ribeye and more

Ooooh I missed my Weber!! But today was W-Day again! Summer has returned for 2 maybe 3 days so I really needed to whipe off the dust that had found my barbecue and go for it!
And that my dear friends, I wrote more than a week ago...time flies when you're busy!! Didn't had time to finish this post, and oooh I knew you would gonna love it, so I had to hurry.
And here it is!!!
After some discussion about Halloumi and Yanni Cheese with my friends Cyndi and Wilfred I came to the conclusion that I just had to try it myself to find out what the raving was all about! And so I did! Now I still don't know if Halloumi is the same as the Yanni cheese, but I think it's very close! If you can help us out here, let me know please.
Okay before we have lift off, as you know, Holland is a cheesy country, so I guess we are spoiled. Why do I tell you that? Because the Halloumi disappointed me a litte bit. Not that it was not tasty oooh nooo!!! But a bit too much salt and the structure...well....not quite what I expected but I enjoyed it anyway.
Hey....anything coming from the grill is good!!
But I really want you to try it for yourself and make up your own mind about this. Because taste is difficult, and very personal!!!
 

Let's start with a Greek Salad:

you need tomatoes, cucumber, green bell pepper, onion and feta. Cut it all into bite-size-pieces except for the onion, slice that one very thin.

Mix it all in bowl and make a dressing of 1 part vinegar, 3 parts olive oil and oregano. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and you're done!

Now let's move over to the grill! I started with the greek potatoes because they need 50-60 minutes. The last 15 minutes I added the ribeyes and the Halloumi cheese. The ribeyes (I just couldn't resist) I sprinkled with some Cajun Foreplay rub....wow....).

As you can see, the Halloumi doesn't melt. I grilled it for 2 x 5 minutes. The ribeyes only for 5 minutes, then you let them rest until the cheese and potatoes are ready.

For the Halloumi cheese I made a dressing of olive oil, lemon juice, pepper and fresh oregano. Drizzle that over the cheese as it comes from the grill. Oooh ain't that a lovely picture!!

And this is the result on the plate: it doesn't get any better than this...okay almost close then!

And now all you need is a wine!
I served it with a Shiraz Rosé (yes, again, you really have to try it because it's soooo good and matches with a lot of dishes) but a red Shiraz would go great with it too!

Enjoy!
And stay tuned, because I know what is gonna be the next recipe.......!!! (don't you love those cliffhangers at the end of a soap episode??)

Kabobs with Salsa Verde

Now don't get intimidated with the title of this dish. It's just skewered beef with a green cold sauce! 

Half of this recipe came from my butcher, but I thought it needed more. Be honest, what's a barbecue without bacon?? Nothing, you got that right.
So I added bacon, but I wanted to give the meat more taste too. Therefore I thought why not add a rub to this recipe. A real good herb rub for beef I found on the website of Gary Glen. If there's anyone who knows all about the ins and outs of grilling, it's him (yeah don't be shy Gary!) so make sure to check out his great website! I used his Herb Meat Rub, but left out the fennel, since I'm not fond of it, but if you like it of course you can add it!

Let's start!

Ingredients for the kabobs:
beef tenderloin
cherry tomatoes
1 red or white onion, cut into big pieces
thick pieces of bacon, cut into big pieces

Ingredients for the rub:
1 tablespoon ground black pepper  
1 tablespoon non-iodized salt  
1 tablespoon garlic powder  
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper  
1 teaspoon cumin  
1 teaspoon dried marjoram  
1 teaspoon dried oregano 
1 teaspoon dried thyme  
1 teaspoon coriander

Ingredients for the Salsa Verde:
2 pickles
2 filets of anchovies
1 tablespoon capers
1 cup flat parsley, only the leaves
10 basil leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon french mustard
salt and pepper

- Cut the beef in big chunks and add the rub, let this rest for at least 1 hour.
- Put all the ingredients for the Salsa Verde in a blender and let it mix until you have an almost smooth salsa. Place this in the fridge.
- Preheat your grill.
- Skewer the beef together with the onion parts, tomatoes and bacon.

These kabobs don't need a lot of time on your grill (just a few minutes), just make sure you have a real hot fire!

Can you smell the fabulous flavor??

Serve the kabobs with the Salsa Verde, a butter bean salad and bread (on the picture there's green olive bread and regular white bread).

And if you want some wine with this dish, a Nero d'Avola or a Shiraz paires very well!

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and Gary, thank you!!

Caponata alla Nigella

Today I'll give you a recipe for a sidedish. An Italian dish, and to be more specific a Sicilian one. This is a great recipe, adapted from the lovely Nigella Lawson. If you're not familiar with her, make sure you get to know her and her recipes!
Italian dishes always make me smile, they add a little sunshine to your dinner! So does this recipe, but I have to add, again, to buy good food! It makes the difference between a great dinner and a disappointed one. Taste is everything, and you DO want THAT don't you!?

What do you need:

1 eggplant, chopped

olive oil

sea salt and black pepper

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 can peeled tomatoes, chopped

1 tablespoon sugar

6 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon grated dark chocolate, I used Green & Black's

4 tablespoons capers

14 cup green olives

1 egg, hard boiled

Fry the eggplant in olive oil for a few minutes. When done, put them on a plate and sprinkle some sea salt over it. Add some new oil to the pan and fry the celery for a few minutes. Add it to eggplant (you see the beautiful color of the celery??? almost luminous!!).

Add some new oil to the pan and fry the onion until soft. Add the chopped tomatoes, some salt and pepper and bring it to a boil. Turn the heat to low and let it simmer for 10 minutes.

In another (small) pan heat the sugar and vinegar, add the chocolate, capers and olives.

Stir until the chocolate has melted, and add it to the tomatoes and onion mixture.

Let this simmer for 5 minutes more. Then add the eggplant and celery and give it another 15 minutes.

Serve the Caponata on a big plate, and add the hard boiled egg. Et voilá, this is the result:

This side dish goes very well with the chicken with lemon and garlic I posted earlier. But fish or lamb will go very well with it too!

Enjoy!

Summer Salad

This recipe is a real killer salad! Matches with a lot of food, I´ve tried grilled chicken and fried fish so far. Two totally different tastes, and both were great! The idea for this salad came from a recipe for a salsa, that I´ve read in the Bon Appetit Magazine. As with all salads, don´t prepare it too long in advance, mix it all together 5 minutes before dinner is served, and you´ll not only have a great tasting salad, but also a good looking one!

What do you need for this:

3 nectarines

4 or 5 of the best tomatoes you can get

a big slice of Greek feta

1 tablespoon of dried chili flakes

1 scallion, only the green part

1 avocado

arugula

olive oil

salt - pepper

cider vinegar

Cut the nectarines, tomatoes, feta and avocado into cubes, not too small. Finely mince the scallion. Mix this and sprinkle with the chili flakes. 

Make a dressing of 4 parts olive oil and 1 part vinegar, salt and pepper. Mix the arugula with the nectarines, tomatoes, feta, avocado and scallion, and pour the dressing over the salad.

You want to know what wine paires well with this salad? Try a Shiraz Rosé, I´ve had one from South Africa and it was fabulous!!

Enjoy!