My Cookbook Mint, Cinnamon & Blossom Water, Flavours of Cyprus, Kopiaste, has finally been translated into Greek and published on Smashwords.
The Greek title of my cookbook is «Kopiaste stin Kouzina mou», which means Welcome to my Kitchen.
If you can read Greek or have Greek friends who would like to win it, please leave your comment on my Greek blog.
We shall be going to Athens next week to be with out children during Christmas, but it’s the first time that we shall not share any presents and will try and make it through the holidays without any extravagant expenses.
Now that the Christmas holidays are just around the corner, please consider that it would be a wonderful gesture if you could support me by sending my cookbook (either the Greek or English one) as a gift to yourself, to your family or friends and help me keep this blog going.
The cookbooks are also available directly from me in pdf at the price of 6 Euros each payable through Paypal (ivyliac [at] gmail [dot] com).
Thank you,
Tags: cookbook, Cypriot cookbook, Cypriot Recipes, Giveaway, Greek Cuisine, healthy recipes, kopiaste, Kopiaste stin Kouzina mou., Kopiaste.. Flavours of Cyprus, Mediterranean diet, Mint Cinnamon & Blossom Water Flavours of Cyprus Kopiaste!, Traditional
Dear friends and readers of my blog,
I wish to apologize for not posting as often as I would like. I also wish to apologize to my blogger friends whom I have not visited for a long time. Life is very difficult after the economic crisis and we hardly make it on our pensions. Since it’s impossible to find a job, I “ve decided to translate my cookbook in Greek, as my Greek readers are asking for it quite often, so that might help a little.
Life in the countryside is much different than living in the city. By the time we have breakfast and come back from our morning walk it’s almost 10 a.m. Then if we have to go for shopping, by the time we are back it’s almost noon. We usually have lunch around 3 p.m. as from the time we are back, I have to do all the daily chores, which is cooking, washing dishes, cleaning, ironing, gardening etc. My husband is trying to finish some things which were left unfinished. At the moment he is trying to finish the staircase as well as put a fence outside.
If we have some free time we get together with our neighbours for a cup of coffee and some times we go and gather some wild greens for lunch.
In Athens I would clean once a week and the house was always clean and here I clean on a daily basis , as there is a lot of soil and dust coming both from inside and outside the house.
Today it’s my neighbour’s birthday, so I made this cake to take when we visit them later in the evening. Since I have all the links of the recipes, it’s much easier to write this post. I have already posted recipes for Black forest but this one is quite different as I used mascarpone in the filling.
Start by making a basic chocolate sponge cake, preferably from the previous day because it’s easier to cut it into slices. Next day cut it into three slices.
Prepare 500 ml whipped cream and refrigerate.
Prepare Pastry cream and set aside until it cools completely. While it is cooling cover it with cling film.
You will need 450 grams sour cherries spoon sweet with syrup.
1 gelatin leaf.
Drain sour cherries. Add half cup water to the syrup and heat the syrup to make it lighter. Wet all three slices of sponge cake.
Soak 1 gelatin leaf in cold water. Drain the gelatin leaf and dissolve it in the hot syrup. Set it aside until it begins to set.
Whisk the pastry cream with 250 grams mascarpone cheese and then mix in 1/3 of whipped cream.
Assemble first layer of sponge cake in a platter, using the spring form ring. If your cake has a dome on top, use the top piece in the middle and end with the last piece, which is flat. Add half of the cream and 1/3 of the sour cherries.
Continue with second layer of sponge, the remaining cream and 1/3 of the sour cherries. Refrigerate for a couple of hours until the cream sets.
Remove parchment paper and spring form ring.
Add some of the whipped Cream and spread on top and the sides of the cake. Add the remaining whipped cream in your pastry bag.
Grate some dark chocolate and sprinkle on top. Decorate as you like.
Finally add the remaining sour cherries and the jellied syrup on top.
Store the cake in the refrigerator.
Update with pictures from the party:
Blowing the candles
Mmmmm.. it was delicious!
MOther relevant recipes:
Black Forest with Caramelized Rum Cherries
Black Forest Cherry and Gooseberry Cake
Kopiaste and Kali Orexi,
Tags: birthday cake, black forest, Cakes, Chocolate sponge, cream cheese, Cream cheese black forest, Mascarpone, sour cherries, step by step
Summer is officially over, although yesterday there were people still swimming at Assini Beach. Today it is dull, cloudy and it rained for a few minutes in the morning. The temperature has dropped so we will be staying more hours at home, which means that now I have more time for some work to be done, which I have postponed for a long time.
It’s almost two years next month since I published my cookbook and although my intention was to have it published in Greek as well, I have always postponed it. After many requests from my Greek readers, I’ve now decided to work on my book. I will not stop blogging although it may be less frequent and with recipes which do not require much of my time, like the following recipe which we had today for lunch.
It is a very simple recipe, easy and cheap but it is full of flavour. Last week tomatoes were very cheap, so I made a lot of Marinara sauce, which I store in 1 cup plastic cups in the deep freezer and use them whenever I need some and I always have roasted garlic in my refrigerator, so it takes less than 15 minutes to prepare this dish.
Today I wanted to use some mushrooms I had in the refrigerator, so I made this dish with roasted garlic and Marinara Sauce. The cilantro added in the end, adds another wonderful flavour but if you are one of those people who hate cilantro, you can substitute it with parsley.
Penne with Mushrooms, Roasted Garlic, Cilantro and Marinara Sauce, recipe by Ivy
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Serves: 3 – 4
Ingredients:
- 250 grams, penne rigate
- 1 cup homemade Marinara Sauce (tomato sauce)
- 200 grams small whole button mushrooms
- 3 tbsp garlicky olive oil
- 2 cloves roasted garlic
- Salt and freshly grated black pepper
- ½ cup cilantro (fresh coriander), finely chopped
Directions:
- Heat water, add salt and boil pasta for about ten minutes or according to package instructions.
- Heat the olive oil taken from the roasted garlic together with roasted garlic and crush them with a spoon. Add the mushrooms, season them with salt and pepper and sauté on both sides for 2 – 3 minutes.
- Strain pasta and warm marinara sauce in the same pot.
- Add the pasta and mushrooms and mix.
- Cook for 1 more minute, remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro.
- Serve with more cilantro and freshly grated black pepper on top.
I am linking this recipe to the last edition of Presto Pasta Nights, created by Ruth, of Once Upon a Feast and hosted by Simona, of Briciole. I am really very sorry that this very successful event is being terminated.
Other relevant recipes:
Kopiaste and Kali Orexi,
Tags: cilantro, easy, frugal recipes, healthy recipes, marinara sauce, Mediterranean diet, pasta dishes, Penne with Mushrooms, Roasted Garlic
If you would like to make something different for Thanksgiving, you should try this Greek Kolokythopita (Pumpkin or Butternut Squash Pie). It may be different from what you are used to but it’s so delicious you will love it. Pumpkin is not as easy to find in Greece as butternut squash, so you can use whichever you prefer.
As I said in a previous post, my neighbour gave me two butternut squashes, one of which I made the Savoury Cornmeal Crumble with Butternut Squash, Spinach and Feta, as well as the Butternut Squash Chocolate Chip Muffins with Chocolate Carob Syrup Buttercream Frosting.
When we returned back from Athens, the other one was not quite ripe. When my neighbour came to visit I asked her how many days it takes for it to ripen so without a second word she fetched a ripe one and took the other one to feed it to her chickens.
I decided to make this Kolokythopita, which is my twist to the classic Greek Pie with homemade phyllo and a delicious pumpkin filling with pumpkin spices as well as almonds and raisins, which I love in Cypriot Kolokotes (Pumpkin turnovers). In the Cypriot ones we add rice or bulgar to absorb the juices while baking. Instead of adding rice, I added ground biscuits which added an additional lovely taste to the filling. To make the phyllo I did not have enough all purpose flour so I added some whole meal flour as well but you can make it with with 600 grams all purpose flour only.
Before adding the filling, if you see that there are too many fluids, just empty it quickly in a colander without leaving it to drain.
I am still trying to learn how to use my new oven. At the moment I am experimenting baking with the fan forced option. Although I read somewhere that you don’t need to pre-heat fan forced ovens, I don’t know if this is true but I still preheat mine and I bake at a lower temperature.
Sweet Kolokythopita, recipe by Ivy
Serves: 16
Ingredients:
For the dough:
Makes: 4 phyllos
- 500 grams all purpose flour
- 100 grams wholemeal flour
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- Water as much as needed (about 1 cup)
For the filling:
- 3.5 kg butternut squash (net weight 1,800 grams)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup sultana raisins
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp mixed spices*
- 150 gr. (1 cup raw almonds with skins) coarsely ground
- 100 gr. petit beurre biscuits or digestive biscuits finely ground
- 3 tbsp honey
- A pinch of pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
*Note: You can make your own mixed spices mixture by grinding an equal amount of cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg and ground ginger.
Directions:
- Peel the butternut squash and grate on the large side or chop into smaller pieces.
- Add all ingredients and let them marinate until you finish with the phyllo.
- When ready to put the filling in the pie, strain to remove excess juices.
- Grease a baking tray 32 x 23 x 6 cm or 12.5x 9 x 2.5 inches.
- Prepare the dough. Cover with a kitchen towel and let it rest for about 30 minutes.
- See the process here step-by-step or watch me making phyllo using a rolling pin or watch me making phyllo using a pasta attachment.
- Divide the dough into 4 pieces, two of which should be slightly bigger.
- Flour the table with corn flour (starch) and roll the first two phyllo sheets which should cover the sides of your baking tin. Oil the first one and then add the second.
- Put the filling in the middle and spread it with a spoon to go anywhere.
- Roll out the third and fourth phyllo sheets exactly the size of the baking tray. Oil each sheet. To join the four sheets, gently fold, pressing them to join.
- Lightly score your phyllo the shape you like.
- Preheat oven to 170oC / 338o F fan forced.
- Put the rack at 1/3 of the oven and bake until the pie is golden on top, for about 1 hour, depending on your oven.
- Leave it to cool slightly so that filling sets and then serve.
Other Similar Recipes:
Kolokythokeftedes with Spinach and Potato
Gluten free Kolokythokeftedes with Courgettes and Pumpkin
Savoury Kolokythopita me myzithra
Whole Wheat Kolokythopita
Kopiaste and Kali Orexi,
Tags: butternut squash, Greek butternut squash pie, Greek pumpkin pie, kolokotes, kolokythopita, made with phyllo, pies, pites, Pumpkin
As this month is the month of Halloween, Baking Partners chose as there theme to bake Cupcakes or Muffins with pumpkin.
We had three choices but I chose to make Pumpkin chocolate chips Muffins from Joy of baking which in its turn was also adapted from Baking from the Heart, a collaborative cookbook with Michael J Rosen, a recipe suggested by Reshmi of EasyCook.
I’ve been doing some research trying to understand what the difference between a muffin and a cupcake is? I found lots of contradictory information on the web which made things even more confusing. I wanted to add a frosting on my muffins. Would that make them cupcakes? If you put muffin batter in a cupcake mold does it become a cupcake? or if you put fruit in cake batter and into the cupcake mold does it become a muffin?
I made the question on the forum of Baking partners but did not get a reply, so I asked the same question on my wall on Facebook. I would like to thank my friends on Facebook for joining the conversation and clarifying this issue.
I followed the recipe of Joy of Baking but I do not see how this recipe fits to be a muffin. It has fruit in it, in this case the butternut squash or pumpkin but I looked at Cupcakes with zucchini, by Martha Stewart and it’s the same thing, although this time Martha Stewart uses vegetable oil and does not cream the sugar with the butter as would be the case for cupcakes.
As I mention in my previous post, I made these muffins last week. Instead of using pumpkin, I used butternut squash which I brought a with me from Assini. Our plans were to stay here for a few days, which however changed for some family reasons. I was planning to make them when we returned, as most of my baking equipment (scale, measuring cups and spoons, piping bags etc) are there. I do have some basic equipment here as well which my children use when cooking, so fortunately I had a hand mixer and muffin tins.
I found a coffee cup which I estimated to be around the size of a measuring cup and that was used as my guide for the recipe. My experience in baking helped as well.
I made a few changes to the recipe. Instead of using canned pumpkin, I used fresh butternut squash which I had roasted and I preferred to use cane sugar instead of crystal sugar as well as fresh ginger. Furthermore, I also added cocoa powder and carob syrup. Since I added cocoa in the muffins and I wanted to add a buttercream frosting on top, I made mine, using cocoa and carob syrup, which was forgotten in the closet. Carob syrup has a chocolaty taste and apart from adding colour to the batter, it also adds wonderful taste.
My husband did not find any chocolate chips at our local supermarket, so instead I chopped and added some chocolate into small pieces. Later on when we went out, we found some chocolate chips and I bought a 750 grams packet, as in any case I wanted to take it with me as I could not find them at Nafplio. When I returned and opened the package, they were huge, so I used them to decorate the muffins.
Here is how I went about:
I measured the ingredients with the coffee cup, including about 40 grams cocoa powder. I then sifted the dry ingredients.
I whisked the butter with cane sugar and added the eggs one at a time, the carob syrup and grated fresh ginger. Then I lowered the mixer speed and added the sifted dry ingredients, alternating with fresh roasted butternut squash. I finally mixed in some finely chopped chocolate.
The recipe called for ¾ cup pumpkin puree. I measured that in the same cup and when alternating the puree with the dry ingredients, the consistency of the batter was right and still there was a lot of leftover flour, so I continued adding more flour and butternut squash until all the flour was used. I don’t know what went wrong but although the outcome was wonderful, I ended up with 18 muffins or were they cupcakes, as they were light and fluffy.
I tried to add the buttercream frosting using a very old piping gadget. Unfortunately it would not come out, so I removed the frosting from the gadget and put it on the muffins with a e spoon. Then I used a fork to make a pattern and finally I decorated the muffins with milk chocolate chips.
Note: In the recipe below, I have kept the original measurements and just adjusted the ingredients which I have addded and/or changed and are marked in red . I do not think that the addition of the extra cocoa powder, the fresh ginger and the carob syrup will affect the consistency of the muffins/cupcakes.
Butternut Squash Chocolate Chip Muffins with Chocolate Carob Syrup Buttercream Frosting,
Recipe by Ivy adapted from Joy of Baker
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Baking time: about 20 (30) minutes
Makes: about 12 (18)
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups (195 grams) all purpose flour
- (about 40 grams cocoa powder)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup
(200 grams) granulated white sugar220 grams cane sugar - 2 large eggs
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
- 2 tbsp carob syrup
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup (180 ml) solid packed, canned pumpkin(about) 1 1/2 cups butternut squash puree1 cup (175 grams) semisweetchocolatechips chocolate,100 grams chocolate cut into pieces- Chocolate chips for decoration
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 180ο C / 350ο F. Place rack in the middle of the oven.
- See how to roast pumpkin/butternut squash. (You have to do this ahead as it has to cool).
- Line
1218 muffin cups with paper liners or butter muffin tins or spray each cup with a non stick vegetable spray. - In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, ground spices, and salt.
- In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract, ginger and carob syrup. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and pumpkin puree, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Fold in the chocolate
chips. - Fill the muffin cups evenly with the batter, filling each cup two-thirds full.
- Place in the oven and bake according to your oven for about
18 – 2030+ minutes, or until firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center of one of the muffins comes out clean. - Place on a wire rack to cool before frosting.
Chocolate Carob Syrup Buttercream Frosting, recipe by Ivy
Ingredients:
- 63 grams (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- (about) 1 cup icing sugar, sifted
- 2 tbsp cocoa, sifted
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tbsp carob syrup
- 1 tbsp thyme honey
Directions:
- Using a hand mixer cream the unsalted butter with sifted icing sugar and cocoa until smooth.
- Add carob syrup, honey, vanilla, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg and mix well after each addition. Keep mixing until all is well incorporated and the frosting is smooth and fluffy.
- Refrigerate the frosting for 15 minutes.
- Add a spoonful of frosting and shape with a fork.
- Add a chocolate chip on top for decoration.
Kopiaste and Kali Orexi,
Tags: buttercream, carob syrup, Chocolate Carob Syrup Buttercream Frosting, Cupcakes, frosting, Muffins
What do you do when you have a huge butternut squash around 8 kilos?
My neighbour in Assini gave me two huge butternut squashes from her garden the evening before leaving Nafplio. One of it was not ripe yet, so I left it there hoping that by the time I get back it will be ready to use. The other one, I brought it along with me to Athens. I cut half of it, removed the seeds and put it in a baking tin with about 1 cup of water and wrapped it well with aluminium foil. I then cooked it to 200o C / 400o F, for about two hours. (See how to roast a pumpkin here). I used part of the puree to make muffins, which will be my next post and the remaining leftover puree was deep freezed.
My children wanted Kolokotes, so I made the remaining 1/4 of the butternut squash into Kolokotes, which is a traditional Cypriot recipe of butternut squash turnovers. Some of these Kolokotes were baked and the remaining went directly into the deep freezer to be baked when my son comes back from abroad.
With the remaining 1/4 of the butternut squash I decided to experiment. When I was making this recipe I had in mind a previous recipe I had posted called badjina, which is made using cornmeal but wanted to make something new.
When I google searched «What does butternut squash go with?» I read that orange and green vegetables together provide both a nutritionally powerful meal and a winning flavor combination, with the squash’s sweetness balancing the earthy greens, so I decided to add spinach as well. I did not like the herb combination of sage and rosemary, suggested because I did not have these fresh herbs and did not want to use dried ones. Instead, I opted for fennel fronds which I have tried and tested in the past and love it with butternut squash. I also added a hint of cumin as suggested but only add it if you really like this spice. For me it was a wonderful addition but some members of my family were not enthusiastic with it.
When I posted the picture on my crumble on Facebook some of my friends said that there is a Greek recipe using greens and cornmeal called «Babanatsa». I had never heard of it before and google searched it. This pie comes from Epirus and babanatsa is the name of the batter it is made with instead of using phyllo. It resembles a clafouti or “duff,” with the spinach filling popping through the surface. It has lots of other names such as babanetsa, blatsarina, riganada, patsaria, misantra. So I can now say that mine was a combination of four recipes: badjina, babanatsa, spanakopita and crumble!!
(Note: After Anna’s comment, I realized that Plastos is the same with all the above and I have already made the original recipe).
I love making crumbles as they are very easy to make and taste delicious. Check out two new recipes of mine for sweet crumbles.
I have made a Fig, Honey and Fragrant Geranium Crumble and a Mixed fruit, Petimezi (condensed grape syrup) Crumble.
On another note, today it’s our wedding anniversary. D and I got married 32 years ago, on 12 October 1980 so we decided to prolong our trip to Athens and celebrate with our children. We shall be returning back to Assini early next week.
Savoury Cornmeal Crumble with Butternut Squash, Spinach and Feta, recipe by Ivy
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Baking time: 1 hour
Serves: 1 baking tin 35 x 25 cm (about 12 pieces)
Ingredients:
Filling:
- 1 kilo (2.20 lbs) butternut Squash, grated
- ½ kilo (1.10 lbs) spinach, squeezed
- ½ cup olive oil
- 2 eggs
- 500 (1.10 lbs) grams feta, crumbled
- ½ cup parsley, finely chopped
- ½ cup fennel fronds, finely chopped
- Salt (with caution) and freshly grated black pepper
- A pinch of cumin
Crumble:
- 700 grams (1.54 lbs) corn meal
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 200 ml Greek yoghturt 2%
- 4 eggs
- 1 tbsp salt
Additional ingredients:
- 3 tbsp margarine divided (to grease the baking tin and to add on top)
Directions:
- Grate the pumpkin and mix all the filling ingredients.
- In a large bowl add the crumble ingredients and mix using your hand until the ingredients are well blended to form the crumble. If you still see corn meal, add more olive oil, if necessary.
- Grease a 35 x 25 cm baking tin with 2 tbsp margarine. Add half of the crumble on the baking tin.
- Add the filling on top and sprinkle the remaining crumble on top of the filling.
- Add the remaining margarine in small pieces scattered all over the baking tin.
- Preheat oven to 180o C / 350o F and bake for about 1 hour or until the crumble is golden on top.
Serve as a main dish, a side dish or a snack.
Other relevant recipes:
Plastos, Spanakopita from Thessaly and Epirus
Kopiaste and Kali Orexi,
Tags: butternut squash, Cornmeal crumble, crumble, Feta, how to roast a pumpkin, How to roast butternut squash, Mediterranean diet, spinach
Pollo alla cacciatora, translates and hunter’s chicken. I don’t know if game, such as rabbit was originally involved and later on chicken was used to deserve its original name or if whether it is just hunter’s style chicken, the way the hunter cooked his chicken or whether when the hunter came back home from hunting, his wife had cooked a chicken stew dish for him.
When google searching for recipes I read all the above scenarios and there were various versions of this recipe, some using olives, others bacon, others beans, others shrimps, others white wine, others red wine, with tomato and without tomato.
Some of them reminded me of Coq au Vin, others a Chicken Bourguignon or Greek Kotopoulo Kokkinisto (stew) or Kotopoulo Krassato (chicken with wine). As each one was different and did not know which one would be quite traditional, so I decided to make it my way, using the ingredients I preferred.
I made this recipe a few weeks ago in Assini using free range chicken. You can see in the picture above that the meat was darker and it took more time to cook. I made it again today, this time serving it with mashed potatoes.
If you have never made this dish, you should try it as the recipe is very easy to prepare and the dish is delicious with a very flavourful sauce.
Pollo alla cacciatora (Hunter’s Chicken Stew), recipe by Ivy
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Serves: 6 – 8
Ingredients:
- 1 chicken about 2.200 grams, skin and bones on
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 red onions, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 6 carrots, sliced
- 4 – 5 stalks celery, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
- 2 cups red dry wine
- 400 grams tomato juice
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup water
- 1 tbsp salt
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- A pinch of thyme
- 1 tsp Greek spice mixture
- 2 – 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 2 bay leaves
- ¼ cup parsley, finely chopped
Directions:
- Clean, wash and cut the chicken into pieces, leaving the skin on, which gives flavour to the dish.
- Drain chicken and then dredge in flour.
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over a medium-high flame. Add the chicken pieces to the pan and sauté just until browned, about 5 minutes per side. Sauté in 2 – 3 batches.
- Transfer the chicken to a pot and set aside.
- Add the onion and sauté for 1 – 2 minutes and then add the garlic and sauté until both are translucent, about total 5 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, rosemary, bay leaves, salt, pepper and spices and mixed for 1 – 2 minutes. Pour the mixture over the chicken and add the wine. Cook for a few minutes until the alcohol evaporates.
- Add tomato juice and tomato paste dissolved in 1 cup of water.
- Bring the sauce to a boil and lower heat. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat until the chicken is cooked through, for about 1 hour, depending on the chicken. (Free range chickens need more time to cook).
- Remove the chicken to the platter again and if carrot and celery are not soft, continue simmering until soft (you may need to add some more water, about ½ cup) and the sauce thickens.
- Put the chicken back in the pot, add the parsley and simmer for about 3 more minutes.
Serve with rice pilaf, mashed potatoes or pasta.
Kopiaste and Kali Orexi,
Tags: Chicken, healthy recipes, Hunter's Chicken Stew, Italian, Kotopoulo tou kynigou, krasato, Mediterranean diet, Pollo alla cacciatora, Poultry, spice mixture
Hello from Athens again.
I’ve been trying to write a blog post when I was in Assini for over a week unsuccessfully and I haven’t been visiting my friends” blogs for quite a long time. Please forgive me but there are a lot of distractions in the countryside. You can read a post on our life in Assini here.
Besides the weather is so good that we don’t like sitting home for a long time and we usually go to the beach before lunch and after resting we go to Nafplio or Tolo.
The post describes one of our visits to Nafplio on a Saturday morning.
The other day we walked from the farmers’s market, up to the Catholic Church, then to Syntagma Square and from there we went to the Peloponnese Folklore Foundation Museum. Both places are so beautiful that even if you just go for a walk there is always something beautiful to see.
After our stroll it was noon and yet we still wanted to go to the beach because it was so hot. We ended back home at 3 p.m. so what’s easier than a pasta dish, right? I made Spaghetti Aglio e Olio with Roasted Garlic and Tuna. By the time we showered lunch was ready. You can find the recipe for this easy, cheap and very delicious pasta dish in the same post.
We came to Athens a couple of days ago to visit our children and had some other business we had to attend to and waking early in the morning or late in the evening, I finally managed to update my blogs.
This is an old recipe I made before coming to Assini, using leftover egg whites. There are many recipes where only egg yolks are used. So the question is what do you do with your leftover egg whites?
I must admit that when I was a novice cook and didn’t know much about cooking, I used to through them away because I didn’t know what to do with them. I hope that you do not do the same because it’s a shame to waste anything, especially now with the economic crisis. I try to make good use of everything.
If you do not have the time to use them immediately, you can put them in a small bowl, label them with the number of egg whites or by weight and date and deep freeze them. Many times, I add more over the original batch and just change the labeling, without of course thawing them. When I want to use them I remove them from the freezer and when thawed they are just as fresh ones.
I then make meringues which can be stored in air-tight containers and can last for a long time. I use them to make lots of desserts such as Pavlova, macaroons or macarons, amygdalota (almond cookies), angel cake and so many other desserts.
If you are on a diet you can make low fat omelettes just the way you make a usual one but only using the egg whites. If you are not on a diet but want to eat healthier and avoid cholesterol, you can make scrambled eggs or omelettes using only one egg yolk per portion, and add a few extra egg whites to the batch.
This time I made a twist to amygdalota which are almond cookies. I also used one of my favourite ingredients which is «petimezi or epsima, as it is called in Cyprus» which is a condensed grape syrup. If you don’t have petimezi, you can substitute it with honey, other molasses or with maple syrup.
Christmas is not very far away, so save your egg whites for then.
Chocolate Petimezi Amygdalota Cookies, recipe by Ivy
Preparation time: 45 minutes
Baking time: 15
Makes: about 26 cookies
Ingredients:
- 125 grams (about 4) egg whites, at room temperature
- 80 grams dark cane sugar
- 220 grams icing sugar, sifted
- 150 grams blanched almonds
- 40 grams unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 vanillas
- 1 tbsp petimezi (condensed grape syrup)
Chocolate Coating:
- 250 ml heavy cream
- 250 grams dark chocolate chips
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 teaspoon petimezi
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 180º C / 350º F and prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Blanche the almonds and place on kitchen paper to dry. In a food processor grind them together with the icing sugar.
- Beat egg whites with lemon juice until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar and vanilla and continue until very stiff and firm, about 5 minutes.
- Sift the dry ingredients and gently fold into the beaten egg whites with a rubber spatula.
- Place the batter into a pastry bag.
- Pipe the batter on the prepared baking sheets spaced apart (about 3 cm / 1 inch.
- Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes, depending on your oven.
- Set aside to cool completely before adding the chocolate coating.
- Meantime, over a double bath melt the chocolate and add the cream, petimezi and honey. Mix until they are combined and smooth. Set aside for the glaze to cool before using.
- Transfer them on a tray lined with parchment paper and put the cookies down side facing up. Using a spoon cover them with chocolate and wait until it starts to set.
- Put the bowl back over the hot water so that chocolate remains runny. If it becomes difficult to spread, put it back on the heat again (add some cream if necessary).
- Turn the cookies over and coat them on the other side as well.
- Refrigerate for a couple of hours until they set and then store them in the fridge, in an airtight container between parchment papers.
Other relevant recipes:
Peach Pavlova with Yoghurt and Honey
Diet Mushroom and Rosemary Omelette
Kopiaste and Kali Orexi,
Tags: Amygdalota, biscuits, chocolate, Chocolate Ganache, Cookies, epsima, gluten free, grape must, How to use leftover egg whites, macarons, macaroons, meringues, moustos, Pavlova, petimezi
Okra with fish is a specialty of the Greek islands. I remember years ago seeing a Greek cooking show making this recipe and I have been wanting to make it ever since. The recipe used whole fish with the bones, I think it was sea bass, and that was probably what put me off as I hate having to remove bones from the fish, especially if it is cooked with something else.
Some other people are put off by the slimy texture of okra which resembles like saliva. However, if it is cooked properly, this is not the case as then it becomes delicious and has the most delicate taste no other vegetable can replicate.
This time of the season, here in Greece okra are tender and relatively cheap. If you cannot find fresh okra, frozen okra are equally good and much easier to make as you avoid the peeling procedure, which reduces the preparation time to about ten minutes.
My intention was to cook the meal the traditional way but as I was making the preparation I remembered that the first days I started cooking here at Assini, I had bought some frozen Pollock fillets. I took two fillets out of the deep freezer and by the time I finished they had already defrosted.
We loved it. It was so delicious that I made it again the next week, only this time I added four fillets. If you like okra, I can assure you that this recipe is not only healthy, easy and delicious but also cheap, so give it a try and you will be amazed by its taste.
The weather is still warm and summer is in full-swing here in Greece, around 33 degrees C, so we are lucky to be still enjoying the late summer sun and activities. It only rained last weekend for a short interval and still have some time to worry how we shall spend the winter without any heating but the fireplace! I hope this winter won’t be as cold as the last one because if it is, I imagine that we will pack and go back to Athens until next Spring.
- 750 grams okra
- Salt
- ½ cup of olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 400 grams (1 can) pumaro concasse or 1 kilo ripe fresh tomatoes, diced
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 600 ml water
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- Salt and pepper
- ½ cup parsley, finely chopped
- 4 Pollock fillets
- Wash and clean the okra. See step by step instructions following the link below.
- In a pot heat the olive oil and sauté the onion until translucent. Add the okra and sauté them for 5 -6 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes, tomato paste diluted in water, salt and pepper.
- Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover with the lid and simmer for about half an hour, gently stirring occasionally.
- Add the parsley and gently mix.
- Then add the Pollock and cover with the some okra and sauce.
- Cook for 15 more minutes.
Kopiaste and Kali Orexi,
Tags: Fish, mpamies, okra, pollock, Tips-cooking
Going through my files this morning, I saw this recipe I made before leaving from Athens and thought I should share it while there are still fresh, juicy peaches in the market.
If you want to use canned peaches this is fine and it becomes the easiest dessert you can make in less than fifteen minutes and it is very delicious. All you need to do is whip the heavy cream and combine it with the other ingredients.
See How to peel stone fruit and make Peach compote same way as Apricot Compote.
If you are on a diet, skip the heavy cream and add more yoghurt with 2% fat. You can eat it for breakfast, as a snack or for a light dinner.
Peach Pavlova with Yoghurt and Honey, recipe by Ivy
Serves: 4 – 5
Ingredients:
- 500 ml of Greek strained yoghurt
- 500 ml of heavy cream
- 2 tsp icing sugar
- 1 heaped tbsp Greek honey or more if you want it sweeter
- 1 can (420 gr. net weight) of peach compote
- 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
- 20 meringues (see apple meringue galette)
- ½ cup roasted walnuts or pecans
Directions:
Whip the cream with icing sugar until soft peaks are formed (see step by step instructions). Add vanilla and mix. Combine yoghurt with whipped cream. Add honey and mix.
Add the fruit reserving some for the decoration and mix in with a spoon.
In a large bowl add layers of meringue and yoghurt cream. Continue until all the ingredients are used.
Sprinkle the roasted walnuts on top and decorate with peach slices.
Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.
Kopiaste and Kali Orexi,
Tags: easy desserts, gluten free, Greek yoghurt, Meringue, No bake, Pavlova, peaches
