TUNA AND BEAN SALAD - A HEALTHY TREAT!

Canned beans can be found in just about everyone's pantry. Canned tuna fish is a pantry staple as well. So when time is short or when the weather is hot, here is a delicious and nutritious salad that can be prepared in a jiffy. This is an easy, light meal that can be made for lunch or dinner without any cooking involved. Since childhood, I've seen one version or another of this salad on the tables of friends and relatives. It's popular in the Mediterranean and also popular in my house.  Here are some quick nutrition facts:  The tuna fish, of course, is high in protein and contains omega-3 fatty acids. Looking for more protein? Canned beans are a terrific and inexpensive health food. They are high in protein and low in fat. In fact, they contain no saturated fat and have no cholesterol. Beans are very high in fibre, calcium, folic acid, iron, and potassium. Tuna and bean salad is a wonderful addition to the cooking repertoire of those who are diabetic or need more protein in their diet. I give you my version, and I hope you try it!

 Ingredients:

For the salad:

1 small red onion, peeled and diced

2 (7-ounce ) cans water-packed tuna, drained

1 (15-ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1 (15-ounce) can white or navy beans, drained and rinsed

1 tablespoon capers, rinsed

1 tablespoon chopped celery

A handful of pitted Greek olives (a combination of green and black ones would be nice)

For the dressing:

2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped 

1 tablespoon basil, finely chopped 

black pepper to taste

a little salt (optional)

1 garlic clove, mashed and very finely chopped

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

about 5 tablespoons olive oil

juice of one lemon

 Directions: 

• Combine the tuna fish, onions, beans, celery, olives, and capers.
• In a small bowl add all the ingredients for the dressing and mix vigorously.
• Add the dressing to the tuna fish mixture and toss gently.
• Serve on plates garnished with greens and drizzle a little olive oil on top if you like.

This salad can be prepared ahead of time and any left-overs can be stored in the refrigerator for an additional day.

STRAWBERRY and FETA SALAD with HONEY-LEMON DRESSING

Strawberries are in season now, and I'm talking about the small, sweet, locally grown variety. There are lots of ways to use them: how about some strawberry lemonade? How about fruit salad with strawberries as the star ingredient? Or, how about just popping them in your mouth, one by one? Then there is another way in which to serve luscious sweet strawberries, and that is to scatter them on top of a salad. With feta cheese. There is something about feta that truly compliments summer fruit! If you're wondering, yes, salad dressing, if it's the right type, does go well with strawberries. The dressing for this salad includes balsamic vinegar, lemon, honey, and mint: It's a perfect sweet-tangy blend! Greens, avocado, feta, strawberries, and toasted nuts. Just five ingredients and the dressing. Simple and perfectly delicious! 

Make the dressing: 

1/4 cup olive oil

1 Tablespoon  honey

2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon chopped mint

1/2 teaspoon thyme leaves

salt and pepper to taste

• In a small bowl whisk the lemon juice with the lemon zest, honey, balsamic vinegar, mint and thyme. 
• Whisk in the olive oil.
• Season with salt and pepper. 

For the salad: 

feta cheese, crumbled

blue cheese, crumled

strawberries, sliced in half

avocado, sliced

spinach leaves

sliced almonds, toasted

• Arrange the greens on a serving platter and mix in the almonds.
• Top with strawberries and cheese, then sprinkle more sliced almonds on top and drizzle with the dressing. 

QUICK AND EASY PEASY BOLOGNESE SAUCE with fetuccine

Bolognese sauce (or ragu alla Bolognese), is a classic Italian meat sauce that originated in the city of Bologna, the capital of the Emilia–Romagna region in Northern Italy.  Bologna is a beautiful university town with a long and impressive cultural history. 

A classic Bolognese contains milk or cream and some type of cured meat such as pancetta. I have chosen to omit the cured meat from my sauce recipe. However, adding a little milk or cream makes the sauce velvety.

An interesting fact is that the city of Bologna has created a standardised recipe for "ragu alla Bolognese." That recipe has been deposited for safekeeping with the Bologna Chamber of Commerce. My recipe for Bolognese sauce is deposited in a drawer in my kitchen. Which of the two recipes is more important?  

This easy to make recipe will yield a dense, silky, multi-dimensional sauce. If there are any leftovers, they can be refrigerated for up to 3 days and frozen for up to 1 month.

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil 
• 1 large red onion, grated 
• 3 stalks celery, chopped fine
• 2 carrots, grated
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 3 ripe tomatoes, skins removed, chopped
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• red wine, amount according to taste

• For the pasta:

• 1 pound pasta; fettuccine is a good option because this is a hearty sauce that needs a hearty pasta
• chopped parsley and basil
• grated Pecorino Romano cheese
• black pepper

Directions:

• Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven and add the onions, carrots and celery.
• Sauté until the vegetables are soft. Keep stirring and add the garlic. Cook for about a minute.
• Add the ground beef and cook, stirring to mix with the vegetables. Keep stirring and cook until all the meat is no longer pink. 
• Season with salt and pepper and mix. 
• Add the oregano, mix, and cook for about a minute
• Add the tomato paste and mix well.
• Add the wine, lower the heat and cook until the sauce is reduced 
• Add the tomatoes and bay leaf.
• Mix, keep the heat to a low simmer, cover and cook for twenty minutes, stirring occasionally so that the sauce does not stick to the bottom of the pan.
• Turn off the heat and add the whole milk
• Taste and adjust the seasonings as needed. 
• Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package directions. 
• Drain and place on a serving platter. 
• Season with Pecorino Romano cheese, chopped parsley, black pepper and basil.
• Spoon some of the sauce on top and mix. 
• Serve the sauce alongside the pasta.  

Olive Oil and Rosemary Bread

Incredibly easy to make, great tasting, a classic bread that's crunchy on the outside, soft in the middle and delectably flavoured with delicious Mediterranean ingredients such as olive oil and rosemary! When this bread is baking it exudes a fantastic aroma!!!

My olive oil and rosemary bread rises quickly and bakes in about 30 minutes. It's an enriched bread, a type of bread whose dough contains fat. In this case, the fat, in the form of 5 tablespoons of olive oil, is a good type of fat: 70% of olive oil is comprised of monounsaturated fats, and evidence shows that monounsaturated fats in the diet reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. In addition to its health benefits, olive oil makes the bread taste better, keep better, and stay softer longer. 

Check out the recipe, and then bake some for yourself. Try it and you'll love it!

Two oval loaves of olive oil and rosemary bread. In this rendition, omitted the whole wheat flour and instead used three cups of bread flour.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
• 2 tablespoons bread flour 
• 1/4 cup lukewarm water 
• 3/4 cup water 
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the bowl and to oil the top of the loaves
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped rosemary
• 1 cup whole wheat flour  
• 2 cups bread flour plus a little extra for dusting the work surface and the loaf (or loaves).

The dough can be formed into two smaller loaves of one larger one. 

Directions:

• In a measuring cup stir together the honey and the warm water. Mix well. 
• Add the yeast, mix, then add the two tablespoons of flour. Mix again and let stand for about 15 minutes until the mixture starts to bubble and rise.
• Meanwhile, into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook add the rest of the water (3/4 cup), the olive oil, the salt, the chopped rosemary, and the pepper.
• Add the yeast mixture, mix with a spatula and begin stirring on the low setting. 
• Add the bread flour slowly and continue to mix on low speed until the dough comes together. Use a rubber spatula to move the dough closer to the dough hook. 
• Raise the speed to medium and mix until the dough is smooth and has pulled away from the sides of the bowl. 
• Lightly dust a surface with flour and place the dough on top. The dough should be soft and really pliable.  Roll it in the flour and shape it into a ball.
• Grease a large bowl with olive oil and place the dough ball inside. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and then cover it with a towel. Let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in bulk, about one and a half-hour.
• Press down on the dough to release the gas created by the yeast. Let it rest, covered, for 15 minutes. Allowing it to rest will make the dough more pliable. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, and if you'd like to make two loaves, divide it in half.
• Roll into a loaf (or loaves) and transfer to a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. 
• Cover with plastic wrap, place in a warm, draft-free spot and let rise for forty-five minutes.  
• Preheat the oven to 400°F. 
• Score the dough, brush it with olive oil and dust with a little flour. 

The scoring of bread can be an art form. Some bakers will use a particular scoring style as their personal signature. You can see by this picture that I made a "scoring error." Do use a sharp knife, or a sharp blade, or a sharp pair of kitchen scissors. Unfortunately, on this day, my kitchen shears were dull ... 

• You could decorate the top of the dough with rosemary, however, the rosemary will burn in the oven. You may choose to decorate the bread once it has finished baking.
• Bake until golden, about 30 minutes. Adjust the baking time depending on whether you are baking one large loaf or two smaller ones. 
• Let cool on a wire rack before slicing. No matter how incredibly wonderful its aroma, try to resist the urge of cutting into the bread right away. It will slice better after it has cooled. 

HUMMUS, HUMMUS, HUMMUS!

Eating delicious, eating healthy, eating HUMMUS! Can't make hummus without tahini, though. What is tahini?  It's a paste made from ground, toasted sesame seeds and vegetable oil, and it's popular in North African, Middle Eastern and Greek cuisines. In Greece, other than in recipes, tahini is used as a breakfast spread. Slather it on a piece of bread and eat it without another topping, or drizzle some honey on it. Tahini contains relatively high levels of calcium, protein, fibre, and iron. When tahini is combined with chickpeas it turns into hummus. And chickpeas contain fibre, lots of protein, folic acid and Omega-3. Because chickpeas are high in fibre they are a healthy source of carbohydrates for diabetics.  So make that hummus!  Try it with grilled eggplant, it's great that way! Use it instead of mayonnaise. Potato salad with hummus? Great!!! 

Here is my recipe for hummus, into which I add some 2% Greek yogurt.  This recipe is a protein and calcium powerhouse!!!  

Ingredients:

1 can chickpeas (about 15 ounces)

3 tablespoons tahini 
1 garlic clove finely chopped
4 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
salt and pepper to taste
a pinch of ground cumin
chopped parsley for garnish
a bit of olive oil to drizzle for garnish
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted lightly, for garnish

Directions:

• Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Place them in the bowl of a food processor and add the tahini. Make sure the tahini is mixed well before you remove it from the jar. The oil from the sesame paste tends to float to the top of the jar, so it needs to be reblended with the paste. 
• Add the rest of the ingredients except the ones that will be used as garnish. Mix until a desired texture is achieved. You might want the hummus to be chunky, or smooth or somewhere in between.
• Remove to a bowl and chill for about two hours before serving. Pour the hummus into a serving bowl and sprinkle the parsley and toasted pine nuts on top to garnish. Finally, drizzle a little olive oil on the hummus and serve.
• Accompany with pita chips and raw vegetables.
• Hummus will keep in the refrigerator for about five days. 

NAVARIN PRINTANIER: A French Lamb Stew

A really, truly delicious lamb stew!!!  Navarin printanier is French for lamb stew. "Navarin" refers to a stew which contains lamb, and the word "printanier" alludes to springtime and to the first tiny vegetables appearing in the garden. 

This stew is made from lamb shoulder, a tougher cut of meat which becomes truly flavourful when properly cooked. The stewing method tenderizes tough pieces of meat and allows the flavours of the ingredients to blend deliciously. The dish needs to cook for about 2 hours, partly on the stovetop

 and partly in the oven. In the end, the lamb comes out very tender, the vegetables are sweet, and the sauce is perfect! 

Meat from the shoulder of lamb is fatty, so a good amount of fat trimming needs to take place before it's ready for cooking. This type of meat also contains some bones, which I saved for cooking but discarded before serving. Adding bones to the pot makes the dish that much more flavourful. All too often making stew means cooking with beef. This lamb version is an absolutely delicious change!

   

A previous rendition

Ingredients:

olive oil for sautéing     

2 pounds lamb shoulder, excess fat removed, bones separated. I purchased two pounds and the breakdown was as follows: one pound stewing meat, half a pound of fat which was discarded, and half a pound of bones.      

3 tablespoons flour       

2 cups broth       

6 Roma tomatoes chopped well after the skin and seeds have been removed

3 garlic cloves chopped  

1 small red onion, chopped   

1 pound small onions, such as pearl onions, skins removed   

3 carrots        

3 medium Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and quartered 

1tablespoon sugar

1 cup frozen peas    

salt and pepper    

a bouquet garni (tie it up) made up of rosemary sprigs, thyme sprigs, parsley sprigs, and two bay leaves     

salt and pepper 

1/2 cup of water  

a few rosemary leaves, a few thyme leaves, and 2 tablespoons chopped parsley 

Directions:

• After removing the fat from the lamb cut the meat into 1½ inch pieces. Keep the bones. Bones left in while cooking provide additional flavour to the stew. Once the stew finishes cooking, the lamb will be very tender, and the bones will just pop away from any meat and can be discarded before serving.
• Use paper towels and dry the meat well because it will not brown if let damp.
• In a Dutch oven heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and brown the lamb on all sides. Brown in batches without overcrowding the pan, and add more olive oil to the pot as needed.  
• Remove the browned lamb to a plate and reserve. 
• If there is a lot of fat in the pot, discard it. If the pot has just a lot of brown bits in it, by all means, leave those alone. 
• Season the meat with salt and pepper and sprinkle the flour on top. Coat the meat with the flour. 
• Return the lamb to the pot and cook, stirring for 2 minutes. This process of sautéing meat with flour will help to thicken the sauce. 
• Add the red onion and garlic. Mix and sauté for about two minutes.
• Add the broth, chopped tomatoes, and the bouquet garni. 
• Bring to a slow boil and deglaze the pot by making sure you gently incorporate into the broth all that brown goodness stuck to the bottom of the pot. 
• Cover and place in a 300°F/150°C oven. Cook for two hours.
• While the lamb is cooking prepare the vegetables: 
• Tackle the onions by first removing the onion skins. When dealing with small onions there is a very easy way to do this: cut off the root and stem ends. Let the onions cook in boiling water for about 2 minutes. Drain them, and when they are cool enough to handle, pick them up one by one. You'll be able to squeeze their skins right off. Next, add a little olive oil to a skillet and sauté the peeled onions until they turn brown. Add 1/2 cup of water, a few rosemary leaves, a few thyme leaves and two tablespoons parsley. Simmer slowly until the liquid evaporates, about half an hour. 
• To the onions add the peas and half of the sugar. Stir for about a minute or two and then remove the onions and peas to a plate and cover to keep warm.    In the same skillet heat a little more olive oil and add the carrots, potatoes, a few rosemary and a few thyme leaves. Stir for about 2 minutes and then add the rest of the sugar. Cook, stirring, for another 5 minutes until the vegetables are browned. 
• When the lamb has cooked for two hours remove the pot from the oven, add the potatoes and carrots, mix, cover again, and place it back in the oven.  
• Raise the oven temperature to 375°F/200°C. Cook for another 30 to 45 minutes until the lamb is really tender. 
• Check periodically to make sure there is enough liquid in the pot. You may or may not need to add a little bit more.  
• Remove the lamb from the oven and discard the bouquet garni and the bones. 
• Stir in the peas and onions. 
• Like all good stews, this lamb stew will need to be ladled into soup plates. And, like all good stews (perhaps it's a cliché to mention it), it will taste better the next day.