Eleni Doxiadi
Mingled Greek Cuisine, and more.
Because, on an every day basis, any home cooked meal is better than any delivery.
Before mingling, read through directions, prepare ingredients and organize them on your bench in order of use. It helps in numerous way, not the least of which being a visual of relative quantities. While mingling, listen to music, taste everything at regular intervals, and keep that magnifying glass (salt) at a proper distance!
Eggs are rich in protein, a good source of healthy fat, cheap and quick to cook. Perfect for a nutritious, home cooked meal.
Sunny side up egg with green beans and almond pesto
INGREDIENTS AND DIRECTIONS (various portions)
There are two independent preparations here, apart from frying an egg, which are then mingled in this dish, but each can be used in various other ways so stock up.
For the almond pesto, in a blender put:
1. Almonds, 2 cups
2. Parmesan, grated, 1/2 cup
3. Garlic, 1 clove
4. Vinegar, 1 tsp
For the green beans, blanch in hot water for 3 minutes
5. Green beans, 4 cups
Drain and in a pan with a little butter, or olive oil, or both, saute for a few minutes. Add
6. Sun dried tomatoes, from a jar, in oil, 8 fillets each cut in three bite size pieces
Toss to mix with the beans and oils and remove from heat.
For the sunny side up egg, place a pan over medium heat and let it warm up. Break an egg in a ramekin or other container, and pour into pan, once hot. You should see the whites solidifying immediately and hear the sizzling. Cover with a lid that will fit well and cook for 1 minute or more if you want the yolk less runny.
To assemble, place a handful of the beans in a bowl with 1 tbsp of the pesto, and a pinch of salt, and coat well. Place on a plate and top with the egg, and some more of the pesto.
Season the egg with salt, flakes preferably, and grind some black peppercorns.
Enjoy any extra beans with a white cheese and some extra olive oil, and keep the almond pesto in a jar in the fridge to mix with pasta, use in sandwiches, top salads, and anything else you can think of.
Wrapped Omelette with sauteed Peppers and Pork Sausage
INGREDIENTS AND DIRECTIONS (1 omelette)
"Spetzofai" is a traditional Greek dish with sausage and peppers. Loosely inspired from that, this omelette is nutritious and delicious.
For the filling, in a small hot pan add:
1. Pork Sausage, enough for 1 person, cut in bite size pieces
and let it lose the fat that will coat the pan. Then add:
2. Red Pepper, 1/2 pc, cut in thin strips
3. Green Pepper, 1/2 pc, cut in thin strips
and some olive oil if the fat from the sausage is not enough, reduce heat to low, and sweat the peppers to soften them for a few minutes. Then add:
4.Spring onion, 2 stalks, cut diagonally in thin strips
toss well and turn off heat. Place in a bowl and use the same pan for the omelette. In a bowl whisk:
5. 3 eggs
6. 1 tbsp of full fat milk, or heavy cream
and pour in the pan over medium heat. With a silicon spatula, or wooden spoon, stir occasionally until most of the egg mixture has started to solidify, trying to allow the upper layer to come into contact with the hot pan for that purpose. When mostly set, pour the filling on half the surface of the omelette, and with the help of the spatula, or spoon, wrap the other half over. Cover with a lid that will fit well and cook for another 3 minutes.
Asparagus and Blue Cheese FrittatA
INGREDIENTS AND DIRECTIONS (4 generous portions)
I love frittatas, especially for a crowd. They are simple and substantial. Asparagus is always welcome in my meals, and mingled with the intense flavour of blue cheese, it makes this recipe irresistible. Of course you can use gorgonzola, or even Roquefort instead (but I wouldn't waste such a precious and expensive cheese here!)
In a pot with boiling, salted water, add:
1. Asparagus, 5 stalks, bottom ends discarded
Cook for 3 minutes, and refresh under cold water. Chop in 2 cm slices.
On a 430 squared cm (roughly, i.e medium to small) baking tray, properly oiled, add:
2. Potato, in 2 cm slices, enough to cover the surface of the tray.
Sprinkle with:
3. Salt and
4. Black pepper, freshly ground
Bake in a preheated oven, at 180 degrees Celsius, convection mode, for about 20 minutes until you can easily slide the tip of a knife through the potato slice.
Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk:
5. Eggs, 8 pcs
and a pinch of salt. Then chop in thin strips:
6.Onion, 1 medium pc
When the potatoes are cooked, arrange the onion slices and asparagus pieces on top, and pour over whisked eggs. Gently move tray around so that the eggs evenly distribute. Cover the tray with foil, and return in oven, for 20 minutes. Remove foil, and scatter evenly on top:
7. Blue cheese, about 100 gr
Cook for another 10 minutes to melt the cheese, allow to cool slightly, and enjoy.