Tag Archives: festive dish

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes, Thyme & Feta Quiche

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18

RoastedTomatoes&FetaQuiche

ONE OF MY FAV’ OF ALL TIME…

May I just start by saying you’re not going to mess this up! This quiche will definitely make it to my Christmas table this year as part of the starters menu; It’s a star dish. I don’t remember how our love story started but I confess an affair. Classy, sexy, elegant, and yes I’m still talking about the quiche, it’s one of my favorite of all time.

The tomatoes become flavorful once roasted. So please do not skip this step. You will love love love the contrasting tastes of the sweet roasted tomatoes, piquant balsamic vinegar and tangy Feta cheese. You may also need to check the tomatoes while cooking because the time of roasting may vary depending on their ripeness and the oven temperature. Use any aromatic available herbs while roasting; oregano, rosemary, basil or bay leaves. Make sure that you strain the tomatoes before you top the puff pastry, or you will end up with a mushy crust.

Many friends have requested this recipe, I’m so happy to finally publish it and with a worthy picture of it. Enjoy it!

Ingredients:

  • 1 (230g) puff pastry
  • 800g (around 60 pieces) cherry tomatoes, cut in 2
  • Oregano (or basil),  to sprinkle
  • 200g Feta cheese, diced
  • 1 cup fresh thyme leaves, washed and picked
  • 4 tbsp Olive oil
  • 2 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
  • 1 tbsp Honey
  • Sea salt and fresh black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Place the cherry tomatoes in a shallow roasting pan, (choose a large pan, where tomatoes are not too crowded), sprinkle with salt, coarsely fresh pepper, oregano and drizzle with olive oil. Transfer to a pre-heated oven and roast for about 20mn or until they are wilted and the skin starts to wrinkle. Transfer to a colander to drain.

2. Meantime, roll out dough on floured surface and transfer to a rectangular (12cm x 35cm) tart pan. It is also possible to make the quiche in a round tart pan. Pierce crust all over with fork.

3. Top crust with Feta, thyme and tomatoes. Combine balsamic vinegar, sugar and olive oil. Whisk vigorously and stir over the tomatoes.

4. Bake quiche in the middle of the oven, for about 20-25 minutes or until crust is golden. Transfer to rack; Cool 10 minutes.

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Orange Marinated Salmon

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30

OrangeMarinatedSalmon-Blog

As the weather gets colder around here, more hearty meals and soups have been dispatched from my kitchen.

Last week was really cold, temperature dropped to 5°C, schools were off because of the storm. We had many “Raclette” nights and casual dinners with friends and neighbors. After all who wants to be out in that rainy weather!

We simply enjoyed the laid-back inside with the fireplace on to warm up the atmosphere.

One of my favorite quick-fix meals is Orange Marinated Salmon. It comes together really quickly! It’s entirely stress-free and enormous success. Don’t you love that?

Serve it with Basmati rice, baked potatoes or Fettucine. This dish is a glam!

4 Servings

Ingredients

  • 4 salmon fillet (around 200g each piece)
  • 1/4 cup runny honey
  • 1 cup orange juice
  • 2 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp dried rosemary
  • Sea salt and black pepper, to taste

Preparation

  1. In a shallow pan, place fish as one layer and sprinkle with salt and pepper rubbing both sides of each fillet. Combine the rest of the ingredients and drizzle over the salmon to coat well all pieces. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
  2. Drain marinade. Lightly grease a baking dish with cooking spray and bake uncovered at 180°C or 350°F for 15mn to 20mn or until fish flakes easily with a fork.
  3. Serve with Basmati rice.

Note: If desired, reduce 1 cup of the marinade over low-medium heat until it thickens and serve it as a sauce. 

Juicy Christmas Turkey

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Christmas Turkey - MayaOryanPopular restaurants and catering companies get more than a 100 orders of turkey each on 24 and 25 December every year. They start baking turkeys weeks before and store them in freezers. On same day, it’s stuffed, plated and delivered. No wonder I never liked it!

The secret to a juicy and flavored turkey is to be cooked on same day. It’s not complicated at all. It just takes time in the oven. It’s an easy recipe and is always a hero dish for main events like Christmas.

I like to use a lot of fruits in my recipe to flavor the turkey; it blends nicely with sautéed peas, carrots and sweet potatoes. Delicious!

If you buy a frozen bird, allow at least 24 hours to thaw. And when you take it out from the oven, remember to let it stand for about 30 minutes before carving.

Happy holidays to all!

Ingredients

  • 1 (5 to 6kgs) turkey
  • 1 orange, cut into wedges
  • 1 lemon, cut into wedges
  • 1 apple, cut into wedges
  • 6 dried apricots, chopped
  • 1/4 cup dried sultanas or cranberries
  • 2 sticks of cinnamon
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 2 carrots chopped
  • 1/2 cup of parsley
  • 3 fresh rosemary sprigs
  • 1 tbsp dried oregano
  • 1 cup of white wine
  • 1/2 stick (50g) unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 oven bag size Large
  • 1 tbsp all-purpose flour

Directions

  1. In a small saucepan over medium heat stir 1 tablespoon of olive oil, the cinnamon, the bay leaves, the onion, the carrots and the parsley, until the onion is cooked and the carrots are tender. Discard cinnamon and bay leaves and set aside.
  2. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C.
  3. To make the turkey: Start with discarding neck and giblets. Rinse the turkey with the wine (or apple juice) over the sink. Don’t rinse with water.
  4. Mix the oregano, salt and pepper to the butter. Rub the butter mixture all over the turkey and between the turkey breast meat and skin.
  5. Put one tablespoon of flour in the oven bag and divide the remaining ingredients (orange, lemon and apple wedges, apricots, sultanas, rosemary and onion mixture) to place some in the main turkey cavity and some in the oven bag.
  6. Tie the legs together to hold the shape of the turkey. Put the turkey inside the bag and seal in. Place the turkey inside a roasting pan and position the pan on the lowest rack in the oven. Put 3 cups of water in the pan.
  7. Roast the turkey for 40 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 175 degrees C. And then cook again for about 21/2 hours or according to the weight of the turkey and the manufacturer’s instructions. Remove from oven. Take off the turkey of the bag and return it to the pan. KEEP THE LIQUID TO MAKE THE GRAVY.
  8. Pour 1 more cup of water into the pan. Continue roasting the turkey about 1 hour longer or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 75 degrees C to 80 degrees C or until the juices run clear when the thickest part of the thigh is pierced with a skewer.
  9.  Transfer the turkey to a platter and tent with foil. Let stand 30 minutes while preparing the gravy.
  10. To make the gravy: Strain the turkey pan juices from the roasting pan through a sieve and into a 4-cup glass measuring cup; discard the solids. Spoon off the fat from atop the pan juices. Add enough chicken broth, about 1 to 2 cups, to the pan juices to measure 4 cups total. Melt the remaining butter in a heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the flour and whisk for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the broth. Simmer until the gravy thickens slightly, whisking often, about 10 minutes. Season with mustard, salt and pepper. Serve the turkey with the gravy.