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Soufiko will immediately bring you to the wild and breezy blue Greece.
When I go on vacation, and I have the chance to eat local, once I am back home, I try to replicate those flavors and…those feelings. Instead of Dress for the job you want, I say Cook the way you want to feel. When the weather is gloomy, I look for oranges to brighten my day and when I need sun and a vacation I go for dishes with coconut and pineapple to cheer me up.
Soufiko is also the perfect dish to cook on Sunday for weeknight dinners because it keeps well in the fridge, it’s packed in nutrients, and it’s full-filling. You only have to chop vegetables and put them in the oven or in the casserole!
You can complete it with a chunk of feta or halloumi or manourì.
The secret ingredient is cinnamon. Cinnamon is a beautiful aromatic spice. Often associated with sweets, it tastes gorgeous when paired with vegetables and meat.
I discovered this dish during the first of our three times in Fourni. A small fishermen island that was home of pirates and sits in the north of Aegean archipelagos.
The last time we were there was in 2015, for our honeymoon.
Fourni is not the Greece of Mikonos or Santorini. It is a super quiet, genuine place. There was only a bar with wifi, one pharmacy, one atm. I don’t know how Fourni is nowadays if you have been there recently, let me know your impressions!
Ingredients:
- Eggplants, 2 chopped
- Potatoes, 3 chopped
- Onion half, thinly sliced
- Garlic cloves, 2 whole
- Peppers, 2, cubed
- Zucchinis, 2 chopped
- Tomatoes, 2-3 chopped
- Salt, 2 tsp
- Cinnamon 2 tsp
- Strained tomatoes 2 cups of 1 small can of tomato paste diluted with 2 cups of water
- Extra virgin olive oil ½ cup
- Oregano 1 tbs
HOW TO:
Preheat the oven at 400 F/200 C
Chop the vegetables about the same size – 1 inch and half (2-3 cm) cubes.
Drizzle a sheet pan with half of the oil.
Layer the vegetables, and sprinkle with salt and cinnamon and pour over the strained tomatoes and the remaining oil.
Toss well (I use my hands) and place it in the middle rack of your oven for 25 mins.
Toss once with a spatula and cook for another 20 mins. Check if the potatoes are cooked. (Always remember every oven is different)
When ready, sprinkle oregano over the top.
Serve hot or cold, or warm, is always good!
If you go to Fourni, I strongly recommend going every night you can to eat at O’Milton (right on the harbor), because he makes the best spaghetti lobster in this world. That part of the sea has the best lobsters. If you have enough of lobsters go up to church Taverna Koytoyki for their roasted chicken and dish of the day, it will be incredible. Close to the Church, there is a bakery, I don’t recall the name. Well, eat whatever they bake that day, from savory to sweet. Don’t forget to bring back their cookies and honey.
If you are looking for more plant-based recipes click on each of them:
Baked Caponata (sheet pan recipe), Lentil Miso Soup with Mushrooms, Zucchini Casserole with Croutons, Vastasa Salad, Chickpea puree with Roasted Zucchini
