Here are a few dishes and desserts which I hope you will enjoy.
CREAM CHEESE AND SMOKED SALMON LOAF
This is a delicious first dish.
600 g (1 lb 3.3 oz) smoked salmon, thinly sliced
Cream Cheese Mixture:
600 g (1lb 3.3 oz) cream cheese
6 sheets gelatine, soaked in iced water for 5 minutes and
squeezed dry
60 ml (2 liquid oz) cream
The juice of 1 lemon and
The grated rind of ½ a lemon
6 tbsp finely snipped chives
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tiny pinch of Cayenne pepper, optional
First, cover the bottom and sides of a dispensable aluminium
loaf tin with cling film allowing the surplus to hang over the sides of the
tin.
Bring the cream to a gentle simmer and remove from the
heat. After 1 minute, add the squeezed
gelatine sheets to the cream and mix until thoroughly dissolved.
Place the cream cheese in a bowl and add the lemon juice and
grated rind, the snipped chives and salt and freshly ground black pepper to
taste. Also add a tiny pinch of Cayenne
pepper, if using, and mix everything well together.
Spoon 1/3 of the cheese mixture into the loaf tin and level
the surface. Cover generously with
smoked salmon. Repeat the procedure once
more and finally, spoon the remaining cream cheese evenly over. Cover with the overhanging cling film and ice
for 4 hours at least.
Reverse the loaf on a
platter, discard the cling film,
Cut into slices and serve with a
green salad and dry white wine.
1 bay leaf
500 ml (2 cups) warm chicken stock
A pinch of nutmeg
1 tsp lemon juice to accentuate the taste
Cover the chicken with salted water, bring to the boil and skim thoroughly. Add the remaining ingredients, cover and cook 1 hour or until the chicken is tender. Remove the saucepan from the fire and cool. Discard the bones from the chicken, strain and degrease the stock and reserve.
Prepare the rice, Saute the onion with 1 tbsp butter, stirring, until almost soft, add the rice and stir 1-2 minutes until well coated with butter. Pour in the wine, stir and let it evaporate. Then add the hot chicken stock, cover the pan and simmer very gently until the rice is cooked.. Add the remaining butter and toss with a fork.
For the sauce, melt the butter add the bay leaf and flour and stir for 2-3 minutes, over low heat. Add the hot stock and stir until the sauce has thickened. Add the nutmeg, correct the seasoning, if necessary, and barely simmer for 10 minutes more. Remove the saucepan from the fire, Mix the beaten egg yolks with the cream, stir a ladleful of sauce into the egg mixture and very carefully stir it back into the saucepan, whisking constantly. Add the lemon juice and simmer, stirring until well combined. Do not boil.
Arrange the chicken pieces in a hot dish over a bed of rice, cover amply with sauce0 and sprinkle with grated cheese. Serve accompanied with extra sauce and grated cheese and sauteed vegetables of your choice.
CARROT AND FETA TART
This is a very tasty savoury tart. It is baked like a tart Tatin.
Pastry:
150 g (5 oz) butter at room temperature
90 g (3 oz) feta, crumbled
60 g (2 oz) San Mihalis or Parmesan grated
250 g (2 cups) self-rising flour
a little butter for the dish
Filling:
500 g (1lb) carrots, peeled and thickly sliced
Salt and pepper
1 tsp crushed coriander seeds
1 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely grated
1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp butter
400 ml (1 1/2 ample cups) vegetable stock
300 g (10 oz) hard feta, sliced and soaked in cold water, if salty
1 small onion, peeled and grated
2 eggs beaten
Freshly ground black pepper
Place carrots in a saucepan with the coriander seeds, salt and pepper to taste, 1/2 tsp thyme, honey, butter and vegetable stock. Boil briskly, uncovered, until the carrots are tender and the liquid has reduced by about 1/2 cup. Taste for seasoning, remove the carrots and set aside to cool.
Strain the reduced carrot liquid and reserve. Meanwhile, combine the crumbled feta with the grated onion, eggs, pepper and mix well together.
Line a 30 cm (12 inch) diameter round baking dish with buttered baking parchment, arrange the carrots evenly over and drizzle with the reserved carrot liquid. Spoon the feta mixture evenly on top and sprinkle with the remaining thyme and freshly ground black pepper.
For the pastry, blend all the ingredients until a soft, pliable is formed like a ball around the hook. Roll out the pastry into a circle larger than the baking dish, and draped it over the carrots. Trim the excess pastry, pushing it neatly around the sides of the dish to enclose the filling completely.
Bake in a moderate oven, preheated to 180 C (350 F) for about 30 minutes until the pastry is crisp and golden. Overturn onto a hot dish and serve immediately with a green salad.
CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
CAKE WITH STRAWBERRIES
24 chocolate digestive biscuits, finely crushed
6 tbsp. butter, melted
A pinch of salt
(Mix everything well together and press into the base of a
springform tin and refrigerate)
Chocolate Mousse:
2 tbsp powdered gelatine
2 ½ tbsp. cold water
2 ¼ cup dark chocolate, finely chopped
750 ml (3 cups) thick cream, separated
½ cup icing sugar
1 ½ kg (3 lb) strawberries, hulled
Topping:
2/3 cup thick cream
2 cups chocolate, finely chopped
1 tsp honey
Chocolate shaving for garnish
For the chocolate mousse, soak the powdered gelatine in cold
water for 10 minutes, then whisk until thoroughly dissolved.
Place the chopped chocolate in a bowl and bring a cup of
cream to a simmer and remove from the heat.
Add the soaked gelatine and stir well and then pour the mixture over the
chopped chocolate and whisk until the chocolate melts. Allow to cool, stirring
occasionally.
Beat the remaining cream with the icing sugar to soft peaks
and stir ¼ cup into the melted chocolate.
Then gently fold in the remaining whipped cream until no white streaks
are evident.
Spread a thin layer of mousse over the biscuits crust. Cut enough strawberries in half and place
them around the sides of the tin. Spoon
in the remaining mousse, lever the top, cover with cling film and ice for 6
hours.
Meanwhile, prepare the ganache. Heat the cream and pour over the chopped
chocolate, after 2-3 minutes add the honey and stir vigorously until smooth
shiny. Refrigerate for 12-15 minutes so
that it thickens a little and spread it over the mousse. Sprinkle the top with chocolate shavings,
garnish with strawberries, cover and ice before serving.
3/4 cup margarine
Pinch of salt
Grated rind of 1 orange
5 tbsp sugar
1 liqueur glass METAXA brandy
1 liqueur glass or more orange juice
Filling:
1 cup apricot jam
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
6 apples, peeled, sliced and drenched with the juice of
1 orange
Blend the margarine and flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs,. Add salt, sugar, cinnamon, orange zest and whizz until well combined. Pour in the brandy and orange juice and blend until a soft, pliable dough is formed. Flatten the dough, cover with cling film and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, Roll out 2/3 of the dough and line the base and sides of a buttered tart dish, and quickly place the remaining dough covered in the freezer for further use.
Spread the jam over the base of the tart and sprinkle evenly with chopped walnuts. Neatly arrange the apple slices on top, slightly overlapping each other and grat the frozen dough evenly over.
Bake in an oven preheated to 180 C (350 F) for 40 minutes, then lower the heat to 160 C (340 F) and bake for 20 minutes more. Serve warm, with some whipped cream if you wish.
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