Lemony White Bean Skordalia With Grill Toasted Pita Recipes

WHITE BEAN DIP WITH PITA CHIPS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Place the beans, garlic, lemon juice, 1/3 cup olive oil, and parsley in the work bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is coarsely chopped. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer the bean puree to a small bowl.
• Cut each pita in half and then into 8 wedges. Arrange the pita wedges on a large baking sheet. Pour the remaining oil over the pitas. Toss and spread out the wedges evenly. Sprinkle with the oregano, salt, and pepper. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes, or until toasted and golden in color.
• Serve the pita toasts warm or at room temperature alongside the bean puree.

LEMONY WHITE BEAN SKORDALIA WITH GRILL TOASTED PITA RECIPE

Steps:

• Place beans in heavy medium saucepan. Add enough water to cover by 2 inches. Let stand at room temperature overnight. Drain beans. Return to saucepan. Add enough cold water to cover beans by 2 inches. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium. Cover partially and simmer until beans are very tender, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Drain beans, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid. Place beans, 2 tablespoons reserved cooking liquid and garlic in processor. Process until beans are coarsely chopped. Add lemon juice, tahini and oil. Process until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally and thinning with more cooking liquid by teaspoonfuls if necessary. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to small bowl. Stir in parsley and mint. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover
• chill.) Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Grill pita wedges until beginning to brown, about 1 minute per side. Transfer pita to basket and serve with skordalia.

SKORDALIA

Steps:

• Place the potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and bring slowly to a boil over medium heat. Cover partially, reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender all the way through when pierced with a skewer. Drain, return the potatoes to the pot, and cover tightly. Set aside for 5 minutes. Mash the potatoes through a potato ricer, a food mill, or in a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Do not use a food processor.
• Place the garlic in a mortar and pestle with 1/4 teaspoon salt and mash to a paste. Add the nuts and pound together (you can also do this in a food processor, but do not add the potatoes to the food processor). Stir the ground nuts and garlic into the potatoes. Gradually add the olive oil, stirring all the while with a fork or a pestle. Add the lemon juice or vinegar, and salt to taste. The mixture should be like loose mashed potatoes. Taste and adjust lemon juice, vinegar, and salt. Transfer to a bowl and chill until ready to serve. If the mixture stiffens up, thin out with a little olive oil or water.

RED WINE-ROSEMARY GRILLED FLANK STEAK WITH GRILLED MIXED VEGETABLES AND LEMONY WHITE BEAN SKODALI WITH GRILLED PITA

Steps:

• To prepare the steak: Place the wine, rosemary, thyme, bay leaves, onion, garlic and olive oil in a large shallow baking dish and stir to combine. Add the steak and turn to coat both sides. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Heat the grill, remove the meat from the marinade, season both sides with salt and pepper to taste and grill 6 to 7 minutes on each side. Let sit 5 minutes and slice against the grain.
• Preheat grill. Brush the vegetables with olive oil and season the vegetables with salt and pepper to taste. Grill all the vegetables until just cooked through. Arrange on a platter and sprinkle with herbs.
• Place the beans, garlic and lemon juice in a food processor and process until the beans are coarsely chopped. Add tahini and oil and process until smooth. Add some of the cooking liquid if too thick. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Scrape into a bowl and fold in the parsley and mint.
• Brush the pita on both sides with olive oil and grill until lightly golden brown. Cut into wedges.

RED WINE-ROSEMARY GRILLED FLANK STEAK WITH GRILLED MIXED VEGETABLES AND LEMONY WHITE BEAN SKODALI WITH GRILLED PITA

Steps:

• For the steak: Place the wine, rosemary, thyme, bay leaves, onion, garlic and olive oil in a large shallow baking dish and stir to combine. Add the steak and turn to coat both sides. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Heat the grill, remove the meat from the marinade, season both sides with salt and pepper to taste and grill 6 to 7 minutes on each side. Let sit 5 minutes and slice against the grain.
• For the vegetable platter: Brush the vegetables with olive oil and season the vegetables with salt and pepper to taste. Grill all the vegetables until just cooked through. Arrange on a platter and sprinkle with herbs.
• For the skordilia: Place the beans, garlic and lemon juice in a food processor and process until the beans are coarsely chopped. Add tahini and oil and process until smooth. Add some of the cooking liquid if too thick. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Scrape into a bowl and fold in the parsley and mint.
• Brush the pita on both sides with olive oil and grill until lightly golden brown. Cut into wedges.

WHITE BEAN AND BREAD CRUMB SKORDALIA

Steps:

• If using dried beans, place in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, then turn off heat and let beans sit for 1 hour. Drain and cover with cold water again, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook for 40 minutes, or until tender. Add salt and cook 10 minutes more. Drain and set aside until ready to use. (If using canned beans, add as directed in step 2. No additional salt is needed.)
• To make skordalia, place bread chunks in a food processor or blender and process into coarse crumbs. Add beans, garlic, pepper, and lemon juice, and blend until almost smooth. With the motor running, pour in olive oil and 2/3 cup cold water. Let sit for 30 minutes to allow flavors to blend. Add more water if mixture is too stiff.
• Meanwhile, heat oven to 350 degrees. To makeherbed toast, mince together parsley,oregano, and salt. Spread 1/4 teaspoon ofherbs on each slice of bread and place ona baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, oruntil lightly toasted. Serve with skordalia.

GRILLED LAMB WITH LIMA BEAN SKORDALIA

Steps:

• For Lamb:
• Puree first 6 ingredients in blender or processor. Score large muscles of lamb to form even thickness. Rub yogurt mixture over lamb. Transfer to shallow dish. Cover and chill overnight.
• For Skordalia:
• Place beans in processor. With machine running, add garlic through feed tube and chop. Gradually add oil and puree, scraping down sides as needed. Season to taste with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Stir in parsley. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Cover; let stand at room temperature.)
• Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat) or preheat broiler. Season lamb with salt and pepper. Grill lamb about 10 minutes per side for medium-rare. Let stand 5 minutes. Cut lamb against grain into thin slices. Serve lamb with skordalia and bread.