pascha

Greek Dolmades - Stuffed Grape Vine Leaves by Greek chef Akis Petretzikis. This is an extremely popular, delicious, traditional Greek dish that you will love! 

Greek Dolmades - Stuffed Vine Leaves 

250 g vine leaves, tender

onions, 2 bunches spring onions,

onion,

clove(s) of garlic, thinly sliced

olive oil

400 g Carolina rice

water

coriander

dill

mint

lime zest

salt

pepper

lemon juice

lemon

yogurt

dill,

mint leaves, finely chopped

olive oil,

pepper, fresh

Ντολμαδάκια γιαλαντζί | Kitchen Lab by Akis Petretzikis Subscribe @ Kitchen Lab: http://goo.gl/mxNLMM Συνταγή: Σκηνοθεσία: Λεωνίδας Πελιβανίδης Production: A...

Ντολμαδάκια γιαλαντζί | Kitchen Lab by Akis Petretzikis

Greek Easter Grill - Kokoretsi by Greek chef Akis Petretzikis. A traditional Greek specialty called Kokoretsi made with lamb pluck, lace fat and intestines. 

Greek Easter grill - Kokoretsi

kilos lamb, intestines

g vinegar

caul fat, of lamb

lamb pluck, of lamb pluck

garlic

tablespoon(s) thyme, dry

tablespoon(s) rosemary

tablespoon(s) chili flakes

tablespoon(s) oregano

lemon lemons

Paskha (also spelled Pascha) is a rich sweet and creamy Eastern European festive dessert.  This Paskha recipe will make 2 medium sized molds (2-6" terracotta flower pots work great). If you have one large Paskha mold you will just have extra to enjoy separately. I sometimes make 1 large and 1 small too.

Paskha  Russian Crust-less Cheesecake

lbs Farmer's cheese (You can make your own if you

lb unsalted butter, softened (not melted)

sugar

sour cream (no low fat)

tsp vanilla extract

almond extract

Zest of 1 full lemon

full orange

heavy whipping cream

almonds,

2- double layers of cheese cloth,

plates

heavy weights

*Optional !Possible Decorating Ingredients

almonds

cranberries

berries

flowers

Using a mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the butter and sugar till well combined, then add egg yolks and beat again till well incorporated.

Now add farmer's cheese, sour-cream, extracts and vanilla bean. Beat until well mixed.

Add zests and lemon juice and mix once more.

Once this mixture is well incorporated and there are no obvious lumps transfer this mixture to a medium mixing bowl, scraping the bowl and attachment.

Add your heavy whipping cream to the mixer's mixing bowl. With the same whisking attachment beat the whipping cream on a fairly high speed without splashing out of the bowl until your cream has peaks and has softly stiffened.

Gently fold in the cream and sliced almonds into your cheese mixture until it is well incorporated and you no longer see pockets of cream.

Place the cheese cloth over the insides of each upside down flower pot, making sure to cover all sides, leaving enough extra on top to be able to cover the tops.

Wet cheese cloth in pots over a sink with water. (This makes it easier to fill your pots with the paskha so that the cheese cloth doesn't keep moving and falling into the pot)

Fill both flower pots evenly with the Paskha cheese mixture. Leave about an inch on top unfilled. This allows for room to fit your plates and weights on top of your molds.

Gently fold the remaining cheese cloth over the tops of your cheese mixtures.

Place your small plate or bowl atop your cheese cloth covered paska.

Now place your weights on top of each plate to weigh down your molds. (You want your weights to be heavy enough to just push down on your molds, allowing the extra liquids to seep out of the bottoms)

Place your bowls under the molds to catch the liquid.

Place paskha molds into the refrigerator for at least 10-11 hours. More is ok too.

Filling the Paskha Molds

This is the moment of truth. Only do this when you are close to presenting them to your guests, giving yourself enough time to decorate them as well. If you have room in your fridge you may do this earlier and place the molds back in your fridge after you decorate, but only do this if you truly have room for them to sit undisturbed.

Uncovering and Presenting Your Paskha Molds

To remove the paskha from the mold, have a plate ready that you will present and serve the paskha on. Remove the weights and dump your draining bowls.

Uncover the tops of your molds. Once tops free of cheese cloth, place your plate on top and gently flip over the pot onto the plate.

Gently tap on the pot a few times to release the molds onto the plates. Once you feel the Paskha flop down onto your plate, take a deep breath and gently lift the pots off.

Gently remove the cheese cloth from the forms and discard the cloth.

Release the Paskha

Get creative here, but remember sometimes simpler is more attractive.

You can top your paskha with flowers, line sides or bottom edges with berries, nuts or dried fruits. Besides the flowers, make sure the rest of your decor is all edible for your guests.

Decorating your Paskha

This sweet bread recipe makes a beautiful, soft, lightly sweetened and buttery bread loaf that’s delicious as a toast with your morning coffee or tea.

Sweet Bread Recipe

milk

tsp Instant dry yeast

all-purpose flour ((bread flour

sour cream

tbsp vanilla extract

oz unsalted butter,

tsp kosher salt

sesame seeds or poppy seeds ((optional))

Check the yeast:  (see footnotes if you&#39;d like to make this dough in the breadmaker)Dissolve 2 tsp of yeast with 1/2 cup milk and 1 tsp of sugar from the overall amount and leave in a warm location until frothy, about 10-15 minutes. If the mixture does not froth up and rise, discard the yeast and start over when you have a fresh batch of dried yeast.

Combine all ingredients:Into a bowl of a mixer, sift 3 cups of flour. Then add 1/3 cup sugar, remaining 1/2 cup warm milk, 4 egg yolks, 2 tbsp sour cream, 1 tbsp vanilla extract, and the risen yeast mixture. By hand, using a spoon or the hook of the mixer, quickly mix the ingredients until a rough, shaggy mixture forms.

Knead: Attach the hook back to the mixer and knead on low speed (speed 2 to 3 on a Kitchenaid mixer) for about 20 minutes or until the dough stops sticking to the side of the bowl, feels elastic, and is tacky to touch. If the dough is adequately kneaded, a small piece can be stretched into a see-through &quot;window&quot; without tearing.Pro tip: Do not over-knead past a point where the dough is elastic and stretchy. If the gluten is overworked, it will tear, leaving you with a chunky dough that doesn&#39;t have the strength to hold a good rise of the dough.

Add 3 oz of butter and 1/4 tsp of the salt and knead it into the bread until no streaks of butter are seen (~5-7 minutes). Sometimes tearing the dough into chunks helps to incorporate the butter easier/faster.

1st Rise: Oil the sides of the bowl and the dough. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and leave in a warm place to rise until doubled in size, about 1.5 hours. Boil a cup of water in a microwave for several minutes. Remove the cup with water. Place the bowl with the dough in the warm microwave for the dough to rise. This gives the dough a nice warm place without being too hot.

Shape:  This recipe makes one large braid. To make two smaller sweet yeast bread loaves divide the dough into two, then shape two separate braids instead of one like the recipe instructs.Once risen, divide the dough into 3 equal pieces. Weighing the dough is the best way to divide the dough evenly. Next, roll each piece into a tight ball, then into a 20-inch log. If the dough is hard to stretch or it springs back too much, cover it with a tea towel and leave for 10-15 minutes. This will relax the gluten and make it easy to roll.Pinch the ends of the 3 strands together at one end, then braid them into a braid pinching the ends together. Now, tuck both ends of the braid underneath itself slightly to give it a  better shape.

2nd Rise: Transfer the sweet yeast braids to a 12&quot;x18&quot; baking sheet pan. Space them evenly. Cover with a clean tea towel. Transfer to a warm place once again until the braid doubles in size or a light pressing of the finger doesn&#39;t make the dough spring back quickly, but instead slowly springs back while still leaving slight indent.

Prep before baking: Once doubled in size preheat the oven to 350F with the baking rack centered. Brush the braid with a whisked egg yolk and water and sprinkle with sesame seeds or poppy seeds if you wish. Applying the egg yolk mixture several times will give you a darker glaze once baked.

Bake the braid for about 30-35 minutes or until the top is golden brown. You can also check for doneness with a thermometer. The center of the thickest part should register 195°F. If the top starts to brown before the inside registers 195F, loosely tent the sweet yeast bread with foil.Once baked, remove from the oven to a cooling rack and cool completely before cutting or eating.

Top 4 pascha recipes from across the web

The most viewed pascha recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

Top Tags

Greek Dolmades - Stuffed Vine Leave...

Greek Easter grill - Kokoretsi

Paskha Russian Crust-less Cheeseca...

Sweet Bread Recipe

Top 4 pascha recipes from across the web

The most viewed pascha recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Greek Dolmades - Stuffed Vine Leave...

Greek Easter grill - Kokoretsi

Paskha Russian Crust-less Cheeseca...

Sweet Bread Recipe

The most viewed pascha recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine