Avocado and Oranges Salad with Fennel Fronds

Fronds are those cute frilly light green leafy things attached to the stalks that grow out of a fennel bulb. They look like fresh dill, and they have a light taste similar to aniseeds. I grow fennels in my garden especially for these, I add this to spinach or chard to make the Greek kaltzunias (little small pies) and to attract butterflies in my garden. If you buy fennel with these, don’t throw these away and if you do not need them at the moment, freeze them! If you do not get them, then replace them with tinny fennel bulb slices.

The origin of fennel and orange salad is not completely known, but it may have its roots in the Arab world and come to Europe after the invasions of Spain and. The orange salad was created as a poor dish (wild fennel can be found at the border of many roads) and it doesn’t require cooking. Today, the fennel and orange salad is known all over the world and it is served as an appetizer/salad or as a final dish after an important meal.

I love to collect fennel fronds if traveling in Greece in Early spring, the same period as oranges get ripe.

In this recipe I completed the ingredients with avocado for its soft texture and the taste which combines well with citrus, In addition a roasted pine nuts give a welcome crunchy texture.

For the dressing I opted for some white balsamic vinegar flavoured with honey and Dijon mustard.

• Servings: 4
• Time: 20 min
• Difficulty: easy
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Salad

Ingredients

• Green salad leaves to cover the bottom and the sides of the serving bowl, washed
• 2 ripe but firm avocados (reserve some slices for decoration drizzled with lemon juice)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 oranges peeled and diced (make a few slices and reserve for decoration)
• 2-4 tablespoons fennel fronds, chopped (reserve some for the topping)
• 2-4 tablespoons green onions slices (reserve some for the topping)

Dressing

• 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons honey
• Salt and pepper to taste

Topping

• Reserved herbs
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts, lightly roasted

Procedure

1. Arrange the green salad in the bowl.
2. Peel and slice the first avocado, place then in another bowl and sprinkle with the lemon juice and toss well with your hands. Peel and slice the second avocado add this to the first and gently again toss them together.
3. Add the other ingredients for the salad over the avocados.
4. Combine well the ingredients for the dressing.
5. Pour the dressing over the salad and very gently toss them together.
6. Place the mixture over the arranged salad leaves, decorate with the reserved avocado and orange slices and sprinkle with the herbs and the pine nuts

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Mast-o-Khiar – Persian Yogurt Dip

ماست و خیار Mast-o-khiar is a delicious, cooling and very popular Persian dish that is served with most meals. You will find the combination of yogurt and cucumbers in Greece (Tsatziki), but also in many other Balkan and Arabic countries and as well from Turkey to India (Raita).

The use of rose petals (fresh or dried) and rosewater for cooking was popular all over the Middle East and spread to Europe during the Middle Ages.  However rosewater had been replaced by vanilla once world exploration had been brought from America to Europe. 

About 20 years ago we planted in our garden a very strong scented white and red striped rose, since then its petals had been used in our cooking for several sweet recipes and we prepared hundreds of rose jam jars.

The basic ingredients for Mast-o-Khiar are yogurt, cucumber, mint, rose petals, salt and garlic. Other herbs can be added as well as chopped walnuts and raisins.

Tip: skip the cucumber for a delicious sauce for salad.

• Servings: 4
• Time: 20 min working time +resting time
• Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

Dip:

• 1 cup Greek or Balcan yogurt ( better 7-10% but you may also use the 2% fat reduced quality)
  • 100 g (about ¾ cup) chopped cucumber
  • 2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped (I use the “Diosmos” Greek mint for this dish)
  • 1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped (optional)
  • 1 garlic clove pressed or/and 2 tablespoons fresh chives finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons dried rose petals, crushed or minced
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped raisins (optional)

Topping (as desired):

• dried or/and fresh rose petals
  • dried or/and fresh mint
  • dried or/and fresh dill
  • chopped walnuts
  • raisins

Procedure

1. Combine well all the ingredients for the dip and adjust salt and pepper to taste.
2. Pour the mixture into a serving bowl or dish. Refrigerate for at least one hour or best to allow the flavors to blend.
3. Just before serving, sprinkle the ingredients for the topping with a nice geometrical pattern or simply randomized.

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See also:

Bombay Karachi Halwa – Microwave Recipe

Glyko Triantafyllo– Greek Rose Petal Jam

Okras with Vegetables from the Oven

The plant and its seed pods are also known as “lady’s fingers” and in Greece this dish is called “Bamies sto fourno” (Μπάμιες στο φούρνο). The Greek name come from the Arabic name, bamyeh.

While in central Europe, we can get this fresh vegetable almost only in Turkish shops, in Greece we can find it in almost all supermarkets and farmer markets!

Okras could turn slimy ant to prevent this we should cook it whole, after tossing it with salt and vinegar and marinating for at least 30 minutes.

In Greece this dish is very popular ad for the recipe the quantity of oil is at least 3 fold of what I suggest her with my recipe.

• Servings: 4-6
• Time: 2 hr
• Difficulty: easy
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Autor: https://artandkitchen.wordpress.com/

You need

• 1 kg okra, trimmed and washed
• 4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 onions, peeled and diced
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• 2 red peppers, seeds removed and diced
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 cups ripe tomatoes, diced into 1-2 cm pieces
• 2 strips orange zest (about 5-5 square centimeters J )
• 4 tablespoons fresh parsley, coriander or dill chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Procedure

1. Trim the stems off the okra, and place in a large bowl. Add the vinegar, toss and let sit for 30 minutes to an hour. Drain the okra, and rinse thoroughly. Place these in an oven safe baking mold.
2. Preheat the oven at 180°C.
3. In the meantime heat the oil in a skillet, add onion, garlic and red peppers. Fry until fragrant. Combine water and tomato paste. Add this to the skillet as well as the tomatoes and orange zest. Heat thoroughly. Add herbs and adjust salt and pepper.
4. Pour the sauce over the okra, cover with foil or lid and place it for 1 hour and 30 min in the oven. The last 15 min remove the lid to allow the food to get a bit of color.

Chicken and Potatoes Casserole with Fig Sauce

An extraordinary warm autumn permitted to our figs three to produce the send bath fresh fruits and add in this way rich genuine ingredients to our table.

Inspired by the oriental kitchen I created this dish and I’ve already reproduced a second time for the pleasure of my family.

The figs three is still producing figs, and it’s already late October. For this recipe I’ve also prepared a few small jars of preserved figs, so that this dish will be among the Christmas delish again.

Note: There are two fig seasons a year – a smaller harvest in early summer and a larger harvest in late summer to early fall. At our latitudes, we expect the first harvest in summer (where here it is the main harvest) and sometimes, if we have a warm autumn, we get the second harvest end of September to October; this is a big gift it it happens!

• Time: 1 hr
• Difficulty: easy
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You need

For the potatoes

• 500 g small potatoes, washed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

For the chicken with figs

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, chopped
• 400 g chicken, breast, diced into 2-4 cm pieces
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 8 medium sized figs, peeled and cut into quarters (here you may also use preserved figs)
• 1/2 cup water or better white wine
• 2 rosemary springs
• 1 thyme spring
• Salt and pepper to taste

Topping (optional)

• Fresh figs, washed cut into flowers
• 1 short rosemary spring

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 250°C
2. Place the potatoes in your baking mold; add the oil, sprinkle with salt and place in the oven. Bake for about 45 minutes or until you see that the skin turns light roasted and the potatoes are done (check with the point of a knife).
3. In the meantime, fry onion, garlic and ginger until fragrant, add the chicken pieces and fry until roasted. Don’t let burn the onion mixture.
4. Add the balsamic vinegar and the figs. Cook until figs are lightly caramelized, add the water or the wine and stir to dissolve the fond.
5. Add the herbs, and adjust with salt and pepper. Let simmer slowly (if necessary add more liquid). When potatoes are ready, add the chicken-figs mixture to the potatoes.
6. Arrange the figs for the topping and bake until figs are warm. Place the reserved rosemary spring over the dish and serve immediately.

Autor: https://artandkitchen.wordpress.com/

 

 

Chicken Tagine with Chickpeas

A tagine is such a wonderful way to prepare and serve a complete meal at once.

The combination of meat, vegetable and carbs makes this possible and super easy!

The special spice mix, which I call “Moroccan Spice Mix”, is a wonderful very versatile balanced combination of flavours; I use this in many different ways, mostly spontaneously according to the ingredients I have on hand at home.

In the recipe below, I added some honey from our own production; this made the plate really really delicious!

• Servings: 2-3
• Time: 1 hr
• Difficulty: easy
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Moroccan Spice Mix:

• 2 teaspoon ras el hanout spice mix, if available, optional
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon turmeric

Tagine:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 500 g chicken skinned, cut into big pieces (if you prefer deboned)
• 2 medium onions, peeled and cut into quarters (wedges)
• 1/2 lemon with peel, cut vertically in wedges (skin on)
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon ginger, peeled and chopped
• 6 teaspoons Moroccan Spices Mix (see above)
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 4 Roma tomatoes
• 1 cup chicken or vegetal broth
• 1 can chickpeas, about 2 cups cooked chickpeas
• ½ lemon juice
• 2 tablespoon honey
• 3 tablespoon raisins (+ some for decoration)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Parsley for decoration

Prcedure

1. Prepare in advance the ingredients taking care to prepare the tomatoes. To peel the tomatoes dip them in boiling water for two minutes, place in cold water and remove the skin. Cut into half and with your fingers remove the seed, cut into 1-2 cm pieces.
2. Heat the oil in a non-stick skillet (provided of lid) and fry chicken for 2 minutes, add onion and lemon wedges and fry for other 3 minutes.
3. Add garlic, ginger and spices. Stir fry shortly until fragrant.
4. Add tomatoes and sauté for 1-2 more minutes. Set aside a few pieces tomatoes, one lemon and one onion wedge for decoration.
5. Add the broth and stir well-
6. Add chickpeas, lemon juice, honey and raisins.
7. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
8. Cover and let simmer covered for about 30 minutes or better one until the chicken results tender. Stir and add little water from time to time as it should not result dry.
9. Just before serving top with the reserved lemon and onion wedges, the pieces of tomatoes, a few raisins. Cover for a few seconds.
10. Top with parsley and serve with a smile!

 

Autor: https://artandkitchen.wordpress.com/

Golden Millet with Preserved Lemons

 

Today we planned two delicious dishes (chicken with balsamic sauce and zucchini parmesan), but I needed one side dish more for some carbs. Checking my pantry I saw some millet which I found perfect for a quick side dish!

In order to make it easy I opted for some ready fried onions and for a special test some preserved lemons from the jar which I prepared last year.

For this preparation I use a double wall saucepot, which retains the heat and I can even turn out the heat, but in general it’s sufficient to use a big pot with will prevent dripping out the liquid while boiling. The cover is necessary!

• Servings: 4
• Time: 35 mins
• Difficulty: easy
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You Need

• 1 cup raw millet
• 2 teaspoons Moroccan Spice mix
• 2 cups water (or broth, if you’d prefer)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, to taste
• 2 tablespoons fried onions
• 1/2-1 red sweet pepper, chopped (quantity to taste)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (or butter to taste)
• 1 tablespoon chopped preserved lemon
• 1/2 tablespoon preserved lemons, sliced for topping (optional)

Procedure

1. Prepare your ingredients
2. In a big saucepan at medium heat roast the millet with the spices mix for about 3-4 minutes until spices it turn fragrant.
3. Add water, salt, onions and red pepper. Give a good stir. When it comes to boil reduce the heat, cover and let simmer for about 15 minutes.
4. At this point switch out the heat, open quickly the pot, add olive oil and preserve lemon, stir well and cover immediately. Let sit for about 10 minutes.
5. Fluff it with the fork, add more salt if needed and serve with the sliced lemon.

Notes

If don’t have preserved lemons, you may use 1 teaspoon of grated lemon zest.

If you don’t have the Moroccan spice mix ready you may combine:

• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric ground
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander ground
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon ground
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin ground
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika ground

 

Autor: https://artandkitchen.wordpress.com/

Choux (éclairs) for your Love

 

Here is my choux recipe which I’m keeping since years.

I was used to prepare the sweet variation, but now I used them for a savory recipe using them at the place of “vol aux vents” cases with my vol au vent recipe for a Valentine Day suggestion. In this case I omitted the mushrooms and I used instead some diced parley root, but both would work fine!

For this special day I suggest to use either only one piece as entree or 3-4 pieces as main dish. Adapt the quantity of the filling to the needed portions as the empty choux can be kept for a few days or for other preparations.

For decoration I used carrots cut outs with cookies cutters (boil 3 minutes in salted water) and a few drops cream of balsamic shaped with a toothpick to hearth!

• Time: 1.5 hrs
• Difficulty: easy
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You need: 

• 250 ml water
• 100 g butter
• 1 pinch salt
• ½ teaspoon sugar (optional)
• 4 eggs
• 150 g flour

Procedure:

1. Read the procedure before starting to prepare the dough. The flour should be at room temperature!
2. In a saucepan combine water, butter, salt and sugar. Bring to boil.
3. Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the flour: it’s very important to the flour all at once!
4. Immediately stir using a wooden spoon (I use the spoon with the “hole”) and stir until you get a homogeneous mass.
5. Bring back to medium heat and continue to stir until it pulls away from the walls (this takes about 2-4 minutes).
6. Now remove from the heat and let cool down under 56°C before adding the eggs (this will prevent denaturation of the proteins of the eggs). For this step add the eggs one while incorporating them using the hand mixer. The dough now should be shiny, smooth and thick enough that it will keep the shape after piping (not running!).
7. Preheat the oven to 220°C.
8. For baking I use a silicon mat, but a parchment foil would be great as well.
9. You can drop the dough using the spoon on the parchment foil, but for this Valentine suggestion you either spoon it into a piping bag to pipe into heart shapes, or press gently into a heart shaped cookie cutter, or repeat until all the dough is used up. You may also correct the shape with a wet finger.
10. Bake for 15 minutes at 220°C until risen and golden (don’t open the door).
11. Then cook for other 20 minutes at 150°C opening shortly (2 seconds) the oven for a few centimeter from time to time so that the steam will escape.
12. Switch off the heat. Turn the choux upside down and let them to cool down in the oven. For this step the door should stay lightly open (I use my wooden spoon to prevent closing again of the door)
13. You can fill this to your taste or keep them in an air tight container until needed.

 

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Berbere Chicken with Pulses

 

 

I confess I did not create this recipe, but I’ve adapted several recipes to this one with a great success.

At the beginning I was planning to prepare this with green lentils, but as I noticed I did not have them at home I looked for a valid substitute. In the pantry I had red lentils, but I also found something better: a wonderful colored mixture of pulses!

The recipe begun with the preparation of the Ethiopian spice mixture: the Berbere Spice Blend!

This was needed for the pulses and for the chicken!

The following steps were very easy and this main dish is also a very much appreciated combination had been created!

• Servings: 4-6
• Time: 60 min
• Difficulty: medium
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You need:

Berbere spices blend

• 2 teaspoons coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• ½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
• 2 whole allspice berries
• Seeds of 4 green cardamom pods
• 4 cloves
• 2 dried red chilies, if too hot for you seeded
• 3 tablespoons sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• ½ teaspoon ginger
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt

Pulses (mixture of lentils and small beans) quantity of each to taste and to availability:

• Horse beans
• Haricot bean
• Mung bean
• Green lentils
• Brown lentils
• Small red bean (Adzuki beans)
• Black eyed peas

 

Veggies and pulses stew

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 big onion, chopped
• 1 cup carrots, peeled diced
• 2 cm ginger, peeled, chopped
• 5 garlic cloves, peeled chopped
• 1-2 tablespoon Berbere spice blend (see above or use another mixture)
• 1 cup tomatoes, diced
• 1 cup mixed pulses (see above)
• 3 cup water or to taste

Chicken

• 4-6 pieces of chicken, skin removed (about 600-800 g)
• 1 tablespoon Berbere spice blend
• 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)¨
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter for the skillet (if possible Ethiopian spiced butter)

Garnish

• Chopped parsley

Procedure

Berbere spices blend

1. First of all toast the seed first for a few minutes in a dry skillet to bring out their flavor. Let cool down.
2. Grind the seeds with a spice or a coffee grinder.
3. Add the remaining powdered spices and the salt.
4. Pulse shortly again and store it airtight for example in a small jar.

Veggies and pulses stew

5. Heat oil in a skillet and sauté onions, carrots, ginger and cloves until onions turn soft.
6. Add Berbere spice blend and sauté for 2 more minutes
7. Add tomatoes, pulses, water and salt to taste.
8. Let cook for about 30 minutes or until al dente; add more water if needed while cooking.
9. Pour pulses into an oven safe mold and place into the preheated oven

Chicken

10. While pulses are cooking combine chicken with the other ingredients (except of butter) and preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F.
11. Fry the chicken pieces until roasted on all sides in the butter until lightly browned.
12. Transfer chicken over the pulses, add 1/2 cup of water to the skillet and pour this liquid over the pulses.
13. Sprinkle chicken with some more Berbere to taste and bake for about 10-15 minutes.
14. Serve with chopped parsley

Autor: https://artandkitchen.wordpress.com/

 

Spelt Injera – Ethiopian Flatbread

 

I came across Ethiopian recipes and especially this wonderful breads thanks to my cooking friends and the cooking games.

I’ve never been in this Country and I couldn’t imagine what kind of food specialties are popular in Ethiopia.

The real recipe is made with teff flour, but as I did not have this I tried to adapt the recipe to the ingredients I have at home.

Injera bread is made with natural sourdough, a combination of wild yeast and bacteria, it needs several days to reach the bubbling point!

In my fridge I always store an amazing sourdough starter and this was a new experience for me a new kind of bread even if similar to Indian Dosas which I’ve already made and posted in this blog.

After cooking I got amazing flexible and spongy flat.-bread!

I was very impressed from the result and happy to see how my family appreciated these.

If you don’t have sourdough starter, I suggest to use 50 ml water + 50 g flour + 1/2 teaspoon instant dry yeast placed to ferment/proof previously

• Servings: 6
• Time: 24 hrs
• Difficulty: medium
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You need

24 hour before

• 100 g sourdough starter (substitute: 1/4 cup water + 1/3 cup flour + 1/2 teaspoon instant dry yeast)
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup all-purpose flour

Next morning

• 2 cups water
• 1 cup whole spelt flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• Salt to taste (about 1/2 tablespoon)
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (instant flour)

Procedure

1. The evening before combine starter with water and flour. Stir well, cover loosely and set in a warm place to ferment.
2. The next morning add 2 cups of water 1 cup of all-purpose flour and 1 cup of spelt flour, stir well, cover loosely and let ferment.
3. When the batter is well fermented and bubbling add salt and the additional 1/2 cup of flour, if you think it is not ready, wait until next day or add instant flour or some baking powder, My dough was perfectly spongy and I added simple all-purpose flour. Stir well.
4. After about one hour stir well and place a non-sticky skillet on the stove to heat at medium temperature.
5. Don’t use oil, place a ladle of batter in the center of the skillet and with the back of the ladle distribute the batter in the pan. Cover immediately.
6. Check from time to time and when the batter does not appear wet and it is set remove the bread form the skillet and place it on a plate. In general it is not necessary to bake this on the other side.
7. Cut into half and roll them to serve.

Autor: https://artandkitchen.wordpress.com/

Vegetables Potpourri with Preserved Lemon Dressing

It’s always a big advantage havening at home many delicious ingredients ready to be used for surprising good preparation as this salad or side dish with a preserved lemon dressing. I know that this can be hardly be found in your shop, but you can easily prepare some or better than nothing for this recipe use simply a mixture of lemon juice, lemon zest and salt.

For the preparation I used the ingredients listed below, but you can use any vegetables who would fit to be roasted in the oven. I served the dish warmfebeta from the oven, but it can be served lukewarm or cold as salad as well.

Suggestion: prepare more dressing and serve it with grilled chicken breasts.

For the recipe for preserved lemons click HERE

• Servings: 3-6
• Time: 45 min
• Difficulty: easy
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You need

Vegetables

• 1000 small potatoes, peeled (I used yellow and purple ones)
• 2 small zucchini, sliced
• 2 red peppers, seed and stem removed, sliced
• 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt to taste

Dressing

• 1 small preserved lemon (about 80 g)
• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• 5 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 4 tablespoons chopped coriander or parsley
• Pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F.
2. Combine all the vegetables and oil in a big bowl, toss to coat with the oil well.
3. Arrange vegetables in an oven proof mold.
4. Bake at 200°C/400°F for about 30 minutes until all vegetables are done.
5. While the vegetables are in the oven combine all the ingredients for dressing in a blender and blend until smooth.
6. Serve the vegetables warm, lukewarm or cold with the dressing.

Autor: https://artandkitchen.wordpress.com/