Greek Salad with Seasoned Flatbread

Here is a quick and simple supper to whip up when you get home from work.  Greek salad is kind of a no-brainer - a simple vinaigrette drizzled over a salad of romaine, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, and feta.  (Good quality feta is key).   You can jazz it up a little, however, with this delicious crispy flatbread on the side.  It's like a giant, flattened crouton.  It just made your salad a whole lot more exciting.

You can add all kinds of things that are traditional in Greek salads, such as red onion (I'm not a raw onion girl myself) or chopped pepperoncinis (totally would have included them if I had any), or chickpeas, or diced roasted red peppers.  Just keep it simple - the more you add to this salad, the less character it will have.  Counter-intuitive, I know - but trust me.  The bottom line is you have a great contrast of textures, with just the right amount of saltiness.  It's refreshing, crisp, and satisfying.

Greek Salad with Seasoned Flatbread

adapted from Everyday Food's Great Food Fast

serves 3

INGREDIENTS 

the flatbread

1 large piece whole wheat lavash

1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

1/4 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

salt and pepper

the salad

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

salt and pepper

1 small head of romaine, chopped into bite-sized pieces

1 medium vine-ripened tomato, diced

2 persian cucumbers, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced

1/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted

4 ounces feta cheese, cut into cubes

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Preheat toaster oven (or oven) to 400.  Line a baking sheet with parchment.  Lay the lavash on it.  In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, and lemon zest.  Brush evenly over the lavash, sprinkle with oregano, salt and pepper to taste, and bake for 5 to 10 minutes, or until crisp and golden brown.  Break into large pieces.

2.  In the same bowl you whisked the dressing for the lavash, whisk the dressing for the salad - add the oil and vinegar, and season with salt and pepper.   In a large bowl combine lettuce, tomato, cucumber, olives, and feta.  Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss everything together.  

3.  Serve salad with flatbread.

Enjoy!

Avgolemono Soup (CEIMB)

When I was in law school, we often went to a Greek restaurant called Taverna Tony for lunch.  It was right down the street, and it had (free!) excellent bread and taramasalata dip. There was one menu item that we always had to get.  It was the lemony, creamy soup known as avgolemono - or chicken lemon soup.  It was my favorite soup of all time, and I still get the hankering now and again to drive up the coast to Malibu for a bowl.  No other Greek restaurant makes it quite as well as Taverna Tony, and believe me, I've looked.

It just so happens that this week's Craving Ellie in my Belly recipe is for avgolemono soup (or "Lemon Chicken Soup with Orzo," as Ellie calls it).   I was so excited that this was the pick of the week!  I have to say that it is remarkably like the version I grew to know and love in law school, only with thyme instead of parsley.  I think next time I make this recipe (and there *will* be a next time), I will use parsley and see just how close to Tony's recipe this one is. 

This is a magical, lemony soup that tastes creamy and decadent, but the source of its creaminess is tempered eggs, rather than cream, flour, or any other typical soup ingredient.  It's a rather unassuming variation on chicken noodle soup, but it is so incredibly good, you can't even believe it until you try it yourself.

Avgolemono Soup

adapted from Ellie Krieger's The Food You Crave

serves 3

INGREDIENTS:

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

1 skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into small chunks

pinch of salt, plus more to taste

1/2 medium onion, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

1 medium carrot, diced

leaves from 3 sprigs of thyme

3 cups low sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup orzo

1 large egg

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

freshly ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat.  Season chicken with the salt, add to the pot, and cook, stirring often, until just cooked through, about 4 minutes.  Transfer the chicken to a dish and set aside.

2.  Add remaining teaspoon of oil to the pot.  Add onion, celery, carrot and thyme and cook, stirring, over medium-high heat until the veggies are tender, about 5 minutes.  Add 2 1/2 cups of the broth and bring to a boil.  Add orzo and let simmer until tender, about 6 minutes.  Turn heat down to low to keep the soup hot but not boiling.

3.  Warm the remaining 1/2 cup broth in a small saucepan until hot, but not boiling.  In a medium bowl, beat the egg.  Gradually whisk the lemon juice into the egg.  Then gradually add the hot broth to the egg-lemon mixture, whisking all the while.  (You are tempering the egg, as opposed to cooking it).

4.  Add the egg-broth mixture to the soup, stirring well until the soup is thickened.  Do not let the soup come to a boil.  If any bits of scrambled egg form, fish them out, but this shouldn't happen if you have the heat all the way down.  Add cooked chicken to the soup, season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Enjoy!

Spanakopita

Oh my god.  Yes, this is that good.

Tonight I conducted an experiment in my kitchen, adapting the recipe for spanakopita filling from the barefoot contessa and making one big spanakopita instead of the individual triangles.  It was so incredibly fantastic, I don't know where to begin. 

Spanakopita is often served as an appetizer, but this variation can easily be your full meal.  Salty feta, earthy spinach, and gorgeous spices encased in a crispy phyllo shell - this is vegetarian bliss.   Yum. 

Eloquence is escaping me, so let's get straight to the recipe.

Spanakopita

adapted from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics

serves 4-5

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 red onion, chopped

2 scallions, white and green parts, chopped

1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon freshly grated parmesan

2 tablespoons plain dry bread crumbs

1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 cup small-diced feta cheese

1 1/2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts

5 sheets frozen phyllo dough, defrosted and cut in half

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Preheat oven to 375.

2.  Warm olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and cook for about 5 minutes, just softening, not browning.  Add scallions and cook for two additional minutes.  Remove from heat.

3.  Meanwhile, squeeze most of the moisture from the spinach and place in a large bowl.  Add onions and scallions when they're done cooking.  Stir in eggs, parmesan, bread crumbs, nutmeg, salt and pepper.  Gently fold in the feta and pine nuts.

4.  Lay out the phyllo sheets on a work surface.  Brush an 8 x 8 baking dish with vegetable oil using a pastry brush.  Working quickly so they don't dry out, brush a small amount of vegetable oil onto each phyllo sheet.  Lay the first five halves into the baking sheet after oiling each one.  The edges will go up the sides of the baking dish, so lay them in different directions to create a sort of crust coming up the sides of the baking dish.

5.  Spread the filling evenly over the phyllo.  Top with the remaining five halves of phyllo dough after brushing each one with oil in the same manner you did with the first five.  When all the phyllo is in the pan, fold down the edges that are coming up over the top of the baking dish to create a sort of seal.  Sprinkle lightly with salt, and bake for 30 minutes, or until browned and crisp.  Serve hot.

Enjoy!

Chicken Orzo Casserole

I think I've found my culinary calling, and its name is the casserole.   Something about the cooler (relatively speaking) fall weather makes it so enticing.  This casserole comes from the current issue of Everyday Food, publication of the matriarch Ms. Stewart, and constant source of easy and delicious recipes.  Case in point:  a smooth, creamy casserole without any cream, featuring a medley of Greek flavors.

You may think you don't like feta cheese, but if you buy the fresh stuff in a block from your grocery store and make this casserole, you will grow to appreciate just what it can do.  It marries with dill and lemon so well, it's like they were born to be together forever.  They envelop tender, delicate little orzo pasta pieces and the whole thing just melts in your mouth.  Delicious.

You know a recipe is great when you're already looking forward to eating the leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Chicken Orzo Casserole

adapted from Everyday Food

serves 3

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups low sodium chicken broth

1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 pound chicken tenders, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 cup orzo

2 oz. feta, roughly chopped (or crumbled)

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh dill

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

juice of 1/2 lemon

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Preheat oven to 400.  In a small saucepan over high heat, bring the broth, 1/4 cup water, butter, salt and pepper to a boil.

2.  Meanwhile, combine chicken, orzo, feta, dill, lemon zest and juice in a shallow 1 1/2 quart casserole dish.  Pour the hot broth mixture over it and stir once, gently, to incorporate.

3.  Bake until bubbling and starting to brown, and the cooking liquid is creamy, about 30 minutes.  Let stand 5 minutes prior to serving.

Enjoy!

Mediterranean Scramble

I haven't posted a lot of breakfast recipes in this blog, and the item that is most notoriously absent thus far is the egg. My husband is not a fan, so I generally only eat eggs when we go out to breakfast. Today I decided to spoil myself and make an utterly selfish breakfast for just little old me. I also wanted to use my brand new Le Creuset skillet, which I am pleased to say performed very well!









The first thing I ever cooked with any regularity was scrambled eggs. As I got better at it, I experimented with adding things, and to this day I still have the same basic formula. First I cook the veggies and meat, if any, then I pour the eggs over them; when the eggs start to set, I add cheese, scramble everything together, and end with seasonings. It's a pretty easy repertoire.

This version has delicious Mediterranean flavors - salty prosciutto, crunchy sweet red bell peppers, melty mozzarella, and grassy flat-leaf parsley. Everything comes together quite simply and makes for a beautiful weekend breakfast. I had it with some fresh baguette slices. Yum.

Mediterranean Scramble
serves 1

INGREDIENTS:

olive oil cooking spray
1 small (or 1/2 large) red bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 tablespoons diced prosciutto
2 large eggs, lightly beaten with a splash of water
3 tablespoons part skim shredded mozzarella
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
pinch of salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Coat skillet with cooking spray and place over medium heat. When hot, add bell pepper and prosciutto. Cook, stirring only occasionally, for a minute or two, until prosciutto is just starting to brown and bell peppers are crisp-tender.

2. Pour the egg mixture over the veggies and let it cook untouched for about a minute, until eggs are starting to set (i.e. the part touching the skillet bottom is solidifying). Add cheese and stir everything up with a spatula.

3. As the eggs become almost cooked through, stir in parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper. (Go easy on the salt; prosciutto is already pretty salty). Serve with bread, pita, or whatever floats your boat.

Enjoy!

Greek Style Bread Salad with Lemon-Caper Dressing

This is a great meal to make for dinner when you're atoning for a fairly indulgent lunch. Or, a fairly indulgent week, as the case may be. It's a Greek-inspired version of bread salad, which usually showcases more Italian flavors. To be honest, I'm not sure how "Greek" this really is, but it's good. The dressing is slightly creamy, but totally guilt-free. The salad features two of my favorite things - capers and tomatoes. And who doesn't like crusty bread in their salad? Please.

Go ahead and make yourself a healthy supper that is yummy enough to make you forget the atonement aspect.

Greek Style Bread Salad with Lemon-Caper Dressing
adapted from Everyday with Rachael Ray
serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

6 slices of baguette (about 1/2 inch each)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
1 clove garlic, cut in half
2 1/2 tablespoons lowfat Greek-style yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped flat leaf parsley
1/2 head romaine, coarsely chopped
1 heirloom tomato, chopped
1 scallion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon capers, drained
freshly ground pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat toaster oven (or oven) to 350. Brush both sides of each slice of baguette lightly with oil. Bake for about 10 minutes, until browned, flipping over about halfway through. Rub one side of each slide with the cut side of half the garlic clove.

2. Mince the remaining garlic clove half, and whisk with yogurt, lemon juice, and remaining oil. Toss the parsley, lettuce, tomato, scallion, and capers with the dressing. Season with pepper. Serve the salad with the bread slices.

Enjoy!

Mediterranean Grain Salad

Whole grains deserve a bit of experimentation. Tossing them into a salad along with some more traditional ingredients is a great way to introduce yourself and get to know each other a bit better. When you add a whole grain to a leafy salad, it suddenly becomes far more filling. Hold off on the crusty bread, tempting though it may be, with this one.

I chose to use quinoa in this recipe since we've been having a whole grain love affair for several years now. I should warn you, though, that quinoa has a tendency to cling to everything it touches, so you'll end up with quinoa-coated spinach, quinoa-coated cheese crumbles, etc. If this bothers you, you might want to use farro, bulgur or barley. Just pick the grain you feel like getting to know better. The instructions below are for quinoa, so if you use something else, follow the package directions to cook it.

Spicy radishes, creamy goat cheese and a light lemon vinaigrette compliment the quinoa and spinach nicely. This is a pretty inoffensive salad that you can serve to almost anyone. Anyone who knows what's good for them, anyway!

Mediterranean Grain Salad
adapted from Williams-Sonoma's Food Made Fast: Salad
serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup quinoa (or grain of choice)
juice of one lemon
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons EVOO
4 radishes, thinly sliced
1/4 English cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced
a few leaves of fresh mint, finely chopped
3 oz. baby spinach leaves
1 oz. goat cheese or feta cheese crumbles

DIRECTIONS:

1. If using quinoa, rinse and drain, then put in a saucepan with 1 cup water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until all water is absorbed. Turn off heat and set aside to cool for a while. Use this time to prep remaining ingredients.

2. Make the vinaigrette: whisk the lemon juice, salt, pepper, and EVOO together in a small bowl (or shake in a salad dressing shaker).

3. Assemble the salad: Put radishes, cucumber, mint, spinach, cheese, and quinoa in a large bowl. Drizzle with vinaigrette and toss gently to combine. Serve.

Enjoy!

Pan-Fried Falafel Pitas

Holy vegetarian, Batman! This is one of those meals that convinces me that yes, I could do the whole vegetarian thing if I so desired. I did it once before, for nine months in high school, but my palate was less sophisticated then. The only things I ate as a teenage vegetarian were pasta, cereal, eggs, and cheese. That was back when I thought I didn't like beans or vegetables. Ha, teenage vegetarian self, I laugh at you now. If only you knew such beautiful things as falafel existed. And better yet, a healthy version of falafel.

This recipe produces a non-greasy, non-heavy, non-oh-my-god-what-did-I-just-eat patties of chickpeas, herbs and spices. I'll admit they don't look gorgeous, and I had trouble getting them to stay in one piece, but it didn't really matter. I whipped up a beautiful sauce (recipe included below) and the whole thing tied together wonderfully. It's sort of a deconstructed hummus. In a word, yum.

I've included my suggestions for veggies to include in the pita sandwich below, but you could certainly include whatever veggies you'd like. I'd try to stick to just two, as anything more than that and you'll suddenly be trying to bite into a middle Eastern-style Chipotle burrito.

Pan-Fried Falafel Pitas
adapted from Williams-Sonoma's Eat Well
serves 2-3

INGREDIENTS:

14.5 oz. can no salt added garbanzo beans, drained & rinsed
small handful chives, torn
2 large cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup (or more) fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cup tahini
juice of one lemon
4 tablespoons EVOO, divided
salt to taste
pinch red pepper flakes
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips
6 or so leaves lettuce
2 whole wheat pitas, warmed and halved

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a food processor, combine chickpeas with chives, garlic and parsley and process until coarsely pureed. Transfer mixture to a bowl and stir in baking powder and cumin. Chill mixture until cold, at least half an hour.

2. While the falafel mixture is chilling, make the sauce. Whisk together tahini and lemon juice. Add 1 tablespoon EVOO, pinch salt and red pepper flakes. Add water to thin out the sauce to a pourable consistency. Set aside.

3. When the falafel mixture is cold, heat 2 tablespoons EVOO in a large nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, use wet hands to form small patties, about 2-3 inches in diameter, from the falafel mixture. You should get about 8 patties out of it. Place into the oil in the pan. Cook as many patties at a time as will fit without touching. Cook, turning once, until both sides are browned, about 6 minutes. If you have to do the falafel in batches, add more EVOO as necessary between batches.

4. Build your pita sandwich - put in the lettuce and red bell pepper, followed by 2 falafel patties (depending on size) per half pita. Serve with sauce on the side or drizzled over the falafel.

Enjoy!

Pasta with Greek Cinnamon-Tomato Sauce

It was abnormally hot in Southern California today, and unfortunately most of the recipes I had chosen for this week were of the slaving-over-a-hot-stove variety. Needless to say, they didn't sound too appealing. Then I remembered a recipe I've been meaning to make, in fact, meant to make last week, but had abandoned for no apparent reason. And while it still involved a hot stove, it involved virtually no slaving. It was easy, quick, and incredibly rewarding.

This is not your typical pasta-with-tomato-sauce, folks. This one is filled with bold spices that make you think of the Greek Isles, even if you've never been (as I haven't, sadly). The cinnamon pops out at you, and the oregano serves as a lovely mellow backdrop for it. The garlic and red pepper flakes create a gentle hum of spice in the back of your mouth. And if you opt to include the goat cheese, there is a whole extra layer of creamy deliciousness in each bite.

And an ingredient note - I highly recommend using tomato paste in a tube. It just makes way more sense. Whoever invented it, I salute you.

So no matter how hot it is, just suffer for a few minutes in the kitchen to make this dish. Or if you live near the coast like we do, open the window and let in the ocean breeze to cool you off, and imagine you are, in fact, on those Greek Isles. Sigh...

Pasta with Greek Cinnamon-Tomato Sauce
adapted from The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper
serves 3+

INGREDIENTS:

salt
2 tablespoons EVOO
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
fresh ground pepper
2 teaspoons tomato paste
3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup dry white wine
one 14.5 oz. can no salt added diced tomatoes (w/ juice)
1/2 lb. short hollow whole wheat pasta (elbows, cavatappi, penne)
2 oz. fresh goat cheese, crumbled (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

2. While the pot is warming up, coat the bottom of a straight-sided saute pan with the EVOO and heat over medium-high heat. Add onions, parsley, and generous amount of salt and pepper. Saute the onions until they are just turning golden brown. Stir in tomato paste, garlic, oregano, cinnamon, and red pepper flakes. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add wine and cook for another minute.

3. Add the diced tomatoes and juices, and smush them with a potato masher or similar implement. Raise heat to medium high and cook the sauce for 8 minutes, or until thickened. Turn off heat and cover the pan.

4. Cook pasta until just al dente, according to package directions. Drain and add the pasta to the sauce over medium-high heat. Toss to incorporate with the sauce, and cook for a minute or so to let the sauce permeate the noodles. Serve with goat cheese, if using, and stir in to melt.

Absolutely delicious, and yet another way to keep pasta interesting. Enjoy!

Mediterranean Pasta Salad

Pasta salad used to be a go-to dish for me when asked to bring something to a party. In fact, it still is. But I've gotten a lot more creative over the years with what I put in it. This one is sort of a medley of many of my favorite pasta salad accoutrements, and they all join together in a beautiful Mediterranean theme.

Serve room temperature or cold - either way it's delightful and low maintenance. Orzo is a great pasta choice for this dish, but I didn't have any on hand (don't get me started on the Great Orzo Shortage of 2008, which has apparently continued into 2009) so I went with trusty old rotini. Any short-cut pasta will work.

So go ahead, whip it up and take it to a pot luck, or just have it for dinner at home. That's what we're going to do tonight.

Mediterranean Pasta Salad
serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup short-cut pasta (preferably whole wheat), only 1/4 cup if using orzo
salt
2 tablespoons EVOO
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon zest
juice of 1 lemon
1 medium tomato, diced
1/4 cup diced cucumber
1 tablespoon capers, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon chopped sun-dried tomatoes
1/4 cup loosely-packed parsley leaves, chopped
1/4 cup loosely-packed basil leaves, chopped
fresh ground pepper
handful of good quality olives

DIRECTIONS:

1. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil, and salt it. Cook pasta to al dente, according to package directions.

2. While pasta is cooking, combine EVOO, red wine vinegar, lemon zest and lemon juice in a bowl. When the pasta is done, drain it and toss it in that very same bowl. Let sit for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl, pepper to taste, and top it with the olives. Serve as is, or cover and refrigerate until ready to eat.

It's as easy as pie. And a lot healthier. Enjoy!