3 Dishes: Greek and Vegan

Greek food is known for seafood and lamb, but once you go through all the different recipes available in books and restaurants, you will see how much food is actually vegan-friendly. If not, only minor changes need to be made to make a tasty three-course meal.

In this article, we will run through cooking a mouth-watering starter, a filling second and a tasty dessert. For the starter, we will do a classic greek salad. Next, we will cook up some stuffed peppers and finish the set off with some sweet baked figs and pistachios. 

Vegan Greek Salad

Greek salad also called Khoriatiki salad is not only popular in Greece but throughout the Mediterranean region. Its traditionally made with tomato, cucumber, onion, feta cheese, Kalamata olives and seasoned with oregano, olive oil, and salt. For this recipe, we will be substituting traditional feta with vegan feta, as well as some avocado to bring it to another level.

Greek salad is best enjoyed during the summer due to its freshness and burst of flavour. But honestly, you could eat this starter every day! It is so juicy, tasty and because there are no leafy greens involved, you can leave it in the fridge and eat it the next day (just leave out the avocado).

Greek Salad Ingredients

• Tomatoes
• Red Onion
• Cucumber
• Olives
• Avocado
• Vegan Feta Cheese

Ingredients For Greek Salad Dressing

• Olive Oil
• Lemon Juice
• Oregano
• Garlic 
• Maple Syrup
• Salt

How To Make Greek Salad

This is such an easy Greek Salad recipe, you basically add the ingredients to a bowl and toss with Greek salad dressing.

For the Greek salad, grape tomato is the best, but you can use cherry, Roma tomatoes or regular tomatoes. For the cucumber, peel the skin to remove any bitterness. Kalamata olives are olives of preference, but any black olive will do! Avocado isn't an ingredient in traditional Greek Salad, but there is nothing wrong with adding a boost of chopped avocados to the flavour. It only makes it better - if that is even possible.

In a large bowl, combine cherry tomatoes, cucumber, onion, olives, avocado, feta cheese in a bowl and toss. Make the Greek salad dressing, in a small bowl combine, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, maple syrup, and salt. Pour dressing over salad and toss gently and serve.

Gemista - Roasted Bell Peppers

Gemista is traditionally always made without meat. Sometimes you will find them stuffed with minced meat but that is generally not the norm. Our tip for the best possible taste is to make the Gemista and only serve them the next day. As they get even better once they’ve been soaking for a while. You can make huge batches of this recipe and leave it in the fridge. It will just get tastier and tastier.

Ingredients:

• 4 bell peppers
• 4-6 large tomatoes, depending on their size.
• 1 cup of risotto rice
• 1 large onion
• 1 zucchini
• 1 eggplant
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1/2 bunch of fresh parsley
• 8 stalks of dill
• 6 mint leaves
• 2 large cloves of garlic
• 8 tbsp of olive oil
• salt & pepper

Method

1. Finely chop the onion, zucchini, eggplant, and the herbs.
2. Heat up half of the olive oil in a large skillet on high heat.
3. Add the chopped vegetables together with the rice and the pine nuts and cook while stirring for 15 mins.
4. Later add in the crushed garlic and salt & pepper to taste.
5. Cut the top of the peppers and clean them out. Do the same with the tomatoes, carve them out using a spoon. Keep the flesh and juice of the tomatoes and the cut off tops.
6. Place the peppers and the tomatoes into a large ovenproof dish and fill them up with the rice filling.
7. Next whisk the juice from the tomatoes together with the remaining 4 tbsp of olive oil and 4 tbsp of water.
8. Add 1 tbsp of the liquid into each of the Gemista, put the top back on and pour the rest of the liquid on top of the Gemista.
9. Now loosely cover with some aluminum foil and bake in the oven at 180C for 90 mins.

Baked Figs With Pistachios

This final treat is always a winner! If you are not into cloves as a spice, you can always use cinnamon as an alternative or just leave out the spice altogether. It is easy to make and even better to serve!

Ingredients:

• 1-pint black mission figs
• 2 tbsp orange juice
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp chopped lemon peel
• 4-6 whole cloves (remove before serving)

Cooking Instructions

1. Rinse figs and cut stems off top of each. Score the tops of the fruit with a sharp knife. Place figs skin side down in the baking pan.
2. Combine ingredients well and spoon over cut figs. Cover pan tightly with lid or foil. Bake figs for 20 minutes in a 375-degree oven.
3. Serve warm or room temperature.

Remember to reserve syrup after cooking and remove whole cloves. Spoon syrup over baked figs before serving.

Garnish with pistachios, sliced almonds or chopped walnuts and a slice of lemon peel

Enjoy your meal!Kalí órexi!