7.22.2009

A Trip To The Mediterranean




Since it's summer and fresh produce is bountiful we wanted to prepare a meal that captured the freshness of our ingredients. With our minds fixed on lush, fresh produce we immediately decided to fix a Mediterranean themed meal.
Our starter was an easy, easy bean dip. We will even give you the recipe (courtesy of Epicurious.com).

Balsamic Bean Dip with Fresh Veggies

  • 1 15-ounce can cannellini (white kidney beans), drained
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar plus extra for drizzling
  • Oil from jar of roasted red peppers
  • Assorted crudités (we used bell peppers and carrots)
  • Pita bread, cut into wedges
Puree beans, olive oil, and 1 tablespoon vinegar in processor until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl. Drizzle with pepper oil and a few drops of vinegar. Serve with crudités and pita wedges.

This was simple and tasty and a great recipe to have in your go-to cookbook. A high quality olive oil and balsamic vinegar really make this spectacular.

For the main course we ventured into a new realm for BIV - a savory pie. We made a Mediterranean Vegetable Cheese Pie flavored with spinach, onion and dill.

This beautiful main dish filled the kitchen with wonderful scents as our anticipation heightened. We served this pie with a somewhat unusual pasta size dish. We used orzo, a rice shaped pasta, tossed with butter and flavored with a touch of cinnamon.

The spice was more of an understatement, but the dish truly complemented the Mediterranean flavors of the pie.

And as so often happens on BIV, the dessert was the star. And this desert, as with the entire meal, was simple and easy.

We used greek yogurt flavored with vanilla and sweetened with honey. The yogurt was topped with toasted walnuts to make a delicious, yet light finish to the evening.

3 comments:

BostonsInVirginia said...

About the head photo:
we also played Bananagrams and had a camel friend :)

Glenda said...

Wonderful array of foods, I love that you included a recipe. The fresh veggies are certainly abundant this time of year, and always a treat. The camel seemed to be enjoying the evening as well.Good job Bostons!

SJ said...

this meal is very photogenic .... very artistic presentation :)