Gourmet Vegetarian Slow Cooker - Lynn Alley [30]
4 Vidalia or yellow onions, peeled
1 cup water
½ cup chèvre
½ cup feta cheese
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons currants
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoons pine nuts
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Several sprigs fresh mint, for garnish
Using a sharp knife, slice about one-third off the top of each onion, leaving a flat crown. Then remove a small slice from the bottom so it will remain upright in the slow cooker. Using a grapefruit knife or melon baller, carefully scrape out as much of the onion’s core as you can without ruining the onion. Place the onions in the slow cooker insert, pour in the water, cover, and cook on low for about 3 hours, or until the onions are somewhat tender when pierced with a paring knife.
While the onions are cooking, combine the cheeses, olive oil, currants, chopped mint, and pine nuts in a bowl, mix together with a fork, and add a pinch of freshly ground pepper. Remove the cover of the slow cooker and fill each onion with 2 to 3 tablespoons of the mixture.
Recover and continue cooking for about 1 hour longer, or until the cheeses are melted and the onions are very tender and getting brown around the edges. Spoon any liquid in the bottom of the cooker over the onions.
Garnish each onion with a sprig of fresh mint and serve either hot or at room temperature.
SUGGESTED BEVERAGE: Okay, I can’t resist. I’d like to suggest a well-chilled glass of retsina with this dish. Even the cheap, generic stuff would do, and probably bring back fond memories of the Greek islands. But several of Greece’s new generation of winemakers have experimented with making artisanal retsina, and I’d like to suggest that if you can find one, you buy it and drink it. Gaia Estates’ Thalassitis is one I can happily recommend.
GREEK LEMON, ARTICHOKE, AND EGG SOUP
Serves 4 to 6
This classic Greek soup is one of my favorites when I want to “lighten up” from a gustatory standpoint. It makes the perfect chicken soup substitute when you are just not feeling up to snuff, or a good light dinner when you’ve had enough of the restaurant-and-fine-dining circuit. It is traditionally made with chicken broth and small bits of chicken, but I think the meatless version yields even truer, clearer flavors. A touch of ground cumin adds yet another dimension to the flavor.
½ cup basmati or long-grain rice
6 cups water
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup finely chopped onion
½ cup diced celery (leaves and stalks)
1 (12-ounce) package frozen artichokes, thawed, or 1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts
Pinch of ground cumin
½ cup chopped fresh parsley
2 large eggs
½ cup fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Rinse the rice thoroughly and place it, along with the water, in the slow cooker insert.
In a sauté pan, heat the oil and sauté the onion, celery, and artichokes over medium-high heat until just beginning to brown, about 7 minutes.
Add the vegetables to the water and rice, cover, and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours, or until the rice is tender. Add the cumin and ¼ cup of the parsley to the soup.
In a medium bowl and using a whisk or a handheld immersion blender, beat the eggs and lemon juice together until frothy. Slowly add 2 ladles of broth, 1 ladle at a time, stirring constantly, to the lemon and egg mixture.
Add the lemon and broth mixture back into the soup, stirring constantly, and continue cooking for about 10 minutes more, or until heated through and beginning to thicken. (If you allow the soup to boil, the eggs will curdle.)
Add salt and pepper to taste, ladle into bowls, garnish with the remaining ¼ cup parsley, and serve immediately.
SUGGESTED BEVERAGE: A nice Sauvignon Blanc or an artisanal Greek retsina, if