, taste and add a little salt, if necessary.

Just before serving, reheat the soup, add the brandy, if using, and simmer for 2 minutes more.  Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with cream.

                                        CURRIED PUMPKIN SOUP

Curcubita Pepo

This is recipe for a creamy, comforting, spicy soup.

500 g (1 lb) pumpkin, peeled and cut into pieces

2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into pieces

1 large leek, white part only, split lengthwise, washed and chopped

1 carrot, peeled and grated

1thin slice fresh ginger, peeled

1 large onion, grated

1 clove garlic, minced

Spices:

1 tsp olive oil

1½ tsp mild or hot curry powder

½ tsp ground coriander

½ tsp ground cumin

1 wine glass of dry, white wine

1 litre (4 cups) very tasty, hot chicken or vegetable stock

Salt and freshly grated white pepper

One 400 g (13.3 oz) tin skimmed evaporated milk

¼ tsp Cayenne pepper, optional

One 200 g (1 small tub) Greek yoghurt, mixed with a little salt until smooth

Chopped chives or parsley for garnish

Place the vegetable in a large saucepan, and just cover with water.   Cover the saucepan and simmer very gently until all the vegetables are soft.  Remove the saucepan from the stove, discard the ginger if you wish, and blend the vegetables with a rod-blender, until smooth.

Meanwhile, cook the spices in the olive oil, over low heat, stirring constantly, for about 3 minutes until they release their aroma.   Pour in the wine and cook, stirring, until the wine evaporates.  Add 2 ladlefuls of hot stock, lower the heat, and simmer for about 15 minutes.  Then pour it into the blended vegetable purée and mix well together.

Add the remaining hot chicken or vegetable stock to the vegetables and cook for 10 minutes more.   Taste and add pepper and salt, if necessary, and Cayenne pepper, if using.   Just before serving, bring the soup to the boil, add the evaporated milk and taste and season accordingly.

Serve the pumpkin soup with the yoghurt and sprinkled with chopped chives or parsley.

                                  SPINACH AND LEEK PIE IN A CAKE TIN

Here is a pie that my grandchildren love.

Filling:

500 g (1 lb) fresh spinach, trimmed and coarsely chopped

4 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 large clove garlic, finely chopped

3 leeks trimmed, split in four, lengthwise, washed and finely chopped

2 tbsp chervil, if available, finely chopped

2 tbsp Mediterranean hartwort, if available, finely chopped

1 tbsp dill, finely chopped

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Cream Sauce:

1 litre (4 cups) milk

4-5 tbsp flour

1 bay leaf

A little salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Freshly grated nutmeg

½ cup Kaseri, graviera from Naxos or Gruyere, grated

½ cup San Mihalis or Parmesan grated

2 eggs, beaten

210 g (7 oz) bland feta, cubed

500 g (1 lb) phyllo pastry

120 melted butter or more

Sauté the onion, in olive oil, until transparent.    Stir in the garlic and the leeks, sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and simmer, gently until the vegetables are soft.   Add the spinach in portions, and the herbs, a little more salt, and cook gently until the vegetables are cooked and dry.  Then remove from stove to cool.

Prepare the sauce.  Place the milk in  a saucepan over low heat, dilute the flour in a little cold milk and strain it into the milk, stirring all the time. Add the bay leaf, salt pepper and nutmeg.  Keep on stirring until the sauce thickens and bubbles remove from the fire to cool and discard the bay leaf.   Then fold in the grated cheese, and the beaten eggs.

Fold the sauce into the spinach mixture, stirring, until well combined. Taste and add more salt, pepper and nutmeg, if necessary.

Prepare the cake tin.   Drape ten, lavishly buttered, phyllo pastry sheets over the buttered tin, in order to cover it completely, and allowing parts of the pastry hanging over.   Place half the filling and sprinkle the feta cubes, evenly, over.  Then add the remaining filling and fold the phyllo sheets neatly over, brushing each with melted butter.   Finally, make two small crosswise slashes on the pastry covering the funnel,  butter each pastry piece and fold it over the filling.  Drape the last two pastry sheets over the filling, around the funnel, brush with melted butter and bake in an oven preheated to 180 C (350 F)  for 40 -50 minutes.

Reverse the pie on a serving dish and serve with a salad of your choice.

                 

                         KATAIFI SHELLS FILLED WITH CREAMED SHRIMP

“Kataifi” derives from “kadife” which is Arabic for velvet.   The original way of preparing this pastry was by pouring batter from a perforated tube on a very hot slab.   After a few minutes, strands of very fine strings of pastry were pulled off the slab, folded and packed for further use.

Today, pastry manufacturers in Greece, use the same concept as their colleagues did, centuries ago and with the help of sophisticated machinery and “know-how”, they produce an excellent kataifi pastry.

I have, already, given you several recipes for both sweet and savoury dishes, prepared with kataifi    Here, is an easy recipe for a delicious first dish, that will certainly impress your family and friends.

Kataifi shells:

250 g (½ lb) kataifi pastry, fluffed out and covered with a damp dish cloth to prevent it from drying out

125 ml (½ cup) melted butter or more, if necessary

1 egg, beaten with

210 ml (7 fl oz) milk and

Salt and freshly ground white pepper

Twelve 7 ½ cm (3 inches) square pieces of baking parchment

Twelve balls made out of crumbled foil  

Filling:

500 g (1 lb) small shrimp, shelled and de-veined

1 tsp olive oil

A sprig of rosemary

Very little salt

A liqueur glass of brandy or whisky

For the white sauce:

4 tbsp butter

1 bay leaf

5-6 heaped tbsp cornflour

500 ml (2 cups) hot, tasty chicken or vegetable stock

The reserved (about a tablespoonful) brandy or whisky

Freshly ground white pepper

Freshly grated nutmeg

A little salt, if necessary

Double cream, please see below  

3-4 tbsp thickly grated Graviera or Gruyere or Cheddar 

2 tbsp finely grated San Mihalis or Parmesan

A day before serving, start preparing the kataifi shells.   Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F).  Line each cavity of the cupcake tin with buttered baking parchment and cut sufficient kataifi pastry to line each  cavity, separately.   Brush the pastry, first with melted butter and then, liberally with the egg/milk mixture, and secure with a tin foil ball, to prevent the sides from collapsing,    Bake, for 12 minutes or until the pastry has taken the shape of a cup.   Remove the parchment and foil and bake 5 minutes more or until the kataifi shells are steady and golden.  Cool and store in a covered container in the fridge.

The next day, prepare the filling.  First sauté the shrimp and rosemary in olive oil until the shrimp change colour, almost 2 minutes on each side.  Sprinkle with salt, discard the rosemary twig and place the shrimp on kitchen paper to cool.  Add the liqueur glass of brandy or whisky and deglaze the pan, scraping vigorously to capture the taste and aroma of the shrimp.  Strain and reserve the liquid.

Then, prepare the sauce.   Over medium heat, melt the butter, add the bay leaf, sift in the cornflour and stir for about 4-5 minutes.  Add the hot chicken or vegetable stock to the roux, in portions, whisking constantly, after each addition, until the mixture is smooth and bubbly.  Then lower the heat and simmer   very, very gently for 5 minutes more, whisking all the time.     Discard the bay leaf, stir in the reserved brandy or whisky mixture and enough double cream to give the sauce the required consistency.    Taste and add the nutmeg and pepper and a little salt, if necessary.

Place the shrimp in a saucepan, mask them liberally with the cream sauce and cook for 5 minutes, until piping hot.   Taste once more and season accordingly.    Meanwhile, heat the kataifi shells in the oven.    Sprinkle each pastry shell with grated cheese, cover with shrimps and sauce  and sprinkle with San Mihalis or Parmesan.   Serve immediately, with a small green salad and a glass of very good white wine.      

                                 BROCCOLI AND CAULIFLOWER SLICE

This is a delicious first dish.   Just serve with a green salad and crusty brown bread.  

500 g (1 lb) broccoli and cauliflower in equal amounts

Salt

6 garlic cloves

Rind and juice of ½ a lemon

120 g (4 oz) mild feta cheese (if too salty, soak in water for 10 minutes)

White pepper

Nutmeg

2 heaped tbsp grated Graviera from Naxos or Parmesan

2 egg yolks, beaten

4 egg whites whipped to the soft peak stage with a pinch of salt

Parsley for garnish

Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F) and place a large, deep baking tin half filled with boiling water (au bain Marie)  on the bottom shelf of the oven.

In a large saucepan with salted water cook the garlic cloves and the lemon rind for 10 minutes.   Rub the cauliflower with the lemon juice and cook until tender, place it in a colander to drain.  Boil the broccoli until cooked, and drain.  Discard the lemon rind but reserve the cloves of garlic.

Pulse the vegetables with the garlic, feta cheese, white pepper, nutmeg and the grated cheese, not too much, so that it keeps some texture.  Taste and add a little salt and pepper, if necessary. Place in a bowl, stir in the beaten egg yolks and fold in the whipped egg whites.  

Spoon the mixture into a loaf tin, lined with oiled baking parchment and even the surface. Bake au bain Marie, (the water should come up two-thirds of the height of the loaf tin) for 45-50 minutes until set and slightly golden.   Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Then reverse on a dish and garnish with parsley.

                         

                                      CHICKEN WITH CREAM

                                      

 One could, alternately, use chicken breast for this dish.

1 kg (2 lb) chicken legs, skinned, boned and cut into bite-sized pieces

Plain flour mixed with

Salt and freshly grated  white pepper and

1 tsp ginger powder

About ½ tsp grated nutmeg

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp clarified butter

1 large onion, grated

3 spring onions, trimmed and sliced

1-2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 sweet red peppers, sliced
1 tarragon twig

125 ml (½ cup) Moschato Samos wine or any other sweet white wine

250 ml (1 cup) tasty, hot chicken stock or more

250 ml (1 cup) cream

2 tbsp parsley, finely chopped

Roll the chicken pieces in seasoned flour, shake off the excess, and sauté in the olive oil and butter.  Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a dish.  Pour off most of the olive oil and butter.   Add the onion, red peppers and garlic, sprinkle with salt and freshly ground white pepper and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent.      

Return the chicken to the saucepan with the vegetables, add the tarragon, pour in the wine and simmer for 3-4 minutes, until the alcohol evaporates.  Add the hot chicken stock, cover the saucepan, simmer for 10-12 minutes more and remove the peppers.  

Gently cook the chicken, until it is thoroughly tender.   Pour in the cream, taste and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg, if necessary.  Finally, stir in the reserved peppers and chopped parsley and discard what is left of  the tarragon twig.   Serve with steamed rice or mashed potatoes.