Dried Fruit and Olive Tapenade

Dried Fruit and Olive Tapenade
1 cup sultana raisins
8 large dates, chopped
boiling water
1 jar (500mL) sliced green olives
3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 Tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
cinnamon, ginger, and cloves, to taste

Place the raisins and dates in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Let stand until the water cools. Drain well.
Drain the olives and add, along with the remaining ingredients. Mix well.
Taste and adjust seasonings. Allow tapenade to sit at room temperature for flavors to blend before serving. 
If preparing more than a few hours in advance, refrigerate tapenade and then bring to room temperature before serving. Tapenade may also be frozen for longer storage.

Serve with crusty bread, crackers, cured meats, or nuts.

The dried fruits can be varied - try figs or apricots. I used green olives for more color but black may be used as well. Chopped nuts can be added to the mixture for some crunch. 

Greek 'Orzo' Salad

This is one of those dishes I came up with as a way of using up leftovers. I had a lot of leftover filling from my stuffed grape leaves, dolmathakia me rizi, when I made them, so I used it to make a Greek salad, similar to Greek orzo salad, except this uses rice instead. I included the filling recipe so this salad can be made from scratch, as it is quite tasty!

Greek 'Orzo' Salad
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1/2 cup short-grain rice
1 cup vegetable stock
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onion
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 Tablespoon chopped dill
1 teaspoon chopped mint
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
salt and pepper

In a large sauté pan over medium heat, sauté the onions in the oil until translucent. Add the rice to coat, then the stock. Cook until rice is barely tender, it should still be fairly firm since it will be cooked further. Add remaining ingredients. Cool.

Then add:
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup chopped black olives
1/2 cup chopped cucumber
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon mustard
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

This salad gets better with age, and keeps in the fridge for several days.

Olive Cheese Focaccia

Olive Cheese Focaccia
1 flatbread or prepared pizza crust or round of focaccia
hummus of choice
cheeses of choice, cubed or shaved. I used two different varieties of hard cheese
sliced black olives

Spread the bread with the hummus, then top with the olives and cheese. Bake at 425◦F for about 20 minutes until hot, crisp, and cheese is melted. 

I will not call this a pizza, though it is similar. Rather I call it a flatbread because it doesn't use the typical pizza sauce and myriad of toppings and ooey gooey cheese. This is an artisan flatbread that makes a nice quick lunch. Of course it could be topped with whatever, this is hardly even a recipe. I just used what I had on hand. Try spreading it with pesto or guacamole, and topping with sautéed or grilled vegetables, or meats, and different cheeses. 

Lentil Burgers

These vegetarian burgers contain no beans, but rather lentils which are very high in protein, fiber, and several vitamins and minerals. They get moisture from the pumpkin purée, though there is no strong pumpkin flavor imparted. They get some texture from the addition of olives, the breadcrumbs bind them, and flavor is provided by the seasonings, which of course could be amped up with the addition of any herbs and spices. These are a snap to make and good to have on hand for a nutritious meal or snack.

Lentil Burgers
1 cup dry red lentils, rinsed 
water
salt
1/2 cup pure pumpkin purée
3/4 cup coarse dry breadcrumbs (from any type of bread)
1/3 cup chopped black olives
2 cloves garlic, minced
paprika
ground black pepper
onion salt

Cover the lentils with two inches of water in a small saucepan. Cook for 10-15 minutes until soft, but not mushy. Season with salt three-quarters of the way through cooking. Drain.
In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients, mixing well, Season to taste. See if the mixture will hold together in patties. If too dry, add a little more pumpkin, if too wet, add more breadcrumbs. I chilled the mixture briefly before forming patties to make it easier. This will make 8-10 small patties. 

To cook, I prefer to fry these. They tend to break apart if fried in a lot of oil, so more is less in this case for a crispy coating. They may also be baked, broiled, grilled, or microwaved. They keep well in the refrigerator, either raw or cooked, or frozen, to be used as needed. Pictured here they are topped with chili pepper gouda and served on homemade buns. 

Mediterranean Bean Salad

Mediterranean Bean Salad
1 can mixed beans, no salt added (includes red kidney beans, white kidney beans, chickpeas, black-eyed peas, romano beans, baby lima beans)
1 can sliced black olives
1 jar sliced sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil
ground black pepper

Drain the beans and olives and dump then into a boil. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and their oil and the pepper. Mix together and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for at least several hours.

Recipe Notes: Depending on your tastes, you may not use the entire can of olives and jar of tomatoes. If you cannot find one can of bean mix, individual cans of each type of bean may be used. Just not this will make a larger quantity and may require more olives and tomatoes. The olives provide enough salt for me, but you could add a pinch of salt, dash of sugar, or other herbs and spoices if you'd prefer. 

Makes several side servings of a high-protein, tasty salad accompaniment to almost any meal. 

Tabbouleh

Tabbouleh

1 cup Bulgar wheat

3 Tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

salt and pepper, to taste

4 scallions, finely chopped

1 green pepper, finely chopped

1 tomato, diced

8 black olives, sliced

2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped

2 Tablespoons fresh mint, finely chopped

Place bulgar wheat in a large bowl and add enough cold water to cover. Let stand for about 30 minutes, until much of the water is absorbed and bulgar is doubled in size.

Drain well.

In a small bowl, mix together the oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. In a large serving bowl, mix together the bulgar with this mixture. Place in the refrigerator and marinate for at least one hour, or up to six hours before serving.

Mix in remaining ingredients. 

This is my first time making this Levantive Arab dish. Traditionally it is made with bulgar, but new versions make use of couscous, quinoa, and rice. The traditional dish is flavored with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, parsley, and mint. Any finely chopped vegetables may be added for flavor and color, and the spices may also be varied. This is a nice, cold side dish. If I had to categorize it, I would call it a salad. It is great served as a light lunch with toasted pita chips and hummus.