Recipe reminder

Have you seen my recipe for a "quiche"?
I have done it recently and I though to remind you of this easy and tasty solution for a starter.
This version is with feta, tomatoes and ham cubes and some grated yellow cheese.
But you can use whatever you have in the fridge in general...
Especially for John that tried it and liked it :)

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Dolmadakia "yalantzi"

"Dolmadakia" are stuffed grape leaves and it is a very popular dish as it is very tasty and once you try it, you get addicted :)
You can find it in several countries and even at the supermarket in small cans.
I will share with you today one of the greek versions that is called "yalantzi" and it is the vegetarian version using rice.
I could not miss from this blog a traditional greek recipe like this one...

Ingredients
500gr vine leaves (fresh or canned)
500gr round rice
5-6 scallions, minced (incl. green part)
1 onion, chopped
dill and parsley, both chopped
1 1/2 cups of olive oil
3 lemons, the juice
salt, pepper
2-3 cups of boiled water

Procedure  

Prepare the ingredients, chop or mince onions, dill and parsley and extract the lemon juice.
Start by boiling in a small casserole salty water and adding the vine leaves for 2-3 min to soften. Drain with cold water and set aside.

Start preparing the filling. Fry slightly the onions and the scallions with some olive oil. Take out of the fire and add the rice, the dill and the parsley, half of the lemon juice, the salt and pepper.
Take one by one the leaves and put in the middle one teaspoon of the rice filling.

Roll like shown in the photos.

Put each roll ("dolmadaki") in a low casserole tightly next to each other.
When all rolls are done, add the boiling water to cover them, the olive oil, some salt and the rest of the lemon juice.
Cover with a plate and then the casserole cover. Cook in low fire for about 50min. In the middle, check for water.









Serve with tzatziki (shown below in the photo).

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Feta & dried tomatoes cake

I promised to give you the recipe of the mozzarella cake with feta and I always keep my promises :)
So, find today another version of this salty cake with a greek touch this time ...
Just replace the mozzarella with feta cheese and fresh tomatoes with dried tomatoes and add more flour so that in total will be about 250gr. Try it! 
See some photos from the preparation below...

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Chicken curry

I will share with you my favorite chicken curry recipe that a dear friend of mine has given me years ago. It had been quite some time that I did not do it, as my kids where pretty young and such recipes were too exotic for them.
Thanks to an indian friend that brought me recently some of the ingredients, I decided that it was time to indulge myself. Not a bad idea, as kids really liked it, and it was a nice change.
I serve the chicken with some basmati rice and the trip to India starts... (ok with some chinese touch :)



Ingredients
4-5 chicken filets
1 onion
1 garlic clove
2 teaspoons of curry powder
1/4 teaspoon of cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon of ginger powder
400ml of coconut milk
salt, pepper, olive oil (the greek touch :)
cashew nuts (as many as you like) 

Preparation

Cut the chicken in medium cubes and fry it in a low casserole with some oil. At some point, add also the minced onion and garlic and continue frying. Once done, add all the spices and the coconut milk. Add enough water to cover generously the meat. Cover preferably the pressure cooker and allow 15 minutes for the meat to soften and the sauce to thicken.

Uncover and add the cashew nuts and let shimmer for another 1-2 minutes.
In parallel, prepare some basmati rice according to the instructions of the package.

Serve together with some naan bread if possible. Let me know what do you think of my version of chicken curry! 

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Greek tzatziki!

Tzatziki is the famous greek dip that is actually a white sauce made with strained yoghurt, cucumber and garlic. It's easy to make, veeeery tasty, great for your bbqs, and is the perfect condiment for "souvlaki", the greek skewers. Find today, how easy it is to make it at home in just a few minutes!

Ingredients (approximately :)
1 cup of plain yoghurt (if you can find real greek one is the best :)
1/2 of grated cucumber
1-2 garlic cloves (peeled and minced)
salt, olive oil (like 1-2 spoonfuls)
some chopped dill for decoration

Preparation

Put in a strainer the yoghurt and the grated cucumber, add a bowl underneath and let them drain for a few hours in the refrigerator. When most of the water is out in the bowl, throw it away and empty the ingredients in the bowl and mix with a spoon. Leave it to cool in the fridge and serve with some olives or some chopped dill on top. Enjoy!
P.S: Having inside garlic. it is not meant to be served in a romantic dinner for obvious reasons ;) 

   

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Raisin bread

An easy and light cake today without eggs, butter, milk and such!!! Still delicious, though. Sounds great, non? If I tell you that has raisins charmed by cinnamon, what would you say? It's greek name : "Stafidopsomo".
When I was a child, I did not like raisins, so despite that my mother was making often this "cake" I was spending my time trying to take out all the raisins before attacking to the cake :)))
But it was smelling sooo nice that I could not resist, I wanted still to taste it, although it was making my life difficult, kind of a torture.

I kept asking my mother whether she could make the recipe without the raisins and I remember that my question was always shocking her. I did not know anything about cooking at that time. Now that I see the recipe, years after, I can see why ... it does not have much this cake, so if you take out the raisins there is not much to be left there :))) So, here it is today, full of raisins, and in preference greek if you can find at your place (Corinthian raisins are among the best!). 
 Ingredients
1 1/2 cups of water
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of black raisins
1/2 cup of sunflower oil
500gr self raising flour for cakes
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
enough cinnamon to make the dough dark enough :)

Procedure

Put the raisins in one cup of boiling water, and let them for 5-10min to get soft.
Add in a bowl all the ingredients including the raisins with the their water and the rest of the water (1/2 cup)  and mix well. Empty the dough in a buttered rectangular oven dish like the one in the photo (20cm x 30cm approx.). You could also empty the dough in individual muffin molds, the result is also very good. 

Bake in the oven at 180 degrees of Celsius and fan for about 40min or until the "knife test" is ok (Deep a knife in the middle and if it comes out dry the cake is ready). For the muffins, leave them only 20min. Enjoy!

  

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Tomato-mozzarella-oregano cake

Summer is coming soon and I would like to urge all the fanatic ones with cakes like me to calm themselves down by doing salty cakes ! I start the sugar banning :) today by proposing to you a tomato-mozzarella cake that has my favorite oregano to boost it. Easy, fast and excellent starter for a nice dinner or a fancy aperitif.
I would add feta cheese instead of mozzarella to be honest, but I live far from Greece and feta is a precious cheese at home, especially for my daughter :)
As far as it concerns the sugar banning... it was a joke ! I am addicted to sugar, so it's not easy to ban it, for the time being, I can only lower my daily intake ...
Ready? Let's go for it then!


Ingredients
200gr flour
1 baking powder
3 eggs
100ml milk
100ml olive oil
salt, pepper and oregano
125gr mozzarella
several cherry tomatoes (as many as you like :)
you can improvise by adding e.g., olives, some grated yellow cheese ...

Procedure

Preheat the oven at 180 degrees of Celsius and fan.
Put in a bowl all the ingredients apart from the tomatoes and the mozzarella. Mix well with a mixer for a couple of minutes and then add the mozzarella and the tomatoes cut in small pieces. Be careful to take out the grains (or whatever is their name :) of the tomatoes before adding them to the dough.
Pour in a rectangular cake mold that you have well buttered before.
Bake for about 40min or until it gets a nice golden color (see for yourself in the photo).

Share with your guests and let me know for the result!

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