When I was 9 years old I saw the Disney film, The Moonspinners, starring  Haley Mills.  It instilled in me a hunger to visit Greece, which has remained a dream for me up until this very present day.  It is on my bucket list of things I want to do before I die and God willing one year I will actually make it!


Greece is set once more to become a prime holiday destination for Brits this summer, following an increase of 11% in the number visitors from the UK in 2013.  Greek speciality foods producer Gaea has created a beautiful hat trick of recipes using it's authentic tapenades and top quality Greek olive oils to get sun seekers into  Greek holiday mode!

Promising a heavenly taste of sun-kissed Greece, this three-course extravaganza features delicious offerings from the Gaea range, and offers a wonderfully unique chocolate mousse that combines chocolate and the finest Greek olive oil.

Enjoy your meal!

 

Prepare the couscous according to the package directions, using either water or chicken stock.  Add the remaining ingredients and fluff with a fork.  Let stand for 15 minutes and then serve.




Combine all of the ingredients for the meatballs with the exception of the flour and oil for frying.  Knead well. Cover and chill the mixture for 30 minutes.   Shape into meatballs.  Flour lightly.   Heat some olive oil in a large skillet.   Once the oil is hot add the meatballs and fry them in the hot oil until lightly browned and cooked through.


Once fried, the meatballs may be eaten along, packed inside flat breads, or served covered with tomato sauce with spaghetti and for extra Greek authenticity, sprinkle with kefalograviera cheese.




Melt the chocolate over low heat.   Stir in the olive oil and Cointreau.    Beat the egg yolks together with half of the sugar until the mixture becomes fluffy with an electric mixer.  Mix this with the chocolate mixture.  Using clean beaters and a clean bowl, beat together the egg whites and remaining sugar, along with a pinch salt, until stiff peaks form.   Fold this into the chocolate mixture along with the orange zest. Chill, covered, in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve.  Divide between individual bowls to serve, garnishing each serving with some whipped cream and chocolate flakes if desired.



Olive oil in Greece, which dates back 4000 years, is globally acknowledged for its purity and exceptional taste. More than 80% of the Greek olive oil is extra virgin, which is the top-ranked classification category in the world. This constitutes Greece as the world’s largest producer of extra virgin olive oil. Gaea’s extra virgin olive oil’s superior quality is appreciated by the international trade, which is the reason why Gaea’s exports to all markets are constantly increasing at a fast pace. Moreover, Gaea produces the 1st Extra Virgin Olive Oils in the world that have been certified Carbon Neutral!


 


Natural ingredients from Gaea – the Greek “Mother Earth” are finely chopped, crushed, or blended to make Gaea’s unique tapenades. They are flavoured with other ingredients such as garlic, herbs and lemon, and can be served as a Greek- meze, the typical Greek appetizer to savour and share. Gaea’s tapenades:

Are exclusively made from natural ingredients
Are combined by traditional, authentic recipes of the oldest and healthiest Mediterranean cuisine and serving suggestions. 

For more recipe suggestions check out the Recipe Folder on the Gaea website.

   

I was so excited to learn earlier this month that Heck Sausages are now available at Asda.  You may remember me getting to try them last year and we fell right in love with them.   So happy that I can now buy them closer to our home.  (Asda is the UK's version of Walmart.)    

  

They only have the two flavours at the moment, the meaty ones and the apple ones, but hopefully they will add more as time goes on.  In any case I picked up a package of each when we were there the other day.  They are just so good, I could not resist!  Today I used the apple ones in a delicious stove top braise.  


   


I also had a small cabbage which needed using up, what they call a white cabbage over here, but back home we just called it cabbage.   I browned the sausage and then added thinly shredded cabbage to the pan, and allowed it to wilt slightly before adding some thyme and apple juice, popped on a lid and let it bubble away.



After about 20 minutes or so, I removed the cabbage and kept it warm, whilst I finished cooking the sauces in the pan juices, until they were golden brown all over and lightly glazed with the juices.  A couple of them served hot on top of that lovely cabbage and along side some carrots and some of this spring's Jersey Royal potatoes made for a simple, yet beautiful supper.   Delicious!



*Braised Bangers and Cabbage*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Easy and delicious.  This is a meal that cooks itself.

8 good quality thick and meaty sausages
225ml of cloudy Apple juice (1 cup)
2 TBS runny honey
1/2 tsp dried thyme

 

I had a couple of chops in the refrigerator that I picked up at the butchers the other day. Nice thick free range chops.  We don't eat red meat very often, so when we do I like to make sure it's the good stuff.



And of course because it costs more I like to prepare it in a tasty way.  I would hate to ruin any of it.  It goes without saying that I have my favourite chef's when it comes to tasty recipes.  Delia Smith and Mary Berry for baked stuff . . . Gary Rhodes, Jamie Oliver . . . and Nigel Slater when it comes to everything else.  I also like a little bit of Bill Granger thrown into the mix.  All great.  



You can keep Gordon Ramsay and the rest.  Their work doesn't really appeal to me.  Of course my all time favourite is Nigel Slater (as I have told you before, I know.)    I can't stress it enough . . . he cooks like I do and he cooks like I want to eat.



His recipes are so basically good that you can use them as a basis for other things.   For instance today with these chops.   His recipe looked fabulous, but I didn't exactly have everything he was calling for . . . so I took his basic premise . . . and I switched it up with what I did have to hand.



I didn't have any cream and so I thought about what I might have that was in the fridge and that would give the same rich and creamy result and I came up with Herb and Garlic Boursin cheese.   It worked perfectly.  Of course it is a little more solid than cream and so I added some chicken stock to slacken the sauce a bit . . .



My cornichons had baby pearl onions in the jar and so I threw in a handful of them as well.  Magnifico!  What a beautiful sauce!  It went beautifully with these chops and with the mash.  It was mellow with just a bit of a bite and some lovely crunch and tartness from the cornichons, which went beautifully with the pork and the mustard . . . and of course the boursin cheese made for a bit of richness which was just wonderful. 



I ended up with a fabulously delicious supper dish for two.  You could easily multiply this up to larger amounts. I do hope you will give them a try.  Bon Appetit!



Pour off most of the fatty residue in the skillet, leaving as much brown drippings as you can.  Add the white wine and bring to the boil.  Boil for about 2 minutes, reducing it somewhat and scraping up any pork drippings.  Whisk in the mustards and boursin cheese, whisking constantly, until you have a nice thick sauce. If it is too thick, thin with a bit of chicken stock.  Stir in the cornichons and pickled onions if you have them.  Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.  Pour the sauce over the chops and serve immediately.

This goes fabulously with mashed potatoes and a green vegetable if desired.

Note:  Cutting the fatty edge of the pork chops at regular intervals helps them to lay flat when you are cooking them, and allows for a much more even colouring when you are browning them!

4 slices emmental cheese

Now I have never been to Greece, but it is a place I have always wanted to go . . . since I was about 10 years old and saw Haley Mills in the Moon Spinners. It looked like a fabulous country to visit and it is still my dream to one day visit. I am sorry they are having so many problems at the moment. I hope that they are able to work their way through this hard time they are having.



I have had a kebab though . . . a kebab is a very popular takeaway dish here in the UK. (Especially when all the pubs and bars start to empty out on a Friday and Saturday night!)You see them in all of the takeaways . . . big slabs of mystery meat, on a huge skewer, rotating in front of a heat lamp thingie. They slice the meat off onto a pita bread and cover it with salad and sauce. They sell tons of them . . . I have had a chicken one before and it was quite good. I have never had a mystery meat one though . . . and I somehow don't think I ever will . . .



And really . . . after having watched The Food Inspector the other week . . . I doubt that I ever will have a chicken one again either. UGH!!



These tasty Souvlaki are so much nicer . . . and healthier too. Plus you know exactly what is in them.



You are supposed to zip open the pita bread and pile all the fillings inside . . . but in all truth that has never worked for me . . . they always fall apart. I would rather just put the warm pita bread on a plate and pile everything on top of it and eat it with a knife and fork.



I know. Me = party pooper! Nevermind . . . it doesn't matter how you eat it. It's delicious. End of.



*Souvlaki in Pita*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

This is considered to be the Greek Equivalent of the Kebab! We sell enough Kebab's in this country on Friday night. I reckon this is a much healthier option and a lot tastier as well!

4 large pita breads
water and olive oil to moisten
2 tsp chopped fresh oregano
2 TBS freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 medium onion, peeled and coarsely grated
fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 TBS extra virgin olive oil
500g lean pork or lamb, cut into 1 inch cubes (1 1/4 pound)

For the Salad Bits:
lettuce thinly sliced
cucumber, sliced
red pepper, sliced
tomatoes, cut into wedges
radishes, sliced
1 small red onion, tpeeled and thinly sliced
flat leaf parsley leaves, torn

For the Garlic Dressing:
100ml of thick, strained Greek Yoghurt (about 3/4 cup)
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
3 inches of cucumber, coarselyated and then squeezed dry
1/2 tsp fine sea salt

Metal skewers for grilling



Sprinkle the pita breads with water and olive oil. Either grill them, or bake them at 180*C/350*C/ gas 4 for 3 to 5 minutes, just long enough to soften them, but not dry them out. Place them in a warm place and cover with a tea towel to keep warm.

Put the oregano, lemon juice, grated onion and some salt and pepper in a bowl. Whisk in the olive oil. Add the meat cubes and mix them into coat them completely. Allow to sit and marinate for at least 20 minutes. Drain and then thread onto metal skewers. Cook on a preheated barbeque, or on a stove top grill pan, turning occasionally until golden outside and cooked through. (5 to 8 minutes)

While they are grilling toss together your salad choices in a bowl. Set aside.

Whisk together the yoghurt, garlic, cucumber and salt in a bowl.

Add a dollop of this to each warmed pita bread. Top with some salad and push the meat off of the skewers on top. Drizzle with a bit more of the garlic dressing if you want. Serve immediately, while the bread and meat are hot, but the dressing and salad are cool.

PS - I don't want a lot of Greeks messaging me and telling me this isn't authentic. It's not supposed to be. This is The ENGLISH kitchen. 'Nuff said.

 

I just love sandwiches . . . and I'm not alone in that either. The British all love sandwiches! They're a big business over here.  They're sold in all the shops, convenience stores, grocery shops, coffee shops etc.  Of course if you hadn't guessed already . . . Sarnie is another name for sandwich!

 

Makes it sound like something  quite exotic doesn't it?

 

One of my favourite places to buy a ready made sarnie is in M&S.  Their sandwiches are the best.  The bread is always fresh and the filling generous, and spread to the edge . . . not like some of the cheaper places where you get a dollop of filling in the  middle of two slices of dry bread . . . with more bread than filling!  Ugh!  Nasty.



I was quite suprised when I moved over here to the UK at the different varieties of sandwiches that were on offer as well.  Cheese and onion . . . delicious!  Cheese and tomato . . .  likewise!  There's salad sandwiches, sandwiches made with crab, or prawns or tuna.  Tuna and Cucumber seems to be quite popular.  As is Tuna and Sweetcorn.

 

Then there are Egg & Cress, Coronation Chicken, Corned Beef (made with tinned corned Beef, which is actually quite nice),  and a host of others . . . too many to list here I think, but you get the idea, I'm sure!



Anyways, the point of all of this is that I made Todd and myself a couple of very tasty sandwiches for our lunch one day at the weekend.  In  my quest to cut back a bit, I made them open faced sandwiches, so only half the bread.

 

I added some sliced ham, sliced turkey, half fat swiss cheese, lettuce, a delicious homemade dressing . . . kind of tangy and yet at the same time a bit sweet . . . some sliced egg, tomato and  . . . naughty but nice crisply cooked streaky bacon.  (Really nice . . .  dry cured and unsmoked is my choice!)



A gal can't be 100% good all of the time can she??  I thought not!!



 *Dressed Club Salad Sarnie*
Serves 2
Printable Recipe

An open faced, knife and forker!  Delicious!  (Easily upped or downed to serve more or less people.)

2 slices sour dough bread
2 slices of baked deli ham
2 slices of Leerdammer cheese (Swiss type of cheese, I use the low fat one)
2 slices of deli turkey
1 cup of shredded cos lettuce (Romaine)
1 hard boiled egg, sliced
1 tomato, sliced
4 slices of streaky bacon, rind removed and cooked crisp

For the dressing:
1 heaped dessert spoon of low fat mayonnaise
1  tsp of tomato ketchup
1 tsp white vinegar
1/2 tsp caster sugar
1/2 tsp of chopped sweet pickle
1/2 tsp of finely grated onion
pinch of salt and black pepper

Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a small bowl.  Set aside.

Lay one slice of bread onto each of two plates.  Top each with 1 slice of ham.  Top the ham with the cheese.  Top the cheese with the turkey.  Divide the lettuce between the two and drizzle each with half of the dressing.  Top each with half of  the sliced egg, sliced tomato and two slices of bacon criss crossed.  Serve immediately.  Pass the knives and forks!

One cut of pork that I really love is Rack of Pork. I know, it may seem like a boring cut to choose, but it needn't be! Rack of Pork can be succulent and delicious as long as you follow a few rules.

• Remove the crackling and cook it separately. (in order to get really crispy crackling you would have to cook it at such a high temperature you meat is more likely to dry out before your crackling is crisp)
• Leave a good layer of fat on the surface, about 1/3 inch at least. Score lightly, but not all the way through to the meat.
• Do not overcook! You are better off taking it out whilst still a bit pink in the middle and allowing it to set for a fifteen minutes or so, lightly covered with foil. During the setting time it will finish cooking through and still be lovely and moist.

To make crunchy pork crackling, cook the rind separately from the meat. Cut the rind from the meat with a small, sharp knife and place it in a shallow baking dish; brush rind with one tablespoon of vegetable oil and rub with one tablespoon of coarse cooking salt. Bake, uncovered, in a very hot oven for about 40 minutes or until rind browns and crackles. Drain on absorbent paper. (I have a smaller oven on top of my larger oven and I cook it in this while the roast is cooking in the oven below.) No more crackling failure!



I toyed with the idea of stuffing my rack with fruit and other goodies, but in the end I decided that I would stay more traditional and rub it all over with a tasty mixture of herbs and olive oil. Roasting some root vegetables along side . . . delicious sweet potato, carrots and potatoes. I also decided to make good use of the gooseberries that are ripe in my garden at the moment.



Fruit goes very well with pork and need not just be apples, which are oh so scrummy. Gooseberries also go wonderfully! I added a hint of sharpness to the sauce by adding some creamy horseradish to the mix, along with the richness of a knob of butter.

This always turns out fabulously.  Why not put some pork on your fork! You can't get a much nicer cut than the rack!



*Roasted Rack of Pork and Roots with a Gooseberry Horseradish Sauce*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

A traditional roast, moist and delicious, accompanied by a variety of roasted root vegetables and served with a scrummy Gooseberry Horseradish Sauce on the side!

1 four rib piece of Rack of Pork (Free range of course!)
(about 2 1/2 pounds)
(Remove the crackling and reserve for another use)

For the rub:
4 to 6 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed (depending on how much you like garlic)
2 TBS olive oil
2 tsp seasoning salt
1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp parsley flakes
1/2 tsp dried thyme

For the vegetables:
4 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
2 large baking potatoes, washed, unpeeled and cut into chunks
2 TBS olive oil
2 tsp parsley flakes
1 tsp seasoned salt
1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

For the Gooseberry Sauce:
50g of golden caster sugar (1/3 cup)
250g of topped and tailed gooseberries (about 2 cups)
2 TBS white wine
pinch salt
a knob of butter
1 tsp creamed horseradish

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Remove the crackling layer from your pork, leaving about 1/3 of an inch of nice fat. Score this in diamonds with a sharp knife, without cutting all the way down to the meat.

Whisk together the olive oil, seasoning salt, black pepper, paprika, parsley flakes, thyme and garlic. Mix well and then rub this all over the meat until coated. Place in a roasting pan and then cook for about 35 to 40 minutes while you get the vegetables ready, and make your sauce.

Prepare your vegetables. Put them into a bowl. Whisk together the oil, parsley flakes, salt and pepper. Toss the vegetables with this mixture, coating them all over.

To make your sauce, place the gooseberries in a saucepan along with the wine. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a slow simmer and cover. Simmer for about 10 minutes until very tender. Push the mixture through a sieve into a clean pan, scraping through as much as you can. Discard any solids left in the sieve. Whisk in the salt, sugar and butter. Cook and stir for about 5 minutes. Keep warm.

Remove the pork from the oven. Move it to the side. Toss in the vegetables and roll them around in the pork fat in the roasting tin. Move them until they are around the roast. Cover with some aluminium foil and then return to the oven. Roast for a further 35 to 40 minutes. Remove the pork and place on a plate, covering loosely with foil. Give the vegetables a stir in the pan juices. Increase the oven temperature to 230*C/450*F/ gas mark 7. Return the tray to the oven and roast uncoverd for 10 to 15 minutes, until they are tender and beginning to brown.

Serve the roast cut into slices, one rib per person, along with a portion of the roasted vegetables and some of the sauce. Pass the remainder of the warm sauce at the table.

I have to just say, this was one very tasty joint of pork! I'm still licking my chops!! (no pun intended!)