This is my version of Karak Chai, a milky tea popular in Gulf countries and South Asia, this one utilizing beautifully aromatic saffron by Heray Spice, a Chicago-based company, sourcing their products from farmer cooperatives all throughout Afghanistan.
It’s less sweet, as I’ve opted to swap out milk + sugar (you can also use honey) for the typically used sweetened condensed milk in this recipe: What makes this extra special? The Afghan saffron by Heray Spice.
To make Milky & Sweet Saffron Tea, use the following ingredients
Makes 2 teacups
Ingredients
1/8 teaspoon Heray Spice Saffron, soaked in 1/2 cup warm water for at least 10 minutes
5 cardamom pods, crushed
2 black tea bags (English Breakfast is perfect). You can also use loose tea, but you will have to strain the final mixture well.
1 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon raw cane sugar, or to taste. You can also use honey, but add this at the end when the tea has cooled somewhat.
Directions
In a small saucepan, bring the water-soaked saffron to a boil. Add the cardamon and the tea bags and continue to boil for 1-2 minutes.
Add the milk and lower the heat to medium simmer. Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, adding the sugar in the meantime.
Pour the mixture into teacups immediately before serving.
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Truthfully, I was hesitant to dive in because I knew it would take me to a dream world I might not ever get back to in real life. When I lived in Turkiye and traveled along the Aegean Coast, I was always trying to get to Ikaria, but could never make it.
The adventurer inside of me remembered my young self..
When I was just 19 years old, I became a solo traveler through Europe, by accident. I was visiting my family in Sicily when I got the travel bug to see more and more, so I hopped on a train to Bari and took a ferry through the Adriatic and landed on the island of Corfu.
This was way back before the internet, blogs and social media hailed the glories of solo travels, women solo travelers especially, and all the hot spots to take a selfie. Instead, I was able to peacefully take photos, meet incredibly warm local villagers who showed me their gardens and invited me for fresh home-grown watermelon. I ate the purest seafood directly from Aegean, unseasoned vegetable salads that actually taught me what cucumbers are supposed to be, and spoke to village Yaiyas about their secrets to reaching old age in such a healthy way. One told me to always peel your cucumber!
While enjoying my little cup of Greek coffee and a village breakfast high up in a mountainside home for just $12 USD per night, I wrote in my diary (not a laptop or cell phone notes) a vow to myself that I would someday make a life for myself in the Mediterranean. To live in this simplicity. In this healthy air. To have neighbors, friends and family that were just as kind, happy, quiet and hard-working as the people of Corfu.
Fast forward to now and my life looks nothing like that. I broke all the promises to myself about living in the Mediterranean. I’ve tried and feel like I failed, but I have learned to cook some pretty great things.
And I’ve learned to bring the Mediterranean lifestyle with me wherever I go, as much as I possibly can.
One way I do that is to eat as many greens as possible. To get as much sunshine as possible. To keep inspiring myself with stories, books, and recipes about the Mediterranean so that I can share that with all of you.
So I wanted to bring you a recipe this week that invokes both sides of the Aegean Sea, yet shared in both Greece and Turkiye. This is my specific take on it, my version, with the greens that I could find: Aegean Village Greens Pie. It’s not a sweet “pie”. Pie in this culinary cultural context is savory.
Aegean Village Greens Pie
Serves 6
I always tell people not to be intimidate by fillo dough. It’s much more forgiving than you think. I’m not including a recipe for homemade fillo dough now, because first I want you to get used to sourcing and cooking- and enjoyably eating those greens!
First, go out and look for greens- not just spinach. I promise you, you’ll find them. Also, spring onions and leeks (leave out the leeks if you can’t find them, it’s okay):
Spinach
Dandelions
Beets (you’ll use only the greens)
Swiss Chard (any variety)
Spring onions
Leeks
Next, I want you to look for fresh herbs and onions. Please try to avoid dried herbs for this recipe, except for dried thyme.
Dill
Parsley (flat leaf, if possible)
Mint
Next, I want you to find the creamiest feta cheese possible:
For me, the best one is the Macedonian style feta cheese (more readily found in Canada). You can use other types of feta, but in my opinion most are way too dry except for perhaps the Valbreso brand French Feta Cheese, which is more easily found in the U.S. I think I may have even seen it at Costco…
*I used Sotidakis Goat Feta Chevre (from Costco) once and it was good, but not moist enough for this recipe, in my opinion.*
If you can’t find either, then so be it – just use what you can find.
Lastly, find a good fillo dough (in the freezer section of most Mediterranean and Middle Eastern markets, as well as most grocery stores). My go-tos are Fillo Factory Organic or Krinos, but you can really use any that work for savory pies. Just make sure they’re not shaped like a triangle or molded into cups- that’s for other types of fillo dishes. You’re going to bring the fillo home and put it in the refrigerator. But not for too many days (3-4 days tops), otherwise it will start to get moldy.
You’ll probably have the rest of the ingredients on hand at home, but just in case:
A really great quality olive oil (that should be part of your cooking at all times, anyway, not just for this recipe). Might I be a little bit proud and mention our beloved Oil of Anatolia from Turkiye?
Farm fresh eggs
Black seed or sesame seeds (whichever you wish to top the spinach pies with)
Milk, for mixing with oil or butter, to wash the fillo
Silicone pastry brush
Rectangular deep pan (i.e. lasagna pan is good but a bit large). Round pans are okay but you’ll have to fanagle the fillo, which can be annoying
Measurements of Ingredients:
Approximately 3 cups cooked greens mixture (see below)
Fresh or dried garlic or garlic powder (optional)
All fresh herbs, washed, dried and roughly chopped
1-2 eggs (1 large or 2 small)
3/4 cup Feta cheese
1 teaspoon crushed black or white pepper
dry thyme or oregano (1-2 teaspoons)
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1 packet fillo (also spelled “phyllo”) dough, thawed in the refrigerator
Directions for Assembling and Baking:
HOW TO COOK THE GREENS
Wash and dry all the greens and onions. If using, chop the stems of any Swiss chard finely. If using spring onions or leeks, use the white parts for this recipe by chopping them finely.
In a small saute pan or pot, gently heat the olive oil. Add the onions then the stems or hardy parts of any of the greens. If you want you can add garlic (1 clove fresh) or garlic powder (1/2 teaspoon), too. Cook down until softened and set aside to cool completely.
ASSEMBLY & BAKING DIRECTIONS
To a large bowl, add the greens. Add the herbs, eggs, feta, pepper and dried oregano or thyme and mix well. If necessary, add salt. Set this bowl aside.
Prepare one cup of warm milk and add a generous drizzle of olive oil to it You can also/alternatively add a tablespoon of melted butter. This will be your wash for each layer of the fillo dough. Preheat the oven to 425 F.
To the bottom of the baking pan, brush it generously with olive oil only.
Open the packet of fillo dough. It will be large and rectangular. Cut it in half vertically so that you have two sections. Keep one out to work with and cover the other half with a damp towel. These pieces should fit the size of the pan with which you’re working.
Brush the first layer with the milk-olive oil/butter. Continue to do this with each and every layer of this first half of fillo sheets. When you have finished the first half, pour the cooked greens/feta/egg mixture on top and level it flat with a spatula. Drizzle olive oil on top generously.
Continue to use the other half of fillo sheets and brush each layer with the milk-olive oil mixture until you get to the very last layer on top. Drizzle the top generously with olive oil. Sprinkle sesame or black seeds on top and bak in the oven for 30-35 minutes.
Let cool a few minutes before cutting. Serve with a fresh cucumber-tomato-olive salad, if desired.Καλή όρεξηKalí órexi / Afiyet olsun! Share Everyday Mediterranean by Yvonne Maffei if you’d like to subscribe to my culinary newsletter on Substack.
I love eggplant and I love peppers, but on a day when I’m in a huge hurry and don’t have time to fry the eggplant (actually, I really don’t even like to fry eggplant because it seems to just eat up oil if you don’t pre-salt it). I usually don’t have time to pre-salt the eggplant either (it takes out excess moisture). So, instead I tend to cube it, and bring out the sliced peppers I have in the freezer. This makes things so much faster, easier and super-deliciousness is not sacrificed.
This is how I make it:
If using frozen peppers, you need to take out any excess water, so what I do is put them in a frying pan on low and keep a keen eye on the pan, making sure all the excess water is evaporated before putting them into the baking dish with the cubed eggplant.
Season with salt, pepper, olive oil and dried parsley.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes- at the 20 minute mark, pull it out and mix it all up to move the oil around and be sure nothing dries up.
After 40 minutes or so, it should look like this.
Our favorite way is to eat it over rice, but you could also serve it with pasta or rustic bread.
Roasted Eggplant & Pepper On Rice
This is such a straightforward, mess-free dish to make.
Makes 4 servings
INGREDIENTS
1 eggplant, half peeled
4 cups sliced peppers- mixed colors or just green ones
Mix the eggplant and peppers so they are thoroughly combined and place them in an oven-safe dish large enough to spread it out so that they’re not too crowded.
When you have a plethora of vegetables, there are only so many things you can do with them without getting tired of the same old thing. I tend to make a lot of soups from vegetables, but sometimes I want the taste of something grilled. This recipe is nice because you can even do it if you have a small oven or toaster oven, or even just a small amount of vegetables to grill.
Simply cut the vegetables all the same size so that they cook evenly.
Add some sea salt and drizzle generously with olive oil. You’ll save that oil for your salad and not waste a drop, so don’t worry.
Grill at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30 minutes (keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t burn, as some will ultimately cook a little faster than others).
They look so delicious and curl up so nicely. I like to add tomatoes, peppers, onions, eggplant.
When they’re out of the oven, I simply throw them all into a bowl, olive oil included. It makes a great side dish to meat or fish, or simply eat on its own with rustic bread.
It’s also pretty, so it’s nice to serve in a glass bowl for guests so they can see how pretty it is, too, from any vantage point of the dinner table.
I’m always on the lookout for quick and easy recipes for when I entertain- something healthy and that utilizes much of what I already have on hand is best because sometimes you need to pull something together for surprise guests, and it’s always good to use what you’ve already got on hand, too.
It’s so easy to pull together. Simply chop any type of nuts you have on hand. I like almonds, pistachios and walnuts (mixed together they’re lovely) or just one or two of them.
Simply line a pretty dish with a heaping, generous amount of your choice of cheese, add the nuts, then drizzle a good amount of honey on top. Serve with anything strong enough that can scoop up the ingredients of this dish: rustic bread, hearty grain crackers, or something similar. It also goes well with some fruit on the side like figs, grapes, or cherries. Your guests will love and appreciate something so hearty, rustic, homemade, and tasty.
This is such a tasty, elegant and rather quick recipe to make for a party in any season, really. I’ve made them for Ramadan Iftar parties, Eid gatherings, family night dinners, special occasions, and even when I’ve catered fancy events downtown Chicago. Always use the best salmon you can find and the freshest greens you can find, as well.
The recipe in the video is super quick because it’s simpler in that the cream cheese is plain.
In the recipe below it is a blend of ingredients that is suitable for an elegant party.
It can easily be multiplied depending on how many you’ll serve.
Most guests will eat about 2-3 each on average.
Smoked Salmon & Cream Cheese Crudites
Serves 4
Ingredients
8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
Juice of one large lemon
1/3 cup freshly chopped dill
Sea salt, to taste (about 1/8 teaspoon)
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste (about 1/8 teaspoon)
4 ounces smoked salmon (preferably wild)
1/3 cup diced cucumber
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream (optional)
Arugula or spring greens leaves
Directions
If you have a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment to break up the cream cheese and mix it together with the sour cream; if not, an electric beater works fine.
Add the lemon juice, fresh dill, salt and pepper. Roughly chop the salmon then gently fold it into the dip. Fold in the cucumber with a spoon or spatula.
Check the consistency and, if desired, add the heavy cream to create the consistency you prefer.
Refrigerate until serving. Keeps fresh for about 3 days in the fridge.
