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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 Mediterranean & Aegean dishes, as they’re known for their use of healthy ingredients, but many dishes just remind me specifically of the sun-soaked places I am super passionate about like Sicily, Italy; Corfu, Greece, and pretty much anywhere along the Turkish Aegean & Mediterranean (aka: the Turquoise Coast).
Ahh, I can get swept away just thinking about how peaceful those places are. Peaceful, yet teeming with life and nature and so much good food.
There’s something particular about Greek food that I favor. You can say that Turkish and Greek foods are interchangeable, but there are some differences, too. I love the simplicity of many Greek dishes, for one thing. I think this is mostly attributed to austere island life of the hundreds of Greek islands, which makes it quite interesting to think about how, for example, those who have endured mountain life were able to conjure up such simple yet nutritious meals that have been feeding them for generations. Most of the dishes aren’t fussy, either which is something I truly love.
This recipe here for Aegean Style Alfredo, is leaning on the Greek side, as I’ve not ever seen it in Turkish cuisine specifically but I have seen many a dish of Makarna with Yogurt, though not specifically like this.
I learned about it while doing some research on the Blue Zones, in particular the diet of the people of Ikaria, known for their longevity. After research many of the recipes, this one in particular resonated with me because it was very similar to one of the very first Turkish pasta dishes I ever tried, too.
This recipe is so simple, but it has taken me some experimentation to get it just the way I think it tastes fantastic and easiest to make, which is just as important to me.
To start with, choose the best noodles. Get handmade fettuccine, or something similar, if possible. If not, any type of thick noodle will do – and once you get a hang of this method, do it with just about any type of pasta that you like.
Next comes making the yogurt sauce. I’m starting with Mountain High Yogurt, for many reasons. For one, it’s a favored brand in my halal kitchen because it doesn’t contain any funny stuff (that’s a real tagline of theirs) and second, it’s a halal-certified product. It also tastes great and cooks well- so that means you don’t just have to have it as a snack, but you can also use it in dishes like this where you might not realize yogurt can be ‘cooked’ or heated.
The second thing regards how you decide to process the garlic. There are two ways you can do it- when I’m finished explaining I’ll tell you which one I prefer the most.
One way is to chop the garlic and lightly saute it in garlic…
…then add the fresh or dried herbs to the garlic and oil. With this method you have to be extremely careful not to burn the garlic or you basically ruin the taste of the entire dish. Of course doing it well enough to taste great isn’t complicated- you just cook it on low heat and very slowly, turning the heat off as soon as the herbs have had about a minute or two to infuse the garlic. This is then added to the yogurt, then mixed into the cooked noodles.
The second method- and the one I prefer the most, is to chop the garlic but keep it raw. Make the mixture of dried or fresh herbs: parsley and oregano, plus black pepper and sea salt. Add this to the yogurt with a drizzle of olive oil.
Set this aside (whether you’ve cooked the garlic or not). Cook the noodles and be prepared to move fast once they’re made. If you get homemade noodles, they do cook fast and you need to remove them as soon as they’re finished otherwise they get too pasty.
One way to prevent any stickiness is to drizzle some oil into the bottom of the bowl or pan you’re going to mix the yogurt with the noodles in. At this stage, move fast from colander to pan to prevent any lost noodles stuck to the pan or colander you’ve used.
Next, add the yogurt mixture directly onto the hot noodles- this helps to ‘cook’ the yogurt.
Many recipes call for the addition of some of the pasta water to the yogurt, but I found that any water made things too watery and I really didn’t like how the dish turned out- so I’m sticking to this way, where the texture was great and so was the taste.
It it scrumptious with the addition of grilled chicken or salmon, but all alone it is a gem on its own. It’s also light enough for a summer dish but equally comforting as a winter dish, serving as a really wonderful substitute for the heavier Italian Alfredo dish which uses Parmesan and heavy cream to make the sauce.
One last addition you could make, but don’t have to- although I really like it- is to add some shaved Romano cheese on top. It is often made from goat’s milk, which gives the dish a unique flavor all it’s own and really puts that Greek Island stamp on it, too, as that is a popular ingredient not just in Ikaria but in many of the Greek islands.
So, what do you think? Will you give this recipe a try and share it with some of your family and friends? Let us know in the comments below.
This recipe post was sponsored by Mountain Valley Yogurt. All opinions expressed are that of the author and not of the sponsoring company.
Aegean Style Alfredo
Serves 4
A much lighter version of the Italian-style Alfredo, this recipe is inspired by the Greek Islands and makes wonderful use of our favorite halal-certified yogurt, Mountain High, a taste you’ll love to incorporate into many more pasta dishes after trying this one.
Prepare a bowl to make the yogurt mixture. Whisk the yogurt until there are no more clumps. Add the garlic, fresh or dried herbs, salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Mix thoroughly. Set aside.
Prepare the noodles by boiling them for the correct amount of time, according to package instructions. Work quickly so that the noodles are still hot when the yogurt is added. Drizzle some olive oil on the bottom of a pan or bowl in which you’ll mix the yogurt and noodles.
Add the noodles to the pan or bowl with olive oil, then add the yogurt mixture on top. Mix the yogurt mixture thoroughly until it covers all of the noodles.
Serve immediately- whether alone or with grilled chicken or salmon on top or on the side, just like you might see with the Italian style Alfredo dishes, too!
Over the early part of the summer when Ramadan was in full swing, I took advantage of the somewhat cooler weather and made soups for Iftar (meal that breaks the fast). The main reason for that was not only the fact that I love how soups really acclimate my stomach to food after fasting, but more motivation actually came from the beautiful fresh greens I began finding at a local farm stand run by Loyola University called the Loyola University Retreat Campus in Woodstock, IL. There’s a very nice farmer named Emily who runs the greenhouses, gardens and Friday farmsteads and I’ve come to familiarize myself with what’s there every week and try to plan my meals around what’s being sold, if I’m in town at the time. What has been constantly abundant and beautiful has been the Tuscan kale and the beets, which I actually buy more for the greens than the beet itself, although I do use both.
A photo posted by Yvonne Maffei (@myhalalkitchen) on
I use these greens the same or the next day, usually. To keep them fresh and crisp I wrap them in paper towels and put them in a brown paper bag and don’t wash them until just before cooking. Once I do wash them, it’s always in cool water, leaving them in the water for a few minutes which really freshens them up even more.
I love all the beautiful and bright colors, and the other thing about this soup is that you don’t have to strictly use the kale and the beet greens, but instead you can use just one. Also, you can add some fresh broccoli into it, too. It’s that versatile and so rather than just follow the recipe strictly use what you have or what is fresh and local and appealing and I’m sure it’ll come out tasting fabulous. Just take a look at this color- isn’t it simply inspiring?
And the key ingredient, the key to making any soup nice and rich and healthy- is the broth. If you can, don’t just use water. Water is great and all, but in order to give your body the minerals and vitamins it may be craving to be healthy and strong, real beef, chicken or lamb broth is a wonderful ingredient to include. My go-to convenient, halal and healthyoption if I haven’t had time to make my own is the Saffron Road variety. It’s spoiled me a lot (in a good way) to be able to grab a box at the store, know and trust that it’s completely halal, and wholesome.
I used the Artisan Roasted Chicken broth variety but you could also use their Culinary Classic Chicken Broth variety.
Now that Ramadan is way over, I’m still making soups over the summer, but I’ve also got a taste for trying new things- have you seen the new Fish Bowls from Saffron Road? How cool do those look? I have yet to try them, so let’s do it together!
I’m giving away one week’s worth of Saffron Road coupons so that you can try something new every day of the week– they have so many cool, convenient halal, gluten-free and Non-GMO products like frozen entrees, lentil crackers, lamb broth (trying finding another brand that makes that), and even desserts!
Here’s how this fun giveaway works:
U.S. participants only. I know, bummer. Sorry, guys and gals, but products are only available in the U.S., but anyone in the world can watch our Instagram feed once the giveaway is over and food pics are shared :)
Entrants must have an Instagram account that they will use to share pics with the Saffron Road products they buy from the coupons received.
To enter, go to the PRODUCTS section of Saffron Road and see the types of items they have.
Leave a comment about which one(s) you’d love to be able to try with your FREE coupons for FREE Saffron Road products.
Check back here and on my Instagram account for the winner, which will be announced on August 12, 2016. No more entries will be accepted after August 8, 2016. As a winner, you agree to post pics of the products (i.e. shopping, packages, your dish, etc.) using the hashtag #mhksaffronroadfoodpics and tagging both @saffronroadfood and @myhalalkitchen on Instagram. Once that’s happening, anyone can follow the food pics using the hashtag #mhksaffronroadfoodpics!
Have fun exploring some of those really great halal global cuisine products and share this with all the foodies you know!
I’ve always been interested in Mediterranean soups that are really quite different from soups here, you know the ones that have a bit of a sour taste. I’ve found the recipes in my Greek and Turkish cookbooks at home but only ever tried them once or twice in people’s homes, never on my own.
These days I’m simply too busy to do much shopping or complicated meal-making so I was on the hunt for a simple, quick and comforting bowl of hot soup on one of our first chilly Fall days- Avoglemono, or a soup with egg, lemon and rice. It often has meat in it, but my version is meatless with Artisan Roasted Chicken Broth by Saffron Road. You could add chunks of chicken or beef if you like; alternatively you could make it vegetarian by using a vegetable broth (try Saffron Road’s Classic Culinary Vegetable Broth, which is also certified halal).
This soup is so simple that the only ‘complicated’ thing going on is whisking the egg and lemon juice together, adding the broth to the mix then adding it back into the soup to thicken. It’s also what give the soup that uniquely sour taste, in a good way.
I had the soup right away, which I loved. It also was even better when it had some time to thicken after the heat was turned off for a bit and/or then refrigerated.
Add some fresh or dried herbs on top then stir throughout when eating. It’s so good and I think it goes with just about any type of meal- fish, chicken or beef. Or, on its own- as with all great soups!
A few years ago when I catered my sister in law’s wedding rehearsal dinner, I discovered this type of lamb cut to be an essential part of entertaining on a grand scale. This leg of lamb doesn’t look too big, but at around 4 to 4.5 pounds, this cut can be grilled, roasted, slow cooked, or braised- then cut thinly to serve a very nice size crowd.
I get started with the few simple ingredients needed to achieve a very juicy, very delicious meal: one boneless leg of lamb (ask your butcher ahead of time for this cut, or order from a reliable halal source); one box of Saffron’ Road’s Classic Culinary Lamb Broth (it’s halal-certified), a couple sprigs each of fresh mint and fresh rosemary, some olive oil for drizzling, sea salt and about 20 cloves of fresh garlic.
Yes, I said 20 cloves of garlic.
Don’t worry, though. It’s not over-powering at all once it’s cooked thoroughly and melts into the meat and liquids in the pan.
It really does make a difference to use fresh herbs in this roast- for some reason, it’s just not the same to use dried. The pungency just isn’t there and it seems like the lamb simply absorbs the freshness in the most aromatic way.
Salt the meat first then stuff the garlic under the netting, if your roast comes with that netting.
If not, you can actually make slits in the meat or in the fat on top and stick the cloves inside.
Do the same with the fresh rosemary and mint.
Drizzle with olive oil and a bit of freshly ground black pepper.
Now get out the Saffron Road Lamb Broth. You’re only going to use about one cup of it at first and then more during the cooking process. Yes, you could use water, but that doesn’t give the dish the deep and lovely flavor you’ll want to dip the cut pieces of lamb into upon serving. Trust me.
Just pour about one cup to the bottom of the roasting pan. It’s okay if you get some on the meat right now, but try not to otherwise you’ll hear a lot of splattering going on in the oven.
It should look a little like this at the bottom of the pan- the meat is not swimming in it, but it’s going to give the meat the moisture it needs to not dry out when roasting, especially since this recipe doesn’t call for covering it.
Preheat the oven to 425° F. You’ll roast it that way for about 20 minutes, then add another cup of lamb broth and reduce to the heat to 350°F and continue cooking for about three hours. Use a meat thermometer and put it deep into the meat’s middle to make sure it reads at least 165°. Pull it out and let it rest for ten minutes, covering the meat if you can, to retain it’s juices. If you cut it too early, it will let all of those juices out of the meat and you’ll end up with a dry roast after all.
Now you’ll have some juice at the bottom. You could make a gravy with it by placing the pan over a burner and adding some flour (remove the garlic and herb pieces first), then whisk vigorously until you reach a thick consistency. Personally, I just like to use this sauce as a jus, or dipping sauce.
At this point it almost looks like a pot roast.
If after cooking you find it too be a little too pink in the middle for your liking, place it back in the oven for another 15 minutes or so; alternatively you can slice it up and place in a microwave, covered with the juices at the bottom. This helps to finish off the middle without drying it out.
Don’t miss a single drop of the juice at the bottom- that’s where all the flavor has been dripping for hours and hours.
Slice it thinly and dip the pieces back into the sauce. At my sister’s wedding rehearsal dinner, we served this up as an appetizer alongside a glamorously finished plat of hummus. Needless to say, because it was sliced so thinly and served with ease that way, the huge plates we served were absolutely gone at the end of the dinner. Of course for a family dinner, you will most likely want to serve it a little differently. I can’t imagine anything that goes better with this than a side of mashed potatoes, a baked potato or even oven-baked fries. But, I’ve been known to slice and eat this with nothing else at all…
This recipe is so simple, but it has taken me some experimentation to get it just the way I think it tastes fantastic and easiest to make, which is just as important to me.
The second method- and the one I prefer the most, is to chop the garlic but keep it raw. Make the mixture of dried or fresh herbs: parsley and oregano, plus black pepper and 
One way to prevent any stickiness is to drizzle some oil into the bottom of the bowl or pan you’re going to mix the 
At this stage, move fast from colander to pan to prevent any lost noodles stuck to the pan or colander you’ve used. 
Next, add the 
Many recipes call for the addition of some of the pasta water to the 
One last addition you could make, but don’t have to- although I really like it- is to add some shaved Romano cheese on top. It is often made from goat’s milk, which gives the dish a unique flavor all it’s own and really puts that Greek Island stamp on it, too, as that is a popular ingredient not just in Ikaria but in many of the Greek islands. 
