GREECE ON THE BRINK OF BANKRUPTCY

                   

Tough negotiations with our partners and creditors are reaching a deadlock, due to unshakeable beliefs and convictions.

Greece is suffocating for money and time, and we are all extremely anxious as the new government is using a new modus operandi by requisitioning the funds of institutions and municipalities in order to pay salaries and pensions and to, partly repay our creditors.   We are all hoping and praying for the best solution.

A new, morbid propaganda video, depicting the slaughter of 21 Ethiopian Christians on a Lybian beach, by cowardly ISIS murderers was recently released.   Quite sickening. 

The tragedy in the Mediterranean, where 800 migrants drowned in the Libyan Sea, saddens our hearts and tortures our thoughts.   On the other hand, the rescue of 90 migrants by coast guards and civilians, off the coast of the Greek island of Rhodes, fills us with hope and expectations for resolving this mounting problem.

Faced with a massive exodus towards Europe, in the coming months, the E.U leaders meet for talks, today, on the Mediterranean human trafficking crisis.  The migrants will be rescued and given refuge in the best possible way.    Also, it is considered that Europe will dispatch a multi-national naval force that will arrest the traffickers and sink their ships.



An Algerian electronics student was arrested in France for planning terrorist attacks against churches in the French capital.  An arsenal was discovered in his flat and a plethora of documents, in Arabic, with Al Qaeda and ISIS connotations.

"The threat has never been so high" said the French Prime Minister Mr. Manuel Valls.   He also announced that police prevented five terrorist attacks, in recent months.

Like in the last post, I shall continue giving you recipes with spring vegetables and fruit.

                                         ARTICHOKE AND FENNEL BULB BAKE

This a delicious first dish, made with the spring vegetables of your choice.

1 kg (2 lb) fennel bulbs, about 4 pieces

6 medium-sized artichokes

2 carrots, scraped and cut into batons

1 lemon, halved

2 tbsp olive oil

3 spring onions, finely chopped

2 fennel sprigs

2 dill sprigs

Salt and pepper

Vegetable stock (please see below)

A good knob of butter to grease the dish

2-3 tbsp kasseri or Cheddar, thickly grated

2-3 tbsp San Mihalis or Parmesan

375 ml (1½ cups) cream, low fat if preferred

Salt and freshly grated pepper

Remove the hard leaves off the fennel bulbs, quarter them from stem to root, discarding the hard part of the core.   Cut the stems off the artichokes, strip off the hard outer leaves, trim the hearts, remove the choke and quickly rub them with half a lemon and plunge them into water with lemon juice, to prevent them from discolouring.

In a large flat saucepan, sauté the spring onions in olive oil, add a little salt and simmer for 2 minutes.   Then add the carrots, fennel bulbs and artichokes, sprinkle with a little more salt and sauté them very gently for about 10 minutes on all sides.   Pour in enough hot stock to just cover the vegetables, add the herbs, cover the saucepan and simmer until the vegetables are tender but not falling apart.

Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F).    Remove the vegetables with a slotted spoon and arrange them in a well-buttered baking dish.   Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper and grated cheese, drizzle with cream and bake for 15-20 minutes.   Serve piping hot sprinkled with chopped fennel leaves or chives.

                                                    ASPARAGUS AU GRATIN

This is a great treat for your family and friends and very easy to prepare. 

500 g (1 lb) white or green asparagus, boiled until just tender

12-15 thin slices smoked or boiled ham

A knob of butter for the baking dish

White Sauce:

3 tbsp butter

3 tbsp cornflour

1 bay leaf

500 ml (2 cups) warm milk

2 heaped tbsp of grated kasseri or Gruyere

4 eggs, separated, whites whipped to soft peaks with a pinch of salt

250 ml (1 cup) cream mixed with the egg yolks

Salt and freshly ground white pepper

Freshly grated nutmeg to taste

2 tbsp grated San Mihalis or Parmesan

First prepare the sauce.   Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the bay leaf and sift in the cornflour and stir for 3-4 minutes.  Pour in the milk, in 3 portions, stirring very well after each addition, until well combined and bubbling.   Discard the bay leaf and stir in the grated kasseri or Gruyere .   Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the cream/egg yolk mixture.   Sprinkle with pepper and nutmeg, taste and add some salt, if necessary.

Wrap each asparagus stalk with a slice of ham and arrange in a single row, in a buttered baking dish.  Cover partly or lavishly with the sauce, sprinkle with San Mihalis or Parmesan and bake in an oven preheated to 180 C for 35 – 40 minutes.  We prefer the asparagus completely covered with sauce.

                     CAULIFLOWER CELERY AND FENNEL-BULB SALAD

                                                            

  

Equal amounts of cauliflower, celery and fennel bulbs, cut into slices or florets and boiled in salted water, until still slightly crunchy

Dressing:

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp milk

½ tbsp mild mustard

Salt and freshly ground white pepper

3 tbsp olive oil

Garnish:

1 heaped tbsp fennel weed, finely chopped

2-3 mint leaves, finely chopped

Place the vegetables into a salad bowl, drizzle with the dressing, toss thoroughly and serve sprinkled with finely chopped fennel weed and mint leaves.

     

                                                

                                                             APRICOT TART

Here is a recipe for a crumbly tart that can be served hot with cream or ice cream.

10 apricots, stoned and halved

2 tbsp butter

6 tbsp sugar

Pastry:

120 g (4 oz) butter, very cold, cut in small pieces

200 g (almost 7 oz) plain flour
2 tbsp icing sugar
1 egg
Very little cold water

To make the pastry, rub butter, sugar and flour with your finger tips until the mixture resembles bread crumbs.   Stir in the egg, a little cold water, if necessary, and press the ingredients together to form a ball of soft dough;  flatten it into a disk, cover with cling film and refrigerate for  30 minutes at least.

Place a round baking tin over low heat, add the sugar and butter and simmer until they melt and form a caramel.  Remove from the heat and push the apricots, cut side up, into the golden sauce.  Allow to cool.

Roll out the dough into a circle larger than the top of the baking tin.   Drape it over the fruit and tuck it, neatly, down the sides of the dish.    Bake in an oven preheated to 180 C (350 F) for 35-40 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and the caramel is bubbling around the edge.  Cool for five minutes and overturn on a serving dish. 

                                                     STRAWBERRY PAVLOVA

This is a recipe for my favourite dessert.

6 egg whites of medium-sized eggs

A pinch of salt

300 g (10 oz) caster sugar

1 tsp vinegar to make the meringue more chewy (optional)

1 tsp vanilla essence

500 g (1 lb) whipped cream

500 g (1 lb) hulled strawberries, whole or sliced in half

60 g (2 oz) dark melted chocolate or milk chocolate if preferred

Whip the egg whites with a little salt to the soft peak stage, add the sugar by the spoonful, whipping continuously until the mixture is thick and glossy.  Add the vinegar, if using, and the vanilla and beat for a minute more, until well combined.

Trace two circles, on baking parchment, about 26cm (10 in) in diameter each, brush with oil and place the parchment in a baking tin.   Pipe the meringue to shape two equal disks.  Bake in an oven preheated to 150 C (285 F) for about 1 hour.  Then turn off the oven and remove the meringues the next day, when they are completely cold.

Place one meringue disk on a serving dish, spread with a third of the whipped cream and the sliced strawberries and cover with the second round.  Garnish the Pavlova attractively with the remaining whipped cream and with strawberries, dipped in melted chocolate.    One could alternately drizzle melted chocolate over the strawberries. 

                                                               CHERRY VINEGAR

This is a recipe for wonderful, aromatic vinegar.    You can use it for making salad dressings and also for preparing marinades and sauces, for meat, game and poultry.

Equal amounts of:

Cherries

Home made red wine vinegar (please see recipe below) *

Sugar (please see recipe)

In a glass bowl place the cherries and vinegar, cover with cling film and leave for 5 days, stirring the contents, twice a day.  Then strain the liquid through a sieve lined with cheese cloth.

For each cup of vinegar use one cup sugar.    Bring the boil and simmer for a minute or two, pour into prepared bottles, seal tightly and store in a dark cupboard.     Don’t discard the cherries, as you can use them for cherry chutneys.

                             

                                 


                                           * HOME-MADE RED WINE VINEGAR

This recipe was given to me by my dear friend June Marinos, who has written several successful cookery books.    I am using the exact wording.                                     

"To make your own vinegar is very satisfying and a good way to use up any dregs of red wine.  Of course the better the wine he better the vinegar will be. 

First you will need a glass or china container.   Just pour two or three glasses of vinegar into the container and then a bottle of dry red wine.    Cover lightly with a piece of plywood, thin cloth or cardboard and leave for several months.   From time to time add any other leftover dry red wines you have.    Do not close the container tightly, as you must allow for a free passage of air.   Also do not worry if a white veil forms on top of the vinegar, or if you see a jelly-like mass forming.   This mass is the Vinegar Mother, about which there are many myths! 

Taste the liquid from time to time to see whether it has turned to vinegar. When you have made enough, strain it and pour into dark bottles and keep in a dark place.  Keep some of the vinegar to continue with the process."

COULD CRASHES AND RIFTS BE PREVENTED

 I wish I could have something pleasant to refer to in my blog, but this last week, we were all appalled at the terrible tragedy, caused by the crash of a Germanwings Airbus, in the French Alps, with no survivors.  

As information keeps trickling in, we are informed that the co-pilot, deliberately, smashed the plane into the steep mountain slopes, where he and 149 innocent passengers found violent death.   What is extremely alarming is that he had been treated for “suicidal tendencies” which he, ingeniously, hid from his employers and that his erratic behaviour and fears could only be observed by his close and intimate environment.   Most people considered him a normal, happy person.

If the strict rules about the confidentiality of medical information about patients, could be lifted for public safety, perhaps this disaster would never have occurred.

A wave of occupations of university facilities and public buildings, by anarchists, are taking place all over the country.  This morning they even tried to enter the House of Parliament.   Again, no arrests.

Two Greek Ministers warned and threatened that, as state salaries and pensions have to be paid, Greece cannot respect repayment to the International Monetary Fund, on the 9^th April.  The statement was later denied by the Government spokesman.    Most Greeks are deeply concerned and apprehensive and  we demand the new Government to govern the country with sanity and to, definitely, prevent a rift with our E.U. Partners.

Holy Week, Passion Week is approaching.   Not being a very devout person, this period has a very special meaning for me.  It's a time for remorse, recollection and hope.  A catharsis perhaps?


Please find below, a few recipes for Holy Week and several for Easter Sunday

                                                   



                                                             BEAN SOUP

This is the Greek national soup.  Accompanied with feta or taramasalata, a green salad and crusty bread it can be a perfectly balanced meal.   

500 g (1 lb) white haricot or cannelloni beans, soaked overnight in cold water

125 ml (½ cup) olive oil, (add it after the beans are cooked, if preferred)

1 onion, grated

2 carrots, cubed

4 celery stalks, trimmed and thinly sliced

2 medium-sized potatoes, peeled, and cubed

3 medium-sized tomatoes, peeled, deseeded and chopped, or

2 tsp tomato paste, or

One 400 g (13 oz +) tin concentrated tomato juice

2 tsp salt and freshly ground black pepper

¼ tsp Cayenne pepper (optional) or

1 small red chilli pepper (optional)

Strain the beans, place in a large saucepan, cover with cold water, bring to the boil and cook for 5 minutes and strain once more.  Cover the beans with hot water and boil until almost cooked.

Sauté the carrots, celery and potatoes in a little olive oil for about 2-3 minutes.  Add the onions and a little salt and cook, stirring until the onions change colour, and tip the vegetables into the saucepan with the beans.    Add the tomatoes or tomato paste or juice, salt, pepper, Cayenne pepper or chilli, if using, and a little olive oil. 

Simmer for 30 minutes more or until the beans and vegetables are tender, adding a little boiling water if necessary.   Taste the soup for seasoning and adjust.   Serve sprinkled with freshly ground black pepper and drizzled with the remaining olive oil.

                                SQUID STUFFED WITH MUSHROOMS AND RICE

This is a superb recipe that differs from the traditional one, by adding mushrooms to the stuffing.

1½ kg (3 lbs) small squid, cleaned and washed, tentacles separated and chopped

60 ml (about ¼ cup) dry white wine

Stuffing:

62 ml (¼ cup) olive oil

1 onion, grated

1-2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

250 g (½ lb) fresh mushrooms, chopped

1 liqueur glass brandy

Salt and pepper and

1/8 tsp Cayenne pepper

Squid tentacles

60 g (2 oz) long grain rice

1-2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted

1 tbsp parsley, chopped

½ tbsp tomato paste, diluted in

125 ml (½ cup) dry white wine

250 ml (1 cup) water

 Simmer the squid, both pouches and tentacles in wine for 5 minutes, in order for them to shrink a little, and reserve.

Sauté the onion and garlic in olive oil, add the chopped mushrooms stir and cook for 5 minutes.  Sprinkle with brandy, salt, pepper and Cayenne pepper and simmer until almost cooked.  Add the rice, the squid tentacles, pine nuts and chopped parsley and stir until well combined. Taste and add some more salt and pepper if necessary, simmer with a little water, until the rice is almost cooked.

Stuff the pouches half full with the above mixture and secure the opening with toothpicks. You might not use all the stuffing.  Lay the stuffed squid, in a single layer, in a large, shallow saucepan and pour in the wine/tomato paste and water mixture.   Cover with parchment paper and the lid and cook for 15 minutes or until the squids and rice are tender.

Meanwhile cook the remaining stuffing with a little water and wine, until the rice is cooked.

 Remove the toothpicks from the squid, and serve with the reserved stuffing.   Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper.   

        

                                                      TARAMASALATA

 Many years ago taramasalata used to be made with a pestle and mortar.  It took at least ½ hour to prepare, but it had a granular texture, which is impossible to achieve with a blender or food processor.  Taramasalata can also be prepared with boiled potatoes in place of bread. Three medium, floury potatoes are sufficient for this recipe.

100 g (3 oz plus) tarama (salted cod’s roe)

250 g (8 oz) or more day old bread, crusts removed, soaked in water and squeezed

                                                                                                                            dry

4 tbsp lemon juice or according to taste      

125 ml (½ cup) extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp dried bread crumbs (optional)

1-2 spring onions very finely sliced

2 tbsp olive oil

1 lemon, sliced

 Blend the first four ingredients until smooth and creamy.  Taste for acidity and add more lemon juice if necessary.  In order to give it a granular texture, stir in a tablespoonful of dried bread crumbs until very well combined (optional).  

Place the taramasalata in a bowl, cover and chill.  Just before serving, sprinkle with spring onions and olive oil and garnish with lemon slices.

                      

                           

                            ROAST LEG OF KID WITH ORANGE JUICE AND BRANDY

This is an easy and tasty dish.  

2 kg (4 lbs) leg of kid

Salt and pepper

2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

Marinade

500 ml (2 cups) orange juice

2-3 tbsp bitter orange juice or
2 tbsp lemon juice
125 ml (½ cup) brandy

2 small garlic cloves, chopped

A piece of orange rind

A sprig of thyme

A few peppercorns

2-3 tbsp butter cut in small pieces

A little olive oil

Hot water

Simmer and cool the marinade ingredients.  Discard the orange rind and pour over the meat.  Refrigerate for at least 8 hours, turning the meat over once or twice.

The next day strain the marinade and set aside.   Dry the meat, season with salt and pepper and place it in a covered roasting tin, large enough to hold it comfortably.   Sprinkle half the butter pieces over, and pour a little olive oil and 1/3 of the marinade around it. 

Roast in a hot oven preheated to 200 C (about 400F) for the first ½ hour.  Turn the meat over, dot with the remaining butter and pour some marinade around it,to prevent it from burning.  Return it to the oven, and roast, keeping the same temperature, for the next ½ hour. 

Reduce the heat, sprinkle the kid with the remaining marinade and chopped rosemary. Add  a little hot water around it.  Cover the tin and roast the meat, at 180 C (350 F), until tender. Turn over, at least once, and add hot water, when required.    Remove the meat from the roasting tin and keep it hot.  

Remove the fat and deglaze the baking dish with hot water. Pour the liquid through a fine strainer into a small saucepan.  Boil the liquid rapidly to reduce it slightly. Taste it, and if it is too salty, add a little hot water and thicken with flour.

Carve the meat and serve it with gravy, roast potatoes and a green salad.

(Serves 6)

                                                      

                                                             CHEESE PIE

 You could use 1 cup of white sauce instead of the yogurt.

Pastry:

150 g (5 oz) whole meal flour

150 g (5 oz) plain flour

Pinch of salt

¼ tsp mustard powder

150 g (5 oz) butter cubed

1 egg

Just enough water to form a soft pliable doughu

2 tbsp dried breadcrumbs for sprinkling over the pastry before adding the filling

 Filling

500 g (1 lb) feta cheese, soaked in water for 5-10 minutes if salty

250 g (½ lb) anthotyro or ricotta cheese

2-3 tbsp kephalotyri or Parmesan or Cheddar, grated

1 large onion, finely grated

4 eggs

200 g (1 small tub) strained Greek yogurt

Salt if necessary, nutmeg and freshly ground black pepper

First prepare the pastry.  Blend the two flours with the mustard powder and salt.  Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.  Add the egg and very little water until the dough forms a ball around the hook.    Cover and refrigerate for half an hour at least.

In a large bowl, crumble the feta and anthotyro and stir in the grated cheese and onion.    Beat the eggs with the yogurt  or bechamel sauce, nutmeg and freshly ground black pepper and stir into the cheese mixture until well combined. Taste for seasoning and add more salt, pepper and nutmeg, if necessary.

Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F).   Cut the pastry in half and roll out two thin pastry sheets.    Line a buttered baking tin with one of the sheets and sprinkle evenly with the dried bread crumbs.   Spoon the filling carefully over, cover with the remaining pastry and join the two sheets attractively together.   Score the top of the pie in portions, and bake for about 1 hour until the pastry is crisp and golden.

Serve with a green salad of your choice.

                                                   

                                                       CUSTARD CREAM PIE

This traditional dessert can be found all over Greece. 

10 sheets phyllo pastry

250 ml (1 cup) hot, melted butter

Syrup:

600 g (3 cups) sugar

500 ml (2 cups) water

Custard:

1 litre (4 cups) milk

A piece of lemon peel or orange peel or
1 vanilla pod, sliced in two

5 eggs

200 g (1 cup) sugar

100 g (2/3 cup) finely ground semolina

A little salt

2 tbsp of butter

To make the syrup, boil the sugar and water together for 10 minutes, and set aside to cool.

In a large saucepan, heat the milk with the peel or vanilla and keep warm.

Beat the eggs and sugar in a mixer, until almost doubled in bulk.  Lower the speed, add the semolina and 2 ladlefuls of warm milk, and beat for 2 minutes more.  Pour the egg mixture into the saucepan with the warm milk and simmer gently, until the custard thickens, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.  Remove the custard from the heat, stir in 2 tbsp butter, set aside to cool completely and discard the peel or vanilla pod.

Butter a 32 cm x 20 cm (12 in. x 8 in.) baking tin and line it with 5 sheets of phyllo pastry, brushing each sheet liberally with melted butter.  Pour in the cool custard and fold the overhanging pastry over. Cover with the remaining phyllo sheets, again brushing each sheet generously with hot butter, and tuck them neatly into the sides of the baking tin.

  

With a sharp knife make parallel slits on top of the pastry, to allow the pie to breath. Heat the remaining butter to the sizzling point and pour over the pie, and bake in an oven preheated to 190 C (375 F), for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.  Remove from the oven and pour the cool syrup over.  Cut into portions, while still warm, and serve immediately.

  

                                                 TARTLETS WITH LEMON CURD

I’m giving you this recipe as two separate ones because you can use the tartlets with different fillings and the lemon curd spread over a cake.

Pastry for the tartlets

500 g (1 lb) self-raising flour

275 g (½ lb + 2 tbsp) butter at room temperature

3 tbsp icing sugar

Pinch of salt

1 heaped tbsp grated lemon rind

2-3 tbsp finely ground semolina

1-2 tsp orange fizz or more, if necessary

Combine the ingredients, roll out thinly and line mini-tartlet cases.  Pierce with a fork and bake for 15 minutes or more in an oven preheated to 180 C (350 F) until the tartlets are golden.  Remove and let them cool on a wire rack.  Store in an air-tight biscuit tin.

Lemon Curd

Juice of 2 lemons

Grated rind of 1 lemon

150 g icing sugar

4 medium-sized eggs

Pinch of salt

125 g (4 oz) butter

Combine the ingredients in a metal basin over simmering water, stirring often until the sauce thickens.  Sieve, cool and spoon the curd in a prepared jar and refrigerate.

Just before serving, fill the tartlets with 1-2 tsp lemon curd or more and enjoy.

         

                                                            CHOCOLATE ROLL

                                        

 Dolly Cocali, my sister-in-law and my very dear friend, gave me the following recipe for a lovely chocolate dessert, so many years ago.

7 medium sized eggs separated, whites whipped into stiff peaks with a pinch of salt

400 g (2 cups) sugar

100 g (1 cup) cocoa

500 g (2 cups) slightly sweetened whipped cream

Garnish:

Icing sugar or

Strawberries or crystallized chestnuts or
Chocolate icing

Beat egg yolks with sugar until light and creamy.   Sift in the cocoa and mix thoroughly.   Fold in the whipped egg-whites until no traces of white is visible.

Spoon the mixture into a Swiss roll tin, lined with buttered baking parchment, and level the surface with a spatula.  Bake  in an oven preheated to 190 C (375 F), for about 20 minutes until well risen.  Do not overcook.  Remove from the oven and cool slightly.

     

Turn out the cake on a piece baking parchment, detach the baking parchment from the top and trim the edges. Then place a piece of baking parchment over and roll the warm cake and the parchment together, and set aside to cool. 

Unroll the cake carefully and remove the parchment.   Spread with whipped cream, fold it up like a Swiss roll and place it on a serving dish.  Dust the top of the roll with icing sugar or chocolate icing or garnish it with whipped cream and fresh strawberries, partly dipped in melted chocolate.