Greens and ricotta lasagne

People have been known to say that I often make similar things.  And it is true I often do make something and then think maybe I could make it this way instead of how I did it last week, or maybe I could add some different ingredients for a different taste altogether.  That is why after not having made lasagne for years I am making it twice withinin a short time frame. This one is like a mixture of spanakopita and tomato lasagne,  It was great to have the combination of different flavours catching my tastebuds. I will certainly make this again.

Ingredients

400 gr diced tomatoes
2 tbs tomato paste (without salt)
Bunch dill 15 gr
4 cloves of garlic
4 tsp crushed ginger root
1 leek

1 bunch endive

1/2 bunch silverbeet
375 gr ricotta
6 sheets lasagne pasta (type that does not require pre-cooking)
Parmesan

Mode

Preheat oven to 180c

Slice leek

Roughly chop endive, and silverbeet

Place vegetables in top of steamer

Crush 2 cloves of garlic

Add garlic and 2 tsp ginger to vegetables in steamer

Steam until tender

Meanwhile chop thyme

Crush 2 cloves garlic

Place tomatoes in saucepan on stove

Add thyme, 2tsp ginger, garlic and tomato paste

Stir to combine

Bring the boil and reduce to simmer

Simmer until thickened

Place a couple of tablespoons of the sauce in the bottom of a baking dish

Add layer of pasta

Add the steamed vegetables

Add another layer of pasta

Spoon half the ricotta over the sauce

Add another layer of pasta

Spoon half the tomato sauce over the pasta

Spoon the remaining half of the ricotta over the paster

Sprinkle with Parmesan

Add another layer of pasta

Cover with remaining sauce making sure that all the pasta is covered

Sprinkle with Parmesan

Bake in the oven for 45 minutes

Χορτόπιτα με φέτα

Καθαρά Δευτέρα and Orthodox Lent came with the kites, though limited in number by Covid. I saw feasts of Lenten foods prepared by Greek friends and suddenly I wanted χορτόπιτα! A trip to the greengrocer provided lots of choice: leeks, endive, chicory, dill, coriander. So I made a pie from leek, spring onions, endive and coriander, and at the last minute crumbled in a little feta. I am not sure about the quantities: I just squeezed a batch of greens into my steamer and had enough for a medium-sized pie dish with four serves. The pie was delicious. And soon I will make another with the chicory .

Ingredients

2 spring onions

1 leek

4 cloves garlic

Half a bunch of endive 

Bunch of coriander

80 gr fetta

Phyllo

Olive oil 

Poppyseed

Mode

Preheat the oven to 180c

Put the steamer on the stovetop to bring to boil

Slice the spring onions and leek

Roughly chop the endive and coriander

Add the greens to the top of the steamer

Crush the garlic and add to the greens

Steam until tender

Meanwhile place five sheets of phyllo in the baking dish, basting each sheet with olive oil

Spoon the vegetables on the phyllo and smooth

Crumble fetta over the vegetables

Fold the ends of pastry over the vegetables basting as you go

Cover top of pie with an extra sheet or two of phyllo basted with oil

Sprinkle poppyseed on top

With a sharp knife cut the top layers of pastry into serving pieces

Bake in 180c oven for 45 minutes.

Sweet potato, chicken and endive

I'm still experimenting with various ways of baking chicken in lemon juice. There seems to a be an endless variety of possibilities. This time I used chicken fillets, and cooked them with endive, sweet potato, and green peas! I also steamed the endive before adding it to the second stage of cooking in the oven. Again, I served it with wholemeal basmati, but it would be fine alone if you want to reduce carbs, or you could serve it with pasta. The meatless option is on its way!

Ingredients

600 gr chicken fillets (without skins)
2 dsp seasalt flakes
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp sliced ginger
2 tsp ground turmeric
1 sweet potato
2 tbs lemon-infused olive oil
juice of two lemons (about 150 ml)
1 cup of frozen baby green peas
1 bunch of baby endive

Mode

Preheat oven to 210c
Chop the chicken and arrange in a baking dish
Slice the sweet potato in rounds and then halve them
Add the sweet pepper to the baking dish
Sprinkle with salt flakes
Peel and crush garlic and slice ginger
Add garlic, ginger, turmeric and oil to chicken and sweet potato
Mix thoroughly
Roast for 30 minutes
Meanwhile squeeze lemons
Roughly chop endive and steam lightly
Remove the chicken from the oven and pour over the lemon juice
Add the green peas and endive and stir to combine
Return to oven and roast for another 20 minutes.

Chicken with chickpeas and endive

A couple of weeks ago when I was trying to solve the dilemma of what to cook for dinner, I came up with a recipe of chicken thighs with turmeric and broad beans. This was delicious and I commented at the time that chickpeas would be an interesting alternative to the broadbeans I used in the last recipe.

This recipe is different to that extent, but also because I cooked chicken drummettes and left out the chilli oil I had added to the chicken thighs. I also used a bunch of baby endive that I had on hand. I added the chopped endive fresh to the chicken and found that I needed to stir it a couple of times to ensure that it combined properly as the endive softened. Steaming the endive lightly beforehand would obviate the need for this.

The flavours were all delicious together and I served it on a bed of nutty wholemeal basmati which blended with it beautifully.

Ingredients

700 gr chicken drummettes
1 dsp seasalt flakes
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp sliced ginger
2 tsp ground turmeric
juice of two lemons (about 150 ml)
400 gr cooked chickpeas
1 bunch of baby endive

Mode

Preheat oven to 210c
Arrange the chicken drummettes in a baking dish
Sprinkle with salt flakes
Peel and crush garlic and slice ginger
Add garlic, ginger, and turmeric to chicken
Mix thoroughly
Roast for 30 minutes
Meanwhile squeeze lemons
Roughly chop endive and steam lightly if desired
Remove the chicken from the oven and pour over the lemon juice
Add the chickpeas and endive and stir to combine
Return to oven and roast for another 20 minutes.
If you have not steamed the endive, stir at least once during the second phase of cooking to ensure that the mixture combines properly as the endive softens.

Πρασινόπιττα/Prasinopitta

This is for you, Roza! I was planning to cook seskoulopitta yesterday when I had a conversation with my teacher, Roza, about how much meat we ate (or didn't eat).  This conversation, as well as reading regular descriptions from Giannis Makridakis about morning gathering of greens, reminded me of a hortopitta that I used to cook years ago and inspired this recipe. I can't remember exactly what I cooked in that pie but maybe it didn't matter: just lots of greens. As it was a Lenten dish, the filling was only greens.



This time I decided to try a combination of the two dishes.  This meant I included the egg and cheese from the seskoulopitta but also a variety of greens. I am on purpose fairly vague about the measurements for the greens: just do what is good for you. You might like silverbeet with just a hint of endive, or to make it the other way around with a predominant endive flavour. It's your choice. Or add what you pick in your morning gathering of greens for the day, if you are a Makridakis follower. I used Sambal oelek as I like cooking with it, but you could just add some finely chopped hot chilli instead. Maybe half a chilli? Or depending on your taste.

For all I know, Greek women have been cooking something like this for centuries. Nothing is new. But it was what I felt like cooking and eating yesterday and it was inspired by that conversation with Roza.



Ingredients

1/2 bunch of silverbeet
1 bunch of young endive
1 bunch dill
3 spring onions
375 gr ricotta
200gr fetta
1 egg
1/2 tsp Sambal oelek
3 garlic cloves
Phyllo pastry
Olive oil
Black sesame seeds



Mode

Preheat the oven to 180c
Roughly chop the silverbeet, discarding the thick stalks
Roughly chop the endive, discarding the base of the bunch.
Chopp the dill roughly, discarding thick stalks
Clean and slice the spring onions
Place the vegetables in a steamer
Peel and crush the garlic and add
Add Sambal oelek
Steam on the stovetop until soft, stirring occasionally
Meanwhile place the ricotta in a bowl
Crumble the fetta by hand on top
Add the egg and stir to combine
When the vegetables are cooked, add to the mixture and combine well
Using a pastry brush and olive oil line the bottom of a baking dish with about six layers of phyllo, taking care to oil well between each layer
Add the cheese and vegetable mixture to the phyllo
Fold the phyllo over the mixture and cover with several layers of phyllo brushing with oil between each layer
Fold in the edges and oil the top layer
Sprinkle with black sesame seeds
With a sharp knife cut the top of the pie into desired portions. DO NOT cut through the bottom of the pie
Cook for 45 minutes in 180c oven until top is crisp and golden
Leave to rest for 2-3 minutes after cooking
Then with a sharp knife cut the portions through to the bottom of the pie.



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