All posts tagged: recipe

Aromatic Chicken Pie

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Some time ago we decided to cook the traditional moroccan bastilla. We tried out several versions, and in a while  drifted away to our version of chicken pie. We cooked it with dates or sultanas, with chicken livers or not, with hard boiled eggs or scrambled in chicken stock, almonds or pine-nuts – depending on what we had in the fridge and pantry. We settled on the following recipe, for individual or bigger pies. It references to the original moroccan pie in the sense that we kept the sugar and cinnamon on top. This is a simple but time-consuming recipe and everybody loves it. Makes 6 individual pies 1 whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces 4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 kg onions, diced 2 Tbsp finely grated fresh ginger 1 tsp ground cinnamon, plus 1/2 tsp extra for dusting 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg 1/2 tsp ground turmeric 1/2 tsp ground mace a pinch of saffron threads 400 ml warm chicken stock or water 10 dates, pitted and finely chopped 80g pine nuts, toasted 20g  fresh coriander, …

Pizza at Home

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I took the pizza topping test in the internet, and it turns out “I may be a little different than everyone else, but I am  still loved by many”. On top of that, the test says “You Are Pineapple” . I probably should not have chosen San Francisco to go if I won a trip. Seriously now, the topping in this recipe is loved by all (instead of by many). We use Gruyère from Naxos, but you can substitute it with any good quality Gruyère. Makes 4 round pizzas ø 38cm For the dough 500g strong white flour, plus extra for dusting 1 handful wholewheat flour 20g fresh yeast ½ tsp brown sugar 300ml lukewarm water 50ml extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for greasing 2 tsp salt 80g semolina A day before you want to make the pizza combine both flours in the bowl of a mixer. Make a well in the middle, crumble in the yeast and add the sugar and 100ml lukewarm water. Mix a little of the flour into the  mixture and leave to rest for 15 minutes. Then add the oil, salt …

Scones in the Summertime

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We returned to our house by the sea in Naxos after several years – this time with an extra member. We had to come up with a new eating-and-cooking routine, given also the fact that we entertained friends almost daily (or nightly). It had to be easy, fast and secure: cheese pies, scones, chocolate cakes, tzatziki, salads and of course lots  of local cheese, figs and watermelons. For drinks Greek white wines (asyrtiko for the French friends who value terroire) and gin with tonic and lots of ice cubes. Whenever we ran out of cucumbers for the mix, because we put them all in the salad, we used watermelon – they both belong to the cucurbitaceae family. We unpacked kitchenware and put the old stove into use, so we had to adjust cooking and baking times and temperatures. Scones were a success for breakfast, and we had them -unconventionally-  with some local cheese (graviera and xinotyri) or with our homemade apricot jam.  Here is our standard scone recipe, adapted from the cookbook of Rose Carrarini, …

Chocolate mousse with olive oil

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We are Greeks and we put olive oil into anything. For this recipe we use high quality chocolate and unripe extra virgin oil, but if it is too intense for your tastes, skip the ‘unripe’ part which gives a distinct fruitiness to the result. It’s a rather uncomplicated recipe, unless you have a toddler who wants to participate in every step. Adapted from a recipe by Stelios Parliaros. Serves 4-5 200g good quality dark chocolate  (66% cocoa solids) 40g extra virgin olive oil 4 egg yolks 4 egg whites 50g caster sugar 2 Tbsp brandy Break the chocolate into small pieces and drop into a bowl with the olive oil. Fill a small saucepan about a quarter full with hot water, then sit the bowl on top so it rests on the rim of the pan, not touching the water. Put over a low heat until the chocolate has melted, stirring occasionally to mix with the olive oil.Remove the bowl from the pan. Cool slightly. Beat the egg yolks with the brandy until pale yellow. Whisk in the …