End July 2014

It has been a terrible month.   Undeclared wars, with hundreds of innocent  victims.  From the horrors of the Ucraine, to those of Syria, Israel/Gaza and, recently, of Libya  

 In a ten-day period, three passenger airplanes crashed, with no survivors.   The first was hit by a missile, the other two were brought down by extremely harsh weather conditions. So much hatred and folly and misery and unbelievably bad luck….

I decided not to write about current events any more, but we are all so very concerned and sad and angry, that I cannot help myself.

Here are a few summer recipes, because, after all, this is a cooking blog and, at least, I must be reliable.

CHEESE TERRINE

This a lovely and tasty terrine, that can be offered instead of cheese, or as a main dish with a salad for a light lunch.

8 large red Florina peppers, roasted, skinned and de-seeded, then sprinkled with vinegar and salt, for 10 minutes, dried and cut in three, lengthwise

500 g (1 lb) Feta cheese, blended

500 g (1 lb) anthotyro or any other bland white cheese, blended

1 onion, grated and sautéed in

½ tbsp olive oil and 2 tbsp water, until soft and dry

1 cup chopped parsley

1 cup chopped, homemade, dried tomatoes (optional)

2 heaped tbsp chopped chives

3-4 tbsp thick yogurt

Freshly ground black pepper

A little salt, if necessary

7 sheets (15 g / ½ oz) gelatin, soaked in iced water, squeezed and dissolved in

125 ml (½ cup) hot water

Place the Florina pepper slices over the base and sides a loaf tin, lined with cling film, leaving some hanging over the sides.

 Combine the blended cheeses with the other ingredients and mix, thoroughly, together.   Taste and add pepper and a little salt, if necessary.    Place the cheese mixture evenly, over the peppers and cover with the pepper slices and the cling film, that were hanging over the sides.  Chill for 7 hours.  

When ready to serve, reverse on a dish and garnish with parsley and chives.

AUBERGINES, COURGETTES AND PEPPERS IN TOMATO ASPIC

                  

  

This is a summer dish, when vegetables and herbs are at their very best.  You could use carrots instead of the cubed eggplants, or just aubergines with red and yellow peppers.

3 aubergines, the long variety

3 tbsp olive oil

4-5 medium-sized courgettes

2-3 sage leaves

Salt and pepper

2-3 pickled red Florina peppers, (please see above)

500 ml (2 cups) fresh tomato juice

1 large clove garlic, bruised

1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped

2 tbsp finely chopped parsley

1 tbsp tarragon vinegar

1 tsp honey or more, to taste

A few drops Tobasco sauce

15 g (½ oz) gelatin powder or 7 sheets of gelatin soaked in ice water

Parsley leaves for decoration.

Line a 25cm (10 in) loaf-tin with cling film and brush with olive oil.   Slice two of the aubergines thinly, lengthwise and sprinkle with salt.   After 5 minutes, rinse, dry and sauté the aubergines in olive oil and 2-3 tablespoons water and set aside to drain on kitchen paper.  

Cut the remaining aubergines into cubes, follow the same procedure, and set aside.

Slice the courgettes lengthwise and simmer in salted water with the sage until tender.   Dry on kitchen paper, and set aside.   Also prepare the Florina peppers, only cut them into quarters, pat dry and set aside.

Simmer the tomato juice gently for fifteen minutes, with the garlic, tobasco, vinegar, honey and salt.  Discard the garlic, taste for seasoning and adjust according to taste.   Soften the gelatin in iced water,sweeze and add to the hot tomato juice and stir well until dissolved.    Pour a little tomato into the loaf-tin, garnish with parsley leaves, refrigerate and let it set

 Line the loaf-tin with the aubergines slices, leaving about 5 cm (2 in) hanging over the sides.   Pour a little of the tomato juice over, refrigerate and let it set. Add the courgettes sprinkle with 1/3 of the herbs and cover with tomato juice. Refrigerate and let it set once more.  Continue the same procedure with layers of peppers and cubed eggplants, each sprinkled with herbs and tomato juice.   Cover with the overhanging eggplants and chill for at least 6 hours.

Reverse on a serving dish, on a bed of crisp lettuce leaves, sprinkle with parsley and drizzle with olive oil.   Serve with Feta, crisp brown bread and glass of white wine.

ROAST SUMMER VEGETABLES

This is a different way of preparing roast vegetables.  If you omit the potatoes, it turns into a fabulous vegetable sauce for pasta, sprinkled with grated Feta.

2 onions, peeled and cut in sixths or eighths

2 red peppers, stalk and pips removed, cut in bite-size pieces

1 large aubergine or two smaller ones, cut into bite-size pieces

2 large potatoes, cut in bite size pieces

2 courgettes, sliced
2 carrots, sliced

4-5 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tbsp rosemary, chopped

salt, pepper and Cayenne pepper

½ cup olive oil

2 large tomatoes, skinned, seeded and cubed

1 cup tomato juice

¼ cup basil leaves or

1 tbsp fresh thyme

      Mix the first 10 ingredients well together and place, in a single layer, on a baking dish, double-lined with baking parchment.  Roast in an oven pre-heated to 180C (375 F) for about 35-40 minutes, until the vegetables are cooked, but still slightly crunchy.   Then add the tomato cubes, tomato juice and sprinkle with the basil or thyme.  Bake for 12-15 minutes more.

ICE CREAM WITH TINNED FRUIT

This is a recipe from a cookery book called “ESTIAS”, published by “HELLINIKI ORIZONTES”, in Alexandria, Egypt in the late 1950s.  I have used the exact wording.  Do try it.

One 397 g ( an ample13 oz) tin, sweetened condensed milk

2 tbsp lemon juice

One 820 g ( about1 lb 10½ oz)  tin apricots or peaches in light syrup

Pinch of salt

250 ml (1 cup) light cream

Blend and freeze.