I've just come back from one of the most fantastic jam packed holidays in my life; and its not even been a full day back home and and my feeling of elation have been burst with a virtual needle at the blase attitude of some people towards something that matters to me seriously.
On another note, I have left my keys at my parents, so I am locked indoors as D is at work. So I have been unable to step outside of the house or into the garden. The day gets better...not.
I share with you a light dish that I made before I went on holiday - Saffron Spiced Cauliflower. I had found some saffron in the kitchen cupboards and that was the reason I decided to make this recipe. It was perfect for the warm weather we were having, not too heavy.
I also chucked in some spinach left over from the Green Pate and red peppers as without these I thought the dish looked monotone.
We harvested some small potatoes from the garden plot a couple of weeks ago. We were excited to try them, but were really disappointed in them. Trouble is we are not sure what they were called. They look a little like new potatoes, but when cooked the skin falls off and they appear dry and floury on the inside. But as a couple not to waste, I was looking for ways to disguise both the flavour and texture.
I was inspired by a recipe called Spanish Potatoes that I saw whilst flicking through one of my cookbooks. I purchased Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison when I went to see my best friend in the US. We wen to Berkeley for the day. I went into the famous independent Cody's bookshop and came out with this book as it was one my friend recommended. I have cooked from it, but not as much as I would like to have. Sadly Cody Bookshop closed its doors in 2006.
Romesco sauce is made with red pepper, nuts and bread. It originates from the Catalonia area in Spain, however this version has paprika in place of the red peppers.
Over the past few days, I have been flicking through my Greek cookbooks precariously seeking warmth and sunshine through food. Yesterday, I shared my version of a Greek Shepherds Pie, but I wanted to make something a bit more authentic rather than a fusion of British and Greek cuisine. Talking of fusion cuisine, I have also made a Prasopita - a authentic Greek Pie that you could easily mistake to be a fusion creation of Greece and Wales cuisine as the recipe has every Welsh persons favourite ingredient: Leeks, but more about that in March when I plan to share it for St David's Day.
Today I share a casserole dish featuring Greek Hilopites. I bookmarked this dish because it reminded me of my Greek flatmates from Thessoloniki slurping a big red bowl of this silky ribbon pasta dish. At the time I found it a bit strange that these fiercely proud Greek boys were swirling their spoon and forks around Italian pasta. Nothing wrong with that after cheap beans on toast, pasta dishes were the next affordable grub for students, but my culinary knowledge was enhanced. He pulled out a brown bag of pasta and it was not packet Italian pasta, but one he had brought back from Greece, it could even have been homemade, I don't remember - but I was told firmly but politely, that this was hilopites, not tagliatelle.
Hilopites is a traditional Greek dried ribbon pasta and is popular throughout the Mediterranean. Hilopites can very much be described as Tagliatelle. It is often made with eggs and milk. However hilopites is much shorter than tagliatelle.
Theodore Kyriakou in The Real Greek At Home writes 'that his father was convinced that when Marco Polo took the idea of pasta from the Chinese and brought it back to Italy, he was only following in the footsteps of the brave Greek who took the recipe for hilopites from the East in a similar fashion'.
This vegetarian Greek Hilopites Pasta is enhanced with sweet paprika and saffron that is why it is so vividly saffron coloured. I was supposed to garnish it with some minced chives, but I forgot in my haste to get a picture.
It was really delicious, meltingly so - the hilopites was infused wonderfully with the saffron and sweet paprika, the shallots silky smooth and the garlic , I guess you just have to be careful that you don't overcook the hilopites as it can easily become mushy and that is okay if you like that. The shallots became sweet and tender.
Although none of my Greek inspired dishes are vegan, I wonder what my blogger friend Veganopolous will think of my Greek inspired dishes, including the Greek Shepherds Pie and the Prasopita, when I showcase it in March (if not before).
I am sharing this vegetarian Greek Hilopites Pasta with Saffron with Cook Once Eat Twice hosted by Searching For Spice.
I've made a load of vegetarian and vegan pies.
Some we have tucked into already, some have been shared and some of the pies are in the freezer for quick evening meals. But today, I was wanting something else.
With the weather being all wet, windy and blustery, I wanted a soup, a stew or curry of sorts. I remembered having half of butternut squash in the fridge leftover from a week day pasta lunch, so that was going to form the main part of the dish. The end result was a warming and mildly spiced Butternut Squash curry drenched in coconut goodness.
Due to poor lighting, the photograph does not do the burnt orange warming coloured dish justice, but it tasted wonderful. This dish was elevated further by the addition of saffron, a luxury spice and one that I used sparingly, a little does go a long way.
This fairtrade Saffron jar comes courtesy of Steenbergs Organic. I have used Steenbergs spices when I lived in Glasgow, Scotland, but not since I've been back in Wales. It is a spice often found in my mothers kitchen, but it was only ever used for special occasions, often in a Saffron Indian Style Rice Pudding, a baked Persian style rice dish or even Saffron Kulfi's.
What would you do with a jar of saffron?!
