Here are a few dishes which I think you will like.
CRAB AND FENNEL BULB TART
A delightful Greek tart which is a superb way to start a special meal!
Pastry:
180 g (6 oz) plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
60 g (2 oz) San Mihalis or Parmesan, grated
90 g (3 oz) butter
Freshly ground white pepper
1 middle sized egg, beaten
1 liqueur glass of Metaxa brandy
Filling:
300 g (10 oz) cooked crab, flaked
150 g (5 oz) cooked tender fennel bulb,
finely chopped and patted dry
1 tbsp chopped fennel leaves
250 ml (1 cup) full milk
187.5 ml (¾ cup) thick cream
4 eggs separated, whites whipped to soft
peaks
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to
taste
Baby tomatoes sliced
1 tbsp grated San Mihalis cheese mixed with
2 tbsp dried breadcrumbs
Preheat oven to 200 C (400 F). Place the first five ingredients for the
pastry in a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles
breadcrumbs. Pour in the beaten egg
and the brandy and pulse just until dough forms a ball around the hook of the
food processor. Remove the dough. Cover
and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Then, roll out the pastry thinly and line a
30 cm (12 inch) buttered, deep tart dish and sprinkle lavishly with the dried
breadcrumb/grated cheese mixture. Add
the crab meat, the fennel bulb and the sliced baby tomatoes evenly over and sprinkle with the chopped
fennel leaves.
Lightly whisk the egg yolks with the milk,
cream salt and pepper to taste and gently fold in the whipped egg whites. Pour over the crab meat and fennel and bake
in the middle of the oven for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 180 C (350 F) and bake for 25 minutes more or until the
pastry is crisp and the filling set and golden.
Serve the tart garnished with sprigs of
fennel and a zesty green salad.
SQUID WITH OUZO AND TOMATO JUICE
A lovely dish that reminds one of Greek summers.
1 kg (2 lb) squid, trimmed washed and cut into bite-sized
pieces
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
1 onion, peeled and grated
250 ml (1 cup) ouzo
500 ml (2 cups) tomato juice
Hot water
1 bay leaf
Salt, pepper and sugar to taste
Sauté the squid in olive oil, stirring for 2-3 minutes,
season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, pour in the ouzo and when the
alcohol evaporates add the tomato juice and enough hot water to cover. Simmer until the squid are tender and
transfer them with a slotted spoon to a dish.
Taste the sauce and add a little sugar and salt and pepper if necessary.
Simmer the sauce until thick and taste for seasoning once
more and adjust if necessary. Return the squid to the sauce and serve over rice
cooked with a pinch of Greek saffron filaments and a glass of white Santorini
wine.
VEAL FILLETS IN A MUSHROOM AND CREAM SAUCE
A lovely meat dish.
1 kg (2 lbs) veal fillet, cut into slices
1 tbsp butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 onion, peeled and grated
125 ml (½ cup) METAXA brandy
Enough hot water to cover
500 g (1 lb) mushrooms, whipped and quartered
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp plain flour
500 ml (2 cups) hot mushroom stock (hot water plus 1
mushroom cube)
Sauté the sliced meat in butter on both sides until golden
brown and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Also, sauté the onion until soft. Pour in the brandy and cook for a few
minutes until the alcohol evaporates. Then add a little hot water and cook
until the meat is tender.
Meanwhile, sauté the mushrooms in olive oil until lightly
brown, add the garlic and sift in the flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes
more. Pour in the mushroom stock and simmer until the sauce bubbles and
thickens. Combine the meat with the
mushroom sauce, simmer for one minute more and serve with creamed mashed
potatoes and a green salad of your choice.
SWEET AND SOUR CHICKEN
This is a low calory dish which I hope you will enjoy
Chicken stock
1 onion, halved and thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
2 tsp grated fresh ginger root
2 skinned chicken breasts cut into strips
2 capsicum peppers deseeded and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 carrot, peeled and cut into matchsticks
Sauce:
1 ½ tbsp vinegar
Sugar to taste
1 tsp tomato paste
½ cup chicken stock
Sweetener of your choice
(Stir well to combine)
Heat a little chicken stock, in a wok, add the onion and
garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes approximately until the onions turn
translucent.
Add the chicken and cook on all sides, pouring in more and chicken
stock if necessary. Add the ginger,
peppers and carrots and cook for 2 minutes more. Finally, stir in the sauce ingredients and
simmer gently for 2 minutes more.
A lovely side dish.
1 ½ kg (3 lb) potatoes, boiled in salted water, peeled and
mashed
4 eggs, whipped
250 ml (1 cup) milk or more
150 g (5 oz) finely grated Parmesan
1 ½ tbsp. butter
Filling:
750 g (1 ½ lb) champignon mushrooms, trimmed and finely
chopped
1 clove garlic minced
1 tbsp olive oil
250 ml (1 cup) white wine
½ cup chopped parsley
Stir the mashed potatoes with the whipped eggs, milk, grated
Parmesan, butter, freshly ground white pepper and a little salt, if necessary,
until very well combined.
Sauté the chopped mushroom and garlic in olive oil, sprinkle
with salt and freshly ground white pepper stirring until the cooking liquid is
absorbed and the mushrooms are tender, for about
12-15 minutes. Stir in the
parsley.
Place half the mashed potato mixture in a buttered mould,
spoon in the chopped mushrooms, cover with the remaining potatoes, brush with
egg wash and sprinkle with cheese. Bake
in an oven, preheated to 180 C (350 F) for 25-30 minutes until puffed and golden.
SHORT RIBS COOKED WITH GARLIC MUSHROOMS AND WINE
A fabulous British main dish, slowly cooked, which resembles
roast beef with a continental touch. Do
not worry about the large amount of garlic, when cooked it is delicious.
6 thickly cut beef short ribs, sprinkled with salt and
freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large head of garlic cut in half
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 bottle of good red wine
1 litre (4 cups) beef stock or vegetable stock made with
onions, carrots, celery etc.
6 rashes of bacon
500 g (1 lb) mushrooms of your choice
Preheat oven to 170 C (338 F). Heat a deep roasting tin on the stove and
sauté the short ribs in olive oil until well browned all over and transfer to a
dish and keep warm. Lower the heat and
add the garlic, cut side down, and cook pressing slightly with a fork for1-2
minutes. Then add the tomato paste and
cook stirring constantly for 2 minutes. Return the short ribs to the saucepan
and pour in the wine to deglaze it scrapping up the bits at the bottom with a
spatula and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has reduced by half.
The pour in the meat or vegetable stock and bring to the boil basting the ribs
with their juices. Cover the roasting
tin with tin foil and cook for 3-4 hours, basting occasionally, until the meat
is tender and succulent.
Meanwhile, a few minutes before the meat is ready fry the
bacon until crisp. Remove most of the
fat and add the mushroom and sauté for 4-5 minutes until cooked.
When the short ribs are ready remove from the oven and place
on a hot serving dish and cover to keep warm.
Squeeze the garlic cloves out of the skins and sieve them. Discard the fat from the cooking liquid, strain
and add to the mashed garlic. If the gravy
seems too thin thicken it with a little flour.
Serve the short ribs with the hot bacon and mushrooms and
drizzled with a little gravy. Pass the
rest in a sauceboat.
A delightful German dessert.
Filling:
45 g (1¼ oz) currants soaked in
3 tbsp rum for 20 minutes
30 g (1 oz) melted butter
15 g (½ oz) white breadcrumbs
1 kg (2 lb) about 6 medium-sized tart cooking apples, peeled
and sliced
Pastry:
250 g (½ lb) plain flour
180 g (6 oz) butter, softened
4 egg yolks
30 g (1 oz) sugar
1½ tbsp. finely grated lemon rind
Custard:
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
75 g (2½ oz) sugar
375 ml double cream
30 g (1 oz) sugar mixed with
30 g (1 oz) melted butter
Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F). For
the pastry rub the flour and butter together until they resemble fine
breadcrumbs. Stir in the egg yolks, one
at a time, until a soft but pliable dough occurs, then stir in the sugar and
lemon rind. Cover and refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes at least. Press the pastry evenly on the bottom and up
the sides of 20 cm (8-inch) hinged cake tin, 5 cm (2 inches) deep.
Now begin to fill the pastry case. Stir the breadcrumbs with 30 g (1 oz) melted
butter and sprinkle the mixture evenly over the dough. Spread the apples over, drain the currents
and scatter them over the apples and set the rum aside. Bake in the centre of the oven for 10
minutes.
During this first stage of baking prepare the custard. Beat the eggs and the egg yolks with the
sugar with an electric egg-beater until pale and fluffy. Beat in the reserved rum and the cream and
pour half of it over the apples in the partly baked pastry shell. Bake the tart for 20 minutes more, until the
custard is set. Then pour the remaining
liquid custard over and bake for 30 minutes longer.
Finally, sprinkle the tart evenly with the sugar and butter mixture and bake in
the top of the oven for about 15-20 minutes more until the top of the tart
browns lightly. Remove from the oven and
let the tart cool completely, before removing the frame. Slide the tart on a pretty serving dish, and serve.
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