Tomatoes A La Grecque Recipes

VEGETABLES à LA GRECQUE

Steps:

• In a pot, bring the liquids, spices and herbs to just below a boil.
• Cook each vegetable, separated by type, in the seasoned liquid. Start with the onion, then fennel, then cauliflower or mushrooms, then celery. Cook each until it can be pierced with a knife and tastes delicious. As each batch is done, scoop it out with a slotted spoon or a hand-held sieve. Place on a cookie sheet to cool.
• If spices or bits of herb stick to the vegetables, put what you can back in the pot and don't worry about the rest - everything will marinate together, so things will redistribute. When all the vegetables are cooked, layer them in a 1-quart Mason jar - it looks nice if you do mushrooms, then onions and so on. Pour all of the cooking liquid over them, without straining. The olive oil in the liquid will rise to the top and create a seal.
• Serve alone as an hors d'oeuvre, or as part of a salad, or on little buttered toasts. Or in an omelet. Or in a sandwich. Anywhere, really, but in a strawberry tart. Refrigerate for up to a month.

TOMATOES A LA GRECQUE

Steps:

• Slice tomatoes lengthwise into quarters, through the stem. Place in a medium bowl; season with salt and pepper.
• Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic; cook, stirring, until soft but not browned, about 1 minute. Add vinegar, lemon juice, and coriander. Let simmer 1 minute.
• Immediately pour hot vinaigrette over tomatoes, and let marinate at room temperature until completely cooled. Alternatively, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.
• Just before serving, peel cucumbers, leaving on stripes of skin for decoration, if desired. Halve cucumbers lengthwise; scrape out seeds with a spoon and discard. Cut cucumber into 1/2-inch semicircles. Garnish tomatoes with oregano, and serve cucumbers in a separate bowl.

VEGETABLES A LA GRECQUE

Steps:

• In a large stainless steel bowl, mix the grapeseed oil and all of the vegetables and olives together. In a glass bowl combine the lemon juice, light olive oil, chili flakes, tarragon, rice wine vinegar, and salt and pepper, to taste.
• Combine the dressing with the vegetables and refrigerate for 4 hours, allowing the flavors to meld. When ready to serve, transfer the vegetables to a serving bowl and garnish with scallions.
• Cook's Note: Blanching is a form of cooking by which dropping raw vegetables into boiling salted water for 3 to 5 minutes and then immediately transferring to a bowl of iced water. When "shocking" with ice water, it instantly stops the cooking process.

MOUSSAKA A LA GRECQUE

Steps:

• Peel the eggplant and slice it crosswise 1/2-inch thick. Sprinkle both sides of each slice lightly with salt, arrange in 1 layer on paper towels and let drain for 30 minutes.
• In a large skillet heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over moderate heat; add as many slices as will fit in 1 layer and brown on both sides. Repeat the procedure with 4 tablespoons of the remaining oil and the remaining eggplant. Drain the eggplant as they are cooked on paper towels.
• Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil and the onion to the skillet and cook until the onions are brown. Add the ground meat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is no longer pink. Combine the tomato paste with the wine, parsley, and cinnamon. Add this mixture to the skillet and simmer over low heat, stirring often, until all the liquid has evaporated. Add salt and pepper, to taste.
• In a sauce pan, over low heat, melt the butter, add the flour and whisk for 5 minutes. Turn up the heat to moderate and add the milk in a stream, whisking. Simmer for 5 minutes, add salt and pepper, to taste, and remove from the heat. Cool slightly and stir in the eggs, nutmeg, and ricotta.
• Grease and 11 by 16-inch pan and sprinkle the bottom lightly with bread crumbs. Arrange alternating layers of eggplant and meat sauce in the pan, sprinkling each layer with Parmesan and bread crumbs. Pour the egg sauce over the top and bake one hour in a preheat 350 degree oven, or until top is golden. Let cool twenty minutes before slicing.

MUSHROOMS A LA GRECQUE

Steps:

• Cut a cross on the base of the tomatoes, immerse them in boiling water for 20-30 seconds, then plunge them into cold water; drain and peel the skin away from the cross and, discarding the juice the and seeds (see notes below), finely chop the tomatoes.
• Place the tomatoes, oil, wine, onion, garlic, bay leaf, thyme and basil to a non-aluminium pan, add about 1 cup of water and bring to the boil; then cover and simmer for 10 minutes; then uncover the pan, add the mushrooms and simmer for a further 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Lift out the mushroom with a slotted spoon and transfer them to a serving dish.
• Boil the cooking liquid rapidly until about 1 cup remains, remove the bay leaf, add the lemon juice and season with salt, pepper and sugar, to taste.
• Pour the liquid over the mushrooms, and leave the mushrooms to cool.
• Serve the mushrooms cold, sprinkled with the chopped parsley and the walnuts.
• Notes: Rather than wasting such juices or vegetable peelings, I add them to my container of ingredients for when I next make my Vegetable Stock Recipe #135453.

POULET A LA GRECQUE

Steps:

• Season flour with salt and pepper; coat chicken pieces with seasoned flour.
• Heat butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place chicken pieces in skillet; cook, turning once, to brown on both sides, about 6 minutes.
• Stir in shallots, onions, and garlic; cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and wine; bring to a boil. Then stir in saffron, curry powder, sugar, raisins, and salt and pepper. Cover, and cook over medium heat for 12 to 15 minutes.

LEEKS A LA GRECQUE

Steps:

• Remove the outer leaves from the leeks, wash thoroughly and cut into 2.5 centimetre (1 inch) lengths.
• Place in a pan (preferably non-stick) with the remaining ingredients, adding salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.
• Heat gently until the vegetables are simmering and simmer for 20 minutes.
• If serving warm, place in a serving dish, garnish with basil leaves - and serve.
• If serving cold, leave to cool in the liquid, then place in a serving dish, garnish with basil leaves - and serve.