* On the 2nd October 2015, the full moon was at a perigee, its shortest distance from the Earth, and it seemed 30% brighter and 14% larger than at any other time. This coincided with a lunar eclipse that will not be repeated until 2033. People, all over the world, watched this magnificent lunar spectacle, a bright red moon that painted the dark skies a lucid orangy-red,
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| The supermoon at the Parthenon |
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| The supermoon at Cape Sounion |
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| Joy sent me this picture from London |
Here are a few recipes prepared with late summer and early autumn vegetables and fruit.
CHICKEN WITH FRESH FIGS AND BACON
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| Figs, honey flavoured with a jammy centre |
This is a lovely, easy dish for special occasions.
6 chicken breasts, skinned, boned and cubed
2-3 tbsp flour mixed with 1 tsp salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tbsp olive oil
8-10 rashers lean bacon
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp mustard with honey
350ml (½ a bottle) good quality dry white wine, a Chardonnay would be wonderful
360 ml-480 ml (1½-2 cups) tasty chicken stock
2-3 sprigs of fresh tarragon or
1-2 sprigs of fresh sage
12 fresh figs, peeled and halved
Salt and pepper
120 ml (½ cup) or more cream
Dredge the chicken pieces in seasoned flour, and set aside. In a large, shallow saucepan sauté the bacon in 1 tbsp olive oil, pat with kitchen paper, to remove extra fat, and reserve.
Shake off the excess flour from the chicken pieces and fry them in the same saucepan, in two batches, until slightly brown. Lower the heat, add the remaining olive oil, onion and garlic and simmer until the onion changes colour. Stir in the mustard, return the chicken pieces to the saucepan, pour the wine over, and with a spatula scrape the bottom of the saucepan. When the wine reduces a little, add the chicken stock and the herb of your choice (tarragon or sage). Cover and simmer gently until the chicken is almost ready 12-15 minutes.
Meanwhile season the figs with salt and pepper and cook them separately with a little wine, chicken stock and a small knob of butter, until soft but not falling apart. Remove the herbs from the chicken, arrange the figs over and cook for 5-10 minutes more or until the chicken is cooked through. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper, if necessary. At this stage, you can cover and refrigerate it until the next day. Don’t forget the bacon.
Just before required, heat the food thoroughly, pour the cream over and stir, taste once more and adjust the seasoning, if necessary. Also, heat the bacon until crisp. Serve the chicken and figs on a hot platter, garnished with bacon and accompanied by what my family calls “smashed potatoes with cream”!
SMASHED POTATOES WITH CREAM
1 kg (2 lbs) or more mealy potatoes, peeled and sliced
Enough chicken or vegetable stock to just cover
1 whole garlic clove, peeled
1 small sprig of sage
Salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup or more, cream
1 tbsp snipped chives
Boil the potatoes with all the ingredients except the cream and chives. Remove the garlic and sage and strain thoroughly. Return the potatoes to the saucepan and heat in order to remove any possible remaining moisture. Before serving, pour in the cream and stir, and check the seasoning. Serve sprinkled with chives and freshly ground black pepper.
FIG RELISH
This relish is equally good served with grilled fish or roast meat dishes.
500 g (1 lb) figs, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 onion finely chopped
1 garlic clove, squashed
30 g (1 oz) fresh ginger, peeled and grated
120 g (4 oz) caster sugar stirred into
120 ml (4 fl oz) vinegar
¼ - ½ tsp Cayenne pepper
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 heaped tbsp raisins, stemmed
Sweat the onion, ginger and garlic with 62.5 ml (¼ cup) water and a little salt, for 10 minutes. Stir in the sugar and vinegar solution and the figs. Sprinkle with salt pepper and Cayenne pepper and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally in the beginning and more often as the relish thickens. Add the raisins and cook for ten minutes more.
This relish lasts for one week in the fridge, so don’t prepare large quantities.
FIG CAKE WITH SPICES
This is a recipe for a lovely, rich cake which keeps fresh for over a week.
For the figs:
½ kg (1 lb) dry figs, stems removed
250 ml (1 cup) water, mixed
250 ml (1 cup) Mavrodaphe or any other sweet, red wine (or any red wine with 2-3
tbsp honey or sugar)
2 thin lemon slices
Ingredients for the cake:
115 g (½ cup) butter
200 g (1 cup) brown sugar
2 eggs
300 g (10 oz) self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
½ tsp powdered cinnamon
¼ tsp powdered cloves
¼ tsp grated nutmeg
¼ tsp ginger powder
125 ml (½ cup) fig liquid
1 tbsp brandy
200 g (almost 7 oz) 1 tub strained Greek yoghurt
2 cups poached figs, diced
About 75 g (2½ oz ) dried apricots, diced
About 60 g (2 oz) roasted, chopped pistachio nuts (unsalted) or walnuts.
Place the figs in a single layer in a saucepan, cover with the water and wine solution and add the lemon slices. Poach the figs until tender, then strain and dice them, reserving the figs and the liquid for further use. Discard the lemon slices.
Cream sugar and butter until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Mix the flour with baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Sift it over the batter in 3 parts, alternately with the fig liquid, yoghurt and brandy. Finally add the figs, apricots, and nuts and mix thoroughly. Place the batter in a buttered and lined loaf tin. Bake in an oven preheated to 170 C (325 F) for about 50 minutes to 1 hour or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.
PORK FILLET MEDALLIONS COOKED WITH PETIMEZI AND GRAPES
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| Petimezi or Cotto |
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| Grapes are the fruit of the Vitis Vinifera |
Petimezi or Cotto, as it is called in the
Ionian Islands, is boiled grape must, reduced until dark and syrupy. It is an ancient Greek sweetening agent that is used in modern Greek cooking for preparing both sweet and savoury dishes.
1 kg (2 lb) pork fillet sliced and pounded into medallions
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp clarified butter
1 liqueur glass Metaxa brandy
1 large onion chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 slice ginger
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
125 ml (½ cup) tbsp Greek balsamic vinegar scented with lemon and orange mixed with
2 tbsp petimezi or
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp honey-scented mustard, until well combined
1 small twig of rosemary
500 ml (2 cups) or more hot tasty chicken stock
1 tbsp cornflour mixed with a little water until smooth and reserved for later*
2 cups seedless grapes, stems removed
250 ml (1 cup) tasty chicken stock
A little salt to taste and and freshly ground white pepper
A little of the olive oil-clarified butter mixture that the medallions we cooked in
Sauté the pork medallions in olive oil and clarified butter for 2 minutes on each side and transer to a dish, with a slotted spoon.
Remove all, but a spoonful of the fat, reserving it for later. Cook the onion, garlic and ginger with a little water until soft. Then pour everything into a small saucepan, add some chicken stock and simmer for 15 minutes more. Pushing with a spoon to extract the taste, strain the liquid through a fine sieve and reserve.
Place the meat in a large, flat saucepan, heat well and pour the brandy over. Cook for 2-3 minutes more so that the alcohol evaporates. Pour the vinegar/ petimezi/ mustard mixture over the meat and stir. Also pour in the onion/garlic scented liquid, 2 cups chicken stock and place the rosemary twig on top. Cover the saucepan and simmer very, very gently, until the meat is thoroughly cooked and tender.
In a small saucepan, cook the grapes with the chicken stock for 10 minutes, taste and season accordingly and add a teaspoonful of the reserved olive oil-butter mixture that the medallions were sauteed in.
Add a little hot cooking liquid into the reserved cornflour mixture, stir and pour into the saucepan.* Simmer, stirring until the sauce thickens. Discard the ginger and rosemary.
Taste and adjust by adding salt and pepper, if necessary. Add the grapes, more chicken stock, if the gravy is too thick, and simmer for a few minutes more. Serve with potato chips and a green salad.
*Last time I prepared this dish, I used about a cupful of white sauce made with chicken stock and cream, as a thickening agent. My bridge group said they enjoyed it.
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| Curcubita Pepo |
Pumpkins originated in N. America. Pumpkin seeds, dating right back to 7000-5500 BC were discovered in Mexico. The word pumpkin (Cucurbita Pepo) originates from the word "pepon" which is Greek for large melon. It is a very healthy vegetable. It contains lutein, alpha and beta carotene and vitamin A.
Many delicious soups, sweet and savoury pies and tarts, side dishes, cakes, jams and chutneys can be prepared with this very versatile vegetable. I have, already, given you some pumpkin recipes in older posts. Here are a few more that I hope you will enjoy.
CURRIED PUMPKIN SOUP
This is a recipe for a delicious, creamy, comforting, spicy soup.
500 g (1 lb) pumpkin, peeled and cut in pieces
1 large leek, white part only, split lengthwise, washed and chopped
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 slice fresh ginger, peeled
1 large onion, grated
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp curry powder
½ tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp Cayenne pepper, optional
1 litre (4 cups) very tasty chicken or vegetable stock
1 tbsp cornflour
One 400 g (13.3 oz) tin skimmed evaporated milk
One 200 g (1 small tub) Greek yogurt
Parsley for garnish
In a large saucepan, place the first four ingredients, pour in water to just cover. Simmer until the vegetables are soft and discard the ginger.
Sweat the onion with a little water and the olive oil for 5 minutes, add the garlic and cook or two minutes more. Stir in the curry and the other spices and cook stirring for 3-4 minutes, then pour in 250 ml (1 cup) chicken stock, and simmer for 15 minutes. Pour the spicy mixture into the saucepan with the vegetables and using a blending rod, blend until smooth. Add the remaining chicken stock and bring to the boil.
Dilute the cornflour with a little cold milk until smooth. Add the remaining milk and pour the cornflour/milk mixture into the soup, stirring continuously, until it thickens. Taste the soup, and season accordingly. Serve with a dessertspoon of Greek yogurt and a twig of parsley.
PUMPKIN FILLED WITH SEAFOOD
This is a South American dish with a Greek touch.
A 2 ½ kg (5 lb) pumpkin
Olive oil
Filling:
1 large onion, chopped
30 g (1 oz) butter
1 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3 medium sized tomatoes, cut in half, deseeded, grated, skins discarded
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
500 g (1 lb) medium-sized prawns, shelled and deveined, sautéed lightly with a rosemary twig and sprinkled with very little salt
300 ml (10 fl oz) cream
90 ml (3 fl oz) strong, tasty chicken stock
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground coriander
1/8 tsp Cayenne pepper, optional
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
90 g (3 oz) grated feta
Garnish:
A little chopped parsley
Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F). Cut a lid, 8 cm (3.2 inches) in diameter. Cover the pumpkin with tin foil and bake it up-side-down in an oven preheated to 180 C (350 F) for about 35 minutes or until the flesh is soft.
Remove the pumpkin from the oven to cool. Scoop out enough pumpkin flesh to make space for the filling. Blend the flesh into pulp and reserve.
Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Sauté the onion in olive oil and a little butter until soft, add the garlic, and cook for one minute, add the grated tomatoes, pumpkin pulp, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Cook gently until the sauce thickens. Pour in the cream and chicken stock.
Add the sautéed prawns and sprinkle with paprika, coriander and Cayenne pepper, if using. Simmer gently until the prawns are cooked and tender. If the sauce is too thin remove the prawns with a slotted spoon and reduce the sauce to the required thickness. Taste and season with a little salt, pepper, if necessary. Place the prawns back into the thickened sauce.
Sprinkle the pumpkin cavity with a little salt and brush with the remaining butter. Spoon in the hot filling and sprinkle with feta and freshly ground black pepper. Brush the pumpkin skin with a little olive oil and bake for about 10 minutes or until the cheese melts. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with saffron rice and vegetables of your choice.
PUMPKIN SWIRL CHEESECAKE
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| Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake |
This is a very presentable and delicious dessert. Two tips for all cheesecakes is that the ingredients should be mixed only until just combined, and should be baked at a low temperature to prevent the surface from cracking.
Crust:
1 ½ cup digestive biscuits, blended into fine crumbs and mixed first with
½ cup almond flour
½ tsp ginger powder and then with
¼ cup melted butter until well combined, and reserve
Filling:
1kg (2 lb) cream cheese, softened
250 g (½ lb) sugar
A good pinch of salt
Vanilla
2 tbsp cornflour
5 eggs, at room temperature, lightly whipped
250 g (1 cup) pumpkin pulp, mixed with
2 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp cloves
¼ tsp ginger powder
Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F).
For the crust, press the reserved crumbs, evenly, at the base and up the sides of a buttered springform tin.
Prepare the filling by beating the softened cream cheese and sugar with the vanilla and salt until just combined. Stir in the sifted cornflour, alternately with the whipped eggs. Do not over mix. Reserve 375 ml (1½ cups) of this mixture for further use.
Fold the spiced pumpkin pulp, carefully, into the remaining cream cheese mixture and pour over the biscuit crust. Even the surface, and place spoonfuls of the reserved plain cream cheese mixture over. With the help of a knife, create attractive swirls over the surface.
Lower the oven to 160 C (325 F) and bake the cheesecake for 45 minutes. Then turn off the heat and leave the cheesecake in the oven for 2 hours, without opening the oven door.
Remove from the oven to cool. Run a knife carefully around the edge of the tin to loosen the cheesecake. Cover with cling film and refrigerate it overnight. Unmould the cheesecake and serve it cut into wedges and drizzled with chocolate ganache or caramel sauce.
CARAMEL SAUCE
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| Chocolate Ganache and Caramel Sauce |
A lovely traditional sauce that is served over ice cream and various cakes. I have already given you the recipe for a chocolate ganache.
For the caramel sauce:
200 g (1 cup) sugar
62.5 ml(¼ cup) water
187.5 ml (¾ cups) heavy cream
3 tbsp soft unsalted butter
Vanilla
1 tsp coarse salt, optional
Heat sugar and water, over medium heat, stirring until the sugar melts. Brush the sides of the saucepan, once or twice, to prevent crystals from forming. Lower the heat and simmer, without stirring until the syrup becomes medium amber in colour.
Remove from the fire and carefully pour in the cream stirring continuously, until the sauce cools down a little. Stir in the butter, vanilla and salt, if using, and keep stirring until very well combined. This sauce keeps well in the fridge for a week.
POMEGRANATES
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| Punica Granatum |
One of the oldest fruits, the pomegranate (punica granatum) originates from Persia. A symbol of good luck, health and even eternal life in many cultures, this delicious fruit is also a super food. It is rich in phytochemical compounds. It contains high levels of flavonoides and polyphenols, potent antioxidants offering protection, apparently, against heart disease and cancer.
Here are a few recipes prepared with pomegranates.
POMEGRANATE SYRUP
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| Pomegranate Syrup |
Pomegranates make a lovely, translucent and ruby-coloured syrup. As for the taste, it’s fruity and mellow and fresh. Serve it with ice-cream or yogurt, sprinkle it over crepes or pancakes and use it in salad dressings or wherever sugar or honey is used.
500 ml (2 cups) pomegranate juice, strained
400 g (2 cups) caster sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
Bring the juice and sugar to the boil. Stir until the sugar melts and skim when necessary. Lower the heat and simmer until thick. Add the lemon juice and simmer for 10 minutes more. Cool the syrup, pour into prepared bottles and store in the fridge.
POMEGRANATE VINAIGRETTE
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| Potato Rocket and Pomegranate Salad |
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| Young Spinach, Manouri, Orange Segments and Pomegranate Salad |
Try the following dressing with young spinach, cos lettuce, endive, sliced fennel bulbs. But it is also very delicious with white and red cabbage also with boiled potatoes, sliced spring onions, cheese, orange segments, all sprinkled lavishly with juicy pomegranate seeds.
2 tbsp wine vinegar or
1 tbsp vinegar and 1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp honey scented mustard
1 tbsp pomegranate juice
1 tbsp pomegranate syrup
½ tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper
6 tbsp olive oil
Combine all the ingredients and whisk together until the dressing thickens. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.
CHEESECAKE GARNISHED WITH POMEGRANATE SEEDS
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Pumpkin Cheesecake Garnished with Pomegranate seeds
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This cheesecake can be prepared exactly like the one given above (Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake), the only difference being, that the cream cheese and pumpkin mixtures have to be combined together, not arranged in two layers. It might need a little more cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and enjoy!
