Delicious Rhubarb!

Rhubarb makes for great dessert: it tastes lovely but isn't too sweet. It's fantastic in crumble, but for those with little time on their hands, I recommend this, much quicker and simpler, recipe. The combination of the compote and cream is perfect, and the addition of the meringue adds a lovely crunch. 

Ingredients (serves 4): 

500gr rhubarb
30gr sugar (the original recipe used 50gr but that's way too much)
40gr meringue
250ml whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
2 tablespoons of white wine


Preparation: 

1. Peel the rhubarb and cut into 2cm pieces. In a saucepan mix the fruit, white wine and sugar. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and allow to simmer for a few minutes until the rhubarb is soft (rhubarb has a high water content, so this goes very quickly). Allow to cool off completely,


2. Roughly chop the meringue. Whip the cream, adding the vanilla sugar as you go. 


3. Fill 4 glasses with the rhubarb, cream, and meringue. Serve immediately. 

Fillet of pork stuffed with spinach, feta cheese and dried tomatoes

I have a somewhat ambivalent view on pork, probably a result of the many meat scandals during my youth. Back then it became fashionable to pay a farmer to raise your very own (presumably organically fed) pig, which my parents duly did. I think my mother never realized that she was expected to partake in the slaughter of said pig! As it happens, she "overslept" on that particular day and only arrived once the deed was already done :-)

But while I normally prefer chicken, beef, veal or lamb, I do occasionally feel a craving for a nice fillet of pork. The meat is very tender (prepared properly at least) and not as fatty as some other cuts of pork. In this case I elected to stuff my fillet with feta cheese, spinach, and dried tomatoes. As side dishes I served roast sweet potatoes with feta cheese and some spinach.

Ingredients (serves 2-3): 


1 fillet of pork (400-500gr)
1/2 packet of feta cheese
1 handful of sundried tomatoes

500gr fresh spinach
2 shallots
1 clove of garlic
salt, pepper, nutmeg, olive oil

Preparation: 

1. First of all, you need to prepare the meat - your aim being to create a large surface which you can then fill and roll up. This is best done by first placing a long cut along the middle of the fillet (taking care not to cut all the way through) and folding the two sides outwards as far as possible. In order to flatten the two sides of the fillet, repeatedly cut into the meat (lengthwise) always making sure not to cut too deeply. Finally, pound the meat using a rolling pin in order to create as large a surface as possible. If you are unsure how to do this, ask your butcher to do it for you.


2. Wash the spinach. Finely chop the shallots and the garlic and heat some oil in a pan. Gently fry roughly 1/3 of the garlic and shallots until they just start to brown, then add 1-2 handful of the spinach. Once the spinach is cooked (this takes only a few minutes), season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool off. Don't rinse the pan, you are going to need it again later on.


3. Season the pork from both sides and spread it out on your work surface. Fill with the cooked spinach, the feta cheese and some roughly chopped sundried tomatoes. If you want to, you can also add some roasted pine nuts. Once the filling is in, carefully roll up the meat and tie it up using some kitchen string (in case you haven't done this before, take look at this video: Tying a roast). 


4. Once the pork has been filled and tied up, place it on the pre-heated  barbeque (medium heat) for 25-30 mins. During this time, fry the remaining shallots and garlic in your pan and add the rest of the spinach. Season generously with salt, pepper and some nutmeg. 

5. Once the meat is done, remove from the barbeque, cut off the string and slice before serving.

BBQ Chicken with grilled vegetables

Spring may be slow in coming, but the BBQ seasoned has been officially opened chez Marten. And as usual at the beginning of the season, most things I fancy eating end up being chargrilled. This chicken is a firm favorite with my family and has the added charm of being easy to make AND being easy to shop for. The chicken is wonderfully tender and the marinade can be adjusted to suit your individual taste.    

Ingredients (serves 4): 

800 gr chicken breast (without skin) 
Note that this dish can also be made using chicken wings, the only thing that changes is the cooking time - chicken wings will take about 20mins on the bbq.


For the marinade: 
1 1/2 tablespoons of tomato concentrate
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon rosemary
1 tablespoon sweet paprika powder
1/2 tablespoon hot paprika powder
1 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
2 cloves of garlic
black pepper
(1 tablespoon of grated ginger or some chopped red chili are optional)

2 red peppers
2 zucchini
1 pack of long-stem broccoli
1 teaspoon rosemary
salt, pepper, olive oil


Preparation: 

1. Place all ingredients for the marinade in a blender and mix until you obtain a smooth paste. Cut the chicken into 2cm stripes (lengthwise). In a freezer bag mix the marinade and the chicken and place in the fridge for about 2-3 hours. Remove from the fridge a good half hour before you start cooking.

2. Wash the vegetables and cut the peppers and zucchini into wide stripes (see picture below). Mix vegetables with some olive oil, salt, pepper and rosemary.

3. Heat the barbecue. Once heated, place the vegetables on the grill (it's best to use a grilling tray). Allow the vegetables to roast for about 10-12 mins before adding the chicken. Since the pieces are quite small, the meat should need no more than 4 minutes on each side.

I serve this with some yoghurt dip (herbs and garlic) and some bread or oven-baked potatoes.

Lamb Köfte with Coriander, Chili and Feta

My daughter's class recently undertook a so-called "food exploration", in which the kids were encouraged to try new things - not always an easy task, I am sure. My daughter initially chose somewhat boring dishes to bring: sausage rolls and meatballs. So in order to make things a bit more "interesting", I decided to make at least the later a bit more interesting. I ended up with a dish that I will surely cook again in the future: lamb meatballs with a feta-cheese center, flavored with fresh coriander, ground cumin and chili.

Ingredients (for approximately 12 meatballs):

600gr  minced meat (I recommend you use lamb)
1/2 bunch of fresh coriander
1/2 red chili
1 medium sized onion
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
1 egg
2 tablespoons of bread crumbs
1/2 packet of feta cheese (cut in 12 cubes)
salt and pepper


Preparation:

1. Finely chop the onion, chili and coriander and place in a large bowl. Add the minced meat, the egg, bread crumbs, cumin, a generous amount of salt and some black pepper. Mix using your hands and (if you dare) taste to check the seasoning. If you don't, you might want to take a small amount of the mixture and quickly fry it in a pan to ensure that you have enough salt. Or you can just trust our instincts and hope for the best :-)

2.Divide the mixture into 12 portions and form meatballs, placing a piece of feta cheese at the center of each.

3. Fry the meatballs over medium heat (alternatively you can put them on the BBQ) for about 10-15 mins until cooked through.

Serve with some greek salad, yoghurt dip with herbs and some pita bread.

Chicken wraps with home-made hummus and grilled peppers

Wraps make for an easy and fun dinner. They are versatile and you can fill them whichever way you like. In this case I went for a combination of barbecued chicken, grilled peppers, home-made hummus and some avocado. Very tasty!

 Ingredients (8 wraps):

400gr chicken breast (without skin)
1 ripe avocado
1 pack of cherry tomatoes
1 bunch of rocket salad
2-3 large red peppers
1 pack of tortilla wraps
2 teaspoons of paprika powder

For the hummus: 

1 can of chickpeas
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of cayenne
Juice of one lemon
2 cloves of garlic
2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of Tahini (sesame paste)

Preparation: 

1.  Cut the chicken breasts in half lengthwise so that you end up with two thin chicken-schnitzel for each breast. Rub the meat with some olive oil, salt, pepper and the paprika powder. Wash the peppers and slice into longish pieces about 2-3 cm wide. Mix the peppers with a bit of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. 

2. Place the chicken and peppers on the pre-heated barbecue (medium heat). I recommend using a shallow aluminum dish for the peppers. The chicken will be done after 2-3 minutes on each side because the pieces are relatively thin, the peppers will probably take a bit longer.  I recommend waiting until the skin starts to look slightly seared.  

3. In the meantime, drain the chickpeas but retain the liquid. In a mixer, blend the chickpeas, garlic, cumin, cayenne, salt, pepper and the tahini with 2-3 tablespoons of lemon juice and the olive oil. Puree until you have a smooth consistency (add some of the retained liquid if the mixture is too firm). Season to taste with lemon juice.

4. Peel the avocado, remove the pit and cut the avocado in smallish cubes. Wash the rocket salad and the cherry tomatoes. Cut the later into halves. 

5. Now it's time to assemble your wraps. For this, spread a generous tablespoon of hummus over the middle upper half of each tortilla wrap. Then add peppers, sliced chicken, avocado, tomatoes and some rocket, making sure not to "overload" your wrap. In order to fold the wrap for serving, first fold up the lower part of the tortilla, then fold the sides inwards. I usually wrap them in some wax paper and pile them on a plate for serving.

Roast sweet potatoes with feta cheese

I love sweet potatoes...in any form. They have a lovely texture and their sweetness goes incredibly well with meat dishes. In the winter I tend to serve them mashed, but in the summer I prefer this variety. The salty flavor of the feta cheese is in perfect balance with the rich sweetness of the potatoes. Add a bit of chili and you have a perfect side-dish for your barbecued meat.

Ingredients (serves 2): 

1 sweet potato (two if they are small)
100gr of Feta cheese
1/2 tablespoon of hot chili powder (optional)

Preparation: 

1. Peel the sweet potato and cut into 2cm cubes. Coat with a bit of olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and the chili powder. Put the potatoes in a small baking tray and place it in the oven at 200°C (fan assisted). Roast for about 30 minutes until the potatoes start to turn brown around the edges. 

2. Remove from the oven and crumble the feta cheese over the potatoes. 


Recipe adapted from Jamie Oliver "30-Minute Meals"

Lamb koftas in tikka marinade with tomato raita

During the past few summers minced lamb has been one of our favorite things to put on the barbecue. When I saw this recipe in Reuben Riffels amazing book, I just had to try it. While it uses pieces of leg of lamb rather than the minced variety (recipe to follow), the combination of flavors is amazing and now that the weather has finally turned and the BBQ season is officially open....

Ingredients (serves 4):

600gr leg of lamb (de-boned)

For the tikka marinade:
1/2 cup of plain yoghur
1/2 cup of tomato passata
1/4 cup of olive oil
3 crushed cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon of grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons of cayenne
2 teaspoons of paprika
1 teaspoon of chili powder
1 teaspoon of garam masala
1 teaspoon of salt

For the tomato raita:
1 cup of plain yoghurt (again, use the thick variety)
1 handful of cherry tomatoes, diced
1/2 bunch of chopped fresh coriander 
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin

In addition you should get some naan (you can make this yourself, but it's easier to buy it) and some mango chutney. In case you can't find naan and can't be bothered to make it yourself, just use some toasted pitta bread.

Preparation:

1. Mix all the ingredients for the tikka marinade in a bowl and mix well. Cut the lamb into longish strips and mix with the marinade. Cover and leave in the fridge for 4 hours.

2. Take the meat out of the marinade, pad dry and thread 2 pieces of meat on one skewer each (I recommend allowing some time for the meat to reach approximately room temperature before proceeding). Place on the barbecue (medium heat) and cook for about 6 minutes on each side, occasionally brushing with the remaining marinade. Set aside.

3. For the raita, mix all ingredients in a bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Recipe adapted from: Reuben Riffel, "Reuben cooks: food is time travel"