When I saw that the theme was Greek, there was only one cookbook I picked up…..
Greek Cookery from the Hellenic Heart
Author: George Calombaris
I can often be found making a pig of myself at this restaurant, however, I have not cooked anything from the cookbook yet so I was very excited. What I really like about the book is that the dishes are the exact ones that you get served in the restaurant, so ‘hopefully’ I’m might be able to do them justice….fingers crossed.
One of my fav dishes to order is the haloumi with peppered figs, and yep, it’s in the cookbook so here it is….
Peppered Figs with Haloumi
100g dried baby figs
1 tbsp Attiki honey
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp black pepper, cracked
1 cinnamon quill
1 small bay leaf
3 cloves
Water to cover
Place figs, honey, vinegar, black pepper, cinnamon quill, bay leaf and cloves in a saucepan. Add water and bring to the boil.
Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook gently until tender. Preserve in a sterilized jar.
Note: Serve on top of grilled haloumi.
What I loved about this dish, is that even though there are a lot of sweet elements to it, the cracked black pepper really gives a strong savoury flavour, which in my opinion, makes the dish. I could eat this for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and would definitely make again!
As I continued to flick through the book, I found a really simple recipe for pickled vegetables, called Toursi. I had tones of left of veggies in my fridge, and this was the perfect way to use them all up (especially as I don’t plan to be too healthy over the Christmas holidays…hehehe)
I have to confess that I have a real soft spot for pretty much anything pickled....vegetables, onions, cucumbers, etc, etc, so my fingers are crossed that this recipe is a winner. I’ll let you know how they taste when I open them up in a couple of days....I can’t wait!
Toursi (Pickled Vegetable)
100ml Attiki honey
200ml extra virgin olive oil
600ml white wine vinegar
100g cauliflower, cut into florets
100g cabbage, cut thumb size
100g medium carrots, angle sliced
100g zucchini, angle sliced, raw
100g leek, thinly sliced, raw
25g celery, thinly sliced, raw
2 tbsp chopped coriander
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt, to taste
Mix honey, oil and vinegar until well combined. Steam cauliflower, cabbage and carrots separately until just cooked. Combine steamed cauliflower, cabbage, carrot, raw zucchini, raw leek, and raw celery. Pour pickling mixture over vegetables.
Seal into a sterilized jar and leave for two days.
To serve, drain pickled vegetables and toss with coriander, olive oil and season with salt.
Unfortunately (as you can see) I had lots of purple cabbage left over in the fridge. I'll let you know how it goes, but I have a very strong suspicion that all the vegetables are going to turn a lovely purple hue....oh well, at least it will taste the same!
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