Chicken is just one of those foods you can do so much with, whether using only the wings, the drumsticks, the breasts or the whole beast. Cooking it whole obviously takes longer and looks great, but then you have to carve it correctly, unless you’re eating it at home and simply attack it with your fingers that get stickier and stickier. My...
We are all familiar with falafels, chickpea balls or fritters that are wonderfully crispy-fried on the outside, soft on the inside, served as a main dish or in a bread as street food, often paired with pickled vegetables or coleslaw and salad and a few different sauces. Here is a version that is half spinach and just as great for vegetarians and...
Did you know that it is possible to buy a fresh ball of bread dough from your bakery ? Just simply ask for a ball of dough that weighs about 200-250 grams, the same weight as a baguette and there you go ! The idea behind this recipe is to to be able to enjoy a last minute urge and the speed of making an almost home-made pizza. Of course, we will...
A nice and tasty vegetarian and vegan version of a dish often prepared with ground beef and also mixed with rice. With this rice & herbs stuffed zucchini dish, the zucchini pulp replaces the meat and the fresh aromatic herbs give it those extra green flavours. You can also prepare this dish with bell peppers (very easy because they're already...
Bifteki is not a hamburger. Bifteki is not a steak. Bifteki it's something in between ! When I was young boy, we would always go to my uncle's diner in northern Greece, in Thessalonike, to have a wonderful bifteki ! Bifteki is a very simple beef recipe with no extra herbs or flavours. You can prepare it beforehand and keep it in the...
My next door neigbour in Paris who is originally from Beirut showed up one day at my door with these wonderful, moist, sweet coconut balls, topped with golden raisins. Usually I’m the one who is supposed to cooks stuff but her sweets were divine and as she mentioned, they were also quite easy to make so I wanted to share this recipe with...
I have a very dear friend who travels a lot and often brings me back fruit from far-and-away countries (legally of course !). This is a quick, simple, refreshing and very creamy frozen dessert that everyone should make ! Only 3 main ingredients, 1 mould for frozen desserts (or an ice-cube tray) and skewers or sticks ! In this recipe, I also tried...
This recipe is for what is called a "pound cake" in English or a "quatre-quarts" in French. Usually cmposed of 4 equal parts of eggs, sugar, dairy such as milk and butter and flour. Probably the simplest and yet most delicious and moist and honest cake you'll ever make. I always flavor mine with vanilla and sometimes also...
Melopita means honey pie in Greek. Melopita recipe is a simple cake that people in Greece were making using only 3 main ingredients such a soft neutral cheese like myzhithra in Greece, ricotta in Italy or brousse in France, eggs, honey and a few little extras for flavourings such as cinnamon and citrus zest, what could be simpler ?...
I absolutely had to find out how to make that chocolate syrup that turned into a magic hard shell chocolate coating that we loved when we were kids growing up in North America, and of course covered our ice cream with it ! The "magic" was that this chocolate syrupy liquid (at room temperature) turned into a hard chocolate coating on...
ASPARAGUS ... so weird & funny-looking ! I know I usually use filo dough pastry sheets when I bake but there are more varieties of prepared types of pastry dough out there than you expect ! Brik pastry sheets, usually used in North African countries is round, thicker and sturdier and there is no need to double it up as we do with filo...
This flatbread recipe can be made simply and with no toppings, as a snack or even as a thicker and heavier bread base for your pizza (I must admit that I often like a thick crust). I always have leftover fresh yeast when i make breads and leftover tomato sauce when I make pasta or pizza and this flatbread is perfect for them. This sun-dried tomato...
I always boil too much pasta to go along with my prepared sauce and always leave all that extra pasta on the side which just dries out the next day and is often nibbled on the next day and/or finally thrown away the day after that ! Enough with the wasting of food, you can turn this leftover pasta into a snack. All you need is for the pasta to be...
Bread is not hard to do ! Especially with a covered casserole or & dutch oven ! The concern is that the crust is often less crispy than bread from a bakery… the solution is the dutch oven and some water vapor. My recipe is relatively simple and quick to make, you just have to be patient with the time needed for the dough to rise,...
Tarama fish roe dip is usually beige or pale pink in colour when home-made or bright pink when industrially-made. The eggs that are traditionally used are either codfish or mullet fish but obviously these are much harder (and expensive) to find and buy than lumpfish eggs, whether red or black, which readily available in 100 gram jars at any...