Whole Fish Stuffed in Grape Leaves

Fish wrapped in grape leaves is a popular summer dish in Greece, where it's grilled over a fire. It tastes good. Trust me. What happens during grilling is that the grape leaves and the skin of the fish char together to form a distinctive, crunchy and delicious outer layer. In addition, the grape leaves keep the fish nice and moist.
I used trout to make this recipe just because it looked good at the fish store. It was fresh, well cleaned, and it was on sale. Many other types of fish can be used. Try it with any fish that grills nicely. Especially delicious when using this method are small fish such as red mullet or mackerel. If using small fish, it's not necessary to stuff them. If you still want to stuff the smaller fish, you can use the recipe included here, but omit the rice.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds of trout (two fish), cleaned of fish guts and bones
• about 16 preserved grape leaves (you may need more-it depends both on the size of the leaves and the size of the fish), drained and rinsed.
• 1 cup cooked rice
• Juice and zest of one lemon
• salt and pepper to taste
• olive oil
• 1 shallot chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, chopped
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 1 tablespoon dill, chopped
• some fennel fronds

Directions:

• Rinse the fish inside and out and pat dry with paper towels.
• Cook the rice according to package directions, but do not overcook.
• Saute the scallion, green onions and garlic in some olive oil and add to the rice. Add the lemon zest and parsley, season with salt and pepper and mix well.
• Sprinkle some olive oil and lemon juice in the cavity of the fish. Season with salt and pepper.
• Spoon the rice mixture into the cavity of each fish. You'll probably have some rice left over, and that's always good because you can snack on that later.
• Fold the fish closed and sprinkle it again with olive oil and lemon.
• Use about 8 grape leaves per fish. Make sure they are nice and dry from being rinsed, then lay them on your work surface, slightly overlapping. Set one of the trout on top and wrap the leaves up and over the fish. Lay another leaf or two on top of the trout to fully encase it. 
• Tie a few pieces of kitchen string around the fish to secure it. Repeat with the other fish.
• Brush the grill with oil and cook the fish until its flesh appears opaque (make a small slit through the leaves to check), about 6 minutes on each side.
• I chose to serve the trout on a bed of fennel fronds; it looked good plus it gave off a nice anise aroma!

Grape Leaves Stuffed with Rice

Grape leaves cooked with some type of stuffing have been around since antiquity. I guess you could say they were the first sandwich that was invented. I have been eating them and loving them since I was a child, and the recipe here is my maternal grandmother's.

In Greek homes, grape leaves with rice are served cold, usually as a first course or as part of an appetizer menu.

It's always nice to have fresh grape leaves on hand, but they are a luxury item here in the USA because they are not readily available. The solution is to get grape leaves in a jar. These are preserved in a brine solution and need to be thoroughly rinsed in order to remove excess salt. Rinse them several times. When I buy preserved grape leaves I always have my fingers crossed. Sometimes they'll be too tough with lots of veins, sometimes too small, sometimes torn. Of course, sometimes I am lucky and they are just right. 

Ideally, grape leaves should melt in one's mouth as they are being eaten. If they don't, that means they were too tough prior to cooking. One solution for softening them is to cook them in boiling water for about  30 to 40 minutes before stuffing them. If you like making stuffed grape leaves and don't have the fresh ones at hand, experiment with different store bought brands until you find the one that works for you. Even so, boiling the brined variety prior to cooking is recommended. Happy cooking!

Ingredients:

1 jar preserved grape leaves, drained

1 cup olive oil

2 large onions, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 bunch green onions, chopped
Pepper to taste, and a little salt to taste
2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup long grain rice
Juice of 2 lemons
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons dill, chopped

1 teaspoon mint, chopped
2-3 tablespoons currants
1 cup pine nuts

1 cup of water

Directions:

• Carefully separate the grape leaves. To remove excess salt, place them in a large bowl and pour boiling water over them to cover. Let the leaves soak for about two hours and change the water a few times. Drain and rinse one last time. To soften them, boil them in water for about 30 to 40 minutes. Cut off the stems and allow the leaves to dry.  
• In a large saucepan, heat 1/2 cup of the olive oil, add the onions, garlic and pepper, and cook over medium heat for about ten minutes or until the onions are translucent. 
• Stir in the rice and saute for about two minutes. Keep mixing so that the rice doesn't burn. Add the green onions and one cup of the vegetable broth  
• Cover, reduce the heat to low and cook the rice until the broth is absorbed, about 10 minutes or so. The rice will not cook all the way but will finish cooking inside the grape leaves. By following this method the end product will not have a mushy filling. Additionally, as the rice finishes cooking inside the grape leaf it expands, thus creating a firmer and well filled little bundle. 
• Transfer the rice to a large bowl and mix in the juice of one lemon, parsley, dill, mint, currants, pine nuts, and salt and pepper to taste. Don't use too much salt because the grape leaves are already salty.
• Place one leaf on a flat surface, vein side up, shiny side down. Place a rounded teaspoon of filling in the centre of the leaf, near the stem edge. Fold the stem end over the filling, then fold both sides toward the middle, and then roll the leaf with the stuffing to form a nice bundle. You should now have a stuffed grape leaf. Repeat with the remaining leaves and filling.
• Line the bottom of a heavy saucepan with leftover or torn grape leaves. You can also add any stems that are left over from the herbs used in the recipe. Arrange the bundles seam side down, packing them close together. Layer more bundles on top, keeping the same layering pattern so that the cooking liquid is able to surround them all. 
• Combine the remaining 1/2 cup olive oil, the rest of the broth and the lemon juice. Pour over the stuffed grape leaves. The liquid should just about cover them. Have a cup of water handy to use if more liquid is needed before the cooking time is up. You don't want your bundles to dry up, but you also don't want them swimming in liquid.
• To keep the bundles from floating around in the liquid add a piece of parchment paper on top and weigh them down with a heatproof plate. 
• Cover the pan and simmer over "low and slow" heat for about one hour, or until the leaves are tender and most of the liquid is absorbed.
• Allow the leaves to cool until they can be handled. Remove them to a container and allow them to chill. In other words, don't let them sit in liquid because the stuffing will become mushy. Some people love grape leaves cooked with extra lemon flavour. I'd advise that you use lemon juice rather than lemon wedges. Don't allow the grape leaves to sit in liquid which has lemon slices added to it because they will absorb the bitter taste which is derived from the pith of the lemon. 
• Grape leaves stuffed with rice are served cold. 

GOUGÈRES? When you need an accompaniment for Champagne, try these Gougères!!!

I told myself to have one gougère in order to celebrate. Celebrate what? Everything! Excuse me, it's time for gougère number two. Delicious! Try these with Champagne!!! 

Gougères are savoury cheese puffs made from choux dough. They are associated with the Burgundy region of France and are served cold for wine tasting or piping hot if they're to be appetizers. And by the way, yes, these little guys make tremendously wonderful appetizers!   

In making them, I used the obligatory Gruyère cheese but also added some Parmesan for extra zing. 

It's important to beat the mixture very well in order to introduce air into it. The air (which will help to make steam), is the reason the puffs will rise while baking. Therefore, without vigorous beating, the cheese puffs will remain flat.

This recipe makes about forty cheese puffs. 


Ingredients:

1/2 cup whole milk

1/2 cup water
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

5 large eggs, at room temperature

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese 

1 1/2 cups grated Gruyère cheese

1   1 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground

EGG WASH
beat together the following:
1 egg
one tablespoon milk


Gently brush on the gougères prior to baking.

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 375° F / 180° C. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In a medium saucepan, over high heat, bring the milk, water, butter, and salt and pepper to a rapid boil. 
• Add the flour all at once, adjust the heat to low and quickly start stirring energetically with a wooden spoon. The dough will come together, and a light crust will form on the bottom of the pan. With all your vim and vigour keep stirring for another 2 to 3 minutes. Your objective is to make a dry, soft dough that pulls away from the sides of the saucepan. 
• Place the dough into the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the eggs one by one and beat, beat, beat until the dough is thick and shiny. Don't be concerned if the dough falls apart - by the time most of the eggs are added, the dough will start to come together.
• Beat in the grated cheeses and black pepper but reserve some gruyere to use on the top of the puffs. Once the dough is ready, it should be used immediately.
• Use about 1 tablespoon of dough for each gougère: drop the dough from a spoon onto the lined baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches of space between each piece of dough.
• Gently and quickly brush with the egg wash. Top each puff with a pinch of grated gruyere cheese. 
• Slide the baking sheets into the oven, bake for 15 minutes, and then rotate the sheets. Continue baking until the puffs are golden and firm, another 10 to 15 minutes. Serve hot, as soon as they come out of the oven.

Storing: You can shape the gougères and freeze them for up to 2 months before you bake them. There's no need to defrost the frozen puffs, just bake them a couple of minutes longer.

PEAR AND APPLE PHYLLO CRISP

A treat that's PERFECT FOR AUTUMN!!! Can be made vegan and/or Lent-friendly! A really nice, crunchy dessert made with phyllo dough and topped with pears, apples and cinnamon. There are some walnuts and sugar in it too. There's also butter, but if vegetable oil is used instead, the dessert becomes one hundred percent vegan and also suitable for Lent! That's one versatile recipe, isn't it? 

Delicately sweet pears and tangy apples are arranged on top of sheets of cinnamony phyllo dough. As the dessert bakes the aromas of cinnamon fill the house: scrumptious! There is no syrup here as there usually is on phyllo desserts. The flavour is unique, and with the absence of syrup, calories are fewer! Syrup does prolong the life of phyllo desserts, therefore, this delicious crisp must be consumed shortly after it's baked. 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, or a combination of both, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup plain, unseasoned breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus more for dusting
• frozen phyllo dough, thawed in the refrigerator; you will be using only ten sheets of phyllo. There are several varieties of phyllo on the market, and some brands of phylo are wider than others. The amount of butter and fruit might have to be adjusted depending on the variety purchased. 
• 1/2 stick (four tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
• 3 Seckel pears, sliced thinly; Seckel pears are perfect as they are naturally small and will look gorgeous here! No need to peel the pears 
• 2 baking apples, peeled and sliced thinly

Directions:

• Place a rack in the top position of your oven.
• Preheat the oven to 350° F. 
• Combine the walnuts, breadcrumbs, sugar and cinnamon.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and top with 1 phyllo sheet. 
• Using a pastry brush, brush the phyllo with butter;  add another phyllo sheet on top. Brush the second sheet with butter. Add a third sheet of phyllo and guess what? Brush it with butter.
• Hint: don't press down with the pastry brush. Use light, airy strokes. The lighter the brushing, the flakier the phyllo layers will turn out.
• In each of the next four phyllo layers, the nut mixture will be used, so go ahead and divide the mixture into four portions. Use one portion for each layer: 
• Add a fourth sheet and brush it with butter. Sprinkle a portion of the nut mixture on top. 
• Repeat another 3 times, buttering each phyllo layer and adding nuts.  
• Finally, top with two phyllo sheets, buttering each one. Top with the last phyllo sheet and go ahead, butter that one as well. 
• Make sure that you brush the edges of the phyllo sheets with butter so that they won't dry up during baking. The original recipe called for a lot more butter but I cut down on the amount. Too much butter is unnecessary and makes for a heavy dessert. Therefore, don't soak the phyllo with butter. If you'd like to cut some of the butter amount even further, you can substitute part or all of it with a good vegetable oil. Do not, however, use olive oil.
• Arrange the pears and apples on top of the phyllo. Brush the fruit with the remaining butter, sprinkle with sugar and dust with cinnamon.
• Bake; rotate the baking sheet halfway through baking. After 25 minutes, when the phyllo is golden brown and the fruit is soft, the dessert is ready to take out of the oven. Let cool and slice into portions.  
• The dessert should be eaten the same day; if kept longer, the phyllo will begin to lose its crispness.

This recipe has been adapted from Martha Stewart. It's a wonderful one, thanks, Martha!

GREEK SALAD or HORIATIKI SALATA with ROASTED CHICKPEAS

Eating a Greek salad is one of the best parts of summer! Simple to make and so very delicious. Just about everyone has their favourite version of Greek salad, and below you'll find the recipe for mine. I make it without lettuce and no, there is absolutely nothing wrong with lettuce! But a traditional Greek salad contains no lettuce chiefly because, unless harvested in a greenhouse or shipped from a colder weather region, lettuces don't grow during the heat of the summer months as do tomatoes and cucumbers. 

This is the rustic, country style version of Greek salad that goes on the table in every Greek household and seaside taverna. The dressing is simply olive oil and lemon, maybe a little vinegar too. There's always some dressing left at the bottom of the bowl and it absorbs the taste of the salad ingredients. In keeping with the rustic nature of this salad, a common practice is to mop up and eat the leftover dressing with pieces of freshly baked bread. This necessitates that one disavows a large measure of savoir-vivre but sometimes, who cares? It's a fun, sharing experience to break bread with one's tablemates in this way. There is even a colloquial term for the morsels dipped in an olive oil dressing: they are called papara ... 

The word "horiatiki" derives from the word "horio," which means village. Horiatiki salata can be translated as rustic style, or country style, or village style salad. Because of its rustic nature, there is no set amount of ingredients to be used. Just make sure the salad looks good! I use the following:


Ingredients:

• 2 or 3 tomatoes, sliced (sometimes I use both red and yellow tomatoes)
• 1 cucumber, peeled, sliced lengthwise then cut up into slices crosswise. Remove the seeds! It's preferable to use the English variety of cucumber because it has fewer seeds and tastes the best 
• 1 green pepper, seeded and sliced (for subtler texture and flavour you can use a sweet Italian frying pepper)
• 1/2 red onion, peeled and sliced into thin rings
• a combination of kalamata and oil-cured olives, pits removed
• feta cheese cut into cubes
• chopped parsley
• black pepper
• a small amount of salt 
• capers, rinsed
• dried oregano
• olive oil
• a bit of lemon juice
• if you are a vinegar fan, a bit of vinegar

optional: one small can of chickpeas or some homemade croutons if you have stale bread that needs to be used! A nice touch would be to roast the chickpeas, allow them to cool, then incorporate them into the salad. Same goes for the croutons. Drizzle with olive oil before placing in the oven and roast at 450°F/200°C for about 15 minutes. Keep checking so that they don't burn.

Directions for the salad:

• Arrange the sliced tomatoes and cucumber on the bottom of a nice sized salad bowl.
• Top with the peppers and capers. 
• Add the onion slices, salt if using, black pepper, oregano, parsley, and olive oil.
• Sprinkle with a bit of lemon juice and the vinegar if using, and mix.
• Once the above ingredients are mixed, add the feta and olives in a decorative pattern. Top with a bit more olive oil and oregano.
• If you made the chickpeas or croutons, make sure they have cooled and throw those on there as well!
• Before the salad is served let it sit in the refrigerator for a while. It will come out tasting refreshing, plus the aromas of the vegetables and olive oil will get a chance to mix together, creating their own unique flavour.

If you try this or any other Greek salad, I hope you really, truly enjoy it!

ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH FALL VEGETABLE SOUP PUREE

With fall around the corner, and with the weather getting a bit chilly, making soup seems just the right thing to do.  Plus, this soup is delicious!

I chopped vegetables, seasoned them and roasted them. Along with the vegetables I used two juicy Bosc pears. That was the best part! 

I purchased the butternut squashed cleaned and pre-cut. It's so much more convenient not to have to clean, trim, and slice the squash. I know that my supermarket has it available freshly pre-cut; it doesn't come into the store covered with preservatives, and that's key! 

The kitchen smelled great as the vegetables were roasting. The herbs that had been combined with them gave off a pleasant aroma. When the vegetables came out of the oven, they looked and tasted wonderful. I pureed them with some vegetable broth and made a very enjoyable chunky-creamy fall soup, one that I will make again and again. 

Ingredients:

1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1½ inch pieces, or approximately 1  1/4 pounds (635 grams) of pre-cut butternut squash. 
2 medium red potatoes, scrubbed well and quartered (leave the skin on)
1 small sweet potato peeled and chopped
2 medium yellow onions, peeled and quartered

3 carrots halved lengthwise and cut into 1½-inch pieces
2 stalks of celery chopped

2 Bosc pears, peeled, cored and quartered. 
6 cloves of garlic left unpeeled

olive oil
salt and pepper to taste (not too much pepper)

sprigs of fresh sage, thyme, and rosemary

1/4 teaspoon of turmeric
4 to 6 cups of vegetable broth

optional: some roasted pine nuts for garnish

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 400° F, 200° C.
• Line two large-rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper (makes for easy clean up) and grease the surface of the paper with olive oil. Place the vegetables on the baking sheets - don't add the pears yet - and toss the vegetables with some olive oil, salt and pepper, the leaves from thyme springs and a few branches of rosemary. 
• Roast until the vegetables are tender and beginning to brown, about 50 minutes.
• Halfway through roasting take the vegetables out of the oven, turn them over so they roast evenly, and mix in the pears. Place the vegetables back in the oven and continue cooking until done.
• In a large saucepan warm four cups of the vegetable broth along with some sage leaves. The rest of the broth can be used if the soup needs to be thinned out. 
• Squeeze the garlic cloves and remove the roasted part. Discard the garlic peels.
• Place the vegetable broth into a large saucepan and add the turmeric along with some sage leaves. 
• Carefully add the vegetables and bring the mixture to a boil. Purée the vegetables with an immersion blender.
• Taste the soup for seasoning and reheat as needed.
• You can always spruce up the soup by garnishing it with some roasted pine nuts. 

Make sure the vegetables are well caramelised.