Mediterranean platter

Salad Options

Politiki salata

https://www.kalofagas.ca/2012/03/15/politiki-salata/

Politiki Salata (Πολίτικη σαλάτα)

(serves 4)

4 cups of shredded white cabbage

1/2 cup grated carrot

1/2 cup thinly sliced red pepper

1/2 stalk of celery, diced

1 tsp. of sugar

1 tsp. of fine salt

1/4 cup wine vinegar

approx. 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

sea salt to taste

chilli flakes (boukovo) to taste

1. Place the shredded cabbage, carrot, red pepper and celery in a bowl with the sugar, salt and wine vinegar and toss. Allow to to cure for 15 minutes (or a bit longer).
2. Now take handfuls of the salad and place in a strainer and squeeze-dry of excess liquid and place in the bowl. Continue to squeeze the remaining salad then drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and toss.
3. Adjust seasoning with salt, wine vinegar and toss once again and serve immediately (add some chilli flakes if you like some heat).

NOTE: If you want to prepare ahead, cut/shred the vegetables and place covered in your fridge and add the sugar, salt, vinegar about 20 minutes before serving.

Fattoush Salad

https://www.themediterraneandish.com/fattoush-salad/

Fattoush Salad makes a frequent appearance on the Middle Eastern dinner table. A simple chopped salad dressed in a zesty lime vinaigrette. Homemade pita chips serve as croutons! See the video and step-by-step for how to make fattoush below.

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SCALE

INGREDIENTS

• 2 loaves pita bread
• Early Harvest Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• ½ tsp sumac, more for later
• Salt and pepper
• 1 heart of Romaine lettuce, chopped
• 1 English cucumber, chopped
• 5 Roma tomatoes, chopped
• 5 green onions (both white and green parts), chopped
• 5 radishes, stems removed, thinly sliced
• 2 cups chopped fresh parsley leaves, stems removed
• 1 cup chopped fresh mint leaves (optional)

Lime-vinaigrette

• 1 ½ lime, juice of
• ⅓ cup Early Harvest Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tsp ground sumac
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
• scant ¼ tsp ground allspice

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INSTRUCTIONS

1. Toast the pita bread in your toaster oven until it is crisp but not browned. Heat 3 tbsp of olive oil in a large pan. Break the pita bread into pieces, and place in the heated oil. Fry briefly until browned, tossing frequently. Add salt, pepper and ½ tsp of sumac. Remove the pita chips from the heat and place on paper towels to drain.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the chopped lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, green onions with the sliced radish and parsley.
3. To make the dressing, whisk together the lemon or lime juice, olive oil and spices in a small bowl.
4. Dress the salad with the dressing and toss lightly. Finally, add the pita chips, and more sumac if you like, and toss one more time. Transfer to small serving bowls or plates. Enjoy!

NOTES

• Variations: fattoush salad dressing often include pomogrante molasses. If that's available to you, add 1 to 2 teaspoons to the dressing.  For the salad, you can also add more herbs or other greens such as arugula (not traditional to fattoush but wonderful!)

TOASTED PITA CHIPS

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/toasted-pita-chips-recipe-1922869

 toast pita in 375 deg

Pumpkin lentil soup

https://www.themediterraneandish.com/easy-lentil-pumpkin-soup-recipe/

• Extra virgin olive oil (I used Private Reserve Greek olive oil)
• 2 medium yellow onions, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp organic ground coriander
• 1 tsp organic ground cumin
• ½ tsp organic ground turmeric
• 1 cup red lentils
• 15 oz can pumpkin puree
• 3 ½ cups quality vegetable broth, low-sodium preferred
• Salt
• 2-3 tbsp gold raisins (optional)
• ½ fresh lemon, juice of

Turkish Flatbread

https://thecafesucrefarine.com/greek-yogurt-turkish-flatbread-bazlama/

Ingredients

• 1 ¼ cups warm water 105-110˚F
• 2 ¼ teaspoons active dried yeast 1 packet
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• ¾ cup Greek-style yogurt
• 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley

GREEK BRIAM

https://www.themediterraneandish.com/briam-greek-roasted-vegetables/

• 1 1/4 lb/ 570 g gold potatoes (about 3 medium-size potatoes), peeled and thinly sliced into rounds (about 1/8-inch thick)
• 1 1/4 lb/ 570 g zucchini squash (2 to 3 zucchini), thinly sliced into rounds (about 1/4-inch thick)
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tsp/ 3.6 g dried oregano
• scant 1 tsp/1.2 g dried rosemary 
• 1/2 cup/ 35 g chopped fresh parsley
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• Early Harvest Greek extra virgin olive oil
• 1 28-oz/ 794 g canned diced tomatoes with juice (no-salt added organic tomatoes are recommended)
• 1 large red onion or 2 smaller red onions, thinly sliced into rounds (if large, you’ll want to cut the onion in half first, and then slice)

FALAFEL

https://www.themediterraneandish.com/how-to-make-falafel/

• 2 cups dried chickpeas (Do NOT use canned or cooked chickpeas)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup fresh parsley leaves, stems removed
• 3/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, stems removed
• 1/2 cup fresh dill, stems removed
• 1 small onion, quartered
• 7–8 garlic cloves, peeled
• Salt to taste
• 1 tbsp ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper, optional
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
• Oil for frying

TZATZIKI

https://thewanderlustkitchen.com/authentic-greek-tzatziki/

Try with lime juice instead of vinegar.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 of a large cucumber, unpeeled
• 1 1/2 cups plain full-fat Greek yogurt
• 2 large garlic cloves, finely minced
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh dill

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Grate the cucumber and drain through a fine mesh sieve overnight in the fridge.
2. Combine the yogurt, garlic, oil, vinegar, and salt in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
3. Transfer the grated cucumber and fresh dill to the yogurt mixture and stir to combine. Serve chilled with pita bread for dipping.

Muhamarra

https://www.themediterraneandish.com/muhammara-recipe-roasted-red-pepper-dip/

This is just too good. I used pomegranate seeds instead of mollases. I used roasted bell peppers roasted skin seeds and everything.

• 2 red bell peppers
• 4 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil divided
• ¼ lb shelled toasted walnuts
• 1 garlic clove roughly chopped
• 2 ½ tbsp tomato paste
• ¾ cup bread crumbs
• 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses I used this one
• 1 tsp Aleppo pepper
• ½ tsp sugar
• 1 tsp sumac
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper optional

Spicy cilantro pesto

https://www.themediterraneandish.com/zhoug-spicy-cilantro-pesto-recipe/

• 6 jalapeno peppers (or hot green chiles), sliced
• 2 garlic cloves
• salt
• 1 cup (packed) fresh cilantro leaves
• ½ cup (packed) fresh parsley
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp ground green cardamom
• ⅓ cup Early Harvest extra virgin olive oil
• 1 lemon, juice of

PARSLEY HUMMUS

https://m.tarladalal.com/Parsley-Hummus-5554r

.5 cup soaked and bioled kabuli chana
5 tbsp parsley
2 tbsp yogurt
1.5 tsp garlic
.5 lemon juice
1 tsp green chillies
1 tsp olive oil
salt