Individual Salads “Boats” with Hummus, Beetroot and some news!

I met Vasiliki Beckliouli one day when she called me and asked me to participate in a TV show. She seemed extremely nice and I said yes.

We worked together on two appearances on the weekend show of Adelina Varthakouri on the Neo Epsilon channel and it went very well.

Adelina wound up her program due to the local elections as she was a local council candidate and we had not spoken since then.

That was all before Easter 2019 when we had made Greek Sweet Breads (tsourekia) and wild fennel pies (marathopita). The link for the recipes are here and here.

The other day the phone rang and it was Vasiliki! “How are you?”, I asked. “Are you continuing the program with Adelina?”

No, she said but I am editor-in-chief on a midday show on the same channel with Fotini Georganda.

“Oh marvellous!” I told her, “And how come you are calling me?

“Do you want to come tomorrow and cook something? She said

“At your house?” I said

“No on the TV show in the studio…”we want something simple…we only have to cover 15 minutes..Oh I forgot..we don’t have a kitchen or an oven!….

Oh! OK …last minute and difficult circumstances.. but something simple.. I thought for a bit.. I like solving difficult problems so started to think of finding something raw and tasty to create!

I opened my notebooks and thought about an individual salad served on a cos lettuce leaf like a little ‘boat’..but what should I put in it? Should I make a hummus , but somehow different? I would have to boil the chick peas and you can’t find them easily already boiled in Greece.

After that I though about some beans I had in the freezer….

I always boil a kilo of beans from Feneos in the Peloponnese from my friends Kosta and Yannis who own Dikotilon the best place for pulses. They have some small white beans they call Vanillies.

I boil them and put them into packets in the freezer of 200g each for future use. That way I always have beans for salads or hummus…

How can I make it more presentable on air..I should put some beetroot into it I thought.

Finely chopped vegetables on top of a base of beetroot infused hummus with a tahini sauce to serve- and the recipe was ready! Simple and easy!

I made these and took them and they loved them..

Fotini was delighted!

She asked me to return and cook some meatballs for her birthday!!

It seems I will go back next Tuesday…. And every Tuesday afterwards! I think we will have a great time together there!!

You can find the recipe below!

Diffuculty: 1 of 3

Duration:15 minutes

Serves:2 as a main or 6 as an appetiser

Ingredients

For the Hummus you will need:

200gr boiled beans

1 beetroot 100gr, boiled

I tbsp of tahini

1-2 tbsp of olive oil

Salt and pepper

Whatever herbs you wish, I put a little cumin in

For the tahini sauce you will need:

2 tbsp of tahini

1-2 tbsp of water

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp honey or agave syrup (for vegans)

Salt and pepper

For the salad you will need:

6 large cos lettuce leaves

Finely chopped vegetables julienne of your choice. I chose carrot, cucumber, green apple, and courgettes/zucchini

But put in whatever you want the more the merrier for instance cheese-I put in a lovely slightly sour Mizithra from Crete which went perfectly )

Dried fruit and nuts, avocado, prawns or shrimps whatever takes your fancy.

Method

For the Hummus:

Put the beans the beetroot and the tahini in the blender. Blend until it becomes a thick sauce. If it’s too thick dilute it with a little olive oil to get the right consistency, ( you don’t want it too runny or too thick).

Put in the herbs of your choice the salt and pepper. Blend it a little more.

Take it out of the blender and it is ready to serve.

For the Tahini sauce:

Blend the tahini with the rest of the ingredients to make a runny sauce. If it is too runny add some more tahini and a little more water.

For the Salad:

Put the hummus mixture in the base of the cos lettuce leaves evenly between all six.

Spread the finely chopped vegetables over the hummus.

Pour the tahini sauce over the vegetables with a teaspoon before serving.

The best way to eat them is the wrap up the ends of the leaves like a little packet before eating them Vietnamese style!