Cod Baked with Tahini Sauce

This dish is so simple to make but the taste is very Mediterranean and outstanding. Make the tahini sauce first.

Tahini Sauce

• 2 tablespoons tahini paste
• juice of 1 lemon
• 5 tablespoons water (more or less)
• sea salt and black pepper

Serves 4.

Crush the garlic clove to a paste with a good pinch of salt in a mortar and pestle. Transfer to a small mixing bowl. Whisk in the tahini and then thin with the lemon juice. Add water until you have a consistency of cream, check the seasoning, add more lemon juice, salt or pepper to taste.

Baked Cod

• 4 thick cod fillets, skin on, about 8 ounces each
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• sea salt and black pepper
• chopped fresh parsley, small handful
• 1 lemon quartered

Serves 4 people.

Place a frying  pan on the stove, medium high heat. Add the olive oil just enough to cover the pan. Season the cod with salt and pepper. Place it carefully in the pan, skin-side up, shaking the pan to prevent it from sticking. Cook for 1-2 minutes until sealed. Carefully turn the fish over with a spatula and continue cooking for 5 to 8 minutes until it's cooked through. It should flake easily, and be white all the way through.  While the fish is still there, pour the tahini sauce into the pan to warm for half a minute. Transfer to warm plates, spooning the sauce over the fish, sprinkle the chopped parsley over the fish and sauce and lemon on the side.

Greek Farro Salad

Serves 4 to 6 Due to great demand for this salad, I feel it's time to start adding more recipes, beginning with this one! Farro is a nutty grain, similar to barely. In the summer, it's a fabulous side dish for grilled meats or fish. Great with grilled lamb. Once you've mastered this recipe, you'll find ways to incorporate seasonal vegetables. This one works all year round.

• 1 cup farro
• 1 large tomato, or 4 small, cut into chunks
• 1 English cucumber, halved, seeded, and cut into chunks
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, halved, cored, and cut into chunks
• 1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives
• 6 large basil leaves, torn into pieces
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2-ounce block feta cheese

Bring 3 cups of salted water to a boil.

Add the farro, reduce heat to medium-low, and cover.

Simmer farro till tender, about 20 minutes,

Drain and rinse the farro in cold water, making sure most of the water is drained.

While the farro is draining, add the tomato, cucumber, onion, bell pepper, olives and basil to a mixing bowl. Add the farro, toss, then add the oil and lemon juice, toss again, add the salt and pepper, toss. Taste, season with more salt or lemon or pepper.

Put the salad on an oval platter, top with the feta and add whole basil leaves, (if you want) for decoration.

Hope you enjoy this salad as much as my family and friends do. It makes for a great pot luck dish as well, can be made a day ahead or on the same day few hours earlier.

Skirt Steak With Salsa Verde

Skirt steak has so much flavor - if you like beef, this is for you!  It is without a doubt our family and friends favorite. Plan ahead, the steak needs to marinate at least four hours or overnight. The salsa verde can be made ahead. Another reason to love this dish, it can be made ahead of time, all you have to do is grill the meat.

Marinade

• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh thyme
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

 Serves 4

Combine the rosemary, thyme, parsley, garlic and olive oil in nonreactive medium casserole. Stir well to blend. Place the steak in the casserole and turn to blend both sides with the herb mixture.  Cover and refrigerate for at least four hours or overnight.

Preheat the grill or broiler. Remove the steak from the marinade, and season with salt and pepper. Place on the hottest part of the grill, cook for 3 minutes on one side, then on the other side for 2 minutes.
Let the meat rest for at least five minutes before slicing(on the bias) about 1/2 inch thick.

I like to place the sliced steak on a platter family style, and the salsa verde sauce (recipe below)in a small bowl. Family and friends can help themselves.

Salsa Verde

I have to omit the anchovies for my son and daughter, they haven't acquired a taste for them (yet)! It still takes great, so I don't mind.

• 1 large bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 bunch fresh basil
• 1 handful fresh mint leaves
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1/3 cup capers, rinsed
• 8 pieces anchovies, rinsed and patted dry
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

In your food processor, pulse/chop the parsley, basil, mint, garlic, capers and anchovies until roughly blended.
Transfer to a large bowl and add the vinegar. Slowly pour in the olive oil, stirring constantly, add the mustard. Check for seasoning, you might not need salt, just pepper.

Butternut Squash And Chickpea Salad With Tahini

This salad has so much flavor and textures. I like to serve it with grilled fish or just with an assortment of other salads and vegetables. Especially when I have vegetarian guests, they just love it!

Serves 4.

• 2 lbs butternut squash, more or less. Peeled, seeded and cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups home -cooked chickpeas or canned chickpeas,drained
• 1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
• 4 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh coriander
• sea salt and black pepper

Tahini Sauce

• 1 garlic clove, crushed to a paste with a sprinkle of salt
• 3 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons tahini paste
• 2 tablespoons water, to taste
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Toss the squash with the garlic, olive oil, allspice, and some salt and pepper. Place on a tray in the over for about 15-25 minutes or until soft. Remove and cool.

While the squash is cooking, make the tahini sauce. Mix the crushed garlic with the lemon juice and add the tahini. Thin with the water and olive oil and check for seasoning. You should balance between the nutty tahini and lemon.

To assemble the salad, place the squash, chickpeas, red onion and coriander in a mixing bowl. Pour on the tahini sauce and remaining oil and toss gently.

Season with salt and pepper. Serve warm or room temperature.

Oregano Salad

This is one of my favorite Mediterranean salads!  My daughter and her friends (all 21 year old) love it as well. If you happen to have oregano growing in your garden and you are like me, you love Mediterranean cooking and have an abundance of it, this is a great way to use some of it up. And if you love it like we do, you will be looking forward to the new growth. An added bonus, it is believed in the Arab world to strengthen the memory!!

• 6 cups (about eight 3/4 ounce packages) fresh oregano, stemmed, rinsed, and patted dry
• 1 medium white onion, finely chopped
• 15 scallions, white and light green parts only, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
• 1/2 pound tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 1 clove garlic, mashed
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice or more to taste
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or more to taste
• 2 tablespoons ground sumac
• White onions, halved and thinly sliced, for garnish
• Arab flat bread or pita for serving

Serves 6.

Combine the oregano leaves, onions, scallions, and tomatoes in a medium bowl.

Whisk the garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice together in a small bowl, and pour the dressing over the salad. Toss, so that all the oregano leaves are coated with the dressing. Season with the salt. Taste, and add more salt or a bit more lemon juice to taste. Sprinkle the sumac over the salad, reserving a bit for the garnish, and toss again.

Transfer the salad to a serving platter, garnish with the onions, and sprinkle the remaining sumac over the onions. Serve immediately, with wedges of  Arab flat bread or pita.

Spaghetti Squash with Sage and Walnuts

This dish is so much fun to eat, especially when I'm craving pasta with a sauce and I don't want to eat too much starch. It's so aromatic and full of fall flavors. Makes for a great Mediterranean entree but if there are more people, it's a great side dish for meaty dishes. Plus, it's so easy to make!

• 1 spaghetti squash (about 3 pounds)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse-ground black pepper
• 5 tablespoons butter
• 15 sage leaves
• 1/2 cup shelled walnuts, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Serves 6 as a starter.

Here's how to prepare this gorgeous Mediterranean dish:

1. Preheat the oven to 400.
2. Place the squash on a cutting board. Using a large, very sharp knife, cut the squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seed with a spoon and discard.
3. Place the squash halves on a roasting rack and season with 1/4 teaspoon each of the salt and pepper. Place 1 tablespoon of butter and 2 sage leaves in the hollowed -out core of each half.
4. Bake the squash on the oven's middle rack until the flesh is just soft, about an hour (or longer, it all depends on your oven).  Remove the squash and let it cool until you can work with the flesh comfortably, about 15 minutes.
5. Using a fork, scrape the meat of the squash away from the skin, so that you get fluffy spaghetti-like strands. Reserve these and discard the skins. This can be made ahead of time, stored in an air-tight container in the fridge.
6. Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the walnuts. Toast the nuts and allow the butter to bubble, about 1 minute.
7. Add the sage leaves. When the leaves release their aroma and begin to crackle in the pan, add the squash and stir to coat it with the flavored butter. Cook for 2 minutes over medium heat until the squash is warm, stirring frequently so the flavors get inside the squash.  Season with the rest of the salt and pepper, or to your taste.
8. Serve on a large plate or platter, topped with the cheese.

Enjoy!

Smashed Potatoes

This dish is so easy to prepare, only three ingredients, but combined it makes for a very flavorful side dish. It's also a good alternative if you are cutting back on dairy.

• 8 Yukon gold potatoes
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon salt, or to taste
• Freshly ground white pepper

Serves 6

Preheat the oven to 450 F. Wrap each potato in aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes, or until tender. Remove from the oven and when the potatoes are cool enough to handle but still warm, discard the skins. In a large bowl, lightly crush the potatoes with a fork. Mix in the olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste.