Iceberg is a very recent addition to the Greek salad greens, and as it is very crunchy and almost tasteless, it pairs beautifully with our quite pungent arugula.

Serves 3-4

1 small or half a large head iceberg lettuce, coarsely shredded

1 bunch arugula, discard only the hard tips of stems, wash and spin-dry or press into a tea towel, then coarsely chop

A handful of fresh mint leaves, torn into pieces

2-3 small, slightly hot pickled red peppers

DRESSING

1 tablespoons cider vinegar

2 teaspoons pickling brine from peppers (optional)

1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses

2 tablespoons finely chopped scallions –white plus most green

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons maple syrup, or 1 teaspoon honey

1/4 teaspoon fine salt or more if you have not used the brine

4 tablespoons fruity olive oil

Freshly ground black pepper

In a large mixing bowl add the iceberg and arugula and toss with your fingers to mix.

Make the dressing: In a jar with lid add the vinegar, brine if using, pomegranate molasses, scallion, mustard. Syrup or honey, salt, and a few grindings of pepper. Close the jar and shake well to mix all ingredients. Taste and correct the flavor with more salt, pepper or molasses.

Drizzle most of the dressing over the salad and toss briefly, then transfer to a serving platter and top with the mint leaves and peppers, drizzling with the rest of the dressing just before serving.  

The post Iceberg and Arugula Salad with Pomegranate Molasses and Mint appeared first on Aglaia's Table οn Kea Cyclades.

Potatoes, carrots and a couple of onions are boiled first, in a pot with 1-2 teaspoons salt, until tender and easily pierced with a fork. 

We discard nothing in our part of the world, and we have learned that for example the root-ends of spinach are delicious when fresh, especially from ours, or the local gardens, so we carefully wash them, and boil them for a few minutes longer than we boil the large fleshy spinach leaves. Baby spinach is not what you need for this delicious salad. 

We boil zucchini  by themselves, usually, in a separate pot, with their hard stems still attached. We discard them when done, because if we cut them before boiling, the water seeps into the zucchini flesh, making the tender zucchini  unacceptably soggy.  

Boiled zucchini are often made into a salad/side dish by themselves, all through the season, as gardens all over Greece are overflowed by this beloved early summer vegetable.  And of course zucchini feature in lots of meze and main course dishes, of which my favorite is Zucchini Fritters, as well as the fabulous Crustless Zucchini Pie.  

Finally the boiled vegetable salad, after being drizzled with fruity olive oil and some lemon juice, is complemented with tangy Tahini Yogurt Sauce, the same that flavors the Roasted Squash and Bread Salad.

I serve the boiled vegetables with some chopped, pickled hot peppers, and plenty of fresh mint leaves. 

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Traditionally we boil the beets in water until tender, cooking the greens and stems separately, before assembling them in a salad, which is often complemented with Skordalia (garlic sauce).

Serves 6-8

6 beets of any color, cooked in boiling salted water until tender, peeled and sliced or cut into chunks

1 1/2 pounds beet greens cooked in boiling salted water until tender, and drained

Dressing

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

3-4 tablespoons cider or red wine vinegar, or more to taste

5-6 tablespoons fruity olive oil, or more, to taste

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1/2 cup toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped 

Leaves of 3-4 fresh mint sprigs, torn into pieces 

Assemble the salad: Arrange the cooked beets, stems and greens in a bowl or platter.

Make the dressing combining the mustard, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper in a jar with well-fitting lid, and shake for a few seconds to fully combine.

Taste and adjust the flavor, then pour over the beets. Sprinkle with the walnuts and mint.

Serve warm,  or at room temperature. 

The post Salad of Beets and Beet Greens with Walnuts and Mint appeared first on Aglaia's Table οn Kea Cyclades.

The sweet beet greens are especially delicious flavored with the tart, avgolemono sauce.

Serves 6

6  whole chicken legs, separated, or a whole cut-up chicken –preferably free range

Salt and coarsely ground black pepper

1 teaspoon fennel seeds, preferably freshly ground or crushed in a mortar

2  tablespoons ground coriander seeds

1  large onion, coarsely chopped

About 2 cups Chicken Stock or more, as needed

2 1/2  pounds beet greens with stems; separate the stems and cut into 2-3 inch pieces (see NOTE)

1-2  fresh oregano or thyme sprigs (optional) 

AVGOLEMONO SAUCE

About 1 1/2 cups cooking broth from the chicken and beet greens 

2/3 cup white wine

2 large eggs

4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, or more, to taste

1  tablespoon cornstarch

Freshly ground black pepper and Aleppo pepper, to taste 

Chopped fennel fronds or dill 

Prepare the chicken: Season the meat on both sides generously with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with fennel seeds and coriander all over the chicken pieces.

In the deep skillet heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and sauté the chicken pieces on both sides until nicely browned. With a slotted spoon remove the chicken pieces to a platter and keep warm.

Add the onion to the skillet and briefly fry, then pour over the wine and broth and scrape up any caramelized bits at the bottom of the pan.

Arrange the chicken pieces in the pan  and bring to a boil. Half-cover the skillet, turn the heat to medium and cook for about 35 minutes, until the chicken is almost cooked, adding more broth or water, as needed. It should be quite brothy. 

Add the beet stems to the chicken and cook for about 8 minutes, or until tender, then add the beet leaves, toss, and cook for another 4-5 minutes until done to your taste. 

Make the Avgolemono Sauce: In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, 3 tablespoons of the lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of the wine. In a small bowl, whisk the cornstarch with the remaining wine, then whisk into the egg mixture.

Whisking constantly, slowly pour about 1  1/2 cups of the hot cooking broth, 1/2 cup at a time, into the egg mixture. 

Pour the egg mixture into the saucepan and simmer, stirring very gently, until the sauce thickens.

Taste and adjust the seasonings, adding pepper and more lemon juice if you like.

Serve hot, sprinkling with dill.

NOTE: 

Instead of beet greens and stems you can use chard, large, not baby, spinach, or a combination of various greens, as in Yahnera.

The post Braised Chicken with Beet Greens in Avgolemono Sauce appeared first on Aglaia's Table οn Kea Cyclades.

The potatoes taste wonderful as they soak up the aromatic juices.

The beautiful juicer created by the potter Lorna Meaden.

Makes 4 servings

1/2 cup olive oil

2 leeks, trimmed, thinly sliced, washed well and drained

2 medium onions, coarsely chopped

4–5 scallions (white and most of the green parts), thickly sliced

1 small fennel bulb, trimmed (fronds and tender stalks reserved) and coarsely chopped

3–4 medium potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices

2-3 medium carrots, halved lengthwise and cut into chunks

1 teaspoon fennel seeds, preferably freshly ground or crushed in a mortar

2 tablespoons ground coriander seeds

2 pounds mixed greens: Swiss chard, chicory, spinach, sorrel, or any wild or cultivated, preferably not bitter greens

1-2 oregano or thyme sprigs (optional) 

1 1/2 cups water

1 teaspoons salt or more, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper and Aleppo pepper, to taste 

1/4 cup or more freshly squeezed lemon juice, to taste

1 cup chopped fennel fronds plus tender stalks, or fresh dill OR a handful coarsely shredded fresh mint

Extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling 

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat and sauté the leeks for 8 minutes, or until soft. Add the onions, scallions, fennel bulb, if using, and potatoes and carrots. Toss with the fennel seeds and coriander and stir to coat with the oil.

Cook for about 6 minutes, then add the chopped stems of the greens and cook for another 6 minutes, until the potatoes are almost done. Add the greens which will pile on top of the pan, cover and let them steam and shrink for 1-2 minutes, add the thyme, if using then pour about 1/2 cup wine and toss everything.  

Sauté for 2 minutes, then add the water, salt and pepper to taste. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 10 more minutes, or until the greens and potatoes are tender and most of the juices have evaporated. If the sauce is still too watery, cook for 2 to 3 minutes over high heat to reduce it.

Add 4 tablespoons lemon juice and 1/2 cup of the fennel fronds or dill, as well as half the mint, taste and adjust the seasonings.

Cook for 2 to 3 minutes more, then sprinkle with the remaining herbs,  and drizzle with fruity olive oil, toss and serve warm or at room temperature.

The post Yahnera: Braised Greens and Potatoes with Lemon and Herbs appeared first on Aglaia's Table οn Kea Cyclades.

But I wanted to try and make a completely plant based dish, with no cheese at all.

I was intrigued by a vegan pasta with greens and lemon in Food and Wine: It had white miso to add umami, but this ubiquitous Asian component is not part of our everyday ingredients, so I decided to use sliced Kalamata olives, the Mediterranean umami equivalent…

The resulting pasta is truly delicious, even for non-vegans like us!

See also my humble leftover lentil soup and the Lebanese-inspired Linguine with Spicy Lentils and Caramelized Onions. 

Serves 4-5

1/3 cup olive oil

2 cups chopped leeks, white plus light green parts

5 medium garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

4 cups bitter greens (like chicory or dandelion), or a combination of bitter greens and Swiss chard.  All stems separated and thinly chopped; the leaves coarsely chopped

1 ½ cup pitted, sliced Kalamata olives, drained

Zest from 1 lemon or more, to taste

Salt to taste

1 package Penne or other tubular pasta

¼ cup or more lemon juice, to taste

Fruity olive oil to drizzle over the pasta

Aleppo pepper, or freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Heat the oil in a deep, large skillet over medium heat, add the leeks and cook stirring often until soft. Add the garlic and cook, stirring often, until it is tender and translucent. Do not let it color.

Add the stems of the greens and 3 tablespoons water and cook for a couple of minutes, until tender. Add a little more water, as needed. Once the stems are tender add the leaves and stir a few times, just to wilt them.

Stir in half the lemon zest and the olives. Let them sizzle for a few seconds, then remove from the heat.

Salt the boiling water and cook the pasta 2 minutes less than the package instructs. Drain, reserving about 1 cup cooking water.  

Add the pasta to the skillet with the greens and olives, and toss, adding ½ cup of the cooking water and the lemon juice. Drizzle with fruity olive oil and cook, tossing often for 1 minute, adding a bit more water if too dry.. Taste and add pepper and salt –the olives are quite salty— or more lemon, as needed.

Drizzle with more fruity olive oil, toss and serve the pasta sprinkling with Aleppo pepper and more lemon zest if you like.

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You can probably make this spanakopita-bread  with store-bought, whole-wheat pizza dough, if you are not up to making you own bread dough from scratch. 

For a 9-inch round bread, or 2 stuffed loaves 

3 cups chopped scallions –white plus most of the green part

1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for the pan or skillet

2/3 pound (350 grams) spinach leaves and most stems, or a combination of various greens (chard, beet greens, arugula, some bitter chicory etc.)

1/2 cup chopped parsley

1/3 cup chopped dill

1 tablespoon dry mint

2 tablespoons dry coriander

1 egg, lightly beaten (optional)

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 cups grated, aged graviera or pecorino, more to sprinkle the bread

1/2 cup aged smoked cheddar

Salt to taste

¼ of the bread or laganes dough or the dough for Ka’ak Savory Cookies that have doubled and are ready to be shaped

2-3 tablespoons breadcrumbs

Make the filling: In a heavy, deep skillet add the olive oil and sauté the scallions for 2-3 minutes in medium high, and as they start to sizzle reduce the heat to very low, cover the pan and cook the onions until soft, about 8-10 minutes, stirring every now and then. 

In the meantime cut the spinach or the various greens and their stems to about 1/2 inch pieces, transfer to a bowl and knead with your hands to wilt a bit.  Add them to the skillet with the onions and toss with 2 spatulas to half-cook and reduce. 

Remove from the heat and add the parsley, mint, coriander, the egg, if using, and pepper. Toss well and stir in the cheeses and mix. You can taste the stuffing and add a bit of salt if you think it needs it –I don’t, as the cheeses are quite salty.

Preheat the oven to 375 F (180 C) 

To make the round, pizza-like spanakopita: Add 2 tablespoons olive oil in a non-stick skillet and add the dough, flattening with your fingers to fill the skillet, lifting it around the sides. Add the stuffing, evening to cover all the surface, leaving a border all around. Sprinkle with cheese.  

Place the skillet over medium-high heat and fry the dough for about 8-10 min, until you see little bubbles all around and carefully lifting the dough with a spatula to see if it has started to brown at the bottom. 

Transfer to the skillet to the oven and bake for about 20 minutes or more, until the top is cooked and sizzling. Remove from the oven and from the skillet, with spatulas, and let cool on a rack before cutting to serve.  

VARIATION: beat 1 cup full-fat (preferably sheep’s milk yogurt) with 1 egg, and pour on top of the spinach filling, just before you transfer the skillet to the oven.

Form the stuffed loaves: Briefly knead and the dough and divide in two. On a lightly floured board flatten and roll one piece to make an oval, roughly 16-inch (about 40 cm) long. The dough is very forgiving and elastic so don’t be afraid to stretch  it and make it quite thin, as it will expand quite a bit in the oven.

Add half the stuffing in the center of the oval and with a spoon spread it to make a line, leaving about 2 inches from the two small sides, but at the top and bottom leave about 4-5 inches dough to cover well the stuffing. Turn the dough to cover the stuffing and pinch to seal. 

Spread a baking sheet with parchment paper and drizzle with 1-2 teaspoons olive oil. Transfer the stuffed log to the baking sheet and continue stuffing the second in the same way.

Brush the breads with olive oil and sprinkle well with water. With scissors mace cuts all along the seam on top of the breads, and sprinkle with some breadcrumbs.

Bake for about 45 min or more, until golden brown on top and bottom. Turn off the oven, open the door slightly and leave the breads in another 10 minutes.  

Let cool well before cutting to serve. Actually these breads taste better the next day, either served room temperature, or reheated in a low oven, loosely wrapped in parchment paper. 

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Instead of baking the bread on the stone, I often heat a cast iron or clay casserole and when the loaf is ready, I carefully transfer it inside the heated casserole, close the lid and let it bake inside for about 30 minutes then uncover, and continue baking for another 20 minutes or until it is done. Baked inside the casserole the bread gets a more substantial crust. 

I also flatten and roll pieces of the dough stuffing it with greens or broccoli. Lately I invented a pizza-like spanakopita, topping this beautiful dough with the mixture of greens, herbs, feta, and other cheeses –the same one that I use for my winter greens’ pie, where I combine not just spinach but also a variety of wonderful wild, foraged greens. I shaped the round bread-spanakopita in a non-stick skillet, and fried it for about 6-8 minutes, until the bottom started to brown, then continued to bake it in the oven. 

Yields 1 large or 2 medium loaves, or 2-3 flat laganes

2 cups fine semolina (pasta) flour or strong bread flour

3 cups all purpose flour

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour or 1 ½ cup whole wheat and 1 cup barley flour

1 tablespoon instant dry yeast

2 teaspoons salt

3 1/2 teaspoons mixed ground coriander seeds, anise seeds, caraway, and mahlep (about 2 tsp coriander, 1/2 tsp ground mahlep, 1 teaspoons anise seeds and 1 teaspoon caraway seeds)

1/2 -1 teaspoon ground pepper (optional)

3 ½ or more cups water 

2 tablespoons milk and 2-3 tablespoons sesame, caraway, nigella, or pumpkin seeds (optional)

For a powerful hand-held mixer: Place flours, yeast and spices in a large bowl and mix well with a spatula. Make a well in the center and add 3 1/2 cups water. Use the spatula to incorporate the liquid. With a hand-held mixer fitted with dough hooks work the mixture for 1-2 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes. Work again with the hand-held mixer for 5 minutes or more, occasionally stopping to turn over the dough with a large spatula.

In a stand mixer start by tossing the flours, spices and yeast together, then with the dough hook and while the machine runs  in low, pour the water slowly on the side of the bowl and work the dough for about 5-6 minutes.

Either way, the dough should still be wet and somewhat sticky, but should start to come off the sides of the bowl. If too dry, add a little water, if too wet add a few tablespoons all purpose flour.

Flour the working surface and turn out the dough. Dust your hands and the dough with flour and knead –folding, pushing, turning and folding again— for a couple of minutes or more, until you get a dough that is smooth, elastic, but still slightly sticky to the touch.

Lightly oil a large transparent or semi-transparent bowl, as well as a piece of plastic wrap. Shape the dough into a ball and transfer to the oiled bowl. Trace a line on the outside of the bowl to monitor the dough’s expansion. Cover with the oiled plastic wrap and let rise until double its original volume: 1 1/2 hours or more.

(When the dough has expanded to about 1 1/2 times its size you may transfer the bowl with the dough to the refrigerator, and leave it overnight and up to 24 hours. It will continue to rise slowly. Before proceeding further, bring dough to room temperature).

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shape into to loaves, an 8-x-11-inch oval or an 8-inch round, or make laganes (flattis, focaccia-like breads) by pushing the dough with wet fingers making dimples all over the surface.

Place in baking dishes lined with parchment paper, cover with the oiled plastic wrap and let it rise for another 30 minutes —it won’t rise much. If you like, brash the surface with milk, and sprinkle with the sesame seeds.

(At this point you can cut off pieces of dough, flatten them slightly, sprinkle with flour, wrap in parchment paper, seal in zip log bags and freeze. You can defrost and use later)

At least 20 minutes before baking, place a baking sheet or a baking stone in the oven and preheat to 450°F.

Carefully take out the hot baking sheet, and lifting the parchment papers with the breads, slide them on the hot pan. With a wet baker’s razor or with a pair of kitchen scissors make diagonal cuts in the surface of each loaf.

Sprinkle with water from a plant sprinkler and bake for 15 minutes, sprinkling quickly into the oven with water 3 more times. Reduce the oven temperature to 400°F. Do the same (sprinkle 3 times) for flat breads, but reduce the heat immediately after you put them in the oven.

Bake the loaves for 45 minutes more, the flat breads for about 25-30 minutes.

Wearing oven mitts and using a spatula, remove the breads from the pans and place directly on the oven rack. Bake for 5-10 minutes more, or until the bread sounds hollow when you tap it on the bottom. An instant thermometer will read 200 or 205 F when breads are done.

Let cool completely on a rack before slicing.

The post My Bread and/or Laganes (flatbreads) appeared first on Aglaia's Table οn Kea Cyclades.

The radish seeds we planted once grew tall, with lush leaves but no radishes. ‘There was some problem with the seeds,” said our friend at the nursery when I asked him if the reason was my planting too many in a small space.

 “Take them out and throw them to the neighbor’s sheep,” he said, offering to give me new, guaranteed radish seeds. But the greens looked wonderful, tender, crunchy and somewhat spicy, so I braised them with garlic, adding slices of the delicious, smoked local sausage I got from Yiannis, the butcher at the port. I complemented the dish with some of the half-cooked wheat berries or farro (see the Note HERE) that I keep in the freezer. We loved this dish of greens and grains, flavored with pepper flakes and turmeric, and drizzled with lemon juice.

I probably will never be able to make the exact same one again, though, as I doubt that I will be able to grow this kind of mock-radish greens anytime soon. See the easy recipe for Risotto with Greens though, which you can make with spinach, chard, or with red beet stems and leaves that make an impressive deep red risotto.

This is an example of how I choose what to cook every day, looking first at the garden, then opening the cupboards, my fridge and the freezer to decide what I could use to supplement the fresh produce and create an interesting and wholesome meal.

I chop and freeze the beet stems and use them to make the bright red Beet Risotto, a Variation of my basic Risotto with Greens.

I have almost forgotten the last time I thought of a dish first, and then went to buy the necessary ingredients. I vaguely recall composing menus from scratch and writing shopping lists, many years ago, when I was in Athens and often gave formal dinner parties for fellow journalists, friends, and artists. My tiny city kitchen had almost no storage space, my fridge was small, and the freezer could hardly hold more than ice cubes.

The other day I discovered in my sizeable freezer a bag with chopped olives, leeks and fennel, leftover stuffing from eliopita (olive pie) that I had totally forgotten. It was fragrant and delicious, so I decided to make a different kind of meze: I rolled the stuffing in leftover bread dough from the spicy yellow crackers. The result was tiny bites bursting with flavor, and some larger, empanada-like pies, that were equally wonderful.

I so much enjoy my early morning walks around the garden with Neva, as I look for the best vegetables and herbs, and also the ones that we have to uproot to make room for the zucchini, the peppers and the tomatoes that are now sprouting in small covered boxes. Last week I had to take out the rest of the flowering broccoli rabe, something I should have done earlier.

It took some work to separate the very tough stems, but I ended up with enough succulent greens to make a really wholesome, creamy risotto. I used the rice grits from the Ansom Mills’ bag I brought from Washington. My dear friend, chef Michael Costa of Zaytinya told me I had to try them, and he was absolutely right!

Not that our local medium grain rice is bad, but these grits were truly exceptional. I have also brought organic rice from Istanbul, the kind my friends use to make their famous pilafs, and I will try it next.

I feel that my cooking is not far from the frugal ways of years passed. Probably my grandmother when she spent summers in this same island with my mother and her six older and younger siblings in the 1930ies, went through a very similar process as she planned each day’s meal…

RECIPES:  

Risotto with Greens and the Variation for red risotto with Beets

  also the Red Rice Risotto with Leeks, Mushrooms, Fresh Fava, and Cilantro

and the Grain Pilaf with Kale or Cabbage

Additionally check: 

Eliopita (olive pie)

 Spicy Yellow Crackers

The post With Garden Castoffs and Leftovers appeared first on Aglaia's Table οn Kea Cyclades.

I slightly adapted Tanis’ recipe, basically omitting the celery, because Costas is not fond of it. Kale is not available here, but the beets come with their greens which I used; you can alternatively add chard, kale, or any other green you like.

I simply top the wonderful soup with thick strained yogurt instead of the cream and freshly grated horseradish, which would be fantastic, if only we could get it on Kea!

In his introduction to the recipe, David Tanis talks about “…the long-gone resorts of the Catskills, in the so-called Jewish Alps. During their heyday, in the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s, these summer resorts hosted generations of Jewish Americans, at a time when virulent anti-Semitism prevented their admittance to non-Jewish resorts. Families would spend the whole summer in these mountains enclaves to escape the sweltering city. There were daily activities and nightly entertainment. Comedians who worked the circuit called it the Borscht Belt. And quite a lot of cold borscht was served in that era before air-conditioning.”

Serves 6

3-4 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)

1 large leek, diced (about 1 cup)

Salt and pepper

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon caraway seeds

1 bay leaf

1 thyme sprig

½ pound starchy potatoes (about 6 potatoes), peeled and cut in 1-inch chunks

2 pounds medium beets, peeled and cut in 1-inch chunks

½ pound medium carrots (about 4 carrots), peeled and cut in 1-inch chunks

3 cups coarsely chopped beet greens, chard leaves or kale

1 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaved parsley

1 tablespoon apple-cider vinegar, or to taste

1/2 -1 teaspoons freshly ground pepper, to taste

Thick, full-fat yogurt (Greek) for serving

 A handful of cilantro leaved, coarsely chopped (optional)

Put olive oil in a heavy-bottomed soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-low heat and add the onion, and leek, stir to coat, and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 8-10 minutes, stirring often, until the onion has softened. Add the garlic, tomato paste, paprika, caraway, bay leaf and thyme, and cook for 1 minute, stirring.

Add the potatoes, the beets and the carrots, 6 cups water and salt to taste. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a brisk simmer. Simmer with lid ajar for about 20 minutes, or until potatoes, beets, and carrots are fork tender.

Add the greens, most of the parsley –keeping some for topping the soup– and vinegar and stir to distribute. Taste the broth and adjust the seasoning, adding freshly ground pepper. Simmer briefly until the greens are done.

To serve, ladle into soup bowls, and garnish with parsley, and cilantro, if you like. Pass the thick yogurt at the table.

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