Spanakopita-Greek Spinach Pie with Feta

I love Mediterranean cuisine. Most of the Mediterranean dishes I tried can be made ahead of time and kept frozen for later use. If you make this as a family, as we do, it would provide you with some excellent bonding time too. You can share the work and do it in an assembly line fashion, while talking to each other.
Typically this Greek snack is made in the triangle form (like the Indian Samosas), or made in a pan and cut into squares (like Baklava or Lasagna). But  I made it into the roll form as it is easier to make and eat.

Recipe adapted: greekfood.about.com
Ingredients:
1 lb spinach, chopped (I used  frozen, thawed and squeezed out of all water)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large onions, diced
1 bunches green onions, diced (incl. 4 inches green)
1/4cup parsley, chopped
1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped (substitute 3 tbsp. dried)
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 green chilli minced fine (optional)
1 cup. feta cheese, crumbled
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup. ricotta or cottage cheese
1/8 cup butter, melted
1/8 cup olive oil
18 sheets phyllo pastry
Method:
Wash and drain the chopped spinach very well. If using frozen spinach, thaw completely and squeeze out excess water. Spinach should be dry.
Heat the olive oil in a deep saute pan or large dutch oven. Saute the onions and green onions until tender. Add the spinach, parsley,chilli and dill and cook for 5 to 10 minutes until the spinach is wilted and heated through. Add the nutmeg and season with salt and pepper.
If using frozen spinach, you will want to cook until excess moisture evaporates. Spinach mixture should be on the dry side.
Remove from heat and set the spinach aside to cool.In a large mixing bowl, combine the feta, eggs, and ricotta (cottage) cheese. Add the cooled spinach mixture and mix until combined.Combine the melted butter with the olive oil in a bowl. Carefully remove the Phyllo roll from the plastic sleeve.Take one sheet at a time,to prevent the rest from drying, cover with wax paper and a damp paper towel while working with the other.Fold the phyllo sheet length wise thrice to to get a three-fold rectangular piece.Apply the melted butter and olive oil mix well using a brush. Place  about one or two tablespoon of spinach mix at one end of the prepared phyllo sheet and roll the sheet with the filling inside into a almost tight roll. Place this on a baking sheet with the seem side down. Brush a little of butter olive oil mix on top of the roll.Repeat with the rest of the sheets.Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven until the pita turns a deep golden brown. If the pita is frozen when you put it in the oven, you will need approximately 45 minutes cooking time. If fresh, plan for approximately 20 minutes of cooking time.

Popeye Pie

We mothers know how difficult it is to make our little ones have some veggies. When Aishwarya was small, Popeye was a big help in getting some greens into her mouth. She used to love that program so much that she used to eat spinach with no complaints. And thanks to that, she still continues to love spinach in whatever form. So when I came across this recipe  with her childhood hero's name, and with spinach as the main ingredient, I never had a second thought in trying this out. And guess what, this turned out to be quite a hit.

Ingredients:
20 oz. spinach, chopped (I used frozen)
2 tbs. olive oil, divided
1 tbs. butter, melted
1 large onions (about 3 cups), diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
4oz. feta cheese, crumbled
2eggs, lightly beaten
4 oz. cottage cheese
1/2 lb. phyllo pastry sheets, thawed
Method:
Saute onions in 2 tbsp.olive oil until lightly golden. Add garlic and cook an additional 2 minutes. If using frozen spinach, squeeze as much moisture out of thawed spinach as possible and then separate the clumps. Stir in spinach and all herbs and spices into the onions and cook out all remaining moisture. Remove the spinach mixture from the heat and taste it. It should taste spicy but the salt should be on the lower side as the feta cheese will add additional saltiness.
Once the mixture cools slightly, stir in the eggs and cheeses. Line one 9x13 pan with aluminum foil and  combine remaining oil and butter. Lightly brush the bottom of  the foil-lined pan with fat mixture. Cut the phyllo sheets to fit your pan and layer 1/2 of the sheets into the pan, brushing every 3rd layer with the oil/butter mix.  Put the spinach mixture and  press firmly into a solid layer. Top with remaining phyllo sheets, again brushing every 3rd layer with butter and oil.  Place pan in the freezer for 10 minutes. Remove pie from freezer and (cut only through the top layer of phyllo, dividing the pan into 6 sections). I forgot this step when baking this but, this will make it easier to make clean cuts later.
Bake the  pie at 350 for 45-60 minutes or until top layer of phyllo is browned.
If you want you can freeze the pie  and  bake without thawing at 350 for 60-90 minutes.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

For this month's Blog Hop Wednesday by Radhika,  I am paired with Princy. This was a rather busy week for me so I was on the look out for an easy  dish to try out and when I saw this  I didn't have to think twice before trying it. As usual  I tweaked a bit and instead of the plain version I thought of going for the the roasted red pepper one as the weather was unusually chilly today and I wanted something to lift my spirits up.  The end product was this yummy and healthy dip.

Ingredients:
1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans,rinsed and drained
1 (4 ounce) jar roasted red peppers or home made
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons tahini
2 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoon sour cream
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoon Olive Oil
Method:
Puree the chickpeas, red peppers, lemon juice, tahini, garlic, cumin, cayenne, olive oil and salt in an electric blender or food processor.  Process, using long pulses, until the mixture is fairly smooth, and slightly fluffy. Make sure to scrape the mixture off the sides of the food processor or blender in between pulses. Transfer to a serving bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Sprinkle the hummus with the chopped parsley before serving.
Sending this over to

and Priya's The Big Chutney Chow Down

Mediterranean Pizza

Friday nights are pizza nights for us. But the last Friday,  when I checked my refrigerator, I realized that I had so much of left-overs from the New Year celebrations that I decided to make it a left-over Friday instead! So to make up for that (and owing to the persistent demands of the pizza lovers in my family), I ended up making this pizza today. As it was a Sunday, I wanted to make something simple, easy, yet delicious; and this was the perfect choice.

Serves: 3-4
Ingredients:
Crust Ingredients:
3/4 cup water (110-115 degrees, preferably)
1 teaspoon sugar
2 Tablespoons butter, melted or very softened
2 1/2 cups flour
1 Tablespoon yeast
Toppings:
Crumbled feta cheese
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Minced Parsley
Red onion, sliced
Black olives, chopped
Sliced tomato
Chilli flakes
Dried oregano
Olive oil, to top

Method:
Proof the yeast by mixing with lukewarm water and sugar.Add butter and flour,knead for  6-8 minutes, or until dough is smooth and elastic. Set dough in  a bowl and grease the top. Cover with a towel and set in a warm place to rise for about 45 minutes. After dough has risen the first time, punch down and knead until air bubbles are removed.
Liberally butter a 16-inch round pizza pan, and press dough onto pan.  Then top with veggies and cheeses of your choice. Let the dough rise for 15-20 minutes (as the oven heats up).
Place pizza in oven and turn heat to 400 degrees. Bake for 10 minutes; rotate crust and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes or until top is browned. (Be sure to watch so it doesn't burn; every oven is different!)
 When pizza is browned, turn off heat and open oven door. Leave pizza in oven until ready to serve.

Ash-e Mast

Ash-e Mast is a lightly spiced yogurt based thick soup with herbs,white rice,chick peas with addition of meat and/or vegetables. I decided to make this as I wanted to make a Persian dish that is a little spicy and that would suit the cold winter weather. My search for such a dish ended up on My Persian Kitchen, and by the looks of it, I knew it would be something my family would love to try out. Of course, as usual I substituted some of the ingredients with my own and came up with this modified version of the recipe.
Ingredients
2 onions
4 cloves garlic
2 cups soya granules
1 egg
1/2 cup chickpeas, dried
1/3 cup rice
1 bunch parsley, equivalent to 4 cups
1 bunch cilantro, equivalent to 3 cups
1 bunch mint, equivalent to 2 cups
1 bunch green onions or chives
1/4 + 1/8 tsp turmeric
yogurt
Method:
Saute one of the onions and 3 garlic cloves until translucent. Add 1/4 tsp turmeric and saute for another minute. Add 4 cups of water, a dash of salt and add chickpeas. cover and cook for one hour.If using a pressure cooker for 20 minutes.
In the mean time, puree the second onion along with one clove of garlic.Add 1/8 tsp turmeric, salt and pepper.Mix well together. Add soya granules and an egg and mix it all well.
Make little balls with the above mixture about the size of a cherry.
Add rice to the chickpeas along with 3 cup of vegetable broth (or water). Cook for 15 minutes more.If using a pressure cooker cook for another 8 minutes.
Rough chop your herbs.
Add soya balls to the chickpeas and rice.  Add salt & pepper to adjust seasoning.
Add herbs cover and cook for 5 minutes till the soya balls are cooked on  medium. While cooking make sure to stir the pot every so often to make sure that the bottom doesn’t stick.  Further adjust seasoning if needed.

Once the Ash-e(soup) is ready you can either add 2 cups of yogurt to the pot or a dollop of yogurt to each  bowl.  If you are adding the yogurt to the pot, let it warm through gently making sure it does not boil. Sending this over to A.W.E.D- Iranian by DK, hosted by Sweet Artichoke.

Matzo (Matza) Bread

Yesterday being Passover, I baked the Matzo(or Matza) bread - the unleavened bread specialty for the Jewish festival. At our home we try to celebrate the festivals of all religions, at least in cooking.
Serves 8
Ingredients:
All purpose flour (maida) - 2 1/4 cup
Butter - 3/4 cup (straight from the freezer)
Egg - 1 no
Milk - 1/2 cup
Onion powder - 1/2 tbs
Salt - 1/2 tbs
Chilli powder - 1/8 tsp (optional)

Method:

1. Slice the butter to thin pieces
2. Put the butter and the all purpose flour in the food processor and blend it well till it becomes the consistency of bread crumbs
3. Mix the onion powder, chilli powder and salt into the milk
4. Beat the egg well and add this to the above
5. Now add the above liquid mix to the flour-butter mix and make it into a dough
6. Divide this into two balls and roll it into a 1/4 inch thick slabs using a rolling pin
7. Cut this into small pieces and transfer to a cookie sheet
8. Prick the surface of the bread with a fork so that it doesn't rise
9. Heat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and  bake for 10-12 minutes or till it starts to turn golden.
10. Cool it

This tastes good as such or you can have this with a dip of your choice.

Baklava

As per Wikedpedia, the history of baklava is not well-documented. It has been claimed by many ethnic groups, but there is strong evidence that it is of Central Asian Turkic origin, with its current form being developed in the imperial kitchens of the Topkapı Palace.
But one thing that I sure of is that its a tasty treat and not that hard to make by yourself.This makes three dozen
Ingredients:
1 (16 ounce) package phyllo dough
1 pound chopped nuts(I almost ground it to a bread crumb consistency - used a mix of pistachios and almonds)
1 cup butter(melted)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup water
1 cup  sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cloves
a dash of nutmeg
1/2 cup honey
1tsp lemon juice
Method:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9x13 inch pan.
Grind the nuts and toss it with cinnamon. Set aside. Unroll phyllo dough. Cut whole stack in half to fit pan. Cover phyllo with a dampened cloth to keep from drying out as you work. Place two sheets of dough in pan, butter thoroughly using a pastry brush. Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered. Sprinkle 2 - 3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top. Top with two sheets of dough, butter, nuts, layering as you go. The top layer should be about 6 - 8 sheets deep.
Using a sharp knife cut into diamond or square shapes. See that the cut is not all the way to the bottom of the pan. You may cut into 4 long rows and the make diagonal cuts. Bake for about 30 minutes. Bake until baklava is golden and crisp.
Make syrup while baklava is being baked. Boil sugar ,water and cloves until sugar is melted and to a one thread consistency. Add vanilla,lemon juice and honey.
Remove baklava from oven and immediately pour the syrup over it. It is better to cool down the syrup prior to pouring. Let it cool.You can garnish it with more powdered nuts and nutmeg. Cut the baklava all the way to the bottom.  Serve in cupcake liners. This tastes best the next day. Leave it uncovered as it gets soggy if it is wrapped up.

  "lezzetli baklava"

Source: Allrecipes