Stuffed vine leaves with mushrooms, raisins and walnuts

Ingredients

1 jar preserved grape leaves

1-1.5 cups rice

1 leek (or 1 big onion), finely minced

1 medium carrot, grated

5-7 mushrooms, chopped small

olive oil

3.5 cups water (or 2 cups stock and 1,5 cups water)

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup fresh dill, chopped

1 tsp dry mint

1 tsp paprika

sea salt, to taste

black pepper, to taste

Instructions

Sautee the leek/onion in a bit of olive oil on medium heat until golden. Add the grated carrot and sautee for 2-3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and sautee for another 2-3 minutes. Add the rice and continue to sautee for another 3-4 minutes. Pour 3 cups of water and simmer until the liquid is evaporated. Remove from heat and stir in the raisins, the walnuts, the dry herbs and the seasoning. Allow to cool for few minutes. Begin stuffing the vine leaves: spread the vine leaf (rough side up) on a chopping board on in your palm, add about 1 tbsp of filling to the center, fold the bottom part on top of the filling then fold the sides on top of the filling, and gently (yet firmly) roll it upwards to seal it. Preheat the oven at 350F. Continue with the rest of the vine leaves and as you make them, tightly pack them in a pan lined with vine leaves. Once you finish rolling and filling, use some leftover vine leaves to cover the stuffed ones in the pan. Sprinkle with some olive oil and add ½ cup stock or water. Bake until done.

Best served hot with yogurt or fresh lemon juice and parsley.

Golden Fish Pie

Ingredients

1kg potatoes

1 lemon

40g unsalted butter

400g frozen peas

2 carrots

2 onions

olive oil

500ml semi-skimmed milk

2 x 150g frozen salmon fillets

2 x 100g frozen white fish fillets

65g plain flour

100g frozen spinach

125g frozen cooked 
peeled prawns

1 heaped teaspoon 
English mustard

40g cheddar cheese

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF. Peel the potatoes and cut into large chunks, then put them into a large pan of boiling salted water for 15 minutes, or until cooked through. Drain and mash with a pinch of salt and pepper, the zest from the lemon and the butter. Place the frozen peas in a colander, pour over some boiling water to defrost them, then drain well and pulse a few times in a food processor. Fold them through the mashed potato, then leave to one side.

Peel and chop the carrots and onions and cook them in a large ovenproof pan (roughly 30cm in diameter) with a lug of oil for 15 minutes, or until softened but not colored, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, heat the milk in a pan on a medium heat. Once simmering, add the frozen fish fillets for around 10 minutes, or until cooked through, then use a slotted spoon to remove them to a plate, taking the pan off the heat.

Stir the flour into the carrots and onions, then gradually add the milk, a ladleful at a time, stirring continuously. Stir in the spinach until broken down, then season to perfection. Flake in the fish fillets (carefully remove and discard the skin if the fillets have it), add the prawns, mustard and the juice from half the lemon, grate in the Cheddar and stir gently to combine. Top with the pea-spiked mash and smooth out, scuffing it up slightly with a fork to give it great texture. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until beautifully golden.

Olive-oregano Muffins

Ingredients: 1 cup Whole Wheat flour

1 cup Pastry flour
1 cup yogurt
1 teaspoon baking soda

1 egg

200 g feta cheese

8-10 pitted olives

1 teaspoon dried oregano
salt

butter

Directions: Preheat the oven to 370 F. In a large bowl mix flour, baking soda, salt and oregano. Add the egg, yogurt, crumbled feta, chopped olives, and stir to combine. Coat a muffin pan with cooking spray and place a dollop of the mixture in each cup filling about 2/3 of the cup. On the top of itch cup put some butter. Bake in a 370F oven for about 40-45 minutes until the muffin tops start browning. Let the muffins cool in the pan, about 5 minutes, and then remove from the pan and let cool for 5 additional minutes before serving.

Golden French Apple Tart

Ingredients

9x9-inch puff pastry sheet

Flour for dusting

4 ea. Apples, preferably Golden Delicious, Honeycrisp or Granny Smith

½ Tbsp. (7 g.) brown sugar

3 Tbsp. (40 g.) unsalted butter

Powdered sugar for dusting

 

Instructions

For the crust: roll out puff pastry into 10-inch (25 cm) square sheet and 1/8-inch (3,2 mm) thickness. Prick the dough with your fork. Cut a circle and transfer to a greased baking tray or into a non-stick pan. Peel and core 4 apples and slice them thinly using mandolin slicer or a sharp knife. Carefully arrange the sliced apples over the round puff pastry sheet. Sprinkle some brown sugar and cover with butter cubs. Preheat the oven to 400 F (205 C). Bake for about 50 minutes. Set the oven to broil. 

Dust the baked tart with powdered sugar and place the tart under the broiler a few seconds or until caramelized. 

Transfer the apple tart immediately on the wire rack to cool. Serve warm.

Mediterranean Salad

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant, sliced into 1/2" thick pieces

3-4 heirloom tomatoes

3 bell peppers (red, green and yellow)

1/2 medium red onion, sliced thinly

6-8 Kalamata olives

1-2 tablespoons capers

1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar

Salt

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Place eggplant rings in large pan and bake until ready.  Remove from oven and keep them in a jar with some olive oil for few hours. Grill the peppers and let sit until cool enough to peal. Cut up them and the tomatoes into bite-sized pieces. Thinly slice red onion and mash it with some salt and 1 tablespoon of Balsamic vinegar. In large salad bowl toss together baked eggplant rings and peppers, tomatoes and onions with olive oil and the rest of Balsamic vinegar. Add Kalamata olives and capers, and toss again. Season to taste with salt. Sprinkle with the finely chopped parsley.

Peach Tarte Tatin

3-4 medium unpeeled peaches, quartered, pitted

½ cup strawberry (optional)

1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar

1/2 stick (70 g) unsalted butter

1 vanilla bean, scrape the seeds out or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Fresh juice from a half of lemon

½ packet of “Lady Fingers” (about 11-12 biscuits) or Challah bread or brioche

1-2 tablespoons of melted butter

Use an 8-inch-diameter non-stick round cake pan or skillet with 1 1/2-inch-high sides

Preheat oven to 375°F. Cook sugar in the small non-stick skillet. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase the heat. Quickly stir in unsalted butter, fresh lemon juice and vanilla. Stir well. Remove from heat. Place unpeeled peach quarters, skin side down, in concentric circles atop caramel in cake pan, covering caramel completely. Add some strawberries. 

Bake until peaches are just tender about 40 minutes. During the baking cover the pan with aluminum foil for 20 minutes after - remove the foil. Take out the cake pan from oven. On the top of baked peaches arrange 11-12 biscuits. Fill the gaps with crumbs. Brush the biscuits with melted butter. Bake the tart until is deep golden, about 25 minutes more at 375°F. Allow the tart to cool in the fridge before flipping it over. Cut around edge of cake pan. Place a large platter over the cake pan. Using oven mitts, hold cake pan and platter firmly together and invert, allowing tart to settle onto platter. Carefully lift off cake pan. Warm before serving. Cut the tart into wedges and serve with whipped cream. 

Tip: To unmold it easily, warm up the bottom of the pan a few seconds over high heat – Thank you, Bruno Albouze.

Gennaro’s Zesty Orange Rice Cake

1.7 litre milk

1 vanilla pod

½ lemon, zest only, in large pieces

200g / 7oz  sugar

300g / 10½oz Arborio rice

5 large free-range eggs, separated

50ml / 2fl oz orange liqueur

40g / 1½oz raisins

1 orange, zest only, grated, plus extra for serving

 

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Grease and line a 24cm/10in loose-bottomed cake tin with greaseproof paper. Place the milk, vanilla pod, lemon zest and sugar in a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the rice and simmer on a medium to low heat for about 20–25 minutes, until the rice is al dente and has absorbed the milk but still has a creamy consistency. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Remove vanilla pod and lemon zest. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and liqueur until creamy. In another bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form when the whisk is removed. Add the egg yolk mixture to the cooled rice, then fold in the stiffened egg whites, followed by the raisins and orange zest. Pour in the prepared tin and bake in the oven for one hour. Serve Gennaro's Orange Rice Cake warm or cold, sprinkled with some powdered sugar and a little extra orange zest to finish.