Pumpkin, Mint & Feta Cheese Pie ~ Κολοκυθόπιτα με Φέτα και Δυόσμο

(Συνταγή στα Ελληνικά στο τέλος της σελίδας)

Hello from the unseasonably warm Athens, the city where for the next 6 months I will be sniffing, slurping and spitting fermented grape juice and other noble spirits.

It's been a pretty busy couple of weeks, travelling from Zagreb to Madrid, back to Zagreb, then to Belgrade and finally reaching Athens on the worst week possible, for someone who's been away from this behemoth of a city for years! The media call it "Black Week", "the Mother of all Strikes" since everybody is on strike, protesting against the government's "newest collection" of austerity measures. This blog has many sides and interests; talking about politics is not one of them. So I will spare you the political analysis of the government's decisions and their effect on the social structure of the Greek society mambo jumbo and instead I will talk about MY thoughts and experiences of the past two weeks. 

I did get a small taste of the "Athens-jungle, pre-demonstration traffic-jam" yesterday which was more than enough to make me decide to abandon any attempt to go to the centre of Athens and stay put at the leafy suburb of Psychiko, where my new humble adobe is located.  

For a few weeks now I have posted about books, travel memories and  photographs, even about a non-existent ashtray... Everything was on my blogging menu except for food. To be more accurate, food that I cooked by myself, because there has been plenty of food around that eventually found it's way to my stomach and ultimately my thighs. Yet I refused to go to the gym and I refused to cook. The gym was because "I was separating " from my life in Zagreb so that the transition to Athens would be as smooth as possible (fat chance with all the strikes - but I did manage to visit two gyms today and I have to decide which one I'm going to join). I was somewhat accepting towards the gym-truancy but what about my cooking abstinence?  I used to think that cooking relaxes me. I have now come to believe that I was way wrong about this. Yes, cooking is a joyful, exciting and creative, but I came to think that I can only perform when I'm not in such a stressful situation as I have been in the weeks leading to my "relocation" to Athens. I lived on nuts and cheese and rice cakes during those weeks...so yes cooking is not my forte when I'm experiencing periods of upheaval in my life....

Having said all these, I am now ready to move on to today's recipe of a very Greek version of savoury pumpkin pie, which I did not make but I surely ate and enjoyed, especially after being on the road for a total of 7 1/2 hours .

We arrive home and up there on the stove stood the most scrumptious pumpkin pie I have ever seen in my life! Orange with specks of white feta cheese covered with crispy pastry. I was transfixed!!! I had to fight the urge to ignore everything and everyone and shove a fork into that baby ASAP. But I am girl with manners and I waited patiently, stealing glances at the beckoning pie, until the whole family gathered around the table for a pretty late dinner celebrating our arrival. 

The pumpkin, sacrificed to make this masterpiece had travelled almost the same distance as  we. It came from the vegetable garden of Vasilka's father in the Bulgarian village of Shtit (Vasilka has been the housekeeper for years and she is practically part of the family). The pie was inspired and prepared by my mother in law, who is an amazing woman with a natural talent for cooking (among other things) and a huge repertoire of delicious sweet and savoury recipes, many of which I will be sharing with you in due time!!! Even though this pie contains gluten from the fillo pastry, it is completely egg-free and is very low on lactose (cheese made from sheep and goat milk has a lot less lactose than cow's cheese). It combines the sweetness of the pumpkin with the saltiness and spiciness of both types of cheese and the spearmint, it might sound strange but this is the special ingredient that makes this simple pumpkin pie into an extraordinary, culinary masterpiece!

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Pumpkin, Mint & Feta Cheese Pie

Serves 8

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 kg pumpkin flesh, boiled and let to drain for 6 hours
• 500 gr feta cheese, crumbled
• 300 gr graviera cheese or any other hard, spicy cheese made from sheep's milk, crumbled
• 2 - 3 tablespoons fresh mint or spearermint, chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 5 spring onions, finely chopped
• 6 sheets of fillo pastry
• Olive oil for brushing the pastry

Procedure

1. Clean and de-seed a pumpkin large enough to yield about 1.5 kg of flesh. Boil the flesh in as much water as it takes to just cover it, for as long as it takes so that a fork can easily separate the flesh and then strain it in a colander or cheesecloth for at least 6 hours. It is it better to do the straining overnight to save time during the day.
2. Preheat oven to 180 C.
3. In a large pot, heat the olive oil and sauté the spring onions for 3 - 4 minutes. Add the strained pumpkin flesh and stir well. Add the cheeses and mint, remove from heat and stir. 
4. Brush a non-stick baking pan with olive oil, lay the first fillo and brush it with olive oil, then lay the second, brush this one as well and finally lay the third. Pour the pumpkin - cheese mixture onto the fillo and smooth it evenly. Place a fillo sheet on top, brush it with olive oil, and repeat with the remaining two sheets. Sprinkle the last one with a little bit of water and drizzle with olive oil. I suggest that you cut the pie in pieces before you put it in the oven - this will make it easier to serve once baked.
5. Bake this marvellous pumpkin pie for 45 minutes until the pastry becomes crispy and golden. 

I suggest that you share it with other people but, really, I will understand if you want to eat it all by yourself. 

Vasilka told me that, back when she was a small girl, living in her village, her father had too many pumpkins and those they couldn't use, gave to their donkey as a treat - lucky, lucky donkey 'cause this was the sweetest pumpkin I had in years!

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Πίτα με Κολοκύθα, Δυόσμο και Φέτα 

Για 8 άτομα

Υλικά

• 1 1/2 κιλό κολοκύθα, βρασμένη και στραγγισμένη για τουλάχιστον 6 ώρες
• 500 γρ φέτα, τριμμένη
• 300 γρ γραβιέρα τριμμένη
• 2 - 3 κουταλιές της σούπας φρέσκο δυόσμο ψιλοκομμένο
• 2 κουταλιές της σούπας ελαιόλαδο
• 5 φρέσκα κρεμμυδάκια, ψιλοκομμένα
• 6 φύλλα κρούστας
• Ελαιόλαδο για το άλειμμα της πίτας

Procedure

1. Καθαρίζουμε μια κολοκύθα που θα μας δώσει περίπου 1.5 κιλό σάρκας. Τη βάζουμε σε κατσαρόλα και την καλύπτουμε με νερό. Βράζουμε μέχρι να μαλακώσει η σάλκα και να χωρίζεται εύκολα με ένα πιρούνι. Την βάζουμε σε ένα τουλπάνι και τη στραγγίζουμε καλά για τουλάχιστον 6 ώρες. 
2. Προθερμαίνουμε το φούρνο στους 180 βαθμούς. 
3. Ζεσταίνουμε το ελαιόλαδο σε μια φαρδιά κατσαρόλα και σοτάρουμε τα κρεμμύδια για 3 - 4 λεπτά. Προσθέτουμε την στραγγισμένη κολοκύθα και ανακατεύουμε καλά. Αποσύρουμε από τη φωτιά, προσθέτουμε τα τυριά και τη μέντα και αφήνουμε τη γέμιση να κρυώσει.  
4. Αλείφουμε ένα ταψί με ελαιόλαδο. Απλώνουμε ένα φύλλο κρούστας και το αλείφουμε μς ελαιόλαδο. Επαναλαμβάνουμε με άλλα δύο φύλλα. Απλώνουμε την γέμιση πάνω στα φύλλα, γυρνάμε προς τα μέσα τυχών φύλλα που περισσεύουν αλείφοντας τα και αυτά με ελαιόλαδο. Απλώνουμε ένα φύλλο πάνω από τη γέμιση το αλείφουμε με ελαιόλαδο και επαναλαμβάνουμε με τα υπόλοιπα δύο. Ραντίζουμε με νερό. Κόβουμε την πίτα σε κομμάτια. 
5. Ψήνουμε την πίτα για 45 λεπτά μέχρι να γίνει χρυσή και τραγανή. 

Chocolate, Tahini & Dark Rum Super Moist Cake

Last week I made a zesty, tasty Hummus with chickpeas and tahini. I make hummus almost every week because...well I don't need a specific reason to make hummus...it is easy, nutritious - lots of Omega 3 oils from the sesame seeds -  and most importantly, spreadable - perfect on a slice of bread or a rice cake for a quick snack.  I keep a big jar of tahini in my fridge and sometimes I experiment in using it in marinades and various bean based dips. But what else can you do with it, apart from hummus? 

In Greece when you hear the word "tahini" you immediately associate it with halva. Dense and sweet, it is made from sesame seed paste mixed with sugar, cocoa or vanilla, toasted almonds or pistachios. It is very well known and loved not only in Greece but all over the Eastern Mediterranean, Middle East and North Africa. It is a traditional dessert, the best choice for those who fast during the period of Lent. For all its richness and sweetness, halva is a humble dessert for the pious no matter their religion.  

But I was in no mood for halva. I wanted something "less traditional" and I found it in this recipe from one of Greece's best pastry chefs. It is a Chocolate, Tahini and Dark Rum Cake and I can tell you that there is nothing humble and pious about it, apart maybe from that it is so easy to prepare. You don't even need a mixer. Just a big bowl and a whisk and you are in business. Tahini and rum complement each other perfectly. You get an explosion of unique aromas and flavours with every bite, sweet cinnamon, vanilla and cloves from the rum, bitter notes of sophisticated earthiness from the dark chocolate and finally that particular piquancy of sesame. It is a very rich and very moist cake perfect when warm from the oven, even better when cold the day after. 

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Chocolate, Tahini & Dark Rum Super Moist Cake

Recipe from Stelios Parliaros "Μαθήματα Γλυκιάς Αλχημείας - Πρωτότυπες και Δημιουργικές"

Serves 8

Ingredients

300 gr tahini

300 gr powdered sugar

300 gr flour

200 gr dark chocolate, melted

300 ml dark rum

1 teaspoon baking powder

Procedure

Pre-heat oven to 180 C.

Butter a cake pan and sprinkle it with white sugar. I used a long pan but you can use a round one if you prefer.

In a big bowl, mix the tahini, dark rum and powdered sugar. Add the melted chocolate. Whisk in the flour and baking powder. 

Pour the mixture into the pan and sprinkle its surface with white sugar (The sugar will caramelise while the cake is baking and it give it a nice crunchy texture).

Bake for 20 - 30 minutes, depending on the size of your pan. 

When ready, gently run a knife around the edges of the pan, put your serving plate on top and turn over. The cake should fall easily on the plate and it should be hard on the outside and quite moist inside. 

I am entering this post into this months Bookmarked Recipes by Ruth from Ruth's Kitchen Experiments and hosted by Jacqueline from Tinned Tomatoes.

I am linking this post with                                                            

French Fridays with Dorie: Hummus & more

First I made the hummus...

It didn't take much time! Chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, salt & pepper. Simplicity never tasted so good.

Then I made the sweet potato chips...and I burned the first butch. I doesn't matter how interesting Angela's post for her Pumpkin Seed Oil Bunt cake is, when the timer goes off you have to go and check the oven...

Then I baked a few more sweet potatoes. Here in Zagreb I can only find red-skinned, white-fleshed sweet potatoes, they are not very photogenic but they taste yummy. I baked some thinly sliced celery root to supplement the vegetable quota of the day :)

Then I made the chicken...Trevor reminded me last week that I have a bush of rosemary thriving on my windowsill which is in desperate need of trimming... so Balsamic Rosemary Chicken was born.

You would think that's enough. I made this week's FFwD chosen recipe, a zesty hummus. I have sweet potato chips to dip into the hummus and I even have chicken to make everything a full meal. But no. I want more...I want...grapes and apples and fennel. So I made it again. Last week's recipe, that is, only this time I swapped the bitterness with the drunken sweetness of fennel. I am going to say just one thing...grapes and fennel are a match made in taste heaven. 

I cannot give you the recipe for the wonderful hummus I made today. You have to buy Dorie Greenspan's book "Around My French Table". But I promise it is worth every cent...I mean who would have thought grapes and apples in butter....magic....

I can give you the recipe for the Baked Sweet Potato & Celery Root Chips and the Balsamic Rosemary Chicken so here you go....

Baked Sweet Potato & Celery Root Chips
For 4 - 6 people
Ingredients
1 kg sweet potatoes
1/2 celery root (about 300gr)
Olive oil or coconut oil (2 - 4 tablespoons each)
Turmeric
Thyme
Paprika
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Ground cumin
Sea salt & ground pepper
Procedure

Pre-heat oven to 150 C.

Slice the sweet potatoes very thinly using a mandolin.  If you don't have a mandolin you can use a very sharp knife but please be very careful.  I left the skin on but you can peel it if you want. 

Peel the celery root and slice it thinly with a knife or a mandolin. 

Put the sweet potatoes in a bowl.  Add half of the olive oil and whatever seasoning you like. I used paprika, garlic powder and thyme. Mix them very well with your hands.

In another bowl mix the celery root slices with about 2 tablespoons of coconut oil turmeric, cumin, onion powder, salt and pepper.

Lay the slices out on a oven pan covered with baking paper. It is better for the slices not to overlap with each other. This will mean that you have to bake them in batches. If you are pressed for time and don't care about how crispy the chips become you can put them all together but there is a big possibility that they will turn out a bit soggy. 

Bake the sweet potatoes for about 35 minutes, checking frequently, or until they are nice and crispy.  

Balsamic & Rosemary Chicken
Recipe from "The Food Lovers Make it Paleo" by Bill Staley & Hayley Mason
Serves 2

Ingredients

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, minced

4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 200 C.

Rinse the chicken breasts and pat them dry with a paper towel. Place them in baking dish.

Drizzle the olive oil over them and rub them to evenly distribute the oil. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Rub them with the garlic and rosemary and put them in the oven.

Roast for 20 - 30 minutes (depending on the oven) until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 75 C. 

Remove from the oven and pour the balsamic vinegar over the cooked chicken. Prepare yourselves for a bit of sizzling action!!

Enjoy!

Saffron & Cardamom Ice Cream

I swear to God...dermatologists have a secret yearning to psychoanalyse their patients. It's the third time this year that instead of prescribing a cream for my suffering face, my newest dermatologist started lecturing me about "taking the right path in life". As if I do this all my skin problems will magically disappear!! Sure, stress is a major acne multiplier but there are other factors like hormones,  digestive health, nutrition - only last week I realised that nightshades (peppers, tomatoes, aubergines) cause my skin to erupt like a volcano. I told her that, I was not able to get her full attention... And then asked me the dreaded question: "but why are you stressed...you are so young". Like stress is something that old-er people are entitled to and anyway I am not that young. I am 33 years old and I have had skin problems for most of my life. I just hate it when I have to explain and defend myself to strangers especially when it has taken so much time and effort to explain myself to "my people". Anyway I am a good-natured individual and I did not get completely pissed off with her. I gave her the benefit of the doubt and I am going to follow her treatment plan for a couple weeks, always hoping for good results.

What does this have to do with me making Saffron & Cardamom Ice Cream? Nothing. I just wanted to unload - thank you anonymous reader for listening to me - and direct my energy into making something sweet and aromatic to compensate for the sourness I felt after my encounter with the amateur "dermachologist".

I found this recipe in a magazine I bought in Greece during my vacation. It was a special issue devoted to ice cream. mmmm there were more than 30 recipes in there but the one that caught my eye was a simple cream ice cream spiced with cardamom and saffron and pistachios to give a bit more bite. Saffron I know very well. I grew up with its slightly medicinal aroma. It is precious and quite potent. It makes the phrase "a little goes a long way" stand true. As for cardamom, I have to confess that before we moved to Riyadh I had never tried it before, it being too strong for my mother's taste buds so she never used it in her cooking, even though there are countless recipes for traditional Greek dishes, savoury or sweet, that use it to invoke memories from times past and homelands lost. In Saudi, cardamom was everywhere! In coffee, desserts, savoury dishes. If you wanted to get away from it you had to try really hard. But I didn't. I loved the fresh, slightly sweet and earthy aroma. I brought back with me 2 big jars of cardamom pods and I used it all !!!

As for the ice cream...if you like cardamom you are going to be surprised by its taste, delicate, spicy and exotic!!

Saffron & Cardamom Ice Cream
From Mirsini Lambraki - Γλυκά Μυστικά, August 2012
Ready in: 6 hours
Serves 6 

Ingredients
75 ml fresh full fat milk
185 ml concentrated milk
20 gr blanched almonds, chopped
3 gr ground cardamom
500 ml cream (35% fat)
2 saffron stems
20 gr sugar
100 gr pistachios, chopped
Instructions
Blend the sugar and the saffron together until they become like powder. Put it in a small bowl.
In a large bowl mix the fresh and concentrated milk with the cream and mix them with hand mixer for 5 minutes on high power, until the mixture has acquired a creamy consistency.
Add the ground almonds, cardamom and the powdered sugar. Mix gently with a silicon spatula  with smooth round moves. When all the spices are mixed with the rich cream, empty the contents of the bowl into a big metal bowl and add a few chopped pistachios. Stir for one last time and put in the freezer for 5 - 6 hours.

Tip: Be careful not to use more than 2 saffron stems because the ice cream is going to taste bitter. Put 1 gr of cardamom first and taste and then add more depending on how strong you want it to taste.

I am submitting this recipe to Kavey Eats Bloggers Scream for Ice Cream monthly challenge

I am also entering this post into this months Bookmarked Recipes by Ruth from Ruth's Kitchen Experiments and hosted by Jacqueline from Tinned Tomatoes.

French Fridays with Dorie: Spiced Poached Apples

What a difference a week makes!!! Last Friday I had summer on my plate with the colourful and delicious Eggplant Tartine. This week I seem to have Autumn. Apples and pears are definitely autumn fruit. And the weather, here in Zagreb, is definitely in tune with this lovely dessert.  For the past two days it's been raining non stop and the temperature is stuck around the 10 degree Celsius mark. Brrrr. It's chilly and windy out there. But inside it's warm and smells like...Christmas. I know it's way too early to think about Christmas but I could not help myself...cinnamon, vanilla, and orange, are surely scents of Christmas.

This dessert is really, really easy and quick to make. You can just make the syrup (water, honey, star anise, cinnamon, vanilla, orange and lemon zest) and use it in other recipes. It is light and incredibly aromatic. 

I chose to use apples and I did not use the sugar but just the honey. I spiked it a bit with two tablespoons of home-made Walnut liqueur. It was fantastic. The perfect dessert for a chilly autumn Friday afternoon. 

I just love the tiny vanilla seeds

To see how other bloggers liked Spiced Poached Apples or Pears check out French Fridays with Dorie website where every Friday we make recipes from Dorie Greenspan's book "Around My French Table"

Chocolate Berry Pudding - Σοκολατένια Πουτίγκα με Φρούτα του Δάσους Χωρίς Ζάχαρη

(Συνταγή στα Ελληνικά στο τέλος της σελίδας)

A few days ago, I discovered a blog named Chocolate Log Blog, a quite appropriate name, I think, since it is all about chocolate. Hundreds of cakes, biscuits, tarts, puddings all containing some form of chocolate. Choclette together with Chele from Chocolate Teapot run a very interesting monthly cooking event called We Should Cocoa.  I was intrigued by the idea of making a chocolate dessert every month, without any restrictions, save one, the use of a special ingredient picked by Choclette every month and so I decided to give it a try...

I recently bought Sarah Wilson's "I Quit Sugar Cookbook" and I have already made a few really nice fructose free recipes, so I scanned through it and came up with some very interesting cocoa recipes. I chose to make the Choc Berry Mud because my freezer is full of frozen strawberries, blueberries and blackcurrants, a perfect fit for the We Should Cocoa challenge since this month's special ingredient is blackcurrants. The "mud" (as Sarah calls it) came together instantly by blending all the ingredients. It is an easy, fuss free and refreshing dessert for every season.

Chocolate Berry Pudding

Adapted from "I Quit Sugar Cookbook" by Sarah Wilson

Serves 2 - 4

Ingredients

• 1 cup frozen berries (raspberries, blueberries, blackcurrants)
• 1 large soft avocado, cleaned, peeled and de-seeded
• 1/4 cup raw cacao powder
• 1 cup almond milk (or less if you want the consistency to be thicker)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla powder
• 1 teaspoon stevia

Instructions

1. Blend all the ingredients in a blender. Pour into bawls and serve immediately.

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Σοκολατένια Πουτίγκα με Μούρα Χωρίς Ζάχαρη

Από το βιβλίο "I Quit Sugar Cookbook" της Sarah Wilson

Για 2 - 4 άτομα

Υλικά

• 1 φλιτζάνι κατεψυγμένα φρούτα του δάσους
• 1 μεγάλο ώριμο αβοκάντο, καθαρισμένο χωρίς το κουκούτσι
• 1/4 φλιτζανιού κακάο
• 1 φλιτζάνι γάλα αμυγδάλου (ή λιγότερο αν το θέλετε πιο πικτό)
• 1 κουταλάκι του γλυκού σκόνη βανίλια
• 1 κουταλάκι του γλυκού στέβια

Εκτέλεση

1. Βάζουμε όλα τα υλικά σε ένα μπλέντερ και αναμειγνύουμε. 
2. Σερβίρουμε αμέσως. 

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Crepes with Marinated Beef and Olive and Basil Tapenade / Κρέπες με Μυρωδικά και Μαριναρισμένο Μοσχάρι και Πάστα Ελιάς με Βασιλικό

Yesterday was not a good day for my cooking. It was a great day for my kitchen floor though! It got a pretty good taste of the Olive and Basil tapenade I was preparing for my French Fridays with Dorie entry and claimed the life of one of my favourite Delimano frying pans. They sure are earth and health friendly but they are not at all floor friendly.

Today, I woke up determined to change my bad karma in the kitchen. I burned some incense, planted a new basil plant next to the one I trimmed yesterday, and went ahead to sacrifice some grass fed beef to appease the angry carnivorous spirits that inhabit my tiny kitchen. 

French Fridays with Dorie - Blueberry Marscapone Roulade

From the 10 basic ingredients required for today's recipe I could use "guilt free" {see millions of food intolerances in previous post}only...one. The blueberries! So I kept the blueberries, but made two versions of the rest.

Let me explain...{make a cup of tea and eat a slice of your roulade, it's going to take some time}

Recipe: Bread-less, Egg-less Burgers with Cardamom & Carrot Rice

I am so proud of myself! This is the first time, in my life, that I made a burger that held together while I grilled it! I kid you not! Somehow the art of grilling balls of meat eluded me. I've had so many disappointing results I gave up long time ago, around the time, when, instead of a succulent meaty burger I ended up with a pan full of half burned, flat burger-cookies (Georgie christened them Biftekocookies and urged me to start mass production of them -the  is it a burger? is it a cookie? question would have enticed people to buy them - but since then I was not able to make them again either!). So I stay away from minced meat in case he gets any ideas.

But there comes a time in everyone's life when you cannot control the urge for a meaty, succulent, spicy burger. So I braced myself and went ahead to try this recipe that does not use any eggs, bread or flour! The secret, the recipe claims, lays with the baking soda and yoghurt. I was not going to question the masters.

It is a traditional recipe that comes from the north-east part of Greece, a place well-known for the quality of their beef and cheese products. The mixture of fresh minced beef, onions and oregano has to stay overnight in the fridge together with the yoghurt and the baking soda so that it becomes nice and fluffy. In this way, it is also marinated and infused with the flavours and aromas of the rest of the ingredients leading to a seriously flavourful burger!

As for the Carrot and Cardamom Rice, what can I say...it is dangerously delicious and aromatic. I have to admit that, at first glance, cardamom and oregano don't really match (I am going through a major oregano phase at the moment). But I took my chances and prepared the cardamom rice as a side dish to the burgers. And in a mysterious way it worked! They really complemented each other! 

And since I was going for strong aromas, both with the meat and with the rice, I chose an aromatic, medium bodied, fruity and not very tannic Plavac from the Croatian island of Hvar. 

Bread-less, Egg-less Burgers

Recipe by Niki Chrisanthidou 

Serves 4

Ingredients

500 gr (1 pound) ground beef

2 yellow onion, minced

3 tablespoon yoghurt (those with lactose intolerance can use goat milk yoghurt)

1 small bunch of parsley - just the leaves - chopped

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon paprika

Salt & freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

Procedure

Mix the ground meat, onions, yoghurt, parsley, oregano, paprika and baking soda in a large glass bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

Knead thoroughly until all the ingredients are very well combined. Cover with kitchen wrap and refrigerate overnight. 

When ready to grill/broil them, take the bowl out of the fridge and shape the mixture into medium size burgers. Pre-heat the grill/broiler, put the burgers in a pan and coat them with 2 tablespoons of olive oil (in total). Grill/broil for 12 - 13 minutes, turning once. DO NOT overdo it because they will became dry and not very nice really!! 

Carrot & Cardamom Rice
Adapted from "The Food Doctor Ultimate Diet" by Ian Marber
Serves 4
Ingredients
100 gr (3.5 oz) brown rice
2 garlic cloves
500 ml (17 fl.oz) vegetable stock
1 small cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder
1 yellow onion roughly chopped
1 large carrot grated
Grated rind of one orange
Salt & pepper
Procedure
Boil the rice with the stock, the garlic cloves and the cinnamon stick until just tender (about 25 - 30 minutes). Remove the cinnamon stick and mush in the garlic cloves. Season and set aside.

In a non-stick pan, sauté the onion in the olive oil until it softens. Add the cardamom powder, the grated carrot and the orange rind. Cook for about 5 minutes until the carrot begins to soften.

Stir in the cooked rice and enjoy!

  

Turkey, Asparagus and Rosemary Pasta / Ζυμαρικά με Γαλοπούλα Σπαράγγια και Δεντρολίβανο

Συνταγή στα Ελληνικά στα μέσα της σελίδας!

Ah...Istria...The land of wild asparagus, Malvazija, truffles and North European tourists in huge caravans...

I adore the first!

I am head over heals in love with the second.

Unfortunately allergic to the third and...

trying to avoid the forth like the devil - especially between June and August. 

Recipe: Stuffed Butternut Squash

This is one of those recipes that you read and say "gosh why didn't I think of that?" I use butternut squash a lot, mainly in a supporting role in soups, risottos and bakes. I never thought that it can play the leading role so that the whole recipe could revolve around it or better yet in it! Maybe it's because by the time I'm done peeling and de-seeding I just want to throw it in the pan, be done with it and go nurse my cuts, bruises and aching muscles! 

But this recipe simply makes all your senses happy! Your eyes because of the vibrant colours, your nose because it smells like summer in south of France (or Greece for my sake), your taste-buds because it is simply delicious. And you don't have to peel the squash! Hooray!

I found the recipe while browsing through the BBC Good Food website, an all time favourite source of inspiration. I did not change it, apart from that I used 1 medium and 1 small sized squash and I still had some leftovers from the stuffing, which Georgie was more than happy to make sure vanished from the bowl!

So no more talk! Here is the recipe!


Stuffed Butternut Squash
From Caroline Hire, BBC Good Food Online
Serves 2 as a main dish or 4 as a side. The recipe can easily be doubled
Ready in 1 hour
Ingredients
1 medium & 1 small butternut squash
Olive oil , for roasting
1 big pinch dried oregano
150 gr (5 oz) boiled quinoa
100 gr (3.5 oz) feta cheese
50 gr (1.7 oz) toasted pine nuts
1 small carrot, grated (around 50g or 1.7 oz)
Juice half lemon
1 red pepper, chopped
50 gr (1.7 oz) pitted black olives
2 spring onions , chopped

Instructions
If you do not have ready boiled quinoa, boil it in water or stock. Drain and keep aside.
Heat the oven to 200C/400F. Halve the butternut squashes, scoop out the seeds and score the flesh with a sharp knife.
Arrange the halves on a baking tray, drizzle with a little olive oil, season with freshly ground black pepper and sea salt, sprinkle with dried oregano and cook for 40 minutes.
When ready, take out of the oven, add the chopped peppers to the tray alongside the squash and cook for a further 10 minutes.
Meanwhile mix the rest of the ingredients. Take the tray out of the oven and carefully transfer the peppers to the stuffing mix. Stir together and spoon the filling onto the butternut squash. Return to the oven for 10 mins.
Serve and enjoy!

Spaghetti with Turkey in Coconut Cream and Peanut Butter Sauce - Μακαρόνια με Γαλοπούλα, Κρέμα Καρύδας και Φυστικοβούτυρο

Which is your best cure for hangover? 
For me as strange as it sounds, is a nice, warm and filling pasta dish!

Yesterday, Georgie and I had a blast at a wine tasting event, sampling amazing wines by Roxanich, one of Croatia's best wineries!

Today, I woke up with a headache. Eight glasses of wine and a 15 degree drop in the temperature will do that to you! Frankly, I did not want to see or think about food, but I had half a can of coconut cream in my fridge that had to be utilised immediately. So I went into my kitchen with the apprehension of one who has seen the world spinning the night before and scanned my fridge and pantry for a way to turn coconut cream into a pasta dish.

This is what I came up with: a dish that uses the creaminess of the coconut to make up for it being dairy free and the saltiness of the peanut butter to balance the sweetness of the coconut. I added turkey meat to give it more substance and carrots and peppers for colour and more flavour.

By the time I finished cooking the headache was almost gone and I was seriously contemplating the idea of having a small glass of Roxanich Rose 2009 together with my pasta. Isn't it true that sometimes the best hangover cure is to drink a little of whatever caused it? 

Spaghetti with Turkey in Coconut Cream and Peanut Butter Sauce

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 2/3 teaspoon minced ginger
• 1 medium onion finely chopped
• 1 green pepper sliced
• 1 tablespoon gluten free soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons salty peanut butter
• 5 tablespoons coconut cream
• 2 boneless skinless turkey breasts cut into small cubes
• 1 carrot sliced into ribbons using a potato peeler
• 250 gr (8 oz) rice spaghetti

Instructions

1. In a large sauce pan boil the spaghetti according to directions on the package. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat 1 teaspoon of the oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, ginger, onion and saute for 4 minutes.
3. Add the soy sauce, peanut butter, coconut cream and bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes. Set the sauce aside.
4. Heat another teaspoon of oil in another skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté the turkey for 5 minutes. Add 2 - 3 tablespoons of water or chicken stock.
5. Add the pepper and carrot strips. Sauté until the turkey is done and vegetables are crisp, about 5 to 8 minutes.
6. Add the turkey and vegetable mixture to the sauce. Toss the peanut sauce with the spaghetti and serve.

Μακαρόνια με Γαλοπούλα, Κρέμα Καρύδας και Φυστικοβούτυρο

Για 2 άτομα

Υλικά

• 2 κουταλάκια του γλυκού σησαμέλαιο
• 1 σκελίδα σκόρδο λιωμένη
• 2/3 κουταλάκι του γλυκού τζίντζερ λιωμένο
• 1 κρεμμύδι, ψιλοκομμένο
• 1 πράσινη πιπεριά, κομμένη σε λωρίδες
• 1 κουταλιά σάλτσα σόγιας
• 2 κουταλιές φυστικοβούτυρο
• 5 κουταλιές της σούπας κρέμα καρύδας
• 2 στήθη γαλοπούλας κομμένα σε μικρά κομμάτια
• 1 καρότο κομμένο σε λωρίδες με peeler
• 250 gr σπαγγέτι από ρύζι ή noodles ριζιού

Εκτέλεση

1. Βράζουμε τα μακαρόνια σύμφωνα με τις οδηγίες του πακέτου. Στραγγίζουμε και αφήνουμε στην άκρη. 
2. Ζεσταίνουμε 1 κουταλιά από το λάδι σε ένα τηγάνι σε μέτρια φωτιά. Προσθέτουμε το σκόρδο, το τζίντζερ και το κρεμμύδι και σοτάρουμε για 4 - 5 λεπτά. 
3. Προσθέτουμε τη σάλτσα σόγιας, το φυστικοβούτυρο και την κρέμα καρύδας και αφήνουμε να πάρουν βράση. Χαμηλώνουμε τη φωτιά και σιγοβράζουμε για 5 λεπτά. Την κατεβάζουμε από τη φωτιά. 
4. Ζεσταίνουμε το υπόλοιπο λάδι σε ένα τηγάνι και τσιγαρίζουμε τα κομμάτια της γαλοπούλας. Προσθέτουμε 2 - 3 κουταλιές της σούπας νερό ή ζωμό κοτόπουλου. 
5. Προσθέτουμε τις πιπεριές και τα καρότα και μαγειρεύουμε μέχρι γίνει η γαλοπούλα περίπου 5 - 8 λεπτά. 
6. Προσθέτουμε τη γαλοπούλα και τα λαχανικά στη σάλτσα. 
7. Ανακατεύουμε τη σάλτσα με τα μακαρόνια και σερβίρουμε.