NEW RECIPES

 

Here are a few tastes that I excavated from my childhood memories.

 

                                                       STUFFED SQUID

 A lovely seafood dish.

 

12 squid, trimmed, washed, the tentacles finely chopped are reserved

250 g (8 oz + 1 tbsp) feta, crumbled

1 kg (2 lb) spinach, cooked, strained and squeezed dry

¼ cup grated Parmesan

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper to taste

½ tsp grated nutmeg

2 tbsp parsley, finely chopped

1 egg, whipped

2 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

750 g (1 ½ lb) tomatoes peeled, deseeded and blended

1 tbsp tomato paste

½ tsp fresh rosemary

1 ½ tbsp butter

3 tbsp pine nuts

 

Mix together the feta, spinach, Parmesan, nutmeg, parsley and egg and set aside.

 

Sauté the garlic in olive oil, add the pureed tomatoes and tomato paste.  Lower the heat, season accordingly, add the rosemary and simmer gently for 25 minutes until the sauce thickens.

 

Meanwhile, stuff each body of the squid, 1/3 full, with the spinach/cheese mixture and fasten with a toothpick. Place the squid in the sauce and cook for 10 minutes or until it is tender, but do not overcook to prevent the squid from toughening.

 

                                                    BAKED SEA BASS

1 sea bass, scaled, washed and filleted

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

¼ tsp paprika

8 rashers of bacon, divided

1 tbsp + 1 tsp lemon juice, divided

 

Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F).

Rinse the fillets in cold water, sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper and set aside.  Place two rashers of bacon on a buttered piece of baking parchment. Place each fish fillet lengthwise over each bacon rasher.  Sprinkle lemon juice to taste over each fillet and fold the parchment and secure with tin foil.

 

Repeat the procedure with the remaining ingredients and bake for 20 minutes or until the fish flakes when tested with a fork.  Serve with a green salad.  

 

 

         

                                                MONKFISH STIFADO

Stifado is a delicious Greek dish prepared with meat and pearl onions.  This is an interesting version cooked with fish.

 

¼ cup olive oil

1 onion peeled and pierced with

1 clove

20 pearl onions, peeled

1 bay leaf

250 ml (1 cup) red wine

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 tbsp roasted and blended red bell pepper

250 ml (1 cup) white wine

Salt and pepper to taste

1 ¼ kg (2 ½ lb) skinned and cubed

2 tbsp finely chopped parsley

 

Sauté onion, pearl onions and bay leaf in ¾ of the olive oil, stirring for 6 minutes.  Pour in the red wine and simmer, stirring constantly.  Add the tomato paste and the pepper puree, pour in the white wine, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and simmer for 10 minutes.

 

Add the fish and simmer until it is opaque, about 5 minutes.  Discard and add the lemon juice and the remaining olive oil. Serve in warm bowls sprinkled with finely chopped parsley.

                       KATAIFI TART WITH  LEEKS, MUSHROOMS AND CHEESE

This is another kataifi dish, which is really worth trying.

250 g (1/2 lb) kataifi pastry

110 g (about 1/2 cup) melted butter

2 tbsp melted clarified butter

Filling:

4 leeks, white parts only, sliced

4 spring onions, trimmed and chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 kg fresh mushrooms, stalks reserved, caps cut into chunks

2 cloves of garlic, peeled

1 liqueur glass of METAXA brandy

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp coriander seeds, ground

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/8 tsp Cayenne pepper

300 g (10 oz) kasseri, Gruyere and Parmesan, grated

500 ml (2 cups) milk

3 eggs

Butter and 

2 tbsp dried breadcrumbs for the tart dish

Barely cover the mushroom stalks and garlic with slightly salted water and simmer until tender and set aside.

Stew the leeks and onions in 1 tbsp olive oil and a little mushroom stock until tender.  Add the mushroom caps, the remaining olive oil, and season with coriander, salt, black pepper and Cayenne pepper.  Simmer gently until all the liquid evaporates.  Sprinkle with brandy and vinegar, mix well together and simmer for 3 minutes more.  Correct seasoning, if necessary, and set aside to cool.

Fluff out the kataifi and cover it with a towel to prevent it from drying out.  Brush a 30 cm (12 in) tart dish with melted butter or clarified butter and sprinkle evenly with breadcrumbs.  

Line the dish with 2/3 of the kataifi, forming a shell.  Drench it with 2/3 of the melted butter and cover with 1/2 the amount of grated cheese.  Spoon the mushroom mixture over and level with a spatula.  Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.  Finally, cover with the remaining pastry and brush lavishly with butter.

Beat the eggs with milk and a little salt and spoon over the tart.  Bake in a moderate oven preheated to 190 C (375 F) for about 40 minutes until golden.  Serve with a large salad. 

 

                                           AN INTERESTING SALAD

1 lettuce

1 curly green lettuce

1 curly red lettuce

½ cup roasted almond, finely sliced

6 dry figs, cut in half and simmered in red wine with a cinnamon stick and 2 cloves until it thickens into a syrup, reserving the syrup also

Dressing:

125 ml ( ½ cup) olive oil

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp mustard

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 tbsp fig syrup

Salt and pepper to taste

(Whip everything well together until the dressing thickens)

 

Tear the salad leaves and place them in a large bowl and sprinkle with the almonds and figs and drizzle with the dressing and toss gently and serve.

 

 

                                                   BAKED CHESTNUTS

This is a lovely side dish.

 

1 kg (2 lb) chestnuts, peeled

1 litre (4 cups) tasty chicken stock

¼ tsp Cayenne pepper

 

Place the chestnuts in a saucepan with the stock and all the other ingredients and simmer until tender. Serve with sliced meat.

 

   

                                             CREAM OF CHESTNUTS

1 kg (2 lb) chestnuts

500 ml (2 cups) of tasty meat stock

250 ml (1 cup) thick cream

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

½ tsp grated nutmeg

1 egg, whipped

 

Remove the shells from the chestnuts and blanch and remove the thin brown skin.  Simmer the chestnuts in the stock until very tender strain and blend them until smooth.  

 

Heat the mixture once more and simmer very, very gently for 10 minutes, stirring constantly.  Test for seasoning and adjust if necessary.  Remove from the heat and quickly stir in the egg and serve immediately.

 

 

                                                   CHESTNUT PUREE

1 litre (4 cups) white stock

500 ml (2 cups) hot milk

2 cups chestnuts, boiled and mashed

¼ cup butter

¼ cup plain flour

1 onion slice

Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste

½ tsp grated nutmeg

 

Simmer chestnuts and onion for 10 minutes, rub through a sieve add the milk to bind, and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste.  

  

                                             

                                       CHESTNUT CAKE WITH CHERRIES

A delicious desert

4 eggs, separated, whites whipped stiff with a pinch of salt

½ cup of sugar

1 ½ cups chestnut puree

¼ cup dried breadcrumbs

2 medium-sized red apples, grated

500 ml (2 cups) cream

2 tbsp icing sugar

500 g (1 lb) pitted cherries

 

Grease a 30 cm (12 inch) spring-form dish and preheat oven to 180 C (350 F).  Whip yolks and sugar until pale and fluffy.  Stir in the chestnut puree, breadcrumbs and apples.  Very gently but thoroughly fold in the whipped egg whites, spoon into the prepared tin and bake for 45 minutes at least.  Cool in the pan and only then reverse on a dish.

 

Whip the cream with the icing sugar until stiff.  Spread ¾ the amount over the cake and fold the cherries into the remaining cream and pile artistically over the cake.  I hope you will enjoy it!

 

 

 

 

                                                        Marrons Glaces