Month: April 2015

Persian Broad Beans with Eggs – Baghali Ghatogh

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Broad beans (or fava beans) have a long relation with the inhabitants of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East. They are being cultivated for 8000 years and have left their mark in epidemiology and politics as well – they were used as votes in Ancient Greece. A small percentage of the population in the area do not take broad beans well and this is somehow related to the resistance against endemic malaria. So consuming broad beans was not always without risk. Right now it is their season and our garden is full of them. So we decided to try out this dish, that an Iranian friend used to cook for us some years ago. We didn’t have the recipe, so we did some research and several trials. It is a quick and easy recipe, given that you’ve already podded and shelled your broad beans, because that takes time. A lot of time actually… To shell your podded beans, put them in a saucepan, cover them with water and bring to a boil for 1 minute. Then drain …

Fried potatoes with eggs

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When I was a child my mother used to cook fried potatoes with eggs in the summer. We spent the summers in a small house by the sea. You walked down the few steps from the veranda and you were on the sand beach. On the bed at night you heard the gentle sound of the waves on the sand – the wind blew north to south and the coastline was shielded from big waves. The smell at the front of the house was crisp from the sea, on the back moist from the fields. There were no cars, no electricity. The small kitchen had a door at the end of a corridor leading to the one side of the veranda. From the kitchen you could see the sea and at night from the sea you could see the light in the kitchen –and my mother preparing the food. In the evenings we children played on the moist sand and came on the veranda when dinner was ready. Our diet in the summers was defined …

Strawberry Tart Forever

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Spring calls for strawberries. The fruit markets are full with delicious strawberries this time of the year and I try to make use of them in every possible way. I think that this basic strawberry tart recipe of Stelios Parliaros, will make you feel like a professional patissier. For the pastry 300g all purpose flour 200g very cold unsalted butter,cut into small cubes 100g icing sugar 1 egg For the filling 350g full fat milk 150g whipping cream 80g caster sugar 1 egg 3 egg yolks 40g cornstarch 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scrapped out 500g fresh strawberries For the glaze 1 Tbsp strawberry jam 1Tbsp boiling water For the sweet pastry, combine flour, butter and sugar in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Change to the hook attachment and add the egg. Continue mixing  until dough comes together to form a ball. Turn the mixture out onto a plastic wrap and shape into a disc. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Remove the pastry from the refrigerator and roll out …

Wild Rice Salad

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Healthy and delicious, this hearty salad is great to serve all year round. Makes a perfect light meal or side dish for anything grilled and it’s great on a buffet table. For the salad 2 cups wild rice, uncooked 1 red bell pepper, diced 1 yellow bell pepper, diced 4-5 spring onions, finely chopped 1 cup green peas, boiled in water for 3-4 minutes 1/2 cup black olives without pits, chopped 1/2 cup black raisins 1 cup parsley, stalks and leaves finely chopped 1 cup dill, stalks and leaves finely chopped For the vinaigrette 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 6 Tbsp balsamic vinegar 3 tsp dijon mustard 1 tsp brown sugar 2 Tbsp chives, finely chopped Add rice and 7 cups of salted water in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered for about 45-50 minutes. Drain off any excess liquid and place the rice in a bowl. Pour half the vinaigrette over warm rice mixing thoroughly, then set aside to cool. Combine rice with all the other salad …

Strawberry Vodka Drink

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A recipe doesn’t have to be difficult to be a success. This vodka-strawberry drink, adapted from a recipe by Argiro Barbarigou, takes only 15 minutes to make and is always a hit with our guests. 500 g fresh strawberries 500 g caster sugar 700 ml vodka Purée the strawberries in a blender or food processor. Add the sugar and blend until you get a smooth mixture. Add the vodka and blend just a little to incorporate. Transfer the mixture to a bottle and refrigerate. This is not a liqueur, so you don’t need to wait a long time. Once cold, you can drink it! Always shake the bottle well, before serving. You can also freeze it, in which case it will become more sorbet-like.

The Analytics of Taramosalata

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Taramosalata ranks high as far as Greek dishes are concerned. If you google Taramosalata you get 47,300 results. It does better than moussaka  (30,600 results) or tzatziki (8,280 results), but not as high as greek salad (54,900 results). Drilling down on the varieties, you get 18,300 results for the taramosalata recipes using potatoes and 27,600 results for recipes using bread. The one  I’m going to present here is  intense using more tarama (carp roe) than bread. If it is too salty for your taste you can add more bread. Depending on the type of roe used, it’s colour can vary from light beige to pale pink. Try to avoid the bright pink coloured fish roe, as it is usually of lower quality and artificially dyed. 100 g white tarama (carp roe or cod roe) 90 g white sourdough bread, crusts removed, soaked in water and squeezed- 1 or 2 days old bread works better for this recipe 60 g lemon juice (approximately the juice of two lemons) 190-200 g extra virgin olive oil Place the …