Lemon Chicken with broad beans #blog12daysxmas Day 7

What do you do when you have some chicken thighs but haven't done the marinading you intended and it's 7.30pm?  Well, of course, you look around the kitchen for what you can find and then do a variant of Abla's lemon chicken, though she probably wouldn't recognize it as such.

The combination of garlic, ginger and turmeric is lovely and includes some of my favourite flavours.  I then added some chilli infused-olive oil, but you could add a bit of Sambal oelek or some chopped chilli with plain olive oil.  For the final stage, as well as lemon juice I added some frozen broad beans because there happened to be some in the freezer and that's how I was rolling. If you wanted to use fresh ones, I'd par-cook or cook them before adding to the dish. Or chickpeas (again cooked or canned) would make a very nice addition. I served it on a bed of nutty wholemeal Basmati and the flavours all blended beautifully.  Maybe I'll try it with chickpeas next time?

Ingredients

600 gr chicken thighs
1 dsp salt flakes
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp sliced ginger
1 tsp ground turmeric
2 tbs chilli infused olive oil
juice of two lemons (about 150 ml)
1/2 cup frozen broad beans


Mode

Preheat oven to 210c
Chop the chicken roughly
Arrange the chicken in a baking dish
Sprinkle with salt flakes
Peel and crush garlic
Add garlic, ginger, turmeric and oil to chicken
Mix thoroughly
Roast for 30 minutes
Meanwhile squeeze lemons
Remove the chicken from the oven and pour over the lemon juice
Add frozen broad beans and stir to combine
Return to oven and roast for another 20 minutes.

Raspberry and strained yoghurt icy-poles #blog12daysxmas Day 6

A couple of weeks ago when the mercury hit 41c in Melbourne, I was so cross with myself that I had not had the forethought to make some "icy-poles". However, with hot weather coming up for New Year's Eve and beyond today I got organized and made some. The recipe is very simple: strained yoghurt (what we call Greek yoghurt in Australia) and frozen raspberries.  I just mixed the two ingredients together and spooned the mixture into the moulds. This way you really get both tastes. If you want a sweeter taste, you could add some honey or sugar to the mix, but I prefer the tartness of the raspberry and yoghurt.

I haven't given any measurements but for my moulds I used about three heaped dessertspoons of strained yoghurt and a handful of raspberries for each. But you can experiment depending on what you are making them in. You don't have any moulds? You can make them in muffin tins or make bars wrapped in foil.  Make some before New Year and enjoy in the summer heat!

Ingredients

Strained yoghurt (aka Greek yoghurt)
Frozen raspberries


Mode

Place yoghhurts and raspberries in bowl or jug
Mix together until they are well-combined
Spoon into icy pole moulds
Place into freezer for 10 minutes without sticks
Remove from freezer and insert sticks/lids
Return to freezer
Freeze for at least five hours or until solid (overnight is good)
Loosen from mould by holding under warm water

Edible presents #blog12daysxmas Day 4

People tend to know that I like edible Christmas presents, particularly ones that I can use in cooking. This year provided quite a haul. Apart from a stock of Care tea (True Black, Pure Green, Hibiscus Red, and Minty Green), I got Berenberg Chilli jam and Yarra Valley Eggplant and chilli chutney as well as Stefano's Preserved lemons, more Screaming seeds, this time Rainforest season, and some Wild mushroom sea salt. 

The Screaming seeds and the "flavoured" sea salt are new versions of previous gifts which have given me great fun.

What fun will these lead to in 2016?

"Greek-flavoured" kafta

What happens when you have some minced lamb and look around the kitchen for inspiration? Well, in my case yesterday I came up with "Greek-flavoured" kafta. I had recently read somewhere on a Greek site a recipe for what I call kafta (I can't remember the Greek word) but I couldn't remember exactly where.  So I just made up something as one does. Mine is a combination of the lamb, red onion, garlic, egg and some "Greek seasoning" for meat that my vegetarian nephew, Bast, gave me for Christmas thinking of my meat-eating and Greek interests. The seasoning consists of a dry mixture of oregano, rosemary, garlic, sea salt, black peppercorns, onion, marjoram and lemon myrtle. I am not sure how "Greek" it is, but it provides a nice flavour.

The end result was very yummy served with hummous and a cucumber/tomato salad (not totally in the typical  Greek style as I made it with cherry tomatoes and Lebanese cucumbers). Sebastian would approve of the hummous at least!

 

Ingredients

600 gr lamb mince
1 red onion
3 cloves garlic
3 tsp Screaming Seeds Greek seasoning
1 egg
Olive oil

 

Mode
 
Place minced lamb in mixing bowl

Chop onion finely and add to meat
Crush garlic cloves and add to mixture

Add egg to mixture
Add Greek seasoning to mixture
Combine the mixture thoroughly using hands
Form mixture into sausage shapes
Place on skewers
Cook on griddle or grill for about 5 minutes turning regularly and basting with olive oil

Σεσκουλόπιττα with black sesame

 

Once upon a time when my gardening skills were put to use, I loved having silverbeet/σεσκούλο growing in the garden so that I could pick a few stalks any time I felt like cooking it.  Nowadays I don't grow it but that doesn't mean that I don't eat it. I am amazed that I haven't blogged this recipe before as it is a firm favourite. It is essentially a variant of my spanakopitta recipe and uses silverbeet instead of spinach. I find the silverbeet makes a lighter texture than spinach, though I love them both.  I usually sprinkle it with sesame or poppy seeds, but this time for a change I used black sesame seeds for a slightly different taste.

Ingredients


1/2 bunch of silverbeet
3 spring onions
375 gr ricotta
200gr fetta
2 handfuls Parmesan
1 egg
1/2 tsp Sambal oelek
2 garlic clove
Phyllo pastry
Olive oil
Black sesame seeds

Mode

Preheat the oven to 180c
Roughly chop the silverbeet, discarding the thick stalks
Clean and slice the spring onions
Place the vegetables in a steamer
Peel and crush the garlic and add
Add Sambal oelek
Steam on the stovetop until soft stirring occasionally
Meanwhile place the ricotta in a bowl
Crumble the fetta by hand on top and add a couple of handfuls of grated Parmesan (or to taste)
Add the egg and stir to combine
When the vegetables are cooked add to the mixture and combine well
Using a pastry brush and olive oil line the bottom of a baking dish with about six layers of phyllo taking care to oil well between each layer
Add the cheese and vegetable mixture to the phyllo
Fold the phyllo over the mixture and cover with several layers of phyllo brushing with oil between each layer
Fold in the edges and oil the top layer
Sprinkle with black sesame seeds
With a sharp knife cut the top of the pie into desired portions. DO NOT cut through the bottom of the pie
Cook for 45 minutes in 180c oven until top is crisp and golden
Leave to rest for 2-3 minutes after cooking
Then with a sharp knife cut the portions through to the bottom of the pie
Serve with salad.

Chicken and mushroom pie with yoghurt

I love pies and often try them out in pubs. I also enjoy making them. This batch contains some of my favourite flavours: chicken, mushrooms, basil, ginger, Greek yoghurt. I made four individual pies in souffle dishes but you could make one large pie. Make sure that you use chicken thigh meat as the darker meat has more flavour than the white meat. With basil, I hang fresh basil to dry but you could use purchased dry basil.

Ingredients

I sheet of frozen puff pastry (or adequate for pie dishes)

6 chicken thighs (about 500 gr)

6 tbs Greek yoghurt (ie strained yoghurt)

10 button mushrooms

2 tsp crushed dry basil

2 cloves garlic

2 tsp ginger

3 spring onions

Olive oil

Mode

Preheat oven to 200c

Remove pastry from freezer to thaw

Add oil to frying pan to heat

Roughly chop chicken thighs and add to oil

Stir constantly until sealed

Slice mushrooms and add to mixture

Crush garlic and chop ginger and add to mixture

Crush basil and add to mixture

Slice spring onions and add to mixture

Add yoghurt and stir to combine well

Reduce heat and simmer for about ten minutes

Divide the mixture into four ovenproof souffle dishes

Cut the pastry into circles or squares approppriate to the size of your dishes

Cover the dishes

Bake in the oven at 200c for about 30 minutes

Leek and silverbeet pie/ Σεσκουλοπρασόπιττα

Just after MIFF and inspired by a recipe I saw in a Greek easy reader, I shared a recipe for a leek pie that I had made. This is a variant on that recipe but containing silverbeet as well. The inclusion of silverbeet makes it a lighter pie (and filled with iron!).  The other difference was that rather than cooking the leek in oil before including in the pie, this time I steamed the leek, silverbeet, garlic and chilli. The steaming also contributed to the lighter taste of the pie. I really liked the original leek pie that I made, but try this one if you want a lighter pie that includes more vegetables.

Ingredients

2 leeks
1 bunch of silverbeet
375 gr ricotta
200gr fetta
2 handfuls Parmesan
1 egg
1/2 tsp Sambal oelek
2 garlic clove
Phyllo pastry
Olive oil
Poppy seeds

Mode

Preheat the oven to 180c
Clean the leeks and slice finely
Roughly chop the silverbeet, discarding the thick stalks
Place the vegetables in a steamer
Peel and crush the garlic and add
Add Sambal oelek
Steam on the stovetop until soft stirring occasionally
Meanwhile place the ricotta in a bowl
Crumble the fetta by hand on top and add a couple of handfuls of grated Parmesan (or to taste)
Add the egg and stir to combine
When the vegetables are cooked add to the mixture and combine well
Using a pastry brush and olive oil line the bottom of a baking dish with about six layers of phyllo taking care to oil well between each layer
Add the cheese and vegetable mixture to the phyllo
Fold the phyllo over the mixture and cover with several layers of phyllo brushing with oil between each layer
Fold in the edges and oil the top layer
Sprinkle with poppy seeds
With a sharp knife cut the top of the pie into desired portions. DO NOT cut through the bottom of the pie
Cook for 45 minutes in 180c oven until top is crisp and golden
Leave to rest for 2-3 minutes after cooking
Then with a sharp knife cut the portions through to the bottom of the pie
Serve with salad.

Pork and beef balls

Yes, more meatballs! I am a meatball tragic really. This time I made up the meatballs from a combination of minced pork and beef with ginger, garlic and some dried herbs as well as spring onion. For the herbs, I used sage as well as some of the "standard" mixed herbs which contain marjoram, basil, oregano and thyme.

My original plan had been to make fairly big meatballs with an avgolemono sauce. Yes, I am still trying to recreate the Mouries experience.  But time got away from me and I ended up using a ready made tomato sauce that I had on hand. I served it with wholemeal basmati rice, but you could serve it with pasta, or noodles or vegetables or a salad.  I cooked the dish on the top of the stove. But it can also be cooked in 180c oven for about 45 minutes.

Ingredients

500 gr minced pork

500 gr minced beef
2 spring onions
3 cloves of garlic

3 heaped tespoons minced ginger
2-3 teaspoons dry sage 

2-3 teaspooons mixed herbs
Black pepper
Olive oil

500 gr tomato sauce

Mode

Place tomato sauce on stove top in a casserole or pan large enough to hold the meatballs as well

Heat slowly 
Place minced pork and beef in mixing bowl

Chop spring onions finely and add to meat
Crush garlic cloves and add to mixture

Crush ginger and add to mixture
Add dried sage and mixed herbs to mixture
Combine the mixture thoroughly using hands
Using a heaped dessert spoon form meatballs
Heat olive oil in a pan and quickly seal the meatballs in batches

Add meatballs to the tomato sauce and simmer until cooked.
Serve and enjoy!

Leek Pie Πρασόπιττα

I am just emerging from the fog of the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) where I have been living in many places and times. In an attempt to keep up some Greek reading during MIFF I was reduced to reading some Greek readers in simple Greek that did not require me to be surrounded by dictionaries to get a sense of what I was trying to read. They were good for the train and between films to get a quick Greek fix. But it is certainly true that for me the struggle is usually more worthwhile, and that I prefer struggling with Kavafy and Seferis to reading easy readers.

But there was, indeed, a good thing to come out of this experience. One of the readers featured a couple of recipes and one of them was a leek and cheese pie. This recipe is very different from the one in the reader.  But it made me think of cooking a leek pie as I happened to have some leeks that I had bought for another purpose. And I had ricotta and all the other ingredients.  My leek pie was absolutely delicious!  I made it up as a pie, but you could use the filling for small triangles as well.

 


Ingredients

2 leeks
375 gr ricotta
200gr fetta
2 handfuls Parmesan
1 egg
1/2 tsp Sambal oelek
2 garlic clove
Phyllo pastry
Olive oil
Poppy seeds

Mode

Preheat the oven to 180c
Clean the leeks and slice finely
Peel and crush the garlic
Add Sambal oelek
Place some oil in a frying pan and add leeks, garlic and Sambal oelek
Cook until soft stirring constantly
Meanwhile place the ricotta in a bowl
Crumble the fetta by hand on top and add a couple of handfuls of grated Parmesan (or to taste)
Add the egg and stir to combine
When the vegetables are cooked add to the mixture and combine well
Using a pastry brush and olive oil line the bottom of a baking dish with about six layers of phyllo taking care to oil well between each layer
Add the cheese and leek mixture to the phyllo
Fold the phyllo over the mixture and cover with several layers of phyllo brushing with oil between each layer
Fold in the edges and oil the top layer
Sprinkle with poppy seeds
With a sharp knife cut the top of the pie into desired portions. DO NOT cut hrough the bottom of the pie
Cook for 45 minutes in 180c oven until top is crisp and golden
Leave to rest for 2-3 minutes after cooking
Then with a sharp knife cut the portions through to the bottom of the pie
Serve with salad.

Kefir and chia pudding

 

This post is for my friend Maria and is my current favourite breakfast!  And it is well worth the five minutes it takes to prepare the night before. It really is quite similar to some other chia puddings that I have posted about where I have used Greek (i.e. strained) yoghurt, but in this one I am using kefir. I love the combinations of the flavours with kefir, tahini, chia seeds, figs and raspberries.  But you can do the recipe with any combination of fruit or dried fruit.  Do what feels good to you or use what you have in the house! The critical elements are the kefir, the tahini and the chia seeds.  The rest is up to you. And with the kefir, use as much or as little as you want. Less kefir will lead to a more solid pudding, and more will obviously lead to a thinner one.

 

Ingredients

3 tablespoons chia seeds
1 tablespoon tahini
2 dried figs
6 raspberries (fresh or frozen)
100-150 mls kefir

Mode

Place chia seeds in bowl which will be used for breakfast
Add tahini to bowl
Roughly chop the figs and place in bowl
Add raspberries to bowl
Mix all ingredients thoroughly
Add kefir to bowl and mix well
Place in refrigerator overnight
Eat for breakfast and enjoy!!

Pork balls in avgolemono

Yes, it's meatballs again! Surprise, surprise!  When I was in Athens recently on a couple of occasions I had lovely meatballs in avgolemono at Mouries, one of  the local restaurants in Pangrati near where I was studying Greek. I don't think these meatballs bear much relation to those of Mouries, except for the avgolemono, but the pork, and the sage, and the avgolemono are all flavours I associate with Greece.



Ingredients

500 gr minced pork
2 spring onions
3 cloves of garlic
2-3 teaspoons dry sage
Black pepper
Olive oil
1-2 lemons
2 eggs
1.5 cups chicken stock

Mode

Place minced pork in mixing bowl
Chop spring onions finely and add to pork
Crush garlic cloves and add to mixture
Add dried sage and black pepper to mixture
Combine the mixture thoroughly using hands
Using a spoon form small meatballs
Heat olive oil in a pan and quickly seal the meatballs in batch
Place in an pan which can be heated on the stove-top
Bring stock to the boil and reduce heat to simmer
Squeeze lemon and strain juice
Beat eggs for a couple of minutes
Add the lemon juice carefully while continuing to beat
Then add the hot stock in droplets still continuing to beat
Add the egg and lemon mixture to the pan with the meatballs and combine
Heat until the mixture thickens.
Serve and enjoy!

Tahini chia pudding

What a yummy breakfast! I love tahini and was so excited to see a reference to using it with chia seeds to make a pudding that I went straight out to buy some almond milk to experiment. The tahini goes fabulously with the chia seeds and almond milk and the berries and mixed fruit add tiny morsels of other flavours. This was made with what my hand alighted upon in the kitchen (apart from the almond milk) so I'll be making other experiments.

Ingredients

3 tbs chia seeds

1 tbs tahini

150 mls unsweetened almond milk

6 mixed frozen berries

1 tbs mixed dry fruit

Mode

Add almond milk to a bowl and mix in chia seeds

Add tahini and stir through

Add frozen berries and stir through

Sprinkle dry fruit on top

Place in refrigerator overnight

Eat and enjoy for breakfast!