The post Speedy Greek Style Chicken & Lemon Soup appeared first on The Peony Life.
]]>ENJOY THIS SIMPLE SOUP ALL WEEK LONG. IT’S EVEN BETTER THE NEXT DAY!
I was recently asked what my favorite comfort food was and it didn’t take me long to decide on soup. I have no real favorite, although I’m fond of Cream of Wild Mushroom and Lazy Pea Soup with Mint & Crème Fraîche; any bowl of delicious soup will do the trick. This lemony chicken soup is my take on the soups I enjoyed so much in Greece & Albania.
I have this habit of ordering soup at restaurants, especially when I’m traveling abroad. My fiancé teases me about it, mostly when it’s unpractical like in 32C/90F heat. The truth is I love learning about different cultures, regions, countries & their traditions by tasting their soups. I think you can learn a lot about a cook by what kind of soup they are proud to make. It often doesn’t change much over the years and usually tells some sort of story.
One memory in particular stands out for me. Rez & I were vacationing in Albania, where my fiancé spent his childhood. We were at the start of a road trip down south and were staying the night in this remote village in the mountains, called Kaninë. The village had only one small restaurant/bar which we were escorted to by our sweet host Jimmy. This restaurant had no name, no menu and one of the best soups I’ve tasted in my life (also with no name).
Everything served in the restaurant was grown, raised and harvested on their property (rakia and wine included). You quite literally could taste Albania in a bowl! There is nothing more authentic than that. Some people collect magnets or shot glasses from their travels, I happen to collect memories & stories of the soups I’ve tasted.
Its easy make something wonderful when you have deep pockets and access to the latest & greatest ingredients of the moment. What really makes an outstanding cook is someone who creates something extraordinary with limited resources and whatever ingredients they have. The best cooks can make something out of nothing. I’ve learned that outstanding food doesn’t have to be expensive.
LEMONS ARE REALLY THE FEATURE INGREDIENT IN THIS DISH
This Speedy Greek Style Chicken & Lemon Soup is a constant when I’m starting to feel sick. It’s quick, easy and you can make a big batch so you don’t starve when your cold/flu hits full force. I think it’s really important to use fresh herbs in this recipe because dill and parsley are both delicate herbs and their dried counterparts don’t have much taste. Lemon is a stand out in this soup for sure and I like to add a little extra lemon zest or minced preserved lemon to really amp up the flavor.
Enjoy this Speedy Greek Style Chicken & Lemon Soup recipe whenever you feel like it, not just while you’re sick!
T’bëftë mirë! Albanian
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]]>The post Halloumi Saganaki with Strawberry Salsa appeared first on The Peony Life.
]]>PERFECT FOR A DATE NIGHT
Halloumi is a salty cheese, with a distinctive texture, similar to Mozzarella. It was first made in Cyprus by the Greeks, later gaining popularity in the middle east. Traditional Halloumi is made with unpasteurized sheep and goats milk, then wrapped with mint leaves, to help with preservation. The cheese would then be stored in its own juices with salt-water and frozen for up-to one year.
This white cheese has a super high melting point, which makes it a great option for frying(saganaki) or grilling. You can find Halloumi on the menu in many Greek, Lebanese and other middle eastern restaurants. A classic Halloumi pairing is with watermelon and mint. The sweetness of the watermelon contrasts the saltiness of the cheese, to make a perfectly coupled pairing.
TAKE A MINI-VACATION IN YOUR KITCHEN AND TRY SOMETHING NEW!
I was inspired to make this at home because lately I’ve been feeling the travel bug, but know I have 10 months to go before we leave on our honeymoon. Usually, we’re able to pick up and go more regularly, but we have a wedding and honeymoon to save for this year. Who knew being a grown up would be so freaking expensive!!!
Instead of traveling, I opted to make a special dinner for my fiancé that would remind him of our travels. Saganaki was one of Rez’s favorite things to order on our vacation so I decided to take my own spin on the dish and serve it with a strawberry salsa.
Strawberries are in season right now and can be found pretty much everywhere! I was able to snag some super sweet local berries from the farmers market and was crazy-happy with the results. Make sure to serve this with a slotted spoon so you don’t get too too much liquid on the plate.
WASH BERRIES RIGHT BEFORE USING THEM. THEY WILL GO BAD QUICKLY ONCE THEY’VE BEEN WASHED!
Rez & I recently did a little road trip and ended up at a delightful winery called Sundance Vineyards, in Solvang California. While tasting wines, we sampled olive oils and balsamic vinegars made on-site. They were incredible! We tasted this 18 year old strawberry balsamic vinegar that I immediately knew I had to have. I really felt like just yelling MINE! I was such a fan, I started making everyone in the tasting room try it and next thing you know; we’ve all bought the vinegar to take home, for ourselves and as gifts. It was $20.00 for a 200ml bottle, so not the cheapest but it was so worth the splurge. I used it in the recipe instead of balsamic glaze and it was heavenly. I only break out this little gem for special occasions, like bringing me out of my travel blues.
DON’T WORRY, IT’S 100% ACCEPTABLE TO SAMPLE WHILE YOU COOK
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]]>The post Tzatziki appeared first on The Peony Life.
]]>This Tzatziki takes me back to Greece!
When my fiancé & I went to Greece it was a dream come true! For almost two decades, traveling to Greece had been #1 on my bucket list. I dreamt of sunsets in Santorini, getting lost in the winding white alleyways, drinking ouzo in a taverna on the caldera and eating the best greek food of my life. I had been patiently impatiently waiting until I met ‘the one’ so to speak, because it seemed like such a romantic place and I didn’t want to go with just anyone. Luckily, when Rez came along he was quick to want to make that dream come true and we started planning an epic euro trip that would include the Greek islands for my birthday.
Elia (Olive) beach, Mykonos
I have no idea how much Tzatziki we consumed while in Greece but it was a lot! Rez was totally in his element, feeling so at home with the familiar foods from childhood. The Tzatziki in Greece was so thick & creamy and was always served on a shallow plate; never in a bowl.
Straining yogurt is an important part of making traditional Tzatziki
Why could I never get it quite right at home? What was I missing? I usually ended up with a runnier Tzatziki, most certainly not the thick spread I was served in Greece. After asking around at a few of the smaller tavernas, I learned that they were straining their yogurt to make a yogurt cheese. It’s similar to a soft cream cheese. The Lebanese culture also does this to make labneh. Ideally, you would strain it for up to 48 hours, but you can cheat and speed up the process for this recipe (I do it all the time). You just need a strainer, cheesecloth and a large bowl to catch the liquid as it drops from the yogurt.
The yogurt will shrink in size by half when strained. If the recipe called for 1.5 cups of strained yogurt, you need to start with 3 cups.
Cut cheesecloth into 6-8 18 inch pieces and layer them in the strainer. Sit the strainer inside the bowl to catch the liquid as it drips from the yogurt. Pour the yogurt into the center of the cheesecloth and pull up the sides of the cloth, bringing the ends together at the top and tying with a string. Place in the fridge and let it sit for an hour.
In the meantime, grate your cucumbers. No need to peel them, just go ahead and start grating. You must use English cucumbers or the small Persian cucumbers for this recipe. Don’t use the wide, regular cucumbers because they are waxy and will give your Tzatziki a bitter taste. Put the grated cucumber in a another strainer and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp sea salt to help draw out the moisture from the cucumbers. If you’re in a rush, you can press down on the cucumbers to speed up the process. If you’re not in a rush, leave cucumbers in the fridge overnight or for 10-12 hours for best result.
Tzatziki, Olives and Fresh Baguette are great to serve your friends over cocktails.
After an hour take it out of the fridge and check the liquid in the bowl to make sure no yogurt is leaking. If there is yogurt in the bowl or coming out of the cheesecloth, it means you’re not using enough. If this is the case, cut a few more pieces of cheesecloth and tie with another string. No biggy!
If you’re trying to speed up the process, you can gently start ringing out the liquid. You can repeat this every half hour of so depending on how much of a rush you’re in. Ideally, you would be able to keep it in the fridge with the cucumbers, overnight or for at least 10-12 hours. The longer you let it sit, the thicker it will be!
Fresh Mint & Dill are suggested for this recipe but dried herbs can be used in a pinch! Just make sure to leave Tzatziki in the fridge for longer to let the dried herbs soften into the spread.
Remove the yogurt out of the cheesecloth and voila Thats how you make yogurt cheese. It’s freaking simple eh? It just requires a little bit of your attention but its so worth it. If you want to do almost no work at all, leave it in the fridge for at least 24 hours so the liquid will drain out naturally.
Now all you have left to do is add all the other ingredients: cucumbers, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, dill and mint.
Kalí óreksi! xx Greek
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