Last night I made a nice dish that I am actually rather proud of. If you ever need to impress a vegetarian then this is definitely the one for it.
Ingredients:
(For the bake)
1 beetroot cooked, peeled and sliced thinly
4 medium potatoes peeled, cooked and sliced thinly
3 large handfuls spinach
1 onion, finely chopped
5 eggs, beaten with a little water
handful of chopped chives, sage and parsley
Salt and pepper
(For the hummus)
1 cooked, peeled and chopped beetroot
1 tin chickpeas
3/4 a cup of olive oil
1/2 a cup lemon juice
3 tablespoons tahini paste
Handful of fresh, chopped coriander
Salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to around 200C.
Fry the onion in a pan until light brown and soft, then leave aside in a bowl. Now fry the potato slices until golden brown and set aside. Finally, fry the spinach for around 30 seconds until it is just beginning to wilt.
In a small oven dish spread a little spinach and then begin to layer; a layer of beetroot, a layer of potato, a layer of spinach and so on.
Mix the fried onion, herbs and some seasoning with the whisked eggs and then pour over the layered vegetables. Then place in the oven for around 30 minutes or until risen and golden.
Meanwhile, whisk together all of the hummus ingredients and leave aside until the bake is done. Serve with some toasted pitta bread :)
Our Easter dinner was roast chicken and roast potatoes, which (as you can see in the photo) was a little too much for both of us. It was very easy, just drizzle a whole chicken in olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Cook in a hot oven, covered in foil for around 45 minutes. Then add some potatoes (pre-boiled for 5 minutes and then cut into thin wedges). Sprinkle with some pepper and any other spices you like (I like coriander seeds and some cumin). Cook for a further 30 minutes.
This afternoon I turned the leftovers into a delicious summer salad and we ate it for lunch before heading back to the sunny beach.
All you need to do for this simple salad is shred the leftover roast chicken into a large bowl, add the cold potatoes (cut into large chunks), add two chopped up tomatoes, a handful of chopped fresh basil, a small tin of sweetcorn and a ball of mozzarella ripped into small pieces. Then sprinkle with salt and pepper and Drizzle with a good glug of olive oil and a little thick balsamico. Et Voila! Fast lunch so that you can have more time to explore the beach :)
This morning I woke up to the sunny French Riviera village of Eze. It is a beautiful place and the view over the sea from our apartment is incredible. After a short walk along the beach, it was time to break the Easter fast. I have very much enjoyed my time fasting, I have learnt new recipes and also feel very good. So I have decided to continue to fast from Monday-Thursday. Even my boyfriend (who is a lover of meat and milky tea) joined for the last week of fasting.
The table was set outside on the balcony and then breakfast was laid; boiled eggs, smoked salmon, taramosalata, tomatoes, bread from here nearby and some red orange juice. Whilst here in Eze, I hope to update on some of the local delicacies I try and also on anything delightful that may be created here. Last night we had some beautiful octopus in a chilli and tomato sauce, which was given to us by the lady living above. She told us it was a sicilian recipe and it was gorgeous. I will try and get the recipe and then post it on here :)
So the weather has been perking up lately, this weekend we had some lovely weather. I wanted to do something simple and I think this pasta is perfect. I will keep it short because it is designed to be quick and so I don't want to take up to much of your precious time when the sun is shining :)
Ingredients:
- Pasta (Any kind you like)
- 1 onion finely chopped
- Large handful of spinach, washed a chopped roughly
- Large handful of sun-blushed tomatoes
- Small handful black olives chopped
Cook the pasta for 7-8 minutes over a medium heat. Meanwhile in a pan, fry the onions over a low heat until they are soft and lightly golden.
When the pasta is done, drain the water and then place the pasta back in the saucepan. Add the cooked onions, olives, tomatoes, spinach and some salt and pepper. Drizzle with a good glug of olive oil, place a lid on top and leave for one minute while the spinach withers a little.
Enjoy, wow! easy as that!
Every weekend I go to buy olives from the market. It is hard to get good quality olives, but I am lucky that there is a wonderful middle eastern stall that has Kalamata olives that taste like I am in Cyprus. Though they are incredibly delicious, there are always some left over and I usually chop them up and add them to bread, pasta or risotto. Recently, I made this beautiful Olive Tapenade Focaccia bread.
Ingredients:
For the focaccia:
400g whole wheat flour
7g dried yeast
1/2 teaspoon raw cane sugar
275ml warm water
25ml olive oil
some semolina
pinch of fine sea salt and a pinch of coarse sea salt.
For the olive filling:
Large handful mixed and chopped olives
1 clove garlic
small glug of olive oil
handful fresh basil
Mix together the flour, yeast, fine salt and sugar together in a bowl and then gradually add the water and olive oil.
Place the mixture on a surface covered with some semolina and knead for around 10-15 minutes. It should feel soft and not sticky, if needed add a little more flour or olive oil to get the right consistency. Roll into a ball and brush lightly with olive oil. Then place in a bowl, cover with cling-film and leave in a warm place for around 30 mins-1hr.
Meanwhile in a pestle and mortar, crush the garlic, chopped olives, olive oil and basil into a paste. After this time roughly roll the dough out and spread with the tapenade.
Place on a backing tray, and then fold in half and shape into a circle. Cover with a tea towel and leave for a further 15 minutes. Heat the oven to 220°C.
After 15 minutes, poke indentations into the top of the bread and sprinkle with a little sea salt. Bake in the oven for around 20 minutes or until lightly golden.
In Greek cuisine we eat a lot of dishes that use legumes. For someone fasting at this time, they can supply a good alternative to meat and give an excellent supply of energy. Despite the fact that there are many things that are not allowed during the fasting period, I feel as though a whole new world of recipes has been opened up to me. In fact, I may go so far as to say that it is during this time that I have eaten the most delicious dishes, fresh, new and inspiring.
This weekend I decided to make a rather famous Greek dish; giant beans in tomato sauce. It is such a comforting dish, the creamy butter beans in a wonderful rich tomato sauce, laced with fresh herbs and beautiful Mediterranean spices. To accompany them, I prepared some home-made flat garlic bread and this turned out to be a delightful combination. The fresh garlicky bread went perfectly with the zingy tomato based sauce.
For the bread (makes 2 flat breads):
200g good quality flour
50g semolina
120ml lukewarm water
3.5g dried yeast
Half a teaspoon of raw cane sugar
6 cloves garlic
50 ml olive oil
Ground black pepper
Mix the flour, semolina and salt together in a bowl. In another bowl mix the yeast, sugar and water together with a fork until the yeast dissolves. Pour the water slowly into the bowl of flour and bring the mixture together with a fork and then your hands.
Knead the mixture on a surface lightly covered in semolina for around 10 minutes. It should feel soft and elastic, so feel free to add water or extra flour to get the right texture. Roll the dough into a ball, place in a bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave in a warm place for around 30 minutes.
Using a pestle and mortar, grind up the garlic cloves with the olive oil and some salt. Leave aside.
After 30 minutes, preheat the oven to 220°C and then split the dough ball in two and roll each half out into a large flat circle. Make some slits along the bread and the smother each flatbread with the garlic mixture. Sprinkle with black pepper.
Bake the flatbreads in the oven for about 20 minutes.
For the beans:
1 tin of butter beans (drained and washed)
1 onion
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons tomato puree
1 tin chopped tomatoes (or 5 fresh tomatoes peeled and chopped)
Handful of fresh flat leaf parsley
1 tablespoon oregano
Pinch of cinnamon
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 220°C.
In a pan fry the onions and garlic in some olive oil until soft and lightly browned. Then add the tomato puree and fry for a further minute. Now add the spices and the tomatoes, then finally the butter beans. Cook for 2 minutes over a medium heat.
Now pour everything into a small oven dish. Drizzle with olive oil and bake in the oven for around 20-30 minutes. They should be sizzling when you take them out of the oven. Add the parsley and another drizzle of olive oil and then set on the table to enjoy alongside some wonderful flat bread.
This is great for lunch or dinner and can be warmed up the next day. If there is bread left over then just wrap it in some cling-film and it will stay soft.
Something that never fails to satisfy and is fast to make is hummus. Chickpeas are a good source of protein during the fasting period so stock up on this wonderful dip, which can be served with fresh bread or crudites.
Ingredients:
Tin of chickpeas
3 tablespoons tahini
juice of 1 lemon
half a cup of olive oil
2 tsp paprika
handful fresh coriander
salt and pepper
Okay, now this might seem like a lot of work but...put everything into a blender and turn it on...
Blend until smooth and...serve.
Phew! What a lot of work :)
Ingredients:
(For the hummus)
In a small oven dish spread a little spinach and then begin to layer; a layer of beetroot, a layer of potato, a layer of spinach and so on. 
