Beignet de Hobeza

Course: Recipes, dish

This recipe is helpful to use wild plants found around your garden! Simple, tasty, and economical these fritters will have you drooling.

Ingredients

Beignets
1 bowl of malva and/or spinach
1 onion
Optional carrot and/or zuchinni
1/2 cup flour
1-2 eggs
Oil
Spices, to taste
garlic
salt
pepper
cumin

Directions

Wash and cut the leaves into small pieces
Steam the leaves in a pan, squeeze the leaves to remove liquid
Mix flour, eggs, and spices
Add leaves and onions to the spice mixture (optional carrots and zuchinni)
Fry batter into fritters or patties, if using a pan to fry, fry in 1 cm depth of oil

Notes

Bon Appetit

Zucchini and lentil lasagna

10. July 202330. June 2023 by Dio Pigadia

Zucchini and lentil lasagna

Course: Recipes, dish, dinnerDifficulty: Medium easy

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Total time

minute

This lasagna recipe uses no pasta and little cheese and is more satisfying than any other lasagna and includes lentils for a protein boost!

Ingredients

Lasagna
1kg zucchini (approx. 3 pieces of medium size).
4 tomatoes
300g red lentils
Olive oil
4 cloves of garlic
750ml milk or alternative milk
100g butter, margarine or 80ml sunflower oil
Flour
100g grated cheese
Pepper, salt
Breading
1 egg and a spoon of milk (some plant milk, 1 tsp egg replacer powder, or soya flour can be substituted).
Breadcrumbs

Directions

Wash the red lentils and cook them in twice the amount of water until they are soft. Season with salt, pepper, and 2 cloves of crushed garlic. Add enough olive oil to make a spreadable mixture.
Cut the zucchini into 1cm slices, toss in the egg mix and the breadcrumbs. In batches, fry in oil until golden brown.
At the same time, make the béchamel sauce in a separate sauce pan. Heat the butter/oil then sprinkle in 2 tbsp flour and whisk to mix. Add the milk and cook briefly, stirring, until a thick mixture. Season to taste with salt, pepper, spices, and the remaining garlic.
Cut the tomatoes into thin slices.
Alternate layers of béchamel sauce, zucchini slices, soft lentils, and tomatoes in a baking dish. Sprinkle the top layer of tomatoes with cheese.
Bake in the preheated oven for approx. 30 minutes at 175 degrees until the cheese on top is golden brown.

Notes

Enjoy!

Tasty fava beans puree

10. July 202328. June 2023 by Dio Pigadia

Dio pigadia remake of fava puree

Course: Recipes, SideDifficulty: Easy

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Total time

minutes

This puree recipe is made using a traditional greek recipe of fava beans. It is always on the menu of any greek restaurant, and for a reason : it is sooooo goood !

Ingredients

500 gr dried fava beans
1 big onion
Lemon juice
White vinegar
Olive oil
Salt, pepper

Directions

Let the fava beans soak for 12 hours minimum
Cook them by adding water whenever it is needed until it’s soft (around 30 minutes)
During this time chop finely the oinion
Blend the fava until the consistency is smooth
When the fava puree is cold, add the rest of the ingredients depending on your taste

Notes

” Donkey´s ears” gratin of Mallau

21. June 2023 by Dio Pigadia

Gratin d’oreilles d’âne

Course: Dinner, RecipesCuisine: FrenchDifficulty: Medium

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Calories

miam

kcal

Total time

hour

Weird name, isn´t it ? But what an amazing dish !
This dish is native of the Alpes, in France and gets this strange name from the main ingredient . the tetragon. This plant is a wild form of spinach also called (in France) “donkey´s ears”. So no worries, Vouno, our donkey is too dear to our heart to be eaten.

Ingredients

For the crepes
500 gr of flour (don´t be scared to make leftovers in the worst case scenario you have a nice desert!)
4 eggs
1 L of milk
For the béchamel
50 gr of butter
50 gr of flour
50 cl of milk
Salt, pepper and grated nutmeg
For the filling
Big bucket of spinach (or if you have : tetragon)
250 gr (or more) feta
2 onions
4 garlic cloves
Salt and pepper
Mushrooms (optional)

Directions

Crêpes
Mix all the ingredients together and make sure to make no lumps by adding the milk slowly at the end. Salt the batter and cook it in a pan with warm oil.
Béchamel
Cook the flour and the butter together until it gets brown.
When it is homogeneous add slowly the milk while stirring it.
Cook it until it gets really thick and then turn the fire off and add the spices.
Filling and cooking
Chop the onions and grill them in a pan. At the last minute add the chopped spinach, garlic, salt and pepper.
In an oven dish put (just like a lasagna) : a layer of crepes, a layer of veggies and cheese, and then the bechamel. Finish up with a layer of crepes, bechamel and grated feta.
Roast it in the oven for 20 minutes at 180 to 200 degrees.

Notes

Mallau´s trick to make it vegan : yes it is possible, especially if you have great olive oil to substitute the butter with. Crepes can be made without the eggs and with vegan milk or even water. And if you don´t put feta just make sure to nail the spices amount into the veggies and it will be make delicious vegan donkey ears !

Clem way to make zucchinis great again

16. June 2023 by Dio Pigadia

Stuffed zucchinis´ flowers

Course: Recipes, Dinner, lunchDifficulty: Medium

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Calories

excellent

kcal

Total time

minutes

Every grows so well in the garden. To an exctend we constantly need to find news way of cooking the same vegetable or fruit so that we don´t get bored of it… And clem nailed it with her stuffed zucchinis flowers !

Ingredients

Zuchini male flowers (15 to 20 depending on the size)
250 gr Feta
2 meidum big zucchinis
A bouqueut of minth
Lemon/garlic (optional), salt and pepper
Olive oil

Directions

Clean and remove the stamen (equivalent of pistil but for male flowers) of the flowers
Launch the oven at 180/200 degrees.
In a bowl shred the feta, the zucchinis ans the minth. Add the spices.
Stuff the flowers with the mix, turn the petals soflty to close them and put them on an hoven plate with some oil on top (if you are a foodie you can add feta crumble on top)
Cook it for 15min at 180C under an aluminium foil annnnd bon appetit !

Notes

The female flowers turn into fruits but if you have too many you can use them as well 🙂

Mathéo : king of sourdough

20. June 202314. June 2023 by Dio Pigadia

How to make and take care of a sourdough

Course: Recipes, breadCuisine: BakerDifficulty: Medium

These guidlines are a mix of Annie´s recipe and mathéo experience of taking care of dio pigadia´s sourdough.

Ingredients

First day
50 gr of whole wheat flour
50 ml filtered water
Second day
100 gr whole wheat flour
100 ml filtered water
1 heaped tsp of organic honey
Third day
200 gr of whole wheat flour
200 ml filtered water

Directions

Mix the ingredients together in a big pot following each day ingredients. After the third day (and 12hrs after the last ingredients are added), you should see bubbles starting to form and see the level of the sourdough elevate a little.
Now that the fermentation is ready, you need to give food to your sourdough everytime you take some or, every third day. The amount of food (flour and water), depends on the weight of the actual sourdough you got.

So, if the total weight is 100g (remove the weight of the pot, that you previously weighted) ; the weight of the water should be 25% so 25g and the same thing for the flour, so 25g.

In total, you always feed 50% of the total weight. You do the same thing for the next feeding days.
You can mix the ingredients before mixing them in the jar to make sure that it is homogeneous.

Notes

When there is bubbles and the level of the sourdough elevate, it means that the fermentation is going well. It normally elevates 2 to 3 times its initial volume (put an elastic around the jar to know how much it goes up).
Always use really clean bottles (sterilized) and tools. Use glass container and not plastic. Use non-chlorine water. Use organic whole wheat flour. Use organic honey.
Be consistent on the feeding days, more the room is hot and sunny, faster is the fermentation. If you want to slow it, put it in the fridge. Under 6C the good bacterias are killed. If your sourdough is in a room temperature environment (15 to 25C) you need to feed it every three days, more or so. If you keep it in the fridge for slowing down the fermentation, feed it every week, more or so.
Be precised about the quantities of the ingredients you put in the sourdough, it can infuence the fermentation.
If there is no more bubbles, the smell changes, there is a possibility that the sourdough is dead, then you need to throw everything.

Herbed snail rolls of Kat

15. June 202312. June 2023 by Dio Pigadia

Kate´s amazing bread recipe

Course: Recipes, breadCuisine: KatrinDifficulty: Medium

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Calories

just the right amount

kcal

Resting time

3 h + 20 min

Total time

minutes

Intigring name for a custom recipe created by Kat in our farm. Do not picture a little creature in the wild grass but a tasty, nice looking bread to change the routine of the classic (none the less delicious) rounded bread .

Ingredients

For the dough
1 kg of flour
10 gr of fresh or 1 tsp of dry yeast
50 ml of olive oil
1 heaped tsp of sqlt
Lukewarm water
Optional : 2 eggs
For the filling
2 thick bunhes of fresh herbs to tqste : rosemary, thyme, oregano
4 garlic cloves
5 tbsp olives
Salt, pepper
Optional : olives, feta, dried tomatoes

Directions

Knead the dough ingredients into a yeast dough, adding just enough water so that the dough does not sticks to the sides of the bowl.
Leave to rise at room temperature for 2-3 hours until doubled in size.
Knead again and prepare the filling:
Clean and chop the herbs, finely slice or chop the garlic.
Mix with the oil and season very well with salt and pepper.
Roll out the dough to a thickness of approx. 1cm on a surface of at least 40*60cm.
Spread with the herb mixture (spread additional ingredients on top) and roll.
Cut into 4-5cm thick slices and place on a greased baking tray.
Leave to rise for another 20 minutes and then bake in the oven at 180 degrees until the snails are golden brown.

Notes

Can be served with salad.

Marjal’s lemon cake

5. June 20238. February 2023 by Dio Pigadia

Marjal’s lemon cake

Course: Recipes

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Calories

300

kcal

Total time

minutes

When life gives you lemons… you make lemon cake!
Marjal got us totally addicted to this cake so when he made it we ate lemon cake almost every day for weeks. It’s impossible to resist and not to eat it in one sitting.

Ingredients

330g butter
330g sugar
330g flour
4 lemons
6 eggs
1 tbsp baking powder
200g powdered sugar
pinch of salt
Supplies
Mixer
Baking tray
Grater

Directions

Heat the oven to 190°C.
Grate the skin of all lemons and squeeze 3 of the lemons.
Separate the egg whites from the egg yolks.
Beat the egg whites together with the salt until you have a foamy consistency.
Beat the butter until it is frothy. Then add the sugar and mix again until the consistency is even. Now add egg yolks litte by little while mixing. Beat the Mixture until it’s creamy. Add the lemon juice and skin.
Mix the flour with the baking powder and sieve it into the butter and sugar mixture.
Now fold the beaten egg whites carefully into the dough until just mixed. Don’t over mix. You want to keep as much of the air in the batter as possible.
Grease the baking tray and pour the batter evenly into the tray.
Bake for ca. 20 minutes until the top is golden brown.
Meanwhile squeeze the last lemon and mix it with the powdered sugar to make the syrup.
When the cake is ready but still warm, take a fork and make small holes all over the top of the cake. Pour the syrup evenly over the cake to let it seep in. Let it cool down completely. For an even better taste, wait 1 day before serving it.

Naisah’s spicecake

8. February 2023 by Dio Pigadia

Naisah’s

Course: Recipes

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

hour

Calories

250

kcal

Total time

hour

minutes

Ingredients

500g flour
10g baking powder
150g sugar
milk
2 tbsp cinnamon (for this pice and all spices mentioned below, add more or less according to how spicy you like your cake)
3 tbsp premixed gingerbread spice (see first step of directions on how to make it yourself)
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
pinch of salt

Directions

If you don’t have gingerbread spice you can mix the following ground spices together: cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, anisseed, white pepper, korianderseed (just a little), ginger, cardamom. don’t worry if you don’ t have every spice.
Mix all dry ingredients together including spices and salt.
Add milk until the batter is just a little thicker than cake batter. When you let the batter run of your spoon it will break instead of running of in one go.
Grease a baking tray and cover with flour so that the cake will not stick. Poor the batter into the baking tray and put in the oven. The oven is NOT preheated. Turn on the oven on 150°C and bake for ca. one hour. The cake is ready when you can put in a stick and it comes out clean.
Let the cake cool completely and serve with a thick layer of butter or just as it is.
You can experiment with this recipe by adding apple, pear or nuts and raisins.

Kalamata table olives

28. December 2022 by Dio Pigadia

Kalamata table olives

Servings

700

grams

Named after the city of Kalamata in the southern Peloponnese, Greece. Kalamata olives are known for their great taste, almond-like shape, dark purple skin. But what steps to follow from tree to table?

Ingredients

700 gram red or brown raw Kalamata olives
4,5 liter water (plus more for soaking the olives)
13 tablespoons salt (non-iodized)
60 ml red wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar

Directions

Select the olives and only use the perfect ones throw out the bruised ones. Remove any stems or leaves, you could use this as compost. Thoroughly rinse the olives.
With a fork or the tip of a sharp knife make a cutting in every olive. This will speed up the curing process.
Place the olives in a food proof container, preferably glass. Now add water and make sure all olives are under water.
Let the olives soak for 24 hours. Drain the olives and put them back in the container and cover with fresh water. Repeat this process for 8 to 10 days. For less bitter olives repeat this process for up to 20 days. During this process you can taste the olives and stop whenever you think the olives have a good taste.
When the olives are good to your taste, drain the water.
Now make a brine by dissolving 3 tablespoons of the salt in 1 quart of the water. sea water also works. Want to be sure about the right amount of salt? You could do use the following trick: put a fresh egg in the water, it starts floating and just surfacing? This is when you found the right amount of salt. Pour the brine over the olives and leave for one week.
Repeat the rinsing and brining process 3 more times. Which will result in four weeks of brining in salted water.
After four weeks you can taste the olives. If it is bitter, continue with the brining process for another week and taste again. Continue until the olives are no longer bitter.
Drain the olives and transfer them to clean (sterilized) glass jars.
Make a brine with 1,5 tablespoons salt and 570 ml water. Add 60 ml red win vinegar or apple cider vinegar. Add the brine to the olives in the jars.
Close the jars and store them in them in a cool and dark place, the refrigerator is also fine. Wait at least a week or to. You can store them for up to year.