CHICKEN WITH HARISSA served with COUSCOUS, BABY SPINACH & ROAST RED PEPPER SALAD

This is my new favourite at the moment! The Greek guy loves it too - even though he is still trying to stay away from carbs, he is happy to eat a bit of couscous in a salad. Click on 'harissa paste' and go straight to my homemade recipe for it...

• 8 x boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 2 x tblspns ILIADA Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 x tblspns harissa paste
• 1 x tblspn honey
• 4 x tblspns lemon juice
• 1 x tsp ground cumin
• 1 x tsp ground coriander
• 1 x tsp paprika
• S & P

Mix olive oil, harissa, honey, lemon juice, cumin, coriander and paprika. Pour the marinade over the chicken pieces, massage well and leave to marinate for a couple of hours in the fridge. Place marinated chicken pieces in a single layer in a baking dish, season well with salt and ground black pepper, cover with foil and bake in a pre-heated oven @ 200oC for 20 minutes. Remove foil and return to oven to bake for a further 15 - 20 minutes, until chicken has a lovely colour and cooked through. 
Remove from oven and leave to rest 5 - 10 minutes.

COUSCOUS, BABY SPINACH & ROAST RED PEPPER SALAD

• 200g couscous
• 250ml boiling water
• 100 g baby spinach leaves, cut into strips
• 1 x Makedoniki Roast Red Pepper, sliced into strips
• 2 x spring onions, chopped finely
• handful fresh mint leaves, chopped finely
• handful of crumbled Dodoni feta
• handful of sliced almonds

Place couscous in a bowl, pour boiling water over, cover and leave to absorb for 10 - 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
Place spinach leaves, roast red pepper, spring onions and mint leaves in a serving bowl. Add cooled couscous and mix everything gently with your fingers. Just before serving, pour over the dressing, toss lightly, crumble the feta and scatter the almonds on top. Best served at room temperature.
This is my absolute favourite salad at the moment!!!   Mmm mmm

Dressing

• 2 x tblspn ILIADA Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 x tblspn lemon juice
• zest of 1/2 lemon
• 1 x clove garlic crushed
• salt & freshly ground black pepper

Place all ingredients in a screw top jar and shake well until thoroughly mixed.

HARISSA (Hot Chilli Paste)

I used stored bought harissa the other day - it was unbelievably hot!!! Way too hot for us to eat, so I decided to make my own (and way cheaper too)

• 100g dried whole red chillies  
• 1 x tblspn dried mint
  
• 1 x tblspn ground coriander
• 1 x tblspn ground cumin
• 1 x tblspn ground caraway seeds
• 5 x garlic cloves chopped
• pinch of salt
• 1/3 - 1/2 cup ILIADA Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Remove the stems from the chillies, roughly chop the chillies and place in a bowl, cover with boiling water and soak for about an hour.
Drain, then place chillies in a small food processor along with the spices, garlic and salt. Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and process everything for 15 seconds, scrape down the bowl and process again. Add the rest of the olive oil and process until the paste reaches a chunky consistency. 
Put paste in a sterilised jar, cover with a thin layer of olive oil and store in the fridge for up to 6 months. 

FUDGE CAKE

This is my mothers recipe...in fact the original recipe in my battered old cookbook asks for 1/4 lb of butter! And I recall as a child a large tin of 'broken biscuits' in the cupboard which she more than likely used to make this with. An absolute must have for my daughters birthday parties when they were growing up too...

• 125g butter (1/4 lb!!!)
• 1 tblspn cocoa
• 2 tblspn milk
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 x packet super wine biscuits
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped assortment of dried apricots/dates/walnuts (whatever you have in the pantry)

Melt the butter, cocoa, milk and sugar,stirring in a small saucepan until all combined.
Process the biscuits in a food processor until almost breadcrumby, but don't worry if there are a few larger pieces. 

Place in a bowl with the chopped apricots etc and pour melted mixture in. Mix until combined and press into a cake tin, put in fridge to cool. Ice with chocolate icing, cut into squares and serve.

Lasts well refrigerated but it doesn't usually last longer than 2 days before it is all eaten (especially when the Greek guy has never tasted it before and keeps having to have 'one more piece'!!!

GREEN OLIVE SCROLLS

Nothing could be easier than these pastry scrolls! They can be filled with a variety of spreads - Roast Red Pepper Pesto and Green Olive Pesto are just as delicious. If you are making them with pesto, sprinkle a small handful of grated parmesan on top of the pesto before rolling up the pastry. I have made so many of these scrolls over the years, always a firm favourite! Made trays and trays and trays for my girls' 21st birthdays.

• 1/2 cup pitted green olives, coarsley chopped
• 1/3 cup cream cheese
• 1/2 cup feta crumbled
  
• 2 x frozen puff pastry sheet squares 

Take puff pastry out of the freezer and leave to defrost while you prepare the filling.

Place the olives, cream cheese and feta in a bowl and mix well. Spread the filling all over the sheets. Roll up the pastry from one side until it comes to the middle, then roll opposite side to meet it, brush with a little water so they stick together. Cut into .5 cm slices and place side down on baking tray. Easily prepared ahead of time - refrigerate until you are ready to put them in the oven.

Bake in pre-heated oven @ 200oC for 10 -15 minutes until golden. Serve immediately. Yum!!!

GREEN OLIVE PESTO

I love green olives and have been going a bit mad lately with them! With the addition of green olives, this recipe is a nice change to a traditional 'basil' pesto. Serve tossed through hot pasta, spread on bruschetta, toast, sandwiches, thinned and drizzled on poached eggs... delissimo...

• 1/2 cup pitted green olives
• 1 handful fresh basil leaves
• 3 tblspns pinenuts (lightly toasted in a dry pan)
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 clove garlic crushed
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 grated parmesan cheese

Throw everything in a small food processor and process until combined.
Nothing easier!
Store in the fridge for one week, or freeze for up to 3 weeks.

ONE POT CHILLI

I love Sundays when I have plenty of time to make meals that take a little longer to cook. We had a wet Sunday recently so I made the most of it! I made this chilli, froze half and had the other half the next night when the flavours had really developed. Then when I have a busy day I can go straight to the freezer and voila - a delicious 'frozen'meal (and not from the supermarket!!!) Nice too in a hollowed out baked potato heated in the oven with lots of cheese on top. Mm mmm and so easy.

• 500g beef mince
• 1 x chorizo sausage chopped
• 1/2 - 1 tspn chilli flakes
• 1 tspn dried oregano
• 1 tspn smoked paprika
• 1 tspn ground cumin
• dash cayenne
• ILIADA Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 x 420g can diced tomatoes
• 1 x 420g can red kidney beans
• 1 x 420g can chilli beans
• 1 x large red onion finely chopped
• 1 x clove garlic crushed
• 2 x tblspn tomato paste
• 1 x tblspn worcestershire sauce
• 1 tspn salt

Heat a good splash of olive oil in a heavy based pan, add the beef, chorizo, chilli flakes, oregano, smoked paprika, cumin and cayenne. Break up mince with a fork, then cook everything until lightly browned.

Add all the rest of the ingredients to the pan, plus a tin of water. Mix until combined. Simmer covered on low heat or bake in oven @ 150oC for 1 - 1/12 hours . Stir from time to time and add more water if necessary.

Serve with rice, pasta, corn chips and grated cheese, in a wrap or taco shell, whatever you fancy! Nice with a dollop of sour cream, natural yoghurt or guacamole.

PANZANELLA

This is my version of an Italian Panzanella salad - some recipes call for sliced red onion and capsicum also, feel free to add if you want... but I just made it today with the ingredients I had! Dress the salad up to an hour before serving to let all the flavours soak into the bread. Also fab with pieces of left over roast chicken or torn mozzarella pieces mixed through.

• Tomatoes
• Telegraph cucumber
• ILIADA Kalamata Olives
• Stale ciabatta or french stick  
• ILIADA Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Messino red wine vinegar
• S & P
• 1/2 clove garlic crushed
• Fresh basil leaves to serve

Cut tomatoes into quarters and place into a salad bowl. 
Peel the cucumber, cut lengthways, and remove the seeds with a teaspoon. Cut the cucumber into 1 cm slices and add to the tomatoes. Throw in a handful of olives and toss to mix.

Heat a small pool of olive oil in a pan on medium high, and while it heats cut the stale bread roughly into 1cm cubes. Toss the cubes in the heated olive oil and fry until golden all over. Leave to cool then scatter them over the tomatoes, cucumber and olives.
Mix 4 TBLSPN olive oil, 1 TBLSPN red wine vinegar, pinch of salt, a few grounds of black pepper and garlic in a screw top jar, dress and toss through the salad. Leave to sit covered at room temperature for up to an hour (don't refrigerate)
Scatter with a few basil leaves to serve.
Delissimo!

ROAST PUMPKIN, GREEN BEAN & HALLOUMI SALAD

A fabulous combination of flavours and so easy to make...lucky for me the Greek guy doesn't like pumpkin so when I make it I have it all to myself on his pork chop night (And not 'Greek' at all, but uses some ingredients you can find at our shop)

• 1/3 of a whole pumpkin
• Fresh green beans - a good handful
• ILIADA Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• S & P
• Halloumi  195g
• Kalamata Papadimitriou Balsamic Cream

Peel and de-seed pumpkin, cut into 1cm cubes, place in a roasting pan and drizzle all over with olive oil and season well with salt and ground black pepper. Toss to coat. Roast @ 180o C for 15 - 20 minutes, or until golden and cooked through. Leave to cool.

Meanwhile steam the green beans until cooked to your liking, drain and leave to cool also.
Place cooked pumpkin and beans into a serving bowl.Cut the halloumi into fingers and fry in olive oil or coat in flour, egg and breadcrumbs and fry until golden.
Arrange cooked halloumi on top of the pumpkin and beans, drizzle with more olive oil and a lovely swirl of the balsamic cream.

Mm mmm

LAMB BAKED WITH ORZO (YIOUVETSI)

Another one of the Greek guys recipes - absolute comfort food on a plate! 
In Greece,a special clay pot called a yiouvetsi is used to make this dish, hence the name.

• 1 kg lamb bbq/stewing chops,trimmed of fat and cut in half
• 1/3 cup ILIADA Extra Virgin Olive Oil 
• 2 x 400g tinned tomatoes pureed 
• 1 cup water
• 4 garlic cloves,crushed 
• 1/2 tspn sugar
• 500g orzo
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup grated Kefalograviera or Parmesan cheese

Heat the oil in a large pan.
Add the meat and cook over medium heat, turning occasionally, for 8-10 minutes, until lightly browned all over.
Add the pureed tomatoes, 1 cup of water, garlic and sugar,season well with salt and lots of pepper. Cover and simmer on low heat for about 1 hour. 
Scatter the uncooked orzo over the base of a large greased ovenproof dish. 
Place the pieces of lamb on top of the orzo. Add 3 cups boiling water to the tomato sauce, mix well and and pour over the lamb and orzo.
Cover the dish with tin foil and bake at 180o C for 1 hour. Check from time to time and add more water if necessary if it starts to dry out. In the last 10 minutes of cooking time, remove the tinfoil and sprinkle all over with the grated cheese.
Return to the oven and bake, until cheese has melted. The liquid should almost have all been absorbed and the pasta al dente.
Serve with a simple salad like maroulasalata. 

Mm mmm, kali orexi!

You can also use beef,pork or chicken instead of the lamb.

POOR MANS SUSHI

An ab fab friend of mine who I have known since kindergarten introduced this to me several years ago (Linda you know who you are x) and it became an absolute favourite of my daughters and I. Don't know why it is called Poor Mans Sushi, but we just call it PMS! 
Luckily for me the night I made it recently, the Greek guy a. is off carbs, so no rice, b. hates raw fish, avocado and soy sauce...so I got to enjoy it all to myself with loads of leftovers for lunch the next day. (he had a pork chop and salad night - no surprises there)

Cook 1 cup sushi rice in the microwave with 1 ¾ cup cold water – cook on high for 10 minutes, stir about half way through.
Once it’s cooked, stir in about 5 - 6 tblspns of sushi vinegar and mix well. Leave to cool slightly. This amount of rice is enough to cover 3 sheets of nori.

Choose to use what you like from the following

• finely sliced fresh salmon or tuna
• smoked salmon
• tinned tuna 
• shredded cooked chicken mixed with a little teriyaki sauce
• slices of avocado
• thinly sliced red capsicum
• thinly sliced Lebanese cucumber (or telegraph)
• thinly sliced sticks of carrot
• sushi mayonnaise (to die for)
• pickled ginger

• nori (seaweed sheets)
• soy sauce
• wasabi

To assemble, place a third of the warm rice onto one seaweed sheet and spread it out with the back of a spoon. Place your fish or chicken in a line about one third of the way up the sheet, top with any of the vegetables, then a generous amount of the mayo. Roll up as firmly as you can, cut in half or smaller if you like, dip in sauces and enjoy.

FALAFEL

A delicious vegetarian meal I love to make! But you just have to think ahead a day or two in order have time to soak the chickpeas. It is definitely worth the effort - canned chick peas just don't turn out the same for me! Serve with tzatziki, tahini, fresh tomatoes and coriander

• 500g dried chickpeas
• 1 x red onion finely diced
• 2 - 3 cloves garlic crushed
• 1 tspn salt
• a few grinds of black pepper
• 1 tspn cumin
• good pinch red pepper flakes
• 1/3 cup parsley finely chopped
• approx 1/4 cup plain flour

Soak chickpeas overnight in cold water. Drain and add to a saucepan with some fresh water, bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 1 - 2 hours until they are easy to mash with your fingers. Drain.
Throw everything except the flour into a food processor and pulse until chunky (not pureed) Transfer to a large bowl and gradually add the flour, mixing with your hands, to form a firm dough. Wrap the dough in greaseproof paper and leave in fridge for about an hour (it is worthwhile doing this otherwise the falafel patties can fall apart when you fry them)
Make walnut sized balls of the dough, flatten slightly in your hands and fry in a small pool of preheated ILIADA Extra Virgin Olive Oil on medium/high heat until golden - about 3 minutes each side...
Delish

FRIED HALLOUMI

Absolutely loving this at the moment - but who can seriously resist fried cheese? Serve on a bed of salad leaves and you won't feel so guilty...

195g Axelos Halloumi
flour
1 x beaten egg
panko breadcrumbs
ILIADA Extra Virgin Olive Oil
fresh mint and lemon to serve

Slice the Halloumi into 'fingers', cover with a fine dusting of flour, dip in egg then roll in the breadcrumbs.

Heat a small pool of olive oil to medium high heat and fry the fingers a couple of minutes each side until golden and crispy.

Best served on a bed of salad leaves with chopped fresh mint and a squeeze of lemon.

Delissimo

TZATZIKI (pronounced ja-jee-ki)

This is one of the most popular dips in Greece! Of course in Greece they don't need to strain the yoghurt because theirs is the 'real deal' - not like some watery versions we get in the supermarkets here in NZ. By straining the watery liquid out of the yoghurt, the end result is thicker and more like the traditional Greek tzatziki. Mm mmm

• 500g Greek style yoghurt
• 1 x grated unpeeled telegraph cucumber
• 2 cloves garlic crushed (or more if you like it quite garlicky)
• 1/4 tspn salt
• 3 - 4 tblspn ILIADA Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 x tblspn finely chopped fresh dill 

Strain the yoghurt through a clean tea towel in a sieve for about an hour.
Trim the ends off the cucumber and grate, lightly squeezing any excess water.
Then place all ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Refrigerate for a while before serving to allow the flavours to develop.
Serve with an extra sprinkle of fresh dill and some drops of olive oil.
Fabulous with souvlaki, keftedakia, roast lamb, pork chops, barbecued calamari, as a dip or just by the spoonful...
Kali Orexi!!!

LETTUCE & DILL SALAD - MAROULOSALATA

An unbelieveably simple green salad that the Greek guy introduced to me - it is fabulous served alongside practically anything! (And I thought they only eat Greek salad!!!)

• 1 large romaine or cos lettuce
• 3 - 4 spring onions, finely chopped 
• 2 tblspns finely chopped fresh dill
• oil lemon dressing 

Wash lettuce after removing outer leaves. Cut remaining lettuce into very thin strips and place into a salad bowl along with the spring onions and dill. Toss to combine. Refrigerate until ready to serve and just before serving pour the dressing over and toss gently.

Oil lemon dressing - Ladolemono

• 2 tblspn Iliada Extra Virgin Olive Oil 
• 1 tblspn lemon juice
• S & P

Put all ingredients into a screw-top jar, fasten lid and shake until thoroughly blended

GROUND MEAT SAUCE - SALTSA ME KIMA

(Greek version of  'Bolognese' Sauce or as my family calls it 'Spag Bol!)

Incredibly easy - no dried herbs or anything out of the ordinary - the real flavour comes with the good quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil, lots of pepper and the time spent simmering to reduce the sauce.

• 1/4 - 1/3 cup ILIADA extra virgin olive oil
• 1 x red onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 500g beef mince
• 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• pinch of sugar 
• 1 x tblspn Messino Red Wine vinegar
• salt and a lot of pepper 
• finely chopped parsley to serve

Heat the oil in a large pan and add the onion and garlic and stir over low heat until softened, for about 5 minutes.

Add the mince, increase the heat to medium high and cook, breaking up the meat with a fork, for about 15 minutes. Add the tomatoes, sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper and stir well, cover and reduce the heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally for about 1 hour. Remove the lid for the last 10 minutes and simmer to allow the sauce to reduce even further.

Belissimo served with spaghetti, sprinkled with chopped fresh Italian parsley and some Italian parmesan or Greek Kefalograviera!