Bougourdi Recipes

FETA BOUYIOURDI RECIPE (SPICY GREEK BAKED FETA WITH TOMATOES)

Steps:

• To prepare this delicious Greek baked feta recipe, start by preparing the vegetables. Slice the onion and pepper into rings or half rings and chop the tomato into small cubes. (Use the ripest tomato you can find.)
• Place the block of feta on some aluminum foil and top with the tomato, onion and pepper. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with oregano. Wrap the feta cheese with the aluminum foil and place on a baking tray. (Make sure that the aluminium foil isn't torn, to keep the juices inside).
• Bake in preheated oven at 180C until the vegetables have softened, for about 20 minutes.
• Serve the baked feta as it is (with the aluminium foil), with some crusted bread aside. Enjoy!

TABBOULEH

Steps:

• Place the bulghur in a large bowl, pour in the boiling water, and add the lemon juice, olive oil, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Stir, then allow to stand at room temperature for about 1 hour.
• Add the scallions, mint, parsley, cucumber, tomatoes, 2 teaspoons salt, and the pepper; mix well. Season, to taste, and serve or cover and refrigerate. The flavor will improve if the tabbouleh sits for a few hours.

BOUILLABAISSE

Steps:

• To make the croutons heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Lay the slices of bread on a flat baking tray in a single layer, drizzle with olive oil and bake for 15 mins until golden and crisp. Set aside - can be made a day ahead and kept in an airtight container.
• Use a layer of the green part of the leek to wrap around and make a herb bundle with the thyme, bay, parsley stalks, orange peel and chilli. Tie everything together with kitchen string and set aside.
• Heat the oil in a very large casserole dish or stock pot and throw in the onion, sliced leek and fennel and cook for about 10 mins until softened. Stir through the garlic and cook for 2 mins more, then add the herb bundle, tomato purée, star anise, Pernod if using, chopped tomatoes and saffron. Simmer and stir for a minute or two then pour over the fish stock. Season with salt and pepper, bring to a simmer, then add the piece of potato. Bubble everything gently for 30 mins until you have a thin tomatoey soup. When that piece of potato is on the brink of collapse, fish it out and set aside to make the rouille.
• While the broth is simmering make the rouille by crushing the garlic, chilli and saffron with a pinch of salt in a mortar with a pestle. Mash in the cooked potato to make a sticky paste then whisk in the egg yolk and, very gradually, the olive oil until you make a mayonnaise-like sauce. Stir in the lemon juice and set aside.
• Once the chunky tomato broth has cooked you have two options: for a rustic bouillabaisse, simply poach your fish in it along with the mussels, if you're using (just until they open) and serve. For a refined version, remove the herb bundle and star anise. Using a handheld or table-top blender, blitz the soup until smooth. Pass the soup through a sieve into a large, clean pan and bring to a gentle simmer. Starting with the densest fish, add the chunks to the broth and cook for 1 min before adding the next type. With the fish we used, the order was: monkfish, John Dory, grey mullet, snapper. When all the fish is in, scatter over the mussels, if using, and simmer everything for about 5 mins until just cooked and the mussels have opened.
• Use a slotted spoon to carefully scoop the fish and mussels out onto a warmed serving platter, moisten with just a little broth and scatter over the chopped parsley. Bring everything to the table. Some people eat it as two courses, serving the broth with croutons and rouille first, then the fish spooned into the same bowl. Others simply serve it as a fish stew. Whichever way you choose the rouille is there to be stirred into the broth to thicken and give it a kick.

BOUILLABAISSE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Wash and clean the seafood. Cut seafood, snapper and monkfish into large pieces and place each type of seafood into individual baking pans.
• Add the butter and olive oil to a large pot. Add garlic, onion, carrot, leek, and celery, and sweat until vegetables are soft. Deglaze the mixture with white wine and reduce the volume by half. Add cold water to the pot to cover the vegetables and heat mixture. Add the fish stock, chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, saffron threads, and freshly crushed black pepper to taste. Simmer for 90 minutes total and skim regularly. After 45 minutes add potatoes. After 90 minutes strain sauce, return potatoes and liquid to the pot and simmer until desired consistency. Correct seasoning to taste.
• Cover each type of seafood in its individual baking pan with the sauce. Bake for 10 minutes or until seafood is cooked through and the mussels have opened. Discard any unopened mussels. Add seafood and sauce from each pan to bowls. Serve immediately.

GREEK BOUYIOURDI

Steps:

• Cut 1 tomato through the middle, then cut two slices from the centre and set aside. Scoop the seeds from the rest of the tomato, then grate the flesh, discarding the skin. Deseed and grate the rest of the tomatoes in the same way, then mix the grated flesh with the garlic. Season and spoon into a 16cm baking dish.
• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Nestle the feta block in the garlicky tomatoes, then top with the sliced tomatoes, the chilli, oregano, olive oil and a pinch of sea salt. Cover the dish and bake for 15 mins, then uncover and bake for a further 15 mins. Serve warm with the pitta breads on the side for dunking.