Chow Down to Eurovision 2015 - Moldova

Buna Seara Europe/World we have arrived in Moldova, the first country for Chow Down to Eurovision 2015!  

 

If this is your first time to the Chow Down to Eurovision you will discover that each country will present us with a dish, a Eurovision entry from their past and a taste of this year's contestant.

 

We begin are musical journey into Eurovision history in 2008 when Moldova gave us Century of Love sung by Geta Burlacu. 

Geta has a flexible jazz voice that successfully navigates the scat sections with the trumpeter and in case you were unsure if this was lounge music, they decided to bring one with them.

I think Moldova would score well on The Block as who wouldn't want a lounge room with a cool moody trumpet player at the foot of the sofa??

Wonder if I could get one at Ikea?

Like the great Paul Oskar's 1997 Minn hansti dans for Iceland, I have a lot of respect for someone that can combine entering Eurovision with a lay down on the couch!

Sadly as with last year, 2008 saw Moldova fail to secure a place in the final, which may have had something to do with the teddy bear...great voice, great song, creepy teddy bear.

 

 

 

Our first culinary morsel of 2015 is sure to disappear in a flash from any Eurovision party buffet.

 

Placinte are a pastry covered dumpling/pie/pastie bites of deliciousness.

There are many methods of making and both sweet or savoury varieties.

 

Today Moldova is in the space between both with a chicken and pumpkin variety.

 

The chicken with the hint of garlic champion team savoury with the pumpkin making a very welcomed appearance for team sweet.

 

I suspect Moldova will do well in Chow Down to Eurovision 2015 as covering anything in pastry is a good idea really.

 

Chicken and pumpkin placinte (makes 35-40)

Ingredients

• 300g chicken (breast or thigh meat)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 small onion
• 200g pumpkin grated
• Salt and pepper
• Puff pastry (home made or bought see note)
• 1 egg, beaten

Method

• Mince chicken, garlic, onion and a good pinch of salt/pepper in food processer
• Transfer chicken to a bowl and mix through the pumpkin
• Either roll out pastry or thaw some bought sheets
• Brush the pastry with the egg wash
• Cut out rounds with a 9cm cutter
• Place a small spoon of mixture onto the pastry, fold over and seal the edges
• Place on a lined baking tray and bake at 200°C for 15 minutes until golden
• Serve with dipping sauce of your choice, I went with sweet chill

Note on pastry: I made the pastry for the placinte featured which adds to the puffed up look, a little like a Eurovision reveal. They go into the oven all neat and oval but come out puffed and gorgeous.

 

I used about 3/4 of a 750g batch to get 40 placinte, so a packet of pastry should be enough to get 30+ depending on the size. My normal pastry recipe is from the Great British Bake Off - How to Bake but there are lots of recipes out there if you are going to make your own.

 

 

 

The offcuts became a very rustic pie

 

 

One plate just isn't enough!

The Moldovan entry to grace the Wiener Stadthalle stage this May will be Eduard Romanyuta with I Want Your Love.

While the selection process was rocked with allocations of vote buying, I think Britney Spears fans will give this song 12 points....ah yeah yeah yeah yeah

noroc!

Past Moldova Chow Down to Eurovision appearances:

2014: Moldovan Fish with Roast Vegetable and Feta Salad

 2013: Moldovan Beetroot Salad

Nurse....NURSE!!

While I have come through this winter with a full bill of health (knock wood) poor AB has succumbed to "a sore phroat (throat) and I coughing"

 

My nursing treatments have included multiple lozenges, eucalyptus oil burning, ice cream to soothe the sore phroat and even a fruit jelly mostly due to the fact I'd eaten all the phroat soothing ice cream.

 

I would like to thinking that my doting attention towards the patient has conjured the essence of Florence Nightingale but in reality it's probably a little more Nurse Ratched.

 

This soup comes from my university days when before most exams or concerts I would end up with a throat infection. Probably exam stress, fear of failure or perhaps just working too hard in the pursuit of vocal perfection (read drinking at the uni bar).

 

I worked on the more is more principle thinking that if a bit of garlic was good a whole truckload must be bloody marvellous!

 

Shamefully my early student diet consisted largely of 2 minute noodles and beer so the higher the vegetable content per spoonful the better. With the pumpkin and onions providing I think they're called vitamins, low and behold after a bowl of this I was cured.

 

There is no scientific testing to back this claim apart from the fact I have been surrounded by sick people and the communal germ fest that is most offices with air-conditioning yet have managed to stay well.

 

I'm hopeful it will cure AB too and it doesn't turn into an life threatening case of Man Flu though I am a fair more pathetic and demanding patient allegedly.

 

Perhaps it is the amount of garlic that creates an invisible force field around you that makes all the coughing and spluttering people keep their distance........works for me!

 

"Miracle" Pumpkin Soup
This is a full flavoured soup, not for the faint hearted

• 2kg mixed pumpkin (kent, butternut, jap)
• 1kg mixed onions (red and brown)
• 2-3 whole garlic
• 250g bacon
• 5-6 small red chillies chopped
• 1.5-2 litres chicken or vegetable stock
• Large handful of flat leaf parsley
• Zest of 1-2 lemons

Method

• Peel and quarter the onions
• Peal garlic (I know it's a lot but you want to get well)
• Roughly chop bacon
• Chop pumpkin, the skin can be left on for a more nutty flavour
• Cut the pumpkin in varies sizes depending on how quickly they cook, e.g. Kent cooks faster that Jap so cut the kent into larger pieces
• Add a splash of olive oil to a boiler
• Fry off the bacon, onions, and garlic on a medium heat, a little browning will add to the flavour but too must will taste burnt.
• The onions need to be softened as boiling raw onions changes the texture
• Add the pumpkin and chillies and stir to coat
• Add the stock to just below covering the pumpkin
• Simmer on low for about 45 minutes
• Blend to smooth (for a thicker soup reserve 2-3 cups of liquid before blending)
• Serve topped with a gremolata of chopped parsley and lemon zest minus the garlic (we probably have enough already)
• Grab a box set of bad TV, get some eucalyptus oil going in the oil burner and stay at home so as to not continue infecting your co-workers, even though you got it from them!

 

If the symptoms persist a change in crockery may be in order. 

Crumpin with a pumpkin

I have been making crumpins almost none stop, I just can't get enough. They are the no oven bread substitute of 2013.

Carly, who has said some lovely things about my blog also mentioned pumpkin and crumpins, so once a seed it planted. Check out her blog its a great read.

I used a pumpkin that was a surprise adoptee to the garden, growing of it's own accord but use your favourite variety. The Crumpins orange colour will be rely on the colour of the pumpkin, mine was quite light.

I have also double the recipe from previous crumpin post as they freeze very well so they are always on hand ready to defrost and toast.

Crumpin with a pumpkin
Ingredients makes about 25

• 2 cup light milk
• 100 g butter
• 500g cold cooked pumpkin (steamed or boiled)
• 1/2 cup light milk
• 1kg plain flour
• 25g instant yeast
• pinch of salt
• 4 tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 nutmeg grated
• 4 cups light milk (6 1/2 cups of milk total)

Method:

• Heat 2 cup of milk and butter till the butter is melted, either stove top or in a microwave for 2-3 minutes
• Blend pumpkin and 1/2 cup milk till smooth
• In a mixing bowl add flour, yeast, salt (on opposite side to yeast) and caster sugar
• Add the 2 cups of milk and the milk and butter (adding the hot milk to cold milk will make it the right temperature without heating and waiting for all the milk to cool or killing the yeast)
• Add pumpkin mix
• Mix with electric beaters till smooth
• Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for about 1 hour
• In a frypan on low heat put 2-3 rings depending on how many you can fit.
• Spray with cooking spray being careful not to blow yourself up if using a gas cook top e.g. take the pan away from the flame
• Fill the rings with batter to about 1-2 cm, they will rise as they cook
• Cook for about 10-12 minutes on one side and then remove ring
• Carefully flip the Crumpin to cook the other side for about 5 minutes
• They will firm as they cook and the side of the ring will help the side cook
• Depending on how big you make them you can eat them whole or split/cut them in half
• For a faux scone smaller pumpkin crumpins can be topped with pumpkin cream, grated nutmeg. Maybe add some crushed walnuts (not pictured)
• To make pumpkin cream whip 100g cooked pumpkin, 1 tbsp. sugar with 300ml thickened cream

 

 

 

It's a mystery

AB has been the inspiration for some of my best cooking triumphs, remember the meat lovers ice cream, well the chico ice cream was a success. No matter what is plated up there is always praise even though I may sit there and do my best Mary Berry or Manu Fieldel and over critic each element of the dish. "oh it's is verging on a soggy bottom" "mmm butter, but there needs to be more sauce" The only time I knew I had missed the mark and risked being eliminated is when I heard "it's a strong flavour". Really you couldn't buy support like that, although I will be in trouble for writing about it.
I will in the coming weeks bring myself to blog AB's favourite dish, Catfood, it will take some time. Till then he provided this mystery box challenge after I asked him to pick up some meat for dinner.
"what do you want?"
"i dunno surprise me"
"OK...I could make you do a masterchef mystery box?"
"bring it on!"

 

Pasta south of the border



serves 4-5 and on the table in 30 minutes
Ingredients as above

• 6 italian sausages
• 360g oyster blade steak
• 1 brown onion
• 1/4 of a pumpkin
• 200g green beans
• 1 can red kidney beans
• 1 bag pasta
• 1 red chilli*
• 250ml sour cream*
• olive oil*
• bottle of pasata*

*pantry item

Method

• Add boiling water from the kettle to a boiler with a good dash of salt
• Put steak and sausages into food processor and mince
• Dice onion and saute with olive oil in fry pan
• Add meat to onions
• Dice pumpkin and add to boiler
• Add pasta to pumpkin, try to cut pumpkin the same size as pasta or smaller.
• Add pasatato meat and season
• Cut green beans into 2cm pieces
• Drain red kidney beans
• Just before the pasta is cooked, add green and red beans to sauce.
• Drain pasta and pumpkin
• Stir through sour cream, save a bit to garnish
• Add pasta and sauce to boiler and mix through
• Serve with dollop of sourcream and sliced chilli

There seems to be way too many steps but it really is just chop, add, cook, eat. Can't wait for the next mystery box, although I know you are all still thinking AB's favourite dish is catfood.