Recipe: Greek Style Hot Dish

[jesse_the_k]

for our January 2020 prompt, potatoes! Hot dish is the term peculiar to North Central US for a starchy casserole perfect for potlucks.

Makes 8 servings. 60 minutes: 30 prep, 30 baking.

This evolved from a cold salad at my local deli, with extensive experimentation. All ingredients are cooked before combining with dressing and baking at low heat so the flavors meld. Chop everything small enough that no bite will contain just one thing.

Ingredients:

Sturdy Raw Veg

• 740g new potatoes (12 small)
• 180g asparagus (around 30 stalks)
• 115g sweet pepper (one half)
• 4 scallions

Cooked protein

• 250 - 500g (tuna, tofu, leftover chicken)

Pantry/freezer Veg

• Container of artichoke hearts (we’ve used a small jar marinated as well as a 400g can of plain)
• 12 or more Kalamata black olives, sliced into Os
• Soaked garbanzo beans (1 can/440g)

Dressing

• 60 ml red wine vinegar or lemon juice
• 30 ml olive oil
• 15 ml white sugar
• 5 ml salt
• 5 ml garlic powder
• 2 ml powdered mustard
• 15 ml dried oregano
• 15 ml dried basil
• 1 small lemon

Equipment

• Great knife
• 9 x 13 baking dish
• BIG bowl
• Gentle spatula

Slicing and dicing

Slice scallions into matchsticks and set aside — these are the only raw veg

Pantry veg

• Quarter artichoke hearts then slice into bite size
• Drain olives and slice each into ~6 Os
• Drain garbanzo beans

Steam sturdy veg until fork tender. Our 1000W microwave times in a covered glass dish

• 6 minutes: Potatoes cut into 6mm chunks, each little potato is quartered or sixthed
• 4 minutes: asparagus cut into thumb-length logs
• 2 minutes: sweet pepper sliced into thumb-length strips

Final assembly

1. Mix dressing in big bowl
2. Dump in all the cooked sturdy veg plus the pantry items plus raw scallions
3. Stir with gentle spatula to ensure forkful diversity
4. Turn into large casserole, use spatula to level
5. Slice lemon very thin, cover entire casserole
6. Bake 30 minutes at 175°C (350°F)

Variation

While we prefer potatoes, the following cooked starches also work:

• rice
• quinoa
• steel cut oatmeal
• al dente GF pasta

This dish embraces any sturdy vegetable. Cook first if fresh; use directly from freezer or can:

• green beans
• lima beans
• pearl onions
• broccoli florets
• cauliflower florets

If you like cheese, feel free to top with grated feta under the lemon slices.

Avoid delicate vegetables; these just got slimy:

• mushrooms (whole or sliced)
• greens (spinach, kale, boy choy)

Questions? Enquire right here!