When it is still chilly outside it is very easy to escape the chill by travelling in my mind to some warmer places. So, yesterday I travelled back to last summer….
More specifically I remembered a small town in Northern Greece called Asprovalta.
Doesn’t it sound romantic? Yes, it does!
Not just romantic, but calm and peaceful too. We stayed in a small nice place just 5 minutes from the beach and it was so quiet, the sun was shining, the water was warm, the Aegean Sea was waiting for us and giving the best of itself.
Every time I think about any places that we have visited the food is always something I remember. How you can visit Greece without tasting Kalamata olives or drinking Retsina? Now being at my parents place, far from the Aegean, I looked in the fridge and in the cupboards trying to figure out what Greek style dishes it would would be possible to create.
Here come a couple of very well known dishes that are loved by most people – Tzatziki and Greek Salad. As you might know by now, I have some problems with measuring amounts so I will just list the basic ingredients and also add a vegan option.
Tzatziki (and vegan Tzatziki)
- Cucumber
- Greek yogurt (or soya yogurt)
- Lemon
- Fresh dill
- Fresh mint
- Garlic
- Salt & pepper
It takes literally 10 minutes to prepare tzatziki and enjoy! Plus, it is not just fast but very simple! Here is what I did:
- I peeled the cucumber and took out the middle part, then grated it.
- Squeezed some lemon juice, added salt, pepper, chopped fresh mint leaves, some ‘fresh’ dill (harvested from the garden and frozen) and crushed garlic. Adjust the amounts of the herbs and seasoning according to your own taste.
- The last, but very important ingredient is the Greek yogurt or, if it a vegan version, soya yogurt. Add some to the other ingredients and give everything a mix. I would recommend to add just enough yogurt according to the thickness of tzatziki you would like. We ate it with some bread sticks so it needed to be quite solid.
That’s it – simple, fast and delicious! By the way, if You like smoothies you could use any leftover parts of cucumber for one of them.
Greek Salad (& Vegan Greek Salad)
How many times you ate something called Greek Salad, but it was not the real one? For sure more than once. So here come the ingredients you need to prepare a Greek Salad:
- 200g Feta cheese (Firm or very firm tofu for vegans) 200g
- 5 Medium tomatoes
- A cucumber
- A pepper (any colour you fancy really)
- A red onion
- 200g Pitted Olives (Kalamata would be the best)
- A pinch of dried oregano
- 4tbsp Olive oil
- 1-2tbsp Vinegar (whatever you like really)
- A pinch of salt
I need to admit that I couldn’t find Kalamata olives at my parents home so just used the black ones in a can that I found and the oregano was exchanged for some organic dried basil from my parents garden.
I believe there is probably a very special traditional way to prepare this salad, but I will just write my own step by step:
- I always like to cut the red onion into half moons first and put them to the bowl.
- Add olive oil, vinegar, salt and oregano (or in this case basil), mix it in the bowl with the onion.
- Cut tomatoes into big pieces and add them.
- Next cut the cucumber (it would be nice to peel it, but on the other hand I prefer not to waste anything). Cut it in half and then quarters lengthwise then slice thickly and add to the rest.
- Cut the pepper into rings or slices, and (you guessed it) add to the bowl.
- Cut the Feta (or tofu) into blocks, add and mix everything very gently (OR you could mix everything you have in the bawl and add the cheese/tofu after).
And again – easy, fast and simple! You could serve it with some nice toasted bread, and why not a nice glass of retsina.
If you still have some Greek yogurt left you can make a very simple and delicious desert with walnuts and honey (or agave syrup to make it vegan).
Simple and fast also? Yes, for sure:
- Take some glasses or small bowls.
- Put some walnuts in the bottom.
- Add Greek Yogurt.
- Pour over honey (or agave syrup).
Relax and enjoy the summery simplicity!