Green Black-eyed Pea Salad with Tomato Vinaigrette

Tuesday June 9th, 2015Wednesday June 29th, 2022 aglaia Leave a comment

Blanched ambelofasoula (green black-eyed peas) are the most sought-after and expensive summer salad in Greece and usually accompanies grilled or fried fish. The word ‘ambelofasoula’ means ‘vineyard beans’ and it is only used for the green black-eyed peas; maybe the prolific plants were planted close to the vines in the old days.

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The dressing is inspired by a recipe I got from the island of Kythera, where it was used on vlita(blanched amaranth shoots). It is a wonderful dressing for blanched broccoli, cauliflower or any kind of blanched greens.

Serves 3-4 (more…)

Paximadia Salad with Tomatoes, Feta and Capers

Tuesday June 9th, 2015Thursday August 1st, 2024 aglaia Leave a comment

The crumbled hard, barley rusks steeped in the juices of the chopped tomatoes and the spicy aromatic olive oil sauce acquire a superb flavor and texture. Lighter biscuits get mushy.

Prepare the salad 1-3 hours in advance, but toss just before serving.

Paximadi Salad can be a full summer lunch, perfect for pick nicks at the beach. I make it in a large container and serve it under the beach umbrella in our attractive re-usable plastic pick nick bowls. The chunky salad can be eaten with a spoon or fork, and we often enjoy it sipping the crisp fruity white or rose wine that we take to the beach in a cooler. (more…)

Tomato and Purslane Relish

Tuesday June 9th, 2015Wednesday June 23rd, 2021 aglaia 1 Comment

This is a mild, fresh-tasting relish, especially created to complement grilled, seared or even steamed fish. If you want to use it with grilled poultry or meat add 1-2 cloves minced garlic, if you like, and a minced jalapeno, or a pinch of Aleppo pepper flakes.

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Serves 4-6 (more…)

Rice and Herb Stuffed Grape Leaves (Dolmades Nistisimi)

Tuesday June 9th, 2015Wednesday March 17th, 2021 aglaia 1 Comment

Most Greek women use fresh or home frozen grape leaves and this makes all the difference. During our spring and early summer Keartisanal cooking classes we pick them from the garden. This is one of the very first dishes we cooked together with our guests when we started our programs on Kea and it is still one of our guests’ favorite; much like all over the Eastern Mediterranean, this is often prepared by a group of family and friends, as it is somewhat time consuming.

The vine leaves toughen as the days get hotter, though, so later in the summer we use our home-frozen ones which work equally well. If you can get hold of even a few fresh grape leaves, use them as flavoring, placing them between the dolmades. Fresh leaves need to be blanched for about 3-5 minutes, while frozen tender leaves can be used directly after thawing, or need to be blanched just for a few seconds.

Make the dolmades one or two days in advance, let them cool in the pot, and then store in the fridge. They taste better the next day.

To serve 8-10 as an appetizer

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