Finnochio!

Moncef, my spoon, just loves raw fresh Fennel, me I like it roasted with oil and garlic, cooking it seems to give it a less intense flavor, which personally I prefer. Since it was Val Day yesterday, I thought it appropriate to make something different and exotic (somewhat) with Fennel in hand and some nice local shrimp this delicious dish satisfied our valentine urges........
Shrimp with Fennel (amounts depend on your liking, I had almost equal amounts, maybe 10 medium shrimp to one whole fennel bulb)
prepare shrimp (if fresh, shell and clean)
Slice Fennel as you like.
Put all together in cast iron frying pan with garlic, oil, coriander seeds smashed, hot pepper flakes, white wine, and if you like onion. Cook until shrimp are pink and fennel are tender.
Serve with a simple pasta (use the sauce adding some butter to pasta for a richer taste) or rice or even a simple couscous... heavenly...........
if you like a crunchier fennel stir fry separately, then ad to dish nearly the last few minutes. Really it is up to you.

not so lazy halloumi sandwiches

As Em from the Insomniacs Kitchen noted it has been a low kitchen energy couple of weeks. So I lazily, and still not convinced, went food shopping. I spotted some beautiful red peppers and purple eggplant in the market. Along with some local fresh Halloumi cheese. Therefore, I allowed myself to be lazy with distinction. Halloumi (greek) or Hellim (turkish) is a local Cypriot cheese, similar in someways to mozzarella, but much saltier, usually made from goat's and sheep's milk and it has a high melting point so you can grill or fry it in a oil free pan and it will become crispy on the outside and smooth and creamy inside. First I had to prepare the peppers and eggplant so I turned up the oven on high grilling the eggplant on a baking sheet (prick the eggplants with a fork cook until soft to the touch), I also placed the peppers in the oven, as is, turning them from time to time. When the peppers were burnt-like I tumbled them in a plastic bag while hot waiting for them to cool off a bit then I was able to gently removed the skin. Also, I dug out the eggplant pulp from its shell removing some of the bitter seeds. Coarsely chopped both vegetables placing them together in a shallow bowl drenching them with virgin olive oil (I also added a infused olive oil with garlic and chili peppers) some chopped roasted garlic, sliced red onion, bay leaf, hot red pepper flakes, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and a spritz of lemon and a splash or balsamic vinegar in which to marinate. In a frying pan (Teflon works best but cast iron is fine as well) I sliced and grilled the cheese until crispy on both sides. Since I had a great fresh loaf of local village bread I just slit it open placed the marinated vegetables and topped with the crunchy cheese, and then grilled the bread so that the cheese melted even more onto the vegetables. It was a nice melting of Italian and Cypriot flavors! I also complimented it with a simple salad with an oil and balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Found we still had some left over champagne from new years eve, still bubbly so it was a nice compliment to this easy lazy winter delight.