Kroketes / Κροκέτες (Potato Croquettes with minced meat)

Aside

Potato croquettes (from the French verb “croquer”, which means to crunch, are mashed potatoes in which more ingredients are used for taste, they are shaped into a cylinder roll and deep fried. However, plain mashed potatoes will not hold together when frying so an egg and flour is added as the binding agent and then they are coated with breadcrumbs and deep fried. The time of frying is up to you. The mashed potatoes and minced meat are already cooked, so it depends how crispy and golden you like them.

Οι Κροκέτες (από το γαλλικό ρήμα “croquer” (που σημαίνει τραγανό) είναι πατάτες πουρέ, στις οποίο βάζουμε και άλλα υλικά για γεύση, τις πλάθουμε πιο μακρόστενες από τους κεφτέδες και τις τηγανίζουμε. Εάν τηγανίσουμε όμως σκέτο πουρέ θα διαλυθεί στο τηγάνι και έτσι βάζουμε τον κρόκο και το αλεύρι για να δέσουν. Όλα τα υλικά είναι ήδη ψημένα γιαυτό ο χρόνος τηγανίσματος εξαρτάται από το πόσο τραγανές και χρυσαφένιες θέλουμε τις κροκέτες.

I make these croquettes to accompany meat dishes such as steaks, schnitzel, lamb or pork chops etc. When I make them plain, I often mix in cheese such as feta, graviera, kefalotyri or halloumi, herbs and spices.

Φτιάχνω τις κροκέτες σαν συνοδευτικό σε διάφορα φαγητά με κρέας, όπως σνίτσελ, μπριζόλες, παϊδάκια κλπ. Όταν κάνω τις απλές κροκέτες βάζω μέσα διάφορα τυριά όπως γραβιέρα, κεφαλοτύρι, χαλλούμι, αρωματικά και μπαχαρικά.

Cheese Potato Croquettes

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 30 + 15 minutes

Ingredients:

5 medium potatoes
3 tablespoons milk
1 tsp sea salt
1 egg yolk
A pinch of nutmeg
1 medium onion or 3 spring onions, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed (optional)
2 tablespoons olive oil from preserved mint *
1 tablespoon preserved mint leaves, finely chopped together with 3 – 4 peppercorns crushed *
½ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 cup grated halloumi, graviera or kefalotyri

For the bread coating:

1 cup arkatena, or other breadcrumbs
1/2 cup halloumi, graviera or kefalograviera (or substitute with parmesan if no Greek cheeses available)
1 egg + 1 egg white
Olive oil for frying

Read More here

Κροκέτες με Τυρί

Χρόνος προετοιμασίας: 15 λεπτά

Χρόνος μαγειρέματος: 30 + 15 λεπτά

Υλικά:

5 μέτριες πατάτες
3 κουταλιές γάλα
Αλάτι
1 κρόκο
Μία πρέζα μοσχοκάρυδο
1 μέτριο κρεμμύδι ή 3 κρεμμυδάκια φρέσκα, ψιλοκομμένα
1 σκελίδα σκόρδο, λιωμένη (προαιρετικά)
2 κουταλιές ελαιόλαδο από δυόσμο συντηρημένο σε ελαιόλαδο
1 κουταλιά φύλλα δυόσμου συντηρημένο σε ελαιόλαδο μαζί με 3 -4 κόκκους πιπέρι λιωμένους*
½ κούπα μαϊντανό, ψιλοκομμένο
1 κούπα τριμμένο χαλλούμι ή γραβιέρα ή κεφαλοτύρι

Για το πανάρισμα:

1 κούπα φρυγανιά τριμμένη από παξιμάδια αρκατένα (ή άλλη φρυγανιά)
1/2 κούπα χαλλούμι, γραβιέρα ή κεφαλοτύρι
1 αυγό ολόκληρο και 1 ασπράδι
Ελαιόλαδο για τηγάνισμα

Διαβάστε τις οδηγίες εδώ

My mother used to make these croquettes and she always added a minced pork filling, similar to the ones used for koupes.

Η μητέρα μου έφτιαχνε τις κροκέτες γεμιστές με χοιρινό κιμά, έτσι όπως φτιάχνουμε τις “κούπες”.

I used “arkatena” which are the Cypriot traditional rusks made with fermented chickpea yeast, to make the breadcrumbs but you can used any other breadcrumbs you like.

Για όσους δεν ξέρουν τι είναι τα “αρκατένα”, είναι τα παραδοσιακά παξιμάδια της Κύπρου τα οποία γίνονται από μαγιά που βγαίνει από τα ρεβίθια. Εσείς μπορείτε να χρησιμοποιήσετε όποια φρυγανιά θέλετε.

Arkatena / Αρκατένα

Potato Croquettes with minced meat

Κροκέτες γεμιστές με Κιμά

Κοπιάστε και Καλή όρεξη,

Kopiaste and Kali Orexi,

Order your copy now!

Beetroot Salad, Beetroot Dip and Pita Chips

Aside

Yesterday when I came back from Nafplion, I read a message from Rachael, a friend I have made through Facebook, who lives in Paphos, Cyprus. Rachael told me that she made Pantzaria xydata (the beetroot preserves from my cookbook) and I wish to thank her for her kind words.

I remembered that I have a few recipes I have made with the beetroot preserves and never posted, so this post will give a few ideas to Rachael and to all of you who have bought the cookbook, how to make good use of them. I take this opportunity to thank you all for buying the cookbook and keep coming back for more ideas.

The salad is a tweak to “pantzarosalata”, a beetroot salad my mother would always make whenever we had fish and it is one of my favourites. I served it as a side dish to Bakaliaros (battered cod) and a potato Skordalia.

Note: If you do not have beetroot preserves, you can added boiled or roasted beetroots plus some vinegar.

I used agourelaio, which is the top Greek extra virgin olive oil, produced from the first picked olives which have not yet ripen but you can used any kind of Extra virgin olive oil.

Beetroot Yoghurt Salad, recipe by Ivy

Ingredients:

1 chopped preserved beetroot

2 hard boiled eggs

1 boiled potato

½ cup fresh cilantro (fresh coriander)

150 ml Greek strained yoghurt

2 tbsp agourelaio or extra virgin olive oil

1 clove garlic

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Cut all the ingredients in a bowl.

In a food processor add the yoghurt, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper and mix.

Add this mixture to the remaining ingredients and mix.

Refrigerate for half an hour before serving.

I made the pita chips and forgot to take a picture when they were baked but these are perfect to serve with any kind of dip.

Pita Chips

Cypriot Pita Bread

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Garlic, finely chopped

Lemon Juice

Oregano

Salt and pepper

Directions

Cut the pita bread into triangles. Brush wih the olive oil mixture and bake in a preheated oven until crispy.

Look at the wonderful colour of this dip and the taste is amazing! This dip is based on a beetroot salad made here in Greece, usually made with boiled beetroots, cut into small cubes, garlic, yoghurt and olive oil, similar to the one I posted today on Kopiaste, with walnuts. However, this was made into a dip, using preserved beets, which of course have vinegar, added feta, which makes it extra creamy and agourelaio, with its fruity almost bitter taste, which brought this dip to another level.

Beetroot Yoghurt Dip, recipe adapted by Ivy

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped preserved beetroots

200 ml Greek strained yoghurt

100 grams Greek feta

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 clove garlic

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Put all the ingredients in a food processor and mix.

Refrigerate for half an hour before serving with pita chips.

The recipes mentioned in this post: Bakaliaros (cod), skordalia, pantzaria xydata (preserved beets, as well as making pita bread from scratch, are all included in my cookbook.

I am linking these recipes to my event Creative Concoctions: Cooking with Olive Oil.

If you want to win some Greek Extra virgin olive oil, all you have to do is post a recipe you have tweaked, until the 25th May, using olive oil.

Kopiaste and Kali Orexi,

Order your copy now!

Karaoloi me Sfoliata (Puff Pastry Cream Horns)

Aside

Karaolos (plural karaoloi pron. karaoli) is a Cypriot dessert I remember from my childhood in Cyprus which resemble like Cream Horns. In the Cypriot dialect Karaolos means snail. I assume that the Cypriots saw it more like the shell of a snail rather than a horn of an animal, as opposed to the Brits.

Until recently I used to think that this was a Cypriot dessert until, while google searching, I saw cream horns made with puff pastry. I then realized that this is one of the recipes which were influenced by the British who had colonized Cyprus.

Although I did not have the recipe of how they made them in Cyprus, I made them with puff pastry. I believe that the original ones were not made with puff pastry but the horns were more like a soft biscuit.

The ones I made are not close to the the ones I remember but they were really very delicious. I made the usual pastry cream I make and flavoured it with orange, as I had tons of oranges at the time.

My children loved this recipe but the only flaw they found was that the cream was not sweet. For my taste it was just perfect but if you like your desserts to be sweet, increase the amount of sugar in the cream.

I didn’t have stainless steel horn molds, to shape them but that didn’t stop me. I improvised and made some myself. All you need to do is cutaluminium pans and shape them into cones.

Cut rectangular pieces 13 x 17 cm and form the cones. Cut the base so that each cones is 13 cm high and can stand up, as I baked them standing up.

Karaoloi me sfoliata (Puff pastry cream horns)

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Baking time: about 50 minutes
Makes: about 30

Ingredients

1 packet (2 sheets) of puff pastry
4 – 5 orange spoon sweet preserve
2 tablespoons olive oil
Pastry cream
4 cups of fresh milk
2 tablespoons of all purpose flour
4 tablespoons corn flour (starch)
6 tablespoons of sugar
2 vanilla ampoules or ½ tsp vanilla essence
3 egg yolks
1 tablespoon orange liqueur
1 tsp orange rind
1 teaspoon butter

Whipped cream

500 ml heavy cream
½ tsp vanilla essence
3 – 4 tablespoons icing sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven at 180 degrees C / 350 F.

Cut each sheet of puff pastry into 15 pieces about 2 cm wide and 35 cm long.

Brush each cone with olive oil.

Wind each stripe of pastry around the cone, overlapping one third of the paste to form a coil finishing at the open end of the mould. Stretch the dough if necessary.

Place the cones into a baking tin and bake until golden and crispy, for about 45 minutes.

Set aside to cool and then unmold them, twisting them a little if necessary. Fill a pastry bag with the cream and fill each cone.

Meantime prepare the pastry cream

In a sauce pan add the flour, corn flour, egg yolks, sugar, vanilla, orange rind, orange liqueur and about ½ cup of cold milk and mix with a whisk until the corn flour is dissolved and set aside.

Heat the milk in another sauce pan and when it is hot pour to mixture stirring constantly until cream is thick. Remove from the heat and add the butter and stir. Set aside and cover with cling film until it is cold.

Meantime whip the heavy cream with sugar and vanilla until peaks form and refrigerate.

When the pastry cream is cold, mix in ¾ of the whipped cream, using a hand mixer.

Use the remaining to decorate the horns.

Use a separate cone to pipe the whipping cream and decorate with a piece of orange spoon sweet.

Tips: Do not discard egg whites. Put them in a small container, label them with date and amount and freeze them. You can use them to make meringue based desserts.

Kopiaste and Kali Orexi,

Two way Chicken with Fussili

Aside

Pasta is a dish everybody enjoys and what’s more easier than a pasta dish when you want to cook something quick but tasty.

My children are not fond of pestos, which my husband and I love, so I cooked the chicken and then just at the end I divided it into two frying pans, added the pasta and finished them off making half with the pesto I made that day and half as a Greek style carbonara.

If you don’t like beetroots, feel free to substitute with your favouite pesto. I have posted a lot of pestos from where you can choose from and my favourite Mint Pesto is included in my cookbook.

Chicken with Fussili and Beetroot Pesto, recipe by Ivy

Serves: 3

1 packet (500 grams) fussili, divided

500 grams chicken breast

¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

¼ cup white dry wine

½ cup, chicken broth

1 bay leaf

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

A pinch of thyme

A pinch of oregano

¼ cup walnuts

Half the quantity of the Beetroot Pesto

Directions:

Wash and cut the chicken into thin slices of 1 cm.

In a heavy skillet, heat the olive oil and sauté the onion and garlic until translucent. Add the chicken and sauté until it is white on both parts. Add the wine, the chicken broth, the bay leaf and the spices.

Close the skillet with the lid and simmer for 10 minutes.

Meantime cook pasta according to package instructions (about 10 minutes).

Drain and mix in with half of the the chicken. Add the pesto and mix.

Serve with a few walnuts on top and freshly grated black pepper.

The traditional carbonara is with pancetta, cheese and eggs. However, my children like it with bacon and I also add some light cream together with the egg, as well.

Chicken with Fussili Carbonara

Serves: 3

Half of cooked fussili

Half of cooked chicken breast

1 packet bacon (120 grams)

2 egg yolks

1 light cream

1 cup of grated graviera or other cheese*

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Sauté bacon in a non stick frying pan without oil. Discard any fat.

Beat the egg yolks with the light cream, add the cheese, salt and freshly grated pepper and mix.

After the chicken is cooked add half to the bacon as well as half cooked pasta.

Add the above cheese mixture and mix.

*You can use any cheese or a mixture of more than one cheeses that melt such as Greek cheese such as graviera, kasseri, halloumi, feta, or other cheeses like mozzarella, edam, milner, goudda, Kerrygold, gruyere etc.).

Other Pestos you can use:

Pesto Mafioso from Sicily

Scarlet Pesto with Piperies Florinis

Cilantro Pesto

Mint and Parsley Pesto

Kopiaste and Kali Orexi,

Order your copy now!

Beetroot Salad and Beetroot Walnut Pesto / Πέστο με Παντζαρόφυλλα

Aside

What do you usually do with the beetroot leaves? Do you throw them away?

I know I used to when I was a young housewife but later I learned that I could boil them and eat them as a salad and they are delicious.

Recently, I bought lots of beetroots to pickle and they had lots of tender leaves. Apart from eating them as a salad, I experimented and made them into pesto.

Beetroot salad (using the leaves)

This recipe is a traditional Greek way to eat beetroots as well as their leaves. The leaves add a delicious flavour to the warm salad, along with the garlic, olive oil and vinegar. This salad accompanies fish beautifully.

Directions:

Wash the leaves thoroughly, choose those which are the most tender and boil them for 15 minutes.

Drain them in a colander but also press them with a fork to remove some excess water. Cut them with a knife in smaller pieces. Add some of the roasted or preserved beets, a clove of garlic finely chopped, olive oil, wine vinegar and salt and pepper (optional) to taste.

Σαλάτα με παντζαρόφυλλα

Σ’ αυτή τη σαλάτα χρησιμοποιούμε τα τρυφερά φύλλα από τα παντζάρια. Τα φύλλα όταν είναι τρυφερά γίνονται μια πολύ νόστιμη ζεστή σαλάτα για να συνοδεύσει ψάρια.

Εκτέλεση:

Διαλέγουμε τα τρυφερά φύλλα και τα βράζουμε για δεκαπέντε λεπτά.

Τα στραγγίζουμε και τα πατάμε με ένα πιρούνι να φύγει το πολύ νερό. Τα κόβουμε σε πιο μικρά κομμάτια με ένα μαχαίρι.

Προσθέτουμε παντζάρια βραστά ή ξυδάτα, 1 σκελίδα σκόρδο ψιλοκομμένο, ελαιόλαδο, ξύδι και αλατοπίπερο.

I used it in pasta and it was delicious but the best part is that I froze the remaining and used it whenever I liked.

In my recipes I always just say olive oil but wherever olive oil is mentioned, in Greece we always use extra virgin olive. I have mentioned this in the About page, of Kopiaste but also in my Cookbook, so I forget to mention in.

Beetroot Walnut Pesto, recipe by Ivy

Ingredients:

Tender leaves from 1 bunch beetroots (about 1 cup boiled and water squeezed out)
1 large garlic clove
½ cup walnuts
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly grated pepper
2 tablespoons wine vinegar
Graviera cheese to be mixed separately

Directions:

Boil leaves as above and squeeze out as much of water as you can. Put everything in a food processor and mix. Add as much olive oil is necessary until you reach the right consistency.

If you are going to use the pesto in a few days you can also add the cheese and preserve the remaining in the refrigerator.

As I make a lot and freeze it, I prefer to add the cheese when I use it.

Πέστο με Παντζαρόφυλλα και Καρύδια, συνταγής της Ήβης

Υλικά:

Τρυφερά φύλλα από παντζάρια (περίπου 1 κούπα, βρασμένα και στυμμένα)
1 μεγάλη σκελίδα σκόρδο
½ κούπα καρύδια
¼ κούπας παρθένο ελαιόλαδο
Αλάτι και φρεσκοτριμμένο πιπέρι
2 κουταλιές ξύδι
Γραβιέρα τριμμένη

Εκτέλεση:

Διαλέγουμε τα πιο τρυφερά φύλλα και τα βράζουμε για 15 λεπτά. Τα στραγγίζουμε και τα στύβουμε να φύγει το νερό.

Βάζουμε όλα τα υλικά εκτός από το τυρί στο μούλτι και προσθέτουμε λάδι. Τα πολτοποιούμε και εάν χρειάζεται προσθέτουμε και άλλο λάδι μέχρι να λιώσουν καλά.

Εάν θα χρησιμοποιήσετε το πέστο άμεσα μπορείτε να βάλετε και το τυρί μέσα και να το ανακατέψετε.

Επειδή όσο περισσέψει το βάζω στην κατάψυξη, το τυρί το προσθέτω όταν θα το χρησιμοποιήσω.

I am linking this recipe to Creative Concoctions #4, Cooking with Olive Oil.