Smoked Salmon Parcels with Cucumber Ribbons and Melba Toast

The inspiration for this recipe was a Christmas present, the salmon being the ‘parcel’ and the cucumber strips the ‘ribbons’. Quite rich and very spoily, it made the perfect starter to our Christmas Day feast, and was terribly simple to make too, allowing for optimum present opening time. None of the flavours overpower the salmon, instead complimenting one another, and it looks suitably celebratory on the plate. With Valentine’s Day coming up there really is no excuse not to make this starter, perhaps in heart shaped moulds.

Serves 6

700g high quality smoked salmon slices 

300g creme fraiche

100g cream cheese

1 tbsp finely chopped fennel

1tsp caster sugar

2 tbsp lemon juice

fresh dill, finely chopped, plus sprigs to decorate

1 lemon, cut into quarters

olive oil, to grease the ramekins

5 slices of white bread

1 cucumber, peeled into ribbons

1. Whizz 200g smoked salmon in a food processor briefly, so that it remains bitty and hasn’t turned to mush. Add the creme fraiche, cream cheese, and whizz briefly again.
2. Put into a bowl and add the fennel, sugar, lemon juice, chopped dill (to taste), salt and pepper.
3. Grease 6 ramekins (which can hold about 100ml of water) with the oil, then line with the remaining salmon.
4. Spoon in the mixture, and then seal by turning over the edges of the salmon, and adding a further piece to ensure there are no gaps.
5. Cover with cling film and chill in the fridge overnight.
6. To serve, turn out on to plates (they should come out with a little coaxing using a knife), and surround with the cucumber ribbons. Add a dill garnish to the top, and scatter around, and add the lemon quarters. Serve with the melba toasts.

To make the melba toast, toast sliced bread in a toaster, then when it pops up immediately slice the toast again and cut off the crusts. Place in the oven, middle, non toasted side up, and leave until the toast starts to curl and brown. This will take about half an hour, but keep an eye on it!! Carefully remove, and store in an airtight container until ready to serve. 

Grilled Halloumi with Fresh Tomato and Mint, served on Pita

There are a few things in life that I really can’t stand, late buses, spitting in the street, exams, that sort of thing. The flavour of raw tomato is another... or so I thought. Ben will tell anyone who’ll listen that I’m one of the most pickiest girls in the world, but really I’m not that bad. I do, however, have very particular requirements on a number of things, coffee for example, and now, it would appear, raw tomatoes. Because, for the first time in forever I ate a raw tomato and didn’t screw my face up at it. Brilliant. Well not quite, the special requirement is that it’s a firm, bright red Greek tomato, preferably eaten next to a pool or by the beach. I had hoped that any old tomato would do, but like good coffee, the alternative really doesn’t come close. 

The tomato in this recipe, I’m sad to say, didn’t quite meet my exacting standards, but I’m pretty sure anyone normal would like it just fine, and placed alongside all the other ingredients this dish is a real treat, simple to make and gorgeously vibrant in colour. 

Serves One as a lunch, or Two as a starter

8 thick slices of Halloumi

half a firm tasty tomato, cut into 8 slices

2 tsp dried oregano

1-2 Pita breads

small handful of fresh mint leaves

a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

1. Place the halloumi slices onto a baking tray or griddle pan (depending on which you have) and sprinkle with oregano and a little olive oil. Grill, or griddle, until golden brown. 
2. To assemble, place a heated pita in the centre of the plate, and alternate the tomato and halloumi, creating a fan effect around the bread. 
3. Drizzle with olive oil and scatter with mint leaves. 

Courgette Balls with Feta Dip

A couple of weeks ago Mum and I visited the Greek island of Mykonos, for some long overdue rest and sun. I’ve been to plenty of the islands in the past, but I must say Mykonos is probably one of the most beautiful of the lot. It also boasts some excellent restaurants with innovative Greek style menus. Avli Tou Theodori on the beach of Platis Gialos is one such example, and is well worth a visit if you are lucky enough to find yourself in the area. We visited twice, Mum opting for the same starter and main course on both occasions, it was just that good.

Avli Tou Theodori

This recipe is my take on the Zucchini and Tomato Balls served with Fresh Oregano and Feta Cheese Dip, and although I may not have the heat, the beach and the Greek hospitality, the flavours of this dish go a small way to lightening up my little Brighton flat on this most dingy July day. 

Serves One as a light lunch, or two as a starter

-for the courgette balls-

half a courgette, grated, deseeded and strained of excess water

1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1 spring onion, sliced

thumb sized chunk of feta, crumbled

1 egg, beaten

small handful of fresh mint, chopped

2 tbsp flour

salt and pepper to taste

oil, to fry

-for the dip-

a good wedge of feta, crumbled

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp lemon juice

1. Combine the courgette, garlic, spring onion, feta, mint, salt and pepper, and flour in a large bowl, then add the egg and mix.
2. Form into three or four flattish balls, and sprinkle with a little extra flour. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the balls for about 3 minutes in each side until golden brown.
3. Meanwhile, make the feta dip by mixing the dip ingredients in a bowl and mashing everything together using a fork to create a smooth consistency. 
4. Serve the balls alongside the dip.

Mini Greek Style Spinach and Feta Pies

If you’ve been following the blog for a while you may have noticed that I have a pretty serious love for the Greek Islands. I love the landscape, the weather, the people and of course the food!! Deliciously simple and fresh, Greek cuisine echoes all the things I Iove about the country, and although I don’t think I’ll ever be able to recreate the feeling of sitting in a sun drenched taverna by the sea, I’ve done my best here. 

The day before I left to go home for the Easter holidays I had an epic cooking session, making the Marathon bars from a few posts back, a healthy seed filled brown loaf, as well as a huge Greek themed feast. This consisted of a starter of homemade tapenade and tzatziki with Mini Spinach and Feta Pies, followed by a main of Chicken Souvlaki and Herby Lemony fries, and finally a dessert of Baklava. Unfortunately I didn’t make it to the dessert, the first two courses were too filling for me that day!!

Chicken Souvlaki with Lemony Herby Fries

For the Spinach and Feta Pies I scouted around the internet searching for the general components of this Greek classic. Generally made into one big round pie, I decided to adapt the recipe to make more manageable mini pies, that wouldn’t look out of place at a dinner party. These pies are hugely simple to make and although the filling is made up of only three ingredients, they are fabulously tasty. Sometimes simple really is best!! 

Makes 4 mini pies

150g spinach leaves

100g feta cheese, crumbled

1 egg, beaten

approx. 1/2 250g pack filo pastry

1. First prepare the spinach by wilting in a large pan with a couple tablespoons of water. Leave to cool in a sieve before roughly chopping. Place in bowl with the cheese and beaten egg, and mix well.
2. Unroll the pastry carefully, and cut length ways down the middle, and then into squares (approximately six per sheet, they should be about 15cm square). Brush each square liberally with olive oil. Drape oil side down into the muffin tin compartments (I used four compartments spaced away from one another to ensure there wasn’t overlap), push the pastry down carefully so that they line each compartment, and then repeat the process until you have 3 or 4 layers of pastry in each compartment. Spoon over the filling, and then place one further square of pastry on top. Pull the pastry up around the filling, and scrunch together to make a pie. Brush the tops with a little more oil.
3. Heat oven to 180C. Cook the pies for around 30 mins until the pastry is crispy and golden. Serve with salad and tzatziki. 

Potted Crab

Bearing testament to what I’ve learnt in the kitchen over the last year since I started Culinary Conquests, this year I made the Christmas Lunch starter for the first time. I opted for a Potted Crab dish served with toast and crab claws, as crab is always a treat and I thought it would provide a light prelude to the Beef Wellington we have at Christmas. Now being a keen reader of BBC Good Food magazine I had a flick through their December issue and stumbled across this simple recipe by Gregg Wallace of Masterchef fame. We are a small family of only three, and this year we chose to have just us on Christmas day, and this recipe meant for two was easily sized up to serve three.

The cayenne pepper gives this dish a little kick without overpowering the delicious flavour of the crab, and although I made this for Christmas Lunch it would make an appropriate starter for any special meal.  

Adapted from BBC Good Food (December 2011)

150g butter

zest of ¾ lemon

1 tsp lemon juice

a generous dash of Tabasco sauce

a pinch of freshly ground mace and freshly grated nutmeg

¾ tsp cayenne pepper

150g dark crabmeat

150g white crabmeat

toast, to serve

1. Melt the butter over a low heat, add the lemon juice and zest, Tabasco sauce, spices and salt and pepper. Simmer for 2 minutes, then stir in the crab meat and cook over a gentle heat for 1 minute.
2. Spoon the mixture into 3 small ramekins, leave to cool, then cover with cling film and place in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours.
3. Remove from the fridge 30 minutes before you wish to serve.