Greek Pasta Salad

This recipe was inspired by Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special cookbook. I put in a few changes of course - can't help myself! I highly recommend this cookbook - salad, soup, and bread combos - what could be better?

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil to cook pasta. Once water is boiling, add 1/2 pound pasta such as rotini, bow tie, or elbow macaroni. Cook until just tender and drain.

2. Whisk together:
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs. white wine vinegar
1 tsp. ground fennel seeds
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Then add:
1 1/2 C cooked chickpeas (or 15 oz. can, drained). Set the chickpeas aside to marinate.

3. Heat 1 Tbs. olive oil over low heat. Add 2-3 cloves of minced garlic and cook just until the garlic is tender, probably less than a minute.

Then add:
1/2 C celery, sliced
1 bell pepper, diced
1 1/2 C diced tomatoes, or when out of season use 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes with liquid
1 1/2 C green onions, sliced

Simmer the tomato mixture for 8-10 minutes, stirring often. Then add in the chickpeas with marinade and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

4. Toss the warm tomato/chickpea mixture with the pasta, then add the following ingredients:

1/2 C your favorite olive, sliced
1/3 C chopped parsley
2 Tbs. lemon juice
1/2 -1C crumbled feta cheese - depends on how much you love it!
1 small can artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped

Serve warm or chilled. Serves 4-8 depending on whether or not it's a main dish or a side.

Avgolemono Soup from Roasted Lemon Chicken

From Sunday leftovers, this soup came to be. I made a roasted lemon chicken in a Dutch oven and used the drippings, leftover chicken, and rice to make one of my husband's favorite soups. Avgolemeno is Greek style, lemon flavored, chicken soup, and it's just delicious. I used a combination of recipes to come up with the amounts for this soup recipe, so feel free to alter it some more. One source for this recipe, a notoriously snobbish food magazine, actually called for 8 egg yolks to be added - now come on! I get practically offended when these companies use excessive ingredients just for the sheer decadence of it - not cool. Anyway, hope you give this a try and make it your own!


First the basic recipe for the roasted chicken:

One three to four pound bird, giblets and extras removed, cleaned, and patted dry. Tuck under the wings and place in a covered Dutch oven. I cut up a lemon, squeezed the juice into a bowl, and placed the lemon wedges under the chicken to keep it from getting too soggy on the bottom as it roasted. I poured about 1/2 C white wine into the bottom of the Dutch oven, then poured the lemon juice over the chicken, drizzled on some olive oil, and sprinkled on some Greek seasoning blend. You could use any combination of seasonings you like. I covered the Dutch oven and roasted the chicken at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours - just cook until it reaches the safe temperature of 180 degrees. I always use a meat thermometer to be sure! If you don't know the best places to check the internal temperature of a cooked bird, look on the internet and inform yourself.

Now for the recipe for Avgolemono Soup!

For cooking this soup, I used the same Dutch oven in which I had roasted the chicken, since all the juices and goodies were still in there. Feel free to skim off some of the fat on the top if you wish.

1. Start with leftover roasted lemon chicken. Carefully take the cooked chicken off the carcass and watch for bones, since they get pretty soft after being oven roasted. You might have just a little meat left, but that's o.k. The flavor is in the drippings anyway!
2. Chicken stock - I use a boxed, organic chicken stock, but anything along the lines of chicken stock or broth will do. I used a whole box, or about 4 Cups.
3. Fresh parsley - around 1/3 C , chopped
4. 2 C cooked brown rice
5. 2 Tbs. lemon juice - bottled or fresh, but use fresh if you have it
   
6. 2 eggs
7. 1 Tbs. water
8. S&P
9. honey or other sweetener to taste (see the note on this post about sweeteners)
   
10. lemon zest

Add the chicken, chicken stock, parsley, and rice to the Dutch oven containing the drippings. (Note - I made the decision to leave in the lemon rinds that were used with the roasted chicken - don't, they get too bitter.) Then bring this to a simmer. Next whisk together the lemon juice, eggs, and water. Slowly add to the soup, whisking while you're adding it. After the soup has thickened enough for you, adjust the flavor with salt and pepper, honey or another sweetener, and some lemon zest. The amounts are up to your taste buds!