Sweet potato with feta and orange sauce

One of my favourite autumn treats is the sweet potato which can add richness, texture and flavor in any dish. My great grandmother was serving them boiled with some butter and a tbsp of quince spoon sweet on top as a desert. In my recipes I would add it to a chick pea soup or mash it with some smoked fish, since I find this sweet and savoury combination very stimulating to my taste buds.

This time I made a quick and easy recipe; one sweet potato baked in the oven (and speared several times with a skewer in order to speed up the cooking time) for half an hour and when cooked, halved and topped with feta cheese marinated in orange juice, toasted fennel and cumin seeds, spring onions and olive oil.

Red Curry with aubergine, butternut squash and prawns

It was a long weekend; I took part in the Hackathon, a graphic design marathon organised by Cancer research and I was, kind of, locked in a Level 39's sand room with other 50 designer, developers and whatever managers doing our best to bring to life three fundraising projects. Loved every second of it but I am now left drained off my energy.

And the reason is that apart from working under pressure, there was a do-not-bring-your-own-food rule that made the whole experience a tricky one. For 48 hours I was eating chocolates and chips, served in abundance in a table next to us and drinking coffee, red bull and all kinds of juices; I had a hamburger and meat sandwiches for lunch and lasagne with minced meet for dinner and that was it. No salad, no fruits, nothing actually, healthy.

I survived and now I am trying slowly to  go back to my normal eating habits, starting with a hot red curry with vegetables and prawns for dinner.

Ingredients

3 tbsp of red curry paste
3 tbsp of olive oil
2tbsp of garam mashala spice
half a can of chopped tomatoes
1 coconut milk
1 potato diced
1 aubergine diced
1 butternut squach diced
3 shallots chopped
1 red bell pepper
1 garlic clove chopped
150gr pre-cooked prawns
half a lime juice
coriander

After I dice all the vegetables I coat them with a mix of 2 tbsp of olive oil and 1 tbsp of red curry paste and put them in the oven to bake for half an hour. Meanwhile I make the sauce. In a medium heat I heat a tbsp of olive oil and cook the onion for 2  minutes. I add the chopped garlic and some water to avoid burning. When they have soften I will add one or two tbsp of curry paste and some of the coconut milk, the thick part from the top of the can and stir everything together. By this time the vegetables in the oven might be ready. If so, I throw them in the pan with the slices of the red pepper and stir to coat them with the sauce. I will spice them with the garam mashala, add the chopped tomatoes and after a minute the coconut milk. After it comes to a boil, I stir every now and then and leave them simmer for 15 minutes. I will add the prawns and let them cook with the rest for another 5 minutes. In the end i pour in the lime juice and the fresh coriander.

Paella with chicken,red kidney beans, brown rice and long sweet peppers

This is my version of a paella, a traditional Valenciana dish, which you can find all over Spain (and in the Borough market). Some say that the name derives from the arabic word “baqiyah” meaning left-overs and that it was introduced to Spain by the moorish population.  However, linguists say that it comes from the latin word palleta which means pan, giving importance to where it is cooked in.

I suppose there is a similar dish in every mediterranean country and not only. Cooking the rice with the chicken gives the dish a distinct meaty flavour while everything is kept simple. I am trying to think of a similar greek dish and gamopilafo comes to my mind; a cretan dish with pilau rice and rooster meat, served at the weddings, which is in turn a variation of the italian rissoto. But then again there are many greek recipes that combine rice and beans, few of them with the addition of meat or seafood.

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
1 fennel root diced
1 onion diced
1 garlic sliced
2 italian sweet red peppers
1 shot of ouzo
1/2 can tomatoes chopped
1/2 can red kidney beans
1 tbsp harissa paste
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp Garam Masala
black pepper
300 gr chicken thighs
1/2 cup brown rissoto rice
3 cups of chicken broth
two threads of safron
1 tbsp sugar

In my version of the chicken paella, I will do the cooking in a deep heavy-based pan instead of the traditional shallow one and I will be using an organic brown rice for risotto, extending the cooking time and giving the dish a different texture ( in the original recipe you use short or medium-grain rice which absorbs the water easier). My seasoning is different as well.I suppose you can add whatever vegetable or meat and seafood you want, I made mine with my fridge left overs.

First I cook the peppers in the oven for 10 minutes and leave them in a plastic bag to cool for 20 more minutes, in order to peel them. In the meantime I heat the olive oil in the pan. I add the fennel and onion and fry over a gentle heat for 3- 4 minutes. Then I add the chopped garlic, some black pepper and a tablespoon of garam masala powder and stir everything together. Now it is time to fry the chicken thighs. I push the onion-fennel-garlic aside and brown the chicken in both sides. Some ouzo to cool it down and when the alcohol evaporates I will add the chopped tomatoes, the chopped peppers, the bay leaves, the sugar and further on the harissa paste, stirring all the time.  I stir the rice and coat it with the remaining oil. After I pour the broth in and when it is brought to a simmer,  I put the heat down and let it cook gently. Every now and then I stir the food and about every 20 minutes I add a cup of hot water, until my rice is cooked. A quarter before the food is cooked I add the red kidney beans. In the end I will cover the pan with a towel to absorb the remaining liquid.

This time it was cooking for an hour ( I am in the kitchen since 10 o'clock and now it is 12, it took ages!)

 

Salmon cakes- Ψαροκεφτέδες

The weather is miserable and it is so dark when I come back from work, that I,  only, care to eat chocolates and melt into my sofa, doing nothing, until I fall asleep. Apparently, I have no appetite to cook either but today I forced my self to make me something healthy to eat. It has been weeks that I've been eating out and have neglected my diet, drinking whatever and devouring all kinds of sweets; well the yesternight creme brulee was exceptional but I think I've had enough of sugar.

 I decided to go back to my healthy regime starting with some fish cakes for tonight. Although I am dead tired and could easily do the usual salmon-with herbs-in the oven meal, I decided to cook the fish in a different way. The recipe is from the food doctor's book and it is quick and delicious.

Ingredients

two salmon fillets, skin removed

1 medium shallot

1 slice rye bread 

1 egg white

a squeeze of lemon and lime juice

Zest of half a lemon and lime

1 teaspoon of Harissa paste

a bunch of fresh dill

1 teaspoon olive oil

black pepper

a selection of vegetables to steam

I put all the ingredients ( except from the olive oil and the vegetables) in the blender and zap to a paste. With my hands I form burger shapes from the mix. They can be cooked quickly in a nonstick frying pan on heated olive oil or steamed for 15 min on top of boiling water ( I tried both ways, the steamed ones are a lighter version). I also steamed the vegetables; I chose runner beans and a yellow pepper.

Ο καιρός είναι μίζερος και είναι νύχτα πλέον όταν γυρίζω απο τη δουλειά, πάει χειμώνιασε εδώ. Έχω εξωκείλει και τρώω και πίνω και σταματημό δεν εχω, οπότε αποφάσισα να μπω πάλι σε ένα πρόγραμμα πριν να είναι πολύ αργά. Αρχίζω, λοιπόν, απο σήμερα με τα σολωμό-μπιφτέκια, απο το βιβλίο με τις συνταγές του Food doctor. 

Συστατικά

2 φιλέτα σολωμού χωρίς πέτσα

1 μεσαίο κρεμμύδι

μια φετα κριθαρένιο ψωμι

ενα ασπράδι αυγού

χυμό απο μισο λεμόνι ( ή μοσχολέμονο)

ξύσμα απο μισό λεμόνι

ένα ματσάκι φρέσκο άνηθο

1 κ.γ. Χαρίσα

1 κ, λάδι ελιάς

μαύρο πιπέρι

επιλογή λαχανικών

Βάζω όλα τα υλικά ( εκτός απο τα λαχανικά και το λάδι) στο μπλέντερ και μόλις γίνει παχύρευστη μάζα, βρέχω λίγο τα χέρια μου και φτιάχνω κεφτέδες. Μπορώ να τους τηγανίσω ή να τους κάνω στον ατμό (εγώ δοκίμασα και τα δύο). Στο τηγάνι μεσα σε μια κουταλιά καυτό λάδι τους μισούς και τους άλλους μισούς τους έβαλα μαζί με τα λαχανικά μου πάνω απο τους ατμούς και τους άφησα για 15 λεπτά περίπου.

Two ways with turkey

Turkey meat might have a blunt taste when cooked on its own but you can take advantage of its versatility and marinate it as it can acquire a different taste. This time I tried two different recipes.

First I made a marinade with sesame oil, lime, ginger, garlic and spices and added the turkey.
I had already cut it into chunks and when marinated long enough I threaded the turkey pieces onto the skewers, alternating with yellow pepper and zucchini slides. I cooked it in the oven for 20 minutes on medium heat and served it with a watercress salad, cherry tomato and an olive oil and balsamico dressing.

For the marinade I used:

2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice
1 garlic glove
the juice and zest of one lime
a small piece of french ginger root
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tnsp sesame oil
freshly ground pepper

The next day I cut the remaining turkey breast into thin stripes. I left them aside and heated a spoon of olive oil on a frying pan. I cooked the turkey until brown in both sides and added 3 tablespoons of grainy mustard and 200 ml of organic yoghurt and seasoned it with half a spoon of smoked paprika (in the recipe sage was used instead). When it started to boil I turned down the heat and let it shimmer for 15 minutes, covered and stirring it often. It combines nicely with red or brown rice and also with steamed spinach.

Chicken with okra

Since the day was very warm and sunny I had finally the chance to let the okras dry slowly in the sun,  sprayed with vinegar and salt . You know that the whole thing is going on well when the okras get some parts discoloured. First I had cut round the stems, just above the pods, so as they resemble a sharpened pencil's edge. I left them standing there for 2 hours and then I put them in the water to wash away the salt and vinegar.

Ingredients

250 gr Okra

4 organic chicken thighs

1 onion

1 garlic

1/2 glass of wine

1 can of chopped tomatoes

1 tbsp of harissa paste

I started by cooking the chicken thighs in a tbsp of olive oil in strong heat, both sides, till they get brown. I took them out and kept them warm on a plate. In a big heavy-based pan I heated a tbsp of olive oil and added the onion and then the garlic.When they were golden and soft I threw in the chicken thighs and poured in the glass of wine. I waited until the alcohol evaporated and threw in  the harissa paste and the chopped tomatoes. I let them cook for 20 minutes in a low heat and then I added the okra and cooked everything for another 20 minutes. Often I would have to shake the pan so the food did not stick on the bottom. When everything is soft and cooked through the food is ready. To serve you can put some feta cheese on the top of the plate  to bring some more flavour to it.

An addition to this dish could be the use of spices. In my 2014 version I cooked the same dish but when softening the onions and garlic , I added a table spoon of my spice mix, including a mix of chilly, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, mustard seeds and cardamon, which i had previously heated in a frying pan untill the seeds started popping and pulverised the whole spices by hand in a mortar and pestle. The flavours were amazing!

Figs and Sandhya's raw food snacks

Summer has officially ended but I refuse to stop a) wearing my flip flops and b) cook summer dishes. Luckily, the weather is, so far, warm and thus I can continue living my fantasy. Today, I thought of paying a tribute to this delicious, end-of-the-summer-season fruit, the fig, and made a salad with baby spinach leaves, mozzarella cheese, fig sauce and walnuts. Unfortunately, the figs I bought from the Co-operative had nothing to do with the full-flavored, red-fleshed greek ones I have been eating every  summer, under the fig tree in my parents house; nevertheless, the combination with the spinach and the mozzarella was very successful. The fig sauce was made with 2 figs cut in small pieces and cooked for a few minutes with 2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar and water.



A few days ago I met Sandhya and we had a very interesting conversation about raw food. Sandhya is about to launch her new website on raw food and when I met her she was preparing the menu for a dinner party. She came the other day and brought me some samples of the snacks she prepared and I was taken aback by their flavours. In the photo you can see the coconut chips and the carry-spiced pumpkin seed sprouts she made (both were amazing and this is the reason why you can see a small sample in the photo; I just couldn't stop eating them).  You can see some of Sandhya's work in her old blog, fooddots.