Easy Paella recipe

A perfect dish for your dinner or other occasion. It seems that ingredients do not go well together but after tasting Portuguese Paella, everyone will admit that the recipe is flawless.

Ingredients

  • 6 chicken thighs, skinless
  • 1 teaspoon chopped rosemary
  • 0.75 teaspoons salt
  • 0.25 teaspoons ground black pepper
  • 2 teaspoons oil
  • 1 link Portuguese chuorico
  • 1 sweet bell pepper
  • 1.5 cups rice, uncooked
  • 4 plum tomatoes
  • 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
  • 0.25 teaspoons saffron
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 3 cups chicken broth
  • 300g shrimps, peeled and deveined
  • 1 cup asparagus
  • 0.5 cups frozen peas

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius.

Rub the chicken with chopped rosemary, ground black pepper and half a teaspoon of salt.

Heat the oil in a big skillet. Place the chicken and cook for about 3 minutes on both sides until the chicken is lightly brown. Remove the chicken from the heat. Keep it warm and covered.

Cut chuorico in slices. Transfer the slices to the skillet and cook until lightly brown. Add chopped onion and sweet bell pepper. Cook approximately for 6-8 minutes, constantly stirring. Add rice, plum tomatoes, sweet paprika, saffron and a clove of garlic. Cook for a minute while stirring all the time. Add the chicken back to the skillet. Pour chicken broth. Add 0.25 teaspoons of salt. Bring to the boil. Cover the skillet with a lid and its handle with foil and transfer it to the preheated oven. Bake for about 10 minutes.

Add shrimps, asparagus and peas. Stir well. Cover and bake for another 5 minutes.

Canelés

A canelé is a cork-shaped pastry from Bordeaux, which has a caramelised crust and soft middle. These impressive desserts are well worth the effort.

Ingredients

  • 470ml full-fat milk
  • 50g good-quality French unsalted butter
  • ½ vanilla pod, split lengthways and seeds scraped out
  • 230g granulated sugar
  • 1 medium eggand 2 medium egg yolks, beaten
  • 50ml dark rum
  • 120g plain flour
  • beeswax (available from amazon.co.uk), melted, to grease the moulds (if they are copper)

Baking

  1. Make the batter a day in advance. Put 160ml milk, the butter, the vanilla pod and seeds, and 20g sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over a medium heat. Remove from the heat and let cool to about 38C or until lukewarm to the touch – too cool and the butter will congeal, too hot and the eggs will start to cook.
  2. Whisk in the egg mixture until incorporated, then mix in the rum and the rest of the milk.
  3. Mix the flour, remaining sugar and 1/2 tsp salt together in a bowl. Whisk in the liquid in thirds, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl between additions. Avoid over-whisking: too many air bubbles will result in dry canelés. The batter should have the same consistency as double cream.
  4. Strain the batter through a sieve into an airtight container. Press clingfilm directly onto the surface of the batter to prevent a skin from forming. Close the lid tightly and chill in the fridge overnight to rest the batter.
  5. Heat oven to 230C/210C fan/gas 8. Warm eight (or 16 if you have them) 5cm canelé moulds on the middle shelf in the oven for 5-10 mins. This helps to give the canelés a crunchy, caramelised exterior.
  6. Brush the moulds with a thin layer of melted beeswax (too much will cause the mixture to spill out during baking). Wring the clingfilm of any mixture that sticks to it, then gently mix to recombine ingredients that may have settled overnight. Do not overmix, or you risk incorporating too much air. The more uniform the batter, the better the final product.
  7. Fill each mould with batter. Be sure to leave 0.5cm at the top – when the canelé bakes, it will rise slightly and then sink, so it is important to account for this.
  8. Put the moulds on a baking tray and bake on the middle shelf for 10-15 mins. Rotate the tray by 180 degrees, reduce oven temperature to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4 and bake for 30-35 mins. (Baking time can vary depending on your oven.) Keep an eye on the canelés’ colour during the final mins to avoid over- or under-baking. The bottom should be a deep maple syrup colour.
  9. Remove the canelés from the oven, let sit for 10 mins, then turn the moulds upside down and gently tap the base until the canelé drops out. Cool completely before serving.

Greek Farmers Bread

You’ll Need:

* 500 grams unbleached white flour * 4 teaspoons instant yeast
* 2 teaspoons sugar
* 300 milliliters lukewarm water
* 1 Tablespoon oil
* 2 teaspoons salt

Procedures : Put the flour in a bowl. Make a well in the middle. Put the yeast and the sugar in the well. Pour water over. Mix slightly. Cover and put in a warm place for 15 minutes. Knead, adding the salt and oil, to a smooth elastic dough. Cover and put in a warm place for 15 minutes. Knead thoroughly and place on a baking sheet. Cover and put in a warm place for 15 minutes. Put in a cold oven and turn oven on to 375 degrees F. Bake 40 to 45 minutes until golden brown. Let cool 20 minutes before slicing

Greek Easter Cookies from Smyrna

You’ll Need:

* 2 cups butter * 1 1/2 cups white sugar
* 4 egg yolks
* 1/2 cup milk or orange juice
* 8 cups sifted all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 tablespoon grated orange rind
* 1 egg

Procedures : Sift together flour and baking powder and set aside. In large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add 4 egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each one. Add milk and flour. Work with the hands until dough is smooth. Add grated orange rind. Dough should be stiff so add additional flour if needed. Break off small portions of dough and roll out into pencil-size strips about 11 inches long. Fold each strip into thirds, sideways, and press lightly together at ends. Place cookies on ungreased baking sheet. Brush tops with beaten egg. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 18 to 20 minutes

Greek Delight

You’ll Need:

* 2 kg sugar * 1,5 cup corn flour
* Pinch of mastic powder
* Pinch of vanilla
* 6 cups of water
* Icing sugar
* Rosewater
* 1 sacket gelatine

Procedures : Mix all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the simmer. Simmer until mixture becomes thick and smooth. Pour mixture into a baking pan and when cool place it in the fridge for 7 hours. Remove from fridge, cut in square pieces of medium size, having in mind that each piece is a serving, and roll each piece in icing sugar

Greek Christmas Bread

You’ll Need:

* 1 pk (or 1 tablespoon) Active Dry Yeast * 1/4 cup Warm Water (110 to 115 degrees)
* 1/3 cup Sugar
* 1 tea spoon Ground Cardamom
* 1/4 tea spoon Salt
* 1 Egg
* 1/4 cup Milk
* 1/4 cup Vegetable Oil
* 1 1/2 cup Whole Wheat Flour
* 1 cup All-Purpose Flour
* 1/4 cup Golden Raisins
* 1/4 cup Walnuts, chopped

Procedures : Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Combine the sugar, cardamom, salt, egg, milk and oil in a large bowl. Mix well. Add the yeast mixture, flours, raisins and nuts. Mix well. Add enough extra flour to make soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Shape into a round loaf.

Put the dough into a lightly-oiled 8-inch-round cake pan. Cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Bake in a 350-degree oven 35 to 40 minutes, or until brown

Greek baklava

You’ll Need:

Filling * 500 gr. walnuts, coarsely chopped
* 60 gr. sugar
* 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Pastry
* 500 gr. fyllo pastry
* 180 gr. unsalted butter, melted

Syrup
* 230 gr. caster sugar
* 300 ml water
* 2 cinnamon sticks
* 2 teaspoons lemon juice
* some lemon peel
* 2 tablespoons honey

Procedures : Mix all the filling ingredients in a bowl.
Liberally butter the base and sides of an elongated or round baking dish. Measure the length of the fyllo against the baking dish roughly and, allowing 2 cm extra approximately for shrinkage, cut to length with a sharp knife. Brush each layer of fyllo with melted butter and spread over the base of the container as evenly as possible. Once you have used 5 layers of pastry, sprinkle a thin layer of filling all over the surface and add 3 more layers. Sprinkle a thin layer of filling and place 2 more sheets of fyllo on top. Sprinkle on all the remaining filling, spreading it evenly, and cover with 7-8 more layers of fyllo, brushing individually with butter. Fold any excess pastry on either of the sides over the filling and brush it with butter. Brush the top layer liberally with butter in order to get it crisp and golden. Trim any excess pastry with a small sharp knife, keeping in mind that it will also shrink. Cut the top layers of fyllo carefully, either diagonally into diamond shapes or straight, which will result in square or elongated pieces. Be careful not to cut right down to the base, but only the top layers. This is done in order to make cutting and lifting the pieces out, once it is cooked, much easier and efficient. Using the tips of four fingers, sprinkle drops of water all over the surface and cook it in a preheated oven, gas no.5/ 375 grades F / 190 grades C, for 15 minutes; lower the heat to gas no.4/ 350 grades F/ l80 grades C and cook for a further 20 minutes.
In the meantime, prepare the syrup. Place all the syrup ingredients, apart from the honey, in a saucepan and stir to dissolve the sugar. Simmer for 6-8 minutes, add the honey and simmer for a further 5 minutes until it thickens slightly. Let the baklava cool down then pour the hot but not boiling syrup slowly all over, through a strainer. Let it stand and absorb the syrup

Greek Apple Pie

You’ll Need:

* 8 apples (should be cored, peeled and chopped. If desired, 2 cups canned apples (drained) may be substituted.) * 1 tb Cornstarch
* 1/2 c Sugar
* 1/4 c Currants or raisins
* 1/2 ts cinnamon
* 1/2 c Walnuts
* 1/2 ts Allspice
* 1/2 c Butter; melted
* 1 c Powdered sugar
* 1 lb Commercial filo sheets

Procedures : Defrost frozen filo to room temperature, 2 to 4 hours. Mix filling in a bowl tossing ingredients with a spoon. Set aside. Lay 5 sheets filo flat, one on top of each other, with a little melted butter brushed between the sheets. Spread 1 cup of filling along one end. Roll filo over the apple filling so you will have a long filled tube. Fold side edges over 1/2″ so filling won’t fall out. Continue rolling. Place in a buttered baking pan or cookie sheet. Brush tops generously with melted butter. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Sift powdered sugar over tops and sides as soon as it is taken out of the oven and while still hot. When cool, cut into 2″ pieces and serve

Greek Almond Biscuits

You’ll Need:

* 3 cups almond meal * 1 cup caster sugar
* 3 drops almond essence
* 3 egg whites, lightly beaten
* 1 cup flaked almonds

Procedures : Combine the almond meal, sugar and almond essence in a large bowl. Add the egg whites and stir until the mixture forms a firm paste. Do not overmix. Roll a tablespoon of the mixture into the flaked almonds, and then roll into an 8cm long roll. Repeat until all the mixture is used. Press the remaining almonds onto the rolls. Shape the rolls into crescents or other shapes, and place on baking paper-lined oven trays. Bake in a moderate oven (180c) for about 15 mins or until lightly browned. Cool on trays

Gilt-head bream on the grill

You’ll Need:

* 1 kg of gilt-head bream * olive oil
* Salt
* lemon juice

Procedures : Salt the fish, baste it with oil and grill it. Serve in a long platter. Pour over some lemon – oil sauce. Use charcoal if you have. Gives better taste.
Tip: In some regions of Greece they cover the fish with thick salt, they grill it and then they remove the crust of salt that has created and they eat it. With this procedure they do not burn the fish and they manage to give a salty taste to eat as well