Greek Peppers With Feta Cheese And Tomato Sauce Food

GREAT APPETIZER: OVEN BAKED FETA WITH TOMATOES & PEPPERS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425˚F.
• Slice the pearl tomatoes horizontally (each one in four pieces) and place on paper towels to drain. (If you are using one large tomato, cut the end pieces and slice the rest in six slices). After 3-4 minutes, turn them over and place on new paper towels. Cut the pepper into four rings and set aside.
• Oil well a small, shallow ceramic baking dish (or four individual ceramic ramekins) and place half of the tomato slices at the bottom. Sprinkle with some sea salt and crushed pepper flakes. Top with half the bell pepper slices.
• Arrange the two Feta pieces on top of the tomato/pepper layer, place the remaining tomato slices on top of each piece of cheese, and place the rest of the bell pepper rings on the tomato. Drizzle liberally with the extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with oregano and some more pepper flakes, and transfer to the middle of the oven.
• Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the feta turns a light-golden color and the oil is sizzling. If you want to deepen the color, you can place the dish under the broiler for 1-2 minutes at the end of the cooking time.
• Brush some olive oil on the slices of good, multigrain bread, and grill on both sides. Serve the baked feta immediately with some warm grilled bread.

GREEK CHICKEN WITH TOMATOES AND FETA

Steps:

• Rinse the chicken breasts under cool water, pat dry and place in a shallow glass baking dish.
• Stir the lemon zest, juice, wine, oregano, salt and pepper together and pour over the chicken, rubbing it into all sides.
• Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight. Bring to room temperature before cooking.
• Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet, until butter melts and is sizzling. Remove the chicken breasts from the marinade, RESERVING the marinade to make the sauce. Brown the chicken in the hot skillet, turning only once, about 4 to 5 minutes per side, until lightly browned on both sides. Transfer to a platter, loosely cover and keep warm while you prepare the sauce.
• Add the onion and tomato to the pan you cooked the chicken in.Reduce the heat and cook, stirring frequently, 2 to 3 minutes, until the onion is soft and translucent and the tomatoes soften and release liquid. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add the reserved marinade and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes until the liquid has reduced by half. Season with additional salt and pepper if desired.
• Return the chicken to the skillet with the sauce. Add the olives and basil and simmer on low for 5 to 8 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and feels firm to the touch.
• Transfer to a hot platter or individual plates. Spoon sauce over each breast and scatter with the feta cubes. Garnish with additional fresh basil and oregano leaves. Serve warm.

LAMB FETA PEPPERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat, add onion and cook for four minutes until soft. Stir in garlic and cook one minute.
• Slice tops off peppers and remove seeds. Stand peppers upright in a a 9x12-inch baking dish.
• In large bowl, combine onion mixture, dill, salt, allspice and pepper. Mix in rice and lamb, fold in feta cheese. Stuff peppers with mixture.
• Mix tomato sauce with water, lemon juice and sugar. Pour half over peppers, and half over bottom of dish. Cover with foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes. Uncover and continue baking 15 minutes, basing occasionally with sauce, until a meat thermometer inserted in center of filling reads 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).

GREEK PEPPERS

Steps:

• Cut the two red bell peppers lengthwise into thirds, carefully removing seeds and membranes.
• Place on a baking sheet skin-side up and flatten out with the palm of your hand.
• Brush or drizzle with a bit of olive oil and roast at 500 degrees until skins become charred and slightly wrinkled.
• Upon removing from the oven, immediately place them into a sealed bowl or plastic bag.
• When the peppers are cool enough to handle, peel the skins off with your fingers and discard the skins - don't rinse the peppers or you'll rinse away that delicate smoky flavor from the roasting.
• Arrange on a plate and chill for about 30 minutes.
• Combine cheeses, lemon juice, garlic, oregano and season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Divide mixture into as many portions as you have roasted pepper sections and shape it into a log.
• Mold the pepper over the cheese log and form it into a jalapeno pepper shape, lay it in the center of a salad plate.
• At the thicker end, tuck in a stem of fresh basil.
• Drizzle with olive oil and serve.

BAKED FETA CHEESE WITH ONIONS, RED PEPPER & TOMATOES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/Gas Mark 7
• You will need two individual serving dishes that can go into the oven.
• De-seed and cut the bell pepper length ways into 3 cm strips.
• Brush the pepper slices in a little oil and place on a preheated non stick baking tray and roast for about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven.
• Char the skin of the pepper slightly with a cooks blow torch if you think the skin isn't looking nice and roasted. Put the peppers to one side.
• Now, in a saucepan, melt the butter and the olive oil.
• Slice the onion thinly and finely chop the garlic. Add the onion and garlic to the saucepan. Over a low heat, cook until soft but not coloured.
• Cut the feta cheese into 2cm cubes.
• Using individual serving dishes, layer the onions, with the thinly sliced tomatoes and the roasted red pepper slices.
• Top with the cubed feta cheese. Finish by sprinkling with the grated parmesan cheese. Sprinkle a pinch of paprika on top of each dish.
• Cover with aluminium foil (trying not to touch the cheese) and bake in the oven for about 15 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, or until the feta starts to get a nice colour.
• Take care not to cook too much as it looks better if the feta stays in cubes.
• Serve with nice fresh crusty bread.

GREEK CHICKEN WITH TOMATO-FETA CHEESE SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat oil in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat (I use my electric skillet for this).
• Add in onions or shallots, garlic (if using) red pepper flakes (if using) oregano and basil; saute for about 5 minutes.
• Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then add in the chicken, skin side down to the skillet; brown to 5 minutes.
• Turn the chicken over with tongs and add in the crushed tomatoes and wine (or broth if using) bring to a simmer; cover the skillet.
• Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the chicken is cooked through (about 25 minutes).
• Transfer the chicken to a plate.
• Boil the sauce over high heat for about 5 minutes to thicken.
• Mix in cheese and olives and simmer until heated through (about 5-6 minutes).
• Serve with hot cooked noodles.

GREEK-STYLE STUFFED BELL PEPPERS WITH QUINOA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Set a pot of water to boil. Remove tops from peppers and cut in half length-wise. Seed and devein peppers. Reserve pepper tops. Once water has boiled, add peppers and cook for 7-8 minutes. Drain water and run cold water over peppers.
• Finely dice pepper tops.
• In a medium skillet, heat olive oil. Saute onion and garlic over medium-high heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Add ground beef and cook until browned.
• Cook quinoa according to package directions.
• Into ground beef, stir lemon juice and zest, tomato sauce, cooked quinoa and spices.
• Cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
• Stuff peppers with ground beef mixture. Top with cheese. Place peppers in a greased baking pan and cover with aluminum foil.
• Bake in a 375 degrees F oven for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake and additional 15 minutes.