Greek Salad, Tabouli, Hummus, Tzatziki, & Homemade Flatbread
I've been getting nostalgic for the days when I was backpacking Europe. This nostalgia often leads me to my photo library whose photo's take me a back to the sights, smells and (most importantly) the tastes of Italy, France, Spain, Belgium, etc. While many of my culinary adventures involved enjoying other chef's sinful creations, I did get one opportunity to dabble. For two weeks of my visit, I lived and worked on an organic farm in Tuscany. Everything about 13th century estate was splendid except for the fact that I was farming in May and very few things were ripe and ready. I desperately wanted to make a meal for everyone centered around things that grew right outside our door so I took the fresh mint, tomato, and yogurt to create a Mediterranean themed meal of Greek Salad, Tabouli, Hummus, Tzatziki and my homemade Flat bread. Making the whole meal with take some time so feel free to use one or two of the recipes alone (I recommend the hummus and flat bread).
Greek Salad
3-4 Large Ripe Tomatoes
1 Medium Red or Sweet White Onion
1 Cucumber
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
1/2 fresh lemon
2-3 Tbs of Red Wine Vinegar (Balsamic or Apple are okay too)
Coarse Sea Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper to taste
Crumbled Feta Cheese to taste (1/2 cup-1cup is typically good)
Dice the tomato, onion, and cucumber. Combine in a bowl with the olive oil, the juice of the lemon and the vinegar. Mix thoroughly then add salt, pepper, and feta & try it till you like it!
*Options/Modifications: Add bell pepper and/or olives. Add more lemon juice and/or olive oil. Add a tablespoon or two of sugar to cut the acidity. Add herbs such as oregano, garlic, or basil.
Tabouli
Tabouli is a middle eastern "salad" made out of grains and vegetables:
1 cup Fine Cracked Wheat or Bulgur
1 cup fresh Parsley
1/2 cup fresh Mint
1/2 cup chopped Yellow Onion
2 Tomatoes
1 Cucumber
1/4 cup Olive Oil
1 lemon
1+ tsp salt
Prepare the cracked wheat or bulgur according to package OR in a large mixing bowl, pour 1 cup of water over the cracked wheat and let it soak til the wheat is tender (about 20 minutes).
When the grain is prepared, add the parsley, mint, yellow onion, tomatoes and cucumber all diced finely (the onion, tomato and cucumber can be chunky if preferred). Combine the oil, lemon juice and salt in a separate bowl. Then add it to the wheat mixture and mix well. Refrigerate the salad til it is chilled.
Simple Hummus:
2 15oz cans Garbanzo Beans
1/2- 1 cup olive oil
juice from 1 lemon
2-3 garlic cloves
salt & pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients in a food processor till smooth and desired taste. Keep the juice from the garbanzo beans and add to the mixture to make creamier.
*Options/Modifications: Add more garlic, olive oil and/or lemon juice. Add fresh basil, olives or roasted red peppers. Add paprika or cumin.
Tzatziki a yogurt sauce:
2 cups yogurt
3 Tbs olive oil
1 tsp vinegar or 1/2 lemon juiced
2 cloves of minced garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8- 1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
Optional: 1 cucumber pealed, seeded and diced
Combine
olive oil, vinegar OR lemon, garlic, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Mix until well
combined. Add
the olive oil mixture to the yogurt and mix well. Finally, add
the cucumber and chopped fresh mint. Chill for at least two hours
before serving.
2 cups flour
2 tsp sugar
2-4 tsp salt
2 Tbs baking powder
1/2 cup olive oil
2 cup luke warm water
Combine the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in a bowl. Slowly mix in the olive oil and water till the mixture is moist but not too wet- it should look like pizza or bread dough. Then take golf ball sized balls of dough and roll them out flat (about 1/4 inch thick) on a floured surface. Lightly oil a frying pan and cook flat bread on medium heat flipping it every minute or so until the dough browns and lightly bubbles. Eat them hot! (Keep them warm in the oven)
Enjoy! Or as they say in Greece "Kalí óreksi!"
