Black-Eyed Pea and Chard Stew

3/4 cup dried black-eye peas
12 oz Swiss chard, including stems
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
6 Roma tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 Tbsp tomato paste
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Soak the black-eyed peas in cold water overnight, then drain.
2. Wash the Swiss chard and trim the stems. Roughly chop the stems and leaves.
3. Place the black-eyed peas and chard in a large saucepan, cover with water and simmer for 20 minutes or until almost tender. Drain in a colander, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.
4. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute for 5 minutes or until softened. Add the tomatoes and saute for a few more minutes. Add the black-eyed peas and chard, reserved cooking liquid, and tomato paste. Stir the mixture well, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for about 20 minutes. Serve warm with bread and feta cheese.

Source: Modern Greek cookbook

Try #1 - June 7, 2011
This was really delicious! I used canned diced tomatoes instead of fresh. I definitely wouldn't leave out the feta cheese - it went really well with it. We also served it with peasant bread. Yum!

Greek Bean Soup (Fassoulada)

1 lb (2 cups) dried white beans, soaked overnight
1 large yellow onion, peeled and roughly chopped
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
3 sticks celery, strings removed and sliced
3 ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and roughly chopped (or one 15-oz can peeled tomatoes)
2 Tbsp tomato paste
5 Tbsp olive oil
2 bay leaves
Handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Drain the beans and place in large saucepan. Cover with water and bring to a boil, skimming off any froth with a slotted spoon.
2. Add all the other ingredients except the salt and pepper, and simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until tender.
3. Allow to cool slightly, season with salt and pepper, and ladle into bowls. Serve with crusty bread.

Source: Modern Greek cookbook

Try #1 - May 22, 2011
This was delicious! My new favorite bean soup. I used small white beans (the larger cannellini beans are probably more authentically Greek, but I don't think it made a difference), and a can of diced tomatoes instead of fresh. The kids loved it too! I will definitely make this again!

Try #?? - October 2014
I've made this several times.  This last time I tried it in the crockpot (which I've done before), and was reminded that this takes a LONG time to cook, even if you've soaked the beans overnight.  It needed a good 10 hours on low, maybe even longer.  I haven't tried it on high (although I did jack up the temperature to high a couple of hours before dinner when I realized my beans might not be done on time...), but I'm sure that would work too.  So this can be done in the crockpot, as long as you plan for a FULL day of cooking.

Lentil Shepherd's Pie

1 cup lentils, green or French, rinsed
2 lbs potatoes or sweet potato
2 Tablespoons butter
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspooon apple cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon ketchup
5 drops Tabasco sauce
1 cup frozen sweet corn
Salt and pepper

1. Place lentils in a medium pot and cover with an inch of cold water. Add a pinch of salt, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 20 minutes until cooked. It is okay if they are not completely cooked, they will cook further later. Drain.
2. While lentils are cooking, peel and roughly chop potatoes. Place in a pot and cover with cold water. Add a teaspoon of salt to the water and bring to a boil. Simmer until potatoes are tender.
3. Drain potatoes and mash. Add butter and milk and season with salt and pepper. Cover and set aside.
4. Heat oil in a medium pot and add chopped onion. Sautée for a few minutes until soft. Add cumin, thyme, cooked lentils, vinegar, ketchup, tabasco sauce, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste. Stir to combine.
5. Add 1/2 cup of water and bring lentils to a simmer. Cook for another five minutes or so, stirring often, to let the flavors come together.
6. Preheat oven to 375°F. Place seasoned lentils in the bottom of a medium baking dish. Spread to cover the bottom. Top with corn kernels. Add mashed potatoes on top and spread evenly. Bake for about 30 minutes until heated through. Serve hot.

Source: Let's Eat!

Greek Lentil Soup

1 1/4 cup lentils, washed and picked over for stones
2 garlic cloves, peeled and diced
1 celery stalk, finely diced
1 medium-sized red onion, peeled and diced
1 large russet potato, peeled and diced
2 bay leaves
6 Tbsp olive oil, divided
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 slices sourdough bread, crusts removed, cubed
Red wine vinegar

1. Place the lentils, garlic, celery, onion, potato, bay leaves and 2 Tbsp olive oil in a saucepan. Cover with water and bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes or until the lentils are cooked. Season with salt and pepper.
2. To serve, prepare croutons by sauteing the bread cubes in the remaining 4 Tbsp olive oil until golden brown, then drain on paper towels. Ladle the soup into bowls with the croutons and a splash of red wine vinegar.

Note: Puy lentils are preferrable for their delicate flavor. However, in Greece, brown lentils, despite their longer cooking time, have been used in similar soups since ancient times.

Source: Modern Greek cookbook

Try #??
I've made this several times already, and only once with the croutons (which were yummy), but it is just find without that added step. This goes well with any bread on the side.

Creamy Asparagus Soup with Poached Egg on Toast

1 3/4 lb asparagus, woody ends removed
Olive oil
2 medium white onions, peeled and chopped
2 stalks of celery, trimmed and chopped
2 leeks, trimmed and chopped
2 quarts chicken or vegetable stock
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
10 small eggs
8 slices of ciabatta bread
Slab of butter
Extra virgin olive oil

1. Chop the tips off asparagus and set aside. Roughly chop asparagus stalks.
2. Heat a large, deep pan and add a good glug of olive oil. Gently fry the onions, celery, and leeks for about 10 minutes, until soft and sweet, without coloring. Add the chopped asparagus stalks and stock and simmer for 20 minutes with a lid on.
3. Remove from the heat and blitz with a handheld immersion blender or in a standard blender. Season the soup bit by bit with salt and pepper until just right.
4. Put the soup back on the heat, stir in the asparagus tips, bring to a boil and simmer for a few more minutes until the tips have softened.
5. Just before serving soup, poach the eggs (for a couple of minutes, so they're still runny). Toast bread slices. Using a slotted spoon, remove the poached eggs to a plate and add a slab of butter to them.
6. To serve, divide the soup between 8 warmed bowls and place a piece of toast into each. Put a poached egg on top, cut into it to make it runny, season and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.

Source: Jamie at Home: Cook Your Way to the Good Life

Carribean Rice and Beans

2 cups dry pigeon beans, pinto beans, or kidney beans
6 cups water
1 Tbsp salt
2 Tbsp oil or butter
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 green onions, chopped
1 large tomato, chopped
1 Tbsp lime juice (optional)
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1 Tbsp chopped parsley
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups rice

1. Soak beans overnight in water and salt.
2. Bring beans to a boil in soaking liquid (do not drain), reduce heat, and simmer just until tender - about 40 minutes. Drain beans, reserving liquid.
3. Heat oil or butter in large covered skillet. Add garlic, green onions, tomato, lime juice (optional), cloves, parsley, pepper, and drained beans. Saute about 5 minutes.
4. Add rice and 4 cups reserved bean liquid (add water if necessary). Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to simmer, and cook 20-25 minutes wihout stirring.

Try #1 - April 30, 2011
This was good, a nice and subtle twist on regular beans and rice. I followed the recipe for soaking and cooking the beans (I used pinto), and they cooked in about 40 minutes, like it said. I used a regular onion instead of green onions, canned tomatoes instead of fresh (about 1 cup), dried parsley, and white rice. I accidentally doubled the amount of cloves to 1/4 tsp, but it worked out ok. My reserve bean liquid yielded 2 cups so I had to add 2 cups of water. This was nothing super fancy, but it was a nice change from plain old beans and rice, and it made a TON (good for leftovers; we also used it as a side for tacos later in the week). I'd make it again.

Try #2 - May 31, 2011
The beans cooked in about 30 minutes this time, but the rice took longer than 20 minutes - more like 30. It wasn't a problem for me to lift the lid after 20 minutes, test and see that the rice was still hard, and replace the lid to let it cook another 10 minutes or so (I also turned up the heat at this time). Used fresh parsley this time, and the correct amount of cloves. :)

Taco Seasoning

1 Tbsp chili powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper

Try #1 - May 1, 2011
Made this with chicken tacos tonight. Really good! I used 1 Tbsp, and had some leftover for next time!