Pudding with milk and rice (Rizoghalo)

Such a familiar smell! Such an easy dessert! So healthy and yummy as there's no tomorrow!!!

Pudding with milk and rice (Rizogalo)

Ingredients

6 table spoons rice for risotto

2 cups water

6 cups milk (full fat)

4 table spoons corn flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tea spoon vanilla powder

Procedure

Boil the rice into the water, until it drinks it all.

Start boiling the milk in another bigger casserole.

Disolve the corn flour into a bit of water.

As soon as the milk starts boiling add the rice and the sugar and stir constantly. Then add the corn flour. 

Stir the mixture in a fast way so as it becomes somehow curdy. Add the vanilla powder at the end, and then pour the mixture into small bowls.

Let it cool for 10-15 minutes and then transfer it into the fridge. In about 2 hours you'll have an amazing, refreshing, delicious and traditional Greek pudding!

TIP

Season with cinammon on the top for extra flavor!

Enjoy!!!

Risotto a la greque (a ha!) with tomato

I guess after all these recipes, you have already noticed that all , all, all, or maybe most of the all, recipes in the greek  cuisine start like that "We fry one chopped onion.."! It literally means to put 2 table spoons of olive oil into a pan or a casserole (depending the recipe), put it in medium fire, chop the onion, throw it in the oil, stir it a bit and leave it there for 2 minutes!!!
It's true!
Do you wanna learn to say it in greek and make fun at your friends?
"Tsagharizoume ena kremidi.."
Ok, we laughed enough for today, let's start cooking..

Risotto a la greque with tomato

1. Tsigharizoume ena kremidi and one green pepper (both chopped of course)
2. Add 2 cups of rice (for risotto). Season with salt and pepper. Stir the rice for 3-4 minutes.
3. Add 2 tomatoes cut julienne style. It would be better to peel off your tomatoes.
4. Add 4 cups of water for every cup of rice. So here, 8 cups of water!!
5. Ruffle (a new google translate word!) the food so as it doesn't stick to the bottom of your casserole.
6. It's ready when there is no water left; the mixture has to be thick and mushy.
7. Finish with some parsley before you remove it from the fire.
8. Serve with some sheep cheese, it's delicious!

Enjoy!!!

Greek sushi with grape leaves and rice (Sarmadakia)

The ultimate grandma delice! That when you visit her during the summer, it's the first thing that she will offer you to eat.. It requires love and tenderness to be prepared and a real technique in rolling the leaves.. A ha! it's not an easy task for everyone! It's nice to be confident, but keep it for another time, sweeties! he he..

Greek sushi with grape leaves and rice

So here we go:
100 grape leaves (leave aside around 10 leaves)
1 bunch of fresh green onions (around 7) - chopped in small pieces
3 handfuls of dill or fennel
4 cups of rice (Karolina or type for risotto)
3/4 cup olive oil
Salt, Pepper

In a casserole, heat up plenty of water. No need to boil it. Then take the leaves, 5-8 at time, and pass them from the warm water. Take them out with the big spoon with the holes and let them aside to cool.

Mix all the rest of the ingredients together.

Take each leaf open it nicely and put in the middle of its back side a teaspoon of the rice mixture.
Take the right side of the leaf and fold it upon the rice. Then do the same with the left side. Roll it once or twice and continue to fold the right end and then left end. Roll again until you have a smallie and cutie leafy roll! Continue with all the leaves.

Last, in a deep casserole, lay down the 10 leaves that you had left aside in the beginning. Lay your rolling around, and on the top of them in a tight way between them. Season with salt and pepper and pour a bit of olive oil and the juice of 1 1/2 lemon. Add 3 1/2 cups of water for every cup of rice that you have added.
Cook them in medium fire until they "drink" all the water.

TIP
Put a plate on the very top of the rollings so as to avoid them having them dancing and swimming in your casserole while boiling.

Serve with a Greek yogurt dip and enjoy!!!

PS: For questions and queries, ask for my grandmother's phone number. Thank you!

Sarmadakia

Enjoy!!!

Chicken with red sauce in the oven

Chicken: Kids' favorite!

Ask your butcher to cut a whole chicken into pieces. Marinate the pieces into a mixture of olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano, garlic, chopped tomatoes and their juice and a bit of sugar. Keep it in the frigde for about 15 minutes.

Chicken with red sauce in the oven

After the 15 minutes, take the chicken and put it in an oven pan, as it is with its marinade. For extra flavour you can spread around 2-3 tea spoons of butter and you can add a cup of dry red or white wine. Add 2 glasses of water and bake it for 40-50 minutes at 220o C.

Accompany it with creamy rice or french fries and your kids will love you even more!

Enjoy!!!

Capsicum filled with rice (gemista)

My all time favourite summer food is the so called "gemista", literally meaning "filled" or "stuffed".

Take your capsicums, wash them and cut the head as if you want to use later as a hat. Cut out the seeds.
In a bowl count as many table spoons of rice as the number of your capsicums adding 3 more.
Then, let's say, for the rice of 10 capsicums add 1 1/2 cups of tomatoes chopped into small pieces including their juice. I personally add as well a teaspoon of ketchup. If not, just add some suger. Then add a chopped onion, parsley, fresh or dry peppermint, oregano, salt, pepper and 2-3 tbl spoons of olive oil.

Gemista (Capsicum filled with rice)

Mix everything together and then fill in the capsicums with this mixture. Add the little hat on the top of every capsicum and put them in an order into an oven pan, spread on them some olive oil, add 2 glasses of water and bake at 180o C for around 45-60 minutes.

PS: You can also make the same exactly procedure using big mature tomatoes. Take out their flesh that you can use it later in the mixture of the rice, and then you have two vegies transformed into amazing and eye catching partners on a plate!

Enjoy!!!