Yiouvarlakia (meatballs in egg & lemon soup)

Posted by annauk1 on November 7, 2019
Posted in: Cypriot recipes, Family recipes, meat, mince, pork, rice, soup. Leave a comment

It’s grey and drizzly here today, perfect weather to make yiouvarlakia.

These are real comfort food for me, taking me straight back to childhood. To my Mother’s kitchen ❤️

Serves 4-5

500g minced pork

1 cup short grain or pudding rice

1 onion, puréed

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1tsp dried mint (dill is more traditional, so use that if you prefer)

Simply get stuck in! Mix all the meatball ingredients together and shape into 16 golf ball sized meatballs.

Bring 2 litres (approximately!) of chicken stock to a boil, throw in one finely chopped carrot, then turn down to a simmer.

Place the meatballs carefully into the stock and cook for 20 mins.

Slake a tbsp of cornflour with a little water, then slowly add a ladleful of the simmering stock, pour this mixture into the pot of meatballs, stirring carefully so as not to break them up.

Beat 4 eggs in a bowl, with the juice of two lemons, then as is traditional, while beating the egg and lemon mixture, carefully add 2-3 ladlefuls of the hot stock, before adding it all back into the pot.

One of my earliest cooking memories is of my mom making avgolemoni soup, carefully drizzling ladles of the hot stock into the egg and lemon ❤️

And there you have them, yiouvarlakia in egg and lemon soup. Proper comfort food for the soul.

Revythia (Chickpeas) Yiahni

Posted by annauk1 on November 7, 2019
Posted in: Cypriot recipes, Family recipes, healthy recipes, Instant Pot Recipes, Pulses, Vegan, Vegetarian. Leave a comment

Another dish which I made recently in my Instant Pot. I can’t help it. It’s my latest Greeklish Kitchen obsession! 😜

On Wednesdays and Fridays we don’t eat meat due to Religious reasons, as well as for these reasons, I believe it’s good health wise to make some meals meat-free, so this dish is perfect for those days.

Serves 3-4

First of all I soaked 250g of dried chickpeas in water, overnight.

The next day, I drained them and put in the IP, covering them with fresh water. The water should cover the chickpeas by maybe an inch…

Remember that water doesn’t evaporate much in an instant pot, and any left over water will be the basis of the sauce in this dish.

I cooked them on pressure cook setting for 30 mins. I let them pressure release naturally while I lightly browned in a little oil, 2 chopped carrots, 1 finely chopped onion, 3 sliced celery stalks and 2 potatoes cubed into 1inch pieces.

I poured over the veg a 400g tin of finely chopped tomatoes and 1 vegetable stock cube.

Pour the veg and tomatoes over the chickpeas in the IP and cook for a further 15 minutes.

Pressure release naturally.

If you don’t have an Instant Pot, simmer the chickpeas until just cooked, then add the veg and tomatoes and keep simmering until everything is beautifully tender.

This could take a considerable amount of time, depending on how old your chickpeas are, obviously the older they are the longer they take to cook.

Delicious and healthy vegan food.

Fasolaki (Or Pizeli) Yiahni

Posted by annauk1 on November 6, 2019
Posted in: Cypriot recipes, Family recipes, Instant Pot Recipes. 2 Comments

Green beans (or peas) in a tomato sauce

Probably one of the best loved Cypriot family recipes, ever.

After the recipe for keftedhes, I’m sure my kids will search for this recipe!

Hey kids, it’s your Mom. Love you. ❤️

This dish can be made with chicken portions, or with lamb chops, pork chops, or indeed with no meat at all and just potatoes and the green beans or peas.

Either in the Instant Pot, or in a large frying pan/wok, brown the meat and potatoes until golden brown.

If using the IP, pour over the meat and potatoes either a 750g bag of frozen green beans, or frozen peas, one tin of finely chopped tomatoes, one chicken stock cube, 2-3 cups of water and a little salt. Cook on pressure cook setting for 10 minutes. Release pressure in whichever way you prefer.

If not using the IP, transfer the chicken and potatoes into a large pot suitable for the hob, pour over the rest of the ingredients, bring to a boil, then simmer until the potatoes and vegetables are tender and the meat (if using) is cooked through.

Instant Pot Meat Curry

Posted by annauk1 on November 6, 2019
Posted in: curry, Instant Pot Recipes. Leave a comment

I do love my kitchen gadgets! My latest obsession being my Instant Pot – a multi cooker which seems to be all the rage and for good reason! It’s practically magic! So far, everything in it seems to cook perfectly!

For this meat curry I used the instant pot on the slow cooker setting, as I wanted the meat (beef, this time) to be melt-in-the-mouth tender….and it really was.

Various google searches kept bringing up a really easy sounding way to make the curry sauce, by simply whizzing everything up in a blender, pouring it over the raw, cubed meat in the IP and letting it slow cook for 8 hours.

Now this goes against how I usually make curry, which usually begins by frying off the chopped onions, garlic and ginger, but hey ho, you only live once right?!

It worked really well!! It was tasty, with a lovely thick sauce and the meat…oh, the meat. Absolutely melting.

Give it a go, you won’t be disappointed!

Serves 4

800g (2 packs) lean meat (beef or lamb

1 LG onion, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, puréed

2inch piece of ginger, peeled and puréed

1tbsp ground cumin

1tbsp ground coriander

1tbsp ground turmeric

1, 400g tin finely chopped tomatoes

1tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1tsp sugar

1 beef stock cube

Crushed chilli flakes to taste (half-one tsp)

1 cup hot water

1tbsp Garam Masala.

Method:

Simply whizz up the onion, tomatoes, garlic, ginger and spices (except for the Garam Masala) in a blender, pour over the meat cubes which you have put in the bottom of the IP.

Add the Worcestershire sauce, chilli flakes, sugar, hot water and stock cube.

Give it a good old stir. Place the lid on the IP and set to slow cook for 8 hours.

Half an hour before the curry is ready, add the Garam Masala and a small (30g) bunch of chopped fresh coriander.

Replace the lid and cook until the timer goes off (8 hours in total)

Such a little bit of work, for a huge return!I love my Instant Pot. 😍

Can you see my dog in the photograph lurking around? If there’s food, she’s there! 😂

The 40 day Vegan: Cypriot olive cake (Nistisimi Eliopitta)

Posted by annauk1 on November 18, 2018
Posted in: Baking, Cypriot recipes, Family recipes, Fasting recipes (Nistisima), Vegan, Vegetarian. Tagged: , , , . 4 Comments

I’ve never fasted before for Christmas, but sometimes it just feels right, you know? When I say fast, I’m following the Greek Orthodox nativity fast, which basically consists of me following a vegan diet until Christmas, with fish allowed on certain days, but no meat or dairy (milk, cheese, eggs, butter etc)

Now, I’ve made this savoury olive cake many times before, it’s one of my absolute favourites! But never a vegan version!

I used a powdered egg replacer instead of the four eggs and a tin of evaporated coconut milk (I didn’t even know this was a thing, so was thrilled when I found it while doing my online Ocado shop!) in place of the tin of evaporated ‘normal’ milk

It worked perfectly! And will make a welcome snack at any time of the day

Do let me know if you try either the original version or the vegan version  Cypriot olive cake

C5722F01-136A-44B4-B4F4-CFAEBD09C875

An apology:

Posted by annauk1 on May 17, 2017
Posted in: Life. 13 Comments

Life has a habit of getting in the way of blogging.

Since we last spoke, I’ve become Grandmother to a beautiful baby boy and been through Some difficult health issues.

Needless to say, updating my blog wasn’t top of my list, so forgive me if you have commented, or asked me questions pertaining to my blog posts and I’ve not replied. I’m sure you can see why.

I am, still, immensely proud of this blog. I’ve always stated that the reason I began it was so that my children would always have somewhere to refer to, in order to find my family’s Cypriot recipes and for some reason this is even more important to me now ❤️

Who knows know, maybe my Grandson will do the same.

Wishing you all health and happiness.

And love. Because after all, that’s what it’s ALL about  ❤️ED0A5853-8D32-4EAD-BBD6-19177A3DBE86

Slow Cooker Pizza

Posted by annauk1 on February 24, 2016
Posted in: easy, slow cooker. 2 Comments

Yep. Slow cooker pizza.

It’s actually a thing. Let that sink in for a minute. 🙂

its easy, fuss-free and delicious. What’s not to like.

 

You’re going to need:

1 pk ready made pizza dough (440g)

enough chopped tomatoes (I used tinned) to cover the bottom.

1 ball of mozzarella, sliced.

Grated cheddar cheese and whatever pizza toppings you like onion, sweet corn, ham, pepperoni, olives……anything goes!

except for pineapple. I draw the line at pineapple. 😉

  1. Spray the inside of the slow cooker (mine is quite a large one- 5.6 litre) with oil, lightly.
  2. Spread both balls of dough over the base, using your fingers, go right to the edge.
  3.  Top with whatever toppings your heart desires and cook on high for 2- 2.5 hours, or until the sides look like they are browning and the cheeses have melted.

4. Enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy.

image

Mmmmm. 

 

A Trio of Fishy Dishes. 

Posted by annauk1 on March 23, 2015
Posted in: Cypriot recipes, fish. Tagged: , , , . 8 Comments

Having the family round for Sunday dinner is one of life’s great joys! It warms my heart to cook for them and have them around my table chatting and laughing together. 

The typical Cypriot family doesn’t really ‘do’ formal three-course dinners. No measured amounts for us….more a meal served ‘family style’, with dishes served in large serving bowls, or platters, passed around the table for appreciative appetites to share. 

Don’t fancy this one? Let it pass you by…want more of another dish? Help yourself, that’s the idea. 

Yesterday I had the family round for my daughter’s belated birthday party. The first Sunday in March that we were all free. It was great – my parents, children, daughter-in-law, brother with his son, old family friends that we grew up with, free flowing wine, giggles, chat…..perfect. ❤️

Along with the typical Cypriot dishes- keftedhes, pasticho, kleftiko, we had some rather more unusual fishy dishes, which I’d like to share here with you….

Crab Salad (Kavourosalata)

(Makes enough for 1 serving bowl)

3 dressed crabs (white and brown meat)

1 very finely chopped onion

1 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley

Olive oil, salt and lemon juice to taste. 

Mix the crab, onion and parsley, add salt, olive oil and lemon juice to taste. 

  

Squid stuffed with rice, prawn and chorizo. 

(Makes between 35-40 tiny stuffed squid..Allow 5-6 per person if serving as a main course)

35-40 small (3-4 inch) cleaned squid tubes

2 cups cooked rice

2 small chorizo cooking sausages, finely chopped

1 small onion, finely chopped

200g small prawns, chopped 

3 pepper (bell pepper) halves- red, yellow, green 

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 knob of butter (1tbsp)

1. Heat the butter in a small pan, add the garlic and onion and sweat for a few minutes. 

2. Add the chopped chorizo and the peppers and cook for a few minutes until the chorizo is cooked through. 

3. Add the cooked rice and finally the prawns. Season with salt and pepper. 

4.  Allow the mixture to cool enough to handle. Stuff the squid tubes and place in a baking tray, snugly. 

5. Sprinkle with olive oil (2-3 tbsp) and a few glugs of white wine. 

6.  Cook at 180 deg.C for 20 minutes. 

(Thankyou to my friend Regan, for her help with this recipe) 

  

Crevettes in a cream, garlic and tomato sauce topped with Fetta. 

18-20 large Crevettes (large shell-on prawns)

1 large knob butter (2-3tbsp)

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

400g sieved tomato pasatta. 

4 tbsp double cream

1tsp sugar

1 block of Greek Fetta cheese. 

1. Heat the butter, add the garlic and stir. 

2. Stir in the pasatta, cream and sugar. 

3. Lay the Crevettes, single layer, in a baking tray. Cover with the tomato cream sauce. Top with crumbled Fetta cheese. 

4. Cook in a 180 deg.C oven for 20 minutes. 

  

Enjoy with your loved ones. 

And enjoy spoiling them. 

Making my own Coconut Butter (and the recipe that ensues)

Posted by annauk1 on January 17, 2015
Posted in: Baking, Breakfast, healthy recipes, Oats. Tagged: , , , , . 11 Comments

2015/01/img_7719.jpg

The idea of making my own coconut butter came about from chatting with my lovely friend Eleanor. She’s a bit of a food and gym addict much like me, so as soon as we get together these topics are top of the conversation list! Along with talking about weights, protein powders, weight loss…..:) coconut butter came up in the conversation…

“Why don’t you make your own” Eleanor said.

Why, indeed. 😀

Googling reveals a myriad of ways to make your own coconut butter. The quickest and easiest being to use a high powered blending machine.

Enter, my nutribullet. 🙂

I am not joking you, I used (most of) a packet of toasted coconut flakes, with no-added sugar from the health food shop and it took me about 60 seconds, no exaggeration, to end up with this amazing, creamy coloured coconut butter.

And you know how it is, googling throws up a zillion awesome-sounding recipes which use said coconut butter….

Baked coconut oatmeal topped with (no-added-sugar) chocolate chips.

For breakfast?

Oh. My. God. I’ve died and gone to heaven.

2015/01/img_7721.jpg

2015/01/img_7723.jpg

Recipe from one of my favourite blogs ‘Chocolate Covered Katie’.

Marks out of ten? 8

Would I make it again? Definitely. I’m already thinking of variations! 🙂

Would I do anything differently? I think I’d use twice as much milk (1/2 a cup instead of 1/4) to see if this helps the oatmeal stay creamier.

Thank you, Katie, for a lovely recipe.

2015/01/img_7722.jpg

2015/01/img_77181.jpg

Another outing for the Slow Cooker

Posted by annauk1 on November 18, 2014
Posted in: easy, Family recipes, pork, slow cooker. Tagged: , , . 6 Comments

Dr. Pepper Pulled pork.

You know it makes sense 😉

I need to get this recipe down, because I know my girls will ask for it again and I’ve got to remember what I did, it was just scrummy! 😀

IMG_3811.JPG

IMG_3812.JPG

Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork
Inspired by a recipe in my favourite slow cooker book of the year – ‘Slow Cooked’ by Miss South.

Makes enough filling for 12-16 rolls.

1.5kg pork joint. Boneless. Leg or shoulder.
3 onions, sliced
1, 330ml can of Dr. Pepper
1/2 cup of tomato ketchup
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3 tbsp Soy sauce
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 heaped tbsp cornflour.

1. Place the pork joint in the slow cooker, on top of the sliced onions

2. Pour over the Dr. Pepper.

3. Add the next four ingredients and give it a good stir.

4. Cook on high for 5hrs.

5. Remove pork from slow cooker, remove skin and any fat and shred the meat, using two forks.
Place back into slow cooker.

6. Slake cornflour in a little water, add to slow cooker, stirring all the while.

7. Cover and cook for a further hour.

8. Serve in soft bread rolls with creamy coleslaw.

9. Wait for the praise to roll in.

It will. 😀