A spicy Greek feta dip that you’ll whip up again and again
Sometimes, one of us feels like cheese. Not any cheese mind you, but the spicy feta dip that we’re sharing with you today. Weird right? But let us explain; we think it will become clear.
A bite-sized sweet party in your mouth… wrapped in bacon
Greeks love mezes, little bite-sized (usually) appetizers that you can serve before a meal, or in place of a meal. It is not unusual to be served several platters of mezes, along with a lovely glass of ouzo or ouzo-infused cocktail, and be fully satisfied. The mezes are usually plenty, and they are so delicious that you are never wanting for a complete and formal meal. Common on the meze table are spanakopita, tyropita, meatballs (keftedes) and dips or spreads. Less common would be something like these dates, stuffed with feta enhanced with orange zest and mint, wrapped in bacon. These bite-size morsels of sweet, salt, savoury and awesomeness will definitely make you smile.
The Cobbopoulos; a delicious, Greek-inspired, Cobb salad
This salad is satisfying in so many ways. First, it delivers in flavour, with simple and fresh ingredients that come together in a delicious way. Second, it manages to put a Greek spin on a classic salad making it, in our opinion at least, even better; feta and Kalamata olives tend to do that. Finally, the presentation speaks to each of us, at different moments. The initial plating, ordered and with each ingredient clearly in its place, satisfies the need for organization that one of us has. When the salad gets tossed together to coat every little bit with the delicious dressing…well that’s organized chaos in a bowl, and hits home with the other one of us.
If you have been following Mia Kouppa for a while, or even for a little bit of time (Welcome!), you may have realized a few things. Feta should always be Greek (as should olive oil), fresh bread usually goes beautifully with just about any meal, and if you have a well stocked Greek pantry, you can make thousands of recipes (this is only a slight exaggeration) . You may have also noticed that we are firm believers that beans should never come from a can. But never is a really big word.
We sure love simple, and when simple is simply delicious, well…we love it even more. When things get busy, hectic, and overwhelming, knowing that there is a way to get a meal on the table in short order, using a few ingredients you likely already have on hand, is a gift. This gift is often wrapped in pasta.
There is probably nothing more satisfying than a nice bowl of pasta, or comfort carbs as we like to call them. Not only are they versatile, but they are usually inexpensive, and readily available. Here we’re sharing a lovely recipe for spaghetti (one of our top 5 noodles) topped with a rich, but simple tomato sauce and handfuls of crumbled feta. This might become your go-to meal when you are pressed for time, but it’s so delicious that you may find yourself making it even when you have the entire day to spend in the kitchen. It’s simply that good.
This dish looks so impressive, so fancy, that it is hard to believe that it can easily be whipped together in a moment’s notice. The sweetness of the honey, paired with the saltiness of the feta and the crunch of the sesame seeds and nuts, creates a dish which is rich in both flavour and texture. Pretty impressive for a recipe which has only a few basic ingredients and can be ready in under 10 minutes. We wish everything in life was this easy, and this tasty!
We love food; we love to eat food, write about food and talk about food. It must run in the family, because we have recently (like right now) been enjoying a visit from our Australian cousin. Along with showing off our beautiful city, hanging out with all of our cousins, and hearing about the perils of living down under (we have decided that Aussies are much braver than us Canadians!), we have found ourselves constantly talking about food…possibly because we are always eating. We have been having a truly beautiful time.
They say you are what you eat. If that’s the case, then in the summer months we are villagers. When garden tomatoes have ripened, we use them to make, and eat, delicious Greek salad, also called a horiatiki salata (horio means village in Greek). We eat this salad every day. Not almost every day…but every, single, day. And we never tire of it.
It would be next to impossible to tire of a salad so full of flavour and amazing texture. For us, Greek salad or horiatiki salata is a gift of summer; easy to prepare, filling, deliciously fragrant and healthy. In fact, the only down side is that we live in a country where local, vine-ripened tomatoes are not readily available year round.
