Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Greek Pizza

Just about anything you can think of can become a pizza! So today I made one version of a Greek pizza complete with lamb, red pepper, red onion, feta and yogurt sauce. Enjoy!!

Ingredients:
1 - 12 inch pizza dough (homemade, store bought, etc)
1 cup - browned ground lamb
2 - small tomatoes sliced into rounds
1/2 - red pepper, julienne
1/4 - red onion, sliced into half moons
3/4 cup - crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup - hummus
Dried oregano
Garlic Powder
Pepper
Olive oil
Yogurt sauce (see Greek Tostada blog for recipe)

Based on your type of pizza crust your oven temperature may be different. For my homemade crust I pre heat my oven between 450-470 degrees with a my pizza stone on the bottom rack at least 1-hr prior to baking the pizza. This allows for the stone to get good and hot.

Spread the hummus over the pizza crust leaving about a 1 inch rim. Spread the tomatoes, red peppers, and red onions over the hummus. On top of the vegetables sprinkle the lamb and the feta. Generously sprinkle oregano and garlic powder on top of the pizza. Grind some fresh black pepper on top of the pizza and drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil. You can add a pinch of salt if you'd like, but I don't find it necessary as the feta is pretty salty.

Cook the pizza for approximately 12 minutes until the crust is golden brown. When done drizzle the top of the pizza with the yogurt sauce and allow the pizza to rest for about 10 minutes before cutting.

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Greek Tostada

A twist on a Latin American dish made with the flavors of Greece and the Mediterranean. I chose to stick with tortillas as opposed to pita because I think pita makes the dish too bready and takes away from the other flavors.


Ingredients:
8 – corn tortillas
½ lb – ground lamb
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp oregano
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
1 – zucchini
½ - red pepper, julienne
2 – tomatoes (sliced into round then quartered)
¼ - red onion sliced
4 TBS – hummus
Feta cheese
1 TBS – oil (Veg or Canola)

Yogurt Sauce
½ cup plain yogurt
10- 15 mint leaves chopped
1 clove garlic finely chopped
2 TBS – extra virgin olive oil
Juice of half a lemon
Zest of 1 lemon
Pinch of salt and pepper

Pre-Heat oven to 350 degrees

Heat a sauté pan over medium heat with the oil. When hot, brown the lamb with the cumin, oregano, salt and pepper. When browned, drain off the fat and set the lamb aside. Lay out 4-tortillas on a cookie sheet. Spread hummus over the top of each of them. Cover the hummus with a few slices of zucchini, red pepper, red onion and tomato. Top the vegetables with some lamb and a couple TBS of feta. Take the last 4-tortillas and spread hummus on one side of them and place on top of vegetable lamb mixture hummus side up. Cover the top of the second tortilla with the vegetables, lamb, and feta. Place the cookie sheet in the over and bake 12-15 minutes.

When done drizzle the tostada with yogurt sauce (recipe below)

Yogurt Sauce: Mix the yogurt, mint, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, zest, salt and pepper in a bowl. Let sit in the refrigerator for at least 1-hr to allow for the flavors to develop.