A Greek Inspired Salad

The glorious (if slightly unseasonal) early spring weather we're having is filling me with inspiration right now and sending my imagination off on Mediterranean holidays to hot Greek islands. It was these daydreams, whilst out walking the dogs this morning, that made me begin to crave a Greek salad for lunch.

When we were in Crete last year, we ate amazing salads at many different tavernas and restaurants on the island. Lots of tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and olives, served with feta and drizzled with olive oil. Often, they were accompanied by chunks of rustic bread for mopping up juices.

Thinking about what ingredients I had a home, I realised there were things missing. I had no olives and no bread. What I did have was potatoes and red pepper. So, I thought I'd throw some in and give it a try.

Delicious! 

Mrs Roe's Greek-inspired Salad
Ingredients
4 small potatoes
2 large tomato
1 cucumber, deseeded
1 small red onion
1/2 red pepper
1/2 tsp mint
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
Pinch sea salt
4 tsp extra virgin olive oil (Greek)
100g feta cheese
Lemon wedges, to serve

Method

1. Cut the potatoes into quarters. Place in a pan of cold water, bring to the boil and cook until just tender (do not over cook). 
2. Whilst the potatoes are cooking, roughly chop the tomatoes, cucumber, red onion and red pepper. Put into a large mixing bowl.
3. In a small bowl (I use a ramekin to do this), mix together the herbs, salt and pepper. Set aside.
4. When the potatoes are cooked, drain them in a colander and rinse in cold water to cool them. Cut each piece in half, and let them cool thoroughly.
5. When the potatoes are cold, add them to the bowl with the other vegetables. Drizzle over the olive oil and toss gently. Do this by gently agitating the bowl or use your fingers to combine the vegetables and coat them in the oil.
6. Sprinkle over the herb mixture, gently toss again and set aside for about 30 minutes for the flavours to combine.
7. When ready to serve, transfer the salad into a large serving bowl (or divide between two plates) and crumble over the feta cheese. Serve with the lemon wedges, which you can squeeze over the salad for extra zing if you like.

Villetta Pasticcio (or Bolognese Cottage Pie)

We had a LOT of Bolognese sauce left after last night - I reckon we only used about a third of it - so I needed to think of something to use it for today. I decided to do some mashed potato and make a cottage pie. Easy, tasty and perfect for the miserable weather we're having.

Ready to eat!

Mrs Roe's Villetta Pasticcio

Ingredients

1/3 Bolognese sauce (see recipe here)

4 large potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 dsp olive spread or butter

Salt & pepper

50g cheese, grated

Method

1. Spoon the Bolognese sauce into a shallow, heatproof bowl. Preheat the oven to 200C.
2. Boil the potatoes until done, then mash with the spread until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and spread over the surface of the Bolognese sauce. Don't smooth it out - you need spikes and bumps so it'll crisp up nicely.
3. Sprinkle the grated cheese over the top, then place in the oven and bake for about 40 minutes.

I used a good, mature Red Leicester cheese for the topping. You need something strong that melts well, so cheddar would work perfectly.

If you wanted to up your veg intake, you could add some thawed peas to the Bolognese.