Caprese Salad

We had that in Italy a few years ago and really liked it, so I make it once in a while when we get mozzarella on sale.

Ingredients (for 2 servings):

2 large tomatoes
~ 6 oz (120g) fresh mozzarella
2 teaspoons fresh chopped basil
olive oil

Directions:

Cut tomatoes into 1/2 inch (1 cm) slices.
Cut mozzarella into 1/2 inch (1 cm) slices.
Layer tomato slices and cover each with a mozzarella slice
Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle basil on top.

Or go with the even lazier version, cherry tomatoes and cilengini:

Egg and Cheese Turnovers

Turnovers are my signature dish for potlucks. They are always very popular, if I do say so myself :).

Ingredients:

1 lb (450 g) puff pastry sheets
1 egg
200 g feta cheese

Directions:

Beat egg.
Crumble feta cheese into beaten egg.
Stir with a fork until you have a homogenous thick mixture.

Take out puff pastry sheet(s).
Cut pastry sheet into 12 2-inch x 4-inch (5 cm x 10 cm) rectangles.
Put one teaspoon of filling on one side of each recrangle.
Flip the other side of the rectangle over the filling and seal the edges with a little bit of water.
Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.
Arrange turnovers on cookie sheet. Bake at 375 F/190 C for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Spinach Salmon Roll

Yay, spinach is in season! The spinach, cream cheese and salmon flavors really complement each other. Recipe from here. Makes about 15 slices/7 servings.

Ingredients:

125 g spinach
4 eggs
50 g monterey jack, or other hard cheese, shredded
250 g smoked salmon (can also use chicken strips or ham)
150 g cream cheese + 50 g yogurt, stirred together*
parmesan cheese, salt, pepper to taste

*Recipe says 200 g Frischkäse which, as best as my palate can tell, is a light version of cream cheese. I imagine you can use straight cream cheese, but it would be heavier.

Directions:

Cook the spinach if you are using fresh.
Beat together eggs, shredded cheese, chopped cooked spinach and seasonings.
Oil a large baking pan - the larger, the better as the eggy part of the roll gets thinner. I used a 10" x 14" (25 cm x 35 cm).
You might also want to line it with parchment or baking paper, as the egg mix tends to stick.
Carefully pour the egg mix in the baking pan, spreading it evenly.
Bake at 200C/400F for 10 minutes.
Let it cool.
Once cooled, flip egg and spinach mix on a piece of foil.
Sprinkle some parmesan cheese on top.
Put a layer of smoked salmon on top of the parmesan.
Stir cream cheese with yogurt (with a fork, not a mixer).
Finally, spread cream cheese mix on top of the salmon.
With the help of the foil and rolling along the longer side of the rectangle, form a tight roll.
Wrap with foil and leave in the fridge for at least 6 hours to tighten.

A slice (it looks huge because of the zoom, but is only about 2 inches/5 cm in diameter):

Tsatsiki

Aka Snezhanka salad. It's named after this Snezhanka. You will need a cheesecloth for this one ;), though Google says a clean dishcloth will do the same job.

Ingredients:

3 cups yogurt
1 cup diced cucumber
1 cup diced walnuts
1 clove garlic, minced
salt, red pepper, lemon juice to taste

Directions:

Line a bowl with a piece of cheesecloth.
Put yogurt on cheesecloth.
Tie cheesecloth in a pouch and leave it hanging above the bowl to drain.

The rule is 1 hour of straining per cup of yogurt, though it depends on the quality of yogurt.
3 cups of yogurt yield 1 1/2 to 2 cups of strained yogurt, again, depending on the quality of yogurt.

Properly strained yogurt for this purpose has a consistency between that of sour cream and that of cream cheese. You have to be able to eat it with a fork.

* Reserve the drained liquid - I use it in my breads, as it has vitamins and minerals.

Remove yogurt from cheesecloth.
Add cucumber, diced walnuts, garlic and spices to taste. Stir carefully.
Serve chilled.