THE EUROPEAN EXPRESS EXCEPTIONAL RECIPES FROM FRANCE, ESTONIA, TURKEY, GREECE AND ROMANIA.
COOKERYBOOK [Document subtitle]
Sirle Varkentin
FRANCE Matefaim Lyonnais Ingredients for 4 people :
2 eggs 100 g of sugar A pinch of salt 180 g of flour 180 ml of milk 2 big apples 1 tablespoon of orange- flower water or a zest of grated lemon
Cooking Instructions:
In a bowl, break and whip the eggs with the sugar.Then, add the flour, the salt and stir. Mix progressively with the milk. Let the pastry rest for 2 hours. Add the orange blossom water or the lemon zest, and the apples sliced thinly. Preheat a pan with oil and pour the dough on it. Cook on a low heat for 15 minutes without forgetting to turn it over several times. Serve warm.
Olive Cake. Ingredients :
250 g of flour 4 eggs 1 can of pitted black or green olives 1 punnet of lardons or diced turkey 150 g of grated cheese 50 ml of olive oil 150 ml of white wine 1 bag of baking powder
Cooking Instructions:
In a bowl, blend the lardons, olives and cheese. Add the whipped eggs, then the oil and the white wine. Add at last the flour and the baking powder. Pour the mixture in a buttered and floured cake pan. Cook for one hour at 210째 C.
Pepper Pizza Ingredients for the dough : 5 glasses of flour 2 glasses of warm water 12 g. of yeast 1 tablespoon of olive oil 1 tablespoon of salt 1 teaspoon of sugar
Ingredients for the filling:
500 g. of minced beef 1 red pepper 1 green pepper 1 onion flat leaved parsley 1 tomato and canned tomato sauce Salt, pepper and spices (oregano, thyme‌)
Cooking Instructions for the sauce :
Brown the onion with olive oil, add the minced beef and the tomato sauce with the parsley.
When the beef is cooked, add the peppers, the tomato, salt, pepper and others spices. For the base: Mix the flour with the warm water. Add sugar, salt, oil and yeast. Knead the mixture. Let the base rest for 1 hour. Then spread the dough and cover with the sauce. Sprinkle with the cheese. Put it in the oven preheat at 200째C for about 30 minutes.
Bolognese Lasagna Ingredients for 6 people:
8 lasagna noodles 800 g. of can crushed tomatoes (or 500 g. of fresh tomatoes) 300 g. of minced beef 1 onion 1 dove of garlic 2 tablespoons of olive oil 1 tablespoon of herbs (oregano, thyme or basil) 100 g. of grated Emmenthal cheese 50 g. of grated parmesan 2 lumps of sugar Salt and pepper
Ingredients for the BĂŠchamel sauce: 70 g. of butter 70 g. of flour 50 cl of milk 1 pinch of nutmeg
Cooking Instructions:
Slice thinly the onion and the dove garlic. Brown them over a low heat in a frying pan with olive oil. Start the cooking at high heat for about 1 or 2 minutes, then lower the heat. Once the onion and garlic are well cooked, add tomatoes, salt, pepper and herbs. Let it reduce and simmer for 20 minutes before to mix it or not, as you wish. While the sauce simmer, brown beef with olive oil at medium heat for 3 or 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper, mix with the tomato sauce. Don’t forget to remove the fat of the meat before. For the bechamel sauce: In a pan, melt butter and add flour, away from the heat! Stir it in order to absorb the butter On the low heat, add milk gradually while stirring to avoid the creation of lumps. Let it thicken for few minutes, without stopping stirring. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Butter a baking pan and put a layer of bechamel sauce in it, then a layer of lasagna noodles. Then a layer of noodles and a layer of tomato sauce with meat sprinkled with grated parmesan. Repeat until run out of ingredients. Finish with the bÊchamel sauce and sprinkle it with parmesan. Put it in the oven preheat at 165° C for about 45 minutes for the lasagna to be well browned. If they browned too fast, cover it with aluminium.
Fondant au chocolat Ingredients:
200 g. of cooking chocolate 100 g. of butter 100 g. of sugar 5 eggs 4 tablespoons of flour
Cooking Instructions:
Cook the chocolate and the butter in a “bain marie” on low heat. You can also use the microwave on defrosting mode.When it’s melted, add the 5 eggs. Whip. Then add the sugar, the flour, whisk the egg whites and add it to the mixture. Grease and flour the baking pan. Cook for 20 minutes at 180°C.
Gratin Dauphinois Makes 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients:
2kg potatoes of uniform size 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened 1 medium garlic clove, crushed through a press 50 cl liquid cream or milk Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste Freshly grated nutmeg to taste or cannelle 4 tablespoons crème fraÎche
Cooking Instructions:
1. Peel and wash the potatoes and slice them into rounds 1/8 inch thick, using a mandoline, the slicing disk of a food processor, or a sharp knife. 2. Generously butter a 9 by 12-inch heavy shallow baking dish, preferably earthenware or cast-enamel, or an oval gratin dish of comparable size. (You can also use a 12-inch cast-iron skillet.) Rub the dish with half of the crushed garlic. 3. In a small saucepan, bring the half-and-half to a simmer with the remaining garlic and season generously with salt and pepper. Set aside.
4. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Arrange the potatoes in one overlapping layer on the bottom of the dish. Season the layer generously with salt, pepper, and nutmeg or cannelle. Arrange two more layers on top, seasoning each layer liberally. You might not need all the potatoes. Press the layers down to compact them. Pour in enough half-and-half to come up just a little below the top layer of potatoes. Set the baking dish on a larger baking sheet, cover with foil, and bake until the potatoes feel tender when pierced with a knife, about 1 hour. 5. Raise the oven temperature to 425°F, remove the foil, and bake until the top begins to brown, about 10 minutes. Pour just enough cream to cover the top, dab it with crème fraîche, if using. Bake until the top is brown and bubbly, 15 to 20 minutes more. Remove from the oven and let the potatoes stand for 10 minutes to absorb the cream. Cut into squares and serve.
GREECE Dzadziki spread Ingredients:
3 cups of Greek yogurt (also called Yogurt Cheese, see below for alternative) 3 tablespoons of lemon juice (or juice of one lemon) 1 garlic clove, minced 1 large English cucumber, diced (the long, skinny ones) 1 tablespoon salt (for salting cucumbers) 1 tablespoon fresh dill (or both, depending on preference) or 1 tablespoon of fresh mint, chopped (or both, depending on preference) salt & freshly ground black pepper
Cooking Instructions:
Peel cucumbers and dice. Put them in a colander and sprinkle with the tablespoon of salt (draws water out). Cover with a plate and sit something heavy on top. Let sit for 30 minutes. Drain well and wipe dry with a paper towel. In food processor or blender, add cucumbers, garlic, lemon juice, dill and/or mint, and a few grinds of black pepper. Process until well blended, then stir into yogurt. Taste before adding any extra salt, then salt if needed. Place in refrigerator for at least two hours before serving so flavors can blend. This will keep for a few days in the refrigerator, but you will need to drain off any water and stir each time you use it. If you can’t find the thicker Greek Yogurt Cheese, you can use regular, plain yogurt that is either full fat or low fat. To thicken, spoon yogurt into cheese cloth that has been quadrupled. Draw the corners of the cloth up and tie together. Suspend above a bowl for 2 hours so that water can drip out. The consistency of the yogurt should be like that of sour cream.
You can skip this draining process, if you want, but you will have a moderately messier, runnier result.
Stuffed tomatoes and peppers (‘YEMISTA’ in Greek) Ingredients:
5 medium ripe tomatoes 5 medium green peppers 3⁄4 cup olive oil 13 tablespoons rice 1 large onion, chopped 3 garlic cloves 1⁄4 cup fresh spearmint, minced (1 1/2 teaspoon dried) 1⁄2 cup parsley, minced 1 teaspoon salt 1⁄2 teaspoon pepper 1/2 teaspoon sugar 1 1⁄2 cups water 1⁄2 cup olive oil 1 tablespoon tomato paste
Cooking Instructions:
Cut off tops of tomatoes (retain tops) and carefully scoop out flesh (retain this as well). Cut off tops of peppers (retain tops) and remove seeds and membrane. Place tomatoes and peppers in a pan. Take tomato flesh and process it until pureed. Add olive oil, rice, onion, garlic, mint, parsley, sugar, ½ a cup water, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper (or season to taste). Stuff the vegetables evenly with this mixture. Replace tops of tomatoes and peppers. Combine 1 cup of water and 1/2 cup olive oil with a scant tablespoonful of tomato paste and a little salt and pepper and pour this around the veg. Bake in a preheated oven at 1800C for approx . 1 3/4 hours Turn off oven and leave in for another hour to 'mellow' before serving. This is best served slightly warm or at room temperature with feta cheese and a cool glass of white or rose wine.
Semolina halva. Ingredients:
2 cups ofcoarse semolina 1 cup of oil 2 cups of sugar 4 cups of water Cinnamon stick
Cooking Instructions:
In a saucepan put the oil and leave a little to warm. Pour the semolina and begin to stir quickly. The more heated the pot, the faster you should stir so you do not tan semolina very much. When you get a fairly dark color, remove from the heat. Meanwhile, in another saucepan put water with sugar and pour into a cinnamon stick. Let it boil while stirring frequently. When the syrup is ready, put the pot again with semolina on the fire.
When hot enough, add the syrup slowly. Be careful because it may pop and burn you. Stir to 'tie' sweet. When you see that the mixture is unstuck from the walls of the pot, your halva is ready to serve .Put in a form, tap it well to be uniform inside the mould and then turn upside down on a plate.
ROMANIA Hungarian cottage cheese spreadKőrőzőtt Ingredients :
500 grams of cottage cheese (preferably sheep’s or cow’s) 200 grams of sour cream a red pepper a bunch of fresh parsley a scallion or half onion 2 cloves of garlic 2 teaspoons of sweet Hungarian paprika powder half teaspoon of ground caraway seed powder salt to taste
Cooking Instructions:
Put the cottage cheese and the sour cream in a bowl. Cut the pepper in half, take out the seeds then chop it in little pieces and add to the bowl. Chop up the parsley, onions, press the garlic and add it to the other ingredients in the bowl. Add the spices: paprika, caraway powder and salt.
Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Serve on toast or bread.
Goulash - Bogrรกcsgulyรกs Ingredients:
1kg beef, 80 grams of lard (or shortening) 300 grams onion 20 grams (4 teaspoons) each: paprika, carraway seeds, garlic salt to taste 1kg potato 140 grams green pepper 60 grams fresh tomato 6 portions of soup pasta ( 1 portion is about one big tablespoon) beef stock or water as much as needed
Cooking Instructions:
Use meat rich in glatine (shin-beef, blade or neck). Cube the meat in 1.5-2 centimeter pieces. Fry the chopped onion in the melted lard until it is golden yellow. Lower the heat, then add the paprika, stir it rapidly, add the meat, keep on stirring, add salt. When the meat is browned
and all the liquid is evaporated, add the carraway seeds, finely chopped garlic and a small amount of cold water, cover and braise the meat slowly. Stir it occasionally and add small quantities of water if necessary. The meat should be braised not boiled. While the meat is cooking, cube the potatoes, green pepper and tomatoes into pieces (1 cm) in size and prepare the soup pasta. Just before the meat is completely tender, reduce the pan juices, add the cubed potatoes, let them brown sligtly, add the stock (add as much stock or water as to cover the potatoes), green pepper and tomato. When the potato is almost cooked and the soup is ready to be served add the soup pasta (soup pasta is small shaped pasta, like alphabet pasta for example), and adjust the quantity by adding stock or water.
Slipped pancakes – Rakott palacsinta Ingredients for the punch sauce:
150 grams sugar, 3 egg yolks 10 grams flour, vanilla 2.5 deciliters milk, 8 centiliters rum (optional) 1 deciliters heavy cream
For the crepes:
60 grams butter, 6 eggs 60 grams confectionar’s sugar greated lemon peel 120 grams semolina flour 3-5 deciliters heavy cream 80 grams butter-for frying the crepes
Filling:
120 grams confectionar’s sugar 120 grams ground walnuts grated lemon peel 200 grams apricot (or orange) marmalade 10 g vanilla sugar
Cooking Instructions:
First prepare the punch sauce. Mix the sugar, egg yolks and flour with a whisk. Slowly whisk in the milk which was scalded with the vanilla. Place over a low flame and bring to a boil while stirring continuously. Let cool slightly, add the rum and sweet cream then add a few drops of food dye to get a pink color. For pancake dough: Cream the butter, egg yolks and confectioner’s sugar. Add a small amount of grated lemon peel for flavor. Then while mixing slowly, add the flour and sweet cream. This should be a very smooth creamy dough. Fold in the stiff egg whites. Heat a small amount of butter in a crepe pan. Pour in dough to about the thickness of a pencil. Brown one side. Do not turn. Butter a flame-proof platter and slide the pancake, soft side up, over to the platter. Sprinkle the slightly dried top side with a mixture of walnuts, sugar and grated lemon peel. Add a few drops of orange marmalade too. Pile up the pancakes with the filling between them. The last pancake should be slipped on (hence the name) browned side up. Place in the oven for about 8 minutes. Sprinkle with confectionar’s vanilla sugar. Cut
in wedges and serve with the hot punch sauce served in a separate dish.
TURKEY Yoghurt soup Ingredients:
Six spoons of unsalted butter Half cup of all-purpose flour One teaspoon of kosher salt One tablet of chicken broth Three cups of plain yoghurt Two large egg yolks One small handful of fresh mint leaves, chopped One teaspoon of paprika
Cooking Instructions:
Melt 4 spoons of butter in medium heat in an oven or a large pot. Just as the foam subsides, add the flour, stirring constantly with wooden spoon to prevent lumps. Pour the chicken broth and continue to stir well.
Bring the mixture to a simmer and then add the salt. Reduce the heat to medium-low flame, cover and cook about 7 minutes. In a large mixing bowl, blend together the yoghurt and the egg yolks. Gradually whisk the yoghurt mixture into the barley and cook until it is ready to boil. For the finishing touch, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a pan. When the butter is foamy, mix the mint and the paprika. Let this turn golden and stir it into the soup. Serve the soup hot.
Islim Kebab Ingredients :
Half kg of mince An onion Six eggplants 2-3 pieces of garlic Half glass of fine bread crumbs An egg Half bunch of parsley Black and red chili pepper Thyme, cumin and salt Two tomatoes Two green peppers
Cooking Instructions meatballs: Chop the
onion, garlic and parsley. Put the mince, onion, parsley, egg, fine bread crumbs and the spices in a big bowl. Knead them and make meatballs. Fry the meatballs.
Peel the eggplants in stripes and slice vertically. Fry the eggplant slices. Put the slices in cross shape, put the meatball in the middle and cover it. Put a slice of tomato and green pepper on top. Put them in a tray and put the tray into the oven. Make the sauce and add it. Cook in 2000 C for about 20 minutes.
Shephard`s Salad
You can serve Islim Kebab with the kind of salad of your choice.
Rice Ingredients:
Two glasses of rice Two spoons of oil One spoon of butter One tablet of chicken broth One litre of boiled water Two spoons of salt Two tea spoons of salt Two and a half glasses of water
Cooking Instructions:
Put the rice and the boiled water in a bowl. Add two spoons of salt and wait for an hour. Rinse the rice. Put the butter and oil in a pot. Add the chicken broth, hot water and salt. Add the rice when the water boils. Cook slowly until the water finishes. Put a tablecloth on the pot and wait about 10 minutes.
Revani Ingredients:
Two eggs A glass of sugar A glass of semolina Half glass of olive oil A glass of milk A pack of baking powder A pack of vanilla A glass of flour Half glass of wallnut Orange zest
For Syrup:
Three glasses of sugar Lemon drops Three and a half glass of water
Cooking Instructions:
Beat eggs and sugar together. Add milk and olive oil and beat. Add flour, semolina, baking powder and vanilla. Add wallnuts and orange zest. Put the mixture in a baking tin. Bake for 45 minutes in 160 c.
Syrup:
Put sugar and water in a pan. Boil. Add lemon drops. Boil slowly for 15 minutes. Pour warm syrup on the cooled cake.
ESTONIA
Estonian Ground Meat Patties (Hakklihakotlet) Ingredients: 1/2 lb lean ground beef 1/2 lb lean ground veal 1/2 lb ground lean pork 2 egg 1 cup fresh breadcrumb, pulverized in a blender or shredded with a fork 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper 1/2 cup onion, finely chopped 3/4 cup cold water 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
Cooking Instructions: In a large mixing bowl, combine everything except for 1/2 cup bread crumbs and the oil, and knead with your hands for 5-10 minutes or until mixture is smooth, light and fluffy. Moisten your hands with cold water and shape the mixture into 8 thick, round patties, then dip each in the remaining 1/2 cup of bread crumbs, thoroughly coating both sides. Heat the vegetable oil in a heavy 10-12" skillet over high heat until a haze forms above it. Fry the patties 4 at a time for about 5-10 minutes on each side, regulating the heat so that they brown deeply, but don't burn. To make sure that they are fully cooked insert the tip of a knife into one of the patties, spreading it slightly apart, and look to see that there is no pink. If it is still pink in the middle, lower the heat and cook a few minutes longer, if not serve immediately. Serve with boiled potatoes, fresh salad and sauce.
Potato salad Ingredients: 8 potatoes, boiled and cooled 4 carrots, boiled and cooled 3 eggs, boiled and cooled 3 dill pickles, chopped 3 hard-boiled eggs 2 cups chopped ham 1/2 sweet onion, chopped 1 1/2 cups sour cream 3 tsp mayonnaise 1 tbsp. Pommery or grainy mustard 2 tsp. salt 1 tsp black peppers
Cooking Instructions: Chop salad ingredients into 1/2 inch cubes and toss together. In a separate vessel blend together cream, mayonnaise, mustard, spices, etc. Stir in blended dressing to tossed salad. This dish is convenient to bring to parties and social functions as it can be made the day before and refrigerated.
Meatball soup Ingredients:
6 cups beef broth 2 carrots 3 potatoes 1 large onion 2 celery stalks 1 tbsp. butter 1/2 tsp. black pepper 1/4 tsp. celery salt 1 tsp. salt fresh dill 1 lb. ground beef 1 egg 1/2 cup breadcrumbs 1/2 cup water 1/4 tsp each: pepper, salt and onion powder
Cooking Instructions: Dice onion and celery and place in a large pot. Add broth and boil for approximately 45 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Meanwhile, make meatball dough by combining ground beef, egg, breadcrumbs, water and seasonings. Mix thoroughly. Add seasonings and butter to broth and simmer. Form small meatballs with dough and drop into broth mixture. Bring back to boil and cook for 15-20 minutes. Top individual servings with a generous portion of fresh chopped dill.
Roosa Manna Ingredients: 2 cups water 2 cups cranberries
Cooking Instructions: Boil the berries until they split. Press the mass through a sieve.
Ingredients: 2 cups of juice (prepared as above) or 1 1/2 cup store bought Cranberry Juice plus 1/2 cup of water. 1/3 cup sugar 1/4 cup wheat farina (cream of wheat) small cinnamon stick
Cooking Instructions: Add water (if needed) to juice to make 2 cups of liquid. Add sugar and cinnamon. Bring to a boil adding wheat farina gradually and beating constantly. Boil for one minute and let cool. Remove cinnamon stick. Whip the slightly warm mixture until pink in colour and frothy in texture. Pour into individual dessert dishes. Cool before serving with milk or cream.