Loukoumades Recipe (λουκουμάδες)

If you like donuts, you should try this classic Greek dessert. It seems every country has a version of this dish. Here in the US, we have Munchkins from Dunkin' Donuts, the French have begneits, the Brazilians have sonhos, and the Greeks have loukoumades.

I first tried loukoumades at Artopolis Bakery in Chicago's Greek Town and I must admit they are my favorite of all of the donut varietals. They are light and just sweet enough to want another! If you're ever in the Windy City, you should pick up some loukoumades at Artopolis. If not, you can try to make them yourself. It's pretty easy.

Recommended Equipment:
deep fryer
mixer

Ingredients:
Dough:
1 cup warm water
1/2 cup milk
1 package of dry yeast
2 cups of all-purpose flour
1/2 tbsp sugar
1/4 tspn salt
1 tbsp olive oil
oil for frying

Topping:
1/2 cup of honey
1 tab of butter
confection sugar
cinnamon
sesame seeds (optional)
walnuts, ground (optional)

Preparation:

1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water.
2. Combine the yeast and water mixture with the milk, flour, sugar, salt, and olive oil in a mixing bowl.
   
3. Mix until batter is smooth.
4. Cover bowl with a dish towel and let sit in a warm place for 2 hours.
5. Heat oil for frying.
6. Using a deep spoon (I used a table spoon measure), place spoon first in the hot oil, then scoop a spoonful of the batter into the oil. Do this each time to prevent the batter from sticking to the spoon. The loukoumades should be oval shaped.
7. Add enough of the loukoumades to the fryer to almost cover the surface of the oil.
8. Remove when golden brown.
9. Let dry on a paper towel then put them on a platter.
10. In a separate pan, add the honey and pad of butter. Heat pan on medium-low until honey flows freely.
    
11. Drizzle honey over loukoumades and then sprinkle with confection sugar, and cinnamon. You can also top this with sesame seeds and ground walnuts if you prefer.
    

Greece [ print this recipe ]

Olio Verde

Olio Verde is a simple Italian appetizer that you can prepare in 5 minutes. Serve it with pieces of warm Italian or French bread.

Ingredients:
3 cloves garlic, diced
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tspn red pepper flakes
4 sprigs of parsley, finely chopped
3 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
3 tspn sugar
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 loaf of Italian or French bread

Preparation:

1. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat.
2. Add garlic and heat it in the oil for about 5 minutes.
3. Add parsley, basil and red pepper flakes and stir.
4. Reduce heat to low.
5. Add balsamic vinegar and stir.
6. Add sugar and stir the mixture until all of the sugar is dissolved.
7. Serve with warm, sliced Italian or French bread.

Italy

Chicago Style Hot dog

If a veggie burger is not your style and the grill is still hot, try this Midwest classic. A Chicago Style hot dog has to include all of the ingredients below and only those ingredients listed here....so no ketchup!! The bun should be steamed however, I toasted this one and it tasted pretty close to what you'd find at any hot dog stand in the Windy City. By the way, my favorite is the Wiener Circle at 2622 North Clark, Chicago, Illinois for the food and dining experience.

Ingredients:

• all-beef hot dog, preferably Vienna Beef brand

• poppy seed hot dog bun, steamed or toasted
  

• mustard, yellow

• onion, diced

• sweet pickle relish (dyed green) - this is called nuclear relish

• dill pickle spear

• tomato slices

• pickled sport peppers

• celery salt

Preparation:

1. Allow coals of the grill to get really hot.
2. Toast hot dog buns on grill for about 3 to 5 minutes.
3. Arrange hot dogs on grill around the hottest spot.
4. After about 5 minutes, turn the dogs.
5. Remove from grill and garnish the dogs like the one in the photo.
6. Serve hot.

Related Recipes:
Garden Burger

United States Chicago

Garden Burger

The weather here in the Midwest is finally getting hospitable so my wife and I decided to dust off the Weber and do some grilling. We made garden burgers similar to those served at Squirrel's Tavern in Corvallis, Oregon.

The garden burger is a pretty simple burger to make and a healthy choice with no sacrifice in flavor. Give it a try this Spring.



Ingredients:
4 meatless burger patties (I used Boca brand)
4 kaiser hamburger buns
sprouts
1 tomato, sliced
1 white onion
ranch dressing
4 slices of cheddar, American, or Monterrey jack cheese (optional)



Preparation:

1. Allow coals of the grill to get really hot.
2. Toast hamburger buns on grill for about 5 minutes.
3. Arrange patties on grill around the hottest spot.
4. After about 5 minutes, flip patties. If you are using cheese, put a slice on each patty. Grill for about 5 minutes more.
5. Stack burger in this order: bun, burger, sprouts, tomato, onion, ranch dressing, bun.
6. Serve hot.

Related Recipes:
Chicago Style Hot dog

United States Oregon

Sago Pagoda

This is an appetizer that my mother-in-law taught me how to make. It's light, a little spicy, and full of flavor. I can literally eat 20 of them with a cold beer.

In order to make them, you will have to seek out an Indian or Pakistani grocery in your area in order to find the main ingredient, tapioca puffs or also called sago (see photo below).



Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour.
2 tbsp rice flour.
2 cups sago (tapioca puffs)
2 cups buttermilk
7 curry leaves, diced
1 tspn ginger
2 tspn red pepper flakes
1 tspn salt
1 handful of cilantro, diced
3 cloves of garlic, diced
3 green onions, diced
1 yellow onion, diced

Preparation:

1. Add 2 cups of tapioca to a glass pyrex measuring cup.
2. Add buttermilk to pyrex measuring cup to a level just above the tapioca.
3. Allow tapioca to absorb butter milk. This will take about 2 hours.
4. Pour tapioca into a large mixing bowl and add all-purpose flour and rice flour to absorb any excess moisture.
5. Mix remaining ingredients with tapioca.
   
6. Make small balls from mixture using a tablespoon measure and drop into oil of a deep fryer.
   
7. Remove when pagodas are tan in color and let cool on a baking sheet covered with paper towels.
   

India

Saimin

Saimin is one of the most popular dishes in Hawaii. In fact, you can even find Saimin on the menu at most McDonald's there. It features noodles very similar to Chinese mein, Philippine pancit, and Japanese udon.

Saimin can be traced all the way back to Hawaii's plantation era. During the early 20th century, laborers from China, the Philippines, Portugal, Hawaii, Korea, and Japan worked side by side on Hawaii's many pineapple and sugar cane plantations. These laborers worked together and ate together too and as a result, new culinary combinations evolved. Saimin is one such creation. It features thin wheat egg noodles borrowed from Chinese and Japanese tradition. It also features cabbage popular in Korea as well as pork which is often found in Portuguese cuisine. Saimin is a versatile, easy dish to prepare that works with a wide range of ingredients.

Udon Noodles


Ingredients:
1 package of Udon Japanese Noodles
4 cups of chicken broth
1/2 inch piece diced fresh ginger
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tspn garlic powder
1 tspn salt
1 tspn pepper
1/2 pound pork tenderloin, thinly sliced
1/2 carrot, thinly sliced lengthwise
1/2 to 3/4 cup shredded cabbage
3 green onion, diced
3 to 4 dried shiitake mushrooms, diced

Preparation:

1. Cut pork tenderloin into thin slices and put them in a bowl with the salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Mix the ingredients together so that the surface of the slices is well coated.
2. Refrigerate pork slices for a half an hour.
3. Brown pork slices in an oiled skillet over medium heat. Then remove from heat.
   
4. Add chicken broth and ginger to a large pot and heat at medium high.
5. Bring just to a boil and then reduce heat to low.
6. Add soy sauce and pork slices.
7. Add the carrot, cabbage, green onion, and mushrooms.
8. Simmer for 10 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked to the degree that you like.
9. Remove from heat.
10. Heat udon noodles in a microwave for 15 seconds in a soup bowl.
11. Spoon broth, pork, and vegetable mixture over the noodles and serve.

Related Articles / Posts:
Benefits of soup

United States Hawaii

Sogliole al Basilico e ai Pinoli (Sole with Basil and Pine Nuts)

This one comes to us all the the way from Montova, Italy from my friend Anne.

She said she loves Sogliole al Basilico e ai Pinoli because it is so simple and totally relies on the freshness of the ingredients. You may use either lemon sole or Dover sole, and you can use a whole sole or just fillets. The important things are fresh fish, high quality olive oil, and fresh basil.

When I tried to make Sogliole al Basilico e ai Pinoli last weekend, I was not able to find any fresh fillets of sole so I used fresh flounder fillets instead and it turned out great.

This recipe comes from the town of Caorle, east of Venice, and well known for its high quality fish and sea food.

Ingredients:
4 sole, about 300 gr or 10 oz. each
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 tbsp pine nuts, coarsely chopped
5-6 basil leaves

Ingredients for marinade:
4 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
coarse sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Preparation:

1. Have sole gutted with the head and the fins removed and skinned by your fish monger, or just use fillets. wash the fish, dry, and place on a dish.
2. Prepare the marinade. put the olive oil in a bowl, beat in the lemon juice until emulsified, then the basil, salt and pepper. spoon the marinade over the sole and leave to marinate in fridge for an hour.
3. Preheat oven to 200 celsius, 400 farenheit.
4. Lift the sole out of marinade. grease a shallow large baking dish with olive oil and lay fish in it. place the dish in the preheated oven and cook for about 10 minutes for whole fish, 7 for fillets.
5. Meanwhile, heat the marinade and add the pine nuts. when the liquid gets to boiling point, pour it over sole and leave to cook a couple more minutes (no more than 2 for fillets, 5 for whole fish).

Note:

• If you don't like the idea of using the used marinade as a dressing, it is simple to just make a double portion of the marinade and to keep half of it to pour over fish.
• Also, be careful not to add too much lemon, as it can cut down on the flavor of the olive oil and basil.

Need a wine to go with this? Try this one: Casa-Silva-Sauvignon-Blanc


Italy