SLEEK GREEK
IN EMMA GALLOWAY’S FRESH TAKE ON THE TRADITIONAL, GRECIAN FAVOURITES GET A MEAT-FREE MAKEOVER.
A plant-based makeover for some Greek classics by Emma Galloway
WHILE VEGETARIAN FOOD is probably not the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of Greek food, it is entirely possible to take the main flavours and ingredients used in Greece to create something that’s exciting, packed with flavour, meat-free and made without too much effort. Where you’d usually find fish or chicken in souvlaki, I’ve used marinated eggplant instead and served it alongside a herb-packed rice pilaf with tzatziki. Instead of seafood, protein-rich beans sit atop a modern version of skordalia. Salads burst with all the fresh flavours you’d expect to see – cucumber, red onion, tomatoes and feta – just not necessarily served in the traditional manner.
HALOUMI BAKED IN VINE LEAVES WITH TOMATO SALAD SERVES 4 AS A STARTER / PREPARATION 10 MINUTES / COOKING 10-15 MINUTES
Cheese and tomato is one of the finest pairings ever. Here I’ve upped the ante a little by wrapping the haloumi in vine leaves before baking until soft. You can find vine leaves preserved in brine at specialty food stores or online (make dolmades with any leftovers). To use fresh vine leaves, choose only new-season, fresh leaves as older ones are too tough. To prepare, trim the stalks off and cook in boiling water for 5 minutes before draining and rinsing in cold water. Dried oregano can be used in place of the fresh oregano in the salad if that’s what you have, oregano being the one herb I find is just as good dried as fresh.
8 vine leaves preserved in brine, rinsed
and stems removed
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 x 200g packets haloumi, each cut into 4 thick slices
FOR THE TOMATO SALAD
400g small or cherry tomatoes
¼ red onion, finely sliced small handful fresh oregano leaves,
roughly torn or ½ teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Preheat the oven to 200℃. Lay two vine leaves out on a flat surface, slightly overlapping, then brush the leaves with olive oil and arrange two slices of haloumi in the centre. Wrap up loosely, then place onto a wire rack set over an oven tray. Repeat with the remaining vine leaves and haloumi until you have four parcels. Brush the tops with a little olive oil, then bake for 10-15 minutes or until the leaves have crisped up and the haloumi is soft.
Meanwhile, combine all the tomato salad ingredients in a bowl, season with salt and pepper and mix well.
Serve the haloumi baked in vine leaves piping hot and straight from the oven, with tomato salad on the side.
GOLDEN BEANS WITH CAULIFLOWER SKORDALIA SERVES 4 / PREPARATION 15 MINUTES / COOKING 10 MINUTES
Cauliflower makes a lovely stand-in for the traditional potato in my take on a Greek skordalia. Dried butter beans (sometimes called lima beans) aren’t that easy to come by here in New Zealand, so use tinned if not available.
FOR THE CAULIFLOWER SKORDALIA
½ medium cauliflower, cut into florets
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons ground almonds
1 clove garlic juice of 1 lemon
FOR THE QUICK PICKLED RED ONION ½ red onion, finely sliced juice of ½ lemon
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
¼ cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3 cups cooked butter beans or 2 x 400g tins,
rinsed and drained well juice of ½ lemon
½ cup whole green olives, pitted
¼ cup lightly toasted almonds, roughly chopped handful each of mint leaves and flat-leafed parsley extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle
Steam the cauliflower florets for 5-8 minutes or until just tender. Remove from the heat, transfer to a food processor or blender, add the olive oil, ground almonds, garlic, lemon juice and a generous pinch of salt then blend on high until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
Combine the red onion, lemon juice and salt in a bowl, mix well then set aside to lightly pickle.
Heat the olive oil in a large heavy-based frying pan over a medium-high heat, add the garlic, oregano and drained butter beans then cook, stirring often, until lightly golden and warmed through. Season with salt and pepper and squeeze over the lemon juice.
To serve, spread a generous dollop of cauliflower skordalia onto four plates, divide the beans, green olives, toasted almonds and quick-pickled red onion between the plates, scatter with herbs and drizzle with a little extra olive oil.
BUCKWHEAT SALAD WITH WHIPPED FENNEL FETA SERVES 4-6 / PREPARATION 25 MINUTES PLUS COOLING TIME / COOKING 10-12 MINUTES
Although buckwheat is not an overly common ingredient in Greek food, it acts as the perfect high-protein base for this lemon and herb-kissed salad. You’ll find whole raw buckwheat at selected supermarkets or health-food stores.
For salads like this, where you don’t want excess moisture, I like to scrape the seeds from the cucumber using a teaspoon first. It might seem pedantic but it’s well worth the extra few minutes of prep, and I simply eat the scraped seeds as a little pre-meal snack, so there’s no food waste either.
1 cup (180g) whole raw buckwheat ½ shallot or small red onion, finely sliced juice of 1 lemon
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
FOR THE WHIPPED FENNEL FETA
200g feta, crumbled
½ teaspoon fennel seeds, lightly toasted in a dry pan then roughly ground
½ cup plain unsweetened yoghurt
1 telegraph cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeds
scraped out with a spoon, then sliced thinly
1 tablespoon capers in brine, drained and roughly chopped
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup packed mint leaves, roughly chopped
1 cup packed flat-leafed parsley, roughly chopped
To cook the buckwheat, bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to the boil, add the buckwheat and cook for 10-12 minutes or until tender (it will still have some bite). Drain well and set aside to cool.
Combine the sliced shallot/red onion, lemon juice and salt in a small bowl. Mix well, then set aside.
To make the whipped fennel feta, pulse the ingredients in a small food processor until smooth, scraping down the sides once or twice to assist blending.
To serve, combine the cooled buckwheat, pickled shallots/ red onion and any pickling juices, cucumber, capers, olive oil, mint and flat-leafed parsley in a bowl. Mix well, then season with salt and pepper (keeping in mind the whipped feta is salty). Spread a couple of tablespoons of whipped fennel feta onto four plates, then top with a generous scoop of salad.
The whipped fennel feta and pickled shallots/red onion can be prepared up to a day in advance and stored in the fridge, however the salad is best made and eaten on the same day.
Instead of seafood, protein-rich beans sit atop a modern version of skordalia and salads burst with all the fresh flavours you’d expect to see – just not necessarily served in the traditional manner.