Penelope Cooks

by PenelopeCooks - December 12, 2018December 12, 2018

Chicken salad with pasta and pomegranate

Pomegranate is one thing I enjoy a lot and it’s so festive. It gives a holiday look to everything it’s on and I find it irresistible! So the other day I improvised a bit and put together a not so difficult chicken salad. I used leftover roast chicken, so that’s a plus. But you can use ham or turkey if you prefer. I also added some chorizo that gave it a nice kick.

To make the chicken salad

To make the vinaigrette

In a bowl put the mustard and 3-4 tbsps of the olive oil. Mix really well until the two ingredients are nicely combined. Thereafter, you add the rest of the olive oil and mix again. Finally, add the balsamic vinegar, sesame oil and orange juice and give it a last mix. Depending on the type of olive oil you are using the vinaigrette will be less or more bitter. If it’s too bitter, you can balance it out with more orange juice. Personally, I like it bitter because it gives a nice taste to the salad when poured. Keep in mind that it will dilute a lot when mixed in the salad, therefore the taste will be weaker.

Chicken salad with pasta and pomegranate

I made this chicken salad with green, leftover chicken, pomegranate and pasta the other day improvising a bit I admit. But it came out really good and I wanted to share it with you! It is perfect to complete your holiday table. You can also use ham or turkey instead of chicken.

150 g (5.3 oz) dry pasta ((uncooked))
500 g (1.1 lbs) chicken meat, shredded ((can also use ham or turkey))
200 g (7 oz) lettuce, roughly chopped ((about 1 small lettuce head))
10 brussel sprouts, thinly sliced
80 g (abt 3 oz) chorizo, sliced
1 pomegranate, seeded

For the vinaigrette

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
5 tsp mustard
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp sesame oil
1/3 cup orange juice

Firstly boil the pasta according to packet instructions, dry in a colander and set aside.
Secondly chop the lettuce into chunky pieces. Thinly slice the brussel sprouts, shred the chicken meat and slice up the chorizo.
If you have whole pomegranates, slice of the two edges first. Then peel off the skin as if you were peeling clementines then the pomegranate will come apart in pieces. You can deseed it easily. Alternatively you can buy pomegranate seeds from the store.

To make the vinaigrette

In a bowl put the mustard and 3-4 tbsps of the olive oil. Mix really well until the two ingredients are nicely combined.
Thereafter, you add the rest of the olive oil and mix again. Finally, add the balsamic vinegar, sesame oil and orange juice and give it a last mix.

Depending on the type of olive oil you are using the vinaigrette will be less or more bitter. If it’s too bitter, you can balance it out with more orange juice. Keep in mind that it will dilute a lot when mixed in the salad, therefore the taste will be weaker.

Eggs with Tomato Sauce

Eggs with Tomato sauce is practically a staple in Crete. And for a good reason too… it’s delicious! Greeks would have this dish for lunch though, rather than breakfast. But you can make it and enjoy any time of the day. Sometimes I have this for dinner 🙂 The key here is to have really really good quality tomatoes, fresh or canned will do. Just pick your favorite.

There are many things about this dish that make it one of my favorites. The tomato sauce tastes so good and fresh. The unexpected perfect combo of eggs and the tomato sourness. Maybe it’s all of this together. It really is a beautiful thing to eat. It’s also one of the simplest dishes to put together.

How to make it

If you are using fresh tomatoes, I’d suggest you grate them. Then pour some olive oil in a pan and bring to medium heat. Add in the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 7-8 mins. I like my tomato sauce tasting fresh and not overcooked.

The next step is to add the eggs on top and reduce the heat to low-medium. Cook another 5 mins until the eggs reach your desired state. Immediately serve on a plate and devour!

Eggs with tomato sauce

Eggs with tomato sauce is a staple in Cretan diet. Greeks mostly eat this as lunch and not breakfast. But feel free to have it anytime of the day, its delicious! The unexpected combo of eggs and the tomato sourness gives a perfect result.

4 eggs
1 cup tomato puree
salt and pepper
extra virgin olive oil

If you are using fresh tomatoes, grate them. Then pour some olive oil in a pan and bring to medium heat. Add in the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 7-8 mins.
Next add the eggs on top and reduce the heat to low-medium. Cook another 5 mins until the eggs reach your desired state. Immediately serve on a plate and devour!

by PenelopeCooks - November 21, 2018November 21, 2018

Cretan Pies with Cheese

In Crete we make these thin dough pies sprinkled with cheese and they are delicious! The dough requires only a few ingredients. However, it does take some skill to roll it out nice and thin. My grandma taught me this “art” when I was 15 and I am so thankful for that. Though if you don’t know how, a dough roller machine does the job perfectly well. These pies are best eaten warm, right off the pan with a gruyere type of cheese on top.

Making the dough

Put most of the flour in a large bowl and make like a little “crater” with your hands in the center. Add half of the lukewarm water, the olive oil, salt and raki. Raki is a local drink from Crete which is usually available in liquor stores. I found it easily both in Dubai and London. Use plain vodka if you cannot find raki your local store, it does the trick! Knead the dough and alternate between the remaining flour and water, until you find the right consistency. Let it rest for 30 mins.

If you are doing this by hand, dust a big surface with flour and divide your dough in 2 or 3 balls. Start rolling out each ball by rolling up and down and side to side. Then turn the dough, dust with flour again and keep rolling. Ideally the thickness should be 2-3 mm. You can cut it out in circles using a small plate, if you prefer round ones…

…Or you can cut them in squarish pieces!

Making the Pies

Add a small drizzle of olive oil in a pan and bring it over medium to low fire. Put the pie in and fry it for like 2 mins each side, until its nicely browned. Remove and set aside. Repeat the same process with all the pies. The pan will get hotter over time , so you might want to lower down the heat as you go.

Sprinkle with some nice hard cheese on top and serve immediately. Kids love them!

Cretan Pies with Cheese

Lovely thin dough pies with cheese from Crete made from scratch. Your guests will be impressed and the kids will love them. This is a real authentic Cretan dish, tasty and crunchy.

1.5 kg (3.3 lbs) plain flour
2/3 cup lukewarm water
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup Raki or Vodka
olive oil for frying

In a large bowl put most of the flour and make like a little “crater” with your hands in the center. Add half of the lukewarm water, the olive oil, salt and raki or vodka. Knead the dough and alternate between the remaining flour and water, until you find the right consistency. Let it rest for 30 mins.
If you are doing this by hand, dust a big surface with flour and divide your dough in 2 or 3 balls. Start rolling out each ball by rolling up and down and side to side. Then turn the dough, dust with flour again and keep rolling. Ideally the thickness should be 2-3 mm. You can cut it out in circles using a small plate, if you prefer round ones…
Add a small drizzle of olive oil in a pan and bring it over medium to low fire. Put the pie in and fry it for like 2 mins each side, until its nicely browned. Remove and set aside. Repeat the same process with all the pies. The pan will get hotter over time , so you might want to lower down the heat as you go.

Sprinkle with some nice hard cheese on top and serve immediately. Kids love them!

by PenelopeCooks - November 14, 2018November 21, 2018

Eggplant Salad

I love eggplants! Grilled or in a stew, I find them delicious. A really nice dish to make is eggplant salad. This is roast eggplants made into a thick cream. It’s perfect for a family table or as an appetizer dip for your party. It’s pretty straightforward to make it and you can adjust the ingredients to make it thicker, thinner or spicier. Let’s do this!

Roasting the eggplants

Cut the eggplants in half and place them in a pan. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. It took me about 45 minutes to roast them. If you want to do this quicker, cut them in thinner slices. Stick them in the oven at 200 C / 390 F. They will be done when the flesh is soft and easily pierced with fork.

Smoke them over fire until they are browned like this

Making the eggplant salad

Take them out of the oven. If you have a gas stove and can spare a few moments, smoke them on the fire for a few seconds each. Let them cool a bit. With a dessert spoon, scoop out the flesh.

Add the eggplant flesh into a food processor with the rest of the ingredients apart from the parsley. Start blending and adjust the olive oil or salt accordingly if you need more. Add the parsley at the end and give it a last mix. This eggplant salad goes well with meat and also works perfectly as a dip. You can refrigerate for a few days. Enjoy!

Eggplant salad

Its a great creamy eggplant salad to pair your meat dishes with. Also, it works very well as a dip for your beautiful appetizers. If you are an eggplant lover, this is a must try dish!

1.5 kg (3.3 lbs) eggplants (yields about 650 g / 1.4 lbs cooked flesh)
2 cloves garlic
1/2 onion
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 bunch parsley
1/2 lemon juice
salt and pepper

Prepping the eggplants

Cut the eggplants in half and place them in a pan. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. If you cut them in thinner slices, they will roast quicker. Stick them in the oven at 200 C / 390 F. They will be done when the flesh is soft and easily pierced with fork.
Smoke them over fire until they are browned.

Making the eggplant salad

Take them out of the oven. If you have a gas stove and can spare a few moments, smoke them on the fire for a few seconds each. Let them cool a bit. With a dessert spoon, scoop out the flesh.
Add the eggplant flesh into a food processor with the rest of the ingredients apart from the parsley. Start blending and adjust the olive oil or salt accordingly if you need more. Add the parsley at the end and give it a last mix. This eggplant salad goes well with meat and also works perfectly as a dip. You can refrigerate for a few days. Enjoy!

by PenelopeCooks - October 27, 2018December 15, 2018

Butternut squash Soup

To be perfectly frank I did not grow up eating butternut squash or even pumpkins for that matter. They hadn’t yet made their appearance in Greece during my teenage years. The closest thing we used to make was a sweet pie with pumpkin, more like a dessert. But food and cooking, at least for me, is all about learning, experimenting and evolution. I have grown to love butternut squash soup among other recipes that fall into the squash/pumpkin family.

Butternut squash tastes great not only as a soup, but also spiced up and roasted with olive oil. It makes a wonderful filling in pies and ravioli. Yum! So since it’s that time of the year again, I decided to make butternut squash soup. With a secret ingredient added by Rob!

Making the soup

I like to pair butternut squash with something peppery and earthy to balance out the sweetness. This time I chose peppers! To get things started, cut the squash in two crosswise so you can peel it easier. So go ahead and peel it. Thereafter, cut it up in big chunks. Put aside.

The next thing to do is to chop up the peppers in big chunks and slice those onions. Lastly, you crush the garlic. I love my garlic press for this job. Easy!

Put a big pot or dutch oven over medium fire and drizzle in some olive oil. Saute garlic, onions for 2 mins. Remove and put aside. Now saute the peppers for like 5 mins. You want them to brown up a little to add a bit of smokiness to your soup. If you don’t have the time to spare just saute all above mentioned ingredients together.

Put everything aside and again drizzle the dutch oven with some olive oil. Add the squash and saute for about 10 mins until is slightly browned. Add a cup of the chicken broth and two cups of water and cook for about 20-25 mins. The cooking is done when the consistency of the squash is soft and can easily be mashed. Combine all the ingredients and mash them together adding some of the water to ease the process. The last thing to do is put all the mashed pulp back in the pot. At this point you add 2 more cups of chicken and more water in order to reach the consistency you prefer. I like my soup to be a bit thick, so I used in total 3 cups of stock and 4 cups of water.

Give everything a stir and season with salt and pepper. Rob stepped in and added his secret ingredient… cinnamon!! Which really made a difference I have to say:)

So just bring to boil and simmer for a few mins. You are done my friends! Ready to curl up and enjoy some goodness.

Butternut Squash Soup

It’s that time of the year again!! Pumpkin time! Halloween is almost here, Thanksgiving around the corner. All a big built up for Christmas!! I love Christmas. But for the time lets just enjoy this absolutely beautiful thick and rich butternut squash soup. Dig in!

2 big butternut squash or pumpkin, cut in big pieces (about 1300 g / 2.8 lbs)
1 onion, sliced
2 peppers, cut in big chunks
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 good drizzles of extra virgin olive oil
3 cups chicken stock
4 cups water
salt and pepper
pinch cinnamon

Cut the squash in two crosswise so you can peel it easier. So go ahead and peel it. Thereafter, cut it up in big chunks. Put aside.

Chop up the peppers in big chunks and slice those onions. Lastly, you crush the garlic.
Put a big pot or dutch oven over medium fire and drizzle in some olive oil. Saute garlic, onions for 2 mins. Remove and put aside.

Saute the peppers for like 5 mins until lightly browned. Put everything aside.
Saute the squash for about 10 mins until is slightly browned. Add a cup of the chicken broth and two cups of water and cook for about 20-25 mins. The cooking is done when the consistency of the squash is soft and can easily be mashed.

Combine all the ingredients and mash them together adding some of the water to ease the process.
Lastly, put all the mashed pulp back in the pot and add 2 more cups of chicken and more water in order to reach the consistency you prefer.

Give everything a stir and season with salt and pepper and cinamon and simmer for a few mins. You are done!

by PenelopeCooks - October 21, 2018October 21, 2018

Greek Yogurt with Honey

Greek yogurt with honey has been in my life ever since I can remember. We pair it with walnuts, but you’ll definitely see people having it with all sorts of nuts. In Crete, there is also the custom of honey and walnuts during the wedding ceremony. These two are mixed and given to the bride and groom. Honey symbolizes the sweet life of the couple and walnuts are a symbol of fertility!

You know back in the old days, before people started travelling a lot and the free flow of information, people in Crete made do with their local ingredients for desserts. Bees have been kept for their honey since antiquity. Nuts, honey and fruit – among others – were used for desserts. Greek yogurt with honey and walnuts is a traditional desserts in the island of Crete. So simple and beautiful at the same time.

A few facts about yogurt and honey

One thing I need to point out before we set course on anything… If you really want to make an original yogurt with honey dessert that will allow you to savor it in its peak taste, you must use prime quality ingredients. What do I mean by that? The yogurt should be Greek strained yogurt, of the thick or set type. Preferably, you can get the one made in Greece or at least made from milk produced in Greece. The terrain, vegetation and the nutrition of the animals varies from country to country, which plays a big role in the quality and taste of the milk, hence the yogurt too.

Secondly, the honey. Again you need good quality honey. Honey can have a quite different taste, depending on if the bees were kept near flowers, bigger trees or even thyme bushes. If the trees have been sprayed with pesticides, that can affect the honey or even kill the bees. Things to keep in mind when you pick your honey jars. In Crete, you can get excellent “thyme honey” as we call it, the taste is amazing! My father used to grow his own honey. He studied a lot about bees during that time, and he used to give them nothing else but plain garlic to guard them from sickness in the winter. Completely organic! Every time I fly home, I bring back a few jars of honey with me 🙂

To make our dessert

One very simple way to enjoy these flavors is to put a few spoonfuls of yogurt in a dessert bowl, sprinkle in some walnuts and then drizzle with honey! Thats it. Ready in seconds and tastes delicious.

I tried to make a different presentation here. Firstly, take a kitchen brush and make a straight line across the plate with the yogurt. Secondly, arrange two round rings of different sizes on the plate and fill them with yogurt. Carefully lift the rings. Thereafter, sprinkle some walnut pieces on one side and drizzle with honey on top. Enjoy your dessert!

Greek Yogurt with Honey

This is a very simple and traditional Greek dish. Its great as a dessert but wonderful for breakfast also. Yogurt with honey and walnuts is deeply rooted into the Greek culinary history and is a widely – and rightfully so – celebrated dish among the locals. It is quite simple to make with 3 ingredients only. Yet it will give you all the energy you need to start the day or a delicate sweet note to finish your dinner. Just enjoy!

8 tbsp Greek thick yogurt
3 tbsp honey
2 tbsp roughly crushed walnuts

Firstly, take a kitchen brush and make a straight line across the plate with the yogurt. Secondly, arrange two round rings of different sizes on the plate and fill them with yogurt. Carefully lift the rings.
Thereafter, sprinkle some walnut pieces on one side and drizzle with honey on top. Enjoy your dessert!

Alternatively you can add the yogurt in a bowl. Sprinkle with walnuts and drizzle with honey.

by PenelopeCooks - October 12, 2018

Baked Seabass with peppers and tomatoes

I wanted to make a nice fish dinner for one the other day, so I came up with this baked seabass recipe. Rob was traveling abroad so it was me and the little peanut! I wanted something homey and quick and healthy. Right I know, difficult combo. However, I found this nice seabass in the market and I improvised with the veggies in my fridge. I used tomatoes, peppers, onions and Kalamata olives. That’s the great thing about Dubai, the tomato season is just starting 😉 And I just planted the first batch in my garden.

Baked Seabass in the making

When buying the fish, please ask your fishmonger to scale it and clean the belly for you. Pan ready! Wash it and put aside. Cut the peppers and tomatoes in big chunks. Repeat the same with the onion, big wedges. Destone the olives. Just cut them all around with a paring knife, and take apart the two halves. Easy peasy – that’s it!

Then take a skillet and place the fish in the middle. Rub it’s belly inside with olive oil and some oregano. Stuff it with peppers, tomatoes and onions. Arrange the rest of the vegetables all around the fish and season everything with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the olive halves on top. Drizzle with lots of beautiful olive oil. Add more oregano on top – I can’t have enough of it! Stick it in the oven at 210 C / 410 F for 35-40 mins or until lightly browned on top.

Remember that the fish cooks quite quickly. If you are not sure if it’s done, take a fork, put in the hallow part of the belly and try to flip it open. If it does and you can see the flesh peeling off the bone easily, it’s done. Bon appetit!

Baked Seabass with peppers and tomatoes

This is a refreshing and light dish. Perfect for one if you are alone at home, or if you don’t want to share! I love the juicy peppers and sweet tomatoes that I used here, but you can use whatever fresh vegetables you have in your fridge.

1 whole seabass medium sized, descaled and belly cleaned
3 large peppers, cut in big chunks
2 big tomatoes, cut in big chunks
1/2 big onion, roughly sliced
oregano
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Your fish should be scaled and belly cleaned, your fishmonger can do this for you. Wash the cleaned fish and put it aside.
Cut the peppers and tomatoes in big chunks. Repeat the same with the onion, big wedges. Destone the olives. Just cut them all around with a paring knife, and take apart the two halves.
Take a skillet and place the fish in the middle. Rub it’s belly inside with olive oil and some oregano. Stuff it with peppers, tomatoes and onions. Arrange the rest of the vegetables all around the fish and season everything with salt n pepper. Sprinkle the olive halves on top. Drizzle with lots of olive oil.
Stick it in the oven at 210 C / 410 F for 35-40 mins or until lightly browned on top.

by PenelopeCooks - October 8, 2018October 21, 2018

Savory Greek Salad Cheesecake

I am a food lover, but you already know that. 🙂 What I mean is, I love good food no matter what the cuisine. I always love learning about new ingredients and techniques from around the world. However, I’m totally in love with the foods of my homeland. Greek food is delicious, welcoming, nutritious and in short, amazing. So I wanted to take a few simple ingredients and bring something different to the plate. To elevate presentation in a way that matches the wonderful taste.

One big favorite of mine is classic Greek salad. It is a dish in which one can actually taste Greece – in the ripe and sweet tomatoes, and the sourness of the extra virgin olive oil. So I named my dish Savory Greek Salad Cheesecake.

I had this idea in my head to make something tall and elegant. My notion here is not to change the taste of the dish, but to merely give it a different perspective. Greek cuisine is among the best and the healthiest. It is full of traditions and recipes that date a looooong way back. But that doesn’t mean it cannot be for the modern era that likes cleaner lines and different ideas.

So there it is my friends, my Greek Salad Cheesecake! I loved making it. Find the steps here.

Prepping

Start by slicing the tomatoes. Remove most of the seeds and fluid. Crumble the feta cheese with your hands and put aside. Take the potato peeler and peel off thin slices of cucumbers. Get the spring onions and cut them in taller and shorter pieces lengthwise.

Making the Greek Salad Cheesecake

You will need a cake ring. Preferably the adjustable size one. This way you can make it as big or small as you like. I opted for 15.5 cm / 6.1 inc diameter.

So place the ring on the actual serving plate and make the first layer with the tomatoes. Tuck them in nicely, 2-3 layers of tomatoes should be enough. Thereafter, you will add the crumbled feta. Spread it all around squeeze it just enough to come into shape. The next thing to to do is to arrange the cucumber slices on top. It’s a free style design so go crazy. 🙂 🙂 Lastly, get the onion pieces and stick them in the feta on whichever side you like, making a nice design.

Refrigerate in the cake ring until serving. Whereupon you just remove the ring slowly and drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper and maybe some oregano on top. Enjoy!

Greek Salad savory Cheesecake

This is my take on a Greek classic. Greek salad transformed into a savory Cheesecake. It is a beautiful little thing that will decorate your dinner or party table in an elegant way. Go ahead and try something different!

3 tomatoes, sliced
650 g (1.4 lbs) feta, crumbled
2 cucumbers, thinly sliced
2 spring onion, cut lengthwise
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

You will need a cake ring. Place the ring on the serving plate and layer the tomato slices. Tuck them in nicely, 2-3 layers of tomatoes are enough.
Thereafter add the crumbled feta. Spread it all around squeeze it just enough to come into shape.
Arrange the cucumber slices on top. It’s a free style design so go crazy. 🙂 🙂 Lastly, get the onion pieces and stick them in the feta on whichever side you like, making a nice design.
Refrigerate in the cake ring until serving. Whereupon you just remove the ring slowly and drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper and maybe some oregano on top. Enjoy!

by PenelopeCooks - September 28, 2018December 15, 2018

Mozzarella salad with Sausage and tomatoes

I love mozzarella, in fact I’m a sucker for it. Give me mozzarella and tomatoes and I will love you forever. So I made this mozzarella salad the other day, in quest of a lighter meal. When I said to Rob that we are having salad for dinner, he didn’t say anything (because he is so sweet), but I could hear him holding his breath at the other end of the phone lol. I don’t think he really minds anyway, he always loves my cooking 🙂 But this is a hearty salad full of protein with beautiful cherry tomatoes, potatoes, eggs, greens and some meat. I like using sausages, but you can use whatever you like: chicken, prosciutto or beans if you wanna go veggie. So let’s go ahead and make it.

Prepping your ingredients

Peel or scrub the baby potatoes, and boil them in a pot for around 10 mins. They should be tender and a bit soft to the touch of a fork. But not too soft, or they will be mashed in the salad. After the potatoes have been boiling for about 5 mins, add in the eggs, all 5 of them. In this salad I like my eggs soft boiled, so they can “sit” nicely on top of the salad, but have an appetizing and delicious runny yolk. So boil them around 4.5-5 mins. Tip: did you know that when you add salt to the boiling water it actually makes peeling the eggs a lot more easier? Try it!

In the meantime, get your sausages going. I used regular spiced English pork sausages. Sooo darn good! Feel free to use whatever sausages you crave. Put those little beauties in a pan and sauté them for around 10 mins, until they have a nice brown color.

Once done put all your cooked ingredients aside and keep them handy for your mozzarella and sausage salad.

Making the mozzarella salad

Wash your greens, tear them in big pieces and put them in a bowl. Add the halved cherry tomatoes. Take the boiled potatoes and cut them in two or three pieces. In the bowl they go too! Next you want to add your mozzarella slices. One ball of mozzarella is more than enough. Thereafter, take your sausages, cut them in big chunks and arrange them on top. Lasty, you add the eggs. Peel them and cut them in two carefully. Place them on top of everything else. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with some chopped spring onions.

This salad is complicated with so many different flavors going on. Therefore, I prefer to have a simple dressing like olive oil and maybe some lemon or vinegar.

Mozzarella Salad with sausage and tomatoes

This is a perfect salad for a lighter dinner option. Mozarrela goes perfectly with the ripe tomatoes and the succulent sausages. It’s served warm and it’s full of ingredients bursting with flavor!

10 baby potatoes, halved
5 eggs
4 pork sausages, cut in big chunks
1 ball mozzarella, sliced
2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes, halved
2 whole gem lettuce, teared in bug pieces
salt and pepper
extra virgin olive oil
lemon or vinegar
2 spring onions, chopped

Prepping

Peel or scrub the baby potatoes, and boil them in a pot for around 10 mins. They should be tender and a bit soft to the touch of a fork. After the potatoes have been boiling for about 5 mins, add in all the eggs. Boil eggs for about 4.5-5 mins.
Sauté the sausages for around 10 mins, until they have a nice brown color.

Once done put all your cooked ingredients aside.

Making the salad

Wash your greens, tear them in big pieces and put them in a bowl. Add the halved cherry tomatoes. Add the potatoes and mozzarella.
Lastly arrange the eggs on top cut in halves. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with some chopped spring onions. Dress with olive oil and maybe some lemon or vinegar.

Boil the potatoes together with the eggs tucked in tightly together. This way the eggs have less of a chance to break!

by PenelopeCooks - September 20, 2018October 9, 2018

Chicken Soup with Wholegrain Fusilli

This wasn’t supposed to be a post about chicken soup. Yup, it was supposed to be breakfast eggs with tomato. But more often then not, we bloggers have to improvise for various reasons. My reason today, was that Rob (my husband) woke up with a cold and a sore throat. And I know that chicken soup is the best remedy. So, change of plans. After a morning visit to the playground with James, I went back to the grocery store for more shopping. That’s what’s so great about blogging, it’s flexible.

So if you, my friends, are feeling a little bit under the weather, or if you just want something hearty and warming after a long day, please come along with me and make this chicken soup.

Cooking the chicken

Now if you prefer, you can use ready made chicken stock. Most supermarkets sell good quality stocks. In which case, you either just quickly cook your chicken meat on the stovetop. Just get a few pieces of boneless meat and cook it in a pan for 20 mins. Or you can also use ready roast chicken. My local market has excellent quality roast chicken that I often bring back home with me.

Or make it from scratch:

Get a whole chicken, cut in pieces and wash it. In a Dutch oven or big pot bring water to boil and add the chicken. Have enough water to cover the meat. Boil it for 20-25 mins. Do the fork test. Pinch it all the way down and if no red/pink juice comes, its ready.

Put it aside to cool when done. Once cool, remove the skin and shred the chicken. Discard the skin and bones.

Making the soup

In the same broth add some more water and bring to boil. Add the chopped carrots, sliced leeks and chopped onion. Add also the wholegrain pasta in the pot. I love wholegrain pastas. Much healthier and they are less processed than the regular pasta, therefore they contain more fiber. They also contain vitamin B and several minerals which are vital for our health. But honestly, I love how they taste, so flavorful! Check out for yourselves, boil some wholegrain pasta, strain, add salt and pepper and parmesan cheese. Then tell me if you loved it or not.

Anyway, back to the recipe! I am a rambler :). So your veggies are boiling in the pot together with pasta. Season with salt and pepper and a little bit of smoked paprika. This gives the flavor another dimension. After around 15-20 mins they should be done. So 1-2 mins before the end, sprinkle in some parsley. Remove from heat and add the shredded chicken.

When you serve, sprinkle the bowls with some more parsley (or whatever herbs you like) and chopped spring onions. Bon appetit!

Chicken Soup with wholegrain fusilli

if you are looking for a hearty, easy soup recipe to warm up your tummy, look no further. Make this delicious chicken soup with wholegrain fusilli and smoked paprika. The wholegrain pasta is such a healthy option and so delicious. Also, the smoked paprika adds such a beautiful depth to the chicken soup.

1 whole chicken cut in pieces
enough water to cover the chicken
2 leeks, sliced
2 carrots, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 pack wholegrain fusilli pasta (250 g / ard 8 oz)
1 tsp smoked paprika
bunch of parsley, chopped
salt and pepper
3 spring onions, sliced

Cooking the chicken

Get a whole chicken, cut in pieces and wash it. In a Dutch oven or big pot bring water to boil and add the chicken. Have enough water to cover the meat. Boil it for 20-25 mins. When you pinch with fork the liquid should come out clear.
Put it aside to cool when done. Once cool, remove the skin and shred the chicken. Discard the skin and bones.

Making the soup

In the same broth add some more water and bring to boil. Add the chopped carrots, sliced leeks and chopped onion. Add also the wholegrain pasta.
Season the soup with salt and pepper and smoked paprika.
Cook the soup for 15-20 mins more. Just before the end, sprinkle with some parsley. Remove from heat and add the shredded chicken. Sprinkle with spring onions on top.