side dishes for greek fish?

[JillC]

Hi all,
I found this great sounding recipe at epicurious.com for orange roughy with a feta, yogurt, tomato, lemon, etc. topping.
Here's the link if you're interested: http://food.epicurious.com/run/recipe/view?id=243
Besides the basic salad and bread, does anyone have any suggestions for good side dishes or even desserts? I'm craving a comfort food-type side dish, but I'm afraid of putting anything too heavy with this entree.
I'm guessing there are a lot of great ideas out there.
Thanks!
Jill

[lorilei]

How about Spinach sauteed with garlic and dill? (As a spinach fiend, this would be my idea of a perfect accompaniment to everything!)

OR how about one of these?

Greek Lentil & Olive Salad

3 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp anchovy paste
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 cups cooked green lentils, drained and rinsed (or one 19oz can)
1/4 cup oil-cured black olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
3 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano or parsley

In large bowl, whisk together oil, lemon juice, anchovy paste and pepper. Stir in lentils, olives and oregano. Cover and let stand for 1 hour. Makes 2 cups


Greek-Style Green Beans Recipe

2 lb fresh green beans, cleaned and tiped
3 TB butter
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 red bell pepper sliced
14 Greek-style olives, pitted and halved
1 TB chopped fresh oregano
2 TB fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper

Bring a large quantity of salted water to the boil in a large saucepan. Add the beans and blanch 5 to 7 minutes. Drain, refresh under cold water, and drain again. This can be done3 or 4 days in advance.

In a skillet, heat the butter until it sings. Add the garlic and red pepper and cook until the garlic turns golden, being careful not to let it burn. This will only take a minute or two. Add the blanched beans, olives, oregano, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss for about 2 minutes, until the beans are heated through.
(recipe from Abigail)


And here is an interesting recipe from Epicurious...

OLIVES BAKED IN RED WINE

Black olives absorb the flavor of red wine and fennel in this warm appetizer.

1 cup unpitted Kalamata olives or other brine-cured black olives
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds, coarsely crushed
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 325°F. Combine olives, wine, fennel seeds, sliced garlic and olive oil in small baking dish. Bake uncovered until olives are heated through, about 20 minutes. Cool slightly. Serve olives warm.

[lorilei]

I just had another great idea... more along the lines of comfort food.

How about baby red potatoes baked with lemon wedges, feta and dill??

[AndreaU]

I've made the Vidalia Onion Risotto with Feta to compliment Greek marinated salmon. They go together very well.

Vidalia Onion Risotto With Feta Cheese

SOURCE: Cooking Light YEAR: 2000 ISSUE: July

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 cups chopped Vidalia or other sweet onion
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1-1/2 cups uncooked Arborio or other short- grain rice
2 (14-1/2-ounce) cans vegetable broth
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese, divided
1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
Freshly ground black pepper
Flat-leaf parsley sprigs (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS:
Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; saute 1 minute. Stir in rice. Add 1/2 cup broth; cook until liquid is
nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Add remaining broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly until each portion of broth is nearly absorbed before adding the next (about 20 minutes total). Remove from heat; stir in 1/4 cup feta, parsley, and Parmesan. Spoon into a serving bowl; top with 1/4 cup feta and pepper. Garnish with parsley sprigs, if desired. Yield: 5 servings (serving size: 1 cup).

[This message has been edited by AndreaU (edited 10-24-2000).]

[lanie]

How about Greek Potatoes:

Greek Potatoes

4 lbs. potatoes 8 - 10 potatoes
1 cup water
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup olive oil
3 garlic cloves minced
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. pepper
1 chicken bouillon cube

Put peeled whole or halved potatoes in baking dish, mix remainder and pour over top. Bake covered 325 x 2 hours - really good! I prefer yukon gold for this recipe.

[Ohioan]

Lorilei, the Greek lentil and olive salad sounds delicious. I'm going to try it later this week. Thanks!

Phoebe

[lorilei]

Thanks Phoebe... Now, can you clarify something for me... do you eat fish, or are you making a substitution for the anchovy paste?

I'm curious to know what you're using, if anything. Olive paste?

[This message has been edited by lorilei (edited 10-24-2000).]

[mightyh]

Thanks to this thread, I was inspired to make the greek fish recipe last night and I loved it!!! Of course, I'm a fan of anything with feta... I also threw on a some artichoke hearts which were a nice addition. Definitely a keeper. FYI - I used salmon... was a little worried it "wouldn't go" with the flavors, but it did.

As a side, I made greek potatoes (and sprinkled some feta on them, as they roasted).

[JillC]

Thanks everyone for all of these excellent suggestions! I'm going to have a hard time deciding which one/s to serve. The lentil olive salad looks especially tasty.
Mightyh--thanks for the feedback on the fish. As I'm sure you saw, the feedback at epicurious.com was also very positive.
Jill

[Ohioan]

Originally posted by lorilei:
Thanks Phoebe... Now, can you clarify something for me... do you eat fish, or are you making a substitution for the anchovy paste?

I'm curious to know what you're using, if anything. Olive paste?


Sorry it's taken me so long to answer this, Lorilei, but we know what happened to the server last night, don't we? http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif Anyway, here's what I kept trying to post yesterday:

Thanks for asking, Lorilei. At first I thought of just leaving out the anchovy paste, but then it occurred to me that I might substitute another kind of olive, maybe a Spanish-style or brine-cured Kalamata olive. Before I do, though, I'll try just mashing a few of the oil-cured olives.

I did try using dulse for a while to simulate the briny taste of anchovies in some of my recipes, but it didn't quite do the trick. Olives of various sorts seem to be doing better. (Gee, maybe I'll even become an olive maven! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif)

Cheers, Phoebe

[Jeanne G]

Originally posted by Ohioan:
I did try using dulse for a while to simulate the briny taste of anchovies in some of my recipes, but it didn't quite do the trick. Olives of various sorts seem to be doing better. (Gee, maybe I'll even become an olive maven! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif)



Phoebe, what is dulse? I am not a vegetarian but lean towards veggie type foods. I had no idea you could sub for something so specific like anchovie paste. And, you're saying that you sub minced olives for anchovie paste? (Pardon my ignorance)

Thanks In Advance for the education, Teacher http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif!!

Jeanne

[mlou]

Phoebe, I'm betting if you use the mashed olives and a little dab of umeboshi paste you would have a winner! I must try this as I don't like killing the little guys either.

[Ohioan]

Jeanne, dulse is a type of seaweed -- or, as we call it in la-de-dah terms these days, a sea vegetable. We had a thread going about it a while ago, when I'd just bought some for the first time and was asking for advice on ways to use it: http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/Forum1/HTML/001107.html

As it turned out, I wasn't really crazy about it. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/frown.gif And I'm beginning to wonder whether I really want a "fishy" taste at all. I'm having much better results (for my own palate, at least) with varieties of olives.

Cheers, Phoebe

[lorilei]

Thanks Phoebe http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif
And I'm glad you mentioned the dulse. I have a package at home that I bought a few months ago that I can't seem to use up -- no recipes that appeal to me. Have you found ways of using the stuff that is actually "good"?

[Ohioan]

To tell the truth, Lorilei, the only "good" use I ever found for the dulse was in a long-cooked puttanesca tomato sauce (instead of anchovies), where it just kind of deepened the other flavors without adding a noticeable taste of its own. But I finally figured that there was no point in continuing to use something that I liked only if I couldn't taste it! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/tongue.gif So now I'm using olives in lieu of anchovies -- kalamata, Calabrese, Spanish green, Sicilian, etc.

At first, I did enjoy munching on the dulse as a snack, like potato chips, but once the novelty wore off, I realized that I didn't really like the aftertaste.

I know the olives aren't supplying the same kinds of nutrients as sea vegetables do, but c'est la vie. (Note fancy-schmancy talk. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif) I get my minerals elsewhere.

And now back to the actual subject of this thread: Side dishes for Greek fish (bet we'd almost forgotten!). http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif How about a nice dilled coleslaw with lemon juice -- and olives?

Cheers, Phoebe

[JillC]

I finally made the greek fish last night. I had a difficult time deciding which of all of the great suggestions to make as sides. I chose the lentil and olive salad and steamed spinach. My friend brought over a salad and we also made a wheat pilaf. It was a wonderful dinner! I'd definitely recommend the fish--it was really quick and easy. The lentil salad was good, too.
For dessert we had one of my favorites--Cinnamon Apple Cake.
Yum!
Jill