Tsoureki Paradise Catering stylee

Tina has been busy cooking up a storm with her amazing & super delicious Tsoureki - she is officially the Tsoureki making Queen!

Milk Chocolate covered Tsoureki

My Favourite flavour: White chocolate covered Tsoureki

Dark chocolate Ganache covered Tsoureki

Last but not least, my little Minnie Mouse Easter Egg Tourta which i painted freehand on a separate piece of fondant -wasn't brave enough to attempt painting on the cake direct!

Santorini's speciality: Fava dip

Ok, so I'm allowed this as i'm substituted ingredients to make it vegan, except that when i made it this morning i actually forgot it was on the hob (whilst doing other stuff) so it went a bit mushy. Draining the water out was not easy task, resulting in a Fava style soup than dip. So no pictures from me today. This, however, is what it's supposed to look like and it is yummy with fresh, warm bread!

What you need:

- 1 cup of fava to 2 - 2 1/2 cups water approximately - 1 1/2 small onion - extra olive oil - 1/2 a lemon, salt

Make it!

- wash the fava lentils well - set to boil in a large non-stick cooking pot, (medium heat) adding enough water to create a thick paste. - keep checking in case the fava has dried out - half way though cooking time add a roughly chopped small onion & 2 tablespoons of olive oil (optional) - salt to taste - when the fava is cooked, remove from fire & allow to cool - blend or mash the mixture well - scoop the amount you want into a serving dish & place the remainder of the mix in the fridge to use later - SERVE with an extra lashing of olive oil, half a squeezed fresh lemon & 1/2 a roughly chopped onion to dress ** Fava dip can be served warm or cold Recipe from Santonet.gr

Iman Biyaldi - Stuffed Aubergine

Feeds 4 hungry big people
What you need:

• 2 medium aubergines
• 50ml olive oil
• 2 medium onions, peeled and cut lengthway
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 4 whole cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 4 tomatoes, coarsely chopped
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 tbsp coarsely ground black pepper
• 1.5 tsp salt
• 40 g flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 300 ml hot water

Make it!

1. Slice Aubergines lengthway and scoop out the meaty fleshy bit, leaving 1.5cm thick edge.
2. Heat the oil and saute the onions with the aubergine flesh for around 5 minutes til soft.
3. Add the cumin seeds, garlic, tomatoes, tomato purée, pepper and salt and simmer for a few minutes
4. Spoon the mixture into the aubergine 'shells'
5. Place the aubergines into an ovenproof dish and carefully pour round the hot water.
6. Cover with foil and bake at 200°C/gas 6 for 40 minutes or until aubergines are tender, topping up the water if it evaporates too quickly.
7. Sprinkle with parsley & serve.

Taken from The Vegetarian Society – (recipe created by the Cordon Vert cookery school) www.vegsoc.org

Easter Goodness!

Happy Sunday everyone! My posts have been delayed as i am feeling not so hot at the moment. The change in weather has left me feeling somewhat yucky.
Tomorrow is when the majority of Greeks begin their fast - including me, what's on the menu you may ask? I'm not one to follow traditional Greek recipes - but I am a major fan of Vegan recipes that my friend makes. Delicious recipes to follow on another post... For now enjoy the Easter goodness at Paradise Catering. I'm so not with it, that i've got the pictures going in a backwards order, oops.

Tsoureki - for Easter all our Tsoureki have a red egg nestled on top.

Koulourakia - Easter Biscuits

Koulourakia in the making, with egg wash

This is how it's done folks! I wasn't going to let myself have a little rant today. But it makes me so cross when 'large' corporate companies think they can just swoop in and take over the Zakharoplastio industry - yup i'm talking about one big fat Chocolatier who also dips their fingers in cakes and Greek breads (as if selling chocolates isn't enough), using ready-made ingredients & a cheap price tag to sell their business. Oh that and shiny windows, decor & fancy packaging to lure everyone in.
I just wanted to say that there are many cake shop businesses in my area who have been around for years, i'm talking like anything between 25-40 years - they're not big cake shops, they're local independent business' who are run by families alike and these guys know their stuff. The taste factor difference between the mass produced and cakes from independent cake shops are huge.
Please don't take us for complete muppets and sell us slices of cakes/ Πάστες which are loaded with mouse and topped with cheap chocolate (which sticks to the inside of your mouth) leaving one super thirsty and think it's ok.

The piece of cake on the top left is apparently 'Black Forest', seriously...

The fast is on

All week this week I'm going pretty much vegan, I've managed to kick start the day with muesli & soya milk and have avoided coffee all morning. Who know what might happen later. (I'm not a fan of black coffee).

Also, aside from making some traditional Greek Vegetarian dishes this week I wanted to branch out and try out a few different dishes such as the ones below.

Summer Chickpea salad - This is a lovely easy recipe from Jamie Oliver's 'Jamie's Dinners' book.
Serves 4 hungry peeps
• 1 small red onion, peeled
• 1–2 fresh red chillies, deseeded
• 2 handfuls of ripe red or yellow tomatoes
• 2 lemons extra virgin olive oil sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 x 410g jar or tin of chickpeas, drained, or around 4 large handfuls of soaked and cooked chickpeas - I'll be boiling my own from a packet.
• a handful of fresh mint, chopped a handful of fresh green or purple basil, finely ripped
• 200g/7oz feta cheese - I won't be using cheese!

Make it!:
First of all, finely slice your red onion. Once that's done, finely slice your chillies then roughly chop your tomatoes, mixing them in with the onion and chillies. Scrape all of this, and the juice, into a bowl and dress with the juice of 1½ lemons and about 3 times as much good extra virgin olive oil. Season to taste. Heat the chickpeas in a pan, then add 90 per cent of them to the bowl. Mush up the remaining chickpeas and add these as well – they will give a nice creamy consistency. Allow to marinate for a little while and serve at room temperature. Just as you're ready to serve, give the salad a final dress with the fresh mint and basil. Taste one last time for seasoning – you may want to add the juice from your remaining lemon half at this point. Place on a nice serving dish and crumble over the feta cheese.

I love how chickpeas are so versatile, you can play with so many different flavours, here's a recipe for Chickpea curry from the bbc.

Ingredients - serves 2 hungry peeps

1 tbsp oil or knob of butter
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp cumin powder
¼ tsp coriander powder
¼ tsp turmeric powder
¼ tsp red chilli powder
1 fresh tomato, chopped
1 x 400g/14oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
5cm/2in piece root ginger, grated
pinch of garam masala
pitta breads or plain basmati rice, to serve

Make it!

1. Heat a deep saucepan or a medium sized wok and add the oil or butter followed by the onions and garlic.
2. Fry the mixture till the onions are caramelised. Then add the salt, cumin, coriander, turmeric and red chilli powders. Mix for a minute and tip in the tomato. Cook the sauce until it begins to thicken.
3. Add ¼ cup of water and stir. Then tip in the chickpeas and mix. Mash a few of the chickpeas while cooking. Cover and simmer for five minutes. Then add the ginger and the garam masala. Cook for another minute.
4. Serve with pitta breads or plain basmati rice.

Vegetarian Lancashire Hotpot

This is a very simple dish to make in a large amount. This recipe will feed about 20 people: Crikey! Might have to edit the ingredients quantity.

• For the sauce, take four chopped onions, a clove of crushed garlic, a chopped green chilli, about 50g/1 3/4oz tomato purée, 100ml/3 1/2fl oz tomato ketchup, a splash of vegetarian gravy browning, a bottle of red wine and about 100ml/3 1/2fl oz vegetable stock.

Make it!:

• Sauté the onions, garlic and chilli in a little oil until they are soft, then add all the other ingredients and boil for about 30 minutes. Blend until smooth - this gives you a sauce.
• Now take plenty of vegetables - you can use butternut squash, asparagus, baby onions, broad beans, whatever you like - and boil them briefly until just cooked (except for the squash which you should roast). Once the vegetables are cooked, spoon a portion of them onto each serving plate and spoon over the sauce.
• To make the topping, very finely slice some baking potatoes, leaving the skin on, then blanch until the slices are just tender. Lay them out on a baking tray, brush with loads of butter and stick under a hot grill until crisp and golden. Pop a few slices on top of each serving of hotpot.
• If you don't want to put out individual portions you can mix it altogether in one pot and serve with a ladle.

What else is on the menu?

Lots of fruit & Veg for sure. I also love a Banana Soya shake - adding strawberries is awesome!
I love the simplicity that wild greens or steamed Broccoli has when you load it with Olive oil & Lemon juice and a little salt as a side dish. Olive oil will be off the menu this week so Canola or sunflower oil will have do the job instead.

Another easy fave is a chopping up a whole load of veg - aubergines, courgettes, carrots - whatever you want and adding a can of chopped tomatoes, crushed garlic, a little Oil, Salt & pepper and just throwing it all in an ovenproof dish on 180 degree setting for 45mins-1hr -yummy. I do tend to use fresh tomatoes instead of canned tommies where possible.

Other inspirational dishes come from my dear friends Bustaurant in London - this menu is amazing - I can never choose one dish so I always order a few things oh and lots of dessert. The Rootmaster is a vegan restaurant which uses the finest organic ingredients - suppliers who use the traditional methods of farming, they are incredibly environmentally friendly, recycling and re-using where possible and the booze is amazing by the way - organic and biodynamic all the way.

Orange & Ginger Chicken Casserole

Dinner inspiration can be difficult at times, I get bored easily and need variation taste bud wise.
In comes Fay to rescue the day... I picked up 'Fay's Family food' last year (via Amazon) on hearing that it's chock full of easy & simple recipes. I'm not a fan of the pretentious malarky with gazillion ingredients, I just want healthy and delicious if you know what i mean. Well I haven't been let down yet, tonight i checked out the Orange and Ginger chicken casserole.

Feeds 3 hungry big people

Ingredients
For the marinade:
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp finely grated ginger
2 garlic cloves, crushed
zest of 1 orange
3 table spoons olive oil

6 Organic chicken thighs, skin off
1 large onion, chopped
3 large carrots, roughly chopped
150ml chicken stock
juice of 2 oranges
1/2 table spoon olive oil

What you need to do:

1. mix all of the ingredients in a bowl & toss the chicken into it. Cover & leave for 30 minutes - longer is good.
2. Pre-heat the oven to 180 C (fan), 200 C, gas mark 6, then transfer the chicken and marinade into a hot, non-stick frying pan & seal on both sides, which will only take a few minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in the oil, fry the onion and carrot in a separate, ovenproof casserole dish on the hob, until soft, about 10 minutes.
4. Combine everything by putting the browned chicken, stock and orange juice into the casserole for 45-60 minutes: when the chicken is pierced, the juice should run clear.

Tiramisu: Quick n' easy version

Ok, so i've never made Tiramisu, but i sure have eaten bucket loads of the yummy Italian Dessert.

I didn't have mascarpone (and i'm not entirely sure where you can buy it in Athens) so i used good ole Philly instead. I also did a search for a recipe using a mascarpone substitute and found this one on Kraft.

What You Need! (feeds 12 hungry people)

2 pkg. (3 oz. each) ladyfingers, split, divided

2 Tbsp. MAXWELL HOUSE Instant Coffee

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 cup boiling water

2 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Fat Free Cream Cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups thawed COOL WHIP LITE Whipped Topping - I used approx 500ml of whipped cream instead

1 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

Make It!

ARRANGE 1 package of ladyfingers on bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish. Dissolve combined coffee granules and 1 Tbsp. sugar in boiling water; brush 1/2 cup onto ladyfingers in dish.

BEAT cream cheese in large bowl with mixer until creamy. Add 1/2 cup sugar; mix well. Whisk in COOL WHIP.

SPREAD half the cream cheese mixture over ladyfingers in dish; top with remaining ladyfingers. Brush with remaining coffee mixture; cover with remaining cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle with cocoa powder. Refrigerate 4 hours.

Before making this i also checked out a few other Tiramisu recipes. I also added a rather large tablespoon of Tia Maria to the coffee mixture and a little more sugar to the cream cheese/whipped cream mixture too. Worked a treat.

Easter bits

With Easter fast approaching, it was time to bust out some Spring style cakes. We thought an Easter basket filled with eggs would be a nice idea along with little ladybirds leaving a trail around the tourta. Easter wouldn't be Easter without an Easter bunny tourta, so here's my first attempt at cutting shapes out!

Getting Eggy

Fast forward almost a week later and I can honestly say everyday feels like groundhog day. Yes, I actually feel like the dude who wakes up, the same time every morning and has the same experiences day after day. Only today it feels like i'm getting closer to the end of decorating each egg individually. Yay! I have countless paper cuts, have become a pro with the glue gun and am beyond tired.
Although there's a few more boxes to finish off, here's a sneak peek of where we're at with the chocolate eggs bunnies and roosters. I believe sometime next week we'll be starting on the Tsoureki...

Easter Eggs by the dozen...

Easter, only one of the biggest celebrations in the Greek calendar is only a mere 4 weeks away, eek. The only reason i'm totally freakin' out is because i've been left with chocolate Easter egg, bunny and hen decorating. Yup, it's a big job that requires patience and not liking the smell of chocolate, which is well difficult for me (as chocolate is my Kryptonite) and i just so need to get into the creative groove right now as the clock is ticking. (Images above are from last year)

I picked up nearly all the bits i needed and am ready to go with the wrapping, which is the MOST arduous and fiddly job ever. I started in the morning and with almost over 180 chocolate whatevers in need of wrapping, ribbon tying and decorating, i think i won't be done til Saturday at the earliest. Woah!

The difference between these little chocolate beauties than the 'Cadbury's' version or shall i say Supermarket version is that they are handmade and the chocolate used is of a much higher quality (higher cocoa content for starters),we're talking at least 70% cocoa indulgence for all you chocolate lovers out there. Next is the fact that they are carefully hand decorated, some with gorgeous sugar art (from fondant) and each are hand wrapped too. Ok, some of you may think the deco is a bit garish, but these guys love it here, I worked out that they're big on anything sparkly too.

Getting there, these are the big kuhuna's weighing upto 600g! Yum!

I decided to add more pink princess action with the stefana (Greek wedding crown) and wand

In Greece you can't have an Easter Egg wrapped in Green without sticking a Panathinaikos logo on it.