Courgette Rice With Feta & Olives

This is the last day of July and I would love to end it with a recipe. Especially because I was a bit idle these days, I wasn’t in the mood of writing almost anything. But I will do my best now and put into English my last recipe that was in Romanian. Let me tell you a little about this recipe. As you are already accustomed now, there is a story behind the recipe. I was at my sister’s house and I wanted to impress her with my cooking skills. My sister is very conservative in cooking and she has her tastes, as we all do. I asked her if she had tried a risotto before. She said no. So then, I would make  one for her and her husband to taste and see for themselves how they liked it. I searched the Internet on one of my favorite sites, www.bcgoodfood.com and there I found the recipe. It contained one of my favorite vegetables, courgettes or zucchini. Perfect, I said to myself. It didn’t have meat as well, so it was a very healthy and light dish for a hot summer day. I worked hard but in the end I failed to impress. My sister is just not into rice or anything not-meaty. In my humble opinion, it is a very delicious dish and I would make it anytime. But it is not for everybody. There are people who would hate it and there are people who would love it. So, there you go! 😉 De gustibus non est disputandum.

But in spite of that, for those who would like to try it, here is the recipe, adapted so that it can be made anywhere. I tell you why. In Romania, for example, courgettes are quite expensive and rare in the supermarkets so they can be replaced with another squash that you can find in large amounts everywhere in the summer time. And so on.

Courgette Rice With Feta & Olives

Serves 4

Ready in 25-35 minutes

Ingredients:

• 100 g feta cheese, crumbled (or fat cow cheese that you can find fresh at the market)
• handful of pitted black olives , roughly chopped
• 3 tbsp flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped (this is the best but if it is winter and you can’t find fresh, try dry or may be you put some fresh ones in the freezer)
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 3 courgettes, roughly sliced (or other squash)
• 250 g risotto rice , such as arborio
• 1 l hot vegetable stock (if you don’t have this stock, try boiled water but it will ruin a lot of the taste)
• 140 g petits pois (or go with peas, fresh or frozen)

Method:

• Mix together the feta, olives, parsley and 2 tbsp of the olive oil.
• Heat remaining oil in a large, deep pan. Tip in onion, sizzle gently for 5 minutes until softened. Add courgettes, soften for a couple of minutes, then stir in rice.
• Pour in a ladleful of stock and stir until all the liquid has been absorbed. Add another ladle of stock and repeat until all the stock has been used, adding petit pois a couple of minutes before the last ladle. If you use peas, put them a little more ahead as they take longer to soften. Simmer until rice is tender and juices creamy. Ladle into bowls, then scatter over feta and olive crumble.

Bon appetite!

Risotto With a Twist

Intr-o zi, anul trecut, in bucataria sorei mele, m-am gandit sa gatesc ceva interesant, oricum, mai interesant decat ce gateste ea de obicei. Pentru ca ea este genul mai traditionalist, si imi pare ca ce face e ceva obisnuit, chiar plictisitor. Sora mea gateste foarte bine, multe retete, face niste ciorbe excelente si eu chiar mananc ce gateste ea, eu, care sunt o mofturoasa, mai ales la ciorbe. Dar ea gateste romaneste. Mie imi place sa experimentez, sa incerc idei si retete noi. Trebuie neaparat sa fie din bucataria internationala, retete romanesti oricum mananc toata ziua. Rezultatul lor, nu hartia. :))  Revenind, ma scuzi ca bat campii cu gratie de balerina, eram in bucatarie. Incercand sa imi impresionez sora cu talentele mele de bucatar sef, i-am spus ca o sa pregatesc ceva italian. A mancat vreodata risotto? Nu. Bun, atunci o sa fac un risotto sa vada cum este. M-am pregatit cu sortul de bucatar, am pus-o sa ma ajute la unele chestii, am stat destul sa mestec la acel risotto, deasupra cratitei, pentru daca nu stiai, trebuie mestecat non-stop, pana la final. E un alintat. Dar vai, am esuat lamentabil! Nu numai ca nu a fost impresionata dar nici nu i-a placut prea mult. Si eu aveam impresia ca o sa ramana muta de admiratie. Ce lovitura parerii mele excelente despre mine insami! Aveam impresia ca voi obtine aceeasi reactie ca atunci cand am gatit pentru prima data in viata mea risotto, acum 4-5 ani, la Londra. Lor le placuse atat de mult, s-au exprimat atat de frumos, au fost atat de incantati de mancare iar eu eram in al noualea cer. A trebuit sa ma trezesc si sa nu mai visez cai verzi pe pereti, pentru ca mi-am dat seama ca unora li se va parea extraordinar ceea ce gatesc eu, si sunt destui, deloc impresionati, care vor gandi ca, hm, e ok, dar nu stiu de ce te agiti atata ca nu e cine stie ce. Sau unele mancaruri le vor placea, altele nu. Tine de gustibus. Pentru ca si sorei mele i-au placut unele mancaruri, altele nu, ca risotto acesta.

Mie, in schimb, imi place risotto foarte mult. Nu aveam reteta pe care o incercasem inainte asa ca am cautat alta. Am gasit un risotto vegetarian care contine una din legumele mele preferate: dovlecelul numit zucchini sau courgette. Asa ca din start, de la ingrediente am stiut ca o sa imi placa. Pentru inspiratie si retete m-am intors catre unul din site-urile mele preferate, BBC Good Food – Recipes and cooking tips, asa ca poti verifica reteta de risotto si aici daca iti place in engleza. Dar gustul e acelasi, pe orice limba. Daca nu cunosti asa bine limba engleza, nu-i bai, citeste mai jos reteta si incearc-o. Sunt doua situatii: fie iti place , fie nu. Care din ele va fi?

Risotto cu zucchini, feta si masline

4 portii

Timp: 25-35 minute

Ingrediente:

• 100 g branza feta, maruntita
• o mana de masline negre, carnoase, tocate dar nu foarte marunt
• 3 linguri patrunjel proaspat, tocat nu foarte marunt
• 4 linguri ulei de masline
• 1 ceapa mare, tocata marunt
• 3 dovlecei zucchini, feliati (daca nu gasesti zucchini, incearca cu dovlecei obisnuiti, dar ai grija ca se inmoaie mai repede deci ofera-le mai putin timp de gatit)
• 250 g (o cana) orez risotto (poate fi arborio sau carnaroli, in Romania parca am vazut doar arborio dar sincer nu mai stiu exact ca nu am avut ocazia sa fac pana acum)
• 1 litru supa fiebinte de vegetale (doar zeama, sau apa fiarta dar nu mai este atat de gustos risotto)
• 140 g petit pois (un soi de mazare mica si dulce; daca nu se gaseste atunci mergi pe mazare; pentru iarna o gasesti congelata la diverse super-marketuri iar vara cred ca e intelept sa o cumperi proaspata. Ai grija ca mazarea dureaza mai mult sa se prepare asa ca o poti pune mai devreme decat soiul celalalt)

Preparare:

• Intr-un bol,  amesteca feta, maslinele, patrunjelul si 2 linguri de ulei de masline. Daca nu vrei sa mergi mai departe, serveste aceasta racoroasa si delicioasa combinatie pe paine prajita si tocmai ti-ai luat un pranz usor de vara.;) Sau poate gasesti alte idee de a o consuma, esti libera/ liber sa experimentezi.
• Incalzeste restul de ulei intr-o tigaie mare si adanca. Pune ceapa, prajeste-o cca 5 minute, pana se inmoaie. Adauga dovleceii, lasa-i sa se inmoaie cateva minute apoi pune orezul.
• Pune un polonic de supa vegetala si amesteca pana se absoarbe complet. Repeta operatiunea cu polonicul si amestecul pana se termina toata supa si este complet absorbita. Cu cateva minute inainte de ultimul polonic, adauga petit pois. Lasa la foc incet pana cand totul se inmoaie si devine cremos. Serveste in boluri, peste care pune amestecul de feta cu masline si patrunjel. Datorita faptului ca e asa moale, va avea foarte multa trecere la bunici si copii si de ce nu si la altii care vor aprecia un topping mai special pentru asa o mancare clasica. 🙂

Pofta buna!

Say Cheese! :D

Today I am going to post a very tasty, easy and vegetarian dish. The first time I made it, I found it so delicious that I had said to myself, I would do it again. And I did it.

In case you have a toothache, this recipe is also welcomed. It is tender and it melts in your mouth. One thing I also like about it is the fact that you can mix vegetables that are in season and you end up with a nice colored dish. This recipe is from “Original card from Delicious Meals Made Easy”.

Cheesy – topped vegetables

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 cauliflower, divided into florets
• 225  (8 oz) broccoli, divided into florets
• 75 g (3 oz) frozen peas (you can choose petit pois if you want or fresh peas)

Sauce (as you know, there is never enough sauce so you can double the ingredients):

• 40 g (1 1/2 oz) butter (or 80 g)
• 40 g (1 1/2 oz) plain flour (or 80 g)
• 450 ml (3/4 pint) semi-skimmed milk (or 1 l for a the same milk or a whole one)
• 100 g (4 oz) reduced – fat double Gloucester cheese, grated (or 200 g of that cheese or cheddar or any other that you prefer)
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard (or 4 tsp)
• 1/4 (or 1/2) tsp salt
• black pepper
• 2 tsp of dried herbs de Provence (optional, for a herby flavour)

Method:

• Boil the carrots in a big pan of water for 3 minutes. I said big because you add the cauliflower, broccoli and peas. And they need space. Boil for 4 minutes or until the vegetables are just tender.
• Drain the vegetables. Transfer to a flame-proof dish or a Jena oval or square dish and keep covered.
• For the sauce, melt the butter in a pan. Add the flour and cook gently, stirring, for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and gradually stir in the milk. Heat gently, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens. Stir in three-quarters of the cheese, the mustard and seasoning.
• Pour the sauce over the vegetables and stir until well coated. Sprinkle over the remaining cheese.
• Preheat the grill to medium. Put the dish under the grill for 5 minutes, or until the cheese starts to bubble. Serve.

Bon appetite!