Black olive tapenade

Try this tapenade recipe for a quick appetizer with the authentic taste of Provence. This blend of olives, garlic, oil, and capers is a sharp and tangy spread for breads, breadsticks and vegetables.

INGREDIENTS

•     2 cups pitted olives
•     2 tablespoons capers
•     1 clove garlic, crushed
•     2 tablespoons olive oil
•     1 tablespoon lemon juice
•     pepper

 METHOD

       1 Place olives, capers and crushed garlic in a food processor and process until smooth. With the food processor on, pour in the olive oil in a steady stream to form a smooth paste. Stir in the lemon juice and season to taste with pepper.

       2 If you place the tapenade in a sterile jar and cover it with a thin layer of olive oil, you can keep it in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Although the French do tend to eat tapenade as an appetizer, you will also find it as an ingredient in recipes of Provence.

Ham and leek quiche

This quiche makes a very full pie plate, and is very tasty, creamy and rich! All types of vegetables and cheeses can be combined and used in the quiche filling.

INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 lb leeks (about 3 medium; white and pale green parts only)
• 2 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/4 lb thinly sliced smoked ham
• 1 cup Swiss cheese, coarsely grated
• 3 large eggs
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• salt to taste
• 1 3/4 cup sour cream 
• 1/3 cup heavy cream

METHOD

1 Preheat oven to 350°F.

2 Heat olive oil in large skillet on medium heat. Add leeks; cook and stir until tender. Stir in ham. Remove from heat; set aside.

3 Prepare pie crust for unfilled 1-crust pie using 9-inch pie plate.

4 In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sour cream and heavy cream. Season with the salt, black pepper and the nutmeg. Scatter the leek mixture evenly over the bottom of the pastry shell. Pour in the egg mixture and mix lightly with a fork to distribute evenly. Sprinkle evenly with the Swiss cheese.

5 Bake 35 to 40 min. Let stand 10 min. before serving.

Sesame shrimp

Simple and delicious. My husband absolutely enjoyed it!

INGREDIENTS

•     2 tablespoons soy sauce
•     2 tablespoons olive oil
•     2 teaspoons lemon juice
•     1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
•     1 dash lemon-pepper seasoning
•     1/2 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
•     1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted

METHOD

       1 In a resealable plastic bag, combine the soy sauce, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, lemon juice, garlic powder and lemon-pepper; add shrimp. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

       2 Drain and discard marinade. In a skillet, saute shrimp in remaining sesame oil until shrimp turn pink, about 3 minutes. Serve with rice if desired. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. 

Piroshki (russian dumpling)

This is a traditional Russian dish that can be filled with pretty much whatever you like.

INGREDIENTS

Dough:

• 3 1/2 cup sifted flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 cu butter
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup sour cream

Meat filling:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 med. onion, cut fine
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 2 eggs
• 4 drops Tabasco
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 2 tbsp. minced parsley

METHOD

       1 Make dough: Sift together in large bowl, flour and baking powder. Cut in butter until particles like cornmeal. Stir in eggs and sour cream. Mix to form dough. Knead lightly until mixture is a smooth ball. Wrap in plastic and chill 3 hours.

       2 Make filling: Melt butter in large frying pan. Add onions and saute for 4 minutes until golden. Do not brown. Add meat and cook over medium heat 12 minutes until brown and crumbly. Drain off fat. Stir in parsley, salt, pepper, tabasco and eggs; mix well. Put mixture in bowl and chill.

       3 Roll out dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut 5 inch rounds, rerolling and cutting to make 18 rounds. Place about 2 tablespoons of filling in center of each circle. Using pastry brush, coat edges with beaten egg. Fold dough over and shape into moons. Press edges firmly together. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and brush tops with beaten egg.

       4 Chill 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350°F and bake 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Makes 15 piroshki.

Millefeuille pepper eggplant and feta

Prepared dish or appetizer, this small layer cake will delight your guests for sure!


INGREDIENTS

• 1 large eggplant sliced
• 2 large red peppers 
• 1 tomato 
• 1 cup feta or fresh cheese
• 1 tbsp finely chopped chives 
• 1 tbsp finely chopped basil 
• Salt, pepper
• Olive oil  

METHOD

       1 Place the whole peppers under the broiler. Turn them is as and when the skin blisters and blackens.

       2 When the entire area came under the grill, remove the peppers, packed in a plastic bag (or wrap) and let cool a few minutes. Once out of the bag and warm, remove skin, cut in two, remove seeds and dice.

       3 Grill the eggplant slices in the oven. Slice a tomato.

       4 In a bowl, combine cheese and chopped herbs. Season with salt and pepper.

       5 Mount the layer cake, alternating eggplant-cheese-tomato-pepper ...

Drizzle with olive oil and serve.

Ham and veggies cake

This cake recipe will also make delicious little appetizers if the loaf is cut into small cubes.


INGREDIENTS

• 4 eggs
• 1 2/3 cups white flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking podwer
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 medium zucchini grated
• 1 small carrot,peeled grated
• 1 small yellow pepper, finely chopped
• 2 cups chopped ham
• 2 cups Swiss cheese 
• salt 
• pepper

METHOD

       1 Heat oven to 350° F.
  
       2 In a bowl beat the eggs. Stir in flour, baking powder, olive oil, zucchini, carrot, yellow pepper. Stir in ham, cheese, salt and pepper to taste.
  
       3 Pour into greased bread tin. Bake for about 50 minutes, or until well risen and golden brown.
  
    Serve cold in slices.
 

Quinoa tabouleh

This is a great recipe, and a nice twist on traditional bulgar tabbouleh. The quinoa gives it a very nice texture.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups water
• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 3 tomatoes, diced
• 1 cucumber, diced
• 2 bunches green onions, diced
• 1 cup fresh parsley, chopped

METHOD 

       1 Rinse the quinoa well using a strainer or sieve. Place in a pot with the salt and 2 cups or 500mls of water. Cover and bring to the boil, then lower the heat as far as you can and cook slowly for 15 minutes until all of the liquid has been absorbed.

       2 Now turn off the heat, remove the lid and place a clean towel over the quinoa. Cover again with the lid and leave the quinoa  for another 10 minutes. Allow to cool, then fluff up with a fork and season with a little freshly ground black pepper. The cooked quinoa should be fluffy and the curl-like germ will separate slightly from the seed.

       3 While the quinoa is cooking, chop the herbs, and thinly slice the onions, diced cucumber and tomatoes. Add these to the cooled quinoa with the lemon juice and olive oil. Stir well to combine everything and serve fresh.  

You could make this, as it is a great dish to bring to picnics or potlucks where there will be a vegetarian.