My precious granddaughter Joy suggested this title for the new post on my blog.
When we are worried about our work or the relations with our family and friends, even if imaginary, we become stressed. According to dictionaries, “stress is a state of mental and emotional tension, resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances”.
Stress is our body’s way of responding to any kind of aggressors or perils and the symptoms can be both physical and psychological.
It isn’t always bad. In small doses, it can help you perform under pressure, galvanises you to do your best and enhances your concentration. But long-term stress is linked with various health conditions that harm your efficiency and output, your relationships and the quality of your life. Then you will definitely need help.
Comfort food is not only enjoyable to eat, but it also makes one feel better emotionally and provides a sense of happiness and nostalgia. So, evidently, a flavoursome meal helps to discard stress and makes one feel utterly satisfied.
Comfort food is not only enjoyable to eat, but it also makes one feel better emotionally and provides a sense of happiness and nostalgia. So, evidently, a flavoursome meal helps to discard stress and makes one feel utterly satisfied.
Here are a few recipes for nostalgic comfort food, which I hope you will enjoy.
APPLE AND ROCKET SOUP
Do prepare this soup.
6 large apples, peeled, cored and quartered
2 tbsp lemon juice
1½ litre (6 cups) chicken stock, fat discarded
30 g (1 oz) wild rocket, leaves only, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
125 ml (½ cup) low-fat cream
6 tender chive stalks, snipped
Sprinkle the apples with lemon juice, to prevent discolouring. Then place them into the chicken stock and cook until the apples are almost tender. Add the rocket leaves and cook for 10 minutes more. Blend and sieve the soup, taste for seasoning and adjust.
Just before serving, bring to the boil, stir in the cream and sprinkle with snipped chives
LIGHT PUMPKIN SOUP
This is a recipe for a very tasty pumpkin soup, my family’s favourite. This recipe has carrots instead of potatoes.
1 kg (2 lb) pumpkin, peeled and cleaned from seeds and fibres, cut into chunks
2 large leeks, trimmed and sliced, white parts only
1 onion, chopped
3 carrots, scraped and cut into chunks
1 ½ litre (6 cups) chicken stock, fat removed
100 g (1 cup + 1 tbsp) kasseri or Gouda , grated
2 tbsp San Mihalis or Parmesan, grated
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
1 liqueur glass good brandy
120 ml (½ cup) or more low-fat yoghurt
3-4 tbsp chopped parsley, optional
Place the vegetables in a large saucepan with sufficient water just to cover, and cook until tender. Then set aside to cool, and blend.
Return the pumpkin puree to the saucepan, add the stock and sprinkle with freshly ground pepper and a little nutmeg. Simmer gently until the soup thickens. Stir in the cheese, taste and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper and nutmeg, if necessary. Bring again to the boiling point and pour in the brandy. Simmer the soup for a minute or two, and serve with a tablespoon of yoghurt, sprinkled with chopped parsley. For a party, you could serve the soup in a pumpkin shell, instead of a tureen.
This tomato sauce could be completely vegetarian if you use vegetable instead of meat stock.
1-2 cloves garlic, peeled cut in two lengthwise
RENEE’S GNOCCHI
I am overtaken by nostalgia whenever I cook this delicious side dish because my Mother, who was a fabulous cook, used to frequently prepare it. But however hard I try, I can never quite reach the flavoursome perfection of my memories.
1¼ kg (2½ lbs) potatoes, scrubbed, boiled, peeled and mashed
325 g (2½ cups) plain flour and ½ cup more for making the dough
½ tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
Place mashed potatoes in a large bowl. Top with flour and sprinkle with salt. Make a hole in the centre of the potatoes and pour in the beaten egg. With a fork, mix all the ingredients well together until a soft dough is formed. Knead the dough but not too much to prevent the gnocchi from hardening.
Shape the dough into a long wide rectangle and cut it into 8-10 pieces 10.16 cm (4 inches) long. Roll each piece into a rope. Cut the ropes into 2½ cm (1 inch) pieces on a slant. Toss them with extra flour. With a fork create ridges on each gnocchi or intend gently with your thumb.
Gently shake away any excess flour and boil the gnocchi in salted water until they float (2-4 minutes). Remove with a slotted spoon. Drain well and toss them in your favourite sauce. My Mum always used tomato sauce. Serve them sprinkled with grated Parmesan or pecorino.
TOMATO SAUCE WITH VEGETABLES AND HERBS
This tomato sauce could be completely vegetarian if you use vegetable instead of meat stock.
1-2 cloves garlic, peeled cut in two lengthwise
3 medium carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, peeled and finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 heaped tbsp flour
6 large ripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped
250 ml (1 cup) meat or vegetable stock
1 small bay leaf
1 sprig of fresh basil
1½ - 2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar or more if necessary
1/8 tsp Cayenne pepper (optional)
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
Sauté the garlic in the olive oil and then add the onions, carrots and celery and simmer for 2-3 minutes (you could discard the garlic at this stage if you wish). Stir in the flour and cook for 5 minutes, stirring all the time.
Add all the other ingredients, except the chopped basil, and barely simmer the sauce for about 1 hour.
Blend the sauce and press it through a sieve into a saucepan, taste for seasoning and adjust with salt, pepper and sugar, if necessary. Add the chopped basil and simmer for a further 5 minutes, until thoroughly heated.
Serve with seafood, meat and vegetables. It is also suitable for pasta, gnocchi or rice. Try poaching eggs in this sauce.
FISH MOUSSE WITH PRAWNS
Do cook this delicious dish!
500 g (1 lb) prawns, shelled and deveined, slightly cooked with a twig of rosemary, and sprinkled with a little salt
800 g (1 lb 10 oz) fillets of sole, boned washed and dried
1 large onion cut into chunks
3 cloves garlic
5 large eggs
180 ml (6 fl oz) cream
3-4 heaped tbsp dried breadcrumbs
3 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Melted butter
Garnish
A few prawns cooked through, fresh parsley leaves
1 thinly sliced lemon.
Blend the sole with the onion and garlic cloves until smooth. Add the eggs, cream and dried breadcrumbs and blend until a light homogenous consistency is obtained. Fold in the chopped parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste, it should be very tasty.
Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F). Line a loaf tin with buttered baking parchment, leaving enough hanging over. Spoon in half the fish mixture, level the surface and arrange a layer of half-cooked prawns, on top. Cover with the remaining fish mousse, evenly the top, brush lightly with melted butter and cover with the baking parchment that is hanging over. Cover the top of the tin with foil. Place it in a deep baking tin, pour in enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the loaf tin and bake for about 45 minutes or until a skewer, inserted in the middle of the mousse, comes out clean.
Remove the loaf tin from the oven, unfold the parchment that is covering the mousse and reverse it on a pretty dish. Garnish with the reserved prawns, lemon slices and parsley and serve with a flavoursome green salad.
CHICKEN COOKED IN WHITE WINE
This is the main dish that your family and guests will really enjoy.
4 chicken breasts, skinned, boned and cut into bite-sized pieces
4 chicken legs, skinned and divided into drumsticks and thighs
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
10 rashers lean bacon
4 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp softened butter
3 leeks, split lengthwise, washed and finely chopped
4 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped
1 slice fresh ginger, peeled
125 ml (½ cup) brandy
One 750 ml bottle white wine
500 ml (2 cups) tasty chicken stock
1 bouquet garni (1 bay leaf + 2 sprigs thyme + 2 sprigs sage)
500 g (1 lb) mushrooms, trimmed and halved or quartered
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic
1 heaped tbsp plain flour or more if necessary
375 ml (1½ cup) tasty chicken stock
250 ml (1 cup) light cream
In a large, deep frying pan sauté the dried pieces of chicken in olive oil and butter for 2 minutes on each side for the breast pieces, and 4 minutes for the thighs and drumsticks. Sprinkle with a little salt and freshly ground white pepper and place on a dish.
In the same frying pan, cook the bacon until crisp and transfer to the dish with the chicken. Remove most of the olive oil and butter and reserve. Stir in the leeks, spring onions and ginger and cook over low heat until the leeks and onions are soft and the whole kitchen is filled with the aroma of ginger.
Arrange the chicken and bacon over the leeks, drizzle with brandy, and cook for 5 minutes until the alcohol evaporates. Pour in the wine, simmer for 2 minutes, then add the chicken stock and the bouquet garni. Sprinkle with a little salt and freshly ground pepper and cover the pan and simmer for 20 minutes. Check the breast pieces and transfer to a dish, if cooked through. Simmer the legs for 20 to30 minutes more. Bone the legs and add the brown meat next to the breast pieces. Also, remove the bacon pieces with a slotted spoon.
Sieve the sauce into a large saucepan, pushing the vegetables with the back of a soup ladle, to extract the juices. Place the chicken pieces and bacon into the sauce, and set aside.
Meanwhile, brown the mushrooms with a little of the reserved olive oil and butter mixture until the mushrooms are dry, remove with a slotted spoon and reserve. Sprinkle with a little salt.
Sauté the chopped onion and garlic until the onions are soft and translucent sift the flour over and stir, over low heat for 3-4 minutes. Pour in the chicken stock, stirring constantly and simmer the sauce for 12 minutes until no taste of flour is evident. Taste and add salt, if necessary, and white pepper. Sieve the sauce, pushing the onions with the back of a spoon, and pour back into the saucepan. Add the mushrooms and cook for 15 minutes more.
Pour the mushrooms and sauce into the chicken stew and mix well together. Cool and refrigerate.
The next day, bring the chicken to the boil and simmer gently until thoroughly heated. Taste and correct the seasoning with salt and pepper, if necessary. Stir in a cup of cream and heat but do not boil. Serve with mashed potatoes and a zesty green salad.
BEEF STIFATHO
Stifatho is a popular Greek dish. Don’t get discouraged by the large number of onions. An easy way to peel them, without tears, is to blanch them in their skins, drain and, when cold enough to handle, peel them.
1 kg (2 lb) stewing beef, cut into bite-sized cubes
2 kg (4 lb) small onions, peeled (please see above)
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
250 ml (1 cup) red wine
2 bay leaves
500 ml (2 cups) tomato juice
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
Brown the meat in butter and olive oil and transfer it with a slotted spoon to a dish.
Add the onions and sauté all over for 2-3 minutes until caramelized and remove them to a dish and reserve.
Add the garlic and cook gently for 2 minutes more. Return the meat to the saucepan, pour the wine over and simmer for 3-4 minutes more, allowing the alcohol to evaporate. Then add all the other ingredients and enough hot water to cover, and simmer gently for an hour or until the meat and onions are tender. If the onions are ready before the meat, remove and keep them hot.
If the sauce isn’t thick enough, reduce it by boiling uncovered. Then taste it, season with more salt, pepper and vinegar, if necessary and discard the bay leaves.
Serve the stifatho with fried or mashed potatoes.
A SALAD WITH LETTUCE CHERRY TOMATOES, AVOCADOS AND PINE NUTS
The dressing of this salad thickens and tastes like a mayonnaise. It keeps well in the fridge for about 3 days.
1 large Cos lettuce, the inner tender leaves only, torn into bite-sized pieces
2 avocados, peeled, pitted, diced and drenched with lemon juice
20 cherry tomatoes, halved
½ cup pine nuts, roasted
Salad dressing
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp evaporated or fresh milk
½ tsp Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
First whip all the ingredients for the dressing together, until it thickens.
In a large salad bowl, place the lettuce, avocados and the cherry tomatoes, drizzle with dressing, sprinkle with the pine nuts, toss and serve.
CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT ROLL WITH CHOCOLATE PRALINE MOUSSE FILLING
This is one of the best chocolate rolls I’ve ever tasted.
Chocolate Sponge Cake:
60 g (2 oz) self-rising flour sifted with
½ tsp baking powder and
30 g (1 oz) very good quality cocoa, then stir in
60 g (2 oz) hazelnuts, toasted and coarsely ground
5 medium sized eggs, separated, whites stiffly whipped with a pinch of salt
200 g (almost 7 oz) caster sugar
Vanilla
Filling:
200 g (6 .2 oz) finely chopped chocolate
125 g (¼ lb) butter, cubed
One 304 ml (an ample 10 fl oz) tin, sweet condensed milk
100 g (3.3 oz) hazelnuts, toasted and finely ground
250 ml (1 cup) thick cream, whipped to the soft peak stage
Icing sugar for dusting over
First, prepare the filling. Melt the chocolate, in a bowl, over simmering water, stirring until smooth. Then add the butter, condensed milk, and the finely ground hazelnuts. Mix thoroughly until the butter melts and everything is well combined. Cool, pour the mixture into prepared jars, seal with airtight lids and store in the fridge. Before using, bring the hazelnut praline to room temperature.
For the chocolate sponge, heat oven to 180 C (350 F) and line a 30x40 cm (12x16 inches) baking tin with buttered baking parchment, letting the parchment extend over the sides of the tin and brush with melted butter, once more.
Whip the egg yolks, sugar, vanilla and salt very well together, until pale and fluffy. Fold in the flour/cocoa/hazelnut mixture until just combined. Stir in ¼ of the whipped egg whites to lighten the batter, then, gently fold in the remaining egg whites. Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared tin and bake for about 12-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool for 1-2 minutes.
Place a piece of baking parchment on a kitchen counter and sprinkle with icing sugar. Reverse the chocolate sponge over the parchment and roll both together, cover with tin foil and set aside to cool completely.
Fold the whipped cream into 1 cup of praline and mix thoroughly until no traces of white are evident. Taste and add more praline if you prefer a sweeter filling.
Unroll the cool sponge cake, spread it with the prepared filling and roll it up again. Trim the ends, if necessary, place the roll on a pretty dish and cover with cling film. Refrigerate for 3 hours at least. Serve garnished with chocolate curls and sprinkled with icing sugar.
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| by Henri Matisse |
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