Leek-Tomato Pasta

A great weeknight meal that uses two basic ingredients straight out of fridge - tomatoes and leeks.
Make food and be done with dinner in less than 30 min!

Ingredients:
2 leeks - thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves - finely chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes
Dried pasta seasoning
Salt
Black pepper ground
Olive oil
1/2 tbsp butter
1/4 tbsp flour
1/2 cup vegetable stock or water
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese - grated
1 cup uncooked pasta(serves two)

Method:
1. Start cooking the pasta for two servings on one stove.
2. On another stove, heat some olive oil, half butter, garlic, salt, pepper and pasta seasoning.
3. Once the oil is heated, put in the leeks and cook for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add tomatoes and cook for another 4 minutes.
5. Make a small hole in the pan by setting the vegetable mixture aside and put remaining butter. Put the flour and cook it to form a paste.
6. Now mix the paste with the vegetables and stir in the stock(or water). Let it bubble for a minute.
7. Now drain the pasta and add it to the sauce.
8. Garnish with Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.

Enjoy your simple yet delicious weeknight meal with a glass of good red wine!

Zabaglione

It's a classic Italian dessert that I love and I can have it any day and anytime of the year!
Eggs, sugar and cream - what else do I need to think of for a heavenly dessert.

Ingredients:
3 egg yolks
6 tbsp sugar
Some pure vanilla extract
1 cup double cream

Method:
1. Whip the cream with some vanilla essence and 3 tbsp sugar until it forms stiff peaks. Set aside in the fridge.
2. Keep a large pot of water to boil. Set the flame such that it gently steams.
3. In a separate bowl, lightly mix egg yolks, remaining sugar and some vanilla extract.
4. Cook this mixture while constantly whipping over the gently steaming water bath.
5. It will take about 3-5 minutes to cook. It should be a smooth running, pale yellow mixture.
6. Immediately immerse the bowl in ice cold water while still whipping to cool the eggs completely.
7. Gently fold the egg mixture in the whipped cream and transfer to individual bowls.
8. Set aside to set in the fridge for at least at hour.

Serve it on crushed butter cookies and to with some roasted grapes. That's what I did for my Greek Dinner Party :)
Enjoy!

Greek food revisited

My first encounter with authentic Greek food was four years back in Greece. There was an unusual sense of thrill and excitement in exploring the small cobbled alleyways and boutique shops of Santorini as it resonated with the excitement of starting a new chapter in my life! It was here that we found the perfect tzatziki to whet our appetite and a hearty moussaka to fill our stomach and satiate our senses.

In today's party, I tried to recreate the same recipes and finish it with, Zabaglione, a dessert that probably took most of my 'cooking' time in the kitchen! But it's definitely worth a try and considerably easy if you have a hand blender ;)


Menu Idea:
Here is the menu detail for your greek party:
1. Salad: This is my interpretation of a simple and quick greek salad that's elegant to serve.
2. Appetizer: Tzatziki and toasted pita bread - yet another super quick and delicious meal in itself.
3. Main course: Moussaka - this is a lighter version of the dish made with ground chicken instead.
4. Dessert: Zabaglione - eggs, sugar and cream - ingredients for a perfect dessert :)

Time: 2hr 30min, from opening the fridge to take out ingredients to cleaning the last inch of the countertop(utensils washing time included).

 

For serving the Greek salad, I used endive leaves as my base. I chopped tomatoes, onions, cucumber, olives and feta cheese and dressed them with little lemon juice and olive oil. The sourness in lemon works well with the bitterness of the leaves.

Table Setting:
For a cute Greek table setting I used simple white and blue place mats as everything on the Greek Islands is white and blue, including their flag!!

For the center piece I recycled an old can, dressed it up with some twine and used living thyme to spice up the entire atmosphere on the table.

I wrapped some blue tissue paper around yogurt cups and places tea lamps for a cozy effect and randomly arranged lemons next to the lamps.

Using decorations of herbs and spices that you have used in the food are a great way to start interesting conversations.

Chicken Moussaka

This is a great one pot dish - oven to table - that is also one of my favourite dishes to entertain.
I think it is a little time consuming since it involves cutting and layering and a little bit of cooking as well.

Ingredients:
1 pound ground chicken
2 garlic cloves - finely chopped
1 big eggplant - slices thinly, ~2cm in thickness
2 potatoes - slices thinly
1 medium sized onion - slices thinly
1 medium courgette - slices thinly
3 tomatoes - chopped
Dried thyme
Dried oregano
Salt
Black pepper ground
Olive oil
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
3 cup milk
1 cup Parmesean cheese - grated
Nutmeg powder
1 cup Mozzarella cheese - grated

Method:
1. Marinate: Marinate the vegetables in three separate bowls - poatoes and onions, eggplant and courgettes - with olive oil, oregano, thyme, salt and pepper.
2. Potatoes: In a deep baking dish, layer the potatoes and onions in a single layer and start baking at 375F/190C oven for 15 minutes.
3. Chicken: While that happens, in a sauce pan heat some olive oil with garlic in it and then saute it for a few seconds. Now add ground chicken and cook for 5-8 minutes.
4. Once you have broken the meat pieces into chunks, add dried thyme, oregano, pepper and chpped tomatoes. Keep cooking until the mixture is dry.
5. Eggplant: After 15 minutes, take the dish out of the oven and layer it with eggplants and cook for another 15 minutes.
6.  Bechamel sauce: While your dish is baking and chicken is cooking, take another sauce pan to prepare the bechamel sauce. In this start melting your butter with some olive oil over medium to low flame. Once the butter is melted, add the flour and cook for a few minutes. Now start adding milk slowly so that no lumps are formed. Once the sauce thickens, add parmesean cheese, pepper and nutmeg. Season with salt cautiously.
7. Courgettes: Take out the pan and layer the courgettes. Cook for another 7-10 minutes.
8. Final layer: Add some of the sauce to ground chicken to keep it moist while it bakes. Finally layer the ground chicken and top it with the Bechamel sauce. Bake this for another 15 minutes.
9. Final step: Finally layer the dish with mozzarella cheese. Increase the oven temperature to 400F/200C and bake until the crust is brown, around 10-15 minutes.

Let the Moussaka to rest for 10 minutes after it comes out of oven while you enjoy a glass of nice red wine. Enjoy the fruits of your love and labour! :)

Elegant Moroccan Dinner Party

Here is an elegant, easy and quick way to pull together a delightful Moroccan dinner party!
This is so easy that you can even entertain on a weekday after those long hours of work...

Menu ideas:
1. Start with the <Fattoush> salad.
2. Serve hot <chicken tagine> with warm Lavash or pita bread.
3. Have a <mixed rice pilaf> for rounding up.
4. For a sweet tooth - just get nice Toasted Almond gelato and you're all set!!

Mixed rice pilaf

A versatile dish to have up your sleeve for any party and potluck is this mixed rice pilaf. I'm calling it a mixed rice pilaf mainly because it is a mixture of two varieties of rice that go immensely well together balancing out the nuttiness and the starchiness in each other. This is a mixture of wild rice that imparts a nutty and earthy flavour and basmati rice, which imparts a rich texture with it's long and sturdy grains.

I will also share a secret - that my husband taught me! - to cook rice perfectly for the pilafs :)

Ingredients:
3/4 cup wild rice
1 cup basmati rice
1 tsp turmeric
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
1/4 cup chopped mint
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/3 cup rasins
3/4 cup chopped nuts like walnuts, almonds, cashews
4 chopped spring onions

Method:
1. Wild Rice:
     i.   In a pot, wash the wild rice and soak in water for 15-20 minutes before starting to cook.
     ii.  After that, drain that water and add triple the amount of fresh water.
     iii. Cook over medium heat for 30-35 minutes until rice is tender.
     iv. Now drain the rice in a sieve, and run the rice under cold water.
     v. After draining all the liquid, spread the rice over a plate and let it cool.

2. Basmati rice:
     i.   In a pot, wash the basmati rice and soak in water for 15-20 minutes before starting to cook.
     ii.  After that, drain that water and add double the amount of fresh water.
     iii. Also add, salt, pepper and turmeric to it.
     iv. Cook over medium heat for 15-20 minutes until rice is tender.
     v. Now drain the rice in a sieve, and run the rice under cold water.
     vi. After draining all the liquid, spread the rice over a plate and let it cool.

3. In a big bowl mix rice, mint. cilantro, rasins, nuts, spring onion. Warm in a microwave and serve hot! :)

Fattoush

A vibrant and tasty salad. This is a dish that will please the crowd and satisfy the taste buds at the same time! Try it and you'll fall in love with it :)

Ingredients:
1 cucumber - English seedless cucumber sliced in circles (if it's long cut in half)
1/2 medium red onion - chopped finely
1 tomato - diced in small bite size cubes
1/4 cup chopped mint leaves
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
4 chopped spring onions
1/2 red bell pepper - diced in small bite size cubes
2 small radishes - sliced in circles
1 blood orange - flesh taken out
1/2 head of Radicchio - chopped into bite size pieces
1 Lavash or pita bread - cut into bite size pieces
1 tbsp feta cheese
Dressing:
3 tbsp Extra Virgin olive oil
Salt
Pepper
1/2 Lemon juice
Some Lemon zest
2 tsp Sumac

Method:
1. Wash all the vegetables, cut according to ingredient list and mix in a big salad bowl along with the cheese.
2. Preheat the oven to 400F. Layer the pieces of bread in a single layer. Drizzle a little olive oil, salt and pepper on it and toast until browned and crisp.
3. For dressing, mix olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, sumac and zest and mix well.
4. Toss everything together and serve!