traditional

Gorgeous Greek Gemista

Stuffed vegetables are very common in various cuisines of the world. They appear in different shapes and forms, depending on what is available in different geographical locations. There is a tremendous amount of recipe for stuffed vegetables and all seem to use one basic principle: you can stuff any vegetable that is solid enough to hold the filling, which can be a mixture of almost anything at hand in your kitchen. Afterwards, bake or potentially fry the dish. That’s quite flexible, isn’t it?

It is very common to use peppers, tomatoes, aubergines and courgettes to stuff, which can be filled with rice, minced meat or even grains. The filling tends to be mixed with onion, garlic, herbs and spices but nuts, pulses and raisins can also be added for a change of flavours.

In Spain, stuffed peppers – called “Pimientos Rellenos” – constitute a traditional dish, especially in the Basque Country. They use “Manchego” cheese, beef and cod in béchamel sauce. In India, “Bharvan Mirch” or “Bharva Hari Mirch” is a type of stuffed pepper that is filled with cooked meat, potatoes and onions. For seasoning, turmeric, cumin, chilli, coriander, salt and lemon juice are used. “Mirchi Bajji” is a type of stuffed pepper that is fried and served with sauces and chutneys. In Mexico, the fried “Chile Relleno” consists of cheese and minced meat and served with various sauces. Sometime rice and taco are served together with this stuffed pepper dish. Also, Mexicans use jalapenos to stuff in their “Jalapeno Poppers” that is also fried. In Guatemala, a similar, fried stuffed vegetable dish called “Pimiento” is common, which is filled with shredded pork and seasonal vegetables. And these are just a few examples!

The dish – in various forms – is also part of the traditional cuisines of Central and Eastern Europe, Southern Europe and the Mediterranean, the Balkans, Scandinavia, the Baltics, Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.

In my opinion, one of the most delicious and easy to make stuffed pepper dishes is from Greece. It’s called “Gemista” (or “Yemista”), which simply means “to stuff” in Greek. Baked peppers or tomatoes are stuffed with rice, minced meat and summer vegetables. Most Greek “tavernas” would use seasonal vegetables that they source from the local markets. It is easy to omit meat from the dish and create a wholesome but light vegetarian version of the “Gemista”. They are not only very delicious, but they please the eyes as the pretty and colourful peppers are lined up next to each other, baked to perfection.

I found the below vegan recipe on the website of Forks over Knives. The recipe was designed by Veronica Grace, a vegan chef, who is specialised on low fat vegan recipes. I made a few slight changes to the original recipe to suit my personal taste, but the changes are minor. The dish serves 3 to 4 people.

Greek Stuffed Peppers from www.skinnyms.comhttp://www.skinnyms.com

Ingredients:

  • 6 large or 8 small bell peppers (of varying colours)
  • 1 large onion (finely diced)
  • 3 small courgettes (peeled and finely diced)
  • 3 medium carrots (peeled and finely diced)
  • 250 ml low-sodium vegetable broth (preferably home-made or if packaged, use organic)
  • 500 gram brown rice (cooked to packet instructions)
  • 5 tablespoons of tomato paste
  • 20 grams of fresh parsley (finely chopped; if not available use 10 grams of dried parsley)
  • 20 grams of fresh dill (chopped, if not available use 10 grams of dried dill)
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • Pepper (according to taste)
  • Salt (according to taste)

Preparation method:

  • Preheat oven to 180 Celsius.
  • Cut off the top of the peppers and deseed them. Retain the top with stem. Wash the peppers and tops thoroughly.
  • Place the peppers in an ovenproof dish, arrange them upright and put tops back on. Bake them at 180 Celsius for 30 minutes.
  • While the peppers are baking, sauté onions, courgettes and carrots in a vegetable broth for 5 minutes.
  • Cook rice according to package instructions in a separate pot.
  • Once the rice is ready, stir it into the onion, courgettes and carrot mixture. Add the tomato paste and mix well so that the tomato paste coats the vegetables.
  • Add parsley, dill, lemon juice, pepper and salt and stir well to combine them thoroughly. The filling is ready.
  • By now the peppers should be baked. Remove them from the oven and stuff the peppers with the filling.
  • Place the pepper tops on the peppers and bake them for 30 minutes at 180 Celsius. (If the peppers start to brown, lower the temperature in the oven and keep an eye on them. They may require that you remove them from the oven earlier.)
Greek Stuffed Peppers from chaosinthekitchen.comhttp://www.chaosinthekitchen.com

 

This dish is very healthy and very nutritious. If you crave for strong Greek flavours, add a dash of cinnamon and oregano to the filling. I normally serve them with steamed or stir-fried French beans, okra or broccoli. Alternatively, fresh garden salad or baby spinach leaves are suitable side dishes too.

Bon appetite!

Pommes Boulangere from France

The French term, “pommes boulangere” simply means “potatoes from the baker”. It is a lovely baked potato-based dish with a little story behind it. Centuries ago, when homes in rural France were not equipped with ovens, women still wanted to present baked dishes to their families. For Sunday lunches, they prepared potato-based casseroles in their homes. On their way to church, along with a piece of lamb they took their casseroles to the local baker’s. While they attended the service, the meal was baking in the shop’s oven. When the service was over, they just picked up their dishes and soon enough, they could serve roast lamb surrounded with “pommes boulangere” to their families for a Sunday treat.

It is important that “pommes boulangere” is made of very thinly sliced potatoes and onions. If it is prepared this way, the top layer of the potatoes will be crisp and slightly brown, while the lower layers will become thick and moist.

Non-vegetarians can enjoy this dish in the traditional way, served with roast meat. For vegetarians, it can be served with steamed or stir-fried French beans or mixed vegetables. Alternatively, it can be offered with a lovely salad. In my view, fresh spinach works particularly well with this dish.

I found the following recipe for 6 portions on the website of Forks over Knives. It was designed by an American chef, Ramses Bravo. In my opinion, it is lovely when it is freshly-baked, but perhaps the next day it is even better as the flavours get absorbed into the potatoes and the tastes mature a bit. Now, let’s see the recipe!

Boulangere Potatoes www.forksoverknives.com picturehttp://www.forksoverknives.com

Ingredients:

  • 1 leek (thinly sliced)
  • 1 yellow onion (thinly sliced)
  • 1 stalk celery (thinly sliced)
  • 2 shallots (thinly sliced)
  • 2 tablespoons garlic (minced)
  • 1 tablespoon granulated garlic
  • 1 tablespoon granulated onion
  • 5 litre low-sodium vegetable broth (preferably home-made or if you used packaged, use organic vegetable stock)
  • 9 medium potatoes (peeled and very thinly sliced)
  • 1 tablespoon chopped, fresh flat-leaf parsley, or 1 teaspoon dried
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried

Preparation method: 

  • Preheat the oven to 180 Celsius. Place the leek, onion, celery, shallots, and garlic in a large dry saucepan over low to medium heat and cook until the onion starts to brown (approximately 5 minutes). Stir occasionally to avoid the ingredients sticking to the pan.
  • Stir in the granulated garlic and granulated onion and cook for further 2 minutes. Stir in the broth, increase the heat to medium-high, and simmer. Cook until the liquid reduces to half.
  • Add the potatoes and stir the ingredients until well combined. Decrease the heat to low and cook until the potatoes are translucent, about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally to avoid the potatoes sticking together.
  • Remove from the heat and stir in the parsley and thyme. Transfer to large baking dish (approximately 33 cm x 22 cm) and bake uncovered for about 25 minutes. The potatoes should turn tender in the dish and the top layer of them should brown slightly.
Boulangere Potatoes from www.cookingchanneltv.comhttp://channeltv.com/

Bon appetite!

Vegetarian Waldorf Salad from New York City

I love delicious food that also has history. The Waldorf Salad is a prime example of such a dish. It is associated with the famous Waldorf Hotel (the precursor of the luxurious Waldorf-Astoria Hotel) in New York City, where it was first created sometime between 1893 and 1897.

The Waldorf Salad is known to be first made by Oscar Tschirky, who was the head waiter of the Waldorf Hotel at that time. Mr Tschirky was known about his culinary creativity. He never worked as a chef, but he developed many of the hotel’s signature dishes. His cook book entitled “The Cook Book” contains the original recipe, which was fine tuned later, when it appeared in “The Rector Cook Book” in 1928.

The traditional Waldorf Salad contains fresh apples, celery and walnuts and it is served on a bed of lettuce. It is often served with mayonnaise. Sometimes chicken, turkey, grapes and dried fruit appear in the salad’s contemporary versions. Healthier interpretations tend to use a yoghurt-based sauce instead of the mayo.

The vegetarian version that I like to prepare is based on the traditional recipe, but it contains chickpeas for a bit of protein boost. I tend to use a yoghurt-based sauce and I normally serve it with baby spinach leaves instead of lettuce.

Waldorf Salad from www.vegetariantimes.com
www.vegetariantimes.com
Ingredients:

  • 120 ml plain full-fat yogurt, preferably Greek-style
  • 1 teaspoon of mustard, preferably Dijon type
  • 1 teaspoon of honey or agave nectar
  • Salt according to taste (approximately 1/2 teaspoon)
  • Freshly ground black pepper according to taste (approximately 1/4 teaspoon)
  • 400 gram can of chickpeas (drained)
  • 2 ribs of celery (finely chopped)
  • 1 apple (chopped into small pieces)
  • 1 medium-sized bunch of red grapes (cut the grapes into halves)
  • 1 medium-sized red onion (diced into small pieces)
  • 1 bunch of parsley (finely chopped)
  • 100 grams of walnuts (roughly chopped)
  • 1 bunch of fresh baby spinach leaves

Preparation method: 

  • Chop up the celery, apple, red onion, grapes, parsley and walnuts and combine them with the chickpeas in a large salad bowl.
  • Add the spinach leaves and combine with the salad mixture.
  • Prepare the dressing by combining the yoghurt, mustard, honey, salt and pepper and mix the ingredients well.
  • Stir in the dressing gently but thoroughly.
  • Refrigerate the salad for half an hour before serving.

Waldorf Salad from www.relish.com
www.relish.com
The salad is perfect as a light meal. Alternatively, it can be offered as a side dish with more substantial oven-baked meals, pastas or risottos.

Bon appetite!