panzaria salata, tzatziki kai psomi

i decided to go greek yesterday and make pantzaria salata (beetroot salad) and tzatziki (yoghurt dip) because i had five more well and truly pickable beetroot and i spied my first mature enough cucumber evading detection under a few leaves..and i made psomi (bread) too to dip into the tzatziki and olive oil and lemon dressing..

i made two separate salads with the beetroot..one with the beetroot themselves and the other with the beetroot leaves..

beetroot salad 1


ingredients
4-5 medium beetroot
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/3rd cup of fresh orange juice
2-3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2-3 tablespoons olive oil

method
remove beetroot leaves and put aside for second salad
wash beetroot well and peel
cut into quarters or smaller if large
place in a baking dish and add remaining ingredients
cover with foil and bake at 200 deg c for about an hour or until done
remove to a serving dish and serve warm or cold

beetroot salad 2


ingredients
beetroot leaves from 4-5 beetroot
1 garlic clive finely grated
olive oil
lemon juice
salt
feta cheese

method
wash the leaves well until there are no traces of sand and dirt
remove the larger stalks and cut into approximately 8 cm batons
cut the leaves into large shred
put the stalks into a large saucepan and add boiling water just to cover
cook with the lid and simmer until the stems are just tender
drain and return to the saucepan and add the leaves
cook over moderate to high heat turning the leaves often until soft
add the garlic and the salt, lemon juice and olive oil to taste
remove to a serving dish and add cubes of feta
sprinkle with extra salt and drizzle with extra olive oil
serve warm or cold

i made a fresh 1 litre batch of yoghurt for the tzatziki 

tzatziki recipe

ingredients

approximately 400 gms plain yoghurt

1 small cucumber grated (peel and/or deseed if necessary) squeezed of its juice (i drink it)

1 clove of garlic finely grated

salt

olive oil

lemon juice

sumac

method

rinse a piece of muslin in boiling water

squeeze the water out and line a colander with the muslin

put the yoghurt in the lined colander over a bowl

place on a plate (to catch drips) and cover with clingfilm

place in the fridge for several hours or preferably overnight

when the yoghurt is ready place it in a bowl and add the cucumber, garlic, salt and lemon juice to taste and a tablespoon or so of olive oil and stir well

put into serving dish and drizzle with a little more oil and sprinkle with sumac

note: 

i keep the whey from draining the yoghurt for bread making

there are numerous variations for making tzatziki such as:

adding finely crumbled feta

adding finely cut dill

omitting the sumac

using kalamata olives for decoration instead of the sumac

i made my usual loaf of bread but i replaced half of the water in the final dough with 'little creatures' beer which i boiled before use to deactivate any live yeast and burn off the alcohol and i retarded the dough overnight in the fridge..i removed it from the fridge in the morning and because it was quite a warm day the dough was ready for its final shaping after 4 hours..and it was then ready to bake after 3 hours proving.. 

and dinner last night was a veritable greek feast..x