A taste of Greece

Have I said that I absolutely adore Greek food? Well, I really can't say it enough. When dining out, I want to have a little bit of everything, and so, of course, if the menu offers, I will opt for a meze sampler. What do you think of this one?


The sampler included muhammara, a roasted red bell pepper and walnut spread, almost like that of hummus, but a bit chunkier. The bell peppers were roasted at a super high temp so that the skin chars and could be peeled off. The walnuts were soaked first prior to roasting in order to remove bitterness and help give the walnuts a silky texture that they deserve. Then both the peppers and walnuts were blended with raw garlic, cumin, red chili flakes, lemon juice, and extra-virgin olive oil. A Greek butter bean salad marinated overnight in a red-wine oregano vinaigrette which included a bit of garlic and extra-virgin olive oil. For a lighter fare, tabbouleh, a mixture of parsley, bulgur wheat, Spanish paprika, lemon juice, and extra-virgin olive oil rounded off the plate. Tabbouleh typically is 90% Italian parsley and 10 % bulgur, but the one I made was about 20/80 respectively. My arm gets very sore from chopping all that parsley quite honestly. And what's better than some warm whole wheat pita brushed with olive oil to use as a vessel for the morsels of goodness.