Doc V's Healthy Kitchen

A plate filled with a diversity of starters is my top choice. It’s more work in advance, but more pleasure at the table.

I love to spend time in the kitchen, especially on a Sunday morning. Our weekend dinner is probably more ‘elegant’ than a meal during the week.

Cookies or keftedes with courgettes, grilled corn, a stew with bell pepper, tomatoes and mozzarella ( or feta) and patatas bravas with aioli seem an awesome combination to me.

For the stew, chop 8 small sweet pointed bell peppers (approximately 400 grams), 1 chili, 1 red onion. Put in an oven dish. Spread 1 table spoon of dried oregano, salt and a drizzle of olive oil. Bake in the oven at 200° for 20 minutes. Stir halfway. Chop 300-400 grams of cherry tomatoes. Add to the bell peppers. Stir. Bake for another 20 minutes. Stir halfway. Allow to rest. Taste, add pepper and salt.

Wash 400 grams of courgettes. Grate roughly. Add a large pinch of salt. Set aside for 30 minutes. Drain to remove liquid as much as possible. Put in a bowl. Add 2 teaspoon of ground cumin seeds, 2 chopped garlic cloves, a table spoon of chopped fresh mint leaves, 1 egg, 2 table spoons of chickpea flour and 2 table spoons of selfraising flour. Mix, add extra flour if needed. Taste, add pepper and salt. Put a sheet of baking paper on an oven dish. Brush some oil on the paper. Create equal sized cookies. Bake in the oven at 200° for 20 minutes. Turn halfway. Set aside.

Wash 2 large potatoes. Chop in cubes. Heat a pan with water, 2 bay leaves, 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds, salt and 1/2 teaspoon of paprika powder. Once boiling, add the potatoes and boil for 5-7 minutes. Drain. Set aside. Mix 70 ml of mayonnaise with 1 teaspoon of concentrated tomato puree, 2 teaspoons of red wine vinegar, 2 chopped garlic cloves, a large pinch of Chipotle, a pinch of paprika powder. Mix. Taste, add some pepper. Store in the fridge.

Cook the corn in salted water, until almost tender. Drain. Put in an oven dish. Chop 1 table spoon of fresh rosemary and 2 garlic cloves. Cut the corn in halves. Mix with the herbal mixture and some olive oil. Set aside.

Enjoy a lazy Sunday afternoon. Sorry for those people working on a Sunday ( PS Iris too).

Heat the oven at 200° 30-40 minutes before dinner. Spread the potatoes in an:oven dish. Mix with a drizzle of olive oil. No need to use extra herbs because the potatoes have absorbed already lots of flavor. Bake in the oven until crispy. Turn now and again.

Spread 200 grams of mozzarella cubes on the paprika stew. Spread some dried oregano.Bake in the same oven for 20 minutes, until hot and cheesy.

Bake the corn in the same oven for 20 minutes. Turn halfway.

Serve the courgettes at room temperature or reheat briefly in the same oven.

Serve everything together and don’t forget the aioli sauce for the potatoes. Enjoy Sunday evenings.