Blog comeback with homemade burgers

Well, it's been more than 2 months since the last post but there are a couple of relatively good excuses for this gap including moving house, relocating back in Cyprus and mainly... the lack of a actual kitchen.

I do have plenty of recipes lying in my e-recipe book so I thought I'd start working on that backlog until I can start playing with the new kitchen (when it finally arrives). This burger recipe is pretty ordinary but a couple of key ingredients which make it rather special: the tomato pasatta for the moistness and the sumac (wonderful middle-eastern spice which is perfect with meat) in combination with the oregano for the flavourness.


Ingredients:

500 g lean pork (minced)
1 large garlic clove (minced)
1 medium white onion (chopped)
1 tsp mustard
2 tbsp tomato pasatta
1 large egg
4-5 tbsp bread crumbs
handful of fresh parsley (chopped)
sumac
oregano
salt
pepper


Directions:

It can't get simpler than this really. First preheat the oven grill. Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well (preferably by hand) until well blended. Form into about 8 burgers and place under the preheated grill for about 10-15', turning them a couple of times. Before serving sprinkle with some more oregano.

Servers 3-4.

Triple Hazelnut Pudding

I've been experimenting with milk alternatives recently and my top two favourites are by far the hazelnut and almond versions. The recipe below can also be done with milk or other milk alternatives, but with the hazelnut chocolate combination which brings back nutella sweet memories (a coincidence that it's served in emptied-nutella glasses?!) and the non dairy lightness similar to mouse consistency, I strongly recommend this version.

Ingredients:

1 litre organic hazelnut milk
125 g 85% organic dark chocolate
4 tbsp corn flour (aka cornstarch)
4 tbsp organic agave syrup
chopped roasted hazelnuts (couple of handfuls)

Directions:
Step 1: Start with the 2 cups of hazelnut milk, the chocolate and two tbsp of agave syrup in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and whisking occasionally until the chocolate melts. Meanwhile stir 4 tbsp of corn flour with 1 cup of hazelnut milk in a bowl until the corn flour dissolves completely. When the chocolate-hazelnut milk is almost boiling add half of the diluted corn flour into saucepan slowly and constantly whisking. Bring the pudding to a simmer, constantly whisking until it thickens (should take a 3-5 minutes). Pour pudding into 6 small glasses.

Step 2: Repeat the above with the remaining cup of hazelnut milk, the other 2 tbsp of agave and the rest of the dissolved cornflour mixture. Pour carefully in the 6 glasses (on top of the already relatively cooler chocolate version) and let it cool.

Step 3: Cover with cling film and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Sprinkle roasted chopped hazelnuts on top just before serving.

Rainbow Sweetcorn Salad

The previous weekend we decided a BBQ was in order come rain or come shine. Luckily for the 4 hour slot we spend outside we had one of the 2 sunny intervals predicted for the day! To accompany the tons of meat I tossed a corn simple sweetcorn salad together with as many colourful things I could find in the fridge/cupboard.

Make sure you drain the sweetcorn well before tossing everything together. This was enough -as a side- for a dozen guests.

Ingredients:
700-900 grams sweetcorn kernels (2 large cans)
250 grams pomodorino tomatoes
1 green pepper
200 grams slices black olives (tinned)
olive oil
lemon juice
dried parsley

Grilled Chicken with Vegetable Kebabs

This weekend was not what you would call a "BBQ" weekend on our corner of the UK (a couple of sunny intervals but no proper sunshine). So we ended up grilling everything in the oven to elude ourselves that we are back in the hot hot Cyprus. The marinated chicken was super succulent and the vegetable kebabs crispy and juicy. Add a glass (or 2) of wine and life is beautiful!

Ingredients:

(for marinated chicken)
3 chicken fillets
4 tbsp plain yogurt
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp mustard
1 tsp honey
1 tbsp olive oil
paprika
crushed pepper
salt
dried oregano


(for vegetable kebabs)
large green pepper
tomatoes
broccoli
button mushrooms

(for ladolemono dressing)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
salt
crushed pepper
dried oregano

Directions:

Prepare the marinade by mixing together the yogurt, paprika,olive oil, garlic, pepper, salt, mustard and honey. Cover the chicken fillets and leave in the fridge (for 2-4 hours). Grill for 15-20', sprinkling oregano in the last 1-2 minutes on grilling on both sides.

For the vegetable kebabs chop any vegetables in hand (not to small or they'll fall of the skewers) and put them alternating on the wooden stick skewers. Grill for 10-15' and then just before serving dress with the ladolemono sauce (which is made by mixing the olive oil, lemon juice and oregano together in a bowl and seasoning with salt and pepper to taste).

Serves 2.

Jostaberry (vegan) Surprise!

Ever heard of these before? Jostaberries? Apparently they are a cross between gooseberries and blackcurrants and have a slightly sweet taste with a tangy tartness. So what does one do when these pop in the veg box? Well, why not combine them with an another "never-used -before" ingredient and hope for the best? I've been meaning to try the Oatly Cuisine Cream for a while now and luckily this combination turned out to be exactly what I was craving for, a creamy, light, sweet and sour, fruity summer delight. The blanched almonds are not just for the decoration, their taste fits very well with the rest of the ensemble.

To make this, first cut off the stems of the jostaberries and wash thoroughly. Simmer in a pan with the muscovado sugar for about 10 minutes or till it gets to that "jam like" consistency. Then add the agave suryp and 200 ml of the oatly cream. Mix the other 50ml of the cream with the cornflour in a cup and stir well until it completely dissolves. Then add the diluted cornflour into the pan and stir well for a couple more minutes till the pudding thickness. Let it cool for a couple more minutes and then pour in the serving glasses. Decorate with halved blanched almonds (dead easy to make, have a look here for a quick and clearly explained method). When it reaches room temperature pop into the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Serves 2.


Ingredients:

200-250 g organic Jostaberries (stems removed)
2 tbsp muscovado sugar
2 tbsp organic agave syrup
1 tbsp cornflour
1 carton (250 ml) Oatly Cuisine organic cream
5-6 blanched almonds (halved)

Scrambled eggs with a cypriot touch

Scrambled eggs are just perfect for a lazy Sunday morning. Since we had this for brunch I needed to make it a bit more filling and with a couple of Cypriot delicacies in hand it turned out to be just that. One of the key Cypriot ingredients is halloumi, a soft cheese traditionally made with a mixture of goat's and sheep's milk (although sometime it also contains cow's milk) salt and mint. The second Cypriot delicacy is a smoked meat known as chiromeri (usually served as a cold meat meze) made of pork leg meat, wine and salt and is similar to any smoked, air-dried ham from Southern Europe. The characteristic of the Cypriot version is the strong wine flavour.

For the execution first sweat the spring onions with a bit of olive oil and then add the chopped halloumi and chiromeri. Season with the crushed pepper (but not with salt as both the halloumi and chiromeri are pretty salty). Then beat the eggs with the milk and add in the pan. Stir for 1-2 minutes and finally add the chopped tomatoes (in the last minute of cooking). The tomato is pretty essential here to counteract the saltiness of the meat and the cheese.

Enough for 2 (accompanied with a large slice of rustic bread).

Ingredients:

• 3 medium eggs
• 3 tbsp milk
• 1 medium tomato
• 5-6 spring onions
• 50 g chiromeri
• 100 g halloumi
• olive oil
• crushed pepper

Prawn salad with mustard-yogurt dip

Another super simple salad for the hot summer days. I like to dip the prawns in the yogurt-mustard mixture (instead of using it as a salad dressing) for the extra cooling effect with a kick.

For the salad toss the chopped tomato, lettuce, pepper and ready-to-eat prawns with some olive oil and lemon juice. Sprinkle some dried dill, and stir everything together.

To make the mustard-yogurt dip mix the plain yogurt with the mustard and dill. Either honey or agave syrup can be added for a bit of sweetness (I find the agave to be a better fit as it's a more neutral sweetener).

Serves 2.

Ingredients:

Prawn Salad
● 1 packet large king prawns (about 240 grams)
● 1 yellow pepper
● 1/2 lettuce head
● 1 medium tomato
● lemon
● olive oil
● dried dill

Mustard Yogurt Dip
● 1 tsp mustard
● 4 tbsp plain yogurt
● 2 tsp honey or agave syrup
● dried dill