Chef Uri Eshet at Kea Retreat serves the packages with sliced figs; you can pair them with other fresh, seasonal fruit and/or with fruit preserves. Drizzle with honey or any syrup, and sprinkled with sesame seeds or nigella, if you like.

I bet that this easy, convenient, and delicious morsel, whipped up with commercial phyllo, will become your next favorite appetizer.  The pieces are quite filling, so one per person is enough.

To make 9 feta-phyllo packages

About 1 pound feta, or more, cut into somewhat less than 1 cm (about 1/3-inch) slices –no need for perfect slices, it doesn’t matter if fata breaks into smaller pieces

6 sheets phyllo dough, preferably thick

1/3 cup or more Olive Oil, as needed, to brush the phyllo

Honey, maple syrup, or agave syrup for drizzling

1/3 cup Sesame or Nigella seeds to sprinkle (optional)

Fresh mint leaves, for serving

Spread a piece of parchment paper on a light a cutting board that can be transferred to the freezer.

Lay 1 sheet of phyllo on the work surface and brush with olive oil. Place another sheet of phyllo on top of the first, brushing with olive oil as before.

Cut the sheets crosswise in two and then cut each half lengthwise into three equal strips.

You now have 6 strips, each about 3 inches wide. (Note: When working with phyllo, keep the sheets covered and moist. To do so, stack the phyllo sheets on a work surface and cover with plastic wrap and then a damp kitchen towel.)

Place 1 or more pieces of feta, to make about a 7 cm (3-inch) square on one end of a phyllo strip. Gently roll it over to wrap the cheese in phyllo. The wrapped piece will have two exposed sides. Now place it on a second strip of phyllo and roll up to completely encase the feta in phyllo.

Repeat with the remaining feta slices and phyllo. Lightly brush the tops with olive oil and transfer to the freezer. After 24 hours you can transfer the frozen, hard phyllo packages to a zip log bag. They keep for up to 4 months.

Just when you want to serve, brush a nonstick skillet with olive oil, heat it and fry the packages about 3 minutes on each side, until well browned. Serve immediately drizzled with honey or any syrup, and sprinkled with seeds, if you like, and fresh mint leaves.  

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I liked the idea of adding warm spices, but increased the number of other fruits –oranges, apples, and particularly lemons—which beautifully complement the carrots’ one-dimensional sweetness. Also, I didn’t over-process the fruit to get a very smooth jam, as the recipe suggests.

My carrot jam is somewhat tart, much closer to my most favorite citrus-fruit marmalades. But you can add more honey or sugar to make it sweeter, as most people probably would prefer it…

Serve with creamy, thick yogurt, with fresh cheese –like myzithra or ricotta– or with the very creamy manouri cheese. I also like to spread it on slices of my Orange, Lemon or Tangerine Olive-oil Cake. 

At Molly’s Rise and Shine in New Orleans their very smooth carrot jam is served with granola and yogurt, topped with orange segments and blackberries.

PHOTO from the restaurant’s FaceBook page.

Makes about 2.2 quarts (liters)

2 pounds carrots (1 kilo) cut into 2.5-inch pieces, then each piece halved lengthwise; depending on the carrot’s thickness, each carrot half cut lengthwise into 2-3 sticks

2 medium-size Granny Smith apples (about 2/3 pound, 350 grams), cored, and cut into long chunks

3 oranges halved, pitted, and cut into thin slices

4 lemons halved, pitted, and  cut into thin slices

2 cups orange juice

1 cup water or more, as needed

1 cup granulated sugar, or more as needed (to taste) 

Pinch of salt

SPICES –tied in a piece of cheesecloth

5 cardamom pods, lightly smashed

4 whole star anise

2 cinnamon sticks

½ cup honey or more, as needed

1/4 cup lemon juice

Full fat, thick yogurt, myzithra (ricotta-like cheese), or creamy manouri for serving (optional)

In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan place the carrots, apples, oranges, lemons and add the sugar, the orange juice, and the water, as well as the spices in the cheesecloth, and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high, stirring occasionally.

Cover with a piece of parchment paper and a lid, lower the heat to medium-low and cook; cook, stirring occasionally, until carrots are crisp-tender, about 40 minutes. Uncover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the carrots are very tender, and the liquid has reduced to a thin, syrupy consistency, 10-15 minutes.

Remove from the heat and transfer the carrot mixture to a food processor or blender. Mash to get a somewhat coarse mixture. Alternatively, you can mash the carrot and fruit in the pot with a stick blender.

 Transfer the mashed carrots etc. back to the pot, add the honey and lemon, and cook another 10 minutes, stirring often. Taste and add more honey or sugar if you want –I prefer this jam on the sour side, as all my marmalades.  

Discard the spices and transfer the jam to clean, warm jars. Fill almost to the top, close the lids, and let the jars cool and seal. Keep in a cool place or in the refrigerator. As this jam has little sugar it may spoil sooner than most other fruit preserves and jams.  

If you like, spoon yogurt into bowls, and top with dollops of spicy carrot jam.

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It is adapted from Martha Rose Shulman’s recipe, as published in the NY Times Cooking.

Makes Two 10-inch tart shells

2/3 cup whole-wheat flour

1 cup all purpose flour (more as needed)

1 cup finely ground almonds or walnuts

2 teaspoons instant dry yeast

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sugar, if you use in sweet tarts, or ½ teaspoon for the savory ones

1 large egg, at room temperature, lightly beaten

¼ cup olive oil

A few tablespoons water, as needed

In a bowl toss the flours and ground nuts together with the yeast, salt, and sugar.

Add the egg and olive oil and stir the dough with a wooden spoon or transfer to a mixer and combine the ingredients using the paddle.

Work the dough until it comes together in a coherent mass, adding more flour or a 1-2 tablespoons water, as needed.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface, and knead gently for a few minutes, adding flour as necessary, just until the dough is just smooth; do not overwork it.

 Shape into a ball. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover the dough tightly with oiled plastic wrap, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about one hour.

OR you can place in the refrigerator and leave to rise slowly overnight. Take out of the refrigerator 2 hours before shaping, so that the dough comes to room temperature.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently a couple of times. Divide into two equal pieces –or as directed in the pie you are making.

For a round tart, shape each piece into a ball without kneading it further. Cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let rest for five minutes, then roll out into thin rounds or long strips, as directed in the recipe, to line pans.

NOTE:

If you are not using the crust right away, freeze the rolled, thin dough to prevent it from rising and becoming too bready. The dough can be transferred directly from the freezer to the oven. The rolled out dough will keep for a month or more in the freezer if it’s well wrapped.

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For 1 litre (quart) Jar

About 250g/8oz semi-coarse sea salt

6-8 lemons, well washed and cut into quarters, each quarter halved or cut into 3, depending on their size. Cut-off the thick center and seeds.

Extra lemon juice, to cover

Scatter a spoonful of salt into a one-quart (1 liter) jar. Place the lemons in a bowl with the rest of the salt and toss together well. Now simply pack the lemon pieces into the jar. Press down firmly on the fruit to release as much juice as possible. Spoon in the rest of the salt mixture from the bottom of the bowl and add enough extra lemon juice to cover.

Place the lid on the jar. Let the lemons stand for about a week or 10 days in a cool place –not the fridge. They are ready when their white pith starts to be translucent.

Transfer the lemons to a colander and rinse under running water, then soak in fresh water for 2-3 hours or overnight. How long you need to rinse them depends on the kind of lemons you used and the taste you are looking for. Our lemons do not need long soaking after I rinse them.

Drain and scatter on a tray lined with double paper towel to dry for a few hours, or overnight.

You can pack the dry, preserved lemon wedges in jars, filled with olive oil and store in the fridge or you can freeze the dried pieces in a zipper bag.

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We love the aroma of rose geranium, of which we have plenty in the garden. It is traditionally used it in the quince preserves, but also add it in our fig jam.  The pomegranate juice has plenty of flavor but no fragrance so by adding rose geranium leaves you get a great aromatic granita. Some liqueur or vodka is essential, we think, making the frozen dessert much more complex and easier to serve.

Makes 10-16 servings

6 cups pure pomegranate juice

1 ½ -2 cups simple syrup, infused with rose geranium leaves (see NOTE)

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2/3 cup lemon liqueur or 1/3 cup vodka

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, taste and adjust the sweetness with more simple syrup.

Transfer to one or two shallow containers so that the liquid is not thicker than 2/3 inch.

Freeze until solid, probably overnight. At some point most granita recipes suggest that you scrape with a fork the solidified concoction after 2-3 hours. But if you forget about it, just leave a few minutes at room temperature to soften enough and then scrape it.

Serve decorating with rose geranium leaves or fresh pomegranate arils.

NOTE: 

To make Simple Syrup boil equal parts of sugar and water, until the sugar is completely dissolved. I suggest you make at least 3-4 cups, and leave the rest in a bottle or jar in the freezer, to use in cocktails or any drinks.

For Rose Geranium Syrup add about 15-20 rose geranium leaves to the simmering syrup, remove from the heat, and let infuse for about 30 minutes. Taste and see if it has a strong enough aroma to flacor your granita. If not, let the leaves infuse the liquid longer.

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I no longer remember which pâté recipe served as the base for my adaptation. As is my habit, I start by sautéing the onions with olive oil, instead of butter or duck fat, adding orange jest and also pomegranate molasses, which give it a lovely, fruity flavor. I prefer to use unsalted pistachios, but if you cannot get them, salted are fine.

This pâté is an ideal appetizer or first course, served with a simple green salad, like the one we make from the Romaine and other lettuce leaves and arugula from the garden.

I am sure your friends will appreciate a jar of this homemade pâté, so you may like to double the recipe.

Serves 6-8, about 2 ½ cups 

1/3 cup olive oil

1 large onion, coarsely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)

1 pound (500 grams) chicken, turkey or duck livers (fresh or frozen)

4 branches fresh thyme, and extra sprigs to decorate, OR 1 tablespoon dried thyme or savory

One 3-inch piece orange peel

3 tablespoons pomegranate molasses or balsamic vinegar

4 tablespoons brandy

Salt

2-3 teaspoons Aleppo pepper, or plenty of freshly ground black pepper

Zest of half an orange

1/3 cup melted butter

1 cup shelled pistachios, preferably unsalted

Slices of toasted whole-grain bread, for serving

Warm olive oil in a deep skillet, over medium-high heat, add the onions and sauté until softened, but not colored.

Add the chicken livers and orange peel, if using, and sauté, stirring often and braking the livers into small pieces, until they are firm and cooked through; only slightly pink inside.

Add the molasses or balsamic vinegar, the thyme and brandy, and cook 30 more seconds, stirring.

Season with salt and Aleppo or freshly ground black pepper, add the orange zest, taste and adjust seasoning.

Discard the orange peel, transfer the liver mixture and 1 tablespoon butter to a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Add the pistachios and pulse for just a few seconds, to coarsely chop the pistachios and incorporate into the liver mixture.

Divide the pâté into glass jars or serving ramekins, pour the rest of the butter over the mixture, decorate with thyme sprigs, orange zest and sprinklings of Aleppo pepper, if you like. Transfer to the fridge to chill completely, preferably overnight.

Serve from the jar or ramekin, spreading over toasted bread.

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Read More HERE.

Makes 8 cups Meat Sauce

½ cup olive oil

2 large onions (about 400 grams) finely chopped or ground in the blender

½ cup white wine or water

2 pounds mostly lean ground beef

2 ½ cups corn kernels (fresh or frozen – thawed)

4 large garlic cloves, peeled and sliced

2 teaspoons salt, or more, to taste

4 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon allspice

1 teaspoon cumin

2 tablespoons turmeric

4-5 teaspoons Maras or Aleppo pepper flakes, or more to taste

3-4 bay leaves (Mediterranean)

1 cup sweet wine, such as Mavrodaphne or Madeira

3-4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, to taste

1/3 cup chopped fresh thyme, or more, to taste

Warm the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet and sauté the onions, stirring often for 4 minutes. Pour in the white wine or water, toss and cook for another 4-5 minutes until soft and almost dry.

Add the meat, and cook, stirring often to sauté, until no longer pink. Add the tomato paste and stir to mix.

In a blender mush the corn with the garlic and add to the meat in the skillet, together with the salt, the allspice, cumin, turmeric, Maras pepper and bay leaves. Stir well to mix, add the wine and bring to a boil. Toss, add 3 tablespoons lemon juice, stir and taste, to correct the seasoning. Turn off the heat, cover and let simmer 8-10 minutes, until almost dry. Add the thyme, stir and divide the sauce, using as much as you need, and after cooling the rest, cover and refrigerate or freeze, for later use.

Keeps 5-6 days in the refrigerator and up to 6 months in the freezer.

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