It's raining day!

Pearl RainDrops on my Lemon Tree!

Greek "Halvas" Dessert

Our favorite Sunday afternoon treat. Fast to make and equally fast to eat!

We need:
- 250 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 1 kilo sugar
- 500 gr semolina flour
- 1250 ml water
- 1 cinnamon stick
- the zest of 1 orange
- 1 cup coarsely grated walnuts
- 1 cup sultana raisins

In a small pot we put the sugar, the water, the cinnamon stick and the orange zest. We bring to the boil and let it boil only for 1 minute. Turn off the heat but keep it warm. In a big cooking pot we heat the oil, add the semolina and stir quickly on medium heat until it becomes lightly brown. Be careful because it gets burned easily! When the color is OK, we add the walnuts, the raisins and take it off the heat. Add the warm syrup while stirring. We put it again on medium heat and keep on stirring until the syrup is absorbed and the mixture does not stick at the sides of the pot. Take it of the heat, cover with a tea towel and the lid, and let it rest for 10 minutes. We put the mixture in a mould and immediately turn it upside down on a serving dish. We sprinkle the surface with sugar and ground cinnamon.

Sour cherry liquor

Home made liquor just as my mum used to do it. A traditional treat in many greek houses for visitors on celebration days.

The recipe is very simple. In a big jar we put 1 kilo of fresh sour cherries, 1 kilo of sugar, 1 liter of brandy or other spirit, such as "tsipouro", a cinnamon stick and 10 cloves. Stir carefully to dissolve the sugar and let it in a sunny place at least for a month.

You can strain it in bottles and you can serve the sour cherries as decoration at the bottom of the glass. I also like to use it over fruit salads. Divine!!!

Stuffed Courgettes with egg-lemon sauce

Stuffed Courgettes

(in egg and lemon sauce)

By Christine Maragoula

E’ Class

Ingredients

(for 4 people)

500 grams minced beef

8 courgettes

½ cup of rice

1 onion, finely chopped

½ cup of olive oil

1 tablespoon vinegar

2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon pepper

1 egg

1 lemon

Method

In a bowl mix together the minced beef, the onion, the rice, 1 teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of pepper, 4 tablespoons of olive oil and the vinegar. Then we take the courgettes, cut both ends and scoop out the soft flesh from the middle, forming a small tube. Stuff the courgettes with the meat and rice mixture, and put them in a cooking pot. We fill half the cooking pot with water, add the rest of the salt, the pepper and the olive oil. Bring to the boil, and let it simmer for about 45 minutes. When it is ready, we whisk the white of an egg in a bowl until it stiffens, we add the egg yolk and the juice of one lemon and keep on whisking for a while. We add a few tablespoons of the warm broth from the cooking pot and then quickly we pour the egg-lemon mixture in the pot. We shake the pot so that the lemon-egg sauce mixes well with the broth and our dish is ready. 

Deep Fried Courgette Flowers (Frittata)

Deep fried courgette flowers

(with cheese and bacon)

By Nefeli Nefrou

B’ Class

Ingredients

About 15 flowers of courgettes

300 grams white cheese

200 grams cheese Edam and Gouda

1 egg

½ glass of milk

3 slices bacon

200 grams self raising flower

1 cup of water

Method

Cut off the stamens of the flowers and wash them. Leave them in a drainer. In a bowl grate the cheese, put the Edam, add the Gouda, the glass of milk and the slices of the chopped bacon. In a dish whisk an egg and add it to the mixture. With the mixture fill one by one the flowers of courgettes. Make a batter with the raising flour and the water. In a frying pan put enough olive oil, dip the flowers in the batter and then fry them. After that, put it in a dish and sprinkle them with grated cheese.

Good luck and good appetite!

Pastitsio

Pastitsio (Macaroni Bolognese Gratin)

By Chris Safakas

C’ Class

Ingredients

A pack of macaroni no2 or penne

A kilo of minced meat

3 eggs

1 tablespoon tomato paste

Gouda cheese grated

1 onion

1 teaspoon of oregano, some pepper, some salt

some parsley chopped

some cloves, 2 cinnamon sticks

For the béchamel sauce:

4 tablespoons of olive oil, 4 tablespoons of flour, 1 egg, 1 nutmeg,1 lit of milk

Method

In a cooking pot put some oil, the grated onion and the minced meat. Let it get a little brown and after that, pour the tomato paste, the cinnamon sticks, the pepper, the salt, the cloves and some water. Let it simmer in low heat for about an hour. Take it off the heat and in a separate cooking pot boil the spaghetti in salted water for ten minutes. Drain them and put them in a bowl. Add the grated cheese, 2 eggs, some milk and pepper.

In a baking tray, put a layer of the macaroni mixture, then the Bolognese sauce and another layer of macaroni. On top we add a layer of béchamel sauce, sprinkle with cheese and put in the oven at 200C for about 45 minutes. Let it cool down for a while and cut in square pieces. Serve warm.

Béchamel sauce:  In a sauce pan on a low heat put 4 tablespoons of olive oil and 4 tablespoons of flour. Stir for 2-3 minutes and add 1 lit of warm milk. Keep on stirring until it becomes a smooth cream. Take it off the heat and add 1 whisked egg, some salt, pepper and some ground nutmeg. Pour immediately over the baking tray.

Pecan Pie with Vanilla icecream

Pecan Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream

By Lidia Nefrou

B’ Class

Ingredients

20 eggs

400 grams sugar

300 grams flour

200 grams honey

200 grams chopped pecans or walnuts

200 grams cocoa

For the syrup: 1 Kilo of sugar, 1 lit water, 150 grams glucose, 2 slices of lemon, 1 tube vanilla powder.

Method

We separate the whites from the egg yolks. We whisk in the mixer bowl the egg whites with the sugar for about 20 minutes. In another bowl we mix the flour, the cocoa, the honey, the walnuts and the egg yolks. We mix carefully the two mixtures. We butter a baking tray and pour in the mixture. We bake at 200C for about 30 minutes. We let the pie cool down in the tray.

We boil the syrup for 25 minutes. We pour the warm syrup over the cold pie. We can decorate with whipped cream and walnuts. We serve with vanilla ice cream.

Good Luck!

Walnut Pie

Walnut Pie

By Alexandra Migdou

B’ Class

Ingredients

6 eggs

1 packet (250 grams) of butter

1 cup of flour

1 cup of finely chopped walnuts

1 cup of sugar

2 teaspoons of baking powder

1 espresso cup of brandy

½ tablespoon of cocoa

1 ½ cup of dry breadcrumbs

For the syrup: 2 ½ cups of sugar, 2 cups of water

Method

Whisk the sugar with the butter. Add the eggs. Add the breadcrumbs. Add the walnuts. Add the flour. Add the baking powder. Add the cocoa. Add the brandy. Mix them all together. Bake at 180C for one hour. Let it cool down. Cut in square pieces. Boil the syrup for 5 minutes. Pour the hot syrup carefully over the cool pie. Decorate with icing sugar and cinnamon sticks.

Cuttlefish with small Pasta

By Nasia Nakou

B’ Class

Ingredients

2 cuttlefish

1 packet of small pasta (such as orzo or short macaroni)

2 chopped carrots

2 chopped onions

2 big tomatoes, in small cubes

½ cup of olive oil

salt, pepper

Method

We clean carefully the cuttlefish, wash them and cut them in pieces. In a big saucepan we put the oil and the onions on a moderate heat. When they become golden, we add the tomatoes, the cuttlefish and we mix until they become a nice sauce. We add the carrots, salt and pepper, and enough water so as to avoid sticking on the bottom of the sauce pan. We cover with a lid and let it simmer for about an hour. We stir occasionally. When the cuttlefish is soft enough, we add the pasta and some water. We keep on stirring until the pasta is cooked.

Our dish is ready now and it smells delicious!

Sweet Milk Pie

Sweet Milk Pie

By Nick Tsirkas

A’ Class          

Ingredients

1 lit milk

1 tall glass fine semolina flour

1 tall glass of sugar

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 vanilla tube

4 eggs

1 packet of fyllo pastry or puff pastry

Method

Put the milk and the semolina flour in a deep pan on low heat and stir until it thickens. We take it off the heat, add the sugar, the baking powder and the vanilla and stir again. Let it cool down for a while and then add the eggs lightly whipped. Stir again and the filling for the pie is ready. We spread some olive oil or melted butter on a baking tin and cover with two layers of fyllo pastry or one of puff pastry, up to the rim.

Pour in the mixture and cover with fyllo pastry again. Drizzle the surface with some olive oil or melted butter and bake in a preheated oven at 180C for 45 minutes. Cut in square pieces and if you like it you can dust the surface with some icing sugar and cinnamon powder.

Cake with Cream and Cherries

Cake with cream and cherries

By Efthimia Katsarou

A’ Class

Ingredients

1 tall glass of olive oil

1 tall glass of milk

1 tall glass of sugar

1 tall glass of self-raising flour

4 eggs

zest of an orange

a packet of cream topping, and extra milk (or 250 ml fresh whipped cream with 1 tablespoon of icing sugar)

some fresh cherries

Method

Prepare the whipped cream topping according to the instructions on the package or whip the fresh cream with the icing sugar until it forms stiff peaks. Put it in the fridge.

In a bowl put all the liquid ingredients and the orange zest and mix them until the sugar dissolves. Then add the flour in small quantities. Pour the mixture in a cake mould and bake in a preheated oven at 200C for 45 minutes. When it is ready, let it cool down and decorate with the whipped cream and the cherries.

Orange Cake with Chocolate coating

Orange Cake with Chocolate coating

By Christine and Mary Theodoropoulou

A’ Class

Ingredients

250 grams of butter or margarine in room temperature

500 grams self-raising flour

3 eggs

2 vanilla tubes

2 cups of sugar

1 cup orange juice

zest of one orange

For the coating

2 bars (200 grams) dark chocolate

some milk

5-6 fresh cherries

Method

In a bowl put the butter, the sugar, the vanilla and the orange zest and whisk for 10 minutes with a hand mixer.

Then add the eggs and whisk again until light and frothy. Slowly pour in the orange juice and continue to whisk. Finally add the flour in small quantities each time. Spread a cake tin with butter and pour in the mixture. Bake in a preheated oven at 200C for 50 minutes. In a saucepan melt the chocolate with some milk on low heat and when the cake is ready cover with the chocolate and garnish with cherries.

Double Walnut cake

Double Walnut Cake with Cream

By Anna Nakou

B’ Class

Ingredients

20 eggs

20 tablespoons of semolina flour

10 tablespoons ground walnuts

1 tablespoon cinnamon powder

a pinch of clove powder

for the syrup

5 glasses of water

4 glasses of sugar

Extra 250 grams of cream for the topping.

Method

Take 10 eggs and separate the egg yolks from the whites. Whisk the egg yolks with 10 tablespoons of sugar. Whisk separately the egg whites until they are a stiff meringue. Mix gently the egg yolks with the meringue, add little by little 10 tablespoons of semolina flour, the walnuts, the cinnamon and clove powder. Oil lightly a baking tray, pour in the mixture and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180^oC for about 30 minutes.

Repeat the procedure with the remaining 10 eggs, 10 tablespoons of sugar and 10 tablespoon of semolina. Quickly take the baking tray out of the oven, pour over the new mixture and put back into the oven. Let it bake for another 30 minutes. Take it off the oven and let it cool down while you prepare the syrup.

Boil the water and the sugar for 5 minutes to make the syrup and drizzle over the cake. Cover the top with whipped cream and decorate with sour cherries.

Cherry Cheesecake

Cherry Cheese Cake

By Petros Agrogiannis

C’ Class

Ingredients

1 small tin condensed milk (200 gr)

1 cup of yogurt (200 gr)

1 packet of cherry gello diluted in 1 glass of water

150 grams cream cheese

150 grams butter

1 packet of biscuits

1 small tin of cherries in natural syrup (or a jar of cherry jam dissolved in some water)

Method

We smash the biscuits and mix them with butter so that we can make the base of the cheesecake. We whisk the milk, the cheese and the yogurt and then we add the gello. We spread this cream on top of the cheesecake base and put it in the fridge for 1 hour. We blend the cherries with the syrup in our liquidizer or dissolve the cherry jam in some hot water. We add a tablespoon of flour and cook on low heat for 5 minutes. We let it cool down and we pour it over the cheesecake.

Chicken with Cream sauce

Chicken with cream sauce

By Christine Mimigianni

ECCE Class

Ingredients

1 chicken breast (cleaned and chopped in small pieces)

2 peppers (cut in small stripes)

1 onion (cut in slices)

Salt

Pepper

½   glass of white wine

A tablespoon of mustard sauce

250 grams single cream

½ kilo rice for pilaf

250 grams grated gruyere cheese

Method

First of all we put salt and pepper in the chicken. We put it in the frying pan with peppers and onions. Just let them get brown for a few minutes. Add the mustard in the wine and put it in the pan with the chicken. Then we add 2 cups of water and let it simmer for about 20 minutes. After that, we add the cream and when the sauce thickens we switch it off. We boil the rice in a cooking pot and drain it. Then, drizzle the rice with a little melted butter and we serve it with the chicken and some grated gruyere on top. Finally, a delicious treat is ready on your plate.

"Ravani Cake"

“Ravani Cake”

(Cake with lemon syrup)

By Angela Beretti

E’ Class

 Ingredients:

1 cup of fine semolina flour

1 cup of self-raising flour (farina)

6 eggs

1 cup of sugar

4 tablespoons of milk

3 tubes of vanilla powder (or 1 teaspoon extract)

a pinch of salt

for the syrup:

2¹/2 cups of sugar

4 tablespoons fresh butter

2 tablespoons of lemon juice

1 teaspoon of lemon zest

Butter a baking tray of 30cm in diameter and set it aside. Preheat the oven at 175̊C. Put the eggs and the sugar in your mixer bowl and whisk them for 10 minutes, or until white and fluffy. Keep on mixing and pour in slowly the milk, then the self-raising flour and finally the semolina flour, the vanilla and the salt. Pour the mixture in the baking tray and immediately put it in the oven. Let it bake for about 45 minutes or until it forms a golden surface, then check with a knife if it is ready. 

Take it out of the oven and cut it in diamond-shaped pieces. Let it cool in the tray. Meanwhile, prepare the syrup. In a saucepan, boil the sugar and the water for about 5 minutes. Add the butter, the lemon juice and the zest, and while it is still hot, drizzle the cake carefully in small doses with a tablespoon. Let it cool down completely and absorb the syrup. 

The “Ravani” cake is ready to eat!

Muffins with Chocolate praline

Muffins with chocolate praline

by Dimitra Pappa

A’ Class

 Ingredients:

4 eggs

2 glasses (500 ml) milk

2 glasses (500 gr) sugar

500 gr self-raising flour (farina)

4 small tubes of vanilla powder (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)

1 cup (250 gr) butter

cinnamon powder

for the decoration:

readymade chocolate praline (such as nutella or merenda)

icing sugar

Put half the butter in a saucepan and let it melt in low heat. Put the melted butter in your mixer bowl, add the sugar, the eggs and the flour and whisk them for three minutes. Add the milk and the vanilla and whisk for three more minutes. Butter a tin baking tray for muffins, pour in the mixture and sprinkle with cinnamon powder. Put the tin in a pre-heated oven, at 180C, for an hour. Put the muffins on a clean surface and let them cool down. Cut them in half, open like a sandwich, spread the chocolate praline inside and close them again. Sprinkle with icing sugar on top and serve on a nice plate.

Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed peppers

By Christiana Beretti

Proficiency Class

Ingredients:

500gr minced beef

1 cup rice

2 cups water

6 green bell peppers

1 tablespoon tomato puree

2 fresh tomatoes grated

¼ teaspoon oregano

1 onion finely chopped

Parsley or drill

Salt

Pepper

Directions:

Firstly, pre-heat the oven to 200^O  C. After that place a pot on the stove , pour some olive oil, chop the onion and add it. Then add the minced beef and the tomatoes. Stir the mixture so as to avoid big lumps of meat. Reduce the heat, cover and cook the beef until evenly browned.After 10 minutes add the parsley or the dill and seasonings. Mix it and at the same time remove and discard the seeds of  the bell peppers but keep the tops and use them as a lid. Arrange the peppers in a baking dish with the hollowed sides facing upwards. Spoon an equal amount of the mixture into each pepper. Put the lid back on the peppers and turn them upside down. Stir the remaining stuffing and pour it around the stuffed peppers. Bake it for 40 minutes in the preheated oven at 250^o C and the stuffed peppers are ready!

My Green pots are flourishing!

 My cherry tomatoes are on the way

The eggplant is following

Pizza Night!

The “dough” adventures continue relentlessly!

Homemade special pizza in a big baking tray for hungry families. For the dough you will need:

-        4 cups of plain flour

-        ½ cup of olive oil

-        1 cup of tepid water

-        1 sachet dry yeast

-        1 teaspoon sea salt

-        2 teaspoons sugar

Put the flour in a big bowl, sprinkle with the salt and make a well in the middle. Pour in there the water, the sugar the yeast and the olive oil. Mix with the flour and kneed until the dough doesn’t stick to your hands. Cover the bowl and let it rest for one hour. If you want to speed the things up, put the bowl in a preheated oven at 50C until the dough doubles in size. After that, take it off the oven and raise the temperature at 200C.

Meanwhile make the sauce:

In a small pot put 3 to 4 tablespoons of olive oil, 200gr of tomato passata, 1 teaspoon of dried oregano and one teaspoon of dried basil (if you use fresh leaves take 3 or 4, thinly cut). Put it to the boil, add a teaspoon of sea salt and  some chili pepper if you like it hot. Let it simmer for 10 minutes.

When your dough is ready, put it in a baking tray and press with your fingers to make it expand until the brim of the tray. Pour over the sauce, add some ham, top with grated cheese (I use edam), and slices of bacon, mushrooms and peppers.

Put your tray at the second shelf from the bottom of your oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the dough at the edges takes that beautiful golden brown colour. Enjoy!