RICE WEEK: Double cooked risotto with feta cheese and herbs

I love rice! I probably love it as much as I love potatoes and probably more than I love pasta! My favourite type is the yellow long grain one but the last few years I have a thing about the wild rice too. Today's recipe is one of my favourites with this precious little grain and it is so easy to prepare. Definitely it can be served as it is but it also makes a great accompaniment to various roast or potted meats and poultry

RICE WEEK: Easy rice pilaf with mussels cooked in wine, mustard and tomato sauce

This is a quite popular dish around the country and especially in Northern parts, like Thessaloniki, where mussels are a super delicacy cooked in so many different delicious ways! There are variations of the recipe and my favourite is the one where pine nuts and black raisins are added into the mussels sauce getting this special "a la Polita" flavour brought to us from the Greeks of Asia Minor. The rice suggested in the recipe is the Basmati but, since it is not our favourite type of rice, I have tried the recipe using the old, good long grain one

RICE WEEK: Rice pilaf with chicken livers, chickpeas and raisins

A delicious rice pilaf which arrived to us thanks to the Greeks of Asia Minor who are the experts of this type of cuisine. This is one of the finest of Northern Greece traditional dishes and although it can be served any time, during the Winter months it gives this special hearty feeling. Cooking the ingredients with less liquids you can have a delicious stuffing for roast turkey or chicken 
 

 

RICE WEEK: Risotto with beetroots and fresh tarragon

A different dish for risotto with the addition of refreshing beetroots, flavoured with tarragon. A very tasty and colourful recipe to enjoy

RICE WEEK: Baked tomato rice with raisins, pine nuts and fresh herbs

An old Indian proverb says that "grains of rice should be like two brothers - close to each other but not stuck together".... The sure thing is that in our every day cooking life we need to know which type of rice suits better to each recipe. Like this dish today which is a very hearty and delicious rice pilaf with, probably, the most popular variety of rice in Greece, the yellow long grain one. The sweetness of the raisins and the crunchy pine nuts give an extra flavour. A good company to various meat or poultry dishes

BAKING BREAD WEEK 1: Savoury loaf filled with mildly spiced ground meat and Feta cheese - A bread which is a meal on its own!

My preference for savoury "things" as opposed to sweet ones must be rather known to many of you by now.... Another weakness of mine, not so well known perhaps, is the freshly baked homemade breads. And of course the savoury ones! Imagine my pleasure every time recipes like today's are discovered! Not only a savoury homemade bread but filled with some flavoursome filling at the same time! How deliciously exciting! A bread that can easily get packed to take with you at a picnic, to serve proudly at a children's party or to serve as a light meal with some salad. Things can get easier if you prepare the ground meat the day before or if there is any leftover meat sauce from a previous meal so to gain some time. Just keep in mind that if you use any leftovers the sauce needs to go in the bread well drained of its juices