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Gigantes plaki – Greek baked beans

These large white or cream coloured beans (gigantes means “giant” in Greek) are a classic ingredient in Greek cooking. This recipe combines beans which are of course a great source of protein, antioxidants and fibre, while the addition of tomato not only makes them tastier but the vitamin C in the tomato helps increase the absorption of iron from the beans. Plaki refers to the method of cooking which means basically baking in the oven with a sauce made with tomato, onion, garlic and parsley. Satisfying and super healthy, enjoy this dish as a stew-like main course, as a side dish or even as a part of a meze with good chunky bread.

The recipe is easy and even though the cooking time is somewhat long, active prep time is very short. You basically soak the beans overnight, boil them, prepare the sauce, mix everything and bake.

prep time 10 min + soaking time    cook time 2hrs or more
ingredients
  • 500g dried gigantes beans
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 onions, diced
  • 1 carrot, diced
  • 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 800 g ripe tomatoes, skinned, roughly chopped or 2 cans (400g each) of crushed tomatoes
  • salt and pepper
  • dried oregano
  • pinch of ground cinnamon
  • chopped flat leaf parsley

1. Soak the beans overnight, drain and rinse and boil in water about 1 hr until tender but not mushy. Make sure you boil them enough, otherwise they will be too hard to eat even after baking.

2. In the meantime prepare the sauce. Sauté the onion and carrot in a bit of olive oil on low heat for a few minutes, then add the minced garlic.

3. Add tomato, tomato paste, parsley, oregano, salt, pepper and cinnamon and about 1/4 cup of olive oil. Let simmer until sauce thickens, about 10-15 minutes.

4. Preheat oven at 180 C (350 F).

5. Once the beans have boiled, drain them and stir into the tomato sauce.

6. Tip into a large ovenproof dish, drizzle the remaining 1/4 olive oil on top and bake approximately 1 hr uncovered and without stirring until the beans are tender.

7. Serve with feta cheese if you so choose and good crusty bread.

Tip: you can substitute the gigantes beans with lima beans, Great Northern or even butter beans. Not the same but good enough 😉

BUON APPETITO!

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Curry flavoured lentil soup

It is soup season. This curry flavoured lentil soup is thick, hearty and perfect for a chilly day. Not only it is full of nourishing vegetables and spices, but it is also packed with plant-based protein thanks to lentils. It will fill you up without weighing you down.

prep time 10 min     cook time 30 min
ingredients for 4
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2-3 carrots, diced
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tsp minced fresh ginger
  • 3-4 potatoes, diced
  • 1-1,5 tbsp curry powder (preferably with no added salt)
  • 1-1,2 l vegetable broth
  • 200 g green lentils, thoroughly rinsed and drained
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • fennel fronds to garnish

1. Heat a large pot over medium heat. Once hot, add oil, onion and carrots. Cook for 3-5 minutes stirring frequently until onion is softened.

2. Add garlic, ginger  and curry powder, stir to coat and cook for another 2 minutes.

3. Next add potatoes, lentils and broth to the pot. Season with salt and pepper. Raise the heat to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Check the cooking time for your lentils.

4. Serve warm with crusty bread. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for5 days, frozen up to 2 month.

tip: you can replace the potatoes with small pasta adding that at the end.

BUON APPETITO!

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Ajapsandali

Ajapsandali is a traditional Azerbaijani, Georgian and Armenian dish consisting of onions, eggplant, tomato, bell peppers and herbs. Ajapsandali will have a better look if you use peppers of various colours. To preserve vitamins and colour, do not stew vegetables for a long time. Some variations include also potatoes and chili peppers. This is a fabulous hearty one-pot meal. You can pair this with good salty feta unless you want to keep it strictly vegetarian.

prep time 25 min     cook time 45 min
ingredients for 6-7
  • 3 large eggplants
  • 2-3 sweet peppers
  • 1 green pepper
  • 3 onions
  • 4 big potatoes
  • 2 carrots
  • 4-5 big tomatoes (or a can of peeled or crushed tomatoes)
  • 2-3 garlic cloves
  • chili pepper or peperoncino
  • fresh dill
  • fresh coriander
  • salt and pepper
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • optional: feta cheese

1. Cut the eggplant into cubes, sprinkle salt on them and let sweat while you prepare the other vegetables.

2. Cut the peppers into long strips, the carrots into large rounds and the potatoes into chunks. Slice the onions, chop the garlic and the herbs.

3. Pat dry the eggplant cubes and fry them in olive oil for a few minutes. Turn the heat on low.

4. Add the potatoes, sprinkle some salt and pepper on top. Keep adding in layers the onions and tomatoes, then the peppers and garlic. Add some salt and at the end 1-2dl of water.

5. Turn up the heat to a boil and  then simmer on medium for 35-40 minutes without the lid until the vegetables are cooked and some liquid has evaporated. At the end add the chopped herbs.

6. Serve with crusty bread and some feta cheese.

BUON APPETITO!

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Lemon pound cake

I love lemons! Hence I love all the lemony desserts. Today I made a lemon pound cake. I was looking for a simple recipe and this one turned out great.

prep tme 25 min     cook time 50 min
ingredients
  • 200 g butter (soft)
  • 2 dl sugar
  • 3 eggs (room temperature)
  • 2-3 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp lemon zest
  • 3 dl flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp vanilla sugar
  • for greasing the bundt pan some butter and flour/sugar/bread crumbs
  • for decorating some zest and powdered sugar

1. Grease and flour a bundt pan and turn on the oven at 175C.

2. Cream butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs one at a time and cream well. Add lemon juice and zest.

3. Mix together dry ingredients and add to the cream folding them well with a spatula.

4. Pour the batter into the pan and smooth with a rubber spatula.

5. Bake at 175C for about 50 min until golden brown and the tester comes out clean.

6. Let the cake cool for 10 min before you invert it onto a wire rack.

7. Leave the cake to cool completely before decorating it with powdered sugar and some zest.

tip 1: use always butter and eggs at room temperature

tip 2: sift always the dry ingredients before adding to the batter

BUON APPETITO!

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Fried friggitelli peppers in tomato sauce

Friggitelli peppers are small, slender, mild flavoured southern Italian peppers which are great for frying.

They can be just fried adding a fair amount of salt on top which is the way I usually serve them. But this time I wanted something a little different so I made them southern Italian style with tomato sauce.

prep time 10 min     cook time 15-20 min
ingredients for 4-5
  • 500g friggitelli peppers
  • 200g cherry tomatoes
  • 200g (small can) crushed tomatoes
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • peperoncino optional
  • salt
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • peanut oil for frying

1.  Wash and dry well the peppers one by one. The authentic way to cook these is to leave the stem and seeds on.

2. Pour peanut oil until it covers the bottom of a large skillet and heat it over high heat. Fry the peppers in two batches until they are turning brown (about 3-4 min) on all sides.

3. Remove them and add a fair amount of salt.

4. Clean the skillet and heat a few tablespoons of olive oil. Add garlic and after a few minutes add cherry tomatoes cut in half. After a few more minutes add crushed tomatoes and some salt and let cook on low for 15 minutes.

5. Add peppers to the pan and let simmer for a few minutes more.

6. Serve with crusty bread and be sure to wipe up all the sauce. I make this always as a main but if served as a side dish, this amount yields more.

FOR GLUTEN-FREE option, leave out the bread or use appropriate bread.

BUON APPETITO!

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Fig salad

This is so yummy I could eat it almost every day!

prep time 10 min
ingredients for 2
  • a bag (125g) of leafy greens or arugula
  • 4-5 figs
  • 1 small zucchini
  • 1/2 avocado
  • a few button mushrooms
  • a handful of walnuts
  • sunflower and pumpkin seeds
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • salt and pepper

1. Place the leafy greens on a large salad plate or tray.

2. Wash and slice the zucchini lengthwise into thin strips with a mandolin or a cheese slicer and add to the plate.

3. Clean the figs and quarter them. Peel and slice the avocado. Clean and cut the mushrooms. Add all to the salad.

4. Add walnuts, seeds and a little bit of oil, salt and pepper.

Tip: a very delightful add-on would be crumbled feta cheese or slices of Grana cheese of Parmesan.

BUON APPETITO!

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Fried zucchini rounds

Fried zucchini rounds are almost as good as fried zucchini blossoms 🙂 The batter I make with flour and cold sparkling water gives the fried zucchini a very light and crispy coating almost like tempura.

prep time 15 min     cooking time  10 min total
ingredients
  • 1-2 zucchini
  • 3-5dl peanut oil
  • 1dl flour
  • 2 dl COLD sparkling water/mineral water
  • pinch of salt

Disclaimer: the quantities are very approximative.

1. Wash and cut the zucchini into thin even slices with a mandoline slicer  or a knife and pat them dry.

2. Heat the oil in a heavy bottom pot or pan over medium high until the oil is hot but not smoking.

3. In the meantime make the batter: Take the water out of the fridge just before using it. Blend the batter to the consistency of a heavy cream.  Add a pinch of salt.

4. Dip or soak the zucchini rounds in the batter and fry them in batches for a few minutes on each side until golden brown and crispy.

5. Drain on paper towels or better yet on brown paper sheets for fried food, season with salt and serve hot.

BUON APPETITO!

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Nourish bowl

An extremely healthy lunch option with various raw veggies and legumes.  Add some good condiment, preferably good extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice or white wine vinegar. For a completely vegetarian alternative, leave out the tuna/chicken.

prep time  15 min
ingredients
  • tuna/cooked chicken
  • carrots
  • cucumber
  • avocado
  • baby spinach
  • pickled beetroot
  • hard boiled eggs
  • cannellini beans
  • red peppers
  • cabbage
  • pomegranate seeds

other options:

  • sweet corn
  • peas
  • string beans
  • artichoke hearts
  • arugula
  • button mushrooms
  • nuts and seeds
  • tomatoes
  • zucchini
  • olives

Chop, slice and cut your veggies and eggs, arrange them in a large salad bowl to your liking.  Add tuna or chicken, pour on top your condiment and voilà, your nourish bowl is ready to go.

BUON APPETITO!

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Strawberry tiramisù

Tiramisù is one of my all time favourite desserts and the summer version with strawberries is to die for.

prep time 20 min     refrigerating time up to 3 hrs
ingredients for 6
  • 250g mascarpone
  • 250g whipping cream
  • 3 eggs
  • 200g Pavesini cookies
  • 500g fresh strawberries
  • 5 tablespoons sugar
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • a few mint leaves to garnish

1. You start with making the strawberry juice in which to dip your Pavesini cookies. Take half of the strawberries, clean them and cut into small pieces. Pour over them the lemon juice and 3 Tbls of sugar and mix well. Put into the fridge for at least for 6 hrs, better yet overnight. Blend it the next day.

  

2. Whip 2 yolks and 1 whole egg with 2 Tbls of sugar. Some whip the yolks and the whites apart, I don’t think it has a great impact on this dessert.

2. Add mascarpone and whip a few rounds more.

3. Whip the cream aside (you can use heavy cream or lactose-free whipping cream) and fold it into the whipped mascarpone mixture..

    

4. A word about the Pavesini cookies. Some use Savoiardi biscuits/cookies (lady fingers) but I find them too thick and mushy. You can substitute Pavesini with sponge cake cut into layers.

  

5. Start assembling your tiramisù in a 20cm x 20cm glass dish with a layer of the cream mascarpone mixture. Then dip the Pavesini in the strawberry juice and layer them in the dish. I added some water to thin the juice. I also had used too many of the strawberries for the juice so I didn’t have enough left to garnish the dish.

  

6. Keep alternating the cream mixture and the cookies for 4 layers leaving one last layer of cream mixture. Place half of the strawberries cut into slices on top with some mint leaves for garnish.

7. Place in the fridge for at least 3 hours. When it is really hot I place the dish first in the freezer for half an hour or so and then in the fridge.

BUON APPETITO!