Raspberry Bread

I recently read somewhere that the centre of the galaxy tastes like raspberries. What a wonderful thing. I love raspberries. They are quite hard to find here in Athens, unless you are willing to pay 5 euros for a small punnet. But recently, the prices of fresh berries have gotten cheaper, and you can find an abundance of frozen berries in most supermarkets here in Athens.

I did not use a lot of sugar as I didn't want it to be a 'cake' but more of a 'bread' so you can slather butter or Nutella on the slice and eat it like bread. I used 2 slices of the bread and made myself a little whipped cream and fresh raspberry 'sandwich' too.

Ingredients: (makes 1 loaf)

250g of flour plus 2 tbsp extra for the frozen berries

75g of caster sugar

25g of dark brown sugar

2 1/2 tsp of baking powder

1/2 tsp of salt

1/2 cup of Greek yogurt (about 120g) 

1/2 cup of milk (approx. 120ml)

1/2 cup of vegetable oil (120ml)

2 large eggs

200g of frozen raspberries

Preparation:

1. Line a loaf pan with baking parchment, and pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C.

2. In a big bowl, add and mix 250g of flour, the sugars, salt and baking powder together.

3. In a different bowl, add the wet ingredients: the yogurt, milk, oil and eggs and mix thoroughly.

4. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mix, and gently fold until it becomes a smooth batter.

5. Cover the frozen berries with the extra 2 tbsp of flour (this helps the berries stay whole during baking.

6. Add the berries into the batter and gently fold them in.

7. Fill the loaf pan with the batter until 3/4 way up.

8. Bake for 55-60 minutes, and until its golden at the top. Test with a toothpick  at the centre of the bread to see if its baked through. The toothpick will come out clean when its done.

9. Leave to cool in the loaf pan, and turn it out onto a plate. Slice, and serve!

Octopus Rendang (Rendang Ochtapodi)

Without too much introduction, for Malaysia Day (16/9), I decided to make a fusion of my favourite foods from my adopted country and the land of my birth. I love rendang, its my go-to dish when I want to wow new dinner guests. And I love octopus. I was practically an adult when I first tried this 8-tentacled mollusc and it is something I distinctively think of as Greek. This is the first time I have attempted to make this dish, and I adapted it from my Grandma's great Chicken Rendang recipe.

I have decided to keep the ingredients as simple as possible - the octopus is salty and the juices from the octopus will already taste sweet so there is no sugar, salt or pepper to add - just the rendang 'holy trinity', coconut milk, kerisik and chilli paste (according to taste). I didn't want the chilli to overpower the delicate flavour of the octopus, so I only used 1 tablespoon.

It tastes super yummy, please do give it a try if you can find octopus. I will make it again soon, and I hope to take more pictures. Enjoy, my Greek-Malaysian fusion Octopus Rendang.

Ingredients: (makes 4 portions, which is enough for 2-4 people, depending on how hungry you are.. or greedy.)

1 octopus, cleaned (mine came up to 800g)
1 can of coconut milk

The Rendang Holy Trinity
2 stalks of fresh lemongrass, chopped/sliced thinly.
2 thumb-sized pieces of fresh ginger, sliced into thin matchsticks.
4-5 small shallots, sliced thinly into strips.

1-2 tbsp heaps full of Kerisik
Simple chilli sambal paste, 1 tbsp.

Preparation:

1. Rinse the cleaned octopus. Cut them into several pieces. I cut the legs/tentacles off and the center part into 2.
2. Pre-cook the octopus. Add it into a pot, cover and just braise it on medium heat. No need to add water! The octopus will cook in its own juices. Depends on the size of the octopus, but I check how soft it is with a toothpick/small fork after 20 minutes. If its a medium-large sized octopus you may need 30 minutes. You will end up with that:-

3. Reserve the juices. Chop the octopus into bite-sized pieces.

4. Into a pot, add the juices, the holy trinity ingredients, the coconut milk, and the chilli paste. Cook on medium heat for about 20 minutes.
5. Add the octopus pieces, and mix well.

6. On medium low heat, braise the mixture. Stir every once in awhile to make sure it doesn't burn at the bottom of the pot. Halfway through, just as the liquid is beginning to reduce significantly, mix in the kerisik.

7. Once the mixture looks like it does in the picture above, turn the heat on high and cook it, while stirring, for another 2-3 minutes to crisp up the rendang. 

8. Its ready! Serve with steamed rice.

Green Noodle Salad

It may be September, and the end of Summer and the start of Autumn is here. But the weather is still quite warm here in Athens, and it is still salad season for me!
I recently bought some Green Tea Soba Noodles and I love these noodles! It is also the time for Almyra - it is a plant that grows in the Mediterranean and I have no idea what it is called in English. Its Greek name means 'salty' and it is delicious just plainly boiled, lightly seasoned with olive oil, salt and lemon juice. You can replace this with any green vegetable that you like - spinach or even kale if you can find any. I also use thinly sliced cucumbers to add the 'crunch', and some boiled broccoli to keep to the green theme!
The sauce that I use to dress this salad is my favourite ginger and spring onion Momofuku-inspired sauce. The ginger gives a little heat and kick to the salad.
I would recommend serving this as a starter - its quite pretty with its green on green and the many different textures. It can be made well in advance and it can be kept in the fridge until time to serve. Its nice to eat it warm - but on a very hot day, the cool salad also works great!

Ingredients: (makes 2 small portions)

1 serving size of green tea soba noodles.

Green vegetables of your choice - I used almyra, broccoli, and thinly sliced cucumbers.

Dressing: Ginger and Spring Onion Sauce 

Preparation:

1. Boil the green tea soba noodles according to instructions. Once cooked, rinse it in cold water to rid it of the starch.
2. Cook the green vegetables that need cooking - boil the broccoli and/or spinach.
3. Toss all the vegetables and the noodles together and lightly dress it with the dressing according to taste.
4. It can be eaten immediately, or you can refrigerate it and eat it cold too!