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Zucchini-feta/white cheese tart

Fyllo pastry:
5 cups of flour,
2 teaspoons of baking powder,
1 1/2 cup of olive or corn oil,
1 cup of water or fresh orange juice,
1 teaspoon of salt.
Making of the pastry:
In a basin, we mix the dry ingredients first and then we add the liquid till it has all become one. This pastry does not actually need kneading. When all liquid has been absorbed we let the pastry rest for about 30 minutes.

Filling:
4-5 pcs of zucchini cut in cubes,
2-3 pcs of spring onions finely chopped,
2 soupspoons of anise finely chopped,
2 soupospoons of parsley finely chopped,
Some spearmint or basil, fresh or dry,
250 gr. feta cheese cut in cubes,
3 eggs,
A little salt (the feta/white cheese already has),
A little pepper.
Making of the filling:
In a skillet, using a dash of olive we simmer the zucchini, the spring onions, the anise and the parsley till zucchini is soft enough. We let it aside to cool a bit. Meanwhile, in a basin we have beaten the eggs adding the feta cheese cubes, the spearmint or the basil, the pepper and the salt. When the zucchini mix has cooled enough we add it in the egg/feta cheese mix and we stir carefully till the egg mix has covered all.  We get a tartpan and using our palms and fingers (we do not need stick for the pastry) we cover the bottom and sides making sure all has been smoothly covered. We add the filling we have ready and bake in a 180 degrees Celsius oven for 40 minuntes approximately.

ps1: We cut when it has cooled enough so that the filling can stand better.
ps2: There is no need to butter the tartpan as the pastry does contain oil.
ps3: This pastry can be stored in deep freezer too, so if the quantity we have made is bigger, we simply put the quantity we have not used in the deep freezer for some other time.

Itadakimasu!

Dix Love,

Risotto with strawberries and shrimps

Ingredients:
350 grams rice for risotto
300 grams strawberries, relatively ripe
1 onion, finely chopped
100 grams butter
1 glass of white wine
100 grams fresh cream
18 shrimps
1 lt fish broth or vegetables broth
100 gram grated parmesan
Some salt
Pepper

Preparation:
We wash the strawberries and we cut in small pieces.  In a cooking pot, in low heat, we melt the butter, we add the onion and saute well till it turns transparent.  Then we ad the rice and we saute it for 3-4 minutes, we add the 100 grams strawberries, the white wine and 10 shrimps cut in thick pieces.  We saute the rest 8 shrimps whole in some oil, brandy, salt and pepper and keep them warm.  In another cooking pot, we have put the broth to boil and we start adding it little by little in the rice, always in high heat.  Every time the broth evaporates we repeat stirring all the time.  Two minutes before the boiling stops, we add the 200 grams strawberries.  In 20 minutes from the moment we have added the rice, our risotto is ready.  We take off the heat, we add the parmesan, some pepper and stir.  We cover for 2-3 minutes to let the risotto rest.  We serve in deep dish, adding 2 whole shrimps per person and 2-3 drops of balsamic vinegar

Itadakimasu!

Dix Love,

Greek stuffed tomatoes and peppers

Ingredients:
4 large ripe tomatoes
4 large red, yellow, green or orange peppers
¾ cup long grain rice (Jasmine yields the best texture)
1 large sweet onion, finely chopped
4-6 leaves kale (can use chard too, see note)
½ cup parsley, chopped
½ cup pine nuts 
½ cup currants, optional
½ cup low sodium veggie broth or water (use broth for more flavor)
2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into two inches pieces
¼ teaspoon salt , plus a few pinches (may need to adjust if using broth)
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper, plus a few pinches
¼ cup olive oil or use ½ cup broth or water to keep oil free

Instructions
We preheat the oven to 175C.  We cut the tops off of the tomatoes and peppers and remove the insides.  We save all of the tops to cover them later but discard the inside of the peppers and keep the inside of the tomatoes.  We sprinkle the cavity of the tomatoes and peppers with a pinch of salt and pepper.  We chop the tomato pulp well using a pimmer but we can use a knife, also.  We ake out half and set aside for later, then add the kale and the parsley into the processor or onto your cutting board.  We chop again until everything is mixed well.  In a pot, we our 1/4 cup broth/water or 2 tablespoons of the olive oil if using oil and we sauté the chopped onions on medium heat.  We may need to add more broth/water if not using oil.  When the onions look transparent, we add the rice, mix with the onion, add 1/3 cup broth/water, cover and simmer over low heat until the water is absorbed, about 5-7 minutes.  We add the chopped tomato pulp that has been mixed with the kale and the parsley.  We add pine nuts, currants (if using), ¼ teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Let it simmer until most of the liquids have evaporated, about 3 minutes.  we taste and make sure the rice is half cooked, add more broth/water if needed and cook longer if it is not half cooked.  In the mean time, we peel the potatoes, cut them into 2 inch pieces and sprinkle them with a pinch of salt and pepper.  We arrange the tomatoes and peppers in a 9 x 13 baking dish.  We stuff them with the half cooked rice mixture until they are 3/4 of the way full.  We cover them with the saved tops and brush the top with olive oil if using oil.  We arrange the potatoes between them.  We sprinkle the remaining chopped tomato pulp over the potatoes and we drizzle with the leftover olive oil if using.  We make sure there is enough liquid to cover the bottom of the pan and we add the leftover broth/water if needed.  We bake for 45-60 minutes, checking periodically to see if more liquid is needed, we don't want the bottoms to burn. If we need to add broth/water, we make sure you heat it first. We taste as we go to check the rice, if the rice is cooked then we pull them out of the oven. 

Recipe Notes
Kale is the best leafy green to use as it is the sturdiest. Chard could also be used as a second choice but beware of spinach as it will melt into the rice.
We can use water instead of broth but broth will give more flavor, we adjust amount of salt if we use broth.

Itadakimasu!

Dix Love,

Perch fish fillet in the oven

Ingredients:
2 perch fish fillets
1 tbsp spicy mustard
1 orange's juice
2 lemons' juice
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup water
3 cloves garlic
1 pinch oregano
Salt
pepper

Preparation:
We put the mustard, the lemon juice, the orange juice, the olive oil, the water, the oregano in a blender and mix well.  We put salt and pepper to the fillet in all sides.  We pour the mixture over the fish and we add the garlic.  We bake in preheated oven in 200C for about 20 minutes.  We can serve with boiled potatoes and/or boiled zucchini.

Itadakimasu!

Dix Love,

Yogurt and nutella dessert

Ingredients:
1 cup strained full yogurt
5 tbsps nutella
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder (optional)
For the service we can add fresh fruits suc as strawberries, bananas, apples and/or biscuits and/or dried nuts

Preparation:
We put the yogurt, the nutella and the cinnamon in a bowl.  We mix well and we cover the bowl with some cling film.  We put in the fridge to chill for 15-20 minutes.  We serve as is or can be served with fresh fruits or thickly grounded dried nuts or biscuits and even as a dip for the fruits and the biscuits.  Quantities can be adjusted according to taste and or servings.

Itadakimasu!

Dix Love,

Baked Beans in thick tomato sauce

Ingredients:
500 grams giant lima beans (or the biggest you can find), soaked for 12 hours and drained
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium onions, finely choppe
1 big carrot, sliced 
1/2 cup olive oil
500 grams tomatoes peeled and finely chopped or 400 grams canned tomatoes
2 cube broth stock
Salt
black pepper to taste
2 tbsps fresh parsley, chopped
2 cups water or 1 1/2 cups if using canned tomatoes

Preparation:
We add the beans to a pot with enough cold water to cover well.  We bring to a boil.  We reduce heat and we cook at a slow boil for 1 hour.  We Drain and we set aside.  We preheat the oven to 160C.  Using a wooden spoon, we sauté the carrot, the onion and the garlic in the olive oil until soft.  We add tomatoes (if using canned, we add all liquid as well), the broth stock cubes, salt, pepper, parsley and water and allow to boil gently for 10-30 minutes, until it begins to thicken.  We place the beans in an oven-proof pan.  We add the tomato mixture, we stir and spread the mixture out evenly.  We bake 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until beans are soft. (We check the dish during cooking and if needed, we add a small amount of boiling water.) The dish will look crispy on top.  We remove from the oven, we cover and we allow to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes:
1. Restaurants serve this as a meze in small portions.  But, because of the quantity in which it's fixed unless you're planning a selection of meze for a large gathering, it works better as a main dish.
2. It can be served with feta (white) cheese on the side.
3. Reheating: When using after refrigerating, please allow it to come to room temperature or heat briefly in the microwave. This dish is not served hot.

Itadakimasu!

Dix Love,

Olivier (Russian) salad

Ingredients:
4 boiled potatoes, cut in small cubes
3 boiled carrots, cut in small cubes
3 pickled small cucumbers, cut in small cubes
1/2 cup boiled green peas
2 boiled beetroots, cut in small cubes
1 cup mayonaise
salt
pepper
few drops of wine vinegar

Preparation:
In a bowl, we put the cubed potatoes and the cubed carrots.  We add the green peas, the cubed pickled cucumbers, the cubed beetroots and the mayonaise and we stir well.  We add salt and pepper and sprinkle with vinegar.  We taste to bring the salad to our wished level of salt, pepper or vinegar and we put in the fridge to chill.  We serve with fresh bread of next to grilled fish or grilled meat.

Itadakimasu!

Dix Love,

Fettuccini with green peas and prosciutto

Ingredients:
500 grams fettuccini
2 1/2 cups green peas (fresh or canned)
1 big dry oninon, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced 
4 tbsps cream cheese (philadelphia type)
7 slices prosciutto
1 cup grated parmesan
some oil
salt
pepper

Preparation:
We boil the pasta as per instructions and drain.  We boil and drain the green peas.  We grill the prosciutto for 6-7 minutes in high heat so that it gets crispy.  We saute the onion and the garlic in hot oil.  We add the boiled green peas and stir all together.  Then we add the cream cheease and let the sauce thicken.  We add salt and pepper, add the pasta in the sauce and stir well.  We serve in plates adding crispy prosciutto and parmesan on top.

Itadakimasu!

Dix Love,

Pumpkin soup with tahini

Ingredients:
500 grams pumpkin, cut in cubes
2 leeks, the white part, cut in slices
1 onion, cut in thin slices
2 carrots, cut in thin slices
2 tbsps tahini
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Preparation:
In a cooking pot, with water just to cover them, we put the sliced/cut vegetables.  We add salt and pepper.  We put the cooking pot to boil in high heat.  It will take about 20 minutes for the vegetables to soften.  Even if they get overcooked we don't mind since later we will blend them to have a creamy soup using a pimmer.  We add the olive oil and the tahini, we put the pot to the heat to get one more boil and we serve.

Itadakimasu!

Dix Love,

Pasta in pesto sauce with tahini

Ingredients:
400 grams pasta of any kind
3 tbsps (100 grams) tahini
30 leaves of fresh dill
3 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp pine nuts
2 tbsps grated hard cheese
4 tbsps grated parmesan
Salt
Pepper

Preparation:
We wash and dry the dill.  We cut it in thick pieces using our hands and we put in the blender.  We add the rest of the ingredients (except parmesan), we sprinkle with salt and pepper and we beat them well.  When they have become a smooth mixture, we add half a cup of cold water and we beat the mixture again until it turns to a thick sauce.  We put the sauce in a bowl.  Before using it we add half a cup of the water we boiled the pasta in little by little stirring continuously till mixture is smooth again.  We serve the pasta sprinkled with parmesan.

Itadakimasu!

Dix Love,