Oven Baked Shrimp

Ingredients:

250 grams shrimp, cooked, de-veined and peeled
1 tablespoon butter
1 medium onion, sliced
1 cubanelle pepper, cut in small cubes
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 large tomato, diced
Crushed pepper
Salt
Pepper
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

How to cook:

Saute the onion with butter and salt for 4 minutes in a pan. Add in the cubanelle peppers and cook for 4 more minutes over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until the smell of garlic comes out. Add diced tomatoes and shrimp. Cook until the tomatoes are softened over a little bit over medium heat.

Place the dish in a flat earthenware pot. Season it with pepper and crushed pepper, drizzle olive oil all over it.

Set the oven to grill. Place the pot on the top rack and cook for 6 minutes. Before you serve, taste with parsley. Kali oreksi!

Marinated Shrimp With Champagne Beurre Blanc

Ingredients:

For the Sauce:

2 cups champagne or 2 cups other dry sparkling wine
1/3 cup shallot, finely chopped 
2 tablespoons champagne vinegar or 2 tablespoons other white wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorn

For the Shrimp:

1 cup champagne or 1 cup other dry sparkling wine
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons shallots, minced
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
24 uncooked jumbo shrimp, peeled with tail left intact, deveined
1 tablespoon fresh chives, minced
1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, minced
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced
Vegetable oil cooking spray
1 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces

How to cook:

To prepare the sauce; combine champagne, shallots, vinegar, and peppercorns in a saucepan. Boil until reduced to 1/4 cup liquid, about 20 minutes. Cover it up and let it wait at least 4 hours in room temperature. 

To prepare the shrimp; combine champagne, olive oil, shallots, and ground pepper in resealable plastic bag. Add shrimp to bag and seal; shake bag to coat shrimp evenly. Marinate shrimp at room temperature at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour, turning bag occasionally.

Mix chives, tarragon, and parsley in small bowl. Preheat broiler. Spray broiler pan with nonstick vegetable oil spray. Drain shrimp; discard plastic bag with marinade. Arrange shrimp on prepared pan in single layer. Broil shrimp until just opaque in center, about 2 minutes per side. Stand 3 shrimp, tails upright, in center of each plate.Rewarm sauce base over medium-low heat. Whisk in butter 1 piece at a time, just allowing each to melt before adding next (do not boil or sauce will separate). Season beurre blanc to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon warm sauce around shrimp. Sprinkle with fresh herbs and serve. Kali oreksi!

Crab Pie

 

This is a difficult one to cook. Are you ready?

Ingredients:

100 grams plain flour, plus extra for rolling

100 grams wholemeal flour

125 grams cold butter, cubed

1 free-range egg, beaten

 

For the filling:

 

Knob of butter

2 medium leeks, trimmed, sliced thinly

50 grams butter

300 ml half-fat crème fraîche

3 free-range eggs, beaten

100 grams fresh brown crab meat

Pinch of sea salt

100 grams white crab meat

50 grams cheddar, finely grated

Freshly ground black pepper

 

How to cook:

 

Preheat the oven to 200C.

For the pastry, pulse the flours and butter in a food processor until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. While the food processor working, add the egg in a thin stream and blend until the mixture begins to form a ball. Roll the pastry into a circle on a floured work surface and use it to line a 23 cm loose-based fluted tart tin. Press the pastry with your fingertips firmly into the base and sides. Put it in the fridge for 30 minutes.

 

Line the pastry with a large sheet of crumpled baking parchment and half fill with baking beans. Bake the tart case for 25 minutes. Remove the beans and return the tart to the oven for 10 minutes more. Remove from the oven and reduce the oven to 180C.

 

For the filling, melt the butter in a pan. Add the leeks and fry gently for 3 minutes, stirring until just softened. Remove from the heat and set aside.

 

Put the eggs in a large jug and beat lightly with a whisk. Stir in the crème fraîche, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Beat together with a wooden spoon until thoroughly combined. Stir in the crab meat.

 

Scatter the leeks over the pastry case and dot the white crab meat around them. Pour over the crème friache mixture and sprinkle with the cheese. Cook on the baking tray for 25 minutes and just set.

 

Remove the quiche from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 15 minutes before removing.

 

Kali oreksi!

 

 

 

Chestnut Soup

Winter is on the way! Why don't you try chestnut soup?

Ingredients:

300 gr chestnut, boiled and peeled
1 teaspoon butter
2 1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon corn starch with 3-4 tablespoons water
Salt
Pepper

Garnish:

2 tablespoon yoghurt, plain

How to cook:

Use the blender to mix the boiled chestnut and 1 cup chicken broth. Pour into a pot with 1 1/2 cup chicken broth. Heat it up over medium heat. Then add the corn starch mixed with water, butter, salt and butter. Stir constantly for 8 minutes to get it thick.

Pour the soup into individual bowls. Sprinkle some pomegranate seeds, pinch of cinnamon and dollop of yogurt over the tops and serve immediately. Kali oreksi!

Rice Stuffed Mussels

Rice stuffed mussels can be found on streets in Turkey. When i first ate, i thought why not? Very good taste and different than the style we have in Greece. Try it!

Ingredients:

40 mussels
1/3 cup hot water
Olive oil, to glaze

Filling:

3/4 cup rice, washed and drained
2 medium-size onions, chopped
2 tablespoon currants
2 tablespoon pine nuts
1 teaspoon dry mint or fresh mint, chopped
2 tablespoon dill, chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water

How to cook:

Saute the onions with the olive oil for 10 minutes in a pot at medium-low heat. Then, add the rice, sugar and salt, stir. Cover and cook at very low heat until the rice looks see-through. Add the nuts, currants, mint, dill and 1/2 cup water. Stir occasionally at low heat. Cook until all the water evaporates and put them aside.

In the meantime, clean the mussels, scraping with a knife. Half open the round part of the shells; and with a knife, cut out the beards. Stuff the empty half of the shells with the rice filling and close up. Place the shells in a large pot with 1/3 cup water. Place a small plate upside down over the shells. Simmer for 25 minutes until the water is absorbed.

Let it cool down first, brush with a little olive oil. Then, place them on a serving dish. Serve the Stuffed Mussels chilled or at room temperature with lemon wedges. Kali oreksi! Or should i say "Afiyet olsun" :))

Stuffed Mackerels

Ingredients:

2 mackerel (frozen)
5 tablespoon flour, all purpose
1/2 cup sunflower oil
Stuffing:4 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 teaspoon pine nuts
Fish meat (inside of the mackerels)
2 teaspoon currants
3 stalk of parsley, chopped
2 stalk of dill, chopped
Pinch of cinnamon
Salt
Pepper

How to cook:

First, cut the mackerel's head and discard. Slightly rub the fish with palm of your hand, so that the meat and the bone should separate from the skin. Unplug the bone from the top. Push the meat and bone outward from the tail. Discard the guts. Separate and discard the bones from the fish meat. Finely chop the meat portion.

To prepare the stuffing; saute the onion and pine nuts with olive oil for 3 minutes. Add the rest of the filling into the pot. Turn the heat of when the fish meat is cooked. It takes only 3 minutes. Set aside.
Stuff the skin of mackerel with the filling by using a teaspoon. The skin may burst during frying. To prevent this, tie the mackerel at three points with the string.

Here, you have 2 option. You will either grill them or fry them. If you chooese to grill them, just cover them with olive oil and grill. If you want to fry them, dust the fishes with the flour. Heat up the sun flower oil in frying pan. Fry each side, turn them gently. Place on a paper towel to soak up any extra oil. You will love the taste. Kali oreksi!