Greek-style Stuffed Vegetables

 I had a yen to make stuffed vegetables, Greek style, as we ate this past summer on the island of Crete. These have a completely different flavor profile from the Italian-style stuffed vegetables I usually make. The herbs used here -- mint, dill and parsley -- really scream Greek cooking and lend a complex taste to the dish. I never got the recipe that was used by our hostess in Crete, but my re-creation tastes pretty darn close to what we ate on that island. The biggest difference was the lack of an outdoor wood-fired oven, and the view of the Cretan countryside. Oh well, the memories will have to suffice.

I chose zucchini, peppers and tomatoes for this, just as we used in Greece. I was able to find smallish-sized peppers and I used plum tomatoes, but you can substitute regular tomatoes too (just don't use beefsteak tomatoes or any that are large.)

Cut out the insides of the peppers and discard. But keep the insides of the zucchini and tomatoes. They'll be part of the stuffing. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper. The zucchini always seems to need more seasoning than other vegetables.

  Chop the insides of the zucchini and tomatoes and place them and the garlic in a pan with some olive oil and saute until soft. Remove to a bowl, then add the herbs, crushed tomatoes, rice, water and a little more olive oil, plus salt and pepper. 

Using a teaspoon, stuff the vegetables, then place the lids back on the peppers and tomatoes. Drizzle with a little more olive oil, then cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake.

After about an hour or a little more, remove the aluminum foil and check to see that the vegetables are soft and that the rice is cooked. If not, place back into the oven for a little more time. This is great as a main course, or as a side dish with fish, chicken or another meat.

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Greek-style Stuffed Vegetables

(Use any combination of vegetables you like - this is what I used):

2 zucchini

3 tomatoes

8 small sweet peppers

1/4 cup minced onion

1 large clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt, pepper

1 teaspoon dill (I only had dried)

about 1/2 cup of fresh mint, minced

about 1/2 cup of fresh parsley, minced

1 cup white rice (If using brown rice, you'll have to increase the amount of crushed tomatoes and water)

1/2 cup crushed tomatoes

1/2 cup water

more salt and pepper and olive oil

Slice the tops off the tomatoes and the peppers but retain the tops. Cut out the seedy insides of the peppers and discard. Dig out the inside of the tomatoes but retain that part, chopping finely on a board. With the zucchini, slice into big chunks and hollow out the inside, chopping that part also.

Place the vegetables in an oven proof shallow casserole that's been smeared with a little olive oil. Season the inside of the cleaned out vegetables with salt and pepper.

Mince the onion and saute it in the olive oil, along with the interior of the zucchini that you minced. When it is wilted, add the garlic and saute for a few more minutes. You could also add some chopped mushrooms if you like. Place the sauteed onions, zucchini and garlic in a bowl and add the chopped interior of the tomatoes, plus the rice, the crushed tomatoes, the water, salt and pepper and the herbs. Stir everything together and stuff the vegetables, using a teaspoon. Drizzle with a little more olive oil.

Cover the casserole tightly with aluminum foil and bake at 375 degrees for 1 - 1/2 hours, checking after an hour. The vegetables should be cooked through and the rice should have plumped up nicely. There should be some liquid at the bottom of the casserole, which is to be expected and is delicious to pour over the vegetables when you plate them.

Chicken, White Bean and Greens Stew

In my attempt to cook more heart-healthy meals, (IYKYK), I found this recipe from The New York Times that sounded perfect to me. It uses cannellini beans and boneless, skinless chicken breasts, both of which are loaded with protein. The original recipe called for butter, but I used olive oil instead, and the flavor was outstanding. We didn't miss the butter at all. Make sure to season each component of the dish when you place it in the pot. Without the salt, pepper and rosemary, the dish could be on the bland side. While I used Swiss chard, (The QUEEN of greens and my favorite), feel free to use spinach, kale or escarole if you prefer. Serve with some good crusty Italian or French bread to dip into the stew.

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Chicken and White Bean Stew (adapted from The New York Times)

1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts or "tenders"

1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 large bunch of Swiss chard, finely chopped (use kale, escarole or spinach if you prefer), chopped

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 14 oz. can chicken stock (or homemade)

1 15.5 oz. can cannellini beans

salt, pepper

a few tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary 

Place the olive oil in a pan and add the chicken pieces, seasoning them with salt and pepper. Saute them on both sides, until you get a nice golden color. Cook with the lid on for a few minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Remove to a plate.

Add the onion to the pan and saute until they are golden. Add another tablespoon of olive oil if the pot is too dry. Add the chopped Swiss chard and cook for a few minutes with the onion until it starts to wilt. Add the chicken stock and the beans and season with more salt, pepper and the rosemary.

Shred the chicken then add to the pot and cook for another five to ten minutes, until the Swiss chard is fully cooked. Mash some of the beans with a fork, then serve with some good crusty bread.

 

Two-Timer Stuffed Pork Loin

 

I bought a pork loin recently just so I could slice off some thin pieces and make pork "cutlets," where the standard procedure is to pound them, season with salt and pepper then dredge in flour, beaten egg and seasoned bread crumbs.

After a shallow fry in some oil, the result was delicious, especially with a little lemon squeezed on top. But I only sliced off enough for one meal and put the remainder of the roast in the freezer for another day.  I wanted to "butterfly" the rest of the roast and didn't want to be eating the same leftovers for days.

This is what the roast looked like after I had sliced off the six pieces for the cutlets. At this point, it weighed about 1 3/4 pounds -- enough for four people. If you don't slice off the pieces for the cutlets, it can serve six people as a main course.

In order to butterfly it, I took a sharp knife and inserted it into a shallow depth (maybe 1/2 inch or so), then kept moving the meat so I could maintain an even thickness throughout.

Here's what it looked like after slicing and pounding the meat between two pieces of waxed paper. The procedure will help flatten it and tenderize it a bit too.

Season the meat with salt and pepper then place your prepared filling inside. I used mushrooms, peppers, onions and some Italian chestnuts, but you can omit the chestnuts if you can't find them, or add whatever else you think might be a good addition, like apples or some sauteed pancetta. 

Roll it up, leaving the fatty part resting on top, then secure it with some kitchen twine.

Brown it briefly on all sides in some olive oil, then place it on a shallow, oven-proof pan. This is what it looked like after a quick browning as it went into the oven. Roast it at 350 degrees for about 1/2 hour. 

I used a meat thermometer and let it reach about 135 degrees before removing from the oven. It rested for 10 minutes and the temperature climbed to nearly 150 degrees. Next time, I'd remove it at 130 degrees so it reaches only 140 or 145 degrees, which leads to a more tender roast.

However, it sliced easily after the resting and was really delicious, especially after swiping in the olive oil and juices that remained in the pan. 

I served the roast with some fennel gratinee and boiled potatoes.

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Stuffed Pork Loin

1 pork loin (not tenderloin) about 2-2 1/2 lbs.

6 or 7 large mushrooms, minced

2 tablespoons chopped onion

1 minced garlic

a few slices of red pepper, diced

6 roasted chestnuts, chopped (optional)

2 tablespoons olive oil

minced rosemary and minced parsley

salt, pepper

Saute the mushrooms, peppers and onions in the 2 tablespoons of olive oil until softened and most of the liquid has evaported. Add the garlic and chestnuts and saute until softened. Season with salt, pepper, minced rosemary and minced parsley. Place in the refrigerator to cool a bit.

Meanwhile, "butterfly" the pork roast, by inserting a knife lengthwise into the roast, and after a cut of about 1/4 inch, rotate the roast so that the knife continues to a depth of about 1/4 inch all around, until you have a flattened piece of meat.

Place the meat between two pieces of waxed paper and pound with a meat pounder. Then season with sale and pepper, and spread the filling on top.

Roll the roast tightly, ending with the piece that has a strip of fat on it. Secure it with kitchen twine.

Place in a shallow roasting pan, drizzle with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and roast for 1/2 hour at 375 degrees. Remove from the oven when a thermometer measures from 130 to 135 degrees. Let it rest for 10 minutes and it will continue to cook internally.

Slice and serve right on the roasting pan, so you can sop up the juices and olive oil left behind.