MEDITERRANEAN STUFFED SWORDFISH
One 250 g (8 oz) swordfish steak
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 cups fresh spinach, rinsed, dried, and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
¼ cup feta, crumbled
Preheat an outdoor grill to high heat and oil the grate.
Cut a slit in the steak to create a pocket that is opened on
one side only. Mix together 1 tbsp olive
oil and lemon juice and brush over both sides of the fish and set aside.
In a small saucepan, sauté garlic over medium heat, add
spinach in olive oil and cook until wilted.
Remove from the heat and stuff the pocket. Place feta over spinach. Arrange fish on the grill and cook for 5-7
minutes, turn over and continue cooking until cooked through.
BAKED CHICKEN WITH YOGURT
50 ml (1.9 fl oz) olive oil
One 1 kg (2 lb) chicken thighs
500 ml (2 cups) chicken stock
400 gm (1 lb 3 oz) Greek yogurt
8 shallots, peeled and diced
4 thyme sprigs
1 tbsp Greek honey
Burghul Salad:
1 ¼ cup fine burghul
2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced
2 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
1 cup each, parsley and mint finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
Seeds of ¼ pomegranate
Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) and sauté chicken in olive oil
for 5-10 minutes, until browned all over.
Then add the remaining ingredients, cover with baking parchment and a
lid and braise in the oven for 2-3 hours until very tender.
Meanwhile, for the burghul salad place the burghul into a bowl
and cover completely with water and let stand for 10 minutes until tender. Drain well and scatter over a tray and let stand
for ½ an hour until dry. Season to taste
and transfer to a bowl with the remaining ingredients, toss to combine and
serve with the chicken.
GRILLED GREEK TROUT WITH VILLAGE SALAD
100 g (3.3 oz) sugar
100 g (3.3 oz) salt
100 ml (3.3 fl oz) ouzo
1 kg (2 lb) trout
Coriander baby sprigs for garnish
Combine sugar, salt, and ouzo in a bowl. Place the trout in a large Ziploc bag and pour
in the curing mixture. Seal the bag
after removing as much air as possible, turning occasionally for 5 days until cured.
For the village salad, combine all ingredients in a bowl,
toss gently to combine, transfer to a serving bowl, and set aside.
Wipe curing mixture from trout with a kitchen paper towel. Thinly slice the trout and arrange on a dish.,
scatter with baby coriander sprigs and serve with the village salad.
BEEF RAGOUT
1 ½ kg (3 lb) beef cut into bite-sized chunks
Salt and pepper to taste
5 tbsp olive oil
½ cup Metaxa brandy
4 large carrots, peeled
1 onion, peeled and cut into chunks
4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1500 ml (2 bottles) red wine
250 ml (1 cup) beef stock
180 gm (6 oz) tomato paste
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
300 g (10 oz) pearl onions, peeled
250 g (½ lb) mushrooms trimmed and quartered
1 tbsp brown sugar
Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F). Wash and pat meat dry and season with salt and
pepper. Sauté the meat in 2 tbsp olive
oil until brown on all sides and transfer to a bowl. Add the brandy to pan and
deglaze, over medium heat, scraping up the bits. Allow the alcohol to reduce by half and pour
over the meat.
Coarsely chop 2 carrots and sauté in olive oil in the same
pan add the onion and garlic and cook over medium heat. Add beef with brandy, wine, stock, tomato
paste and thyme. Beef should be
completely covered by the liquid, if not add more wine, cover and bring to a
boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook for
2 minutes, cover and place in the oven and bake until the meat is very tender,
2 ½ -3 hours.
About 30 minutes before the beef is ready, cut the remaining
carrots into slices, cook until tender, and place on a plate Sauté the pearls
onions, and mushrooms and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Remove the beef from the oven. Stain liquid from stew
separate from the cooked vegetables and discard them. Boil liquid until reduced by half and thickened
to a sauce, skimming for time to time from the surface. Add sugar and season to
taste, add beef, sliced carrots, pearl onions, and mushrooms to stock and simmer
for 15 until heated through. Serve in
bowls with mashed potatoes or steamed rice.
This dish can be prepared 2 days in advance, covered, and
refrigerated. Before reheating, discard
any solidified fat from the surface. Reheat over medium heat on a stovetop.
MUMMY’S TARTLETS
My mother was a wonderful, imaginative cook. Here is a recipe for delicious sable biscuits
that she offered for tea so many years ago.
330 g plain flour, sifted with
1 tbsp baking powder and
1 pinch of salt
“a fistful of sugar”
165 g softened butter
1 egg
6 tbsp milk
1 cup apricot jam
Icing sugar,
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then add the
other ingredients except for the jam. Knead
gently to form a soft pliable dough, cover with cling film and let it rest for
30 minutes in the fridge.
Roll out the dough and cut rounds with a liqueur glass. On half of the rounds cut small holes in the
center with a thimble! Bake in a
moderate oven 180 C (350 F) for 10-12 minutes.
When the biscuits are cold, spread a little jam on the whole biscuits, sprinkle
the biscuits with the hole with icing sugar, and join the two carefully together.
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