West Wales Chronicle’ Foodie Columnist Paolo Piana’s Delicious Greek Delights

Greek Delights

Up until last year I’d never been to Greece, so my first trip was to the Greek Island of Crete.
Crete was amazing, deeply seeped in history, wonderful friendly people and the food was just incredible.
A visit in November was a great choice with it being out of the tourist season, but the weather was still warm and sunny and there was never a sense of having to hurry a meal.
I’ve decided that I’d like to share just some of the Greek delights I came across during my visit and add in a few of my own twists.

Greek food is all about freshly grown ingredients, if you are recreating these dishes try and use home grown salad items or try out your local market.
Food is for sharing with friends and with family.
This recipe will be adequate for four people portion wise or it can be made part of a larger meal for additional people.

Houmous and Pitta Bread
Houmous originated from Arabia and has spread around the Mediterranean.
It’s simply a blend of cooked, mashed chickpeas blended in with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and garlic.
I cheated and bought it ready-made and added chopped coriander leaves with some extra virgin olive oil. Ready-made pitta bread is also easily available at all supermarkets.

Greek Salad
Ingredients:
2 ripe and juicy vine tomatoes
Cucumber
Lettuce
A large red onion
Feta cheese or a creamy goats’ cheese
Extra virgin olive oil
Lemon juice from a large juicy lemon
Mixed herbs
Salt and pepper
Olives (black or green)

I’ve been told that the secret of a great Greek salad is the way the tomato and cucumber is cut, no regular slices here, but randomly shaped chunks!
I personally cut up the onion in more conventional thin rings and rip the lettuce into medium pieces.
Place all the ingredients into a large salad bowl, pour in a generous measure of olive oil, the juice from a freshly squeezed lemon, the herbs, salt and pepper and mix it well in the bowl. The feta cheese has a salty taste, so easy with the salt! To finish off, cube the cheese and spread across the top with the olives.

Borlotti Beans in a herb and spicy sauce.

Ingredients
Borlotti beans (I used a tin from the supermarket)
Tomatoes
Tomato puree
Mixed herbs
Paprika
Ground coriander
Salt and pepper

Once you have tasted these beans you will never go back to eating the traditional baked beans, they are quick and easy to make, and are a cheap and healthy alternative.
Drain and wash the borlotti beans. Put a glug of olive oil in a medium sized saucepan and heat. Chop the tomatoes into small pieces and add to the heated oil. Cook for a few minutes until the tomatoes soften. Add one teaspoon of paprika, one teaspoon of ground coriander, a teaspoon of mixed herbs and a little salt and pepper.
Mix and continue to cook. Add 300ml of hot water and a table spoon of tomato puree before finally adding the beans.
Simmer for 20 minutes until the sauce thickens.

Aubergine in Paprika
A quick and easy dish with a vegetable that we don’t use so often in Britain, but is used extensively in Mediterranean and Asian cooking!

Ingredients
One large aubergine
Olive oil
Paprika

Note: Aubergine can have a bitter taste, so to overcome this for this dish I cut the aubergine into small cubes and soaked them in salted water for around 30 minutes before cooking.

Drain the aubergine and rinse in a colander under a running tap to remove the salt.
Add 2 large glugs of olive oil into a frying pan and place on a medium heat.
Add the paprika into the oil and then stir in the aubergine cubes.
Cook until the aubergine is tender but not too soft.

There we have it a………. feast of Greek delights. Enjoy!