Come Cook With Us: Altador Edition

     For this week’s edition of Come Cook With Us, we’ve decided to take you to the heart of Altador and its culinary roots. With the Altador Cup is coming up very soon, we want to make sure that you know everything you need to know about how to prepare the best of Altador’s favourite dishes. Serve any one of these meals and no one will care if their team wins or loses the cup, they’ll be too distracted by your delicious cooking instead!

     Spinach and Feta Pie

     Who knew spinach could taste so good?

     Ingredients:

     1kg fresh spinach, washed, dried, trimmed, and coarsely chopped

     3 tablespoons Flask of Olive Oil

     5 scallions stems, white and light-green parts only, trimmed and finely chopped

     2 cups crumbled feta cheese (10 oz.)

     1/2 cup finely grated Bleumaroo Cheese

     2 large eggs, lightly whisked

     1/2 cup finely chopped fresh dill

     1/3 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

     1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

     salt, to taste

     To assemble the pie:

     1/3 Flask of Olive Oil for brushing

     Eighteen sheets of frozen dough, thawed and at room temperature

     Directions:

     Pre-heat the oven to 160C.

     To make the filling, sauté a large handful of spinach on medium heat in a pan until it starts to wilt. Keep adding spinach into the pan and cook until all the spinach is wilted and bright green. With a slotted spoon, transfer the spinach to a colander set in a sink. Let cool slightly and squeeze with your hands to extract as much of the remaining liquid as you can. Set aside.

     Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the scallions and cook until soft for approximately 4 minutes. Stir in the spinach, turn off the heat, and let cool for 5 minutes. Then stir in the feta cheese and Bleumaroo Cheese, eggs, dill, parsley, nutmeg, and salt and mix thoroughly.

     Now it’s time to put the pie together! First, line a baking dish with two sheets of dough, letting them cover the sides of the dish. Brush with olive oil. Add two more sheets in the same manner, and brush them with olive oil. Repeat until two-thirds of the dough is used up. Spread the spinach and feta filling over the dough crust. Top with two more sheets, and brush with olive oil. Continue to layer the dough sheets, two at a time, brushing with olive oil, until you have used up all the sheets. Brush the very top layer with olive oil, and sprinkle with just a few drops of water. Bake in the oven for 1 hour, or until the dough crust is crisp and golden brown. Remove from the oven, cut into squares, and serve.

     Hummus

     A wonderful bean like dip served with little pieces of flat bread.

     Ingredients:

     1 (15 oz.) can chickpeas (drained and rinsed)

     2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

     3 tablespoons tahini

     1-2 tablespoons lemon juice

     2 tablespoons olive oil

     1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

     pinch of salt and black pepper

     1/4 cup water, or more if needed

     Couple of olives to top

     Tyrannian Flat Bread

     Directions:

     Add the chickpeas, garlic, tahini, lemon juice, olive oil and ground cumin to a food processor, and blend until smooth. Add salt and black pepper, then add in the water and continue blending until the hummus reaches your desired consistency, adding additional water if needed. Garnish with the olives and serve with Tyrannian Flat Bread!

     Altadorian Ambrosia

     The greatest dish that Altador has to offer.

     Ingredients:

     -1 8 oz tub Cool Whip

     -½ cup sour cream

     -1 11 oz can Faerie Oranges, drained

     -1 20 oz can Sea Pineapple, drained

     -10 oz jar Spherical Cherries, drained, halved, and patted dry

     -1 cup sweetened coconut flakes

     -2 cups miniature marshmallows

     -3/4 cup chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, cashews)

     Directions:

     In a large serving bowl, fold sour cream into Cool Whip. Fold in the remaining ingredients, making sure that the Sea Pineapples, Faerie Oranges, and Spherical Cherries have been properly drained. Serve immediately or refrigerate until serving.

     Altadorian Cobb Salad

     This salad is quite healthy for you... if you lay off the dressing.

     Ingredients:

     50g Bacon Bits, chopped

     4 Haaaarrd Boiled Eggs

     1 Fried Chicken Breast, chopped

     2 Glowing Lettuce Heads

     4 Cheery Tomatoes

     1 avocado

     1/2 cup of Lost Desert Sandy Olive Oil

     1 Lemon

     1 Onion, chopped

     Fancy Altadorian Mustard

     salt and pepper to taste

     Directions:

     Fry up the Bacon Bits for 10 to 15 minutes until crisp. Set on paper towels to absorb the oil. Peel the Haaaarrd Boiled Eggs and then chop them up before putting them into a bowl and seasoning with salt.

     In another bowl, add the chopped Fried Chicken Breast and the juice and zest of one Lemon. Sprinkle a pinch of salt and add some pepper.

     For the dressing, whisk the Lost Desert Sandy Olive Oil, onion, one tablespoon of Fancy Altadorian Mustard. Season the dressing with salt and pepper and then add a tablespoon of the dressing into the bowl with the Fried Chicken Breast.

     Now to put everything together! First, cut the avocado in half, pit then dice it. Chop the tomatoes up and season with salt, Separate the Glowing Lettuce Head leaves then place in a serving bowl, on top of the salad dressing. Add the Bacon Bits, Haaaarrd Boiled Eggs, Cheery Tomatoes and Fried Chicken Breast. When you are ready to serve the salad, toss it and season with salt and pepper.

     Altador Meatloaf

     This meatloaf is topped with a butter sauce and some asparagus.

     Instructions:

     500g minced beef

     2 Cheesy Asparagus stalks

     30g butter

     1 egg

     1 Onion, chopped

     1 cup Kau Kau Organic Farm Milk

     2 tablespoons Fancy Altadorian Mustard

     2 tablespoons from a Bag of Sugar

     1 cup of crunchy bread crumbs

     1 tablespoon ketchup

     salt and pepper to taste

     Directions:

     Preheat your oven to 180C.

     In a separate bowl, mix together the minced beef, egg, onion, 1 cup of milk, and the crunchy bread crumbs. Season the mixed meat with salt and pepper and then either shape the mass into a loaf or place it into a loaf-shaped tin. Bake the meatloaf for 1 hour at 180C.

     In another bowl, mix together the Fancy Altadorian Mustard, sugar, ketchup and the butter. Pan fry the Cheesy Asparagus stalks over medium heat. When the meatloaf is done, take out of oven then place the Asparagus stalks over the meatloaf then pour the sauce over the asparagus.

     If you are planning to host a party with your friends to watch the Altador Cup together, recreating any one of these dishes will ensure that your friends will remember the tournament 2018 for years to come… and it’ll all be because of your cooking, not the sport!