I know I have virtually disappeared and it will take some time until I am back and start visiting your blogs.
My husband was operated and had his gallbladder removed (cholecystectomy). Although technically it’s not a difficult operation if it is done laparoscopically, however the doctor began laparoscopic but had to proceed to an open surgery as there were remains from a previous stomach operation, which had to be cleaned. It will take some time until he fully recovers before resuming everyday activities. When he was well, he would help me in my everyday chores but until then I have to do everything by myself. At the end of the day I am so tired that I don’t feel like doing anything else than lying down to rest and watch some television.
A few days after he was released from the hospital we had a few reasons to celebrate as it was the anniversary when we first met, thirty three years ago and my son also came back from England.
So to celebrate, I made this easy and light dessert, suitable for his diet.
I have made fruit galettes in the past but as I had three leftover apples, I used them to make the galette with an apple pie filling. I adjusted some of the ingredients, mainly not adding butter so that at least he could eat a small piece. The galette can be made without the meringue on top but as I had some leftover egg whites from another recipe, I made the meringue and topped the galette (as egg whites do not contain cholesterol).
Apple Meringue Galette, recipe by Ivy
For the crust:
- 255 grams all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup sugar ( I used raw cane sugar)
- 200 grams Greek yogurt (I used yoghurt with 2% fat)
- 100 grams butter (I used olive oil based margarine), at room temperature
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 vanilla
- ½ tsp lemon zest
- 7 morning coffee biscuits with a pinch of cinnamon (I used 3 diet biscuits)
- ½ cup almonds
- 1 tsp corn flour (if necessary)
For the filling:
- 3 medium size apples ( I used starking), cored, peeled and sliced thinly
- 1/3 cup raw cane sugar mixed with 1/8 tsp of ground cinnamon and ½ tsp lemon zest
- 1 tbsp butter or olive oil based margarine (or don’t add any)
- 1 heaped tbsp honey
Meringue:
- 3 egg whites
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 vanilla
- ½ tsp lemon zest
Directions:
In a bowl, mix together the margarine or butter with the yoghurt. Add the remaining ingredients and mix with a spoon (or use your hands) until the crust is soft but not sticky. Do not over mix or knead. Shape into a ball, cover with cling film and chill until you prepare next step.
Preheat the oven at 180 degrees C.
Wash, core and peel the apples and each quarter cut it into six thin slices, in a bowl with the juice of half lemon.
Cut some parchment paper about the size of your baking tin and place the ball of dough on it. Pat out or roll with a rolling pin to about 30 cm / 12 inches in diameter. If at any stage it is sticky, sprinkle some corn flour on the dough.
In a food processor, crush the biscuits and add a pinch of cinnamon.
Sprinkle the biscuits over the rolled out pastry, leaving 3 – 5 cm / 1 – 1 1/2 inch margin all around. In the same food processor, crush the almonds and add them on top of the biscuits. This prevents the crust from turning soggy but also adds some crunch to the crust.
Gently slide the parchment paper with the dough onto your baking tin.
Drain the apples and mix with sugar, cinnamon and lemon zest. Spread the slices of apple over the biscuits in concentric circles, slightly overlapping each other.
Save 1 tbsp cane sugar and a pinch of cinnamon and lemon zest and sprinkle over the apples. Fold the edges of the pastry over the apples. Then add the butter and the honey on top of the apples.
Place the tray in the centre of the preheated oven and bake for about 20 minutes. (At this stage if you do not want to add the meringue continue baking the galette).
Meanwhile ten minutes after putting the galette in the oven, prepare the meringue. Whip egg whites with lemon juice on medium speed, then add vanilla, lemon zest and gradually add the sugar and whip on high speed until stiff peaks form.
Spoon mixture on top of the apples or pipe meringue into a piping bag and quickly pipe the meringue over the apples. Leave a few gaps at the edges so that steam may escape.
Continue to bake until the meringue is golden, for another 20 – 25 minutes.
Remove from the oven and gently slide the galette onto a platter and cool for at least 10 minutes.
Serve warm or at room temperature as is or for those not on a diet, with a dollop of ice cream or whipped cream.
Kopiaste and Kali Orexi,
Tags: Apples, dough, galette, Gallbladder Diet, healthy, short crust pastry
Bread Pudding is an old fashioned dessert which is made in many countries which had an English influence. Cyprus was a British colony for many years so this dessert was known in Cyprus as well.
Puddings were originally made from stale leftover bread that was simply moistened in water, to which a little sugar, spices and other ingredients were added and turned into a dessert for poor people. Later on other ingredients such as biscuits were used to make puddings.
Persimmon Bread Pudding
While preparing the post, I remembered that I had another bread pudding made with persimmons, which I had made back in 2009 and not posted mainly because I did not have a decent photo to post (you can see how bad the pictures are 
). I was waiting to make the pudding again and take better pictures but since I don’t know when that will be, so here it is:
Caramelized Persimmons
Makes: 2 cups
Ingredients:
5 ripe persimmons, peeled
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tbsp Tentoura (cinnamon liqueur or other liqueur)
1 cinnamon stick
3 cloves
½ tsp nutmeg
Directions:
In a non stick frying pan add the fruit, sugar, liqueur and spices. Mix for five minutes until the fruit caramelises. Remove the spices before using.
You can serve it on top of desserts of make it into a puree and use it in other recipes.
It may be stored in the refrigerator for a few days before using.
For caramel:
1/2 cup cane sugar
2 tablespoons water
Directions:
In a non-stick frying pan add the sugar and water and keep stirring with a wooden spatula until it starts bubbling and it caramelises, about 3 minutes.
Pour into a souffle baking dish. Immediately and add water to the frying pan so that caramel will not petrify.
For pudding:
2 cups whole milk
3 large eggs
5 cups cubed soft white bread (without the core)
1 cup persimmon purée
Directions:
In a bowl whisk the eggs for a few minutes. Add milk and persimmon puree and mix.
Remove the core from the bread and cut into small cubes. Add it to the mixture and leave it for 15 minutes to soak.
Put in a souffle dish where the caramel was previously poured and cover with aluminium foil.
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C and bake in over a water bath for about 1 hour covered.
Remove aluminium foil and bake for another 20 minutes.
Serve warm although it can be served cold as well.
Tsoureki Pudding:
How can something so simple be so good?
As I have been making puddings for years, I knew exactly what to do with my leftover stale tsoureki. Apart from the filled tsourekia, I did make a classic type as well but that was scorned and left the last to eat. However, that sweet rich butter bread, with roasted almonds on top, which by itself is very aromatic from the mastic and mahleb became stale after ten days from the day I made them. What did I need to make the pudding? Just a few ingredients were necessary : milk to soak the bread, honey to add a little sweetness as the bread itself is not sweet at all and eggs for binding. I did not add too much honey as I wanted to serve it with one of my favourite spoon sweets «karydaki» which is fresh walnut made into a fruit preserve, with some of its delicious syrup on top.
In case you want to serve it plain just sprinkle some icing sugar and cinnamon on top and you have heaven in your plate!
Tsoureki Pudding, recipe by Ivy
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Resting time: 30 minutes
Baking time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
1 Tsoureki
3 eggs
580 ml milk
60 grams honey
Directions:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C / 350 degrees F.
Cut tsoureki into small pieces into a 18 x 25 cm (7 x 10 inch) baking dish.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk and honey. Beat until well mixed. Pour over bread and lightly push down with a fork until bread is covered.
Let is rest for 30 minutes to soak up the egg mixture.
Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the top is golden and crispy.
Kopiaste and Kali Orexi,
Tags: bread puddings, Easter leftovers, Easy recipes, frugal recipes, Leftovers, persimmon puree, persimmons, Pudding, Tsoureki
Pirozhki or piroshki or Piroski (as we call them in Greece, with stress on the last syllable), are made from yeast dough and filled with a variety of fillings and are great for snacks, appetizers, lunch or dinner.
Last week when I visited my friend Natasha of Five Star Foodie, she posted Pirozhki filled with eggs and green onions and immediately I knew I wanted to make some.
I know they make them in several parts of the world but don’t confuse them with pierogi. These are different. Do you make them and what filling do you like best?
I have posted Piroskis back in 2008 making them with three different fillings but using eggs never passed my mind. Although I love eggs in general, actually I am not a fan of hard boiled dyed Easter eggs but it’s tradition to have them dyed during Easter and we have lots of fun cracking them. My husband, on the other hand, loves them either for breakfast or cut with salt, pepper and olive oil as a mezes but this year due to his gallbladder diet, he is not allowed to eat any eggs at all. Although I did not dye a lot, the children ate a few and I only ate one, so until yesterday I had some eggs lying in the fridge and it was time to do something about them.
My dough recipe is not very different from Natasha’s but instead of using butter (both in the dough and for frying the onions), we’ve had our share of butter during Easter, so I preferred to use olive oil. I decided to make two fillings as it would not be fair for my husband to watch us eating the one with eggs. For the second one, I combined boiled potatoes and leeks and in both I added some of my Pesto with Kafkalithres and Myronia, which added amazing taste to both. I had some leftover pesto in the deep freezer, so I used it frozen. You can skip the pesto or add any kind you like best.
In Greece, we usually deep fry piroskis but these are also not allowed for his diet, so after making Savory Braided Tsourekia, I decided to use this method to make the piroskis and bake them in oven. I find this method much easier rather than making individual ones and of course lighter and much healthier.
After glazing them I sprinkled some poppy seeds on one of them and on the others I sprinkled some of my spice mixture which also added a wonderful taste to the dough.
As I said above both were delicious but when I make them again, if we do not have any dietary problems to face, I shall combine both fillings into one: potatoes, eggs, green onions, leek, herbs etc. This filling is so delicious that it can be easily made into a potato and egg salad. I think it would be a great filling.
*I reserved the yolk to glaze the piroski on top and as I already have enough in the deep freezer, in order not to waste it, I added the egg white in the dough, so depending on the size of your eggs, the milk may not all be necessary.
Deconstructed Braided Piroskis. recipe by Ivy
Dough:
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Rising time: about 1 hour
Baking time: 30 minutes
Makes: 3 (2 with potato filling and 1 with eggs)
Ingredients:
500 grams all purpose flour
25 grams fresh yeast or 1 packet of dried yeast (9 grams)
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 egg and 1 egg white
½ cup lukewarm milk
Olive oil to brush each phyllo
Potato Filling
1 large leek, finely chopped
1 -2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
¼ cup olive oil
3 – 4 medium potatoes, cubed and boiled
1 heaped tbsp kafkalithres and myronia pesto
1/2 cup parsley, finely chopped
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
½ cup Greek yoghurt
Egg filling:
6 eggs, hard-boiled, peeled
1/8 cup olive oil
4 large green onions, finely chopped
1 heaped tbsp Kafkalithres and myronia pesto
3 tbsp dill, minced
Salt, pepper to taste
Egg Glaze:
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp milk
Poppy seeds and spice mixture to sprinkle on top
Directions:
In a big bowl add yeast, flour, sugar and part of the milk. Cover with cling film and a napkin and set aside until it rises.
In the bowl of your mixer attach the dough hook and add remaining flour, olive oil, salt and mix. Add the yeast and mix, then add egg and egg white*, mix and finally add milk gradually and knead until the dough gathers around the hook and does not stick on your hands. Cover with cling film and a napkin and leave it to rise until it doubles in volume.
When it is ready, flour your working surface and knead the dough for a few seconds and then make a roll which divide into three pieces. Work with one piece and cover the remaining with cling film.
Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a non stick frying pan and saute green onions, for a few minutes until soft. Finely cut the hard-boiled eggs and combine with green onions, adding pesto and mixing until the pesto melts. Season with salt and pepper and mix in dill. Set aside until it cools.
Peel potatoes, cut them in small pieces and boil until soft. (You can prepare the potatoes from the previous day). Drain and set aside.
In a non stick frying pan heat the olive oil and sauté the leeks for a few minutes. Add the garlic and sauté until translucent. Add the potatoes together with the frozen pesto and using a fork, mash the potatoes and mix the pesto until it melts. Season with salt and pepper and mix in the parsley. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Then mix in the yoghurt.
Preheat the oven to 180o C / 350o F.
Roll out the dough and brush it with olive oil. See how to make them here. Add the filling in the middle and form the braid.
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and place each braided bread.
Mix the egg yolk with 1 tablespoon of milk. Brush the pirozhki with the egg mixture and sprinkle some poppy seeds or spice mixture on top. Set aside to rise.
Bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until golden.
Kopiaste and Kali Orexi,
Tags: bourekia, Breads, Easter leftovers, Piroshki, piroski, Pirozhki, Russian, yeast dough
You can do this recipe from scratch if you like but I made it the following day, after having leftover spaghetti and Bolognaise sauce. The changes I made to this classic dish turned it into something completely different, very tasty, light and healthy not to mention that with a few extra ingredients this dish was very cheap.
I made an eggless bechamel, as eggs are not allowed in my husband’s diet, and to add more taste to it, I added anthotyro, which is the Greek equivalent to ricotta but in my opinion much tastier and smoked paprika, which gave a pinkish colour to the sauce and a wonderful taste. If you have no diet restrictions you can add feta instead of anthotyro, as well as eggs to the bechamel, which will make the dish even richer in taste.
I was not planning to post this recipe so I did not take note of exact proportions of ingredients but trust me and don’t be afraid to follow what I suggest you use. To make the Becamel Sauce see step by step instuctions here. The bechamel must not be as thick as the usual bechamel but if it turns out thick, just add more milk to it and mix.
Anthotyro and Smoked Paprika Deconstructed Pastitsio with Eggless Bechamel, recipe by Ivy
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Serves: 4 – 5
Ingredients:
250 grams cooked leftover spaghetti
1 cup leftover bolognaise
125 grams anthotyro, crumbled
½ cup parsley, finely chopped
Eggless Bechamel Sauce
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/8 tsp nutmeg
Salt
Milk (about 750 ml)
135 grams anthotyro
1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
Directions:
Drain pasta and put it in a casserole dish with bolognaise, parsley and crumbled anthotyro and mix well. If you want you can season it further.
To make the bechamel, heat the milk and set aside.
In a saucepan heat the olive oil and add the flour, salt and nutmeg and mix thoroughly using a whisk, until it starts to brown.
Add the warm milk, stirring constantly, until the sauce is thick.
Remove from the heat and mix in the anthotyro and paprika.
Pour over the spaghetti and bake in a preheated oven to 180o C / 350o F for about 45 minutes or until golden on top.
Note: In the evening we ate it cold and it was even better. The flavors of the aromatic herbs and smoked paprika penetrated in the cheese and made it irresistible
I am linking this post to Presto Pasta Nights #261, created by Ruth and hosted by my friend Simona of Briciole.
Recipe adapted for Gallbladder Diet:
Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor, I’m not a surgeon and I’m not a dietician. Each person may have different symptoms, so please consult your doctor before following this diet.
Kopiaste and Kali Orexi,
Tags: bechamel, bolognaise, deconstructed pastitsio, frugal receipes, frugal recipes, Gallbladder Diet, Greek cheese, healthy recipes, Leftovers, Mediterranean diet, Pasta
Christos Anesti and chronia polla. This is our wish after Easter which means Christos Anesti (Christ has risen) and may you live for many years.
Today, Monday after Easter it is still a public holiday here in Greece. I wanted to cook something light with ingredients I had at home as all the shops are closed today.
It’s a very easy dish which can be whipped up in no time and very delicious. Last week when we were fasting, I made a vegan pesto with Kafkalithres and Myronia and used it to make Spaghetti aglio e olio with courgettes and spinach using the same pesto.
I then stored it in the deep freezer and today I used about 1/4 of what was leftover.
If you live in Greece, I urge you to try these herbs as they give an amazing taste to food, otherwise you can still use any other pesto you like which will, of course, give a different taste. The leeks add a delicious sweet flavour and of course the addition of Greek creamy yoghurt in the end makes it even more delicious and creamy.
While I was boiling water for the rice I added one bio vegetable bouillon in the water and used 1 ladle of this broth to cook the chicken but you can use any broth you like or just water.
I have a small note on garlic, which I discovered accidentally, while giving instructions to my son who lives in England how to cook. In my recipes I have never used more than 2 cloves of garlic. My son explained to me that in England he used 5 – 6 cloves and they don’t even taste like garlic. Greek garlic is very strong and 1 clove is enough to send even the dracula away he said So, this explains why I was wondering how people can use so much garlic. My point is that you should adjust ingredients according to their taste and flavour.
Chicken with Leeks, Greek yoghurt and kafkalithres pesto, recipe by Ivy
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
700 grams skinless chicken breast, cut into thin slices
1/3 cup olive oil
1 large leek, finely chopped
3 spring onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
½ cup white dry wine
Salt and freshly grated black pepper
Kafkalithres and myronia pesto (about 3 tbsp)
1 ladle (about 1 cup) vegetable or other stock or water
1 heaped tablespoon Greek yoghurt
Directions:
In a large, heavy, skillet with a cover, heat the oil over high sauté the chicken on both sides, for at least 5 – 6 minutes.
Add the leeks and spring onions and sauté for a few minutes. Then add the garlic and sauté until starting to soften, then add the wine.
Add salt and pepper and pesto and mix.
Add the vegetable or other stock and cover with the lid.
Cook until the chicken is fork tender, about 15 minutes.
Uncover and mix in Greek yoghurt.
Serve with rice of pasta.
Recipe adapted for Gallbladder Diet:
Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor, I’m not a surgeon and I’m not a dietician. Each person may have different symptoms, so please consult your doctor before following this diet.
Kopiaste and Kali Orexi,
Tags: Chicken, Easy recipes, Gallbladder Diet, healthy recipes, kafkalithres, leeks, Mediterranean diet, myronia, Pestos, Poultry, prassa
I’ve been making tsourekia for years and when a recipe is tried and tested and good, I do not see any reason why changing it. However, things do happen in the kitchen.
Holy Thursday is the day we dye our Easter eggs and do most of the baking, so as usual, yesterday I dyed some eggs, made flaounes and made the usual recipe for tsourekia. However, I also like improvising, so while doing some stuff like kneading or waiting for the dough to rise, or while washing the dishes, my mind never stops thinking of things like «what if I do this.. or what if I add that». This is the part of cooking or baking I love most: to be able to have a white canvas on which you get inspiration from around you and create new things.
Since it was not supposed to be a recipe to post, I did not take any notes on quantities used. I prepared the chestnut puree early in the morning this time adding an equal amount of sugar and honey, vanilla essence and enough milk to cover the chestnuts. When I drained the leftover milk, it was about 1/4 of a cup, so instead of boiling water with anise seeds I decided to add it in the dough, together with more milk, as it would add extra flavour to the tsoureki.
While I was making flaounes, the idea of making a savory tsoureki popped into my head. This brioche type of bread has sugar in it but it is not very sweet. Although I have not tasted it yet as I am fasting, I have no doubt in my mind that sweet bread with savory cheese will be a great combination.
(Update Easter morning: simply amazing! You can’t even sense the sugar in the dough. It’s mostly the filling which sweetens it up and I realized that while eating the savory one and the one made with nutella filling, for breakfast).
To make the bread, you can follow the recipe for Tsourekia I have already posted in the past.
Instead of braiding the tsoureki the normal way, I followed a different method, which is perfect for adding filling and also the result is very impressive.
How to braid the bread:
When the dough rises, divide it into four equal parts.
Roll out each part about ½ cm thick, trying to give it a rectangular or oval shape around 25 x 30 cm.
Lightly score the dough as a guide leaving a margin of about 7 cm on each side and 3 – 4 cm on top and bottom.
With a sharp knife cut outside the scored area around 10 strips at a angle on both sides.
Place the filling in the center, leaving a gap, around 2 cm on each side.
Fold up the top, then fold the bottom and then fold the strips, alternating from each side until all the strips are folded over.
Line a baking tin with parchment paper and place each braid in it but not too close to each other. Cover with cling film and then cover with a napkin and it must rest to rise for about an hour, in which time it will rise again.
Brush with the egg-milk mixture on top.
Preheat oven to 180 C / 350 F and bake for about 30 – 40 minutes or according to your oven, until golden brown. Smaller ones need less time.
I decorated the swwet tsoureki with blanched almonds and the savory tsoureki with sesame and poppy seeds.
My best wishes to all my Orthodox readers and friends for a Happy Easter and to the rest of you a wonderful weekend!
Other relevant recipes:
Tsourekia with chestnut filling
Tsourekia with Lemon marmalade
Yemarina Yewotet Dabo
Kopiaste and Kali Orexi!
Tags: bread, brioche, Easter, Paschalina koulourakia, Tsoureki, tsourekia
Lambriatika or Paschalina Koulourakia are Greek Easter butter cookies, which are traditionally made only during Easter and have a distinct flavour as baking ammonia is used as the leavening agent. Baking ammonia, or ammonium bicarbonate, was used before the advent of baking soda and baking powder. It is a chemical leavening agent originally made from the horns of deer. The chemical formula is NH4HCO3. When heated, baking ammonia breaks down into ammonia (NH3), water and carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide makes cakes and cookies rise, the same way that carbon dioxide given off by other chemical leaveners does.
I used to make the traditional recipe for many years but each year I tweaked it a bit and ended up with this recipe. Some times I add orange or lemon zest and some orange juice with more flour.
As we usually left for Sparta each year, I have never posted the new changes to the recipe before, so I am posting both and you can decide, which one you like best.
The traditional recipe makes over a hundred cookies: 6 eggs are lightly beaten with 5 vanillins (or a tsp of vanilla essence). In another bowl 400 grams sugar and 320 grams butter are whisked until creamy. The eggs are then incorporated. 2 tsp baking ammonia are dissolved in 1 cup lukewarm milk and added and finally 1500 grams sifted flour and 1 tsp baking powder are added to make the dough. They are brushed with an egg yolk dissolved with a tablespoon milk or water and baked until golden.
They are formed into different shapes. One shape is to make long cords (about 15 – 20 cm), fold the cord in the middle and twist it twice. Another is to twist the two ends into opposite spirals shaping it into a capital S or just create various circles.
Lambriatika Koulourakia (Greek Easter Cookies), recipe by Ivy
Preparation time: 1 hour
Baking time: 40 minutes
Makes: 26 – 30 (depending on the size)
Ingredients:
540 grams(<4 cups) all purpose or cake flour
150 grams butter, at room temperature
150 grams sugar
11/2 tsp (8 grams) baking ammonia
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs (about 65 grams each) (reserve less than half of 1 egg white for washing)
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1 tbsp orange blossom water
1 tbsp milk
1 tbsp cane sugar
Directions:
Sift flour and mix in salt and baking ammonia.
Attach the K paddle to your stand mixer or use an electric hand mixer and cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the egg, one at a time, beating in well before adding the next. Add milk, vanilla and blossom water and mix.
Add the flour, a little at a time, mixing in well before adding more until it is smooth but not sticky on the hands.
Put it is on your working surface and taking small pieces of dough form long cords about the thickness of a woman’s pinky and shape them as you like.
Line your baking tin with parchment paper and place them a little spaced apart as they will rise.
Beat the egg white with a fork and brush the cookies. Sprinkle a little sugar on top of each one.
Preheat oven to 180o C / 350o F and bake for about 30 – 40 minutes depending on your oven or until lightly browned.
Leave to cool on a wire rack and store in an air tight container.
Kopiaste and Kali Orexi,
Tags: cookies and biscuits, Easter, Easter traditions, koulourakia, Lampriatika koulourakia, Paschalina koulourakia
Halvas – Χαλβάς (plural Halvades) is one of our favourite desserts during Lent but although I do like the classic recipe, over the years I have made so many new flavours, that I don’t want to go back to the classic one.
This time I made a honey syrup, flavoured with lemon, cinnamon and cloves and added two very ripe bananas which mashed during stirring and gave their wonderful taste to the halvas. I then mixed in some coarsley chopped roasted almonds.
The taste was amazing. I don’t know if it was due to the honey or to the bananas but this combination of both was wonderful and we couldn’t stop eating it.
Melenios Halvas Bananas (Honey flavoured Banana Halvas), recipe by Ivy
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 cup mild olive oil
- 2 cups semolina
- 2 ripe bananas
- 1 cup roasted almonds
- A pinch of cinnamon
- A pinch of ground cloves
For the syrup
Cooking time: 5 minutes
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 cups Greek thyme honey
- 3 -4 whole cloves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 lemon peel
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 4 cups water
Directions:
In a sauce pan prepare the syrup by adding the water, sugar, honey, lemon peels, a few cloves and a cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil and simmer for five minutes. Skim when foam forms on top. Set aside removing the cinnamon stick, the cloves and the lemon peel.
In another large sauce pan, heat the olive oil and add the semolina and stir constantly for a few minutes to roast. Add bananas, cinnamon and cloves and keep mixing, pressing the bananas to puree. When it starts browning, remove from the heat and add syrup but be careful to stir constantly as this may overflow. Once the mixture has settled put it back on low heat and mix until it sets. Add the roasted almonds and mix.
Place in a mold and/or in smaller molds and let it cool down before placing in the refrigerator.
Unmold in a platter and serve with a sprinkle of cinnamon on top.
Kopiaste and Kali Orexi,
Tags: bananas, Desserts, halvas, Honey, Mediterranean diet, pot halvas
Anginares à la polita is a dish originating from Constantinople, in Greek Constantinoupolis, also called «Polis» meaning the city of Constantine. Therefore this dish means «artichokes city-style». Asia Minor used to be Greek for millenia until the Turkish Empire captured those territories as well. The Greeks developed several styles of cooking such as Smyrneiki Kouzina or Politiki Kouzina, the former from Smyrna and the latter from «Polis» and »Anginares à la polita is one of the most known dish of «politiki kouzina».
This is a delicious and healthy Lenten dish which can be served either as a side dish but we eat it as a main dish as the addition of potatoes makes it quite filling on its own. This wonderful, aromatic dish is a harbinger of spring and makes good use of artichokes, of one of the first spring vegetables in the market after a long winter.
You can use fresh or frozen artichokes to make this dish and apart of the fussy part of cleaning the artichokes, the rest is very easy.
In Greece we have some aromatic herbs called Kafkalithres and Myronia, which I also add sometimes as well as some peas.
Have you ever seen fields of artichokes? On a recent trip to Nafplion we visited the villages of Drepano, Vivari, Candia and Iria. The two latter villages produce 90% of Greek production of artichokes.
Anginares à la Polita (Artichokes)
Preparation time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 1 hour
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
- 8 Artichokes
- 1/8 cup olive oil
- 1 red onion, finely chopped
- 2 spring onions,including green part, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- 3 carrots cut into thin slices diagonally
- 2 large potatoes, cut into large pieces
- 1 cup peas (optional)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 liter of water
- 1/3 cup lemon juice (2 lemons)
- 2 tablespoons cornflour (starch)
- ½ cup finely chopped dill
- 1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
- 1/2 cup kafkalithres (small hartwort) optional
- 1/2 cup myronia (shepherd’s needles) optional
Directions:
Peel the artichokes and put them in a bowl with water and lemon juice. (See how to clean them)
In a saucepan heat the olive oil and saute the onion and the white part of spring onions for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the green part and garlic and saute for a few minutes until translucent.
Add the artichokes, potatoes and carrots and mix.
Add salt and pepper and add the bay leaf and water. Remove the bay leaf after 15 minutes.
Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for about an hour until the vegetables are cooked and remain with not too much fluid.
Dissolve the cornflour with the lemon juice. Add a little broth from the food, stir and pour over the food.
Add the parsley and dill and cook for 5 more minutes.
Other relevant recipes:
Kopiaste and Kali Orexi,
Tags: ala polita, anginares, artichokes, Gallbladder Diet, healthy recipes, how to trim an artichoke, Lenten Recipes, Mediterranean diet, nistisimes syntages, Politiki Kouzina, Vegan
Happy Easter to all my friends celebrating Easter tomorrow.
For us Orthodox, it’s Palm Sunday tomorrow and one of the two times during Lent where fish is allowed to be eaten. The other day was on the 25th March, the Anunciation on the Holy Mary, when I cooked this recipe, as we avoided the traditional Bakaliaros (Cod) which is deep fried, due to my husband’s diet for gallbladder.
It is not by coincidence that I chose to combine the perch with rosemary, garlic and olive oil. We all know about the properties of olive oil and how good garlic is but rosemary also contains many beneficial properties, worth including it in our nutrition.
Rosemary is a tonic, astringent, restorative herb, that relaxes spasm and increases the rate of perspiration, while stimulating the liver and the gallbladder. It improves digestion and circulation and controls pathogenic organisms.
It has antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, spasmolytic, antioxidant, smooth muscle, modulating, analgesic, venotonic, as well as anti-inflamatory properties.
You should know that potatoes and fish require different cooking time. If the potatoes and fish are cooked together, by the time the potatoes are ready the fish will dry out and become as hard as the sole of a shoe. I don’t know if you use this expression in English but we use it a lot in Greece. So to make this recipe, first I baked potatoes the way we bake them in Greece but also added some rosemary leaves. When the potatoes were almost ready, I added the perch which I had previously marinated in a mixture of rosemary, garlic, oregano, lemon and olive oil. I then made it into a roll and wrapped it in parchment paper so as not to dry and retain all the juicy flavors of food. The cooking time will depends on how thick the perch is. As I made it into a roll it was quite thick so I baked it for about 30 minutes otherwise it takes about 20 minutes to cook.
Besides being a very light and healthy dish it is also very tasty and worth trying either on a diet or not.
Perka sti Ladokolla (Perch en Papillote) with Fresh Rosemary and Garlic, recipe by Ivy
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 25 – 30 minutes
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
2 perch fillets, fresh or frozen (about 1 kilo each)
Salt and freshly grated black pepper
1 clove garlic
2 tbsp agourelaio* or extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 sprig fresh rosemary, only the leaves
½ tsp oregano
For roasted potatoes:
Ingredients:
6 medium potatoes (1 potato per person)
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon oregano
1 sprig rosemary, only the leaves
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup water
Note: Agourelaio is extra virgin olive oil pressed from unripe, green olives.
Directions:
Peel, wash and cut the potatoes in the middle and then cut each half into three or more wedges, depending on the size of the potatoes, about 2 cm thick.
Put them in a baking dish and sprinkle with salt, pepper, rosemary and oregano and mix them well. Add the lemon juice, olive oil and water and cover the baking dish with aluminium foil.
Preheat oven to 180o C / 350 F and bake until golden on both sides.
Meantime, wash and dry fish. Remove any bones. Season with salt and pepper.
In a food processor add all the remaining ingredients and mix. Brush on the fish. (Add remaining in the potatoes)
Wrap in parchment paper.
When potatoes are almost roasted, remove the aluminium foil and place the fish on top of the potatoes. If needed add some more water and bake for 25 – 30 minutes.
Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor, I’m not a surgeon and I’m not a dietician. Each person may have different symptoms, so please consult your doctor before following this diet.
Recipes adapted for Gallbadder Diet:
Makaronia me Kima (spaghetti with Meat Sauce)
Milokopi (Bearded Umbrine) with Roasted Vegetables
Kopiaste and Kali Orexi,
Tags: Fish, Gallbladder Diet, healthy recipes, Mediterranean diet, Palm Sunday, perch, perka, roasted potatoes
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