Grandma's Apple Taart

In the Netherlands, you don't have yiayias, you have omas. "Oma" is the Dutch word for grandma and the Oma's appel taart is a true Dutch delicacy. As I currently live away from my home country, I thought it appropriate to take a peek at what the Dutch have for us in terms of the traditional recipes, made famous by a generation of grandmothers whose lessons are sadly being forgotten. 


You will be hard pressed to find a dutch cafe that doesn't offer you koffee en gebak and it will always be a tempting looking apple tart. At every birthday party I attend here in the Netherlands, there is always a slice waiting for you. 


So, it's a real crowd pleaser and definitely one for the winter months. Thus, I urge you to make it and invite your friends and family over for koffie en gebak. 


Ingredients:


For the dough:
300g self-raising flour
150g caster sugar
175g (salted) butter
1/2 egg (save the rest for brushing the pastry)


For the filling:
1 kilogram apples (hard, sour ones), halved and sliced thinly or in sticks
75g raisins (soaked in water)
75g granulated sugar
2-3 teaspoons cinnamon (mmmmm)
juice of half a lemon


And some toasted bread crumbs to make sure the cake does not stick


Instructions:


Butter a round cake tin and sprinkle the bread-crumbs to line the tin. 


Combine all of the ingredients for the dough and work until smoothly combined. Wrap in cling-film and leave in the fridge. 

Now combine the ingredients for the filling in a bowl. 

Retrieve the pastry from fridge and roll it out to form the sides and bottom (for this I usually use the bottom of the cake tin as a guide. Then spoon the filling into the tin. Now roll out the rest of the pastry and make a thatch pattern on top, or alternatively a pattern of your choice. 

Brush with the remaining egg half and then pop it in the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes at 175°C.

Serve with whipped or pouring cream and a sprinkling of icing sugar for decoration.

Yiayia's Yiouvarlakia (Γιουβαρλάκια Γιαγιάς)

It has taken me a while to really get the right inspiration for this blog, yet I think I have finally cracked it! I realised that living abroad makes you miss the really homely things in life. One of these things for me is my yiayia's cooking. Yet in many ways, being away has brought me closer to my culture than ever before. Me and my yiayia speak regularly now on the phone about recipes, and I am always calling her for inspiration when I can't decide what to cook. After all, she is the expert on feeding people well! 

Now, everyone probably thinks that their yiayia is the finest cook in the world and I am no exception. Somehow yiayia's manage to pack in a special ingredient (for scientific purposes I'll call it the 'yiayia factor'), which I believe is only available to you when you yourself become a yiayia. Even if you copy their instructions step-by-step, theirs will always taste better.

I want to keep these recipes alive, share them; their taste, their tradition, their ability to bring family together.

For me, my favourite food is an easy choice; Avgolemoni (Egg and Lemon soup). This soup is always different depending on whose family makes it and I have experience the good, the bad and even the ugly. So you should by now know what I am going to say...yes my yiayia's one is the most delicious. However, this recipe is not for Avgolemoni. This recipe is for Yiouvarlakia (Egg and Lemon soup with meatballs). It so reminds me of being in Cyprus, in a little traditional restaurant during the old days when Nicosia was not yet home to swish bars, starbucks and sushi. The recipe originally comes from Greece and my dad swears that his yiayia (my great grandmother) made the nicest one (what a surprise!) 

Ingredients: 

250g lamb mince

1 onion grated

100g rice 
hanful chopped parsley

2 eggs (yellows and whites separated) 

juice of 2 and a half lemons 

3 litres chicken stock 

Mix the onion, parsley, rice and lamb mince with some salt and pepper in a bowl until well combined. 

Roll into small balls, then fry them for in some olive oil until they are browned.

Add the chicken stock and simmer for about 30 minutes, then leave aside to cool a little. 


In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites a little (you can use an electric whisk) and then add the yellows. Keep whisking all the time and then add the lemon juice. Now add half a cup of water and (as I said before) don't stop whisking. Now add a ladle at a time of the stock from the pan into the bowl whilst whisking. When the bowl becomes warm you can stop whisking. 


Now slowly, whilst stirring, pour the contents of the bowl back into the pan. Stir well and leave. You can warm the soup a little when you are ready to eat but do not boil it again as the egg may curdle. 

Enjoy! 

Zesty Prawns

This recipe is really easy and super fast to make. I decided to make it with some black bean rice, nachos and guacamole, but it could also be served with some salad or crusty bread and advocado. The result is a refreshing and delicious dish that is appropriate for any occasion, especially those when time is short. 

Ingredients:

250g fresh or frozen (thawed) prawns
1 red chilli finely chopped
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon fresh ginger grated
Salt and pepper
Handful fresh coriander chopped
Juice of half a lemon or lime

In a pan, fry the garlic, chilli and ginger with some olive oil for about a minute and then add the prawns. Fry for a further 4 minutes and season with salt and pepper. Turn off the heat and stir through the coriander, lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil.

Indian Chicken Patties with Pea Flatbreads

In the early hours of this morning we went and watched the premier of Harry Potter. This meant staying up through the early hours and so I decided to try something new (as I had a lot of time) and have a late dinner. So, I had some chicken mince which I had purchased from the poulier on Saturday and thus came up with the idea of some chicken patties with flatbreads. 

It was really good eating and very well received by others. The thing I like the most is how sociable it is and thus it would be perfect for a casual dinner party. Eating with your hands always gives a different atmosphere to a meal, one of comfort and respect for others.

Ingredients:

For the flatbreads:

1 and a half cups flour

Three quarters of a cup of water

Salt

2 tbsps oil and a pastry brush

150g fresh or frozen (thawed) peas

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp coriander seeds

For the patties: 

250g chicken mince

1 onion grated finely (watch the eyes)

Handful of chopped fresh coriander

1tsp harissa

1tsp coriander seeds

1tsp cumin

Bread crumbs (I made my own from toasted sourdough bread and used about 2 pieces of bread) 

Salt and pepper

For the cucumber yoghurt dip:

A quarter of a cucumber grated

Half a cup of plain Greek yoghurt

1 clove garlic crushed

In a pan, add a tablespoon of oil and fry the peas with the spices softly for a couple of minutes, taking care not to burn them. Add small amount water and turn up the heat a little. Put a lid on the pan and cook for around ten minutes, checking and stirring often to ensure the peas do not burn. If more water is needed then add a little more but not too much. 

Meanwhile mix together the flour, some salt and water in a bowl and blend together with your hands. Turn out onto a floured surface and work as you would do a bread dough, kneading for around 5 minutes. The dough should not be sticky so that it sticks to your hand or too dry that it crumbles, so add more water of flour accordingly. Roll the ball into a large ball and leave aside in a bowl. 

Now take the lid off of the peas and mash them with a mashing tool or alternatively you could put them through the blender. Then leave them with the lid off so that the pea mix can dry out a little. Then put the mix onto a plate and leave. When it is mouldable, form 8 small balls from the pea mixture. 

Now in a bowl, mix together all of the ingredients for the chicken patties. Place the bowl in the fridge to firm. 

Take the ball of dough and split it into 8 equal parts, rolled up into balls. Take one ball and roll out into a small disc (about as large as the bottom of a wine glass). Place one of the pea balls in the middle and then close the dough around the pea, as though you are making dumplings. Then roll the 'dumpling' out into a roundish flatbread shape. 

Heat a pan and place one of the flatbreads on top. Small bubbles will start to form and after about 30 seconds, turn the flatbread over. Using the pastry brush, brush a little oil over each side and keep turning backwards and forwards for around 4 to 5 minutes or until it looks done. The repeat this process for all 8 flatbreads and then leave them aside.

Remove the chicken mixture from the fridge. Now in another pan, warm some oil and one by one roll up small chicken patties and place them in the pan. Cook them over a medium heat, turning them often so that they brown on all sides. They will need about 20 minutes but do check by cutting one open first before you serve them. 

Finally mix the ingredients for the yoghurt together. This should be more runny than a tzatziki as there is a larger amount of cucumber than yoghurt. This is so that it pours rather than dollops. 

Serve with a salad and fill the flatbreads with the chicken patties, yoghurt and salad. Enjoy! 

I Pealeaf in Risotto

So, this week has been a bit of a risotto fever week :) Personally, I think it must be because my friend visited at the weekend and kept talking about risotto. Thus, she planted the idea, which essentially one could say has taken over. 

This one, my 'Pealeaf' risotto (a mix of peas and leaves) was something I had not previously tried but I must say it is one of the nicest ones I have had, very delicate and very delicious too. Perfect for any vegetarians, but even if you are a meat lover then you definitely won't miss out on any flavour. 

I have a wonderful large copper pan, which I use for all the risottos that I make. If you ever want to invest in something invaluable to your culinary development then may I suggest one to you. Not only is it perfect for cooking risotto, it also feels so homely and authentic when you are using it. On this occasion I also used a new risotto rice, which I had previously not tried, and I have to say it was very good. 

Ingredients:

1 onion chopped

2 stalks celery thinly chopped

1 large garlic clove crushed

250g risotto rice

125ml white wine

2 handfuls mixed leaves

1.5 litres of vegetable stock

150g frozen peas

50g parmesan grated

knob of butter

In a heavy bottom pan, fry the onion softly for about five minutes, taking care not to brown it. Add the garlic and celery and fry for a further 5 minutes. Add the risotto rice and fry for one minute on a medium heat. After the minute has passed, pour in the wine and stir. 

Now add the stock, little by little, watching and stirring until each amount of stock is absorbed by the rice. Continue doing this until the stock is finished or until the rice is soft but with a little bit of bite (or however you like it). 

Next add the peas and continue to cook for two more minutes. Turn off the heat and stir almost all of the mixed leaves through the risotto. The leaves should wilt and as this happens you can add the butter and keep stirring. Finally add the grated parmesan and stir it all together so it is mixed up well. Season with salt and pepper and then serve in bowls with a few leaves perched on top.

Salmon en croute

Salmon en croute is one of my favourite dishes and is both comforting and easy. As a child I remember eating this after school for dinner and I always thought it was fantastic. This is one of my yiayia's favourite things to eat that she doesn't cook herself. When she is fasting, she often eats this if she is allowed only fish. 

Every Saturday there is a fresh fish market near my house and I make a point to make something with fish for dinner. It always looks amazing, all the different fish laid out on display. The smell of them frying the fish for you to enjoy immediately is captivating and I can never resist. Anyway, on Saturday I always make a point of  buying some nice fresh catch and cooking it for dinner. Salmon en croute can be made using puff pastry or crumbly pastry and both are equally delightful. This recipe uses puff pastry because it is light and easy. This dish is great served with broccoli and/or mash potato. 

Ingredients: 

4 salmon fillets without skin

About 8 sheets puff pastry

2 leeks sliced thinly

Half a piece of fresh fennel thinly sliced

1 onion finely sliced in half rings

50g butter

2 handfuls dill

1 egg whisked

Fry the onion in a pan with a little olive oil over a low heat, stirring so that they do not brown. After 5 minutes add the leek, fennel and butter and fry for about ten minutes over a low heat to simmer. Finally add the dill and stir through and season with salt and pepper. Turn off and set aside. 

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Roll out the puff pastry and place the salmon fillets on top of one piece of puff pastry each. Now spoon a little of the leek mixture on top of each of the salmon fillets. 

Now carefully place another filo sheet on top and press or roll up the sides so that they are sealed. You may need a little more pastry depending on how big your salmon fillets are. Using a pastry brush, glaze the filo with the egg mixture. Top with salt and pepper and place the pastry parcels on a baking sheet. Pop them in the oven for about 25-30 minutes. Serve with some nice steamed broccoli and boiled or mashed potato. 

Pea, Prawn and Edamame Risotto

I love risotto and can guess that most people share my opinion. Risotto is a true labour of love and the more love you put in, the more scrumminess (I kid you not http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/scrumminess) you get out. It is the kind of food that can make someone fall in love with you ;) so if you are looking to impress then this is the dish to do it with. 

When I make risotto, it is a little like an improvisation, a natural free form cooking where there is no recipe, no rules. That's the way I like it and, once you have perfected the basics, you can throw almost anything into a risotto (please be wise :)). In any case, it is hard for me to give you exact amounts, so where I do not measure, I will not include measurements for fear of impairing the recipe. Be free and cast all meticulous weighing aside, just add then taste, then add more according to what your culinary intuition is telling you. Most of all...be brave.

The secret to a good risotto is a good stock. Stock can either be made yourself beforehand (can be stored in the freezer) or bought as powder or cubes from the supermarket. My favourite stock is 'Marigold Swiss Vegetable Bouillon Powder' and it is available in Waitrose. Despite the fact that I currently live abroad, I insist people bring it for me when they visit or bring back pots of it when I visit the UK. This recipe is good for 4 people. 

Ingredients: 

250g prawns fresh or frozen (thawed)

2 or 3 handfuls of risotto rice per person plus one for luck (note: I have small ladies hands)

1 large onion finely chopped

2 stalks celery finely chopped

150g peas

100g edamame beans 

125ml dry white wine 

half a lemon and the zest

500ml vegetable stock in a separate pan on the heat

50g of grated parmesan

1 garlic clove crushed

couple of knobs of butter

Fry the onion with a good glug of olive oil on a low heat in a heavy bottom pan. Add the crushed garlic and fry softly for five minutes ensuring the onions do not brown. Then add the celery and fry for a further 4 minutes. 

Add the rice and stir for one minute before adding the wine. You should hear a good sizzle as the wine hits the pan. Fry for 1 minute. 

Now, get a soup ladle and pour one ladle of the stock into the pan. Keep stirring and watch as the stock is absorbed by the rice. When it is almost all absorbed add another and repeat this process until the rice is soft to the taste, yet still with a bite to it. Five minutes after you add the first ladle of stock, add the edamame beans. If you run out of stock then just add some hot water. It should take about 15 to 20 minutes until the rice is ready. 

Now add the peas and prawns and cook for a further 3 minutes. Then turn off the heat and add the parmesan, butter and a squeeze of lemon to the pan. Stir well and season with salt and pepper. 

Serve into bowls and sprinkle the lemon zest on top. Serve with crusty bread and enjoy!