Lemony Peas. A Quickie.

Tags

carrot, Greek, peas, potato

This is another traditional recipe from Greece. It’s also quick, easy and quite nutritious. I haven’t experimented with making it in the slow cooker (yet) but it’s so simple to make, I don’t even think it’s necessary to adapt it. This was another one of the meatless dishes I made during Holy Week and it went down a treat with The Mister. Peas are one of the few vegetables he eats, so I have to remember to make this more often!

Lemony Peas
Serves 2

What you’ll need
1/3 cup olive oil
½ onion, chopped
1 medium/large carrot, sliced
3 small/medium potatoes, cut into chunks (I cut each potato into 4 pieces)
500g frozen peas
1 large sprig fresh dill, finely chopped (about 2 ½ Tbs when chopped)
1 cup veg stock
½ cup water
Salt & pepper (I use lemon pepper)
¼ cup fresh lemon juice

What you do

1. Heat half the olive oil over medium heat in a large saucepan. Add onion and cook gently for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Don’t let it brown or stick.
2. Add sliced carrot, cook for 2 minutes stirring frequently.
3. Add potato pieces and cook for another 4 minutes.
4. Add frozen peas (no need to defrost). Turn the heat up to medium/high and stir to coat the peas with the oil. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring continuously.
5. Add stock, water, salt and pepper to taste, and dill. Stir. Bring to a boil.
6. When it starts to bubble turn the heat down to low and simmer for about 15 minutes, covered.
7. Add the rest of the olive oil and lemon juice. Cover and simmer for another 15 minutes, then take the lid off the pan and continue cooking till the veg becomes very soft and the liquid reduces and thickens a little (about another 10 minutes or so).
8. Serve with feta cheese, extra lemon juice if desired, and crusty bread (as always with Greek food!)

Enjoy!

Sorry this was a quickie post, I’ve been working on my new “branch” of On Top Of Spaghetti which is in Greek! You can check it out (er, if you speak Greek) by clicking on the link at the top of this page.

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Revithia from Sifnos (Traditional Chickpea Soup)

Tags

chickpeas, crockpot, garbanzo, revithia, slow cooker, soup

Antique German silver spoon on kind loan from The Collector

Well, it had to come to this.. me writing a post while waiting for the metro. Oops, now on the metro..! Lately it seems that time is running away from me, or rather sprinting away at top speed. Since my last post a couple of things have happened to keep me busy (a trip to a food & drink exhibition in England, burglars breaking into my flat, you know, everyday stuff) but mostly my energy is being sapped by The Day Job.

Anyway, yesterday I managed to go back to a recipe I tried a while ago. In my last post I mentioned trying something that turned out mediocre. Well, I fixed it! This time it’s good. And it’s ideal for this week as today is Holy Wednesday (for the Greek Orthodox Church) and we have decided to go meatless until Easter Sunday. Nice and traditional and a good opportunity to detox a little, with Revithia Soup from the beautiful island of Sifnos. Revithia is the Greek word for chickpeas or garbanzo beans. On Sifnos they cook the soup in clay pots that go in the oven overnight on a low temperature. So, guess where I cooked it? The slow cooker of course!!

I’ve tried cooking chickpeas in the slow cooker in the past, as I cook other types of beans, but the result wasn’t as nice as the tinned variety which has a lovely consistency. When I tried this recipe the first time, the soup was a little bland, but the actual beans were very nice. So I drained them and used them in a salad (the pretty picture below) and this gorgeous sandwich filling from Two Peas and Their Pod. This time round I thought I’d make a simple change and try it again as a soup. I substituted some of the water with veggie broth and it made all the difference. The soup turned out really tasty but it’s still nice and light, with a delicate flavor. If you make a big batch you can eat all the soup you want, then drain the rest of the beans and use them as you would the canned sort. Or divide them into cupfuls, stick them in plastic zip lock bags and freeze them for later. You could even keep the broth and use it in stews etc. How sensible is that?

Revithia from Sifnos (Traditional Chickpea Soup)
Serves 2 (generously)

What you’ll need
1 cup dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans) soaked overnight
½ Tbs baking soda
1 yellow onion (peeled and cut in half)
3 Tbs olive oil
2 tsp salt
4-5 grinds of black pepper
2 bay leaves
2 cups vegetable broth
2.5 cups water

What you do

1)      As I mentioned above, the chickpeas need to be soaked overnight before they are cooked. Stick them in a bowl, cover with loads of water and leave them for 8-12 hours.
2)      Drain the beans and discard the water. Sprinkle the baking soda over the beans and mix well. Leave them for 10 minutes or longer and then rinse really really well with fresh water. You need to the give them at least 5 rinses otherwise they go black (apparently).
3)      Put them in the slow cooker and add the rest of the ingredients. I don’t chop the onion because the bits annoy me, but you can if you want.
4)      Cook for at least 8 hours on low and check for doneness. Mine were on for 9.5 hours (because I was at work) and they were lovely.
5)      Chuck the onion if it wasn’t chopped.
6)      Serve with lots of fresh lemon juice and bread.

Colourful salad with lettuce, valeriana, red bell pepper, tuna and chickpeas