Peppers stuffed with xinomythira (a sour cream cheese of sheep or goat's milk)

The last one from Greece as I enjoy a final beer on my balcony overlooking the sea ...

You'll need (for 2 people):

- 6 long green peppers
- olive oil
- some kind of creamy goat's cheese
- 2 cloves of garlic
- olives or capers (or both!
- salt
- pepper
- oregano
- some pasta or bread to serve

Let's get cracking!

1. Cut off the stalk of the peppers, leaving the tops intact. Slit lengthways down one side only. Stuff delicately.

2. Pan fry the peppers in olive oil on medium heat, turning, so that they're starting to brown and soften without going completely soft (or black!).

3. Remove from the pan when ready and leave to rest.

4. In the same oil, lower the heat and add some chopped garlic and olives. Give them a minute. You could use capers instead of or as well as olives. 

5. Combine this olive oil, garlic and olives mix with some pasta you boiled earlier (or some pieces of toasted bread). Add some black pepper and oregano.

6. Spoon the pasta into a pasta bowl. Place 3 peppers on top. Season with a little sea salt. Serve. Enjoy!

This cost under 0.50 Euros per person.

Greek fried aubergine slices with tomato sauce and feta

Another Greek taverna vegetarian special! 

You'll need:

- 2 nice juicy tomatoes finely chopped

- 2 cloves of garlic roughly chopped

- olive oil

- salt

- pepper

- oregano

- basil

- pepper

- hot paprika

- 1 long, thin aubergine sliced then salted for 30 minutes and soaked in salty water until ready to cook

- flour to dust the aubergine

- a couple of thick slices of feta cheese, crumbled

Let's rock! Starting with the tomato sauce ...

1. Prep the tomatoes. Cut a criss-cross at the bottom. Slowly pour over boiling water in a sink. Leave for a minute. Peel off the skins. Chop finely.

2. Olive oil in a pan. Medium heat. Garlic in. 1 minute.

3. Tomatoes in.

4. Herbs and spices in.

5. Reduce the sauce down on a low-medium heat, lovingly stirring, coaxing out those flavours! You might be thinking to yourself, "Blimey! That's a lot of olive oil down there!". And you'd be right. But that's the Greek thing. It's good for you!

6. Now for the aubergine. Slice, salt and soak.

7. Pat the slices in flour.

8. Fry on both sides in olive oil (medium heat) till golden brown (10-15 mins).

9. Drain on kitchen roll.

10. Plate up. Arrange the slices on a plate. Spoon some tomato sauce on each slice. Crumble feta on top.

11. Serve with a cheese pie or two that the lovely old lady from downstairs just brought us! Or a slice of bread to mop up the sauce.

Enjoy!

That came to around 0.80 Euros per serving.

Greek Salad (Horiatiki)

So, here I am in Greece. Loathe as I am to put a recipe for a salad (it's not cooking, is it?), I can't resist because it's a salad classic that's much misunderstood.

Can you see lettuce? No. It's not there. There is no lettuce. Salad does not have to have lettuce in it to be a salad. Greek salad does not have lettuce. Ok?

The ingredients:

- 1 big tomato
- cucumber (peeled and sliced chunky)
- green pepper (roughly chopped)
- 1/2 an onion (sliced)
- 4 olives per person (with the stone!)
- a splash of olive oil
- a splash of wine vinegar
- 1 chunk slice of feta per person (not chopped up into little cubes)

Cost per person:

Just under 1 Euro.

Here's how:

1. It's important to prep the tomatoes right. First of all, it helps if they've been grown in a sunny climate, so we need 'real' tomatoes kissed by the sun. Slit it crossways on the underside. Place in the sink. Slowly pour boiling water over it. Leave for 5 minutes. Peel off the skin delicately.

2. Chop the peeled tomato into chunky pieces.

3. Prep the other ingredients as in the photo:

4. Add these to a bowl and splash over a subtle amount of olive oil.

5. Splash in some wine vinegar:

6. Add the tomatoes, get your hands in and combine everything by tossing a few times.

7. Add the chunky slices of feta on top.

8. Enjoy on your balcony as the sun sets, with a hunk of bread and a glass of chilled and rather mediocre Greek wine (whereas Greece excels in most produce, it balances this excellence with some of the worst wine in Europe). Chill the wine (even red) would be my advice.

Greek inspired vegetables in tomato sauce

It's been a loooooong time since I posted anything. Time is not my friend. Anyway, I find myself in Greece and inspired. Here's a little self-catering classic using local ingredients. It's cheap, full of flavour and vegan (or at least, it was until I added the goats cheese) so what's not to like?

You'll need (4 servings):

- olive oil

- 1 aubergine (in 1 inch cubes, salted, drained, patted dry)

- 2 tomatoes (peeled and finely chopped)

- 1 onion

- 2 cloves of garlic

- 12 juicy olives (with the stone!!!)

- 1 green pepper

- a good pinch of thyme

- a good pinch of oregano

- 1 tsp salt

- pepper to taste

- some hot paprika (to taste)

- pasta (if that's how you're serving) or bread

- (optional) shavings of hard goat's cheese

Cost: around 0.80 Euro per serving

1. Prep those aubergines. Cut. Salt. Leave 30 minutes. Soak in water 5 minutes. Drain. Pat dry and lightly squeeze in a tea towel or kitchen roll. This stage is important: the aubergine cooks better and absorbs less oil. Heat up some olive oil in a pan - medium heat. Aubergines in. Fry on all sides for around 15 minutes or until the aubergine starts to brown. Remove from the pan.

2. Use the same oil. Onions in. Give them 5 minutes.

3. Garlic in. 5 minutes.

4. Tomatoes in. Let them cook down for around 10 minutes to develop a sauce.

5. Pretty soon after the tomatoes go in, get those herbs and spices in!

6. When the sauce looks about done, add the olives and give them a couple of minutes.

7. Add the peppers and give them a minute. No more. It's nice if they retain some crunch.

8. Add the aubergine. Turn off the heat. Leave on the hob and cover. Let the flavours develop for around 5 minutes.

9. Voila!

Enjoy with pasta or bread. Sprinkle on a little cheese if you like or keep it clean and vegan if you prefer.