Colourful Veggies Bread Pizza

  Making pizza out of stale bread is a very common technique. Sometimes we forget to do it but actually, it is one of the best comfort food you can prepare. It is easy and practical, also very flexible, you can put any type of ingredients you like. In my stale bread pizza, I went for the vegetable love again. I made some bacon to go with it. Chicken would also be a very good alternative. I wouldn't mind having this pizza all by itself, as it has loads of cheese. Just go inside your fridge, take out the bits and pieces of vegetables, add some chorizo, sausages, ham, prosciutto, chicken or anything you think will be fit for a pizza. No dealing with a dough, no rolling, no flouring... Only one important tip: Use a deep baking dish, not a flat tray. In order to turn the bread into a soft and gooey pizza dough, we are going to add some milk, an egg and olive oil. Let's start!

Ingredients:
Depending on the size of your baking dish

10 thin slices of stale white bread
4 table spoons of tomato puree and pepper puree (you can put 3 tomatoes and one big red pepper into a blender and mix until it makes a sauce) 
100 gr mushrooms
1 red pepper
1 green pepper 
1 small onion 
2 cups of milk
1 egg
A small bunch of spirng onions (to sprinkle over the top)
A small bunch of parsley (to sprinkle over the top)
Olive oil
Thyme
Black pepper
200 gr melting cheese (cheddar, mozarella, gruyere, any type of cheese you like on your pizza)

How to:
1. Thinly slice the bread. I had a whole bread, which made 10-12 slices. Line the bottom of your dish with the bread. My dish was a square sized one, so I could get four big slices that are enough for one person each.

2. In a separate medium size bowl, mix the milk, egg and two table spoons of olive oil, then pour a little bit more than half of it over the bread to soak.

3. Grate a thin layer of cheese on top and add another layer of bread and pour the rest of the milk mixture. If you think that two layers of bread will make the bottom of the pizza too thick, don't worry. Slice your bread very thinly, so when they come on top of each other, with the cheese in the middle, it will be just thick enough and very delicious. That is the whole point of this pizza. It is not a crispy flat bread, on the contrary, it is loaded vegetables on top of a soft cushion of bread. =)  One last thing, if you find the milk mixture is not enough, add some more milk and olive oil. If you have a big dish, use 2 eggs.

4. The rest is the easiest part. Spread the tomato and pepper puree generously on top of the bread. You can also use tomato paste instead.

5. Slice the red pepper, green pepper, onion, mushrooms and layer one by one. Cover the breads with vegetables so that the bread should not show. Then, top everything with grated cheese. Cook in a 200 degrees oven for 30-35 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the bread looks golden.

6. For extra indulgence, add some more cheese after you take the pizza out of the oven. Sprinkle some chopped spring onions or chives and parsley. Share, eat and enjoy!

First the red peppers and tomatoes...

 Then the whiteness of the mushrooms and cheese...

 Some freshness with spring onions and parsley; here goes our colourful pizza!

Meringue Cookies

Meringues were the fun snacks of our childhood.  Whenever we entered a patisserie, my sister and me would want a packet of these fluffy treats, just because they looked beautiful. It has been on my mind for some time and finally, I was able to make them. It is really easy, nothing to worry about. You need a little bit of patience, that's all. If you have an automatic mixer, it is nothing because you leave the machine on full speed and let it mix for 10 minutes. Because it was my first attempt, I went along with two egg whites and half a cup of sugar. Then I added a bit of cocoa, which gave my meringues a nice shine.

Ingredients: 

2 egg whites

1/2 cup of sugar

1 teaspoon of cocoa

A pinch of salt

How to: 

1. The important tip is the egg whites have to be room temperature, not cold. So before you start, take out your eggs from the fridge and let them wait for a while. After that, the second important tip is your oven must be warm enough. So, start you oven before you whip the eggs. 

2. Separate the egg whites and egg yolks, put the egg whites in a deep bowl. Whisk them for a couple of minutes, then add the sugar and a pinch of salt and put your mixer to high speed and whisk for 10 minutes, or until the egg whites become silky, creamy, fluffy and pretty tough.

3. I didn't want my meringues to be pale white, so I tried to add a little bit of cocoa powder to it. It made no difference to the taste and they looked amazing.

4. Once the cocoa was mixed into the batter, I put it in a clean bag, cut the corner and squeezed my meringue in small lumps. You can use pastry bags with different shapes.

5. For my first time, I tried different shapes and sizes. I baked them for 25 minutes in 130 degrees oven. Then took them out and let them to cool. They were crunchy on the outside but chewy on the inside. If you don't want them to be chewy, bake them longer.

6. After they cooled down completely, I melted some milk chocolate and dipped half of the meringue cookies in this. It was absolutely fantastic! 

First time; first meringue cookies. Inevitably, some weren't looking very nice shape-wise. :)

  The ones dipped in chocolate were my favourite. Mmm, guess why?

Leek Fritters

A very practical recipe for your dinners and summer night parties. You can never go wrong with fritters, everybody loves them. Easy to make, fun to serve and delicious. The most common known fritters here is Courgette Fritters, which is called Kolokitihokeftedes in Greek. Both Greek and Turkish cuisines have this wonderful food. It was my favourite as a kid and I remember feeling very happy whenever I saw my mother frying them. You can also make fritters with potatoes, but I'm more into vegetables, so my recipe includes a different type of green vegetable. Since my Leek Sponge has been tried and likes by many, I wanted to continue with this dish. This recipe makes 10-12 fritters depending on the size. Eat and enjoy, them make some more -because it is so good!

Ingredients:
2 leeks
2 cloves of garlic
1 cup of corn flour
1 egg
2 - 3 table spoons of yoghurt  
Salt, pepper, dried mint to season
Olive oil
Fine bread crumbs

How to:
1. Finely chop your leeks. Put in all of the ingredients (ezcept bread crumbs) and mix thoroughly. 
2. Put the bread crumbs on salightly deep plate. Take a spoonful of the mixture and cover with bread crumbs, give a flat round shape and fry in olive oil. Leave on a paper towel to get rid of the excess oil, then put into a serving dish. Sprinkle some feta cheese on top. (Alternatively, you can mix some feta cheese inside the mixture as well.) Serve when hot. That's it. Bon apetit!

Savoury Leek Sponge

Today's star is leek. It is my favourite winter vegetable and since the season is changing, I wanted to share this savoury cake recipe because it is really so good. I have tried it many times and I can say that corn flour is the key. It makes the cake so crispy and crumbly and it works very well with leek. This cake is perfect for teatime or as a snack at any time of the day; it's got only olive oil and feta cheese inside, so I can say that it is pretty healthy. And easy to make as well.

Ingredients:
4-5 leeks
2 eggs
1 cup of corn flour (not corn starch)
3/4 cup of flour
1 cup of full fat Greek/Turkish  yoghurt
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 up of extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of mahlab (if you can't find it you can skip it)
1 teaspoon of pepper
A small chunk of feta cheese
Sesame seeds and black cumin to sprinkle over the top


How to:
1. Start with washing the leeks carefully. I have learned that if you cut the edge of the leek a little bit, then the water can go in easily and any leftover soil will be removed. Chop them into very thin slices or you can use your blender for this. But I want to feel the leek pieces when I bite into the cake, so I prefer chopping them by hand.
2. Mix the eggs, flour, corn flour, baking powder, olive oil, yoghurt, salt, pepper, mahlab in a large bowl. Add the leeks into the mixture.
3. Take your baking tray or dish (I recommend using a two-three centimeter/1-2 inch deep dish), brush with some olive oil and pour the mixture into the pan. Try to spread it evenly by using a spatula or a spoon. Then, crumble some feta cheese on top, mix a little bit, not too much that the cheese will sit at the bottom.
5. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and black cumin and bake in the 200 degree hot oven for 35-40 minutes. Leave to cool before you slice it -if you can wait that is! Bon apetite.

 Cake batter is ready to go in the hot oven.

Yummy! Crispy top and soft and smooth inside.