Sunday, March 31, 2013

Traditional Food Series ~ Greek Salad & Naan Greek Pizza

Welcome back to our Traditional Food Series!  We are so thrilled to have you here at the Cafe!  Happy Easter to all those who are celebrating!  It's Mary from Sweet Little Bluebird and it's my turn to share a traditional food favorite.  Last week Natalie kicked off this series with her yummy Durban Beef Bunny Chow. For the next 4 weeks, we will each share a dish that comes from our heritage, culture or has a special meaning to us. On the 6th week, we'll be hosting a link party and asking you all to link up your special recipes!

You may have read before, I'm a Greek girl, with a weee little bit of Irish in me, when I shared my Spanakopita Cresent Rolls recipe.  That recipe has feta.  I love FETA cheese. LoVe.  But then again, I'm Greek, I should.  I also love lamb...but I'll focus on lamb another day.   Let's shine the light on Feta today!

For this fun series I am sharing two recipes that have lots and lots of Feta! Greek Salad and my Naan Greek Pizza.   




TRADITIONAL GREEK SALAD RECIPE:


Ingredients
Romaine lettuce - bite size
Tomatoes - Plum, Cherry, any kind will do, sliced. *seed if you like
Kalamata or Black Olives, Pitted - I used Kalamata
Cucumber - cut to bite size pieces (peeled or unpeeled)
Red Onion - slice to desired size, not too small
Feta Cheese, crumbled  

Directions 
The amount of ingredients above depends on the size of the salad,
use desired amount of each.  Wash lettuce, tear or cut into bite size pieces. Top with desired amount of veggies, olives and feta, drizzle with favorite dressing. Enjoy!

Some additional toppings that go great on a Greek salad are beets and grilled chicken!

Use your favorite Greek store dressing or make your own.  I use Penzeys' Greek Seasoning dressing recipe - pictured below.  It's a staple in my home.  



Mix 2 Tablespoons of Penzeys' Greek seasoning with 2 Tablespoons of water, let stand for 5 minutes. Add ¼ Cup olive oil, ¼ Cup salad oil, 1/3 Cup red wine vinegar (or ¼ cup balsamic vinegar and 2 Tablespoons of water), plus 1 teaspoon of sugar if desired. I love sugar added!

Allrecipes.com has a great Greek House Dressing recipe you can check out too.

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NAAN GREEK PIZZA RECIPE:


Ingredients
2 Pieces of Traditional Naan 
8 Cups of Fresh Spinach (approx 3 large handfuls) - once cooked, divided equally
8 oz Mozzarella - divided equally
1/4 Cup Crumbled Feta - divided equally 
3 Plum Tomatoes Sliced
Kalamata Olives 
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Teaspoons Garlic, minced
Few dashes of Greek Seasoning (I used Penzeys Greek)

Directions 
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Lightly spray cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Place Naan on cookie sheet (or pizza stone) and brush tops with 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil, divided equally among the 2 pieces.  In a sauce pan, on medium heat, add 1 Tablespoon of olive oil and the 2 teaspoons of minced garlic, pour spinach on top and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, constantly turning the spinach.  Remove from heat and evenly top pizzas with spinach.  Next, add 4 oz of mozzarella cheese to each pizza.  Top with sliced plum tomatoes.  Sprinkle pizzas with feta cheese and Kalamata olives.  Lightly sprinkle with Greek seasoning.  Bake for 10-12 minutes on middle rack of oven.  Remove, slice & enjoy!



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13 comments:

  1. Mary that looks so yummy I love Greek food it my favourite.

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  2. This looks sooo good. Now, if I can just find the Naan!

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  3. Mary, this looks fabulous! Love pizza, love naan, so I know I'll love that for sure! Thanks for posting a great salad dish just in time for spring! Penzey's...best spices ever!

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  4. Both of these look delicious! I love feta! :)

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  5. I love feta too, and both these recipes sound delicious, and look beautiful and colourful! I love trying new pizza recipes!

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  6. I'm stopping by from Mellywood's. These both look delightful and delish! Your pics look like they've come out a magazine!! I love feta, too and how you can use it in so many ways. I'm definitely going to have to try your Naan Greek Pizza, I've never had that before. Thanks for sharing:)

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  7. I guarantee I am going to be making this salad. I need to know more about Penzey's...why don't we have them here? Desperate! Maybe whatever Greek seasonings the local market has will work? gaahh! :)

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  8. Thank you Everyone!!! Mediterranean diets are pretty popular right now :) Besides the Naan bread, both recipes are pretty healthy! Yay!

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  9. I love Greek salads! Actually I love anything with kalamata olives and feta, so both these recipes sound wonderful to me! I will be trying the Naan Pizza recipe, not sure the husband will like it, but I know I will! Thank you.
    Debbie :)

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  10. Yummy, I love Greek food, and except for the Naan, I think I have all the ingredients at home to make that.

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  11. I love Greek salads but have never made one. Thanks for the recipe! And the pizza...yum!!!

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  12. These both look amazing!!! I love Greek salad, and have not tried the pizza yet. Sounds like something to do in the near future :) Thanks for sharing, Lisa

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