In my kitchen January 2015: Purslane salad, Toursi (Τουρσί), Hilopites (χιλοπίτες)



Καλή Χρονια! Kali Xronia – happy new year!!

Καλή Χρονια to Celia, In My Kitchen bloggers and lovely readers! I hope your 2015 is full of good health, happiness.....and loads of new kitchen discoveries and inspiration from all my fellow IMK bloggers.


In My Kitchen this January...

we are enjoying plenty of refreshing summer salads packed with one of my favourite summer greens - purslane. We have a little crop growing in our garden, but my parents in law have an abundance. My mother in law calls purslane andrakla (αντράκλα) - as it is called in her home island of Zakynthos and my father in law calls it by its Peloponnesian name - glystrida (γλυστρίδα). By either name, it is delicious and packed to the brim with potent antioxidants - a happy relief after I enjoyed perhaps a little too much wonderful Christmas feasting. Purslane is lemony tart, but sweet and crunchy all at the same time. It is hard to substitute and if you don't have any growing in your garden, but you might find some available at Farmer's markets.









Purslane, tomato and olive salad with yoghurt dressing

3-4 juicy summer tomatoes, cut into thin wedges
1 bunch purslane
1/2 cup of marinated kalamata olives
2 sprigs fresh oregano, leaves & flowers only

For the dressing:

1 cup strained Greek yoghurt
2 cloves garlic (or to taste crushed)
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 tablespoon of wine vinegar
Pinch of sea salt

Method:

Thoroughly wash the purslane, removing the leaves and chopping the stems into bite sized pieces. Place in a large bowl with the wedges of tomatoes, olives and oregano leaves. To make the dressing, mix all the ingredients well and either dollop onto of the salad or serve alongside.





In my kitchen this January...

I also have mountains of incredible cherries. We really are having one of the best cherry seasons this year and I can't get enough of them. I can't wait to use the cherries - and some purslane - to make this Purslane Salad with Cherries and Feta in the NY Times.





In my kitchen this January...

Are another favourite summer stone fruit, white peaches. We picked this beauties from a local orchard after picnicking and swimming in the clear waters at Coledale beach, on Sydney's south coast.



In my kitchen this January...

...it's not all just salads and stone fruits, there is some starchy goodness too - by way of some locally grown Pontiac and Maranca potatoes. I used them to make a super garlicky skordalia (recipe here). They also were sprinkled liberally with fennel pollen, which was growing in my mum's garden and mixed well with dried Greek rigani, homegrown garlic and rosemary and roasted in olive oil. They were heavenly - and I cannot believe the delicate flavours of the fennel pollen. Perhaps it will be sprinkled over a roasting chicken next?




In my kitchen this January...

...the other starchy treat are homemade hilopites (χιλοπίτες). These are a traditional Greek pasta made with sheep or goats yoghurt. Normally, they are made into little squares - I used my husbands architectural scale ruler (after being thoroughly sterilized!) and ended up more with little rectangles than squares. These went into homemade gift bags for my family this Christmas, along with jars of Toursi (Τουρσί) pickled vegetables in a spiced vinegar.

Hilopites are usually served along with melted goats butter and plenty of grated aged mizithra cheese - or a chicken or rooster, which has been slow cooked in a fresh tomato sauce - again along with plenty of sharp Mizithra cheese. I'll post a recipe for this soon - and hopefully my local butcher can find me a rooster!!

Toursi, on the other hand,  is often served alongside bowls of warming lentil soup in the cooler months.

Toursi (Τουρσί)

5 cups water
3 tablespoons rock salt
750g of selected vegetables, cleaned and chopped into pieces
2 garlic cloves, sliced
Dill or fennel tops
Dried chilli peppers

Spicy Vinegar:

5 cups white vinegar
A handful of whole cloves and peppercorns (or to taste)
5 bay leaves
½ cup sugar (or to taste, optional)

Method

1. Make a brine by stirring the salt into water and bring to the boil. Leave until cool. Then place cleaned, chopped vegetables into in a large bowl and cover with cooled brine. Leave to stand for 24 hours.

2. The next day, draine and rinse the vegetables thoroughly with cold water. I usually do this a few times.

3. To make Spicy Vinegar: Place all the ingredients into a pan, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Strain and then reheat to boiling point just before you add to the jars.

4. Place vegetables into sterilised jars adding a slice of garlic, a piece of dill or fennel and a dried chilli pepper to each jar. Cover peppers with strained, boiling hot vinegar and seal. Store for 1 month (or more) before using.




Hilopites (χιλοπίτες)

4 large eggs
2/3 cup of goat’s or sheep's milk yoghurt
2 teaspoons of cold water
1/4 tbsp. salt
5 cups whole wheat flour (plus a little extra to get the dough to the right consistency and for rolling out and cutting the dough)

Method:

1. In a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs, yoghurt, water and salt.

2. Combine the ingredients, by bringing them together stirring with a fork. Continue to stir, gradually adding the 5 cups of flour as you stir to make a dough that is stiff, but not dry.

3. Remove the dough from the bowl and place it on a clean work surface dusted with flour. Knead the dough, incorporating flour as needed to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands. Continue kneading until the dough is elastic and springy to the touch, about 10-15 minutes.

4. Cut the dough into three or four pieces. Lightly oil your hands and then shape the pieces into balls.

5. Place the balls into an oiled bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Let the dough rest, unrefrigerated, for 30 minutes.

6. Lightly sprinkle a large workspace with flour. Flatten a ball of dough and then dust it with flour.

7. Next, roll into a thin sheet with a rolling pin or a pasta roller. At this point you can also use the pasta roller to cut the sheets into long strips. Hang the sheets over a clothes rack to dry a little, about 20 minutes.

8. Afterwards, cut the strips of pasta or sheets of dough into tiny squares.

9. Place the pasta squares on top of a cloth sprinkled with flour and boil fresh or dry for 2-3 days in the shade.


In my kitchen this January....

Last but not least, I have a big tray of tomatoes yemista - ripe juicy summer tomatoes filled with rice and herbs and roasted until they have lovely caramelised edges. Perfect for a healthy summer feast after a day at the beach. You can find the recipe here.







I'd love to know what is in your kitchen for the start of 2015. Again, Happy New Year to all and a big thanks to Celia, at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial, our lovely host of this fantastic monthly series.

34 comments

  1. Hello Mrs M and Happy New Year to you. As usual your kitchen and your photos are a total feast for the eyes! I cannot chose a favourite but I do love that pasta...I cannot think of a more beautiful gift! x

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  2. Hello there Mrs M and happy new year to you also! What a stupendous collection of good things you have in your kitchen... loving those cherries... aren't they great this season!? xox

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    1. The best cherry season in a long time Lizzy xx

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  3. What lovely goodies in your kitchen! The cherries look delicious and the pasta is wonderful.

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  4. All you beautiful produce... I'm a bit jealous of all those cherries... I ordered some direct from the farm this year and they were delicious... Much better than the shop bought ones.... It must be so nice to gather them yourself! Thanks for sharing! Liz xx

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    1. Thanks Liz, hope you enjoyed your cherries from the farm! xx

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  5. What great food in your kitchen. Love the look of those potatoes- haven't tried them with fennel pollen but as my dill is going to seed, might use some fennel tops. And thanks for the pickled veg recipe- very timely.

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    1. Thanks Francesca, hope the pickled veg turns out well : )

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  6. What an amazing array of fabulous recipes, Ella! Your beautiful photographs and recipes never fail to make me want to head straight into the kitchen to try them out! Inspiring stuff! Kali Xronia!

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  7. I agree about the cherries this year, they are so meaty and tasty. So many goodies you have shared with us this month, its a treat to read about them. Might just give that salad a crack tonight! Should go down well with pasta and foccacia. Thanks :)

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    1. Definitely a good match for pasta and foccacia, what a lovely feast to enjoy!

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  8. What an absolutely delicious look into your kitchen Ella! So many interesting pieces in there! And I have to say in your rare selfie on IG you look like January Jones! :D

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    1. Thanks Lorraine! I'll take the January Jones compliment - I just adore Betty....and I love Joan's style : )

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  9. Everything looks wonderful but oh, those tomatoes at the end are screaming for me to make some too.

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    1. They are my favourite summer treat Maureen!!

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  10. Wow. Your post makes me miss summer so much! I would really like to try the hilopites as they sound so tasty! Do you think they would freeze well?
    And those tomatoes....just wow.
    Happy New Year!

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    1. Happy new year Bernice - I'm not 100% sure about freezing the hilopites, but you can dry them in the sun - or a very low oven and then keep them in an airtight container. They will last for a few months : )

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  11. I like the recipe for the dressing, and those cherries look wonderful!

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  12. What a gourmet feast this month! Lots of lovely recipes and photos as always. Thanks for the link to the Pursland Cherry salad. I've bookmarked that for future reference. We have lots of purslane growing freely here and I enjoy the taste. I think the fennel pollen with roast chook would be delish! thanks for the festive tour. cheers Fiona

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  13. Great post and wonderful things going on in your kitchen. Your tomatoes made my mouth water. It will be months before anything tasty is available here.

    Happy New Year.

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  14. Your kitchen looks gorgeous this month- summer produce wins hands down every time for me. And happy new year!

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  15. Hello! I'm glad I discovered your kitchen this month.... it's so full of gorgeous things I don't know what to pick out first. Perhaps it will suffice to say that it was such a visual treat to see it all! Cherry season has been amazing this year :)

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  16. Oh how we love purslane! We've got a bed growing in our garden and make a salad with it as well, but now I'm going to try your recipe! And my one attempt at skordalia turned out quite badly - I should have known to check here for a recipe! Have a great 2015 Ella! :)

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  17. Hi, first time to your blog :D beautiful recipes and I'm really keen to get my hands on some of the purslane, have never heard of it but sounds delicious!! Warm regards, Jan

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  18. Purslane is a "weed" in my garden! A friend who researched edible weeds said it is one of the highest plant sources of either omega 3 or 6. You've encouraged me to try it again and stop looking at it as a weed.

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  19. Replies
    1. Brilliant, thanks Jo! I can't get enough purslane at the moment - so I am very happy to hear it is packed with omega 3 : )

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  20. I am feeling hungry for these fabulous foods just reading this post and as it's breakfast time here I'm now contemplating a midwinter salad breakfast!

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    1. Thanks Annie! Salad for breakfast - why not!! x

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  21. Wow, what a feast of ingredients and recipes! I love the look of those potatoes with roasted garlic, and that salad looks amazing, too. Thanks for sharing!

    PS - commenting with my Google ID, because Blogger seems to hate Wordpress and won't let me comment from my blog (catescates.com.au)

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Thank you for your comments, I really appreciate every single one!

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Maira Gall