Goat cheese & Sundried tomato pesto Phyllo Puffs

This is a recipe i recently came up with after realizing i had nothing to serve my guests as an appetizer 15 minutes before they arrived!

So i just ran across my fridge content,

and found the following ingredients:

1/2 pack of Phyllo dough (+- 20 sheets)

2-3 spoons of thick cooking cream1 small pack of goat cheese (the creamy one)
2-3 spoons of sun dried tomato pesto

A dozen of asparagus
Butter/olive oil
Sliced almonds
Mixed greens

First, take the phyllo dough out of the freezer an hour or so before starting the preparation.

In the meantime, two things need to be done: 1) mix well the goat cheese, cream and pesto in a bowl until you get a thick byt a little creamy mixture, and 2) cook the asparagus (but keep them a little crispy).

Then, time to assemble the whole thing. It's probably the more laborious part of it, but it's so good that it's worth the time investment! Take half of the sheets (=- 10) for each puff, and spread a mix of olive oil and melted butter between each sheet.
Then, spread half of the goat cheese mixture in the middle of the phyllo dough, making sure both ends remain empty, and add half of the asparagus on top of it. Then, roll the dough (tight, but not too much as you don't want it to explode! - i experienced it!), and fold the extremities underneath. Repeat the same operation for the second one with the remaining half of the ingredients, and place both puffs on an oven-safe plate for 15-20 minutes in the oven, which has been pre-heated at 425 (or until it's golden).

Each puff serves 4 (small portions).
Serve on mixed greens, with some sliced almonds on top.
Alternative: The first time i made them, i served them with a classical cream-white wine sauce on top of it, and it was delicious.

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Easy and tasty chicken stir-fry

This is a super quick and easy stir-fry recipe that I've been using for years!

-1 medium zucchini
-1½ cups broccoli florets
-1 cup snow peas
-1 cup bean sprouts
-½ cooked chicken breast (optional)
-2 cans chicken broth (Campbell’s works well) or replace with 2 sachets of powdered chicken bouillon.
-3 tablespoons soya sauce
-¼ cup corn starch
-1 tablespoon vegetable oil
-2 cups of white rice (Minute Rice works well)
-2 teaspoons sesame seeds (optional)

Prep time: 5-10 mins
Cooking time: 10-12 mins

Begin by cooking the rice so that it is ready at the same time as the stir-fry (which usually takes about 10 minutes or so to make). If using Minute Rice, I like to start the rice first and once the water is boiling, take it off the heat and let it sit while I cook the stir-fry – that way, it is light and fluffy by the time the main dish is ready.

Chop the zucchini into about 5mm slices, and prepare the broccoli florets (bite-size pieces work best). Cut off the ends of the snow peas. Put the vegetables aside for now. Then, add the chicken broth to the corn starch while stirring, making sure to dissolve all of the cornstarch without leaving clumps (you can do this in a large measuring cup). Add the soya sauce and stir well.

Pre-heat the wok on high using about 1 tbsp of vegetable oil (a fry pan can work nicely if you do not have a wok). Once it is very hot, throw in the broccoli, zucchini and snow peas. Stir fry the vegetables on high heat using a non-stick utensil (like a wooden spoon) for about 5 minutes, or until the zucchini is tender and browned on both sides. Then add the bean sprouts and the chicken (optional). Stir fry for another 2 minutes, adding the sesame seeds once everything has been cooked. Then, stir the sauce one last time in the measuring cup to further dissolve any cornstarch and then add it to the wok, being careful not to splash. The sauce will bubble quite a bit at the beginning, so be sure to stir the wok’s contents well. Once it quiets down, let the sauce thicken – this usually takes about 2-3 minutes. You will notice that it will begin to boil and get darker – be sure it does not burn, though. Once all the sauce is the same thick, dark consistency, the stir-fry is ready! Serve over a bed of white rice (about 1 cup per person), as depicted.

Serves 2 (for more people, you can double the quantities of vegetables and meat, but perhaps only make 1.5x the sauce – the portions are already quite generous!)

Enjoy!

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Zucchini Boerek

This is a recipe that some of you already tried! I decided to write one of my all-time favorites. Strangely, I am finding this hard to categorize, it is sort of a quiche, a gratin or a Turkish boerek. But it is simple to make and very delicious.

Ingredients:
1 medium-size zucchini
1 medium-size carrot
125 grams of feta cheese
7-8 sheets of phyllo dough
1 cup of carbonated water
3 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Fresh dill (chopped)
1 cup cheddar cheese
Butter

Grate the zucchini and the carrot in a big bowl. Break the phyllo dough sheets into small pieces with your hands. The pieces can be uneven, it does not matter. Then add the eggs, the feta cheese, the dill, the milk and the vegetable oil. You could also add some cheddar cheese if you like. Mix well with a spoon, cover with a lid or foil and let it sit in the fridge for an hour.

In the meantime butter the pyrex dish, preferably a large deep one, approximately 8''x12''. Transfer the mixture to the pyrex, and then pour the carbonated water on. When you do that you get a feeling that you ruined everything, no worries :) On top, place little pieces of butter, and then cover with grated cheddar cheese. Bake about 30 minutes, or until the top is golden, at 425F.

Once it is ready, let it cool down a little before you serve. Otherwise, just like lasagna, it loses its form once you transfer to the plates. Bon appetit!

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