TASTEFUL SIMPLICITY

Others may snubbed the potato salad and feel that is too simple food to be served at a table with friends, but sometimes simple recipes pleasantly surprised!

Ingredients

2 large potatoes
1/2 cup cream cheese - (f.e. katiki or touloumisio)
Some grated garlic
2 spring onions
Some sprigs of fresh oregano
Salt
4 tablespoons olive oil

Process

Peel the potatoes and cut them into large pieces.

Place the potatoes in a large saucepan with salted water. The water should cover the potatoes. Boil them until tender. Drain them and put them in a bowl.

Wash, peel and  finely chop the spring onions.
Heat the olive oil in a pan and stir-fry the spring onions for about 2 minutes. Add the spring onions and the cream cheese in the bowl while the potatoes are still hot. Chop finely the oregano leaves and add them to the mixture. Salt and grate some garlic. You can enjoy this potato salad hot or cold, just put them in the refrigerator for about an hour before you serve it.

Toss gently. Garnish your salad with a sprig of fresh oregano before serving!

SPICY TIC TAC TOE

When my friends gather at my house, sometimes they ask me if there is something to eat or to order food delivery … I always answer something like that “we don’t need to order, I will cook...something…” so I open the fridge and I try easy recipes for quick meals. In a similar situation an idea of a spicy tic tac toe came on my mind. Keep it in mind; the preparation process is really easy and it catches visitors' eyes.

Ingredients

1-2 cucumbers 

½ kg.  Touloumisio or soft feta cheese

3 tablespoons strained yogurt (in case you use feta cheese)

1 tablespoon white vinegar

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 chili green pepper

1 red pepper

½ tablespoons hot red paprika powder

Steps

Preheat oven at 200 degrees Celsius. Wash the cucumber and cut it at medium pieces as in the picture. Remove the soft inner part (you can use it to make Tzatziki instead of throwing it away) and place the pieces of cucumber at a serving dish. In a bowl crumble the feta using a fork (Touloumisio is already crumbled), put in the vinegar, the olive and the yogurt and mix well. Put the peppers in the oven and bake them till they slightly brown on both sides turning them once. Let them cool a little bit. Take another bowl and put in the half portion of the mixture. Peel the peppers, remove the seeds and crumble them. Put the crumbled green pepper in the first bowl and the red pepper at the second bowl. At the second bowl add the paprika. Combine well. Now that the mixtures are ready, fill some cucumber pieces with the white mixture and the rest with the red. You can garnish with mint leaves the pieces with the white mixture. Place sticks at the serving dish so as to resemble a tic tac toe (I used sticks for Souvlaki, you can use Chinese sticks.  Use your imagination…you can find something better). 

Ready for a tic tac toe game!!!

Tips

Touloumisio is a traditional cheese that is made in some regions of Greece. The way that is produced is the same as Feta except for the last stage of hardening, that’s why it has quite the same flavor as feta but its texture is much more soft.

You can adjust the proportions of chili peppers and paprika depending on your preferences. Don’t forget some like it hot!