Spanakopita - Greek Cheese & Spinach Pie

This is probably one of the most comfortingly familiar dishes for on the go that immediately transports me to Corfu and two long, hot summers spent a few years back now. You’ll be hard pushed to find a bakery, patisserie or even supermarket on the Greek islands that doesn’t sell a version of the ‘cheese pie’.

I’ve played around with this dish a LOT over the years, and whilst you can add things like sautéed onions and garlic into the cheesy mix, as well as herbs like dill, mint or parsley, this simplified version below is the one that I prefer and that goes down well with adults and kids alike. It is also quicker to prepare, win, win.

You can serve this as an epic vegetarian main course, but I like to serve it alongside a host of other Greek dishes. It is also good cold, and makes for a really, great picnic dish – I take it along whole, and cut it into about 8 pieces when we find our picnic spot. 

Spanakopita - Greek Cheese & Spinach Pie

Spanakopita - Greek Cheese & Spinach Pie

Here’s how:

• 1/2 pack filo pastry
• Olive oil spray (you can also use a pastry brush and some poured olive oil)
• 200g Feta cheese (do not use ‘Greek salad cheese’ it is not good!)
• 150g Ricotta
• 25g Cheddar (or other hard cheese)
• 250g spinach leaves
• 2 eggs
• Fresh nutmeg
• Black pepper

Firstly pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees and use a generous amount of olive oil in a small-medium pie dish and brush all over to prevent any sticking.

Fill and boil the kettle and place the spinach leaves in a colander. Pour over enough freshly boiled water over the spinach leaves to just gently wilt and leave to drip in the sink.

Now to prepare the cheese mixture. Place the Feta into a mixing bowl and use a fork to roughly mash up a little bit. Now add the Ricotta and grate in the Cheddar. Season generously with black pepper – I omit from adding salt here as Feta tends to be quite salty, but add a pinch if you wish. Mix together roughly.

Now crack in the two eggs, which will enrich this mixture – and which is a very much Greek method of thickening things. Mix well and then grate over a really generous amount of the nutmeg – you want to be able to taste this in the final dish, so don’t be shy.

For the spinach, use a clean tea towel or some kitchen paper to really squeeze the excess liquid out of the wet leaves – try to get them as dry as possible to prevent any soggy bottom situations or from the pie being too wet. Once satisfied add to the cheese and egg mixture and stir it all until it is combined well and set aside.

Now it’s time to layer up the pie. Firstly add one whole sheet of filo over the pie dish long ways, and use your hands to gently press down into the base of the dish, so the excess filo pastry is hanging over the side of the dish. Be as gentle as possible here, as filo is incredibly delicate.

Now use the olive oil spray and spray all over the pastry (or use a pastry brush to gently coat) and then place another sheet over the pastry the width ways this time, repeating the process with pressing down, and then spraying with the oil.

Do one more layer long ways, and then you can spoon in the cheese and spinach mixture. Try to distribute it as evenly as you can. Once satisfied, take the excess pastry and layer it over the top of the pie, spraying any dry bits with the olive oil spray. (I appreciate this sounds like a lot of oil – but if you don’t follow this, the final pie can be really dry, and less appetising).

Take one final sheet of filo pastry, fold it half and place over the top of the pie, gently pressing it down to cover the entire pie. Give a final spray of oil and the pie is ready to bake in the oven. Pop it in for approximately 45 minutes – or until crisp and golden brown. If you have a speedy oven, check after 35 minutes to avoid burning.

Remove from the oven and allow to sit in the dish for five minutes, before using a palette knife to gently go around the outside of the pie, inside the dish, to prevent it sticking, then very carefully use a fish slice or spatula to help you remove the pie from the dish and place onto a wooden board or large plate to serve. Enjoy!

Some other Greek recipes you may enjoy:

• Souzoukakia
• Souvlaki
• Moussaka
• Briam - Summer Vegetable Stew
• Prawn Saganaki
• Pastitsio
• Greek Stuffed Tomatoes
• Greek Chicken Traybake
• Greek Salad

Best Avocado on Toast

This is my absolute favourite version of avocado on toast. The heat from the chilli, the sharp lemon and the salty feta cheese just make every single mouthful a delight.

I could pretend to be precious about which type of bread I prefer this on – but to be honest the topping is what this is all about, so a slice of Warburton’s Toastie (as here) is absolutely fine. 

Best Avocado on Toast

Here’s how:

• 1 small avocado
• Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
• 50g feta cheese
• ½ red chilli
• Sprinkling of sea salt
• Pinch of black pepper
• 1 slice toast (I use Warbuton's Toastie) 

Firstly pop your bread in the toaster.

Now halve the avocado and place all flesh into a small bowl and squeeze over a generous amount of lemon juice. Use a fork to mush it up a bit but don’t completely pulverize, as you want this to keep some texture.

Once the bread is toasted, spoon over the avocado and press down with the back of the spoon.

Now slice the chilli, keeping the seeds in if you like extra heat – scatter over the toast.

Take the feta and very gently crumble over the avocado toast.

Season generously with salt and pepper. Coarser sea salt is a must here – it’s almost make or break. Enjoy!

Baby Bites Feta Salad Wraps

Bridget is sixteen months old now and has been good with a spoon for a while and has been getting to grips with a little fork for a couple of months now too - but the food she loves the most are finger foods which I guess are a lot more fun for her. She is well and truly past the weaning stage now but still throws bit of food on the floor some days (any tips on eradicating that, most welcome).

These no-cook wraps use wholemeal tortillas, feta for a good hit of protein, the salad Bridget enjoys and I add, for an additional flavour layer, some fresh coriander as this goes beautifully with feta - what's even better is you can make these ahead and wrap up in the fridge in some cling film so they make a great lunchbox meal for both baby and parents. You could of course add some lettuce leaves, rocket or watercress for some additional goodness - experiment with all your favourite salad items.

I prefer to dish up ready-wrapped but you may prefer the deconstructed approach for little ones to avoid mess.

Baby Bites Feta Salad Wraps

Here's how:

(Serves x2 parents and 1x baby or toddler)

• x3 wholemeal wraps or tortillas
• 100g feta
• Handful fresh coriander
• 1 orange pepper
• 6-7 cherry tomatoes
• Half a cucumber
• Handful radishes
• 2-3 spring onions
• Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
• Pinch black pepper

Firstly slice the peppers and the cucumber into equally sized batons.

Slice the tomatoes and radishes and finely chop the spring onions. Dice the feta into small cubes. if you wish now put all of the salad ingredients onto a plate or platter with the fresh coriander and simply serve with the wholemeal wraps on the plate and allow each person to plate and roll their own wrap.

Otherwise place each wholemeal wrap onto a plate and layer up the salad a few torn coriander leaves (to taste really) and then the feta. Now drizzle with a tiny amount of good quality extra virgin olive oil before rolling up into a wrap. Enjoy.

Lower Calorie Chicken Fajitas with Mexican Black Beans

I'd never cooked fajitas in this way before but on my journey to lose weight and manage a slightly healthier diet, I tried this alternative method, which eliminates the need for any oils, slashing both fat and calorie content straight away.

The full plate which includes the fajitas (in lettuce rather than wraps), a portion of black beans, the salad, salsa, jalapenos and feta cheese comes in at just under 600 calories per person. Removing the wraps alone slashes more than 200 calories.

Instead of serving with my usual couple of wraps, I used romaine lettuce leaves as a fantastic, healthy and low calorie holder for the filling and they also added a deliciously refreshing crunch to every bite.

Usually I would serve with homemade guacamole, perhaps sour cream and plenty of grated cheese - all the trimmings. Instead here, I had a tablespoon of salsa, 30g feta cheese and plenty of jalapenos and it was delicious, satisfying and moreish. I also prepared some delicious black beans for an added indulgence which we had alongside - but they were tasty enough that you could eat them alone with salad and some rice. I also served a 'shred salad', made entirely by using a vegetable peeler or spiraliser - using carrot, red cabbage and radish in this way, all of which are quite wet ingredients, creates a slaw-like consistency without the need for any mayonnaise or oil.

(My partner had the Weightwatcher's wraps instead of our usual brand, but to be honest the only difference I could make out was that they were smaller than usual - make your own choice.)

This served two of us with a portion leftover for lunch the next day. This has been my favourite healthy eating dinner so far.

Lower Calorie Chicken Fajitas with Mexican Black Beans

For the fajitas:

2 breasts of chicken
1 packet Old El Paso Smoky BBQ Fajita Seasoning
1 onion
1 clove garlic
1 red chilli
2 red or green peppers
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp Chipotle paste
200g mushrooms
Salt
Black pepper
2-4 romaine lettuce leaves
For the black beans:

1 tin or carton of black beans
4 spring onions
1 garlic clove
1 red chilli
1 tsp cumin seeds
Handful fresh coriander
Salt & Black Pepper
200 ml chicken stock
For the shred salad:

50g radish
50g red cabbage
50g carrot
50g cucumber - option to include in salad or as cooling sticks
For the fajitas, firstly pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees.

Now peel and slice the onion, and do the same to the garlic and add to a casserole dish. Slice the red chilli, the peppers and the mushrooms and add to dish.

Add the tinned tomatoes and chipotle paste.

Now remove the chicken from its wrapper and cover on both sides with the seasoning then add to the casserole dish. Add a generous pinch of both salt and black pepper and give a good stir. Now place into the oven on the middle shelf and cook for 40 minutes. 

Lower Calorie Chicken Fajitas pre-cooking

Remove halfway through cooking just to stir, and ensure the chicken is immersed in the sauce. 

Lower Calorie Chicken Fajitas

Now for the black beans. Firstly gently heat in a small non-stick pan. Now finely chop the spring onions, crush the garlic and slice the chilli and add to the pan. Allow to slowly soften. Now add the cumin seeds and allow to pop, these will exude a wonderful flavour together with the other ingredients.

You're now ready to add the black beans, do so and then gently stir to allow the chilli, onion and garlic to coat the full portion. Now pour over the stock and cook until the liquid is completely cooked down. I like a slightly mushy texture to this dish so I press down whilst stirring with a wooden spoon. When this is ready, tear in the coriander leaves and stir through.

For the shred salad, simply peel the carrot then use a vegetable peeler or spiraliser to create small shards of the vegetable. Repeat the process (without the peeling) for the radish and red cabbage.

Once the chicken fajita mix is cooked, I remove from the oven and remove the chicken breasts from the pot to slice or shred into bite-sized pieces. Then return to the pan, stir and pop the lid back on to keep warm.

Serve with a couple of romaine lettuce leaves or wraps, if you wish, 1 tbsp salsa and a heap of jalapenos and if like me you need a bit of cheese with this dish, also add the 30g feta cheese. Enjoy!

A London Lunch: Bourekas at Balkan Bites

Today's lunch was a good one - a warming, satisfying plate that reminds me of sunnier climes.

I had a Spinach and Feta Boureka from Balkan Bites's outpost at Borough Market. Whilst I'm more familiar with the Greek version (Spanakopita), this is an equally delicious pie filled with unctuous feta and good-for-you spinach. What's more for only a fiver, this was served on a pillow of mouth-watering and freshly made hummus, with some cooked chickpeas and topped with salt and fresh chilli sauce.

Balkan Bites has a shop in Crouch End but can be found at Borough Market Monday-Wednesday's 10am-5pm, Friday's 10am-6pm and Saturday's 8am-5pm.

For £5.00 my boureka was a real treat - slightly naughty, but very, very nice.

Baby Bites Greek Feta Plate

Ok this isn't really a recipe - more an idea for a quick and simple weaning lunch or dinner. It's perfect for when baby is into finger foods as everything can be cut into similarly sized cubes.

This is perfect for you having the same meal as it's less fuss and this also travels well in a little lunchbox if you're out and about too.

I've used peashoots here but you could change this for rocket, watercress or even plain old iceberg and have some fun introducing new items to the plate. Bridget really likes olives - but if you offer these be warned they have a strong taste for a tiny palate and make sure to remove the stone. 

Here's how:

• 75g feta cheese 
• 6 cherry tomatoes
• An inch length of a cucumber
• Handful of peashoots or rocket
• 1/2 brown pitta bread

Firstly toast the pitta for a couple of minutes and then allow to cool a little so baby can handle.

Next wash the tomatoes, peashoots and cucumber and then dry with a clean tea towel or some kitchen paper.

Now cut the cherry tomatoes in half and the cucumber into cubes of around the same size and place onto the plate with the peashoots.

Cube the feta into as close in size to the other items as possible and pop onto the plate with the toasted pitta.

Mediterranean Makeover Cottage Pie

This is a twist on the classic comfort dish, cottage pie. Aside from giving it a sweet potato lid topped with a combination of Cheddar and crumbled feta cheese, the filling has been given a tomatoey Mediterranean makeover too.

Not only is this a delicious alternative to a family classic for the grown ups and any older children, but made as it is here without salt, it's a great weaning dish once little one is past the six month mark and certainly went down well with our little Bridget.

The addition of cinnamon to the browned steak mince gives a lovely delicate flavour and it works well served with salad or as I have done here with Lemon & Chilli Brocolli Spears (simply blanch, drain and roast with a drizzle of oil, garlic, lemon zest, chopped chillies) and topped with a single 1cm square of feta crumbled over.

The below gives three adult sized portions or two plus 3-4 weaning portions. 

2 large sweet potatoes
20g Cheddar or alternative hard cheese
50g feta cheese
200g lean steak mince
1 red onion
1 courgette
1 carrot
50g mushrooms
1 clove garlic
1 tin of chopped tomatoes or jar of passata
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp olive oil

Firstly pop the oven on and place the two whole sweet potatoes in to bake. You could of course peel, chop and boil to create mash, but as you'd need to pre-heat the oven anyway, this way saves you using another saucepan.

Next add the olive oil to the pan and place on a low heat.

Finely dice the onion and crush the garlic and add to the pan.

Peel and dice the carrot and add this to the pan too and allow to soften.

In the meantime, dice the courgette and slice the mushrooms too.

Once the carrot, onion and garlic are softened, add the steak mince and brown off. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to move around and break up so it doesn't all stick together in a nasty clump.

Once browned all over, add the pepper and cinnamon and allow to cook through for a further couple of minutes.

Add the courgette and mushrooms, the tin of tomatoes and the oregano and stir through. Leave cooking for as long the potatoes take to be soft centred.

Once the potatoes are ready, remove from the oven, slice open and scoop out the flesh into a small bowl. Use a fork to gently mash, although this shouldn't be too laborious as the flesh should be very soft and smooth.

Transfer the meat and sauce into an ovenproof dish and then evenly top with the sweet potato. 

Grate over the little bit of Cheddar or other hard cheese and then crumble over the feta into uneven pieces - which will result in some being meltingly oozing and others caramelised - in short, a deliciously contrasting topping.

Pop the dish onto a baking sheet and then place into the oven for 20-25 minutes until the cheese is melted and the top has started to brown.

Remove from the oven, allow to stand for a few minutes, then dish up and enjoy. 

When serving as a weaning dish, I don't mash this up as it is a fairly soft consistency anyway and my seven and a half month old copes just fine with the texture, but if you prefer to blitz in a blender or hand-mash then do so and of course allow to cool down enough before serving to baby.

Baby Bites Herby Courgette and Feta Fritter Cakes

I experimented with making these like 'cakes' in the oven rather than frying as I thought they would be less calorific and greasy than the usual tupe of fritter and they came out rather well. 

As well as being a great and unusual finger food for your little one they can be enjoyed by the whole family too. They certainly went down well with my girlfriends on Saturday night who were over for a Greek feast night.

These are very easy to prepare and the below makes a good 12 cakes, they keep well in the fridge for a couple of days and are great with the below yoghurty dip or with some classic Greek Tzatziki. 

2 medium sized courgettes
1 pack of feta
1 heaped tbsp fresh chopped mint
1 heaped tbsp fresh chopped dill
1 egg
Pinch of black pepper
2 tbsp Greek natural yoghurt
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Pop the oven on at around 180.

Cut the ends off of the courgettes then grate them both into a bowl, discarding only when the floppy, middle part is left.

Squeeze out any excess moisture from the grated courgette with some kitchen towel.

Crumble in the cheese - this is a completely 'rustic' affair, so don't spend time cutting into equal shapes and sizes, just crumble in as it falls. 

Chop the mint and dill and add the bowl with the black pepper and give a good stir. 

Beat the egg in a separate bowl and add to the courgette mixture to bind and again stir.

Use a pastry brush and a little olive oil to brush the cavities of a cupcake baking tray to prevent sticking. 

Spoon the mixture evenly into each hole and once all distributed, use the back of the spoon to press down on them to ensure the 'cakes' keep their shape during cooking.

Finally place in the oven and allow to cook for 20-25 minutes or until nicely golden brown.

Whilst cooling enough for little one to handle - combine the yoghurt and lemon juice and place a teaspoon full onto a child-friendly plate with two of the cakes broken into bite sized pieces. 

Feta and Spinach Open Filo Tart

This is a lovely open tart based on the classic Greek ‘spanakopita’ comprising feta cheese and spinach. It’s very easy to prepare, looks great and is a crowd pleaser.

200g spinach

1 clove garlic

20g salted butter

200g feta

2 eggs

4-5 sheets of filo pastry

Bunch of spring onions

Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp nutmeg

Salt & pepper

1 tsp oregano (dried is best)

Pre-heat the oven to about 180⁰.

Firstly use a pastry brush and completely oil up your tart dish. You can use a tart or flan dish, mine broke recently so I instead used a 20cm deep baking sandwich tin (what you’d use for a Victoria Sandwich cake), which is perfectly sufficient.

Next place one layer of filo over the tin, pressing down so it moulds to the tin and scrunching over the sides so you get the lovely crunchy exterior. Brush with oil and repeat until there are 4-5 layers. And brush each layer with a little oil too.

Crush your garlic and chop the spring onions and add to a frying pan with the butter on a low heat and allow to soften.

Wash the spinach then dry off with a tea towel or kitchen roll and try and remove as much moisture as possible to avoid the dreaded soggy bottom. Once dry add to the pan and wilt down in the garlicy butter.

Pop the spinach into a bowl or jug and add the two eggs (beaten first), dice the feta and add to the mix. Add the grating of nutmeg and a good pinch of salt and black pepper plus teaspoon of dried oregano and mix well.

Pour into the tart base and allow to stand for ten minutes.

Place into the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the cheese has begun to melt.

Allow to cool a little and serve – preferably with a simple salad. 

Prawn Saganaki

In some parts of Greece I understand this dish is called youvetsi – after the name of the dish it is cooked in, but to me it will always be Prawn Saganaki, as it was when I first tried it in gorgeous Corfu.

A lovely Greek lady, Angelliki, gave me the basics for this recipe when I enjoyed it at her hotel taverna back in 2008, when I was working as a holiday rep and would hungrily demolish many a meal prepared by this lovely lady. She was an inspiration in many ways – as well as working many hours with her husband Costas at the hotel they only managed, not owned, she prepared the majority of the food that was served there, and had two beautiful young children who she was always running around after too. They were a very generous couple always trying to feed me up and happily, were open to sharing the odd recipe too. A tiny couple of tweaks, to accommodate what is readily and affordably available in sunny Essex and here is the recipe below.

If you can get hold of them the sauce is much improved my having large shell-on prawns, and these also make for an impressive looking dish too, but for an affordable mid-week meal, ordinary prawns are just fine. I serve with a side salad and some simple fresh bread and it makes for a delicious taste of the Med, especially comforting now the colder nights are drawing in.

Here’s how:

200g fresh, raw prawns

Tin of chopped tomatoes

1 large onion

2 cloves of garlic

2 tbsp fresh oregano

1 tbsp fresh parsley

1 tsp brown sugar

1 tbsp fresh lemon thyme

150g feta cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsps dry white wine (Retsina for traditionally Greek saganaki)

Firstly you need to make a good tomato sauce as the basis. I do this in an oven-proof skillet above the hob so you can continue the cooking all in the one pan. The depth to which you prepare the sauce depends on how much time you have – obviously if you want a rich sauce, cook for longer, but if time is short, then a quick sauce is more than sufficient – especially mid-week.

To prepare your sauce add the olive oil to the pan and place over a low-mid heat. Dice the onion as finely as possible and crush the garlic and add both to the pan. Once softened (after 5-10 minutes),  add the wine and cook off – this will take another 5 minutes or so on a medium heat.

Next add the chopped tomatoes. Again you can of course use fresh tomatoes for this dish as and when they are available. Add a pinch of salt and black pepper here and the teaspoon of brown sugar and stir through. Add half of the chopped parsley and oregano and all of the lemon thyme to the sauce and cook over the hob for thirty minutes – or longer if you have the time.

In the meantime, chop the feta in cubes – I prefer this to crumbling the cheese as in the finished dish you are left with lovely gooey, delicious feta.

Taste the sauce and if you feel it needs it add further salt and/or pepper. Remove the lemon thyme stalks as they are unpleasant to bite into and will have imparted their flavour into the sauce now

Arrange the feta around the dish and sprinkle the rest of the parsley and most of the remaining oregano and place into a pre-heated oven at 180-200 degrees for fifteen minutes.

Remove the dish and add the prawns, scattering around as evenly as possible.

Return to the oven for a further five minutes, checking that all of the prawns have turned pink to show they are cooked through, and remove, ready to serve. Prawns take very little cooking so remove from the oven as soon as they have all turned pink to avoid being left with rubbery, overcooked prawns which are not tasty! Instead you should have delicious, succulent and juicy just-cooked prawns – lovely. Scatter over the remaining oregano before serving – enjoy!

Pork Souvlaki and Baked Feta

As regular readers will know I adore Greek food but struggle to find many decent, authentic restaurants serving Greek food around so when I get a craving for this type of food there are a few recipes I turn to for an instant mood boost. 

Prawn saganaki or youvetsi, stifado, briam, moussaka and beautiful gemistes or stuffed tomatoes or peppers are favourites but take a little effort. For mid-week Greek, my go-to is always souvlaki - fantastically flavoured skewers of pork or chicken that transport me immediately to the beautiful islands. 

Marinated overnight, the accompaniments can be flung together while the meat cooks. Here I've served with Greek Salad, pitta and homemade tzatziki as well as baked feta or as my Greek friends call it, 'feta in the oven.' 

This recipe makes a meal for two or three and some delicious leftovers for lunch the next day.

For the souvlaki:

350g pork loin steaks

150ml extra virgin olive oil (you can just use olive oil but I prefer the pepperiness from the extra virgin)

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Juice of 1/2 lemon

2 large garlic cloves, crushed

1 large tbsp dried oregano

1/2 tbsp dried thyme

I use pork loin steaks but almost any cut could be used here. Chop the pork into equal cubes and place into a bowl or a food bag and cover with the olive oil.

Add the remaining marinade ingredients, stir and cover and place in the fridge either overnight or for at least 2-3 hours..

Remove from the fridge and allow the pork to come back down to room temperature while you assemble the simple Baked Feta dish for which you will need the following:

1/4 block of feta

1/2 red pepper

1/2 green or yellow pepper

1 1/2 tsp runny honey - preferably Greek

1 heaped tsp paprika

1/2 tsp black pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees. Slice the peppers longways and place into a small, oven-proof dish. 

Slice the small block of feta into similar size and shape as the peppers and pop into the dish. Season with black pepper and if you wish, a small pinch of salt - I omit from using the salt as feta is quite a salty cheese. 

Sprinkle over the paprika and then drizzle over the runny honey and place into the oven for 30 minutes.

Getting back to the souvlaki - if you have some, place the meat on skewers. You can easily make without the skewers though so don't worry. If cooking inside, the grill is preferable. I tend to cover the grill with a sheet of tin foil and then place the souvlaki on top and cook for about ten minutes on the medium setting, watching and turning as needed.

While the souvlaki is cooking you can throw together your Greek Salad and Tzatziki and either place your pitta into the grill too or gently toast.

I do hope these recipes are useful to some readers - they certainly bring me comfort when I'm craving Greek food and on that note if anybody knows of any good Greek restaurants, please do share - enjoy!

Perfect Greek Salad

In my humble opinion a Greek salad is one of the best possible salads you can have and throughout the summer months it's a mainstay in my kitchen. Made for barbecues, to go alongside a roast chicken instead of the usual wintry accompaniments or just made up for a great lunchbox with pitta and some Tzatziki. 

Here is my version of the ultimate Greek salad.

Lettuce leaves of your choice (I tend to use iceberg)
Handful of cherry tomatoes
Half a cucumber
1 red onion
Celery
1/2 large red and green pepper or 1 small one of each
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Kalamata Olives
Half block of feta cheese
Generous drizzle of Greek olive oil
2tbsp dried oregano
Coriander
Sprinkling of black pepper

Wash the lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, celery and dry off with some kitchen roll or a clean tea towel. Shred the lettuce and add to a bowl. Chop the peppers, and cucumber and slice the onion and throw into the bowl and throw the olives in too. 

Tear off the leaves of a small bunch of coriander and add to the bowl. Drizzle olive oil over and the juice of the lemon and give a good shake.  

Finally slice the feta into large oblongs or if you prefer, cubes and place on top of the salad. Drizzle over a final flourish of olive oil and toss over the oregano and enjoy!

Feta and Roasted Vegetable Tarts

Following on from my last post ~Jerk Chicken the other addition to the Brighton picnic, with friends Stephanie and Jade and my brother Daniel, were some quick and easy Feta and Roasted Vegetable Tarts.

I have made pastry many times but this time I used shop bought - as I was stuck for time - and the result was excellent. I think little cheats like this are OK in today's fast-paced culture. Lifestyle means that whilst people are keen to cook and try out new recipes, time and money can often be the biggest hurdles to overcome, so if buying a packet of pastry helps then so be it - and if it's good enough for Delia it's certainly good enough for me.

Also I used tomatoes which were the fruits of my efforts which you can read about in Green Fingered Pursuits - and have to say there really is nothing as satisfying as using produce which you've grown yourself.

1 packet of Feta Cheese
1 packet of Shortcrust Pastry
10 Small Tomatoes
1 Red Pepper
1 Yellow Pepper
100g Spinach Leaves
200g Ricotta Cheese
Knob of Butter
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Honey
Salt and Pepper to taste

Pre-heat the oven to 180D. Grease 6 tart cases.

Chop tomatoes in half and slice peppers. Place on an ovenproof tray and drizzle with a little Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar and Honey. Season with salt and pepper and bake for 25-30 minutes until the vegetables start to discolour and appear charred.

In the meantime roll out the pastry and cut out rounds and use fingers to place into tart cases, to fit cerrated edge.

Once vegetables are out of the oven place the tarts in for 10-12 minutes.

Chop the Feta into small cubes and place in a large mixing bowl with the Ricotta cheese. Stir in and add the vegetables.

Heat a pan and add the Spinach till it shrinks. Then add this to the Feta mixture and stir in well.

Season with salt and pepper.

Remove tart cases and spoon in a generous amount of the cheese mixture into each, flattening down with a knife.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until starting to brown.

Remove from the cases and either serve immediately with a fresh salad or allow to cool and include in a picnic as I did.