Dolmadakia (Dolmades) with Spinach Leaves

I currently have a glut of perpetual spinach growing in  raised beds, in my kitchen garden.The older leaves are much larger and a bit tougher than normal spinach and I was wondering how to use them up in something other than spinach and feta pie. I suddenly had a brainwave to try another Greek dish, dolmadakia; in case you don't know, dolmadakia (little dolmades) are traditionally made with vine leaves.

• ½ cup risotto rice
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 1 large clove of garlic, crushed
• 1½ cup veg. stock 
• 1 tbsp tomato puree, optional
• ½ tsp sugar
• 2-3 tbsp each of chopped fresh parsley and mint (plus a little dill and oregano if you have them)...the more, the better!
• 2 tbsp olive oil 
• Salt and pepper to season
• Approx .15-20 large spinach leaves (or vine leaves)
• 2 tbsp lemon juice

Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a pan and gently saute the onion and garlic for a few minutes until softened.

Add the tomato puree, if using and cook for a further minute or so.

Stir in 1 cup of the stock and bring up to a simmer.

Simmer for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rice is al dente.

Stir the in herbs and sugar and season to taste.

Remove from the heat.

Bring a pan of water to the boil.

Holding the stem of the spinach leaf, dip each one into the pan (carefully!) for a couple of seconds to blanch. Drain on kitchen paper.

Cut the tough stem off the leaf with a sharp knife.

Place a heaped tsp of the rice mixture onto the stem end of the leaf and roll up, like a mini burrito. Place into a well greased dish.

Pour the remaining stock over and drizzle with the lemon juice and olive oil.

Cover tightly with foil and bake for 30-40 minutes at 180C Fan, 200C, Gas 6, 400F.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Serve as a starter a meze dish.

Find out how to grow perpetual spinach.

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Fattoush Salad

I've been cooking a lot of Greek and Middle-Eastern food lately, and after a delicious meal out at a Lebanese restaurant, I thought make a maza (a selection dishes to share). This was one of the dishes I prepared, which makes a nice change to a traditional salad.

Serves 4

• 1 cos or 2 little gem lettuce, shredded
• a good handful of rocket
• ½ cucumber, de-seeded and sliced
• 2-3 ripe tomatoes de-seeded and diced
• a handful of radishes, thinly sliced
• 3-4 spring onions (or ½ red onion), sliced
• 1 large bell pepper, diced
• a small bunch each of fresh parsley and mint, roughly chopped
• 1 large or 2 small pittas
• sumac

dressing

• juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• ½ tsp sumac
• 1 small clove of garlic, crushed

Brush the pittas with olive oil; and sprinkle with sumac.
Grill or bake until crispy and golden, then set aside to cool. Break into pieces when cold.

Mix the dressing ingredients together in a bowl. Add in the prepared tomatoes, cucumber, radishes, spring onions and herbs. Stir well to coat. These ingredients can be set aside and chilled until needed.

Before serving, mix in the salad leaves and the roughly crushed, toasted pittas.

Top tip: To make this into a delicious, healthy lunch, simply mix in a tin of drained chickpeas and serve with pitta and your favourite dip.

I'm entering this recipe to this month's No Croutons Required Challenge, co-hosted by Jacqui at Tinned Tomatoes and Lisa at Lisa's Kitchen. 


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Hummus - Middle-Eastern Chickpea Dip

I am a little ashamed to admit that I've never made traditional hummus, using dried chickpeas before. Having made this version for my blog, I've been converted! It really does taste better (and is far cheaper) than making it with tinned pulses. Yes, it takes longer to make,but you can make a large batch and freeze in small portions to make it even more economical.

Serves 8 as a starter or meze dish

• 1 cup dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans), soaked over night with a good pinch of bicarbonate of soda
• a large pinch of salt
• juice of 1 lemon (plus the zest for a more lemony flavour)
• 4 tbsp tahini
• 2-4 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 6-8 tbsp cooking liquid, or more if needed
• paprika and a glug of extra virgin olive oil to garnish

Drain the soaked chickpeas and put in large pan. Cover with boiled water and a pinch of bicarbonate of soda and bring to a simmer. Simmer, in a covered pan, for 1 hour on a low heat.
When tender, drain the pulses, reserving the cooking liquid.

Whilst still warm, place the chickpeas in a blender with all of the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Add enough of the reserved cooking liquid to make a smooth, spreadable paste. 
Taste and add more seasoning and/or garlic, if needed.
Spoon into a bowl and chill until needed.
Before serving, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with paprika.

Serve with fresh bread, olives and salad.

Suitable for freezing; keeps in the fridge for 2-3 days.

Top tips: Double this recipe to make enough to batch freeze. 
If you don't have the time to make hummus using dried pulses, try my quick and easy recipe instead. You might also like my mixed bean and basil hummus.

Flavour options: Omit the cumin and add some extra ingredients into the blender, along with the chickpeas to make these different variations...

• Red pepper and sweet chilli: Add ½ cup of chopped, roasted red peppers (from a jar) and 1-2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce.
• Piri piri: Add 1-2 tbsp of your favourite piri piri sauce. 
• Caramelised onion: Add 2 tbsp of caramelised onion chutney.

I'm entering this recipe to this month's No Croutons Required Challenge, co-hosted by Jacqui at Tinned Tomatoes and Lisa at Lisa's Kitchen. 

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Halloumi & Mint Bread Whirls

The recipe for these tasty halloumi bread rolls was inspired by one I tried in a Greek restaurant in Sydney, Australia. I don't know the actual recipe used, so I adapted my standard bread recipe and tried out a few variations.

When making a large loaf with raw halloumi, I ended up with a 'soggy bottom'! I found that I needed to cook the cheese first, to remove the excess moisture, and then had to cool it before adding to the dough.
So, I tried adapting my pizza whirl recipe instead, and it worked a treat using raw halloumi, as the moisture could evaporate.

For the bread base

• 1 cup cold water
• 3 cups strong white bread flour 
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 sachet fast-action dried yeast
• 1 tsp sugar
• ½ tsp salt

For the filling

• 200g halloumi, finely diced
• ½ cup chopped fresh mint, or around 2-3 tsp dried mint
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Put all of the dry bread ingredients in a bowl (or bread maker) add the wet ingredients.

Mix well until you have a smooth dough (on dough setting in bread maker).

Add a little more flour if the dough is too sticky.

Cover the bowl and allow to rise in a warm place for 30-60 minutes.

Dust a large board or clean table with a little flour.
Roll the dough into a rectangle, approx 25cm x 40cm. 

Sprinkle the halloumi and mint over, leaving a border at the front and sides.

Roll the dough lengthwise, as tightly as you can (like a Swiss roll).

Making sure the dough roll is seam-side down on the board, cut slices approximately 1.5cm thick.
Place on a greased baking sheet, with a little room to expand.
Drizzle with the olive oil.

Cover loosely with cling-film or a clean tea towel and allow to rise for a further 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200C/190C Fan/Gas 6 .

Bake for around 10-15 minutes, or until well-risen and golden.

Place onto a wire rack to cool.
Serve warm, with dips, as part of a meze, or instead of a sandwich in a packed lunch.

I'm linking this post to November's Cooking With Herbs challenge

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Herby Salad with Chickpeas and Olives

This simple salad is basically a variation on tabbouleh without the bulgar wheat! It works well as a side dish to accompany a carb-heavy main course, such as pizza or pasta, or as a lunch-box salad served with pitta bread.

• 2 little gem or 1 cos/romaine lettuce, leaves separated 
• 2-3 ripe tomatoes, de-seeded and diced
• 8cm/3" chunk of cucumber, de-seeded and diced
• 1 green bell pepper, de-seeded and diced
• 50g/2oz pitted olives, sliced
• ½ can chickpeas/garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 tbsp each of fresh chopped mint and parsley 

Dressing

• juice of ½ lemon
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small clove of garlic, crushed (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Put all of the salad ingredients, apart from the lettuce, into a bowl.

Mix the dressing ingredients together, drizzle over the salad and mix gently.

Allow the flavours to marinate for around half an hour before serving on a bed of lettuce leaves.

I'm adding this recipe to this month's No Crouton's Required Challenge, created and co-hosted by Lisa's Kitchen and Jacqueline at Tinned Tomatoes.

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Pan-Fried Gnocchi with Garlic & Chilli

Apologies for my recent lack of blog posts. Life, work and a bout of blogger's block got in the way for a few weeks! Anyway, I'm back with a delicious new batch of recipes to share with you...

My first one is for pan-fried gnocchi; I don't often cook gnocchi as Miss O isn't keen on its texture. As she was out with her boyfriend tonight (on her first Valentine's Day date!) I decided to experiment with a new variation of gnocchi, which I came across at a local Italian restaurant. I've never fried gnocchi before, but it gives it a totally different texture.

Serves 3-4 as part of an anti-pasti/tapas style starter. Double recipe to serve 3-4 as a main course, or as a buffet dish for 8.

• ½ pack 250g/10oz of ready made plain potato gnocchi (check ingredients as some brands are vegan. I used Waitrose essential gnocchi which is vegan and only £1.75 per pack)

To coat

• 2 tbsp plain flour
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp sweet paprika powder
• salt and pepper to season

Dressing

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 mild-medium chilli, de-seeded and chopped finely (I used ½ a red and ½ a green chilli)
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley, sage or basil (to serve)

Cook the gnocchi according to the packet instructions.

Drain, rinse in cold water and blot dry on kitchen paper.

Once cool, toss the cooked gnocchi in the seasoned flour mixture. Remove from the excess flour.

Meanwhile make up the dressing, by mixing all ingredients together.

Heat a further 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan, on a medium-hot heat.

Add the coated gnocchi, and fry for 5 minutes, tossing occasionally in the pan to cook evenly.

When lightly browned, remove from the pan and place in a bowl.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the dressing ingredients (except the parsley) to the pan.

Cook for around 30 seconds, to de-glaze the pan and cook the garlic and chillies.

Pour the dressing over the gnocchi, stir and sprinkle with the chopped herbs.

Serve warm with a squeeze of lemon juice or a sprinkle of vegetarian Parmesan-style cheese, yeast flakes or toasted pine nuts.

Gluten-free option: Use gluten free gnocchi and corn flour for coating.

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Turkish Beans with Lemon & Herbs

After cooking my meat-free Coq au Vin, I had plenty of carrots, celery and parsley left, so I came up with this Turkish-inspired recipe. I used 2 lemons the first time I made it, which Mr O and I loved, but the girls said it was too lemony; so I cooked it with just one lemon second time around, which they preferred.

Serves 2-3 as a main course, 4-6 as a side dish.

• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced finely
• 100g/4oz green beans, sliced in 2-3cm pieces
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 2 sticks of celery, de-stringed and sliced 
• 2 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped or crushed
• 1 tin of chickpeas/garbanzo beans or other pulses, drained and rinsed
• 1 green chilli, finely sliced or chopped
• Juice and zest of 1 or 2 lemons (depending on how lemony you like your food!)
• 100ml/4floz vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp chopped, fresh parsley
• 2 tsp chopped, fresh dill

Heat the oil in a large pan, on a medium heat.

Add the onion and garlic and cook gently for a few minutes, then add the carrots, celery and green beans. Cook for a further 2-3 minutes.

Add the stock, chilli and herbs and stir.

Cover and simmer on a low-medium heat for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are almost cooked. Add the lemon juice and zest along with the tinned pulses.

Cover and cook for a further 5-10 minutes until the vegetables are soft.

Serve hot, warm or cold (as a salad).

I'm linking this post up to the this month's Extra Veg Challenge, created by Fuss Free Flavours and Utterly Scrummy. 

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Sun-Dried Tomato & Chilli Falafels

We all love falafels, and the great thing about them is that they are cheap to make, a great source of protein and fairly low in fat (depending on how you cook them). I've been experimenting with different variations and found that these went down very well with all of the family.

• 1 tin of chickpeas, drained
• 50g/2oz sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and roughly chopped
• 1 large clove of garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp fresh chilli, chopped
• 1 tbsp of fresh coriander, chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 1-2 slices of wholemeal bread, made into breadcrumbs

Put all of the ingredients, except the breadcrumbs, into a food processor and blend for a minute or so.
Scrape the ingredients down from the sides of the bowl and repeat until you have a fairly smooth mixture.
Add just enough breadcrumbs to form a fairly stiff, but not dry, mixture.
Roll into 10-12 balls and flatten slightly.
Chill in the fridge for around half an hour.

Heat 2 tbsp of the sun-dried tomato oil in a large frying pan, on a medium heat.
Cook the falafels for around 4-5 minutes on each side until lightly browned.

Serve with pittas, salad and your favourite dip or sauce.

Lower-fat alternative: Brush or spray with vegetable oil and bake for 10-15 minutes at 170C/160C Fan/Gas 3/325F, turning once.

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Easy Halloumi Cheese Pie

I've made this recipe before, but last time I made it, I altered it quite a bit and made pastry-less mini-pies! This time, I've more or less stuck to the original recipe...

Eftychia of 'Dream of Cakes' lives in Cyprus and mainly blogs dessert and cake recipes, however she also posts many other delicious Greek recipes, one of them being this amazing halloumi pie. I adapted it slightly this time (using filo rather than puff pastry and swapping the polenta for cornflour), but other than that I followed the recipe.

As you can see, it looks quite impressive when baked, but is really easy to make. It can be served hot, warm or cold and makes a great addition to a meze or a picnic. It also looks good enough to serve for a dinner party or special occasion, slices well and can even be (slightly under) baked in advance and re-heated if needed.

I'm entering this recipe to July's Bookmarked Recipes Challenge over at Tinned Tomatoes.

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Bulghar Wheat Salad with Halloumi and Vegetables

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This is a nice, summery dish, which goes well along-side barbecued foods or as part of a buffet or meze.

Serves 4-6 as a side-salad

• 1 aubergine/eggplant
• 1 red pointed pepper
• 1 small red onion
• A handful of Greek olives, sliced
• 100g halloumi cheese, cubed
• 1 cup bulghar wheat
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh mint
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp lemon or lime juice
• black pepper, to taste

Place the bulghar wheat in a heat-proof bowl and pour 1½ cups of boiling water over. 
Stir and then cover the bowl with cling film.

Pierce the film and then microwave for 1 minute on high. 

Allow to stand for 20-30 minutes until all the water is absorbed.

Meanwhile, shallow fry the aubergine in 2 tbsp of the oil until golden brown and soft.

Remove from the pan, then gently fry the onion and peppers to soften, adding a further tbsp of oil.

Dry fry the cubes of halloumi until golden.

Remove the pan from the heat and return all of the cooked vegetables to the pan, along with the halloumi.

Add the oregano, olives, black pepper and lemon/lime juice and stir to coat the vegetables. 
Finally mix in the mint.

Serve the cheese and vegetable mix, either on top of the bulghar wheat or mixed in.

Serve warm or cold.

Not suitable for freezing.

Vegan alternative: Either omit the cheese or swap it for a dairy-free hard cheese, or some toasted pine nuts .

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Mushrooms Stuffed with Leek and Cheese

These stuffed mushrooms can be eaten as a starter, lunch or main meal, depending on what you serve with them (and how many you eat!).

• 8 large flat mushrooms (Portabello type)
• 1 leek, finely chopped
• 2 slices of bread, made into breadcrumbs
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tsp paprika
• 100g/4oz grated hard cheese (Cheddar, Emmental, Gruyere etc.)

Peel the outer skin from the mushrooms and remove the stalks.
Chop the stalks finely.
Gently fry the leeks and mushroom stalks in a little melted butter or olive oil, for about 5 minutes (or microwave on a medium setting in a covered bowl).
Add the garlic, paprika and herbs and cook for a further minute.
Stir in the cheese and breadcrumbs and stir well to combine all of the ingredients.
Meanwhile drizzle the mushrooms with a little olive oil and grill or cook in a hot oven (200C/190C Fan/Gas 6) for around 5-10 minutes, turning once.
Top each mushroom with a heaped tablespoon of mixture.
Press the stuffing down using your hands, so that it sticks to the mushrooms.
Return to the grill/oven for a further 5-10 minutes until golden brown.

Alternatives: This stuffing mixture can also be use to stuff courgettes, pointed sweet peppers etc. Adjust the cooking times to allow the vegetables to almost cook through before stuffing.
Vegan version: swap the dairy cheese for vegan cheese, or use 4 tbsp olive oil, to moisten the breadcrumb mixture. Pin It

Squash, Lentil and Sweet Potato Salad

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A friend passed this hearty salad recipe on to me, which she found on the American blog called Stacey Snacks. I've changed the recipe a bit, using a combination of squash and sweet potato and adding some fennel seeds.

Serves 4-8 as a side salad

• 300g/12oz butternut or other firm pumpkin/squash, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
• 300g/12oz sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
• 50g/2oz dried puy lentils
• ½ tsp fennel seeds
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp fresh, chopped parsley or mint
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp wine or cider vinegar
• 100g feta/soft goats cheese, crumbled (optional)
• Salad leaves to serve

Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a non-stick baking dish, in a pre-heated oven (190C/180C Fan/Gas 5).

Add the squash and sweet potatoes and coat with the oil.

Bake for 20-30 minutes turning once or twice. 

Sprinkle with the spices and bake for a further 10 minutes until cooked and golden.

Meanwhile boil the lentils for about 20-25 minutes, then drain.

Allow the vegetables and lentils to cool for around 20 minutes.

Mix the remaining oil, vinegar and herbs in a bowl to make the dressing.

Add the lentils to the baking dish and pour the dressing over the warm vegetables.

Mix well to coat.

Serve warm or cold on a bed of salad leaves, topping with the cheese (optional) - leave out for a vegan dish.

Variations: Add a combination of other vegetables such as bell peppers, courgettes and sweetcorn.
Vegan option: Swap the feta for some toasted pine nuts.

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Aubergine and Feta Dip

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This isn't the prettiest looking dip, but what it lacks in beauty, it makes up for in taste! In Greece it's know as aubergine salad.
Serve as part of a buffet/meze.

• 1 large aubergine/eggplant
• 100g/4oz feta cheese
• 1 large clove of garlic
• 25g/1oz olives, chopped (optional)
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• ½ tsp smoked paprika (or to taste)

Prick the aubergine all over with a sharp knife (to stop it exploding!).
Grill the aubergine under a hot grill, turning every few minutes, until the skin is black and the aubergine is soft.
Allow to cool and then peel the blacked skin off and discard. Blot the aubergine flesh on kitchen paper to remove excess liquid.
Blend all ingredients together. Blend briefly for a pate-type texture or blend thoroughly if you prefer a smooth dip. 
Sprinkle with a little dried mint, or some fresh, chopped herbs and chill until needed.

Not suitable for freezing.

Alternatives: Try making this dip with roasted butternut squash, sweet potato or cooked and mashed pulses instead of the aubergine.
Vegan option: Omit the cheese for a vegan dip. Pin It

Vegetarian & vegan buffet ideas

Here are some of our favourite vegetarian and vegan buffet/meze/canape ideas which are ideal for parties and picnics (for mums who don't shop at Iceland!)
If catering for large numbers, I generally make up some batches of buffet foods in advance and freeze them. I also make various fresh salads and dips as needed, either the day before or on the day.

All recipes are, of course, vegetarian, so I have marked vegan recipes with (v) and those which can have a vegan option as (vo).

Make in advance and freeze:
Halloumi and double potato cakes
Halloumi tarts
Courgette and potato quiches
Falafels (vo)
Spinach and cheese pies
Cheese scones
Glamorgan sausages (or use this mixture in puff pastry to make sausage rolls)
Chorizo-type sausages (as above)
Nut roast sausage rolls (v)
Scone-base pizzas
Cheese muffins
Garlic bread/dough balls/pizza (vo)
Spinach, pepper and Goat's cheese quiche
Savoury puff pastry tartlets (vo)
Quorn kebabs (vo)

Make  fresh:
Hummus (v)
Tzatziki
Aubergine and feta dip (vo)
Pasta salad (vo)
Pesto and antipasti tart (vo)
Squash, lentil and sweet potato salad (vo)
Vegan salads (v)
Bulghar wheat salad (vo)
Marinated olives (v)
Guacamole (v)
Mushroom bruschetta (v)
Dakos (vo)
Veggie frittata/tortilla
Roasted vegetable salad
Green salad
Rice salad
Greek salad on a stick - a chunk of cucumber, a piece of feta, half a cherry tomato and an olive on a cocktail stick
Potato salad
Jacket potatoes/Potato wedges/Home made chips

Add a few store cupboard standbys:
Veggie cocktail sausages on sticks 
Cheese and pineapple on sticks
Crisps
Crackers
Bread sticks
Bread/wraps

Dessert ideas:
Oreo truffles
Tiffin (v)
Chocolate hazelnut truffles (v)
Mini whoopie pies
Mini desserts
Fresh fruit salad

Drinks:
Cider Punch
Champagne cocktails

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