Nothing could be more refreshing than a crisp cucumber salad – perfect for Australia’s sticky and humid summer days.

Served as a pre-meal appetiser with a ‘rakija’ if you so desire, or simply in place of a garden salad with whatever you’re having for lunch or dinner, I could easily eat this salad every night of the week during summer, and the beauty of it is that it only takes a few minutes to whip up.

The secret to a really good salad is super fresh and cold cucumbers, old and rubbery ones that are served at room temperature just don’t seem to have the same impact. The cucumbers I often use are from my mum’s veggie garden, they’re a long white fruit with thin skin that doesn’t require peeling (although I prefer them peeled), I think the variety is called ‘Armenian cucumbers’. You can also use nice fresh Lebanese cucumbers as most supermarkets don’t seem to stock the Armenian variety.

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Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients
2 large cucumbers, peeled and sliced into thin rounds
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar (or to taste)
Sea salt to taste

Method
1) In a bowl add sliced cucumber, oil, vinegar and salt. Toss to dress evenly and serve immediately.

Tips:

- Use fresh cucumbers that are stored in the fridge.

I was the kind of child that didn’t care what others thought, I proudly took mum’s home cooking to school for lunch. This included anything from maznik, sandwiches with salami, feta and olives, or during winter I’d take a thermos of kompiri mandza (potato stew). To my surprise, I was the envy of my friends who were stuck with devon sandwiches…yuck!!

Similarly, Gjurgia, this weeks guest recipe contributor was called ‘fancy’ buy her school mates when she feasted on her mums Macedonian ‘French Toast’. The irony for her was that her packed lunch was a cheap alternative for her mum to make, especially since they didn’t have much money in the early days.

Although this is a breakfast dish, I’ve been know to enjoy it for a quick lunch or dinner. Unlike ‘French Toast’, this Macedonian alternative is served savory rather than sweet. So instead of drizzling with honey or maple syrup, its a crumbling of feta cheese. Try this for an easy and impressive brunch for friends, they’ll never go back to sweet French Toast again!

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Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients
6 organic or free range eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup (180ml) full cream milk
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 slices of thick day old bread
Olive oil
Butter (optional)

50g feta cheese, coarsely crumbled to serve

Method
1) Combine eggs, milk, salt and black pepper to taste in a shallow bowl. Whisk with a fork until well combined.

2) Preheat oven to 180°C.

3) Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Dip 2 bread slices in egg mixture for 30 seconds to 1 minute on each side or until well soaked. Hold over dish to drain. Add soaked bread to pan. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes on each side or until golden. Transfer to a baking tray and keep warm in oven. Repeat with remaining bread, remembering to heat a little extra oil each time.

4) To serve, place two slices of toast on each plate and crumble with feta.

Tips:
- Depeding on the size of your eggs and the type of bread used you may require more or less eggs and milk.
- Also serve with slices of fresh tomato.

If there’s one thing I’m going to miss about summer, it’s those juicy red garden tomatoes, especially the intoxicating smell of them gently blipping away on the stove.

So as the warm weather comes to a close, I felt it was essentially to celebrate the humble tomato, especially since I had a heap of tomatoes that were almost past their used by date.

I’m still baffled as to how something so simple can taste so damn amazing! The flavour is intense yet mellow, and perfect with feta and mounds of freshly baked bread.

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Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients
1kg ripe tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar

100g feta cheese, roughly crumbled (optional)

Method
1) ) To blanch tomatoes bring a medium saucepan of water to the boil. Wash tomatoes and cut an ‘X’ into the base no bigger than 2cm and no deeper than 3mm. Gently drop half the tomatoes using a slotted spoon into the boiling water. Cover with lid for 1-2 minutes. Carefully remove remove from boiling water and place on a tray to cool. Repeat with remaining tomatoes. When cool enough to handle remove skin, stems and roughly chop.

2) Heat a a medium saucepan over medium heat, add peeled and chopped tomatoes and simmer until liquid has reduced (15-20 minutes). Mix through oil, salt and sugar. Add feta and stir through, then remove from heat.

3) Serve while warm with fresh bread and grilled kjofte, chevapi or kolbasi.

Tips:
- A great way to use up tomatoes that are too sloppy for salad.
- Freeze or store in airtight jars for use in winter.
- Leave out the cheese for a vegan option.

Firstly, a big thanks to everyone for your lovely pregnancy wishes – it’s wonderful to know how supportive you all are.

Cravings are synonymous with pregnancy and the one thing I can’t get enough of this pregnancy is salad, I guess I should thank my lucky stars I’m not craving a block of chocolate each night!

Here’s an exceptional salad recipe, which can also be prepared in advance for summer-time parties. It’s delicious served with grilled lamb or on it’s own.

This salad is also another that fits into the ‘Dave’s favourite’ category, so I often cook a big batch of sweet potato and onion, keep it in the fridge and quickly assemble for dinner or lunch. If your salad leaves are washed and ready to go, (I keep mine in a salad spinner) it takes less than five minutes to prepare, heck, it’s so easy that even David can put it together himself, and trust me, there’s not much he can put together in the kitchen!

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Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients
Baked sweet potato
500g sweet potato (or kumera), peeled and diced
2-3 garlic cloves
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Caramelised onion
1 large brown onion, peeled and thinly sliced length-ways
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 heaped tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Dressing
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon water
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

100g rocket (arugula) and baby spinach leaves, washed and spun dry
80g goat’s cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoons lightly toasted pinenuts

Method
1) Preheat oven to 250°C. Place chopped sweet potato and garlic cloves in a large baking tray tray lined with grease proof paper, drizzle over olive oil, add salt and pepper and mix well. Cover baking tray tightly with a sheet of foil and bake on high for 20 minutes. Remove foil after 20 minutes and reduce heat to 200°C, continue baking for further 30-40 minutes, turning the sweet potato half way through until lightly golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

2) For the caramelised onion, fry onion in olive oil over a low heat until softened (15 minutes). Sprinkle over sugar and fry for further 5 minutes. Turn heat up to medium and allow onion to caramalise to a lovely rich golden brown (5 minutes), add balsamic (1 minute) and remove from heat, allow to cool.

3) For the dressing, combine oil, balsamic, water, salt and pepper in a jar. Just before serving shake well to emulsify.

4) In a large serving platter arrange rocket and spinach leaves, scatter over baked sweet potato, caramelised onion, crumbled goats cheese and finally the pinenuts. Cover with plastic wrap and store in the fridge until serving. Just before serving drizzle over dressing and enjoy with grilled meat or on it’s own.

Tips:
- Lightly toast pine nuts in a dry pan over a medium heat for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally until toasted and fragrant.
- Store left over caramelised onion in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to 4 weeks.
- For quick week night dinners, double the quantities and store everything in the fridge, then assemble each night.

I have some explaining to do…there’s a reason why my posts have been a little sparse over the past few months. I’ve been feeling ridiculously tired, my taste buds have drastically changed, and to my surprise, some days cooking is the last thing I feel like doing! If you’ve guessed that I’ve got a bun in the oven, you’re absolutely right…I’m pregnant!!!

So beloved feasters, I hope you can forgive me for my infrequent recipe posts, and I hope you’re still happy to follow me on my journey as an eager village cook and first time mum to be. The recipe posts will continue, but they may be tad less frequent, and they may become a little simpler over the coming months.

In keeping with the theme of simplified cooking, I’d love for you to try my Mum’s lemon and paprika chicken, it’s an old favourite and perfect during summer on the BBQ served with a simple garden salad or taratur.

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Recipe

Serves 4-6

Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons paprika
1 garlic clove, finely grated
Juice and zest of half a lemon (zest is optional)
Sea salt to taste (or dried vegetable stock e.g. Vegeta/Massel)

4-6 chicken thigh or breast fillets, skin removed

Method
1) Combine olive oil, paprika, garlic, lemon and salt in a medium sized glass or plastic bowl. Add chicken and toss to completely cover with marinade. Cover and marinade in refrigerator for 2 hours.

2) Preheat BBQ plate/chargrill or large frying pan (medium to hot). Cook chicken for 5 to 7 minutes on each side or until cooked through.

3) Serve chicken with salad.

Tip: Leftover chicken is delicious the next day on sandwiches with green oak lettuce, tomato, bacon and aoili (see recipe).

I had intended to post this recipe on New Year’s Eve, as it takes me back to the 80s when my parents would throw the biggest New Year’s Eve parties ever imaginable! As a child it was the most fun you could hope for, we had a lamb on the spit, kolbasi on the BBQ and close to fifty people picnicking in the backyard. Just before midnight all the kids would dress up as ‘babari’, a tradition from my parents village Capari.

Everyone brought a dish or two to share, be it salads, pastries, or sweets, but one thing Mum always made was her baked rice with garden tomatoes and chillies. It’s vegan, and great with fish and chicken. Just think of it as a healthy and summery baked risotto.

P.S. This weekend is ‘Suro’, the Macedonian New Year. Traditionally maznik is made and baked with a gold coin, for the recipe check out last years Maznik recipe.

Evenly arrange tomato and chilli

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Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic gloves, finely grated or chopped
2 cups (440g) medium grain rice, washed and drained
4-5 cups (1-1.25L) boiled water
Sea salt
1 teaspoon dried vegetable stock e.g. Vegeta/Massel
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large tomato, sliced thinly into 5mm rounds
2 medium green banana chillies, seeded and roughly chopped (banana chillies are also known as Hungarian or bullhorn chillies, if unavailable replace with a green capsicum)

Method
1) Preheat oven to 250°C.

2) Heat olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add garlic and saute until fragrant but not browned. Add washed rice and lightly toast (2-3 minutes). Transfer rice and garlic mix to a large baking tray/dish. Pour over hot water, add a sprinkle of salt, vegeta, pepper to taste and stir. Arrange tomato slices and chillies over rice. Place in hot oven and bake for 20–30 minutes or until rice is cooked. Remove from oven and allow to stand for 10 minutes.

3) Serve while warm as a light lunch or part of a banquet with grilled chicken or fish and salad.

Tips:
- For a non-vegetarian version add poached chicken pieces see Baked Chicken with Red Rice recipe (follow steps 1 and 2 and use cooking liquid rather than plain boiled water).
- Another alternative is to add fish fillets to the tomatoes and chillies.
- During winter leave out the tomato and use pickled banana chillies.

With 2010 now behind us, I trust everyone had a joyous Christmas/New Year break and you’re ready for an exciting 2011!

Given I have an abundant supply of yummy garden tomatoes, cucumbers and chillies, I couldn’t resist making this years first recipe a colourful, yet traditional garden salad to enjoy during our Australian summer.

Shopsaka Salata is steeped in tradition and hugely popular in Macedonia and surrounding Balkan countries, namely Bulgaria. Often served as a summery pre-meal appetizer, this salad is somewhat like a Greek salad, but dare I say…it’s better!

The key to an exceptional Shopska Salata is using succulent vine-ripened tomatoes and crisp cucumbers and chillies. In-fact, I wouldn’t even bother making this salad during the off-season as the produce just isn’t up to scratch.

On a different note, tomorrow is the Macedonian Orthodox Christmas, and today is Koleda (Christmas Eve). So ‘Sreken Bozik’ to my fellow Macedonian’s! Remember, if you’re looking for a ‘Koleda Leb’ recipe, check out last years post http://www.villagefeast.com.au/2010/01/06/festive-bread-koleda-leb/

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Recipe

Serves 4-6

Ingredients
4 medium tomatoes, diced
1 large cucumber, peeled and diced
2 medium green banana chillies, seeded and diced (banana chillies are also known as Hungarian or bullhorn chillies, if unavailable replace with a green capsicum)
1/2 medium Spanish onion, diced
4-5 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Sea salt to taste
100g feta or Bulgarian cheese, crumbled (or coarsely grated)

Method
1) Combine chopped tomato, cucumber, chillie and onion in a medium bowl. Drizzle over olive oil and vinegar, sprinkle over a small amount of salt (not too much as the cheese is salty), gently toss.

2) Transfer to a clean serving bowl and sprinkle over feta. Serve immediately as a pre-meal appetizer with fresh bread to mop up the juices.

Tip: For a modern take on this old favourite, serve the salad in individual bowls or glasses – it makes for a cute cocktail party appetizer.

As always, December is a crazy time of year. Not only have I been busy getting ready for Christmas, but my day job as a designer has also been keeping me madly busy, leaving me little time to spend in the kitchen and post this month.

So here we are, Christmas Eve and the last recipe of the year, and what better way to end the year, than with delicious, melt in your mouth almond shortbread.

This recipe is an old family favourite from my mother-in-laws village Perovo. It calls for only five ingredients, and as it’s relatively easy, it’s a great one for the kids to help out with, especially if you decide to make some last minute Christmas gifts. In fact, a couple of biscuits placed in clean glass jars, dressed up with pretty fabric and twine would make a perfect gift!

P.S. Merry Christmas and thanks for following this year, God bless and see you in 2011! Suzanna xx

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Making almond shortbread

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Recipe

Makes about 50

Ingredients
200g almond flakes (or store bought pre-ground almond meal)
375g unsalted butter, softened (room temperature)
600g plain flour, sifted, plus extra for dusting
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
Icing sugar, sifted (for dusting)

Method
1) Preheat oven to 150°C and line a large tray with baking paper. Evenly spread out almond flakes and bake for 5-10 minutes, or until lightly golden and fragrant. Allow to cool slightly, then pulse in a food processor until ground (not too fine, otherwise it will turn to almond paste).
Note: If you don’t have a food processor, use tore bought almond meal.

2) Increase oven temperature to 180°C and line 2 large trays with baking paper.

3) In a large bowl add butter and flour. Use your hands or a wooden spoon to combine until smooth (5 minutes). Add vanilla essence, followed by almond meal. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead until well combined and smooth, but not too stiff or dry (3-5 minutes).

4) Take small tablespoons of the mixture and hand roll into crescent shapes and circles (approximately 1cm thick). Place on prepared baking trays, leaving a small gap between each biscuit. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until lightly golden but not browned (turning and swapping the trays halfway through baking). Remove from oven and set aside for 5 minutes to cool slightly.
Note: If you prefer use a rolling pin to roll out dough and a circle cutter to make the crescent shapes. I personally prefer hand shaping as the dough is softer and the look is more rustic.

5) Place icing sugar in a bowl and cover the warm biscuits (one at time), with the icing sugar, coat generously. Place on a wire rack to cool completely.

6) Store in an air tight container for up to one week.

Tips:
- Cover excess dough in plastic and refrigerate for up to 3 days. To use, simply remove from fridge and bring back to room temperature, then follow steps 2, 4, 5 and 6.
- Give as Christmas gifts, place a couple of shortbread in a glass jar and wrap with brown paper or fabric and twine.

It’s a fact, our sense of smell is strongly linked to our memory. Certain scents, be it from nature or the kitchen can transport us to another time and place. It’s like the smell of baked pasta with feta, it somehow takes me back to my early childhood Saturday mornings, Mum in the kitchen and me as an eager, somewhat annoying nine year old hovering around, waiting for the oven to open so that I could pick off the crispy pasta and feta.

This is a great weekend breaky, or brunch, as it’s easy, filling, and when served with a fresh garden tomato salad, it’s heavenly! The subtle flavour of the egg, pasta and cheese also makes it perfect for kids.

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Recipe

Serves 2

Ingredients
150g dried fusilli or rigatoni pasta (spiral or tube-shaped)
Sea salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 large eggs
4 tablespoons (80ml) milk
Freshly ground black pepper
50g cows milk feta cheese, coarsely crumbled

Method
1) Preheat oven to 220°C. Cook pasta in saucepan of boiling salted water according to packet directions or until al dente. Drain well and set aside.

2) Heat a small oven proof frying pan over medium heat. Add olive oil, then pasta and toss to coat. Meanwhile, lightly whisk eggs, milk, small pinch of salt and pepper. Pour eggs over pasta and gently fold through. Remove from heat, sprinkle over crumbled feta and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the egg is cooked and golden.
Note: You may need to turn the grill on for the last 3-5 minutes.

3) Serve while hot with a fresh tomato salad.

Tip: Double or triple this recipe to serve 4-6 people. Rather than adding the egg mix to the frying pan, arrange the pasta in a lightly greased ovenproof dish or baking tray, pour over the eggs and scatter over the cheese. Bake a little longer, for 20-25 minutes, or until the egg is cooked and golden.

Summer, where are you? It’s now mid November, and I’m starting to get tired of the constant grey skies and rain!

Although it’s not exactly raining today and the sun is ‘partly’ out, I’m sure that others living in Sydney and the east coast of Australia will agree that this Spring has been one of the wettest in memory! I’m well and truly ready for hot sunny days, sand caught between my toes, the smell of barbecued steaks and fresh yummy salads.

Mum’s basic potato salad is a perfect BBQ accompaniment. It can be jazzed up by adding a couple of dollops of  homemade mayonnaise or, a couple of chopped boiled eggs.

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Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients
4 medium (700g) brushed potatoes, washed, peeled and cut into rough 3cm pieces
Sea salt
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper
1 small carrot, peeled and sliced into thin ribbons using a speed peeler (can also be grated)
1/4 of small Spanish onion, thinly sliced lengthways
1/3 cup of loosely packed flat leaf parsley, roughly torn or chopped

Method
1) Place potatoes in a medium pan, cover with cold water and place over high heat. Just before the water comes to the boil add salt and continue to boil for 12-15 minutes until the potatoes are just cooked through.

2) Meanwhile, combine olive oil, vinegar, sea salt and black pepper in a small bowl and whisk to emulsify.

3) When cooked, drain potatoes in a colander and place in large bowl. While still warm add carrot, onion and pour over dressing, gently toss to combine. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Allow potatoes to cool slightly before scattering over parsley. Serve while warm or at room temperature with grilled fish, meat, or on their own.

Tips:
- If available try using red-skinned Desiree potatoes, their creamy, yellow flesh is prefect for potato salad.
- Add 3 heaped tablespoons of good quality homemade mayonnaise and refrigerate before serving, see recipe for Homemade Mayonnaise
- Add one or two hard boiled eggs that are roughly chopped or quartered.