Food and Wine

Getting some Christmas shopping done.

Ingredients:

1 10 by 10 inch puff pastry sheet

A bit of flour for dusting your board. This step is optional but helpful

⅓ cup grated mozzarella

100 grams feta

1 egg

¾ cup of frozen thawed spinach (squeeze the water out)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).

Thaw your puff pastry as per the package instructions and dust your board, counter, or to save time you can do this straight onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper too.

Place the puff pastry on top and fold all the edges about a quarter inch towards the middle.

Take a fork and dip it in flour and crimp the edges all around. In a separate bowl whisk one egg with a little bit of water and brush it all around the border.

To make the filling add the mozzarella, egg, feta, and spinach into a separate bowl and mix it together. Add the filling to the middle of your pastry and spread it in the middle within the square with a spoon.

Bake at 400F (200°C) for 20-25 minutes or until golden.

*Optionally broil for 1 minute on top but watch it the whole time.

Note: I docked my pastry before baking it. The steam needs to escape from somewhere while your puff pastry is in the oven.

Reference

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

150 g almond slivers

3/4 cup sunflower oil

1 cup semolina, coarse

1 cup semolina, fine

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cloves

3 cups granulated sugar

4 cups water

orange zest, of 3 oranges

Execution:

Preheat the oven to 180° C (356° F) and set it to fan.

Toast the almond slivers in a shallow baking pan lined with parchment paper for 5-8 minutes.

In a non-stick pot sauté the vegetable oil with fine and coarse semolina, over medium-low heat.

Stir the mixture continuously for about 4-5 minutes, until the semolina becomes golden brown. Do not rush this process since semolina gets burnt easily.

Add brown sugar, water, orange zest, cinnamon, and cloves when ready.

Stir for another 10 minutes until the mixture thickens and starts to bubble. You will know it is ready when it starts pulling away from the pan's bottom.

Add the almonds and stir.

Transfer the mixture into a 22-cm halva mold and press it into the pan to give your halva a nice shape. You can gently hit the cake pan on a hard surface to ensure the mixture settles, no gaps are left.

Turn it out after 5 minutes.

Halva can be eaten warm or cold. Serve it with strained Greek yogurt or ice cream, and sprinkle some cinnamon, orange zest, and mint leaves.

Note: I always let my halva cool down completely before turning it out.

Note: I made halva according to my liking so I didn't add almond slivers and orange zest but if you like them, you can include them.

Note: Apart from almond slivers, you can add raisins or pistachios, or both! I believe that halva is a rather versatile dessert so you can always make it to your liking without missing out on its awesome flavor.

Note: I used a cake mold instead of an halva mold. I don't think that the mold matters that much.

Reference

Enjoy!

Giouvarlakia is a Greek meatball soup that is finished off with avgolemono — a tangy lemon and egg sauce. It’s a simple, hearty recipe that is traditionally served in the colder months.

Ingredients:

For the meatballs:

500 grams of beef mince, (ground beef) (see note 1)

1 onion, finely chopped

¼ cup parsley, finely chopped (see note 2)

1 egg

60 grams of rice, medium grain (see note 3)

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

2 liters water

1 stock cube, (see note 4)

1 tablespoon salt

For the avgolemono:

2 eggs, preferably room temperature

juice of 1 lemon

Instructions:

Place the mince in a large bowl. Add the onions, parsley, egg, rice, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, salt and pepper.

Using your hands knead the mixture until everything is well combined.

Take one tablespoon of the mix, roll it into a ball and place it on a lined baking tray. Repeat with the remainder of the mixture until you end up with 20 meatballs. Place in the fridge to rest for 15 mins.

Heat the water until it comes to a boil. Add the meatballs, stock cube, stir and bring to the boil. Turn down to medium-low heat, season with salt and cook for approx. 45 mins. The rice should have swelled, and you will end up with a flavourful broth.

To make the avgolemono, beat the eggs with the lemon juice in a bowl. Slowly add one ladle of the stock mixture and whisk until well combined. Repeat this step 5 more times. Add the avgolemono to the giouvarlakia (off the heat), stir, and allow the soup to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Notes:

1. You can use a combination of beef and pork mince as well

2. You may like to add one tablespoon of finely chopped dill

3. Long-grain rice works great as well

4. You can use stock powder instead if you prefer. Or you can use chicken/beef/veal stock. If you find it's a little rich use half water and half stock.

5. After shaping the meatballs you can roll them in flour, dust off the excess flour, and rest them in the fridge. This produces a thicker soup.

6. To make a more "traditional" avgolemono you need to separate the eggs. With a hand mixer beat your whites until they are just frothy and thick (do not make meringues!). With the hand mixer still running on low - add the yolks back to the mixture and very slowly add a ladle of the stock to the mix. (Add 5 more ladles of stock -one by one). You will end up with a very thick avgolemono. Add this to the soup (off the heat) stir, and allow the soup to rest for 10 mins before serving.

Reference

For me it's pic related. Fairly cheap wine from my chunk of the Southern Cone; I pay the equivalent of two and half euros/dollars for it. And yet it's so good - fruity, but not sweet. It rolls so well on the tongue. Perfect with some head cheese or salami.

The grape is locally known as "Bordô" or "Terci" but you'll find better info about it by its posh name "Ives Noir". Annoying grape; not as much as Pinot Noir (aka The Devil's Grape), but it's rather sensitive.

The other day I wanted to try something new, so I asked ChatGPT to design an asian-inspired meal using fish and Tofu as the main proteins. Here is what it came back with:

*Certainly! Here's an Asian-inspired meal idea featuring fish and tofu as the main proteins:

Main Dish: Teriyaki Glazed Salmon with Tofu Stir-Fry

Ingredients:

4 oz salmon fillet
4 oz firm tofu, cubed
2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce (store-bought or homemade)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 cup broccoli florets
1 carrot, julienned
Optional garnish: sliced green onions and sesame seeds

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Place the salmon fillet on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush the salmon with teriyaki sauce, coating it evenly. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the salmon is cooked through and flakes easily with a fork.

While the salmon is baking, prepare the tofu stir-fry. In a small bowl, mix together the soy sauce and sesame oil.

Heat the vegetable oil in a large pan or wok over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and sliced onion, and sauté for 2-3 minutes until the onion becomes translucent.

Add the bell pepper, broccoli florets, and julienned carrot to the pan. Stir-fry for 5-6 minutes or until the vegetables are crisp-tender.

Push the vegetables to one side of the pan and add the cubed tofu to the other side. Pour the soy sauce and sesame oil mixture over the tofu and stir gently to coat. Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, allowing the tofu to heat through.

Remove the salmon from the oven and serve alongside the tofu stir-fry. Garnish with sliced green onions and sesame seeds if desired.

This meal combines the savory flavors of teriyaki-glazed salmon with a colorful and nutritious tofu stir-fry. It offers a good balance of protein, healthy fats, and vegetables. Feel free to adjust the seasoning and ingredients based on your preferences.

Enjoy your Asian-inspired dinner!*

This meal was delicious! I did make a few adjustments to the recipe though. For the fish, I let it marinate in the teriyaki sauce for a few hours, and for the tofu, I squeezed it and marinated it in the stir fry sauce as well. Looking back I think I would have liked to also add peanut sauce and sriracha to the stir-fry, but it was good without it too!

I found this article about cooking with spices. I love using spices in my cooking, but sometimes it can be hard to tell what to use and how to use it! Hopefully you can find a helpful tip in here as well.

The easiest and most delicious cheesecake recipe I have ever executed.

I made it (cover image) for the 4th or 5th time yesterday and I am going to make it again soon!

Ingredients:

250gr cream cheese

50gr sugar

3 eggs

120gr heavy cream

10gr all-purpose flour

Execution:

In a big bowl mix the cream cheese and sugar together till combined.

Add the eggs. One at a time, and mix before adding the next till combined.

Add the heavy cream and mix till combined.

Last but not least, add the flour and mix till combined.

Put a piece of parchment paper in a round tin or a round disposable cake pan. Pour the mixture in and bake it in a preheated oven at 220°C for 25 to 30 minutes.

Time depends on your oven. It may take more in some cases.

Once baked, let it cool down completely and put it in the fridge for up to 6 hours or overnight.

Enjoy!!

Note: Basque cheesecake should be jiggly once baked so don’t be alarmed.

Note: My recipe is a bit different than the one in the reference video. The only difference is that I didn’t add one egg yolk, I added the whole egg. I noticed that the cheesecake becomes smoother and softer that way.

Reference: Basque Cheesecake

I found this post on a different instance and decided it would fit here as a first post. It seems to be a collection of vegan recipes centered around easy to prepare meals and breads! As someone who is trying to eat less meat I'm sure I'll be able to put this website to good use!

NOTE: Although this is the first post and it is vegan, this is not strictly a vegan or vegetarian community. We appreciate all food from all walks of life. If you have something similar to this page, please share it!

Welcome to the Food and Wine community! We look forward to learning tips, sharing recipes, and creating good times with each other. Feel free to post anything food or drink related, and have fun!