Greek style braised beans and paneer cheese

A great twist on two favourites !

Summer continues with loads of sunny days, meaning the solar oven is in over-drive 🙂  The green beans in the garden are also in over-drive so it was time to make an old favourite that cooks just beautifully in the solar oven….  Greek style braised beans.

Adding to the inspiration was a fresh chunk of Feta Cheese that I picked up from George (originally from Crete) in a local market.

My recipe planning continued with a bottle of beautiful raw Jersey cow milk in the fridge…  Hmmm chunks of home made Paneer Cheese  fried in Ghee swimming around in those beans sounds good !

The only thing missing was something so soak up the succulent juices….  to stick with the “Greek” theme, I served this with little rice shaped pasta (a bit like Orzo) also from George and Crete ….

The whole meal took on another aspect by adding slight twists to the original recipes….  A bit more dried Oregano to the beans, the Paneer (usually used in indian dishes) added a creamy protein along with the Feta crumbled over the beans just before serving. The pasta drizzled generously with good organic Olive oil made this a rich vegetarian Sunday lunch  😉

(Click on the above links for the recipes for the cheese, beans & ghee)

Bon appetît !

Ghee – DIY !

Once again I’ve discovered how easy it is to make something that seems quite “exotic” at home . . .

GHEE !  ghee = clarified butter = the oily bit of the butter

Besides having a rich history in Ayurvedic Medicine and Hindu rituals, ghee is the chosen fat for most Indian Cuisine.

Though I usually avoid the word “nutrition” (thanks to Michael Pollan), if you look at a shop bought jar of ghee you will see something like 8g of Cholesterol for a teaspoon compared to 30g for butter !  Another PLUS is the fact that its much slower to burn due to the lack of milk solids that are in butter.  This makes ghee a much healthier option when wanting to cook with butter as the flavour will be very close to…..  BUTTER 😉

You will need a bit of cheesecloth and a clean glass jar.  Oddly, in France, cheesecloth is very hard to find.  I finally found what is called an “étamine” which is basically a re-usable cheescloth.  It came in a pretty drawstring pouch and its big (too big really) and washable between uses.

I use an elastic band to hold the cheescloth in place on my glass jar while pouring the melted ghee.

How to make Ghee :

All you need is . . . Butter (best quality you can get and as much as you like) – I used raw butter from Jersey cows from a local farmer.  You also need a heavy based saucepan.  Melt the butter and bring to a slight boil before turning the heat right down to the lowest possible heat.  Leave to simmer until the solids separate from the oily bit.  This should take around 25 to 30 minutes.  You will notice bits settling on the bottom of the pan and less foam on the top when you are near ready.  Its ok if the bottom bits turn a bit golden but not more coloured than that or you may get a burt taste.

Pour the melted butter through cheese cloth into a jar and let cool before storing in the fridge or a cool room.  The solids collected in the cheesecloth are delicious and savoury…..  Don’t throw it out !  You can add a spoonful to a curry or sauce, but I usually just eat it….  warm, by the spoonful 😉

Ghee should keep well at room temperature for a few weeks.  I keep mine in the fridge as it keeps even longer.

COOL TIP :  As long as there is moisture in the butter it will not go beyond 100°C (212°F).  If you have a thermometer you can be sure its ready when it starts climbing up and beyond 105°C.

Bon appetît !