Hungry Mouth

Beets

I am still on a Greek trip in my head. But I have an excuse...the food was delicious. For the most part we ate inexpensive food and it blew American fast food away. It blew American middle level food away. Everywhere in Greece the food was impeccably fresh, perfectly cooked and beautifully served. The mezes served at every taverna were particularly notable.

So let's talk beets.* Greeks have a wonderful way with beets. They serve them with their own greens. Let me add that my sweetheart who despised beets was completely converted. If all you have tasted are canned beets this will open a new world for you. Here is my attempt to recreate a typical taverna Greek beet dish.

1 red onion, halved and sliced
1 juicy lemon
1 t Greek oregano
1 bunch of fairly young beets (2-3 inches or less in diameter) with greens
EVOO
S & P

Marinate the onion with the juice of lemon and oregano.

Scrub and top the beets leaving an inch of green...leave the tail intact (this keeps the juice from leaking). Line a baking pan ( a metal loaf pan works well) with tin foil and place beets in one layer. Cover pan tightly with foil and roast beets til done in 400 oven...1-2 hours depending on size. Test with a skewer to make sure they are tender throughout. Let cool for a a few minutes then remove ends and peel (I use rubber gloves so I can handle them while quite warm and avoid staining my hands). Slice.

Meanwhile wash greens and remove tough stems and icky leaves. Chop roughly. When ready to peel beets, throw greens into a saute pan with a splash of water and cook til wilted/tender which should only take a couple minutes. Drain in a colander and press out excess water. Chop into smaller pieces. Immediately toss with warm beets, EVOO, onions and S & P to taste. Serve with a lemon slice. This is great warm or at room temp, as well as the next day.

*Apologies to my friend, Pim.

Fava

After 3 weeks in Greece, it remains a mystery to me why the Greek dish called "Fava" is not based on fava beans. I adore fava beans and was excited to order it the first time we saw it on the menu in a tiny beach town taverna on the north coast of Lesvos. We were served a plate of mashed beans..delicious but bright yellow in color. Huh? What did they do to fava beans to make them bright yellow? Well, I had not done my research. A couple days later reading through my notes on Greek food I saw that "Fava" was actually mashed, seasoned yellow split peas.

So as soon as I returned home I had to try to remake Fava. Luckily, I had yellow split peas on hand due to my recent preoccupation with Indian food. Here is my attempt to recreate Greek Fava loosely based on a recipe from Diana Kochilas' interesting book "The Glorious Food of Greece". I recommend this book highly for reading purposes but it is not easy to cook from for me. It's organized by region which means that all the different courses are mixed up. I can't just pick up the book and look in one section for lamb recipes. I prefer books that are organized by course when it comes to cooking. Reading is a different matter, though.

So here is the recipe I made and it was delicious:

EVOO
1 red onion, minced
1 c. yellow split peas
water
Bay leaf
1 t Greek oregano
Red wine vinegar to taste
S & P to taste
chopped scallions

Saute onion in a smallish stockpot in EVOO. Add peas, toss around til coated, then add water to cover peas and bay by about an inch and simmer til done. The idea is to cook the peas til they completely fall apart and absorb all the water so be careful with the water. It will take about 1- 1 1/2 hrs for the peas to totally break down. Stir often and keep a close watch and add more water if needed to prevent sticking. When almost done stir in oregano and S & P. When done add vinegar to taste. Then let sit til cool. Peas will become very thick. Scoop into a shallow bowl. Scatter scallions on top. Serve with warm pita or pita chips to scoop. Opa!