Two of our trio have been to Greece this year and we’ve noticed an ever so subtle leaning to the flavours of that region sneaking into our Christmas menu.
Dill, marinated feta, oregano, figs, nuts, dried beans and the like have all made an appearance in our recipes but in a deliciously understated way.
Today we’re offering two quite different recipes for Christmas entrees. One is very simple, the other takes a bit more preparation. Both result in a light and tasty start to your Christmas feast.
Caren, Jan and Rosie
FETA STUFFED ZUCCHINI FLOWERS WITH ROASTED RED CAPSICUM AND A PINE NUT, TOMATO AND GREEN OLIVE DRESSING.
This dish is a bit fiddly but easy enough to accomplish and the advantage is that most of the preparation can be done the day before required and simply assembled in the last few minutes. It could be a good dish to make when you have a relative or friend on hand who can help with the cutting, dicing and peeling, while you both catch up on pre-Christmas Day news over a glass of bubbles.
Serves 10
3 red capsicums
Olive oil
20 baby zucchinis with flowers attached
180 gm desiree potato
150 gm drained goats cheese feta
1 tablespoons Greek yoghurt
Sea salt and white ground pepper
Preheat oven to 220° C.
Rub the capsicums with olive oil and place them on a baking tray and place in the oven. Roast until the skin is blistered and blackening, turning the capsicums every few minutes. Sometimes it helps to put the capsicums under a griller.
Remove the tray from the oven and place a clean tea towel over the tray and leave for ½ an hour. Remove the blistered skins, the seeds and whitish membranes and discard. Cut the flesh into narrow strips and set aside.
If you would like to make the final dish look a bit Christmas-fancy then cut the capsicum into star shapes with a cookie cutter as in the photograph.
Gently wash the zucchinis and dry with kitchen paper. Carefully open the flowers and snap off the stamens inside and discard. Set aside the zucchinis.
While the capsicums are resting, boil the potato until just tender. Cool and remove the skin. Roughly chop into small pieces. Mash the potato, feta and yogurt with salt and pepper until just smooth.
Put the feta mix into a piping bag (or you can just use a small spoon) and fill the flowers, allowing enough room to close the flowers by twisting the ends of the petals. Set aside until ready to pan fry at the last moment. You will have some feta mix left over.
Make the dressing and prepare its components as instructed below.
The various steps of the recipe can be made the day before up to this stage.
Pine Nut, Tomato and Green Olive Dressing
120 ml red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon mild honey
125 ml extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, left whole but bruised
Sea salt and black pepper
50 gm fresh pine nuts
2 ripe tomatoes
50 gm mild flavoured green olives
Combine the vinegar and honey and then slowly whisk in the olive oil to create a thickish emulsion. Add the garlic clove, which is discarded before serving. Season the dressing.
Dry fry the pine nuts until just coloured, then cool.
Score the base of the tomatoes and place them in a bowl of boiling water for 2 minutes or until the skin begins to lift. Remove from the water, dry and peel away the skin. Cut away and discard the seeds from the tomatoes and dice the remaining flesh.
Slice the flesh from the olives, discard the seeds, and cut the flesh into slivers.
To Assemble:
About 10 minutes before serving, heat some olive oil in a large pan and gently fry the zucchinis until just coloured. You may need to do this in 2 batches.
Pipe some of the remaining potato feta mix onto the centre of a plate and top with a mound of capsicum strips or a star. Place 2 zucchinis over this mound. Scatter some pine nuts, tomato dice and olive slivers around the mound and spoon over some dressing.
POACHED PRAWNS, KOHLRABI REMOULADE AND DILL AND MUSTARD SAUCE
This is a very quick entrée to prepare. The remoulade can be made the day before and the sauce days ahead. If your lovely fish monger will peel the prawns for you then you can whip this up in a flash.
Serves 10
40 large green (raw) prawns, peeled and deveined, leaving tails intact
½ bunch dill fronds for garnish
Kohlrabi Remoulade
650 gm peeled kohlrabi, julienned on a mandoline
1 large, juicy lemon, both zest and juice
200 ml mayonnaise
3 tablespoons chopped dill
3 tablespoons finely sliced chives
1 teaspoon green Tabasco
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Mix the kohlrabi with the zest and juice of the lemon.
Leave for half an hour and then squeeze out the liquid in a clean tea towel or kitchen cloth.
Mix the kohlrabi with the mayonnaise, dill, chives and seasonings. This can be done up to 24 hours ahead of time.
Dill and Mustard Sauce
2 tablespoons English mustard powder
2 tablespoons caster sugar
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
5 tablespoons olive oil
½ bunch fresh dill, fronds only
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Place mustard and sugar in the small bowl of a food processor. Add vinegar and pepper and salt and pulse to combine. Pulse again, adding 4 tablespoons of the oil, drop by drop as you would to make mayonnaise. Finally add dill fronds and process just enough to incorporate and mince the dill.
The mixture will be very thick and pasty. It can be stored for a long time like this in the fridge, and is best made in advance to allow the mustard to mellow.
When ready to serve add a tablespoon or two of boiling water, the additional tablespoon of olive oil and mix well to make a creamy sauce.
To Serve
Arrange the remoulade in the centre of each of ten plates.
Have the dill sauce prepared and at hand.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a rapid boil. Add the peeled and deveined prawns and poach for 1 minute.
Using a slotted spoon, remove prawns and place in a bowl. Toss with some of the dill sauce to gloss.
Arrange prawns on top of the remoulade, drizzle with extra dill sauce and garnish with extra dill fronds.
TIP: We used Kewpie Japanese Mayonnaise in this recipe for its convenience and flavour, but any quality product will do, especially if it’s your own homemade mayonnaise.
Adjust the flavours and seasonings of the remoulade to suit your palate or purpose by using different herbs and spices. A version we like includes jalapenos, dried sour cherries, almonds, parsley and green onions.