Fish Roe Salad | You've Got Meal!

This has to be one of the best and easiest to make appetizers out there, but it can have an acquired taste for some people – you are eating raw fish eggs in the end. There are a lot of possibilities from which to choose when deciding what type of fish’s roe to use, and for the recipe we went for pike. In my book, pike roe is in the top half, alongside trout roe. I like the fact that it has a medium granulation and the texture is a lot smoother than other types of roe that you could use for salad, like carp or hering. I’m pretty sure this is a well known fact, but the roe you use in salads are not the fresh ones, they are preserved with salt and plenty of it, so keep that in mind.  

Ingredients: 

• 50 grams of pike roe, 
• vegetable oil (make sure you use a bland oil, without a very strong flavor), 
• lemon juice, 
• a small onion, 
• soaked bread (optional). 

Making the salad is a very similar process to the way you make mayo, it’s about adding periodically small amounts of oil and incorporating it into the roe. You can either use a fork and work out in the kitchen using your hands to mix the salad, or plug in the hand mixer on a low speed, it’s up to you. 

For about 50 grams of the roe we used about 100 rams of sunflower oil. We like to start by just mixing the roe without any other ingredients, in order to break some of the eggs, but not all of them -  they give a nice, pearled look to the dish. The amount of lemon juice you add is up to you, same as the moment you add it to the salad (we do that at the end).

The idea behind the use of the soaked bread is to create volume and to cheat about the amount of salad you make. You need to soak the bread in water, drain really well and incorporate it in the salad so there aren’t any lumps (don’t use crust for this). Finely slice the onion and incorporate it in the salad. You can choose to grate it if you’re not going for the crunch factor, but make sure you drain the onion really well then.

So that’s it, easy fish roe salad. For me, this always reminds me of 2 things:  Mrs. G.'s mother, who makes some great hering roe salad, and the taverns in Greece, that served this as antipasti alongside some Retsina wine. So, what about you guys, any thoughts about the dish or recipe?

Enjoy,

Chicken and Gorgonzola Roulade | You've Got Meal!

For some strange reason, people tend to appreciate meat roulades at a dinner table. Apparently, there seems to be some sort of fear of making such a dish or trying it. I remember my mom cooking meat rolls only a couple of times and on special occasions. And I remember my dad saying we have to say it was good. Don’t know why he said that, the dish was great. Is that ok, Dad? You’re now safe if she reads this post.

For me, making a roulade is a more interesting way of using a rather dull meat like chicken breast. Combine that with a couple of savory ingredients like Gorgonzola cheese, artichokes, cipolline borettane and the all-mighty bacon and you can elevate the pour poultry piece. 

Let’s talk ingredients: 

• a couple of pieces of chicken breast meat, 
• sweet gorgonzola, 
• artichoke hearts, 
• cipolline borettane (you can caramelize some baby onions if you don’t have them around), 
• thin bacon strips for covering the rolls, 
• salt, pepper, chili flakes. 

You can use a whole breast, but be careful how you cut it. The idea is to get a couple of pieces of meat that you can tenderize with a meat hammer (or a rolling pin) and bring to a shape works for the roulade. We got 4 “sheets” of chicken meat from 1 breast, enough for some medium rolls.

Place the flattened meat on the work surface and season it with salt, pepper and chili flakes on the inside. Put a small amount of cheese in the center and a couple of artichoke hearts and roll the meat. Don’t overdo it with the cheese, too much of it will melt and burn in the pan/oven. 

Use the bacon strips to cover the rolls, make sure they’re nice and covered all over the place -  it will help you keep the cheese in and not burn. We also made a roll using the same amount of cheese and some cipolline borettane instead of the artichokes – asparagus will also work really nice. Cook the roulade in the hot pan, medium high heat, in a couple of tbs. of olive oil, for 2-3 minutes, then straight in the preheated oven,190 Celsius for 15-20 minutes.

As a side dish, we tried to mix things up with some Jerusalem artichokes. So, we got a couple of nice potatoes, pop them in the oven to bake, alongside some Jerusalem artichokes and garlic, none of those peeled, only cleaned. After the potatoes are done, remove 1 quarter of the spud and use a spoon to remove the inside of the remaining potato. Use a knife or a spoon to remove the Jerusalem artichoke’s white insides, and mix that well with some Gorgonzola, salt, pepper and the potato you pulled out. Use the mixture to fill in the spud, sprinkle some hot paprika on top. Serve the potato with the chicken and some valerian salad sprinkled with some lemon juice and olive juice. As an added bonus, grab a chilled bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and enjoy a light, simple dinner.

Enjoy,

Sun-dried Tomato and Artichoke Bruschetta | You've Got Meal!

One of the most important things that you’ll ever hear from any professional chef is to be organized in your kitchen. Manage your ingredients, keep things tidy, plan your cooking and so on and so forth. We are not professional chefs in the You’ve Got Meal kitchen, but this whole organizing your meals makes perfect sense it you’re a bruschetta fanatic like we are. 

We always have at hand in the pantry some sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, parmesan, capers, anchovies, cipolline borettane, olive oil, olives, etc. Of course most of the times we don’t have the whole list, but you can cook some darn right delicious treats with only a couple. And so it just happens that we only had some tomatoes and artichokes on hand the other day. 

Making the bruschetta is mega easy, start of by cutting some slices of bread (baguette), not too thick. When we use sun-dried tomatoes we tend not to use olive oil, just because the tomatoes are kept in a flavored oil, same thing for the artichoke hearts.

• Place a piece of tomato, topped with an artichoke heart – you can choose to cut that if you find it too big. 
• Next, place one or two fresh leaves of basil and sprinkle with some grated parmesan. No salt, there’s plenty of that in the vegetables and cheese, maybe a dash of pepper. 
• Cook the bruschetta in the oven for 7-10 minutes and serve warm. 

The conclusion here keep your pantry stocked with at least a couple from those ingredients, they will make a world of a difference when you have to whip something up when you get a last minute visit or when you get the munchies. 

One of the rules we do have about our bruschetta is to keep it simple, not too many ingredients of spices. Keep in mind that just a couple of flavors combined in the right way can do a lot better than trying to mix in a ton tastes.  So, go at it, try and mix them and see which combo suits you better in a bruschetta, there’s no way you’re not going to enjoy it.

 Enjoy,

Mrs. G. Mixology (2): Homemade Arancello with Cinnamon and Cardamon | You've Got Meal!

Strong, full of flavor and sweet, this home made drink is based on the classic Italian Arancello. Ready in 2 weeks, it is amazing served chilled, with ice or used in desserts. It is also great to give someone as a gift, especially if you play around with the presentation.

You will need:

• the zest from 5 oranges
• 1 l vodka
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 cardamon pods
• 600 g sugar
• 500 g boiled water

1st step: Week 1:

1. Peel the orange zest, trying to avoid the white, bitter part. Place the zest, the cinnamon and the cardamon in a big jar.
2. Pour the vodka on top of them.
3. Seal the jar.
4. Shake the jar everyday, for a week to combine all the flavors.

2nd step: Week 2:

1. Place the sugar in a heatproof bowl.
2. Pour the hot water over it and stir well, until all the sugar is dissolved.
3. Add the syrup over the vodka in the jar and stir.
4. Let it sit in the jar for another week
5. Shake the jar daily.
6. When it is done, pour it in bottles. You can keep it bottled for up to 4-5 months.

Enjoy,

Rice-filled Pumpkin | You've Got Meal!

It took for us to make our own blog in order to start cooking pumpkin, but the wait was worth. Growing up the only way we actually ate pumpkin was in (a very nice) pie, that, I have to admit, is one of the best smelling dishes I’ve ever seen. But bringing this seasonal ingredient to a salty dish was something I wanted to do for a very long time and I started with the stew posted last time. This time, the dish is a little flashier and it can certainly make you feel badass in front of your guests. Honestly, bringing a neat looking pumpkin filled with a spicy, creamy rice to the table has to score some points with the company you keep. 

Let’s start of with the ingredients that I used for filling a pumpkin about 1,3-1,5 kilo pumpkin: 
about half a cup of risotto rice, 
1 medium onion, 
3-4 cloves of garlic, 
1 medium beet, 
4 tbsp capers 
1 chilli, 
cinnamon, ground cumin and cardamom, 
salt, pepper, 
75 grams of butter, 
olive oil and 
100 grams of grated Parmesan. 

And of course the above said pumpkin and its insides. A couple of things about the ingredients: I decided to fill the pumpkin with a risotto style rice and, also, add cheese to this combination, but you can easily turn this recipe in a vegetarian star by using soy or coconut milk/cream, in which case a slightly more oriental touch of aromas could be in case. For the pumpkin, pick a healthy, sturdy one, with no visible marks or soft areas – those can give you trouble in the oven. You need to remove the insides of the “beast” before beginning, but don’t throw it away, you’ll integrate it in the rice. Also, make sure you don’t throw the top of the pumpkin, you’ll use it later.

• To start things of, cook your beet in the oven. First wash the root vegetable, pat it dry, place it on a piece of tin foil, splash a small amount of olive oil on the beet, some salt then close the foil on the vegetable, creating a wrapper that still holds enough room for the steam to build in there. The cooking time depends on the size of the beet, in this case it took 45 minutes. The vegetable is done when you can easily stick your knife through it. When the beet is done, remove the foil, let it cool down then finely cut it -  set aside. 
• Next, start making your risotto by cooking the finely diced onion and garlic for a bout 4 minutes on high heat, in some olive oil. Next add the beet,  the capers and the pumpkin insides (you won’t be able to use all of it, so keep around 1 cup of the finely diced pumpkin “entrails”). Cook the vegetables for another 3 -5 minutes. Add in the rice and all the spices and cook them for a minute before adding the liquid – use only stock or add wine, if you feel like it (1 part wine to 3 parts stock, make sure you simmer the wine down before adding the rest of the liquid).You need to cook the rice to about 90% done, so make sure you taste your rice -  it should take around 20 minutes on a medium high heat. 
• Remove the rice from the stove, add in the butter and mix things. 
• Next, start filling the pumpkin with the creamy rice – add a couple of tbs. of rice and top those with a heavy layer of cheese. Keep going until you’re almost at the top -  don’t completely fill the pumpkin up t the top, it will need some space to bubble up when the insides  start cooking. 
• Place top on the pumpkin and put in an oven tray, with some oven proof paper, on medium heat and cook for about 30 minutes. 
• You can choose to serve the pumpkin whole and cut it at the table or slice it yourself before plating, either way make sure to add some green to the dish with some chopped  parsley or oregano or basil or thyme or mint. Pick one already. And then eat, you’ll like it. 

Oh, and I can’t end this recipe without making this point: you can always use bacon in cooking the rice, just saying, no pressure……

Hummus

Ah, hummus, one of those foods that I just love to have around. It’s so versatile and keeps for long enough to be savored along side meats, vegetables or just plain and simple with some olive oil and pita bread. And seeing as I always keep in our fridge some tahini paste, that proved to be rather handy when we decided to have a nice hummus meal. This recipe is so easy that, literally, anyone can do it. 

Honestly, I think that hummus is one of those basic world-wide famous recipes that can be cooked, at different levels, of course, by both experienced or novice foodies (avoided to say chefs/cooks here because they can make hummus in their sleep). The main things that you need here are a food processor and tahini paste, which is basically a thick sesame paste that gives the flavor to the mashed chickpeas that make the body of the hummus: my idea is the more the better, and I love that slightly nutty, maybe a bit heavy taste to a tahini rich hummus. 

Of course, you need to balance that, and you use 2 things: garlic and lemon juice. For the chickpeas, you can either go with the canned, pre-boiled ones, in which case you can pop them straight into the blender/food processor, or you can boil you own. In this case, I suggest leaving the beans to soak in cold water over night, it really helps the boiling. You’ll know the chickpeas are done when you take one out and you can easily mash it with your fingers (I have to say here, I honestly don’t think chickpeas can be over boiled or that would be bad for hummus). So, chickpeas in, add the tahini paste (for 500 grams of boiled beans I put in 6 big tbs. of paste), the juice of 1 and a half lemon, 3 crushed garlic cloves, 4 tbs. of olive oil, about 2-3 tbs. of salt and water (you can use some of the water you cooked the chickpeas in).

Blitz everything together and taste frequently for taste and check for thickness, adding more water if necessary (you want it to have a thick oatmeal consistency). The way I like to eat this is with a lot of sumac, which also has a light sour note and gives a beautiful color and with some good quality olive oil, and pita bread. Feel free to add some extra ingredients to the mix or on top, after (mint, paprika, parsley, some fat yoghurt, etc., go crazy and try different combinations).

Also for this meal, we decided to make some salad, also inspired by another Levant classic, fattoush. You’ll love this dish it has intense taste, a good level of sourness and some nice crunch, and it all mixes incredibly with the hummus. Details in the next post.

Enjoy,

Saint Augure Cheese with Fig Preserve and Thyme- Appetizers August (4)

I’m going to start this post on an honest note: this whole Appetizer August thing was Mrs. G’s idea and I had nothing to do with it. But, like any man, that doesn’t mean that I can’t take credit for stuff or just meddle in stuff when it’s working just fine. Of course, without admitting that it wasn’t necessary…

Brie and Roasted Peppers Crostini- Appetizers August (3)

The appetizer presented today takes advantage of a classical combination (brie cheese and roasted peppers) in such a great way that you will crave for this crostini from time to time. It is also amazing because you don't need fresh ingredients except the parsley, but you should always have parsley in your house...just saying!

Basically, if you have the cheese and a jar of roasted bell peppers in your fridge you have something to serve your suprise guests.

Summer Drinks: Lavender Lemonade

  

By now we all know that lavender is the new thing. We use it in decor, in a vase, in a pot, on your walls, in perfumes, on your cookies, in your sugar, you name it. I have to admit I am on board with this trend, I love it and I can't resist it.

I made lavender cookies in the past, I loved them  although not everybody does. This is why I hesitated for so long to try and use lavender in drinks, because if the taste comes out to intense and more on the bitter side, nobody else would enjoy it but me. The only thing that made me want to try it was the secret hope that my drink will turn out pink or purple. IT DIDN'T. :(( I've seen that some people made it pink, it didn't happen to me. But the taste of the lavender syrup... it was amazing!!! Who cares about colour anymore?

Eggplant Ricotta Bites- Appetizers August (2)

To start on an honest note, I have to say at first I wanted to cook eggplant rolls filled with ricotta, but I got really lazy and I tried to find a different solution. And I found an idea, obviously, on the Foodnetwork site.

This turned out to be perfect, because I had some gorgeous white eggplant, but it was a short fatty :), so not very suitable for rolls. That is why you can notice the slices are kind of big, not actually bite-size, but you get the picture, if you have guest coming over and your eggplants are normal size and shape you will get the perfect bites, delicious and fresh.

Let's get down to business! You will need to cut the eggplant into rather thin round slices and salt them.
To fry them you will need to put together 3 bowls: the first one with flour, the second one with 2 beaten eggs and the latter with 1 part grated parmesan and 3 parts breadcrumbs.

Heat up some oil in a skillet. To get your eggplant slices ready for frying, toss them in flour, then in the eggs, them in the parmesan-breadcrumbs mix. Fry them until they turn golden brown, about 1 minute to each side. They can burn pretty fast, so make sure you check. Also, I found it necessary to add more oil between batches.

Beet-pickled Deviled Eggs- Appetizers August (1)

I have a great fascination for appetizers, they are highly appreciated at every party, they look good, they are usually finger food and it is easy to make an impression. It is a pity we don't make them often enough for ourselves.

Personally, I find that, at parties, especially wedding parties, I am only impressed by or drawn to appetizers. Maybe because you can have more flavors and tastes on one plate and my greedy, exploring taste buds appreciate that. With that in mind, I am going to dedicate this hot month to those simple bites that prepare us for the main course.

 

For today, I put together  some deviled eggs with goose pate, that as a bonus, are also mildly pickled with beet.

First, you will need to hard-boil 10 eggs and remove the shell.

For preparing the pickled eggs you will need:

1 red beet
1 onion
3 cups water
1 cup white wine vinegar
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp sugar

Bring this to o boil, then let it simmer for 30 minutes. Let it cool completely and then cover the boiled eggs with this mixture. In order for the eggs to get a nice colour you will need to let them in the beet water for at least 1 hour, and for a great taste also it need 2 hours. You can also let it sit overnight it is more convenient for you. The more you let it, the more color you will have when you cut them in half.

For the filling I used:

100g goose pate
2 tbsp sweet mustard
2 tbsp pickled horseradish (also beet-pickled)
1 tbsp finely chopped parsley

Mix all the ingredients above. Of course, you can use your usual horseradish, it happened that I had one with beets and more pink couldn't possibly hurt. If you don't have horseradish at all you can use a spicier mustard or you can just skip it alltogether for a sweeter finish.


When your mixture is ready and you are satisfied with its consistency, fill the eggs halves and garnish as you like.You could make it less thick with mayo or cream, but taste wise is definitely better without and they last longer to.

Don't they look good? Trust me, they are also very tasty and if you boil your eggs and the beet the day before it doesn't take much time or effort to put it together when you need it.

Enjoy,