SEVERAL RECIPES BY CHEF NIKOLAOS TSELEMENTES

 

                             LAMB CUTLETS COOKED IN BAKING PARCHMENT

Lamb cutlets "en papillote" shows the French influence on chef Tselemntes' cooking.

14-16 cutlets, extra fat discarded

 

Stuffing:

3 onions, peeled and grated

2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced

Butter

3 tomatoes, halved, deseeded, grated, skins discarded

Sugar to taste, according to the acidity of the tomatoes

Salt, freshly ground black pepper to taste

4 slices of ham, finely chopped

½ cup roasted pine nuts

125 ml ( ½ cup) white wine

 

Sprinkle the cutlets with salt, pepper and dust with flour and fry in butter on both sides and set aside.

 

For the stuffing, sauté the onion in butter until translucent then lower the heat and add the garlic and cook  for 1 minute more stirring constantly.  Pour in the wine a simmer until the alcohol evaporates.  Then, stir in the tomato puree and pine nuts, season to taste with salt, pepper and sugar to taste. Simmer gently until all the liquid evaporates, stirring occasionally.   Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped ham.

 

Place each cutlet on a piece of baking parchment, cover with a heaped tablespoon of stuffing on each cutlet and fold the paper over and seal the paper well together, completely enclosing the cutlet and stuffing. 

 

Repeat the same procedure until all the cutlets and stuffing are completed.  Bake in an oven preheated to180 C (350 F) for 10-15 minutes.  Discard the parchment and serve with creamy mashed potatoes and a green salad or sauteed vegetables of your choice.

 

 

                                  BOILED MEAT WITH AVGOLEMONO SOUP

A comforting Greek dish. 

1 ½ k (3 lb) veal, extra fat discarded

Water to cover

2-3 carrots, scraped very thickly sliced

2 celery stalks, threaded and thickly sliced

2 leeks, split lengthwise and thoroughly washed

4 parsley stalks, trimmed

2 onions, peeled

3 potatoes, peeled

2-3 courgettes, scraped

Coarse salt to taste

 

Avgolemono Soup:

3 litres (12 cups) meat stock

6 tbsp short grain rice

2 eggs at room temperature, separated

2 lemons, juice only

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

   

Bring the water to the boil add the meat and when to water comes once more to the boil, lower the heat and discard all the foam.  Add enough salt and simmer until both the meat and vegetables are tender.

 

I am not giving you the exact cooking time, because if the meat is tough it might need 1-2  hours cooking, so it is better to say “until tender”.

 

Strain the meat and vegetables and place on a serving dish, cover with cling film and refrigerate overnight. 

 

The next day, discard the fat from the stock, bring to the boil add the rice and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat.  

Whip the egg whites with a pinch of salt to the soft peak stage. In another bowl beat the yolks until creamy, pour in the lemon juice and stir to combine.  Fold the whipped egg whites into the yolk mixture.  Very slowly pour 2 cups of warm stock into the egg mixture and pour into the remaining soup, stirring constantly and barely simmer, uncovered until the soup thickens. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.

 

Serve the soup first,  followed by the heated  meat, thinly sliced accompanied by the vegetables, drizzled with a little olive oil. 

 

 

                                  OCTOPUS WITH SHORT CUT MACARONI

 

A delicious seafood dish.

 

1 ½ kg (3 lb) octopus, trimmed tenderised and cut in

to bite-sized pieces

4 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

125 ml ( ½ cup) white wine

3 medium-sized tomatoes, halved, deseeded, grated, skins discarded

1 ½ tsp sugar or more according to the acidity of the tomatoes

3 tbsp chopped parsley

1 bay leaf

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

 

500 g (1 lb) short cut macaroni boiled “al dente” in salted water, strained and drizzled with a little olive oil

 

Place the octopus in a large saucepan and heat until it releases its juices.  Simmer gently for 20 minutes and set aside.

 

In a small frying pan sauté the onions in olive oil until soft, pour in the wine and pour over the octopus with the tomatoes, sugar. parsley, bay leaf and season with freshly ground black pepper to taste.

 

Simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes, until the octopus is tender and the sauce thickens.  Taste and add a little salt if, necessary.

 

Serve over the short cut macaroni with a glass of white wine.   

 

 

 

                                    SPETZOFAI FROM MOUNT PELION

A delightful first dish.

 

4 pelion sausages, thickly sliced

3 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, peeled and grated

1 tbsp tomato paste

 Garlic cloves, peeled and minced

2 large green bell peppers

2 large red bell peppers

2 large yellow bell peppers

2 large orange coloured bell peppers

(all peppers stemmed, deseeded and cut into large pieces)

250 ml (1 cup) Agiorgitiko or any other dry red wine

3 medium tomatoes, sliced in half, deseeded, grated skins discarded

1 tsp sugar

1 bay leaf

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/8 tsp Cayenne pepper to taste, optional

 

 

Sauté the sausages, until nicely coloured in 1 tbsp olive oil.  Remove with a slotted spoon, drain on kitchen paper and set aside.

 

Add the remaining olive oil in the same pan and sauté the onion for 2 minutes, stirring, and season sparingly with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Add the garlic and stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute more. 

 

Add and sauté the peppers until slightly limp and pour in the wine, and scrape the bottom of the pan to extract all the taste of the sausage and peppers.   Pour in the grated tomatoes, stir in the sugar and drop in the bay leaf.  Lower the heat to medium and cook, covered, for 25-30 minutes until the peppers are tender.

 

Place the sausages in the saucepan and cook a little longer until the sauce thickens.  Check for seasoning and add a little salt and pepper if necessary and Cayenne pepper, if using.

Serve with warm crusty bread for dunking into the delicious sauce.

  

 

 

                                               SPINACH AU GRATIN

 

1 kg fresh spinach

Bechamel sauce* (please see recipe below)

90 g (3 oz) kephalotyri, San Mihalis or Parmesan, grated

2 tbsp butter + extra for the dish

Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste

Freshly grated nutmeg to taste

120 g (4 oz) mild-tasting feta, sliced into slivers

1-2 tbsp dried breadcrumbs

1/8 tsp Cayenne pepper

 

Trim, wash and dry the spinach, place in a saucepan (it should not require any water) and simmer for 5 minutes.  Strain, squeeze and chop roughly and mix with 1 tsp of melted butter, 1 cup of bechamel and a little grated cheese, reserving 2 tbsp or later, and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

 

Pour half the mixture into a buttered ovenproof dish and cover sparingly with the feta slivers.  Arrange the rest of the spinach over and spread the remaining bechamel evenly over the spinach.  Sprinkle with dry bread crumbs and the remaining Parmesan, dot with butter and bake in an oven preheated to 180C (350 F) for ½ an hour or until puffed and golden.

 

 

                                                BECHAMEL SAUCE

A classical sauce that is essential for cooking.

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp plain flour

1 bay leaf

500 ml (2 cups) hot milk

Salt, freshly ground white pepper and

Grated nutmeg to taste

(4 tbsp grated cheese and 2 eggs, separated whites whipped to soft peaks)

 

Melt the butter in a saucepan, over low heat add the flour and the bay leaf and stir or 2-3 minutes,  add the warm milk gradually, stirring constantly until the sauce bubbles and thickens, about 5-7 minutes.  Discard the bay leaf and season with salt pepper and nutmeg and cover with cling film to prevent it from forming a crust.

When the sauce is tepid, add the grated cheese and the yolks to enrich it, finally, very gently fold in the whipped egg whites.   

                                                     POT ROAST

A delicious Greek meat dish for Sunday lunch or festive occasions.

 

1 kg (2 lb) fillet of beef or silverside

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp butter

1 garlic clove, peeled

1 carrot scraped

1 onion, peeled.

250 ml (1 cup) white wine

Nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste

 

Cut the garlic into slivers and make small incisions all over the meat and insert the garlic slivers.   Tie the meat with kitchen  string at equal intervals so that it keeps its shape,

 

Sauté the meat in olive oil and butter until well browned all over,  about 10 minutes.  Add the whole carrot and onion, sprinkle with ground nutmeg   and pour over the wine, cover and simmer for 1 ½ hour until tender.   It fillet has been used it will be ready in 25-30 minutes.  Be sure to turn over the meat every 15 minutes, so that the meat is evenly cooked and in depth.  Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

 

When the meat is perfectly cooked, discard the kitchen string and slice thinly.  If the gravy seems too thin, blend the carrot and onion, and press it into the gravy and cook for a few minutes to reduce.

 

Serve with au gratin potatoes,

 

 

                                             AU GRATIN POTATOES

 

1 kg  (2 lb) baby potatoes, peeled

1 tbs sweet paprika

250 g (8.3 oz) Emmenthal, grated

250 g (8.3 oz) Graviera from Crete

 250 g (8.3 oz) regato, grated

2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

500 g Z(2 cups) cream

125 ml ( ½ cup) milk

Freshly ground black pepper

 

Mix the 3 kinds of grated cheese well together. Boil the whole potatoes in boiling salted water for 20 minutes.  Strain, slice and place in a buttered Pyrex dish.  Sprinkle with paprika and garlic and cover with grated cheese and bake in an oven preheated to,190 C (375 F) for 25 minutes, until the cheese melts.