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.

winter baked cherry tomatoes

While tomato season may be finished, cherry tomatoes are showing up on the grocers shelves here. Obvious use for them would be in salads etc. but being that it has been pretty cold outside I like warm stuff to fill my belly. I thought to mix my love of tomatoes with the love of warmth and made as a side dish, to this weeks leftovers, 'baked cherry tomatoes' The lovely ruby red color that the tomatoes turn will entice you. Best is that it is easy easy easy yet sooooooo tasty, I found myself licking my fingers after each bite. ( I bet it would go nice with couscous)

Ingredients:
red cherry tomatoes
red onion sliced thin
olive oil (you can used a flavored oil like garlic and chili)
spring onions around 2
basil leaves finely chopped
crushed garlic at least 2 cloves
splash of balsamic vinegar
splash of white wine
salt, pepper, hot chili flakes to taste

Prepare
Preheat oven to 350f which is 200c
toss tomatoes, red onions, oil, and salt, pepper and if you like a touch of heat some chili flakes.
place in baking pan and bake for 10-15 minutes.
Mix in spring onions, basil, garlic, wine and vinegar.
Continue cooking for about 5-10 minutes longer until the tomatoes have softened but keep their shape.
Dig In with some crusty bread and cheese of your choice!

Bow Tie Carbonara

Waking up to the New year I was greeted by the sound of the wind-whipped waves of the Mediterranean crashing into our garden wall. Don't ask me why but this made me think of cooking something warm and creamy for lunch. Taking a peak to see what was in the 'tomb' of the fridge I pulled out an open package of strip bacon, and some left over whipping cream. Now I knew there was a nice chunk of Italian grating cheese hiding in one of the darken corners behind leftovers, so I grabbed that. Having no real plan in mind in what way I was going to use these 3 ingredients. But it seems Nuba's vet was reading my mind because in came Moncef bringing 4 farm fresh eggs sent to us by him. At that moment I just new what lunch would be, wonderful oozing Carbonara. Now most people use fettuccine or spaghetti but I like to use bow-ties because they hold their firmness while allowing the carbonara sauce to ooze between the twisted parts. Here is a simplified recipe, easy to make. I know some people worry about eating raw eggs, but if you don't have eggs then it isn't carbonara! Since I knew what I was using was farm fresh I had no worries, I guess one could coddle them if need be. (like they do for Caesar salad)
ok so here we go Bow-tie Carbonara in honor of my bow-tie wearing dad! (even to bed)

Bacon Slices (4-8)
1 tablespoon of butter
1/2 cup cream
1/2 (or more) cup of Parmesan/Romano cheese
4 large egg yolks
1 box of farfalla (bow-tie) pasta
Salt, Pepper, Red Hot chilli flakes, Garlic and Parsley to taste

cook bacon until crispy in butter. Reserve drippings. Transfer bacon to paper towels and drain. Whisk cream , cheese and egg yolks to blend. Whisk in no more than 2 tablespoons of drippings from skillet.
Cook pasta until just tender, in boiling salted water. Drain and return to pot. Add cream mixture to pasta. Toss over low heat until sauce cooks through and coats pasta thickly but do not boil. (about 2-4 minutes). Season to taste with salt, pepper and hot pepper flakes, finely chopped fresh garlic and of course Parsley. Serve while hot adding additional grated cheese on top. Oh yes now this is the way to start the new year, simple, easy and fun to eat!

Warm to the Belly Scones

The rain, falling like stones, has finally arrived along with the winds from Africa, it brings to my mind, for some reason don't know why, an urge for something salted as well as sweet. I always loved scones all sorts’ shapes and kinds. Since I had a need to bake something, not difficult, but sort of seasonal. I looked for an easy baker-friendly recipe, which I found, and thought to give it a try. I can not say it enough I am not a baker; I hate measuring, and especially following specific ingredients and think that is usually my downfall, but the following recipe is so easy, even for a blunderer like me, and it allowed me to be adventurous to boot. Now, I also must say that once again after a trip to my fav italian market Alpha Mega in the south side of the island, my fridge was filled to the brim, with Ricotta and Mascarpone cheeses, especially since they are hard to come by here in the north of the island, we tend to over buy. So I had these ingredients in mind, because I had to use them, and I was looking for how to put both together in one recipe. Scones seem to be the perfect solution!
A simple scone recipe with my additions stated:
Ingredients:
3.5 cups of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda (I have to admit I didn’t have any so I used 1 tablespoon of b. powder it worked fine)
1 teaspoon of cream of tartar
2 tablespoons of butter
1.5 cups of milk but I did not use any milk instead I substituted about 1 cup or Ricotta and about ½ cup of Mascarpone cheese
Lemon and/ or orange grind (I used lemon grind and 1 tablespoon of orange liquor after all it is the holiday week!)
I also chopped a couple of morsels of chocolate truffles that I had left around and in retrospect could have used even more chocolate any kind of chocolate (just love chocolate with ricotta), I also added a mixed handful of raisins and walnuts.
Instructions:
Mix in all the ingredients, except the cheeses (or milk if that is what you prefer to use, but I tell you the ricotta is great replacement)
After all is mixed well, with hands, add slowly the cheese or milk. Kneed mixture well, it shouldn’t be too smooth nor too dry but not wet. Texture is almost similar to what the final product should be.
Let stand for 20 minutes, and turn on oven to about 180c which is about 350f. The recipe calls for rolling out the dough to about 1.5 inches thick ,I just used my hands patting the dough down to thickness I felt right. With a cutter ( I used a champagne glass) cut small round shapes. Place on floured baking sheet. Bake for around 20-30 minutes until golden brown.
If you’re like me as soon as they were done, I dug in, the chocolate bits drizzled out as I sat back and closed my eyes taking all the subtle flavors of the chocolate, raisins, orange liquor and chesses in. Along with a nice cup of green tea I was celebrating warming my belly, now if the electricity would just go on so I could warm my toes as well!

Leblabi by Candlelight!

Moncef drove home at the speed of light knowing that there would be Leblabi tonight! But, when we arrived in the vicinity of our house we found that our area was in the middle of an electrical cut, even if this does happen quite often still it is always a surprise when it happens. Since I promised my spoon that I would make his fav soup, Leblabi , so therefore I had no other choice but to dare it by candlelight. Basically, Leblabi is a Tunisian style chick-pea/garbanzo bean soup that includes harissa, which is a kind of hot red chili paste. I was lucky I had purchased from the local market on our last trip to Tunisia a kilo of harissa which stays in the fridge forever. Most supermarkets sell some form of chili paste, but if you want to attempt making it from scratch there is a good recipe on: http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/harissa.htm . Except for making the harissa, traditional Leblabi soup is fairly simple, but spicy. I like to put my own taste twist on, not so much harissa but more spices and I like using rosemary, and fresh coriander leaves and white wine. I also prefer roasted garlic, now harissa itself has plenty but since we are garlic freaks here I also add it to my soup mix. I also sometimes like to use the vegetables that I used to make the broth, but normally the only vegetable in Leblabi is the garbanzo beans.
Ok here it goes Leblabi by candlelight (about 2-4 servings):
2 cups Chickpeas, soaked overnight (or can with liquid)
Harissa according to taste (red hot pepper paste can be used, if you do- check the ingredients and add any of the following ingredients to the paste if it is not already included: coriander and caraway seeds, olive oil, garlic)
4 cups of vegetable broth (carrots, onions, tomatoes, etc.)
1/2 cup of white wine (or more - you decide)
Cumin to taste (1 tblsn)
Coriander leaves to taste
Rosemary to taste
Roasted Garlic to taste and chopped (wrap whole cloves in tinfoil and stick in oven/broiler for a bit until golden but not burnt,)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 lemon
salt and pepper


To prepare:
In a large pot, cook the soaked chickpeas (discard water) in vegetable broth (2xs amount) . When they are soft, add the harissa, garlic, wine and spices, (vegetables if you decide to use them) for around another 10 minutes. Remove from stove. Sprinkle with olive oil and lemon juice. Served with left-over crispy bread, and some olive paste, cucumbers and brie that I found in the "tomb" (Moncef's name for my fridge because I tend to save little bits of this and that and they got lost in the back). It was all really soothing on a cold and dark winter night. I also grabbed what ever wine was in reach which was a rose and it went just perfectly with my soup!
All this is just a PRELUDE TO THE NIGHT TO COME! :)

Thinking of Diane

Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats. Diane Arbus