Tag Archives: cabbage

#Curry – deur Ishay Govender

#Curry – deur Ishay Govender

Kay se lam-en-koolkerrie. Foto uit Curry

Kay se lam-en-koolkerrie. Foto uit Curry

As iemand vir my vra wat ek die meeste geniet om te maak, is dit regte Indiese kerrie. Om uie stadig te braai, dan mosterdsaadjies by te voeg, te wag dat hulle “pop” en dan te begin speel met al die speserye, vars knoffel en vars gemmer, is vir my hemels.

Ishay Govender se boek, Curry, is een van die mees welkome geskenke wat ek nog gekry het. Die pragstuk verken nie net die verskillende style van kerrie, het wonderlike resepte en stories van mense in nie, maar sy kom ook tot die aanname dat kerrie streeksgebonde is. Soos byvoorbeeld ek en die Vrystaat. Die rede dat ek nooit Indiese speserye geken het nie, sit ek reg op die verdomde Nasionale Party se skouers, wat vanaf 1890 Indiërs nie in die Oranje Vrystaat toegelaat het nie. Skud steeds my kop.

Ishay Govender

Ishay Govender

Ishay vertel: “In Suid-Afrika het migrasiepatrone in ‘n groot mate die profiel van kerrie beïnvloed. Waar die Suid-Indiërs, Gujarat, Noord-Indiërs en Kaapse Maleiers gegaan het, het ‘n onbetwisbare stempel op Suid-Afrika se kulinêre landskap gelos.” In 1911 het Indiërs hulself hoofsaaklik in die voormalige Natal, Transvaal en Kaapkolonie gevestig om in sommige gevalle as kelners, ambagsmanne, treinpersoneel en boekhouers te werk. In hierdie streke is daar ‘n sterk teenwoordigheid van die Indiese styl kerries – hoofsaaklik “Durban-curry” wat deur Suid-Indië beïnvloed is of die ligter kerries van die Gujaratis en Noord-Indië.

Curry word uitgegee deur Human & Rousseau en kos R395

Curry word uitgegee deur Human & Rousseau en kos R395

In die Wes-Kaap voer die Kaapse Maleise kerries die botoon en die digter en kosskrywer C. Louis Leipoldt het hulle openlik vir die Kaapse cuisine gekrediteer. Namate mense oor Suid-Afrika gereis het, is die Indiese en Kaapse Maleise style van kook oorgedra om verskillende sektore van die bevolking in te sluit.

Of jy dus hou van Cartwrigths-kerrie, Rajah-kerrie, Kaap Maleise kerrie of “Durban-curry” wil ek net sê Curry is ‘n uitmuntende boek wat langs elke kerrie-liefhebber se stoof moet staan. En wanneer dit eers gemaak is saam met jou vriende, “kerrie” mens op jou lekkerste.

Garam masala
(Resep uit Curry)
Garam (warm) masala is ‘n ‘warm’ speserymengsel. Dit is warm in terme van die mengsel se pikantheid (pungent) en verwys nie na sy rissie-hitte nie. Dit word wyd in Indië gebruik, maar verskil in samestelling van streek na streek en van noord na suid. Dit word dikwels by kerries in die laaste deel van die kookproses gegooi of tydens marinering.
Maak ongeveer 150 g
1 heel neutmuskaat
6 klein stokkies kaneel
50 g komynsaad
50 g koljandersaad
6-8 klein lourierblare
10 ml (2 t) vinkelsaad
30 ml (2 T) swart peperkorrels
5 ml (1 t) heel naeltjies
10 ml (2 t) groen kardemom
2-3 heel swart kardemom
4-6 steranys
6-8 droë roosblare (plaas die roosblare op ‘n stuk papierhanddoek en mikrogolf vir 30 sekondes op hoog of tot droog)

Gebruik ‘n stamper en vysel om die neutmuskaat in stukke te breek. Sit eenkant. Doen dieselfde met die kaneel. Verhit ‘n groot pan oor lae hitte – moet geen olie in die pan gooi nie. Voeg al die speserye by, behalwe die roosblare. Roer vir so twee minute. Dan op medium hitte braai vir 8-10 minute totdat dit droog gebraai het. Roer en skud die pan gereeld. Die speserye sal ‘n wonderlike aardse aroma ontwikkel. Sit eenkant om af te koel. Blits die speserye in ‘n koffiemeule ‘n paar eetlepels op ‘n slag totdat jy ‘n fyn poeier kry. Voeg die droë roosblare aan die einde by. Dit sal vir twee weke in ‘n lugdigte houer hou.

Kay se lam-en-koolkerrie
(Resep uit Curry)
Bedien 4
15 ml (1 T) kanola-olie
1 groot ui, fyn gesny
15 ml (1 T) komyn, fyn
15 ml (1 T) koljander, fyn
15 ml (1 T) borrie
15 ml (1 T) warm masala
1 kaneelstokkie
1 steranys
1 kg lam (borsvleis met bene, in stukke gesny)
sout na smaak
15 ml (1 T) gemmer, gerasper
15 ml (1 T) knoffel, gerasper
1 groot tamatie, opgekap
500 g kopkool, fyn gesny
250 ml (1 k) water, plus ekstra indien nodig
6 kerrieblare
Om te bedien
vars koljander
rys

Gooi olie in ‘n kastrol en op medium hitte braai die ui tot ligbruin. Voeg die fyn en heel speserye by en roer goed. Meng die vleis by die speserye en roer goed. Sprinkel sout oor die vleis en roer goed. Voeg die gemmer en knoffel by en prut vir 10 minute terwyl jy aanhoudend roer. Roer die tamatie by en prut vir ‘n verdere 10 minute. Verlaag die hitte. Voeg die kool en water by en kook, gedeeltelik bedek, vir ongeveer 40 minute of tot die vleis sag is. Gooi meer water, ‘n bietjie op ‘n slag by, indien nodig. Proe nou of dit nog sout kort en gooi by indien nodig. Roer die kerrieblare by, rond af met vars koljander.

Vanilla vintage-koek vir ma

Vanilla vintage-koek vir ma

Vanilla vintage cake

Terwyl ek hier sit en skryf sit my ma voor die gasverhitter in die sonnetjie in my sitkamer en luister na RSG se oggendstorie met die nuwe Sarie Kos op haar skoot. Haar ogies val-val toe. Babs gee kort-kort ‘n kuggie, want die bors sukkel ook maar deesdae. Ek weet nie altyd of sy slaap en of sy net rus nie. Sy is nou 87 en die jare stap aan. Wat ‘n voorreg dat sy my nog kan kom geselskap hou terwyl my Ier vir besigheid in Johannesburg is.

Babs stap deesdae stadiger, haar skouertjies raak effens krommer en sy word al hoe meer vergeetagtig, iets wat vir ons almal voorlê. Soos sy altyd sê: “Oudword is nie vir sussies nie, my kind.” Haar sagte broosheid maak my hart baie seer en ek wil haar net druk, soen en koester. Ek onthou Babs wat hokkie gespeel het, Babs wat my drie stoute broers met ‘n stywe hand beheer het, Babs wat tot laat aande skoolwerk nagesien het, elke dag gesorg het vir kos op die tafel, my rokkies gemaak het, my truie gebrei het – ek is so dankbaar ek het haar as my ma gehad. Sy was (is!) pragtig, energiek en ‘n liefdevolle mens. Sy is vandag nog net so pragtig-grys, maar die energie is nie meer daar soos wat dit was nie. Ek besef ek is baie bevoorreg om Moedersdag met haar te kan deel.

Moedersdagkoek
Koekbak en koekversier is nie heeltemal my forte nie; ek hou van kook en sukkel om ‘n koekresep soos ‘n wetenskaplike aan te pak. Ek wil altyd iets verander en julle weet dit werk nie met bak nie. Bestanddele moet mos presies afgemeet en geweeg word en niks kan met die oog geskat word nie. Vandag het ek Herman Lensing se sponskoekresep gebruik en ma se gunsteling, ‘n vanieljesponskoek gebak. Ek het op die koop toe sommer ‘n koekversierkursus bygewoon. Wat ‘n kreatiewe belewenis! Ek het my meesterstuk (ja, ek spog lekker) met een van ma se 51-jaar oue teekoppies en ‘n klein koolkoppie uit my tuin, wat die droogte oorleef het, afgerond. Ek is gek daaroor!

Gelukkige Moedersdag, Ma. Dankie vir alles wat ma vir my oor die jare gedoen en beteken het. Ek het jou lief met my hele hart. En gelukkige Moedersdag aan al die ander ma’s wat net so goed vir hul kinders is. Wat sou ons sonder julle gedoen het?

Vanieljesponskoek
200 g koekmeel
20 ml bakpoeier
10 eiers
210 g strooisuiker
10 ml vanieljegeursel
120 g botter, gesmelt
vanielje botterversiersel
teekoppie en piering
baba-kool

Verhit oond tot 180 ˚C. Sif meel en bakpoeier saam. Herhaal die proses drie keer – dis belangrik om te verseker daar is baie lug tussen die meelkorrels vasgevang. Breek eiers in skoon mengbak en voeg suiker en vanilla by. Klits teen hoë spoed vir 8 – 10 minute of tot dik en skuimerig. Vou gesifte meel en bakpoeier versigtig by eiermengsel in. Gebruik ‘n groot metaallepel en vou in die vorm. Voeg gesmelte botter by en vou weer versigtig in. Voer 2 x 25 cm-koekpanne met bakpapier uit en spuit goed met kleefwerende kossproei. Verdeel mengsel tussen die twee panne. Bak vir 20 – 25 minute of tot goudbruin en gaar. Keer uit en laat afkoel. Versier met vanieljebotterversiersel, ‘n teekoppie en iets uit jou tuin wat die droogte oorleef het.

#cabbage + pancetta with peas and mint

#cabbage + pancetta with peas and mint

When people hear the word cabbage I often see them cringing – thinking of how they were forced to eat cabbage in school and varsity hostels. Even between kale, cauliflower and brussels sprouts it was often seen as the poor cousin of the vegetable. Today I have taken the often disregarded, humble cabbage and turned it into a five star dish.

cabbage pancetta
Cabbage + pancetta with peas and mint

250 g pancetta, cut into small blocks
350 g shredded cabbage
30 g butter
1 cup frozen peas, cooked for 2 minutes
6 mint leaves, chopped
Salt
Black pepper

Fry the pancetta in a non-stick pan (no butter or oil) until crispy and golden. Remove the pancetta and add the butter and cabbage to the same pan. Fry until cooked. Season the cabbage with salt and pepper. Add the peas. Taste again for seasoning. Add the mint and serve immediately … with love.

cabbage and lamb bredie for six for under R50

cabbage and lamb bredie for six for under R50

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If there ever was a man who could work with a small amount of money and still eat like a king, it was my father, Coen Potgieter. Dad taught us all how to count our pennies without being stingy and taught us the valuable lesson of how to eat like a king on a cash-strapped budget.

Yes, my parents were very smart – they bought their meat in bulk, we packed, marked it with one of those big fat koki pens just before it was put into the freezer.
I remember when the whole family used to go fishing on Saturdays. Of the fish that we caught, some of them were cut up into thick slices and frozen whilst the other portions were made into curry fish and stored in the pantry. Growing up we also had a huge garden and our parents taught us how to grow our own fruit and vegetables.

These lessons have stayed with me my whole life. So last month when I bought one of those bulk packs of lamb for R69.99 p/kg, I packed it, labelled it and froze it – just as we always used to do when I was young. A few days later I hauled a pack out of the freezer and made this glorious koolbredie. It serves six people – all for under R50. By the way the cabbage came out of my garden. Dad would have been proud.

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cabbage and lamb bredie for six for under R50
 
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Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 4 tablespoons oil (R2.00)
  • 500g lamb on the bone, cut in large cubes (R35.00)
  • 1 large onion, grated (R3.00)
  • 1 clove garlic, grated (R1.00)
  • 3 medium potatoes, quartered (R5.00)
  • 1 kg of cabbage, about half a cabbage, sliced finely (R0.00 - from my garden)
  • 3 cups water
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • juice of half a lemon (R2.00)
Instructions
  1. Fry the meat in oil for about 15-20 minutes until golden brown - stirring constantly. Do not try to shorten this process. Add the onion and cook for a further 5 minutes. Then add the remaining ingredients and cook slowly for at least one and a half hours until the meat is tender and cooked though. It should be dry but still juicy. Finally add the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Serve with a thick slice of fresh bread.

chicken + tangy coleslaw open sandwich

chicken + tangy coleslaw open sandwich

This deliciousness of a sandwich was introduced to me by my work colleague, the lovely American – Madeleine. I just love the combination of the fresh ingredients and the fantastic salad dressing that just lifts each bite. I realised once again how delicious homemade salad dressings are … and together with the coleslaw + chicken makes for a tangy-crunchy, rich-tasty, but above all healthy easy meal. For an even healthier option you can just grill your chicken.

What is also super is that you can use the coleslaw as a salad on its own – I added some fennel + flavourburst micro leaves + bean sprouts to give it extra flavour and crunch. This salad fits in perfectly with one of those impromptu braais that we so enjoy.

Watch me make this by clicking here.

chicken and coleslaw

chicken and coleslaw chicken and coleslaw chicken and coleslaw

chicken + tangy coleslaw open sandwich
 
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Author:
Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • 4 Slices of bread
  • 300g Crumbed chicken pieces / steaklets
  • Coleslaw
  • 50g White cabbage, finely sliced
  • 50g Red cabbage, finely sliced
  • 2 Spring onions or salad onions, chopped
  • 2 Baby fennel bulbs, finely sliced
  • 40g Mung bean sprouts or any sprouts
  • 1 Red chilli, chopped
  • 10 g Parsley, chopped
  • 10g Flavourburst micro leaf salad (optional)
  • Salad dressing
  • 1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
  • 3 Tbsp Sherry vinegar
  • 10g Parsley, chopped
  • ½ tsp Salt
  • Large pinch of milled black pepper
  • ¼ Cup olive oil
Instructions
  1. Preheat your oven to 200 °C and bake the crumbed chicken pieces for 20 minutes – or as per the instructions indicated on the packet.
  2. Mix all the coleslaw ingredients together.
  3. Mix the salad dressing ingredients together and drizzle over coleslaw. Mix well and make sure you coat all of the coleslaw. Season to taste.
  4. Place the just fried or oven baked chicken pieces onto your bread and top it with the coleslaw.
  5. Note: I don’t butter my bread but you can if you want to.

duo homemade samoosas

duo homemade samoosas

This delicious recipe was inspired by a very interesting ingredient list (see list + rules at bottom of this post) I received from Pick n Pay for their freshlyblogged challenge #4 competition.

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I always wanted to make my own samoosas from scratch. The pastry + the stuffing + the folding…everything! This is what I did this week … the pilchards + beans made perfect samoosa fillings. Looking back at this amusing and time consuming exercise, the toil paid off with its own self-satisfying rewards. I learnt so much. I must confess it took me more than some time to perfect the dough-making method. After all was said and done, I looked like some kitchen drifting poltergeist all covered in flour, dough and shrapnel’s of samoosa pastry.

But … OMG I am proud of these little triangular pastry parcels – they may not be perfect in shape, nor do they have a perfectly smooth outer layer. Deep fried they look like they may have picked up a case of the measles, but let me tell you they are light, crispy and so yummy. The pilchards were hot + morish and the beans and feta were delightfully scrumptious.

home made samosa

On top of it all I decided to try the dark lighting method to shoot the samoosas (this was my first attempt) – this took another few hours but I am really proud of the outcome of my photographs. All in all it proved to be such an interesting exercise culminating in fabulous samoosas and a very contented blogger.

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Tips for making samoosas
Take your time and be patient :-).
Use a paella pan to heat the dough for the pur separation process.
If you don’t feel like making the dough you can use spring roll wrappers.
You can replace ghee with oil.
For a healthier option – bake the samoosas.
For exceptional Indian recipes – Indian Delights by Zuleikha Mayat (ISBN 062005688-6)

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duo homemade samoosas
 
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Author:
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • Samosa Dough + Pur (the samosa pastry ready for filling)
  • 2 cups flour, sifted
  • 1tsp cumin seeds, roasted
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2 Tbsp ghee, melted
  • ⅔ cups water
  • Extra flour for making the pur
  • Extra melted ghee for making the pur
  • Flour and water, mixed
  • Bean + feta filling
  • 1Tbsp lemon infused olive oil
  • ½ tsp yellow mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • ¼ tsp chilli flakes
  • 50g onions, chopped
  • 50g green beans, blanched and diced
  • 50g brown rice, cooked
  • 100g PnP Feta cheese, crumbled
  • Salt
  • Milled lemon black pepper
  • 2 Tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
  • Pilchard filling
  • 2 Tbsp cooking oil
  • 2 cardamom pods
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • 2 tsp ginger powder
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1tsp chilli flakes
  • 2-3 tsp “Father in Law” masala or medium hot masala
  • 4 fresh curry leaves
  • 100g onion, chopped
  • 100g cabbage, chopped
  • ¼ cup tomato juice (from the sardine can)
  • 2 (100g) pilchards (from the sardine can)
  • Salt
  • Milled black pepper
  • 2Tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
Instructions
  1. Dough + pur method - Mix flour, salt and the roasted cumin seeds together.
  2. Add the ghee and mix well with the tip of your fingers.
  3. Add the water and knead into smooth dough.
  4. Set aside for 30 min to rest.
  5. Divide dough into 10 “ping pong” sized balls – +- 4cm.
  6. Roll each ball into 6-8 cm diameter round disc.
  7. Place 5 disks on top of each other after brushing both sides with ghee and sprinkle flour between them. Only the bottom of the bottom disk and the top of the top disk should be ungreased. Do the same with the other 5 discs.
  8. Roll out one pile into a large 30 cm round disc.
  9. Cut into a rectangular shape.
  10. Heat an ungreased plate, place the disc on the plate and let it heat up for a few seconds until the sheet changes in colour (not brown) – turn the sheet over – heat and then remove from the flame – this will separate the sheets.
  11. Do the same with the second pile.
  12. When cool trim the pur into two-inch strips, separate the sheets and use these for your samosas.
  13. Method for fish filling - Heat the oil on medium heat, add all the spices and cook for 2 minutes.
  14. Add the onions and cabbage and fry till translucent.
  15. Add the tomato juice and pilchards and mix well. Cook for a minute or two.
  16. Season with salt and pepper.
  17. Lastly add the fresh coriander.
  18. Bean and feta filling method - Heat the olive oil and add the mustard, cumin and chilli flakes. Fry for 2 minutes.
  19. Add the onions and fry till translucent.
  20. Add the green beans, brown rice and feta cheese – mix well.
  21. Season with salt and pepper.
  22. Lastly add the fresh coriander.
  23. Samoosa folding and frying - Mix a bit of flour and water together and smear on the sides of the pur. It acts as “glue” for the pastry.
  24. Place a teaspoon of the filling mixture at one end of the pur strip, leaving a 1cm border.
  25. Take the right corner and fold diagonally to the left, enclosing the filling and forming a triangle.
  26. Fold again along the upper crease of the triangle. Keep folding in this way until you reach the end of the strip.
  27. Fry in batches at 180 ºC until golden brown.

Samosas-6

image from xawaash.com

Samosas-5

image from xawaash.com

Ingredients + Rules for challenge #4

1 x 400g tin Lucky Star Pilchards
1 medium cabbage
1 small packet of brown rice
1 packet of green beans
250 g Pnp feta

You must use all the ingredients in the above list.
You may add two fresh ingredients.
You may add any spices of your choice.
Your dish must be cooked on the stovetop. You may not use the oven.
You can use any and all ingredients from the approved Freshly Blogged Pantry List. Olive oil, Vegetable oil, Salt, Pepper, Flours (cake, whole-wheat, bread and self raising), Baking powder, Bicarbonate of soda, Yeast, Butter, Milk, Eggs, Sugar (granulated, castor, icing, brown and treacle),Stock (powder or liquid – beef, chicken, fish, vegetable)

a simple cabbage greek salad + alain passard = veggie perfection

a simple cabbage greek salad + alain passard = veggie perfection

“If you enjoy reading my blog please vote for it in the Eat Out Best Local Food Blog Award by 1) clicking on this link {eat out best local food blog award} 2) and casting your vote at the bottom of the Eat Out web page.”

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Lesson #1 Alain Passard – Elevate vegetables to the main course. Respect them. Love them.

Cabbage Greek Salad … Just recently, I was fortunate enough to meet and eat at a Parisian restaurant owned and run by one of the best chefs on the planet – and one of my great food heroes. The place was L’Arpege + 3-Star Michelin Restaurant and the chef was none other than Alain Passard!

Having lunch at one of the top restaurants in the world turned out to be a very emotional day for me as we made our way through 13 courses of what can only be described as an expedition to some sort of culinary Nirvana. This was not a sampling menu, it was 13 courses of considerable portion of food.

In order to give fair justice to the skill and care that was taken in serving each course, I intend discussing (or is it dissecting?) various elements of this extraordinary experience over the next few weeks. The sum of which continues to jolt my brain and senses in the most wonderful of ways. More of that later but back to Alain…My hubby and I sat down just on midday and only left the restaurant four and half hours later. It turned out to be not just a meal but more a journey enticing discoveries. It was an explosion of the senses on all fronts from tantalizing the palate, to engaging the brain, to touching my heart. It was all of these things.

Then out of nowhere and so very casually, Alain Passard himself appeared in front of us… and so charmingly and non-chalantly introduced himself. He stood humbly before us wanting to know where we were from and then thanked us for making the effort to eat at his restaurant. Could you believe he thanked me!! I was speechless. He said that if I wanted to know anything, I must just ask him. He was most amused by my little black notebook. It is that little notebook that I take everywhere with me jotting down my thoughts and different food experiences. Alain then just said the following “eat slowly and enjoy every bite, try to stay till dessert because I have a surprise for you” and before you could offer a shy stammer of awe and appreciation he whisked himself back into his kitchen. *more about the surprise and what he meant in a later blog*.

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In between the courses that followed he came out to serve us … how amazing was that!! I was in dreamland and I think for the first time in my life, I was beyond speechless. What I took away from this restaurant and this genius of a chef was that you need to live and practice the credo of this talented food maestro….remember to elevate vegetables to the main course – it is not a side dish – respect them and cook them with love.

Ok, I got a little carried away by my recollections of this exceptional outing, back to dish at hand…..
Today I have taken the often disregarded, humble purple cabbage and added it to make a greek salad the way my dear and wonderful Mediterranean friend Thea Maroela taught me. Thea is +- 79 years old now and lives in Cyprus. Thea always made this particular Greek salad with white cabbage and I used to often eat this salad at Thea’s house with fresh bread and a tumbler of white wine – which Thea always kept in a bottle under the sink for me as she herself did not drink. This dish is a “must make”. It’s fresh, inspiring and delicious.

Note to self: Add to bucketlist – Visit Thea in Cyprus again. Book table and eat again at any restaurant owned by Alain Passard.

Recipe
This recipe has no measurements in terms of ingredients…it is only dependent on the quantity of ingredients you have in your fridge.

a simple cabbage greek salad + alain passard = veggie perfection
 
Prep time
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Author:
Ingredients
  • Note
  • This recipe has no measurements in terms of ingredients…it is only dependent on the quantity of ingredients you have in your fridge.
  • Ingredients
  • Red cabbage – finely sliced
  • Tomatoes
  • Cucumber
  • Olives
  • Onion
  • Feta cheese
  • Dressing
  • Good Olive oil
  • White vinegar
  • Salt + black pepper
Instructions
  1. Mix all the ingredients together.
  2. Pour generously with olive oil and then some vinegar, add the salt and pepper and mix well in a bowl before you dish it up.
  3. Serve with fresh bread.