Doc V's Healthy Kitchen

Mindfulness is a general attitude. It can be sitting still and reflecting or being busy and focusing. I’m so fortunate to have lots of hobbies in which I can practice this ‘mind’ exercise. As you already found out, cooking is one of those mindful activities. There is the everyday cooking, and there is the ‘special’ cooking. It all starts with thinking about the menu, preparing the shopping list. For a dinner with guests, whether there will be only 1, 4, 10 or more, it helps to be prepared as much as possible. The theme of tonight is Greek food. We decided to have this dinner while writing our Italian living will ( il biotestamento) document and making it ready for official registration.

I prefer to serve a combined appetizers/first course when having the aperitif.Knowing myself, I love to prepare a variety of little dishes ( different colors, different flavors and mostly vegetarian). To avoid any misunderstanding I announce on time that there is more to come and that empty containers are available🙃.

What’s on the menu today : lagana with mavromatika, tzatziki, mini spanakopita Let’s pretend we are on a Greek island…, melitzanosalata, pantzarosalata Mezze night followed by yiouvetsi http://timetoenjoygreekfoodwith chicken and Greek style salad, with local ice-cream accompanied by pastelli🤩.

What recipe I still owe you? The ‘lagana’ bread, the ‘mavromatika’ which is a dish based on black eyed peas, the ‘melitzanosalata’ or eggplant puree and the fabulous sesame pistachio cookies or ‘pastelli’.

The LAGANA is a traditional Greek bread originally made for a special, yearly occasion, the kite flying, but nobody will stop you if you make it on another moment.

Crumble 15 grams of fresh yeast in 200 ml of lukewarm water. Add a pinch of sugar. Mix with a wooden spoon and allow to bubble. Add 400 grams of manitoba, 1/2 tea spoon of salt, 4 table spoons of olive oil. Mix with a wooden spoon. Knead for 5-6 minutes. Cover with cling film and allow to rise for 2 1/2 hours, until the volume has doubled. Cover a baking tray with baking paper. Spread the dough. Stretch it with your hands until you get a rectangular shape of approximately 24×32 cm with a thickness of approximately 8 mm. Use your fingers to make holes in the dough. Cover again for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven at 200°. Mix 1 table spoon of bread flour with 1/2 table spoon of olive oil and a large pinch of salt. Brush on the bread. Spread 1 1/2 table spoon of sesame seeds on the bread. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until almost ready. Cool down. Reheat for 5-10 minutes before dinner time.

MAVROMATIKA is a plate of black eyed peas with lentils and fresh herbs. It can be served warm or at room temperature. Start this recipe the day before. Put 125 grams of black eyed peas in a large amount of cold water for 1 night. Rinse the following day. Put back in the pan. Cover with cold water. Allow to cook. Drain and rinse with cold water. Put back in the pan. Add water, a red onion halved, 2 peeled garlic cloves and some salt. Allow to simmer for approximately 40-50 minutes. Add a handful of black ( or other) lentils. Continue to cook for another 10-15 minutes, until lentils and black eyed peas are al dente. Drain. Remove the onion. Cool down. Add a large drizzle of olive oil, chopped fresh parsley, 1 chopped spring onion, 1 table spoon of chopped fresh dill. Taste, add pepper and salt.

MELITZANOSALATA is a tasty eggplant puree. Use the hot oven for all vegetables to be roasted, the beetroot, the eggplant and even a celery for another dinner. Cut 2 medium sized eggplant on several sides. Put in an oven dish. Roast for 45-60 minutes in the oven at 200°. Turn regularly. Once soft and smoked, cool down. Remove the skin and drain to remove the excess of liquid. Heat a pan. Add some olive oil. Bake 1 small chopped red onion, 2 chopped garlic cloves. Bake and stir. Add 1 small, skinless, chopped tomato, 1 teaspoon of oregano, 1/2 teaspoon of paprika powder, pepper and salt. Allow to simmer for 10-15 min. Mix with the eggplant. Taste, add some lemon juice and extra pepper and salt if needed. Serve at room temperature with chopped fresh parsley.

To finish this dinner I bought a variety of ice-cream in our local gelateria. Together with PASTELLI it will be the perfect dessert. Put 125 grams of sesame seeds and 40grams of peeled pistachio in a dry pan. Roast. Cool down and set aside. Put 50grams of white sugar in the pan. Heat the pan and allow the sugar to melt. Add 4 table spoons of liquid honey. Mix quickly with the roasted nuts and seeds. Spread equally on a tray covered with baking paper until you obtain a rectangular shape of almost 5mm thickness. Wait a few minutes. Cut in cookies before it has hardened. Cool down.