I mentioned a Greek pasta dish in another posting around here and figured I would share it with you guys and a friend of mine has told me to throw in the salmon dish I like to run as well...here are a couple of easy and good dishes to try...
Greek Pasta (This is pretty much my own creation I made "along side" my Great-Grandmother who is 106 years old and still visits the "family" restaurant north of Athens, Greece daily. This was done totally through the postal system...this was a work of love to come up with to be "American-ized Greek" food...)
3/4 of a pound spaghetti, linguine or fettuccine-uncooked (I use linguine)
1 tsp dried oregano (a dash more doesn't hurt)
1 Tbsp olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1/3 cup grated Romano or Parmesan cheese (a combination is tasty as well)
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 oz Feta, crumbled
2-6 oz jars marinated artichoke hearts, chopped
12 Greek Kalamata olives (I use the ones in vinegar brine and olive oil from Krinkos, gotta pit them though!)
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onion and garlic, saute 1 to 2 minutes. Drain artichokes, reserving liquid, chop artichoke hearts and set aside. Add reserved artichoke liquid, olives, oregano and lemon juice to onion/garlic mixture and mix well.
Heat 2 to 3 minutes. Add reserved artichoke hearts, heat through. Combine cooked pasta and artichoke mixture.
Sprinkle cheeses on top as serving.
*Adding a small jar of sun ripened tomatoes drained and chopped makes a nice treat mixed in when adding the artichoke hearts!
Holly, my fiancee, likes this by itself and in the restaurant I do it as an entree either alone or with a boneless skinless chicken breast or a boneless pork chop. At home I do it with lamb...Holly doesn't like lamb so more for me!
Here is a salmon dish that compliments this one by using many similar ingredients...this I learned from Chef Domenico Berardicurti who has a restaurant outside of Omaha, Nebraska...I serve this one on a bed of "bow-tie" pasta!
Salmon with Artichokes
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tbsp finely chopped onion
1/2 Tbsp minced garlic
2 tsp capers
8 sun-dried tomatoes, not oil packed
16 canned or oil packed artichoke hearts, thinly sliced (I prefer the oil packed marinated variety)
Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper, to taste
1 cup dry white wine
1Tbsp + 1 tsp Fresh Lemon Juice
8 large basil leaves, chopped
2 tsp chopped parsley
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
4 7 to 10 ounce Salmon Fillets
PREPARATION
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chopped onions, garlic, capers, sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes and salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and increase heat to high. Add wine and lemon juice and cook 1 minute. Add basil and parsley stirring to incorporate. Add butter and stir until melted and remove from heat.
Grill salmon 3 to 4 minutes on each side over high heat...be sure to grease your grill or pan...
I place each fillet on a bed of "bow-tie" pasta and then top with the artichoke sauce and then I sprinkle with some crumbled feta cheese and parmesan cheese.
Sound yummy to anyone???
Greek Pasta (This is pretty much my own creation I made "along side" my Great-Grandmother who is 106 years old and still visits the "family" restaurant north of Athens, Greece daily. This was done totally through the postal system...this was a work of love to come up with to be "American-ized Greek" food...)
3/4 of a pound spaghetti, linguine or fettuccine-uncooked (I use linguine)
1 tsp dried oregano (a dash more doesn't hurt)
1 Tbsp olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1/3 cup grated Romano or Parmesan cheese (a combination is tasty as well)
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 oz Feta, crumbled
2-6 oz jars marinated artichoke hearts, chopped
12 Greek Kalamata olives (I use the ones in vinegar brine and olive oil from Krinkos, gotta pit them though!)
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onion and garlic, saute 1 to 2 minutes. Drain artichokes, reserving liquid, chop artichoke hearts and set aside. Add reserved artichoke liquid, olives, oregano and lemon juice to onion/garlic mixture and mix well.
Heat 2 to 3 minutes. Add reserved artichoke hearts, heat through. Combine cooked pasta and artichoke mixture.
Sprinkle cheeses on top as serving.
*Adding a small jar of sun ripened tomatoes drained and chopped makes a nice treat mixed in when adding the artichoke hearts!
Holly, my fiancee, likes this by itself and in the restaurant I do it as an entree either alone or with a boneless skinless chicken breast or a boneless pork chop. At home I do it with lamb...Holly doesn't like lamb so more for me!
Here is a salmon dish that compliments this one by using many similar ingredients...this I learned from Chef Domenico Berardicurti who has a restaurant outside of Omaha, Nebraska...I serve this one on a bed of "bow-tie" pasta!
Salmon with Artichokes
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tbsp finely chopped onion
1/2 Tbsp minced garlic
2 tsp capers
8 sun-dried tomatoes, not oil packed
16 canned or oil packed artichoke hearts, thinly sliced (I prefer the oil packed marinated variety)
Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper, to taste
1 cup dry white wine
1Tbsp + 1 tsp Fresh Lemon Juice
8 large basil leaves, chopped
2 tsp chopped parsley
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
4 7 to 10 ounce Salmon Fillets
PREPARATION
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chopped onions, garlic, capers, sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes and salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and increase heat to high. Add wine and lemon juice and cook 1 minute. Add basil and parsley stirring to incorporate. Add butter and stir until melted and remove from heat.
Grill salmon 3 to 4 minutes on each side over high heat...be sure to grease your grill or pan...
I place each fillet on a bed of "bow-tie" pasta and then top with the artichoke sauce and then I sprinkle with some crumbled feta cheese and parmesan cheese.
Sound yummy to anyone???
"Ponder well on this point: the pleasant hours of our life are all connected, by a more or less tangible link, with some memory of the table."-Charles Pierre Monselet, French author(1825-1888)