Warm Zucchini and Tomato Salad, Greek Style

This dish is perfect for a summer lunch or dinner. Serve with a slice of good bread and a glass of white wine, followed by a bowl of strawberries... What else could one ask for? Oh yes, for it to cook fast. And it does: I counted exactly twelve minutes from the time I entered my kitchen to the moment I started eating!

For two people you need:

• 400g zucchini


• 300g cherry tomatoes


• 120g onion


• 2 garlic cloves


• ½ tsp dried oregano


• a handful of fresh parsley (or other herbs available)


• 150g feta cheese


• olive oil, salt, and black pepper to taste

This is how to make it:

1. Chop onion and garlic, and cut zucchini into cubes. Halve the tomatoes.

2. Heat a generous splash of olive oil in a large pan. Add onion and sauté 2 minutes, then add garlic and the zucchini cubes, and sauté over a medium heat until zucchini starts to gain some colour.

3. Now, add the tomatoes, salt, and pepper, and keep heating over a medium heat until the juices of the tomatoes start to flow. Let simmer a couple of minutes.

4. Take away from heat, add feta cubes and parsley. Sprinkle with some extra olive oil, salt, and pepper and serve right away! A slice of bread is obligatory to wipe that great sauce off the plate.

For a vegan version, replace the feta cheese with tofu – I would use Tofu Olive from Taifun.

 

A colorful vegetarian risotto, to brighten your winter evening

The colorful Baked Tomato Risotto with Green Pesto.

Vegetables yield very colorful dishes that play very well with those white china that you just bought. Here’s a dish that will make your dinner a super colorful experience.

This extremely tasty vegetarian risotto can be served “tel quel” or to accompany just about any grilled meat or fish. It takes some time to prepare this risotto due to inclusion of oven-baked tomatoes but it is definitely worth the wait - besides, it is super easy to prepare. You will separately prepare the risotto, the tomatoes, and the pesto. Finally we will combine the three when serving.

For four hungry people, you’ll need:

...for the risotto:
4 dl (1.6 US cups) risotto rice
1 medium-sized onion
white wine / chicken broth / vegetable stock
water (all in all, you’ll need about 9 dl or 3.8 US cups of liquids)
olive oil, salt, black pepper to taste

...for the oven-baked tomatoes:
about eight medium-sized tomatoes
salt, black pepper and olive oil
1 tsp sugar
rosemary/thyme if available

...for the pesto:
one bunch of basil, chopped
pine kernels, smashed
one medium-sized garlic clove, mashed
1 dl (0.4 US cups) grated Parmesan / Grana Padano cheese
salt and black pepper to taste
olive oil

Keep some basil leaves and Parmesan cheese aside to use when serving.

First, prepare the tomatoes. Cut them in slices, place on an oven pan covered with a baking sheet, and season generously with olive oil, salt, pepper, sugar, and rosemary/thyme. Bake in 175 degrees Celsius (350 F) during about one hour, or until the tomatoes are well-baked, even a bit dry (be careful not to burn them, though!).

Then, prepare the pesto: mix all the ingredients (except for the oil), and then add olive oil enough to make the mixture is easy to mix with a spoon.

Lastly, sauté the onion in a large frying pan with some olive oil, until golden. Then stir in the rice, and the stock/the wine. Let boil for a couple of minutes. Finally add the water, salt, and pepper, letting the rice cook until it is al dente. Make sure that your risotto is not too dry!

Serving: pour some risotto on each plate and top with a couple of tomato slices and a spoonful of pesto. Decorate with basil leaves and freshly grated Parmesan.

Enjoy with a glass of red!