Ahead of the Euro semi-finals, city chefs share inspired European recipes

With the Euro semi-finals beginning tomorrow, city chefs draw inspiration from four competing nations to sort your game night menu

England: Scones with Greek yogurt and jam

Baker-chef Juhi Pahwa of The Better Binge (@thebetterbinge), who shares a gluten and dairy-free version of the recipe, remembers watching matches with her dad. “He never misses a game. He always supported Spain or England. Now that I’m married, I miss watching the games with him but make sure I get updates from him,” she says.

Ingredients
>>1 cup rolled oats  >>1 cup gluten-free flour >>1/2 cup coconut sugar >>1-1/2 tsp baking powder >>A pinch of salt >>1/3 cup almond milk  >>1 tbsp lemon juice >>1/2 cup olive oil >>1 egg >>1 tsp vanilla extract >>3 tbsp rosemary 

Method
Mix the oats, flour, salt and baking powder, and set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk the almond milk, lemon juice, oil, egg and vanilla. Mix the oats in this and form a rollable batter. Fold in the rosemary. Roll thick and use a round cookie-cutter to cut scones. Bake the scones at 180°C in a preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Let them cool completely and serve. Serve with Greek yogurt sweetened with maple and strawberry chia jam.

Italy: Pineapple lime sorbet

Chef Prateek Bakhtiani of Ether Atelier Chocolat is honest about his excitement for the game. “I’m someone who is way more excited to cook for the watch party than to watch the game. So, I’m not supporting any particular team but thrilled to be there in my sarcastic hoodie that says ‘sports’ instead of ‘Italy’ or ‘Mumbai Indians’ .”Making gelato is a scientific process, he says. “Three points define the consistency; how cold it is, the granule size of ice particles, and amount of air. If your gelato is too solid, it has too much water and if it is too icy and soft, it needs more water.” Bakhtiani recommends understanding what size of ice granules your machine makes before deciding on making a granita, cremolata, sorbet or gelato. “If you’d like to make a tiramisu gelato but the machine makes larger granules, make an espresso granita, and pour sweetened mascarpone cream on it,” he suggests.

Ingredients
>>100 gm lime >>350 gm pineapple>>50 gm basil >>379 ml 70 per cent syrup>>4 gm stabiliser FC (Stab FC is a stabiliser specialised for fruits and cold. This means that the stabiliser works well in the low-calcium acidic fruit environment, and does not need to be heated to activate like in most milk-based gelatos) >>218 ml water

Method
Blend everything as well as possible until homogenised, and then add to the gelato machine. Once ready, let it rest for a couple of hours to mature 
before serving.

Denmark: Chicken meatball soup

Euro matches are something to look forward to, especially this year, considering how much we’ve missed watching such events. England and Denmark have a good chance of becoming champions. All I want is a nail-biter. I enjoy watching matches with a chilled glass of craft beer, or digging into my favourite meatball soup,” says Abhishek Pednekar, executive chef, Woodside Inn.

Ingredients
For meatballs: >> 150 gm chicken mince >> 50 ml cream >> 20 gm butter >> 10 gm red bell pepper >> 10 gm parmesan cheese >> 1 egg white >> 1 gm thyme >> 1 gm parsley >>Salt and pepper

For chicken stock: >> 500 gm chicken trimmings or bones >> 50 gm carrots >> 30 gm celery >> 30 gm onion >> 20 ml oil

Method
For meatballs, mix all the ingredients and make even-sized round balls (around seven to eight pieces) and refrigerate for two hours. For the stock, combine all the ingredients and roast them in the oven until golden brown or sauté in a stockpot till golden brown. In the same stockpot, add 2 litres of cold water and bring to a boil. Simmer the stock for about an hour to get the flavour. Remember to remove the scum which appears on top while simmering. Strain the stock and keep it aside. For the soup, heat butter in a pan and gently sear the chicken meatballs on slow to medium flame. Don’t fully cook it. In a separate pan, heat the chicken stock, bring it to a boil and then add the meatballs to it and simmer it for three to four minutes. Serve the soup in a soup bowl and garnish with fresh herbs.

Spain: Chicken chilindron with saffron and chickpeas

Chef Arun D’souza of Perch says, “I’ve always been a supporter of Germany, but since their exit, I’m rooting for the underdog, and hoping Denmark take a surprise victory.” Despite supporting Denmark, the chef was happy to share a Spanish favourite.

Ingredients
>>500 gm chicken thighs >>50 gm chorizo, chopped >>100 gm garlic, sliced >>250 gm onion, chopped >>Pinch of chilli flakes >>1 red bell pepper, julienned >>150 gm ripe tomatoes, cubed/100 gm tomato paste >>2 tsp smoked paprika >>50 gm Kalamata olives
>>100 ml white wine/sherry
>>80 gm boiled chickpeas
>>One pinch saffron, in warm water >>2 canned anchovies, smashed >>1 bay leaf
>>4 tbsp olive oil

Method
Note: If using fresh tomatoes, cube the tomatoes, and roast them in the oven till all the water has evaporated from them. Purée this mixture to create a larger depth of flavour. Heat a saucepan over medium heat. Add the olive oil, and gently sear the chicken thighs until browned. Remove and set aside. Add the onion, garlic and chorizo and stir regularly until all the fat from the chorizo is rendered. Tip in the red capsicum, and continue cooking until softened. Add the tomato, bay leaf, paprika, chilli flakes and gently cook until the oil starts to separate again. Pour the white wine/sherry and stir well. Add the olives, chickpeas, browned chicken, anchovies and a splash of water. Cook until the chicken is done and season with salt and pepper. Finish with the saffron water. The gravy should not be very thin. Serve with rice, potatoes or salad.

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