One fun thing about doing novel research is learning, and for a novel set in another country, that means food! In a strange circle of Life Inspiring Art in turn inspiring my life, I have learned how to crack an egg with one hand, how to make my own hummus (easy with a food processor!), pita (easy without one!) and gyros, and my garden now includes dill and cucumbers.
The pita’s surprisingly fun to flip in the pan to cook, and in the heat of the summer, it’s really nice to make a quick supper that doesn’t heat up the oven & house. So in honor of The Helios Series, here’s my recipes for Non-PITA Pita, Hummus, Tzatziki, and Gyros, adapted from lots of trial and error, and using my special, easy No One Cares brand of low-pressure cookery:
Non-PITA Pita
160 ml milk
90 ml water (Pour the milk to just over 150, then add water to just shy of the 250 ml line. Easy!)
2 T EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
1 pkg yeast
1 tsp salt
1 tsp thyme
2 ½ c flour
Microwave the water/milk 60-90 seconds, then add the EVOO and yeast; stir. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl, dump in the liquids, and stir. Almost done! Sprinkle a little bit of flour onto the countertop and plop the dough onto it. Dust your hands with flour and knead to make sure it’s all mixed (we’re only talking 60 seconds. The dough will be a little sticky). Rub a teaspoon of EVOO inside the bowl, throw in the dough, and flip it so that both sides have a bit of oil to keep it from sticking. Set it aside to rise, about an hour. If it will be awhile before you cook them, cover & refrigerate.
When it’s time to make the pitas, pour 1 tsp of EVOO onto the countertop and smooth it around (It’s fine! Olive oil doesn’t count!) Wipe the excess on your rolling pin. Put a skillet on the stove over medium heat. With your hands, form the dough into a log of whatever size you like, chop it in half, and divide each half into thirds. Wad these into balls—these are your pitas.
Take one pita ball, smoosh it with your palm, and use the rolling pin to roll it out to about 7” (no one cares if it’s exact, nor whether they’re round—they won’t be. This is artisan pita.). Peel the pita off the countertop with both hands and lay it into the pan—no oil. Start your next pita while the first one cooks, remembering to check it (an assistant is good the first time) in a minute or two. Add more oil to the countertop and rolling pin if the dough sticks. Lift up the edge of the pita to check for brown spots and either flip it with a spatula or with the pan (practice your flip with a damp washrag, no heat, to flip like a boss). Slide out the pita and make the next one.
Yay! How fun is that?
Tsatziki
1 cucumber, peeled and shredded
1/3 to 3 crushed cloves of garlic (maybe 3 T)
3 T white wine vinegar
2 T dill, fresh or dried (more is good, too)
2 T EVOO
1 ½ cups of Greek yogurt
1 ½ t salt
pepper to taste
Peel & grate the cucumber; toss with ½ t of salt. Set aside in a colander to drip. Mix up the rest, then squeeze out the cucumber in a dishtowel, then dump into the yogurt mixture and blend. That’s all there is to it!
Hummus
1 ½ c dried chickpeas, soaked overnight with 1 tsp baking soda
¼ c crushed garlic
3/8 cup of lemon juice
2 t salt
1 ½ t cumin
½ c tahini
5 T water
Soak the chickpeas with baking soda overnight, then cook 90 minutes over low heat; drain. Meanwhile, mix the salt, garlic, lemon juice, and cumin and let sit. When the chickpeas are cool enough to handle, dump into a food processor with the juice mixture and tahini, and whiz. It may seem thin but will set up as it cools. That’s it! Hooray!
Chicken Gyros
3 lb chicken breasts
2 onions: 1 sliced, 1 chopped
3 sprigs oregano (or 2T dried)
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 T honey
3 T white wine vinegar, divided
tzatziki sauce
fresh tomatoes, chopped or sliced
Slice chicken breasts 3/8” thick and marinate overnight with everything but the tomatoes and sliced onion. Drain and cook 5-7 pieces at a time over medium high heat in a little EVOO; keep warm as the next batch is cooked. At the end, sprinkle with 1 T of vinegar and toss. Dress pita with 3 T tzatziki sauce, add chicken, tomato, and sliced onion. More salt never hurts. Yum! (the recipe also works with pork). Serve with a nice Greek salad.
Recent Comments