SAVOURY BAKES AND QUICHES

                                                     SAVOURY CAKE

This is a delightful spicy bake.

2 eggs
1 pinch of salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

210 g (7 oz) Greek yoghurt
150 ml olive oil
3 heaped tbsp grated anthotyro or cream cheese
1 heaped tbsp finely grated Parmesan


Self-raising flour +
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ginger powder
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper or less if preferred

12 stoned Kalamata olives
12 cherry tomatoes



Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F) and whip the eggs salt and pepper until thick and doubled in bulk.
Stir in the yoghurt and the olive oil until well combined.
Add enough flour to acquire a thick batter and season with the spices and finally, gently fold in the olives and cherry tomatoes.  Taste and season accordingly, if necessary.

Spoon the batter into a round tin lined with oiled baking parchment, also brush the sides of the tin wi olive oil and bake for 45 minutes or until puffed and golden,  Serve with a green salad of your choice.





                                    MULTICOLOURED PEPPER TART

This is an interesting summer tart if you like peppers.

Pastry:
250 g (1/2 lb) plain flour
1 tsp salt
125 g (1/4 lb) iced butter, diced
1 large egg, whipped
1-2 tsp  iced water

A knob of butter for the baking dish

1 1/2 cup coarsely grated kasseri or Cheddar

Filling:
500 g (1 lb) multicoloured peppers
2 Florina peppers
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan
250 ml (1 cup) milk at room temperature
250 ml (1 cup) cream at room temperature
3 medium eggs
Salt and pepper to taste


For the pastry, mix flour and salt and rub in the butter until the mixture crumbles. Add the egg and mix the dough until it gathers together.  If it crumbles add a little iced water.  Shape the dough into a ball, flatten it out, wrap with cling film and refrigerate for30 minutes at least.

Roll out the dough, thinly, between two pieces of baking parchment to form a circle.  Line a 30 cm (12 inches) buttered tart dish with the pastry, gently pressing it into the base and up the sides of the dish, trim off the excess, cover and chill for an hour.

Preheat the oven to180 C (350 F), remove the tart from the fridge and prick it all over with a fork.  Cover with crumbled tin foil to prevent the sides from collapsing and bake for 12 minutes,  discard the foil and bake for 6 minutes more.  Remove from the oven to cool.

Meanwhile, slice each pepper and halve or quarter each slice.  Saute the peppers in very little olive oil until limp, sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper, and place of kitchen paper to drain and cool.

Sprinkle the tart shell evenly with 1 1/2 cup of grated kasseri or Cheddar and arrange the peppers on top.  Sprinkle with Parmesan and whip the eggs with the milk and cream and pour over the peppers.  Bake for 35-40 minutes or until puffed and golden.






                                                     QUICHE LORRAINE

Ages ago, when I was newly married, I read this recipe in Vogue magazine.  I promptly prepared it and to my great joy, my husband Aleco, and my parents found the crust exceptionally crisp and the custard creamy and luscious.

Pastry:
240 g (8 oz) plain flour
1 tsp salt
120 g (4 oz) iced butter, diced
1 egg
2 tsp iced water

2 tbsp Parmesan

Filling:
8 rashers smoked bacon, cut into small pieces, sauteed until crisp and drained
90 g (3 oz) Grated Gruyere or Cheddar
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
275 ml (1 cup + 2 tbsp) double cream
Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
1 tbsp butter, diced

For the pastry, rub the flour with salt and butter until the mixture becomes crumbly.  Add the eggs and yolks and mix very well together, also add very little iced water if the dough crumbles.  Shape into a ball and flatten it out, then cover with cling film and ice for 30  minutes at least.

Roll out the dough between two pieces of baking parchment forming a circle.  Line a buttered 20 cm (8 inches) flan tin with the pastry and gently press it into the base and us the sides of the tin, prick it all over with a fork and chill for1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 180 c (350 F) Cover the pastry with crumpled foil and bake for15 minutes in the centre of the oven.  Discard the foil and bake for  10 minutes more and remove from the oven to cool.

Sprinkle grated  Parmesan over the pastry shell and cover with bacon.  Whip the whole eggs with the yolks, cream and seasoning and pour over the bacon and cheese.  Dot with butter and bake in the top of the oven until puffed and golden.  Serve hot.

            PRAWN AND MUSHROOM MILLFEUILLES WITH A WINE SAUCE

 A delectable starter to honour your guests   I am replacing the cream with a white sauce.

20 small rounds of Greek puff pastry

1 tbsp olive oil

2 onions, peeled and grated

1 clove garlic, peeled and minced

300 g (10 oz) mushrooms, trimmed, wiped, boiled for 3-4 minutes, drained and chopped, reserve the cooking liquid

300 g (10 oz) shrimp, shelled and deveined, thoroughly washed and patted dry (reserve 10 for garnish and sauté them for 1 minute on each side in very little olive oil) and cut the remaining shrimp into 3 pieces

250 ml (1 cup) excellent white wine like a Santorini assyrtiko

Salt and pepper to taste

White sauce:

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp plain flour

1 bay leaf

375 ml (1 ½ cups) reserve cooking liquid, add a little milk if not enough

Pinch of grated nutmeg

Place the puff pastry rounds in a roasting tin lined with baking parchment, prick them all over with a fork.   Cover with another piece of parchment and place an upside-down roasting tin on to pot to prevent the pastry from puffing up.  Bake in an oven preheated to 180 C (350 F) for 12-15 minutes then remove the top tin and bake for 1-2 minutes more or until the pastry becomes crisp and golden.  Keep hot.

Meanwhile, sauté the onion in olive oil, stirring occasionally, until soft. Add the garlic and cook stirring for 1 minute more.  Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste and pour in the wine and cook for 3-4 minutes, allowing the alcohol to evaporate. Then add the mushrooms and simmer gently until almost dry then add both the whole and chopped shrimp and simmer for two minutes more.  Taste once more for seasoning and adjust accordingly. Remove the whole shrimp from the saucepan and reserve.

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Prepare the white sauce.  Melt the butter, over low heat, add the bay leaf, and sift the flour over and whisk constantly for 3-4 minutes.  Pour in the hot cooking liquid in small doses whisking all the time, until the sauce is smooth and bubbling.   When all the liquid has been used, lower the heat and simmer the sauce, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon for 10-12 minutes or until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon.   Taste and season with salt, if necessary and freshly ground white pepper and a touch of grated nutmeg to taste and stir until well combined.  Remove from the fire, discard the bay leaf and use the sauce immediately or cover with cling-film and refrigerate.

Stir small amounts of white sauce into the mushroom and prawn mixture until it reaches the desired thickness.  Also, stir in the chopped parsley.

To assemble the dish, arrange the 10 puff-pastry rounds on a serving platter.  Place a heaped tablespoonful of mushroom and shrimp mixture on top, cover with the remaining 10 pastry rounds and garnish each mille-feuille with a tiny amount of the mushroom sauce, a whole shrimp and a twig of fresh parsley. 

Serve with a green salad, warm crusty brown bread and a glass of with same wine that you used in the sauce.

                                     CRETAN FENNEL AND CHEESE PIE

This is a delicious Cretan pie.

Crust:

300 g (10 oz) plain flour

1 tsp salt

125 ml (½ cup) mild tasting olive oil or sunflower oil, if preferred

4 tbsp of raki or tsikoudia

1 egg yolk, reserving the white for later, mixed with

2 tbsp milk

2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Filling:

1 kg (2 lb) fennel bulbs, trimmed, thinly sliced and boiled until soft in tasty vegetable stock, strain and reserve both

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

3 tbsp olive oil

500 g (1 lb) Cretan anthotyro grated or ricotta cheese

1 cup finely grated Cretan Graviera

Béchamel sauce made with:

(30 g (1 oz) butter

1 bay leaf

30 g (1 oz) plain flour

300 ml (10 fl oz) of the fennel bulb stock)

1 tbsp chopped dill

2 eggs, separated, whites whipped stiff with the tiniest pinch of salt + the extra white from the dough

Salt if necessary

First prepare the dough.  Sift the flour with salt in a large bowl, add 4 tbsp of olive oil, the raki or tsikoudia and 125 ml (½ cup) water and knead into a soft elastic dough.   Divide it into six pieces, cover and set aside for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix all the filling ingredients except the whipped egg whites and salt, well together.  Then gently fold in the whipped egg whites.  Taste, and add more salt if necessary.

Form the six pieces of dough into balls.   Roll out each ball of dough, thinly, into a round, brush with olive oil and make two stacks.

 Roll out the first stack of round pasty sheets and line an oiled round baking tin.  Spoon in the filling, and level the surface, cover with remaining round pastry sheet and crimp the edges, attractively, together.    

With a sharp knife, brush the top with the egg yolk/milk mixture, sprinkle evenly with toasted sesame seeds and bake in an oven preheated to 180 C (350 F) for about 1 hour or until golden brown.  Serve hot.