World cup treats

Five short recipes for dishes that are perfect to serve during the World Cup season.

JUNE 28, 2018 12:38

World cup treats (photo credit: Courtesy) — World cup treats

(photo credit: Courtesy)

Everywhere you turn these days, everyone’s talking about the World Cup. In every house, you’ll find family members squished together on the couch in front of a screen, cheering for their favorite team. The only big question of the day is, what should we serve friends and family while they’re watching the game? One option is to open up a few bags of junk food, but you could spend a couple of minutes preparing something easy and fun that will make you the star of the game.

Below, you’ll find five short recipes for dishes that are perfect to serve during the World Cup season. The first is cheese and pepper muffins. You can easily swap different vegetables or cheeses of varying fat content. The second is roast potatoes seasoned with oregano, rosemary or thyme, that are just as fun to eat as French fries. The third recipe is a fantastic cooked bell-pepper dish that uses different colored peppers. It looks amazing and is also very tasty. The fourth recipe includes cut-up raw vegetables that are seasoned with olive oil, lemon and black pepper. The last recipe is for people who don’t feel like going to all the effort to make a salad. All you need to do is cut a few slices and prepare a tasty yogurt dip.

If you add to these cold drinks and fruit, you’ll be declared the winner for sure.

ROASTED POTATOES

Makes four to six servings.

6 medium potatoes

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup canola oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1 Tbsp. sweet or spicy paprika (or ½ tsp. chili

pepper)

2 to 3 sprigs of oregano

¼ cup chopped parsley

Scrub and rinse potatoes. Dry well. (Alternatively, potatoes can also be peeled.) Preheat oven to 250°. Cut the potatoes into quarters or eighths lengthwise. Arrange pieces on baking tray with skin facing down.

Pour the olive and canola oils on top of the potatoes and then sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika. Push the oregano pieces between the potato pieces and then mix.

Cover with baking paper and then on top of that aluminum foil. Roast for 40 minutes. Remove paper and foil and roast another 20 minutes until potatoes turn golden brown.

CHEESE AND PEPPER MUFFINS

Makes 12 muffins.

70 gr. butter, melted

100 gr. 5% cottage cheese

1 container sour cream

2 cups self-rising flour, sifted (if using spelt flour, add

1 tsp. baking powder)

Pinch of salt

1 Tbsp. sugar

¼ tsp. baking soda

2 bell peppers, roasted and chopped finely

1 spicy green pepper, chopped

2 dried tomatoes, chopped (optional)

3 to 4 sprigs of basil, chopped

2 Tbsp. black olives, pitted and chopped

2 medium eggs

Salt and pepper to taste

Place all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix them well. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add paper muffin liners to a silicone muffin tray and spray with oil.

Pour batter into a plastic pastry bag and cut off end. Squeeze batter into muffin liners until they are ¾ full. Alternatively, you can spoon batter into muffin liners.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in an oven that has been preheated to 180° or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool and then carefully remove from tray.

PEPPER AND SQUASH IN HONEY

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

½ cup olive oil

2 large red onions, sliced thinly

6 bell peppers (red, green, yellow

and orange), cut into strips

2 squashes, cut into strips

8 cloves of garlic, chopped

3 heaping Tbsp. honey

½ cup dry white wine

3 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

½ tsp. fresh ginger, grated

Salt and pepper, to taste

You should try to use a number of different colored peppers to make this dish more impressive looking. Also, if you prepare it the day before, the flavor is enhanced.

Pour olive oil into a large pan and let it get very hot. Add the onion and fry until golden. Add the peppers, squash and garlic. Stir for two to three minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir. Bring to a boil and then lower flame and continue cooking for another 10 minutes. Adjust seasoning.

VEGETABLE SLICES AND YOGURT DIP

Makes six to eight servings.

Vegetable sticks:

3 peppers of varying color: red, green, and yellow,

cut into 1-cm. thick strips

2 cucumbers, cut into 1-cm. thick slices

3 carrots, cut into slices

2 kohlrabi, cut into strips

1 cup cherry tomatoes

1 cup radishes, halved

Yogurt dip:

2 containers of yoghurt

¼ cup sour cream

Juice and zest from ½ a lemon

1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar

4 mint leaves, chopped

1½ Tbsp. garlic, crushed

Salt and pepper, to taste

Decoration:

1 Tbsp. fresh dill, chopped

If you don’t feel like going to all the effort required to prepare a salad, you can spend just a couple of minutes cutting large slices of veggies for dipping.

Add all of the ingredients of the dip to a bowl and mix well. Pour into a serving dish and adorn with dill. Place next to plate of vegetable sticks.

CELERY, PEPPER AND ONION SALAD

Makes six to eight servings.

Leaves from 8 stalks of celery, cut into large strips

1 large tomato, cut into eighths or cubes

1 turnip, cut into eighths or 4½-cm. large strips

1 carrot, cut into 4½-cm. large strips

1 red onion, cut into medium or thin strips

1 green pepper, cut into medium or thin strips

2 cups mesclun lettuce

2 baladi pickled lemons, cut into quarters or eighths

Juice from 1 lemon

Salt and pepper, to taste

Prepare all the cut vegetables ahead of time in separate bowls. Just before serving, add all the vegetables to a large bowl and mix well. Add the lemons and mesclun lettuce and mix.

Add the lemon juice, salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Translated by Hannah Hochner.