Spanakopita
There is something to be said for combining Spinach with feta and ricotta cheese. The sensation that it creates is amazing. The Greek do know how to eat. The creaminess of ricotta and the saltiness of feta combine with earthy spinach to create a wholesome taste.
Spanakopita is a savoury Greek triangle pastry containing spinach, feta cheese, ricotta cheese, onion, parsley, egg and seasoning.  
It is a popular snack in Greece and can be enjoyed at any time of the day. The vegan or the vegetarian version used spinach, onion or scallions, parsley, celery and olive oil and can be baked with flour covering and served during special days.

Spanakopita triangles

Ingredients
Serves 6

Spinach 2 bunch (roughly 1kg)
Onion, chopped 1 no
Feta cheese 150gm
Ricotta cheese 50gm
Parsley, chopped ½ cup
Nutmeg powder 1 pinch
Filo pastry 1 packet
Unsalted butter 4-5 tbsp
Olive oil 2 tbsp

Method
1. Stem, wash and roughly chop the spinach leaves.
2. Steam them in a steamer for five to six minutes to wilt the spinach, drain and squeeze out excess water from the spinach.
3. Take a heavy bottom sauté pan and heat olive oil and sauté onions until tender.
4. Remove from heat and add spinach, feta cheese, ricotta cheese, parsley and nutmeg powder.
5. Adjust the seasoning but be careful while adding salt as feta cheese is already salty.
6. Place three filo sheets on top of each other, each sprayed with little unsalted butter to make them stick together.
7. Cut them into equal thirds lengthwise to get three broad ribbons of filo pastry.
8. Spoon each with the prepared filling at an angle and fold over to make a triangle.
9. Fold it again upwards until you fold the filo strip into a triangle pastry with filling.
10. Repeat this with the remaining filling and pre-heat the oven at 18 Celsius.
11. Bake the triangles in a greased baking tray for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
12. Serve hot with choice of dip.
Blueberry
Blueberries are undoubtedly the nature’s antioxidant fruit. Native to North America, these have been enjoyed by Native Americans for hundreds of years. They have also enjoyed great popularity around the world in cuisines ranging from Asian to the Mediterranean.
In terms of US fruit consumption, blueberries rank only second to strawberries in popularity of berries. Blueberries are not only popular, but also repeatedly ranked in the US diet as having one of the highest antioxidant capacities among all fruits, vegetables, spices and seasonings.
To this day, the United States cultivates and supplies over half of all blueberries globally. After many years of research on blueberry antioxidants and their potential benefits for the nervous system and for brain health, there is exciting news that blueberries can improve memory. They have a sweet taste when mature, with variable acidity. Blueberry bushes typically bear fruit in the middle of the growing season. Fruiting times are affected by local conditions such as altitude and latitude, also the height of the crop varies from May to August.
Blueberries are sold fresh or processed as individually quick frozen (IQF) fruit, purée, juice, or dried or infused berries, which in turn may be used in a variety of consumer goods, such as jellies, jams, blueberry pies, muffins, snack foods and cereals.
Blueberry jam is made from blueberries, sugar, water, and fruit pectin. Choose blueberries that are firm and have a lively, uniform hue coloured with a whitish bloom. Shake the container, noticing whether the berries have the tendency to move freely; if they do not, this may indicate that they are soft and damaged or mouldy. Avoid berries that appear dull in colour or are soft and watery in texture. They should be free from moisture since the presence of water will cause the berries to decay. Blueberries are among chefs’ favourite ingredients when they think of desserts. The below recipe is a classic example of that as it is not only very simple but tastes so nice too.

Blueberry maple mousse

Ingredients
Serves 4

Blueberry 500gm
Maple syrup ¾ cup
Egg yolks 6 no
Heavy cream 500ml

For Garnish
Chocolate to garnish

Method
1. Beat egg yolks in a bowl of double boiler until thick and light coloured.
2. Add maple syrup and continue till combined, remove from double boiler and allow to cool down.
3. Beat cream separately until it forms a stiff peak and fold into yolk mixture.
4. Fold in half of the berries and pour into desired mousse mould to set.
5. Freeze for 3 hours or until completely set.
6. Remove from freezer and de-mould on a plate, garnish accordingly and serve chilled.

* Tarun Kapoor is executive chef at Doha’s Horizon Manor Hotel.  Send your feedback to:
[email protected]


Spanakopita triangles.