Κοτόπουλο με Σάλτσα Εσπεριδοειδών #vimagourmetfoodblogawards #madewithAB

Μπήκε και ο Νοέμβριος. Αρχίσαν τα κρύα, οι βροχές και... τα κρυώματα! Πέρυσι την έβγαλα καθαρή. Ούτε ένα κρύωμα, ούτε μια ίωση. Αλλά φέτος φαίνεται δεν θα έχω την ίδια τύχη. Ήδη μετράω ένα και αισθάνομαι ότι έρχεται και δεύτερο. 

Το καλύτερο γιατρικό νομίζω ότι το ξέρετε όλοι. Βιταμίνη C και ζεστή κοτόσουπα! Αλλά με τέτοιο ήλιο εκεί έξω δεν μου πάει καρδιά να φτιάξω σούπα. Όχι ακόμα. Το πνεύμα μου αντιστέκεται σθεναρά στον ερχομό του χειμώνα αν και το σώμα εμφανώς ασθενεί. 

Από την κοτόσουπα λοιπόν κράτησα μόνο το κοτόπουλο και το ρύζι, πρόσθεσα φρέσκο χυμό πορτοκαλιού, μυρωδικά, κρεμμύδι και μουστάρδα και έφτιαξα ένα ηλιόλουστο, θρεπτικό φαγάκι.

Γεμιστά με Κιμά, Μπέικον και Μυρωδικά - Stuffed Summer Vegetables with Beef, Bacon and Fresh Herbs

(For English scroll down)

Ψάχνω για δουλειά εδώ και 9 μήνες, από τη μέρα σχεδόν που επέστρεψα στην Ελλάδα, και φυσικά δεν βρίσκω τίποτα. Μέχρι πριν από 3 βδομάδες που βρήκα κάτι, πιο temp δεν γίνεται. Δεν το απέρριψα όμως. Ακόμα και αυτό ήταν καλύτερο από το τίποτα. 

Ξεκίνησα λοιπόν Δευτέρα πρωί να πάω στο γραφείο και όταν τελείωσα το απόγευμα και γύρισα σπίτι, κουρασμένη, με πονοκέφαλο αλλά τόσο χαρούμενη που μετά από τόσο καιρό βρέθηκα ξανά να κάνω κάτι συνειδητοποίησα ότι δεν είχα σκεφτεί το πιο σημαντικό πράγμα.

Τι να μαγειρέψω...

Cheesy Mushroom & Goat Cheese Pasta #FrenchFridayswithDorie

Hello my dear Doristas! I am back! It's been a while and I missed cooking from our favourite cookbook. I missed so many delicious recipes that our lovely online cooking community has been making and posting every Friday but I will make it up. I promise!

I am so happy that I decided to come back now! Today's recipe is such a treat! Dorie calls it a "Dressy Pasta Risotto" because it is "quick to make, yet chic enough to be served at a fancy dinner party". And even though she calls it a risotto her recipe has nothing to do with rice. It is pasta in a very creamy, delectably cheesy sauce.

Dorie uses butter to slowly sauté one chopped onion, which together with the pasta will boil into the chicken  stock. Then when the pasta is ready and the water almost gone from the pot she adds cream and mascarpone cheese and parmesan. The result is undeniably the most elegant macaroni cheese ever created! Almost like a risotto but not really...

I, of course,  went a bit rogue on this recipe again. Inspired by the "risotto" part of the recipe title I decided to use rice pasta instead of regular pasta. And also because in that way it would be gluten free and George and I would be able to enjoy it without too much guilt - there were very little I could do about the lactose free requirement of our diet so I used lactose free cream and goat cheese but I just could not  stop myself from adding in those tablespoons of mascarpone!! One thing I followed faithfully, was Dorie's suggestion that "it should be generously peppered". Oh my! It was so good! The sweetness of crushed red peppercorns and the spiciness of the green ones really elevated the taste!

Oh yes! It was definitely a good choice to come back to cooking with my online friends today!

To see how my fellow Doristas liked this recipe click here!

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Cheesy Mushroom & Coat Cheese Pasta

Adapted from "Around my French Table" by Dorie Greenspan

Serves 2 as a main or 4 as a side dish

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

3 cups of chicken stock

250 gr rice pasta 

1 pinch dried mushrooms, about 3 - 4 mushrooms

50 gr hard goat cheese, grated

1/2 cup lactose free cream, like soy cream

3 tablespoons mascarpone

Red and green crushed peppercorns

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 180C/350F.

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large saucepan. Add the onion and season. Sauté stirring regularly until it is golden. 

Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add the pasta and let it cook until it absorbs almost of the liquid. You might need to add more depending on the type of pasta you use. 

While you cook the pasta, pour the cream and 2 tablespoons of water into a small pan an add the dried mushrooms and fresh thyme. Bring to a boil and then remove it from heat, cover and let the cream infuse until the pasta is ready. 

When the pasta is ready pour in the cream and mushrooms, let boil for about 2 minutes, add the mascarpone, stir it around until it melts into the pasta and then put the pasta in an oven proof baking dish. Sprinkle with the goat cheese and a pinch of peppercorns and put it in the oven. Bake for no more than 10 minutes or until the cheese melts and takes a golden colour. 

Let it stand for 5 minutes and then serve. Enjoy!

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Linking up to:

The Best of the Weekend

Serenity Now
Foodie Friday

Meatballs & Celery Root Rice / Κεφτεδάκια και Ρύζι με Σελινόριζα

(Συνταγή στα Ελληνικά στο τέλος της σελίδας)

First of all let me wish all of you a very Happy New Year!

May 2014 be the year all your wishes and dreams come true!

And now I am ready to confess...I had way too much sugar over the past few days. I fell completely off the wagon. There were different types of cookies, melomakarona, cakes even caramelised fried bananas. They all helped me forget a promise I made months ago that I will try to give up sugar. Try is the key word here because I did try. For a couple of months I went completely fructose free. I felt very good and I even lost a little weight so why did I allow myself to be pushed out by all these sugary treats? I don't know...too many restrictions maybe. No sugar, no gluten, no lactose no, no, no.... I feel physically bad whenever I eat gluten and that is a fact so I don't care about giving it up. The same goes for lactose, even though I still cannot resist any smelly cheese out there. But sugar no, not yet at least...

Nevertheless, I want to welcome 2014 with two great recipes full of flavours and seriously nutritious. This is my type of comfort food. A warm bowl of Celery Root Rice and a plate-full of  succulent, tasty meatballs.

My love affair with celery root has been well documented on this blog. My Baked Celery Root Chips post is one of my favourite  recipes and also my most popular post! I love the texture of the celery root; not too hard but definitely not mushy either. And its slightly lemony flavour it is enough to make a bowl of rice taste better without adding much else. The meatballs are so easy to prepare and they are unexpectedly juicy and very very savoury. I could easily eat a whole  pan of them.

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Celery Root Rice
From Jamie's 15-Minute Meals
Serves 4
Ingredients 

• 1 celery root, peeled and diced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 300 gr basmati rice
• 200 gr baby spinach
• A few springs of fresh thyme

Instructions

• Put 1 tablespoon of olive oil into a casserole pan, add the diced celery root, the thyme, salt and pepper and 1 - 2 tablespoons of water. Put the lid on, turn the heat to high and cook, stirring regularly.
• In another pan, boil the rice with about 2 cups of boiling water and a pinch of salt for about 10 minutes until ready.
• Stir the spinach into the celery root and cook it through. When the rice is ready stir it into the spinach and celery. Season and serve.

Meatballs

From Jamie's 15-Minute Meals
Serves 4
Ingredients

• 200 gr lean beef mince
• 200 gr pork mince
• 1/2 a bunch of fresh dill
• 2 teaspoons caraway seeds
• 1 shot of vodka
• 4 teaspoons cranberry jam
• 4 tablespoons cream

Instructions

1. Put both beef and pork mince into a bowl, season with salt and pepper and mix them together with your hands. Finely chop the dill and add it to the meat. Mix it all together.
2. Shape the mince into 20 - 25 small balls. Put 1 tablespoon of olive oil into a hot frying pan. Add the meatballs and the caraway seeds. Turn the balls regularly until they become golden.
3. Pour the vodka into the pan and then add the jam, the cream and simmer for 1 - 2 minutes. Serve with the celery root rice.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Ρύζι με Σελινόριζα
Από το βιβλίο Jamie's 15-Minute Meals
Για 4 άτομα
Υλικά 

• 1 σελινόριζα, καθαρισμένη και κομμένη σε κυβάκια 
• 2 κουταλιές ελαιόλαδο
• 300 γρ ρύζι μπασπάτι
• 200 γρ σπανάκι
• Λίγο φρέσκο θυμάρι

Εκτέλεση

• Βάζουμε 1 κουταλιά της σούπας ελαιόλαδο σε μια κατσαρόλα και βάζουμε τη σελινόριζα, το θυμάρι, αλάτι και πιπέρι και 1 - 2 κουταλιές νερό. Βάζουμε το καπάκι, ανεβάζουμε τη φωτιά και μαγειρεύουμε ανακατεύοντας τακτικά. 
• Σε μία άλλη κατσαρόλα βάζουμε το ρύζι μαζί με 2 φλιτζάνια βραστό νερό και μια πρέζα αλάτι και βράζουμε για 10 λεπτά μέχρι να γίνει. 
• Προσθέτουμε το σπανάκι στη σελινόριζα και μαγειρεύουμε για 2 - 3 λεπτά. 
• Όταν γίνει το ρύζι ρίχνουμε μέσα το μαγειρεμένο σπανάκι και τη σελινόριζα. 

Κεφτεδάκια

Από το βιβλίο Jamie's 15-Minute Meals

Για 4 άτομα

• 200 γρ μοσχαρίσιος κιμάς
• 200 γρ χοιρινός κιμάς
• 1/2 ματσάκι άνηθος, ψιλοκομμένος
• 2 κουταλάκια του γλυκού σπόροι κύμινου
• 1 σφηνάκι vodka
• 4 κουταλάκις μαρμελάδα cranberry 
• 4 κουταλιές της σούπας κρέμα γάλακτος

Instructions

1. Βάζουμε τους δύο κιμάδες σε ένα μπολ και αλατοπιπερώνουμε. Τους αναμειγνύουμε καλά και προσθέτουμε τον άνηθο. 
2. Φτιάχνουμε 20 - 25 μικρά μπαλάκια.
3. Βάζουμε 1 κουταλιά ελαιόλαδο σε ένα τηγάνι και προσθέτουμε τα κεφτεδάκια και τους σπόρους κύμινου. Τηγανίζουμε γυρίζοντας τα κεφτεδάκια τακτικά μέχρι να χρυσίσουν. 
4. Ρίχνουμε τη vodka και την μαρμελάδα, και μετά την κρέμα γάλακτος και αφήνουμε το φαγητό να πάρει μια βράση.
5. Σερβίρουμε με το ρύζι. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oven Roasted Anchovies with Tomato and Oregano Brown Rice / Γαύρος Πλακί και Καστανό Ρύζι με Ντομάτα και Ρίγανη

I'm gearing up for my month by the sea. It starts this Friday. Hooray!!!. I can't wait but, in the main-time. there are so many things to be taken care of. Don't you just feel that the last few days before your vacation are always the most demanding, tiring and long?

This year, Georgie, Psipsini and I will be going to the place were I spent all my childhood and early adulthood summers, Fourka Beach, a long sandy stretch of beach in the middle of the west coast of the Kassandra Peninsula of Chalkidiki. To say that I just love this beach feels like an understatement. I feel safe and at home when I'm there and I can really let go and relax, enjoy the simple pleasure of an early swim in the crystal sea, a refreshing iced tea under the umbrella, a plateful of oven roasted anchovies. 

Fresh anchovies, I think, are a bit undervalued in the "west". Maybe because they are so small many home cooks think that they are bound to be difficult to clean. Rejoice! There is really no reason to clean them as thoroughly as with big fish. Just cut open their belly and clean the cavity of the insides and that's it. Don't worry about the bones. They are so tender, once cooked, you can actually eat the fish whole. At least this is how my mother taught me to eat them...

Fresh anchovies are a staple of the Greek summer table. They are cheap and quite versatile. Roasted with tomato and onions, grilled with lemon and oregano, fried coated in flour, marinated in vinegar and garlic, there are so many ways to enjoy them. I roasted mine with onions, peppers, capers and laurel and served them alongside a brown rice, tomato and oregano risotto. Brown rice doesn't have to be a blunt, wintery food. It can be transformed by adding a little bit of oregano, fresh tomato and onion and hey presto you have a light nutritious summer meal smelling and tasting of the Mediterranean sea.

Oven Roasted Anchovies with Tomato and Oregano Brown Rice
Serves 2
Ingredients

• 500gr anchovies, fresh or frozen (you can keep the heads and eat them whole because they are so tender)
• 2 yellow onions, sliced
• 2 small laurel leaves
• 2 green peppers, sliced
• 1 tablespoon capers, washed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

For the Rice

• 1 cup brown rice
• 2 cups water
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 tomato chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180C.
2. Wash the anchovies and spread them evenly in a heat-proof baking pan. Mix in the peppers and the onion slices, the capers, laurel and olive oil - I mixed everything together using my hands so that the fish were covered with the olive oil. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

For the Rice

1. Cook the rice in the water until it is ready - about 40 minutes. Add more boiling water if needed.
2. In a pan heat the olive oil and lightly brown the onion, about 4 - 5 minutes. Then add the tomato and oregano. Add the cooked rice to the tomato - onion mix and heat through.
3. Serve and enjoy!

Mediterranean Risotto / Ριζότο με Λαχανικά

It's been so hot the past couple of days! And it happened quite suddenly. Only last week it was raining and the wind blew cold from the North. Today the thermometer hit the low 30's (that's 90F for my American friends) and I'm starting to think that summer has arrived, premature, yet here.

I spent the last weekend of April in Istria, drinking wonderful wine and eating my way though humongous quantities of fresh bread, prosciutto, wild asparagus and pasta! I came back fully sated and a couple kilos heavier. But who cares!!

The view of the sea brought back memories of summers past and I had to seriously restrain myself from dipping into the water, the Adriatic is still quite cold for my Aegean constitution!

Coming back to Zagreb I need something to remind me of the sea! That is, something different from the mini heatwave we've been experiencing! So I venture into the farmer's market to buy my favourite summer vegetables, tomatoes, peppers, aubergines and courgettes!

Fresh thyme and feta cheese just completed my homage to the Mediterranean, serving as a prelude to what is going to follow over the next few months!

Mediterranean Risotto

Adapted from The Food Doctor Ultimate Diet by Ian Marber

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 1 onion finely sliced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus a little to drizzle over the courgettes
• 100 gr (3 1/2oz) brown risotto rice
• 200 ml (7 oz) vegetable stock
• 2 springs fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
• 2 medium courgettes cut into medium thin slices (I used a mandolin)
• 250 gr (8oz) red peppers coarsely chopped
• A squeeze of lemon juice
• 50 gr feta cheese (or more :)

Instructions

1. In a big saucepan soften the onion in the olive oil for about 5 minutes. Add the rice and stir for a few seconds. Add the stock and the thyme, stir well and leave to simmer for about 25 minutes, or until the rice is just cooked and the stock is absorbed. 
2. Put the courgettes and the peppers in a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and to so that are all covered with oil. Put under a medium - hot grill and brown turning them regularly. 
3. When the rice is cooked, mix with the vegetables and add a squeeze of lemon juice. Serve topped with crumbled feta cheese.

You can pair this dish with a light fruity rose like Roxanich Rose 2009 or an aromatic Malvazia from Poletti

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Ριζότο με Λαχανικά

Εμπνευσμένο από το βιβλίο The Food Doctor Ultimate Diet του Ian Marber

Για 2 άτομα

Υλικά

• 1 κρεμμύδι κομμένο σε λεπτές φέτες
• 1 κουταλιά της σούπας ελαιόλαδο, και λίγο ακόμα για να ραντίσουμε τα κολοκύθια
• 100 γρ καφέ ρύζι για ριζότο
• 200 ml ζωμός λαχανικών
• 2 κλωναράκια φρέσκο θυμάρι or 1 κουταλάκι του γλυκού ξερό
• 2 μέτρια κολοκυθάκια κομμένα σε λεπτές φέτες
• 250 γρ κόκκινη πιπεριά ψιλοκομμένη 
• 1 κουταλιά της σούπας χυμό λεμονιού
• 50 γρ φέτα

Instructions

1. Σοτάρουμε το κρεμμύδι στο ελαιόλαδο για 5 λεπτά. Προσθέτουμε το ρύζι και ανακατεύουμε για λίγο. Προσθέτουμε τον ζωμό και το θυμάρι. Ανακατεύουμε καλά και βράζουμε σε σιγανή φωτιά για 25 λεπτά ή μέχρι να γίνει το ρύζι και να απορροφηθεί ο ζωμός.  
2. Βάζουμε τα κολοκυθάκια και τις πιπεριές σε ένα ταψάκι και τα περιχύνουμε με λίγο λάδι. Τα βάζουμε κάτω από ζεστό γκριλ και τα αφήνουμε μέχρι να ψηθούν γυρνώντας τα συχνά.  
3. Όταν το ρύζι βράσει, το ανακατεύουμε με τα λαχανικά, ρίχνουμε το χυμό λεμονιού και τη φέτα. 

Butternut Squash Risotto with Feta Cheese / Ριζότο με Κολοκύθα και Φέτα

(Συνταγή στα Ελληνικά στο τέλος της σελίδας)

I always try to cook with ingredients that are in season. Having said that, I know that Butternut squash is not a "spring" vegetable, but I saw this organic, deliciously orange squash the other day at the market and I could not resist the temptation! 

This risotto was supposed to be beetroot red but I could not find fresh beetroots, hence, the squash. It seems that 99% of the beetroots produced in this country end up being pickled and I did not want to use those!
The risotto, thought, turned out really good, the sweetness of the squash was balanced by the saltiness of the feta cheese and the crunchiness of the brown rise. Enjoy it with a glass of chilled, fresh Pinot Gris.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Butternut Squash Risotto with Feta Cheese
Adapted from "The Food Doctor Ultimate Diet" by Ian Marber
Serves: 2
Ready in 30 minutes.

Ingredients

• 500 ml (17 fl oz) vegetable stock
• 150g (5 oz) brown rice
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 small butternut squash cut into small squares
• 1/2 teaspoon lightly toasted caraway seeds
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 100g baby spinach
• 1 red onion chopped
• 1 medium head of fennel, cut into fine slices
• 150g (5 oz) feta cheese crumbled

Procedure

1. Boil the rice with the vegetable stock, garlic clove and cinnamon stick for about 35 minutes or until the rice is tender. Drain the remaining liquid, remove the cinnamon stick and mash in the garlic.
2. While the rice is cooking, heat a frying pan and lightly toast the caraway seeds. Remove the seeds and add a tablespoon of olive oil. Add the baby spinach leaves and cook gently until they wilt. Remove from the pan and set aside. 
3. Add one more tablespoon of olive oil and cook the onion, fennel and butternut squash until golden brown. Stir in the spinach and caraway seeds. Combine with the boiled rice and add salt and freshly ground black pepper. 
4. Place the risotto in a shallow baking dish and scatter over the feta cheese. Bake for 10 minutes into a hot oven and serve.

~~~~~~~~~

Ριζότο με Κολοκύθα και Φέτα

Εμπνευσμένο από το βιβλίο "The Food Doctor Ultimate Diet" by Ian Marber

Για 2 άτομα

Έτοιμο σε 30 λεπτά

Υλικά

• 500 ml ζωμό λαχανικών
• 150 γρ καστανό ρύζι
• 1 σκελίδα σκόρδο
• 1 στικ κανέλας
• 1 μικρή κολοκύθα καθαρισμένη και κομμένη σε τετράγωνα
• 1/2 κουταλάκι του γλυκού σπόρους κύμινου 
• 2 κουταλιές της σούπας ελαιόλαδο
• 100 γρ σπανάκι
• 1 κόκκινο κρεμμύδι, ψιλοκομμένο
• 1 μεσαίο φινόκιο, κομμένο σε λεπτές φέτες
• 150 γρ φέτα σε κομμάτια

Εκτέλεση

1. Βράζουμε το ρύζι στον ζωμό λαχανικών μαζί με το σκόρδο και την κανέλα για 35 λεπτά ή μέχρι να μαλακώσει το ρύζι. Σουρώνουμε το ρύζι, βγάζουμε την κανέλα και λιώνουμε το σκόρδο μέσα στο ρύζι. 
2. Όσο βράζουμε το ρύζι ετοιμάζουμε τα λαχανικά. Ζεσταίνουμε ένα μικρό τηγάνι και σοτάρουμε τους σπόρους κύμινου για 1 λεπτό μέχρι να μυρίσουν ωραία. Αφαιρούμε τους σπόρους από το τηγάνι και ρίχνουμε 1 κουταλιά ελαιόλαδο. Βάζουμε το σπανάκι στο τηγάνι και το σοτάρουμε μέχρι να μαλακώσει περίπου 5 λεπτά. Αφαιρούμε από τη φωτιά και αφήνουμε στην άκρη.  
3. Βάζουμε 1 κουταλιά ελαιόλαδο στο τηγάνι και σοτάρουμε το κρεμμύδι, το φινόκιο και την κολοκύθα μέχρι να ροδίσουν. Στη συνέχεια προσθέτουμε το σπανάκι και τους σπόρους κύμινου. Προσθέτουμε και το μαγειρεμένο ρύζι και αλατοπιπερώνουμε.  
4. Βάζουμε το ρυζότο σε ένα πυρέξ, πασπαλίζουμε με κομματάκια φέτας και ψήνουμε σε ζεστό φούρνο για 10 λεπτά.