garlicky spinach & feta (with optional bacon)

I first thought of this as a way of using up some almost off baby spinach, and I happened to have some feta and plenty of onions and garlic, so this is what happened. Since then I’ve been having it on toasted breads of various types, but you can also use it as a stuffing for grilled mushrooms or chicken breasts (kiev style). And while this started off vegetarian as an open-faced sandwich on toasted “chapata cristal”,  later on I tried it with crispy bacon added to the mix and turned it into a fabulous grilled sandwich on sourdough rye. As you can see, it’s pretty versatile.

Ingredients and instructions below…
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feta spinach potato bake

Another Lockdown Lunch that happened by chance when I realised that I had a bag of baby spinach leaves that was starting to go off. So after washing and picking out some icky leaves I was left with about 3/4 of a bag, but that turned out to be plenty for what I had in mind. It also gave me a chance to break out the mandolin I’d bought back in September 2017, which only occurred to me because in a fit of cleaning  a couple of weeks ago I took it out of its box and ran it through the dishwasher. So it was all ready to go.

And well… OMG. There is no going back. I used it to thinly slice the potatoes and onions (no more tears!) and was actually way too excited about this, to be honest. But that’s fine, because during these long cloistered days I gotta get my thrills however and whenever. Anyhow, it’s a really easy recipe and you can play around with the ingredients, and amounts. The main thing is to bake the ingredients separately adding layers so that the potatoes cook through but are also a bit crispy.

Ingredients and instructions below…
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garbanzo & feta salad

garbanzo feta (1)
I was about to make hummus today and then remembered that I had some feta cheese.  So I ended up making a “fridge forage” garbanzo bean salad and it turned out very well. It’s great on its own, or as a side dish. Also handy because you can make it ahead and keep it in the fridge (up to two days). It’s also something you can play with, changing ingredients here and there (see below). Nice summer dinner option.

Ingredients and instructions below…
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