Tsatziki is an entire Greek summer on a plate and goes with anything: bread, roasted vegetables, meat and pita.
1 cucumber (English cucumber is perfectly fine) – 125ml grated and 83ml cut into small cubes 250ml yoghurt 1 clove of garlic, minced juice of 1 lemon 2,5ml salt olive oil
Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon. Grate the cucumber on the coarse side of a box grater – you need about 125ml when measured. Now finely dice enough cucumber so that you have about 83ml. Add the cucumber, yoghurt, garlic, lemon juice and salt to a mixing bowl and stir together. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or stand at room temperature so that the flavours can develop. Spoon the tsatziki into a bowl and drizzle with olive oil before serving. Keep any leftover tsatziki covered in the refrigerator.
tomato, cut into wedges onion, cut into rings calamata olives feta cheese 1 batch Greek Pesto (from this blog)
Add all the ingredients except the pesto to a salad bowl, drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Dollop several spoonfuls of greek pesto on the salad to add zing, flavour and happiness!!
250ml spelt 250ml fresh tomato, chopped 250ml cucumber, chopped 250ml marinated sweet peppers, chopped a handful of sprouts
Lemon Dressing: 62ml lemon juice 1 clove of garlic, minced 5ml dijon/wholegrain mustard 1,2ml salt ground black pepper 7,5ml honey 62ml olive oil
Cook the spelt according to the instructions on the packet and set aside to cool. Add the spelt, tomato, cucumber, peppers and sprouts to a large mixing bowl. Add the lemon juice, garlic, mustard, salt, a few grindings of black pepper and honey to a small mixing bowl and whisk together. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while whisking continuously. Keep going until all the oil is incorporated and you have an emulsified mixture. Pour about half of the lemon dressing over the salad and mix through. The rest of the lemon dressing may be kept in the refrigerator.
1,5litre vegetable stock 750g frozen peas 250g broccoli 300g baby spinach 60g almond meal grated zest and juice of 1 lemon a small handful of mint leaves plain yoghurt, to serve
Pour the stock into a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the peas and broccoli and simmer until the broccoli is tender – about 5 minutes. Add the spinach leaves, almond meal, lemon zest and juice and mint and simmer for another 2 minutes. Season the soup with salt and pepper. Taste the soup and adjust seasoning if necessary. Blend the mixture with a stick blender until smooth. Simmer the soup for another 2 minutes, spoon into serving bowls and serve with a dollop of yoghurt.
250ml flour 5ml baking powder 1,2ml salt 45ml butter, cubed 2 eggs 15ml sugar 2,5ml salt 2,5ml ground cinnamon 125ml butter, melted ground cinnamon and sugar to sprinkle over
Add the flour, baking powder and salt to a mixing bowl. Add the butter and rub it into the dry ingredients with your fingertips. Add the eggs and 15ml sugar to another bowl and whisk together. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and mix together. Fill a large saucepan at least 7-8cm deep with hot, simmering water. Add 2,5ml salt and 2,5ml cinnamon to the water. Spoon a teaspoonful of batter into the water. Add another 4 dumplings – do not crowd the saucepan- and gently simmer for 10 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and place in a heatproof dish. Drizzle with the melted butter and some cinnamon-sugar. Keep the dumplings warm while you cook the rest. Serve warm with extra cinnamon-sugar.
2.5 – 3kg oxtail vegetable oil 3 onions, chopped 4 clove of garlic, minced 60ml flour 5 carrots, peeled and chopped into chunks 2 bay leaves 2 x 400g tins of chopped tomato 250ml red wine 1,5l beef stock Worcestershire sauce
Dumplings: 250ml flour 7,5ml baking powder 2ml salt 60g butter, cut into small cubes 10ml dried mixed herbs 60-80ml milk
For the stew: Preheat your oven to 220℃. Add the oxtail to 2 large roasting tins and drizzle with the vegetable oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast the oxtail for 20-25 minutes, until beautifully caramelised and golden. Set aside. Place a large saucepan on medium-high heat, add some vegetable oil and then add the onions. Cook until soft. Add the garlic and stir-fry for one minute. Sprinkle over the flour and stir while cooking for another minute. Now add the carrots, bay leaves, tomatoes, red wine, beef stock and about 6 dashes of Worcestershire sauce. Add the oxtail and whatever pan juices you have and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to a low simmer and partly cover with a lid. Simmer the oxtail for 3 hours, stirring every now and then. Remove the lid and check the consistency of the sauce – if it is too watery, simmer without the lid for 20-30 minutes longer. The sauce should be thick and rich and the meat should be fork tender.
For the dumplings: Add the flour, baking powder and salt to a mixing bowl and stir through. Add the butter and rub it into the flour mixture with your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the herbs and enough milk to form a soft dough. Spoon teaspoonful of the dough onto the oxtail stew and cover with a lid. Simmer for 15 minutes without opening the lid.
Peel, halve and deseed the papino and place it on a serving dish. Add some rocket leaves to the papino and break chunks of blue cheese and arrange it between the leaves. Place the 100g blue cheese and cream in a small saucepan and set it over a low heat. Stir the mixture until melted and the sauce has amalgamated. Generously spoon the sauce over the papino and rocket. Sprinkle the cashew nuts and pomegranate seeds over. Serve the papino with extra blue cheese dressing on the side.
This is an effortless way of cooking up delicious, succulent lamb and may be prepared a day ahead and re-heated prior to serving.
one leg of lamb, bone in a whole head of garlic salt 1 x 340ml French Salad Dressing, store bought
Preheat your oven to 160℃. Place two large pieces of aluminium foil, one on top of the other on a work surface. Place the lamb on the foil and lift the foil and lamb into a roasting dish. Salt the lamb and slice the head of garlic in half horizontally. Place the garlic on the lamb. Pour half the salad dressing over the lamb, flip it around and pour the rest of the bottle over the meat. Cover the lamb with the foil and place it in the oven. Cook for 5 hours. Take the roasting tin from the oven and allow it to cool for about 30 minutes. Remove the foil, leaving the lamb, garlic, fat and any cooking liquids in the roasting tin. Squeeze the garlic out and mash it with a fork. Now pull the meat apart with two forks and remove the bone. Mix/massage the pulled meat, fat and cooking juices. Serve the meat warm or at room temperature.