Stuffed Tenderloin with Aegina’s pistachio

Cooking with fruits and nuts is a gourmet venture for most people… It sounds like a “scary” idea but really, once you try it you will find it ingenious and fun. Here, I’m giving you a special recipe made with pork tenderloin, apples and pistachio from the Greek island of  Aegina.

Aegina’s pistachio is a P.D.O (Protected Designation of Origin) product.

It is rich in proteins (26,5% to 28,4%), oils (52,1% to 53,8%),

sugar ( 5,3% to 6,5%) and its nutritional value per  100 gr is: protein:

12 gr, calories: 340, fat 29 gr, carbohydrates: 8 gr, fiber: 2 gr.

Of course, if you cannot find the original Aegina’s pistachio, you can use any other kind is available near you.

So, don’t be afraid to venture this recipe.

Ask your friends to taste it and I’m sure that they will love it, thus they will love you even more. Enjoy…

Stuffed Tenderloin with “Aegina” pistachio & apples

For four persons

INGREDIENTS:

2 pieces of pork tenderloin (appr. 1 ½ kilo)

Salt and freshly ground pepper

FOR THE STUFFING:

1 tbsp of butter

100 gr of pistachio (without the skin)

1 apple (piled and cut in cubes)

FOR THE SAUCE:

6 tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

1 large onion (grated)

FOR DECORATION:

2 apples (1 red, 1 green) cut into rounds

2 tbsp of brown sugar

HOW TO:

Thoroughly wash the meat and dry it on a piece of paper.

Season it well. Using your hands, open the two pieces of meat wide and hardly press it against the table, so that it becomes slim enough.

Place the two pieces of meat one under the other on a foil, in a way they form a rectangle.

In a frying pan and on a medium heat, melt the butter and sauté the apple cubes. Pour in the pistachio as well with a little water and leave them to boil for a few minutes, just until the apple is soften enough.

When ready remove from heat and slowly pour the stuffing in the centre of both pieces of meat starting from the top to the bottom.

Gently roll the meat, encircling the stuffing inside, forming a cylinder.

Use a culinary string to tie the meat to secure that the stuffing will stay inside.

If you don’t have a string you can use four or five toothpicks (just remember to remove them when serving).

With a brush, coat the meat with some olive oil.

Bake the tenderloin in a preheated oven in 180oC for 40 minutes (it depends on the meat’s size).

When ready, move it to a large plate and cut the meat into slices.

Take all the juice from the baking pan and pour it over the slices.

Last but not least, in a casserole or frying pan, warm the brown sugar with the olive oil on a low heat.

Sauté the apple rounds for a few minutes (be careful not to melt them, they must be firm) and use them to decorate your plate. Place them all around the meat.

That’s it. Now, be frank, it wasn’t too difficult, was it?

 

Colorfull pork chops for everyone!

Pork chops are a delicious treat for nearly everybody. There are hundreds of ways to prepare them: fried, grilled, baked, scalded, saute, marinated etc…

Here’s an oven-made, very easy recipe, perfect for everybody that combines meat with vegetables.

That makes it also a perfect kids recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

6 pork chops (neck)

1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

2 red peppers in slices

2 yellow peppers in slices

2 green peppers in slices

1/2 lb of cherry tomatoes

2 cloves of garlic sliced

Some fresh thyme

Salt and pepper to taste

FOR THE SAUCE:

3 lemons, the juice

2 tbsp of mustard (hot is better here)

2-3 cloves of garlic minced

1/2 a tsp of salt

HOW TO:

Place the pork chops in a baking pan. Season with salt and pepper.

Place all the sliced peppers and sliced garlic over the pork chops in the baking pan.

Wash the cherry tomatoes, cut them in half and add them in the pan with the pork chops and peppers.

In a jar with a lid beat the minced garlic, salt, mustard and lemon juice.

Pour the sauce over the ingredients in the baking pan and add the fresh thyme.

On the top, pour the olive oil and cover with aluminum foil.

Bake in a preheated oven to 180 C (350 F) for about 1 1/2 hours.

After about an hour of baking, remove the aluminum foil.

Bake for the rest of the remaining time for the food to get some color.

From time to time make sure to moist the chops with some of the sauce with a spoon.

When ready, serve hot accompanied with french fries and a Greek salad!

Oven baked “Kleftiko” lamb

The term “kleftiko” suggests lamb or goat meat which is slow-cooked traditionally in a sealed clay oven.

It is a recipe from Cyprus and if it is cooked properly and slowly, it is delicious. There are many variations. Here is an easy, basic version. With this recipe, I’m sure you will steal your loved ones heart. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

1 kg lamb meat without the bone

125 gr Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

250 gr peas

Dried oregano

Dried thyme

3 carrots chopped

2 tbsp lemon Juice

3 tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 big potatoes cut in cubes

2 tomatoes sliced

6 pieces of non-stick paper

100 gr of Greek “kefalograviera” cheese (it’s salty enough)

Salt and freshly ground pepper

HOW TO:

Wash the meat, drain and marinade the meat with all the spices, the lemon and the olive oil in a large bowl, leave for at least one hour.

Meanwhile, we scald the carrots and peas into salted water. Drain well.

In a pot, pour 3 tbsp of olive oil and sauté the carrots and peas.

In another pot, pour 125 gr of the olive oil and sauté the lamb. Then in the same oil (we add a little if needed) saute the potatoes.

Take 6 pieces of non-stick paper and divide the pieces of lamb, the potatoes, the carrots, the peas and “kefalograviera” cheese equally. On the top, add one tomato slice, salt and pepper and wrap each paper individually.

Use a cotton string to tie them and put them into a clay pot or a simple baking tray.

Bake them for 1 hour at 175o C.

Make sure you serve hot and accompany with a Greek salad.

Smyrna Meatballs-Heaven must be Greek!!!

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Pork tenderloin with “Rakomelo”

Hello my friends. Today I’m giving you one of my favorite Greek, local recipes. It combines two of my favorite ingredients: pork tenderloin and Rakomelo. If you need more information on the “Rakomelo”, please visit my earlier posts. Also, you may find more information at the bottom of the page. Enjoy !

for four persons

750 gr pork tenderloin

2 leeks chopped into 2 cm

3 spring onions chopped

1/2 wine glass of Rakomelo

a few drops of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

3 garlic cloves sea salt 

FOR THE MARINADE:

4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

½ wine glass of Rakomelo

1 tbsp sweet pepper

3 garlic cloves  

HOW TO:

First we marinate the pork in a bowl with all the ingredients together.

We place our marinade in the refrigerator no more than one hour.

In a non-stick frying pan, we pour a few drops of olive oil and we sauté the meat with all the marinade ingredients. We fry them for about 10 minutes until the meat changes color.

Then, we extinguish with the other ½ wine glass of Rakomelo. We let it boil for another 10 minutes. If we notice that there is not enough fluid in the pan, we must add a little water so that the meat won’t stick.

Then we add the leeks and the onions and we let them boil for another 10 minutes. We add water if needed.

Season well and by now it should be tender enough. We serve along with white rice (the potatoes spoil its flavor, to my opinion).

*EXTRA TIP: For a real gourmet dish, you can sprinkle some almond fillets on your dish when serving.

 “RAKOMELO” – Stay healthy during the winter, having…fun!

Rakomelo is a Greek spirit made of honey following the process of sugar fermentation. Its production combines the Cretan spirit “Raki”(tsikoudia) or “tsipouro” with honey and several spices like cinnamon, clove, cardamon,  or other local spices.

It is produced mainly in the island of Crete but also in other Aegean islands and in mainland. It is consumed hot during winter since it’s a weapon against the cold and a very effective trick to keep you warm.

Another similar product of the island of Amorgos, is called “psimeni raki” and it is produced either with honey or with sugar.

When you buy a bottle of Rakomelo you must heat it a little bit and then serve it immediately.

Except the original, plain recipe, one can also find Rakomelo with orange, lemon and the PDO “mastiha” of the island of Chios. These three ingredients add extra flavour to the Rakomelo elevating it to high taste levels.

 

Meatballs for kids. Easy, quick and…yummy!

Searching to find a recipe that children would really love, I came across one which I think that every kid adores…

Meatballs!!

Honestly, I don’t know one little fellow that doesn’t like meatballs. Served either with fries or with pasta, in your kitchen…

or packed for the school or the road, meatballs are in the heart of every kid. So, today we cook meatballs, fried or grilled,

with tomato paste or not…

INGREDIENTS

½ kg minced meat (beef)
1 onion mashed
½ tsp oregano

½ tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp mint
1 egg
4 bread slices, only the crumb
mint chopped(according to taste)
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp olive oil
flour

HOW TO:

In a large bowl, we mix all the ingredients together except the bread.

We soak the bread into water to soften and we squeeze with our hands very well until.

Then, we add it into the bowl. We mix the ingredients with our hands, very well.

We take small portions in our hands and we form small meatballs.

The actual size and form is up to us. Into a flat plate we sprinkle the flour.

We roll each meatball on the flour. Be careful to cover the entire meatball with the flour.

Now we are ready to fry them in a frying pan or in a fryer.

We can serve them with mashed potatoes, rice, spaghetti or French fries.

 

*1) Further step:

If we want, we can continue our recipe.

Once the meatballs are fried, we can dip them into a casserole with tomato sauce for 15 minutes.

Then we can use the sauce with the meatballs to serve our spaghetti.

*2) Further step:

Instead of frying our meatballs, we can put them in the oven with fat potato chunks.

In that case, we should give them a more flat form so that they can be grilled homogeneously.

If you don’t want them to dry in the grill, you must “brush” them with some olive oil from time to time.

 

Wait, there is more…

Alternatively, you could place the meatballs and the tomato sauce into a large pan

and sprinkle with Feta cheese. When they are ready, take them out of the oven

and sprinkle with some fresh basil. Trust me, the result will be superb and your kids are going to love it.

It is an easy and quick recipe for everyone.

Beef&onions braised in beer

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