feta

yellow bell peppers stuffed with mung bean, feta and fresh herbs

by Stevie on January 12, 2012

I always think of stuffed veggies as an elegant treat. When I was younger, they mystified me. How in the world did anyone figure out how to fill these delectable creations just right? Now that I’m officially “middle aged” and thus more experienced in the kitchen, the question no longer interests me. Instead, I’m quite comfortable improvising.

yellow bell peppers stuffed with mung bean, feta and fresh herbs

yellow bell peppers stuffed with mung bean, feta and fresh herbs

And that is what these mung bean filled peppers are all about. I had the ingredients at home already and sort of made the recipe up as I went along. I liked it so well, that I kept snacking on the filling while I was preparing the dish. Mmmm.

Typically, poblanos are my favorite pepper to stuff, as I prefer their earthy, smoky flavors over the plain sweet bell peppers. Mine were too tiny for that. So instead I chopped one up and sautéed it to bring those tastes to the dish.

bake any remaining filling in ramekins for an attractive presentation

bake any remaining filling in ramekins for an attractive presentation

my big jug of dried green mung beans

my big jug of dried green mung beans

yellow bell peppers stuffed with mung bean, feta and fresh herbs

4 to 6 medium to large yellow bell peppers
3 tbsp olive oil plus more
1 poblano pepper; stems, ribs and seeds removed; chopped fine
2 pieces green garlic, green and white parts, chopped fine
4 scallions, green and white parts, chopped fine
1 small bunch Italian parsley, chopped fine
1 small bunch mint, chopped fine
3 cups prepared mung beans
½ lb. French feta or similar that will melt easily
2 tbsp pignioli nuts
12 kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
Salt and black pepper to taste
Pinch of cayenne

I usually start with dry mung beans. This time, I had some that I’d already prepared, frozen and awaiting this delicious recipe. These lovely beans don’t require soaking. Just boil in water for about 30 to 45 minutes. That’s it. They should be completely drained before using here.

To prepare yellow bell peppers for stuffing, remove tops and interior seeds and ribs with a paring knife.
Steam for ten minutes then rinse to cool.

Pre heat oven to 350F.

In a large skillet, add olive oil then sauté green garlic, scallion, chopped poblano pepper and a pinch of salt for a few minutes until they soften. Add mung bean, cover and warm through. Add feta, mint, parsley, pignoli, olives and mix everything together. Adjust salt and add black pepper. Remember for the filling to taste right with the unsalted peppers, it should be slightly salty on its own.

Gently fill yellow bell peppers with mung bean mix and place on a baking dish. If you have extra filling (like I did) you can bake that in ramekins for an elegant presentation, or in any baking dish. Finish with some more olive oil and dust the filled peppers with cayenne.

Bake about 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. We had ours with plain basmati rice.

{ 4 comments }

rustic pizza with feta, heirloom cherry tomatoes, kalamata and marinara + invitation to Julia Child croissant challenge

by Stevie on August 25, 2011

I’ve been out of town at the World Science Fiction Convention in Reno. It was really fun, but I’ve fallen dreadfully behind with you, my fellow food bloggers. So this week, as I re-adjust to the “real world” again, I’m scrambling to get on the ball. To that end, I’m pleased, no, thrilled to announce a September cooking challenge to any and all of you. Heavenly from donuts to delirium and I agreed to try the elegant but surely prone to disaster Julia Child recipe for butter croissants. Follow this link for the recipe.

rustic pizza with feta, heirloom cherry tomatoes, kalamata and marinara

rustic pizza with feta, heirloom cherry tomatoes, kalamata and marinara

The recent Ottolenghi cheesecake challenge was a wild success and amazingly fun. That one was quite specific however. Here, should you be daring enough, you can tinker with the croissant recipe to your heart’s content. I’m already fantasizing about stuffing mine with tropical fruit and mascarpone. All you need do is contact Heavenly or me to let us know that you’re on board. Make the recipe and publish it on your blog on September 19, 2011. We’ll send you a list of links of other participants a few days before for you to add to your post. C’est tout! I do hope all of you try this with us. The more, the merrier.

Today’s rustic pizza doesn’t have a thing to do with Julia Child or butter croissants. But it’s one that I’ve been thinking of trying since July when I saw it posted on Karen’s wonderful The Gourmet Food Blog. Her pizza tri-colore was stunning! I was particularly impressed with her gorgeous crust.

chilly and overcast Legion of Honor Museum in San Francisco

chilly and overcast Legion of Honor Museum in San Francisco last Sunday

I tried mine on a very cool foggy San Francisco day—you could say almost winter-like weather (I know most of you are suffering over the record-breaking temperatures everywhere, but it has been a might cold in the City by the Bay.) I think that affected my final product. My dough rose, but remained fairly dense, even after I doubled the time. It had a firm texture that really held onto the heavy toppings. It reminded me of Chicago style pizza. I added heirloom cherry tomatoes, feta, Kalamata olives, and marinara sauce. I like a lot of toppings.

Also, I baked mine on our new, amazing-because-you-can-actually-wash-it-with-soap-and-water coated pizza stone! Gone are the days of crusty gross pizza stones growing funk in my oven. Hurrah! It was twice as expensive as the other kind of uncoated stone, but so worth it.

our glorious new washable pizza stone

our glorious new washable pizza stone

rustic pizza with feta, heirloom cherry tomatoes, Kalamata and marinara

for toppings:

½ cup feta cheese
1 cup heirloom cherry tomatoes, in halves
12 kalamata olives in halves
2 tbps. Parmesan
Small bunch fresh basil leaves
Olive oil
Plus some coarse corn meal to move pizza

for marinara:

14 oz. Diced canned tomatoes with juice
1 clove garlic, minced
½ small onion, finely chopped
3 tbsp. Olive oil
1 tsp. Dried oregano
1 bay leaf
½ tsp salt
crushed red and black pepper to taste

Prepare pizza dough from Karen’s recipe.

Pre-heat oven to 425F with pizza stone inside.

In a small saucepan, add 3 tbsp. olive oil, garlic, onion and salt on high heat. Cook for a few minutes. Add remaining marinara ingredients. Bring to boil then reduce heat to rapid simmer to reduce liquid by at least half. Discard bay leaf.

Shape pizza dough. Prepare a board with some corn meal. Place dough on top of corn meal. Spread with marinara sauce. Sprinkle with feta, then heirloom cherry tomatoes, Kalamata olives and parmesan. Gently slide onto pizza stone. Bake 15 to 20 minutes until crust becomes golden.

Remove from oven then drizzle with some olive oil and finally toss basil leaves on top.

{ 5 comments }

purslane feta pasta with fresh herbs

by Heguiberto on July 22, 2010

purslane feta pasta with fresh herbs

This recipe is a variation of spring onion, chive and feta pasta. I love the original. We have this dish at least once or twice a month. It’s very simple to make: you can whip it together in less than 20 minutes, all prep included.

This time around I added fresh oregano and purslane as I had them on hand. I love purslane and never seem to eat enough of it.

Purslane has a sweet and sour flavor. It has an enjoyably slippery texture in the mouth which makes it fun eating. I only see it for sale in the summer, so it must be a seasonal thing. I got mine at at the Alemany Farmers Market but I’ve seen it at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market as well as at the Mexican market in the Mission District, here in San Francisco.

purslane

purslane feta pasta with fresh herbs

1 medium bunch purslane, rinsed and roughly chopped, stems included
1 bunch fresh chives, rinsed and chopped fine
Leaves from 5 sprigs of fresh oregano
4 spring onions, rinsed with roots removed, green and white parts coarsely chopped
½ lb. good French sheep’s milk feta, cut into cubes
salt and black pepper to taste
½ cup olive oil
¼ tsp. crushed red pepper
12 kalamata olives, pitted and cut in halves
1 package long pasta, cooked per package directions
¾ cup water from cooked pasta reserved

Throw everything into a large pasta dish while pasta cooks.

Cook pasta per package instructions. Drain, reserving some of the hot water.

Place hot pasta on top of all ingredients, followed by the hot water and toss to combine. The feta cheese will melt a bit getting a creamy texture. If necessary crush some of the cubes with the back of a spoon and toss with the juices at the bottom of the bowl. Let it sit for a couple of minutes for flavors to marry. Drizzle a bit more of extra virgin olive on top before serving. It’s delicious!

moody San Francisco skyline with the fog rolling across downtown

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spaghetti with tomato, chipotle in adobo, mushroom sauce

by Stevie on April 23, 2010

I’ve always struggled with chipotle in adobo simply because even if you use a tiny can, there are far more peppers than can easily fit in a single recipe. Since we don’t really think about it much, in the past, the remaining peppers have gone to waste. But that’s not a green practice, and we’re trying to be more Earth-conscious, so here we are.

spaghetti with tomato, chipotle in adobo, mushroom sauce

This is a variation of Roman style tomato pasta sauce using chipotle in adobo instead of dried red pepperoncini. The chipotle gives the dish more of a smoky sweet flavor which I really enjoy. This sauce sort of reminds me of linguine with harissa, chick pea, mushroom and spinach. The heat is different though.

Frankly, we’ve been experimenting with chipotle in adobo. The other day, Hegui made an amazing black bean soup and we’ve tried it in some less successful ways lately, too, which we didn’t bother to publish here. If you have any favorite recipes with chipotle in adobo, get in touch!

key ingredients for tomato, chipotle in adobo, mushroom sauce

Spaghetti with Tomato, Chipotle in Adobo, Mushroom Sauce

1 28oz. can diced tomatoes
4 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
4 tbsp. olive oil
2 cups mushrooms, cut to bite sized pieces
2 bay leaves
2 chipotle in adobo, minced
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, sliced in thin strips
1 tsp dried oregano
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
1 lb. package spaghetti or similar
Soft goat cheese (or feta) as garnish
Finishing olive oil for garnish

Begin boiling a large pot of water to cook pasta before starting sauce.

Sauté mushrooms in 2 tbsp olive oil with a pinch of salt in a deep skillet until they have browned and released some of their juice. Set aside.

In same skillet, add remaining olive oil, garlic and chipotle in abodo. Sauté for a minute or so until garlic becomes fragrant. Add diced tomato, sun dried tomato, bay leaves, oregano and salt and black pepper to taste. Cover and bring to boil then lower to simmer while pasta is cooking.

Just before tossing with pasta, remove garlic cloves and bay leaves from sauce. Add cooked mushrooms to sauce and stir. Toss cooked spaghetti in sauce. Pour into a serving bowl. Garnish with cheese and finishing oil. Enjoy!

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pressure steamed yellow beet salad

by Heguiberto on April 21, 2010

Let me start today by thanking both my sisters, Ana and Tinha, for these two wonderful pressure cookers, in different sizes, that they got for us as gifts when we were in Brazil in January. They work perfectly! And they’re a lot easier to operate than our last one. Thus far, I’ve used them to cook beans, lentils, brown rice, other miscellaneous things, and lately, beets. I just can’t live without a pressure cooker, and now I don’t have to anymore. Even Steven has gotten over his performance anxiety and used them a few times. That’s progress.

pressure steamed yellow beet salad

Normally I roast beets in the oven because it brings out a lot of flavor and sweetness. But it takes time. When I made these beautiful organic yellow beets, I was in a hurry. So instead of the usual, I “pressure steamed” them. I think the steaming retains the flavor more than boiling and it prevents vitamins and other goodness from leeching into the cooking water. All I did was put a metal steaming basket in the pressure cooker then filled it with a thin layer of about a cup of water just below where I placed the raw beets. Twelve minutes later, they were ready.

Pressure Steamed Yellow Beet Salad

3-4 large yellow beets
1 chopped scallion
3 tbsp crumbled Greek feta cheese
3 tbsp extra virgin arbequina olive oil
Juice of 1 lime
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Greek oregano to taste (I used dried but if you have fresh, that’s even better)

our new pressure cookers in use!

Scrub clean raw beets and pressure steam as above. Allow to cool completely. Cut into slices about ½ to ¼ inch thick.

Lay beet slices flat on a serving platter. Scatter beets with feta crumbles, then sprinkle with scallion, salt, pepper and oregano. Drizzle with lime juice and olive oil. Don’t stir or toss. You’ll spoil the presentation.

This salad should entice your taste buds with all of the individual flavors of each ingredient; first with sweet, salty, sour, herby and earthy aromas and tastes; and then with all of them combined. So simple and elegant! We both love it!

By the way, today is weirdcombinations’ first anniversary! Thanks to all our readers for their continued support! Heguiberto and Stevie

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sassy smoky spicy chipotle black bean soup

by Heguiberto on April 16, 2010

sassy smoky spicy chipotle black bean soup and salad

Last Saturday we both were too tired to prepare dinner but did not feel like going out or ordering in either. Plus we wanted to stay home to watch the classic Oscar-winning blockbuster, ‘From Here to Eternity.’ Neither of us had seen it before. Can you imagine?!? I particularly wanted to see that famous shot of Debora Kerr and Burt Lancaster making out on the beach while the waves caress their bodies… Wow! That’s Hollywood!

We had a bunch of stuff in the fridge but I couldn’t figure out what to make. Steven kept giving me ideas that I kept promptly rejecting. Then he hit me with the inscrutable, “You know what? I’m going to take the beast out. I am sure you can come up with something for dinner.”

After opening and closing the pantry several times, almost in a panic, I finally settled for a couple of cans of black beans and a container of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. I ended up making a simple and flavorful black bean soup that took no more than 15 minutes to prepare. Steven loved it. So did I. The chipotle pepper gave this soup a new dimension, sort of a sassy, smoky, spicy, earthy flavor.

For those not familiar with chipotle pepper, these are jalapeño peppers that have been dried, smoked and cooked in a sauce (adobo) with spices including: tomato, cumin, oregano, other types of chili, and vinegar. You can find it at Mexican groceries like the ones we go to here in San Francisco in the Mission District.

Sassy Smoky Spicy Chipotle Black Bean Soup

2 cans of black beans
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce along with some extra sauce
3 cloves of garlic minced
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
½ cup water
½ tsp cumin
1 cup canned diced tomatoes with juices plus 2 tbsp
crumbled feta cheese
Freshly ground pepper
Kosher salt if needed. I didn’t add any.

Heat olive oil in a deep pan. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant. Add beans with liquid from cans, water, diced tomatoes, pepper, cumin and chipotle. Bring to a boil. Reduce temperature to medium. Using a stick blender, blend until smooth. Serve it topped with one tablespoon of diced tomatoes, some crumbled feta and a drizzle of olive oil.

I served this soup with a mix salad of mache, red endive and new sweet onion tossed with a simple vinaigrette dressing made with olive oil, salt, pepper, lime juice, red wine vinegar. It was a great meal.

As for the famous 8 academy award winning movie, it was a bit predictable: macho culture, World War 2 and bombing of Pearl Harbor, excessive drinking and violence… All I can say is OVERRATED!

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Kalamata olives with feta cheese

by Heguiberto on January 4, 2010

This is an ultra simple, yet elegant appetizer or garnish. You can literally throw it together in about thirty seconds. It goes well with Napa cabbage tabouli or most any Greek, Middle Eastern or Mediterranean style dishes. If you cut a large slab of feta and place it in an attractive dish, it will wow your guests every time.

kalamata with feta

kalamata olives with feta

Kalamata Olives with Feta Cheese

8 to 10 Kalamata olives
Large slice soft Feta cheese
Pinch of dried Greek oregano
Splash of extra virgin olive oil

Place feta on a dish. Sprinkle with oregano. Drizzle with olive oil. Toss olives around cheese and serve. We ate this with Napa cabbage tabouli.

{ 3 comments }

feta zucchini borek

by Heguiberto on July 21, 2009

finished feta zucchini borek

finished feta zucchini borek

For the Macedonian party we had the other day I made borek. This classic dish also goes by börek or burek depending on the nationality of origin. Aleks introduced me to it the last time we went over for BBQ at his place and I fell in love with it. It was lightly pan fried and had a filling made with feta cheese, leek and spinach…scrumptious flavors! Borek and spanakopita are sort of similar in the way they are made. Aleks told me borek normally requires a filo pastry that is a littler thicker than the filo we find in shops here. I tried to buy the thick one but could not find it. I ended up using the regular filo dough in my borek recipe. It worked out pretty well. Filo dough is very fragile and dries out fast once the package has been opened. So do follow the instructions on the box regarding handling those sheets!

For this recipe I use about 30 sheets. That corresponds to about one box. You may lose some of them during the borek assembly process due to tearing or breakage. That’s o.k. By the way did I mention that this is super labor intensive? It is! Also I needed an assistant for the actual stuffing and rolling of the borek because it was very messy.

Feta Zucchini Borek

Ingredients:

1 box of filo sheets brought to room temperature
4 grated zucchinis or about 5-6 cups
1/3 cup of chopped fresh dill
2/3 cup good feta cheese in crumbles
1 tbsp Hungarian paprika
A good pinch of cayenne pepper (depending on how spicy you like it)
Red pepper flakes to taste
½ tbsp freshly ground black pepper
½ tbsp Kosher salt
1 whole egg, plus 1 egg white lightly beaten
½ cup low fat plain yogurt
4 tbsp olive oil

brushing yogurt dressing over borek prior to baking

brushing yogurt dressing over borek prior to baking

How to:
Add to a bowl grated zucchini, dill, feta cheese, paprika, cayenne, red pepper flakes, black pepper and salt. Mix with a spatula till incorporated. Taste and adjust flavors if necessary. Add egg. Mix again. Let mixture rest for approximately 20 minutes at room temperature. Transfer zucchini mixture to a strainer and squish out as much juice as you can. Reserve about ½ to ¾ cups of extracted zucchini juice. To the reserved juice, mix in yogurt and olive oil.

Pre-heat the oven to 375F. Grease a large cookie tray with olive oil.

To make the borek, think as if you were about to roll a big cigar. Lay 1 filo sheet on your kitchen counter, longer side facing you. Quickly brush it with yogurt mixture. Lay another filo sheet on top of the first. Brush it again with more of the yogurt mixture. Place a small amount of the zucchini filling on one long end of the brushed filo (you should have about 7 portions) Roll it into a long tube or cigar. Transfer the cigar to your cookie tray and roll it in such a way to take a shape of an electrical coil. Repeat the process another until you run out of filling. For each additional roll, wrap it around the center, first one to make a large wheel shape. After the borek is completely formed, pour/brush the remaining yougurt mixture over the top. Drizzle a little more olive oil over the finished pie.

Bake until golden brown, about 45 to 55 minutes. Remove from oven. Let it cool. Transfer to a serving platter, cut and serve.

Our friend Daniel liked it so much that he said he could eat this borek for breakfast, lunch and dinner without ever getting tired of it. I take it as a compliment! Cheers.

serving borek family style

serving borek family style

recovering from making the feta zucchini borek

recovering from making the feta zucchini borek

–

Charles de Gaulle – “The better I get to know men, the more I find myself loving dogs.”

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spring onion, chive and feta pasta

June 27, 2009

This recipe is a variation of one I found in Marcella Hazan’s cookbook, “Marcella Cucina.” Hers calls for chive but no spring onion or olives. When I first tried making this in Astoria, I couldn’t find chive easily but spring onion was quite abundant. Spring onion alone is a little too oniony but chive alone [...]

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