SPRING DELICACIES

I am giving you below several recipes for delicious spring dishes and desserts which I hope you will enjoy.




                                      CREAM OF ASPARAGUS SOUP

Greek asparagus are of excellent quality.   You can use either the white or the green variety to prepare this soup.

500 g (1 lb) fresh Greek asparagus, trimmed

1 onion, peeled, chopped and sautéed in a little butter with

1 clove garlic, minced

1 ½ litre (6 cups) chicken stock or more if necessary

2 tbsp butter

1 bay leaf

2 tbsp plain flour

250 ml (1 cup) milk

Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste

250 ml (1 cup) cream, separated

1 ½ tbsp. parsley finely chopped

Snap off the asparagus tips and set aside.  Chop the tender part of the stalks and reserve.   Also chop and reserve the tough parts.

Bring the chicken stock to the boil, add 6-8 asparagus tips and simmer for 5-7 minutes, remove with a slotted spoon and reserve.   Add the chopped tough stalks to the stock and cook for25 minutes.   Remove the stalks and discard.

Add the remaining asparagus tips and the tender parts and the sautéed onion and garlic to the stock and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender, and set aside to cool.   Blend the vegetables with the stock and sieve.  Return the soup to the saucepan and keep hot.

Melt the butter add the bay leaf and stir in the flour and cook gently for 2-3 minutes.  Add the milk to the roux and cook whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens.  Discard the bay leaf.   Mix the sauce with a cup of warm soup and sieve back into the saucepan and stir until well combined.  Correct the seasoning with salt and freshly ground white pepper, if necessary, stir in part of the cream and heat the soup without boiling.

Serve garnished with chopped parsley and the remaining cream and asparagus tips.

            PRAWN AND MUSHROOM MILLFEUILLES WITH A WINE SAUCE

 A delectable starter to honour your guests   I am replacing the cream with a white sauce.

20 small rounds of Greek puff pastry

1 tbsp olive oil

2 onions, peeled and grated

1 clove garlic, peeled and minced

300 g (10 oz) mushrooms, trimmed, wiped, boiled for 3-4 minutes, drained and chopped, reserve the cooking liquid

300 g (10 oz) shrimp, shelled and deveined, thoroughly washed and patted dry (reserve 10 for garnish and sauté them for 1 minute on each side in very little olive oil) and cut the remaining shrimp into 3 pieces

250 ml (1 cup) excellent white wine like a Santorini assyrtiko

Salt and pepper to taste

White sauce:

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp plain flour

1 bay leaf

375 ml (1 ½ cups) reserve cooking liquid, add a little milk if not enough

Pinch of grated nutmeg

Place the puff pastry rounds in a roasting tin lined with baking parchment, prick them all over with a fork.   Cover with another piece of parchment and place an upside-down roasting tin on to pot to prevent the pastry from puffing up.  Bake in an oven preheated to 180 C (350 F) for 12-15 minutes then remove the top tin and bake for 1-2 minutes more or until the pastry becomes crisp and golden.  Keep hot.

Meanwhile, sauté the onion in olive oil, stirring occasionally, until soft. Add the garlic and cook stirring for 1 minute more.  Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste and pour in the wine and cook for 3-4 minutes, allowing the alcohol to evaporate. Then add the mushrooms and simmer gently until almost dry then add both the whole and chopped shrimp and simmer for two minutes more.  Taste once more for seasoning and adjust accordingly. Remove the whole shrimp from the saucepan and reserve.

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Prepare the white sauce.  Melt the butter, over low heat, add the bay leaf, and sift the flour over and whisk constantly for 3-4 minutes.  Pour in the hot cooking liquid in small doses whisking all the time, until the sauce is smooth and bubbling.   When all the liquid has been used, lower the heat and simmer the sauce, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon for 10-12 minutes or until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon.   Taste and season with salt, if necessary and freshly ground white pepper and a touch of grated nutmeg to taste and stir until well combined.  Remove from the fire, discard the bay leaf and use the sauce immediately or cover with cling-film and refrigerate.

Stir small amounts of white sauce into the mushroom and prawn mixture until it reaches the desired thickness.  Also, stir in the chopped parsley.

To assemble the dish, arrange the 10 puff-pastry rounds on a serving platter.  Place a heaped tablespoonful of mushroom and shrimp mixture on top, cover with the remaining 10 pastry rounds and garnish each mille-feuille with a small amount of the mushroom sauce, a whole shrimp and a twig of fresh parsley.
 

Serve with a green salad, warm crusty brown bread and a glass of with same wine that you used in the sauce.

                                VEAL ROAST WITH WINE AND HERBS

Bechamel Sauce

A delectable Greek main dish.

800 g (1 lb 10 oz) veal silverside

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

80 g (2. oz) butter, separated

2 tbsp olive oil, separated

1 twig rosemary

2 leaves sage

250 ml (1 cup) dry white wine

250 pearl onions peeled and finely chopped

2 tbsp béchamel sauce

20 g (0.7 oz) plain flour

200 ml (0.8 cup) vegetable stock

100 ml (0.4 cup) cream

100 g (3.3 oz) ham, thinly sliced

2 slices bread

2 tbsp grated San Mihalis or pecorino or Parmesan, separated

In a frying pan, sauté the veal all over in 30 g (1 oz) butter and 1 tbsp olive oil, sprinkle with salt freshly ground black pepper, add the sage and rosemary twigs and pour over the wine.  Place in a tin with the juices and roast in an oven preheated to 180 C (350 F) for 50 minutes.

Place the finely chopped onion in the frying pan with 50 g butter, add salt and pepper, and simmer very gently for 30 minutes, until onions turn into a pulp, adding a little water if necessary.  Remove from the fire and fold in 2 tbsp béchamel*.   (Please see recipe below).

Remove the meat from the roasting tin, place it in a Pyrex dish and strain the juices into a frying pan.  Slice the meat, spread each slice with the onion pulp cover with ham, sandwiching them together, so that the meat obtains its original shape.  And brush with the remaining béchamel.

Blend the bread with the remaining Parmesan, sprinkle all over the meat and bake in an oven preheated to 220 C (428 F) for 10-12 minutes.   Serve with smashed potatoes and sautéed vegetables of your choice.

Béchamel Sauce recipe*

2 tbsp butter

1 bay leaf

2 tbsp plain flour

3 ¼ cups hot milk or stock

1 cup (250 ml) cream

Salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter, add the bay leaf, sift the flour over and stir for 3-4 minutes.  Add the hot milk in portions stirring until the sauce thickens and bubbles. Add the grated cheese and taste then add a little nutmeg, white pepper, and salt if necessary and simmer stirring for 1 minute more.  Remove the bay leaf before using.

              

 

          ROCKET AND RADISH, MULTICOLOURED PEPPERS AND ORANGE SALAD

A zesty spring salad.

2 bunches rocket, leaves and tender stalks only

4 radishes, trimmed and finely sliced

1 red bell pepper, trimmed, deseeded, sliced and finely chopped

1 yellow bell pepper, trimmed, deseeded, sliced and finely chopped

1 orange bell pepper, trimmed, deseeded, sliced and finely chopped

3 oranges, peeled and filleted

2 tbsp snipped chives

Dressing:

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp orange juice

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Arrange the rocket in a salad bowl, divide all the other vegetables and the orange fillets evenly over and sprinkle with chives.

Whip all the dressing ingredients together until thick, pour over the salad, toss and serve.  

                                        STRAWBERRY PAVLOVA

This is a recipe for a favourite dessert.

6 egg whites of medium-sized eggs

A pinch of salt

300 g (10 oz) caster sugar

1 tsp vinegar to make the meringue more chewy (optional)

1 tsp vanilla essence

500 g (1 lb) whipped cream

500 g (1 lb) hulled strawberries, sliced in half

60 g (2 oz) dark melted chocolate or milk chocolate if preferred

Whip the egg whites with a little salt to the soft peak stage, add the sugar by the spoonful, whipping continuously until the mixture is thick and glossy.  Add the vinegar, if using, and the vanilla and beat for a minute more until well combined.

Trace two circles, on baking parchment, about 26cm (10 in) in diameter each, brush with oil and place the parchment in a baking tin.   Pipe the meringue to shape two equal disks.  Bake in an oven preheated to 150 C (285 F) for about 1 hour.  Then turn off the oven and remove the meringues the next day, when they are completely cold.

Place one meringue disk on a serving dish, spread with a third of the whipped cream and the sliced strawberries and cover with the second round.  Garnish the Pavlova attractively with the remaining whipped cream and with strawberries, dipped in melted chocolate.     

  

   

Beautiful Spring Flowers