Kristen Cooks

Weeknight Dinner – Mediterranean Smorgasbord

When you are thinking of that trip to Greece, southern Italy, or Lebanon and want to bring that back home, I have just the meal for you. A simple, quick, yet elegant spread of Mediterranean treats.

Homemade hummus is accompanied by crisp cucumber, red onion and carrots, as well as fresh, soft pita bread from #josephspitabread. I added #ndmedjooldates for a pop of sweetness. To make this a complete meal, I pan seared 2 flounder fillets and added a side of honey-thyme roasted tomatoes.

For the hummus, I based the ingredients loosely on a recipe by #rickstein. If you have not explored his shows and cook books, check him out! My favorite show and resulting cookbook is called “Venice to Istanbul” and contains recipes from Italy, Croatia, Albania, Greece and Turkey. It is simply a wonderful and culturally enriching book! Check it out here

To try one of earth’s sweetest fruits, check out the Natural Delights Medjool dates. They have amazing sweet and savory recipes that are worth a try directly on their website. https://www.naturaldelights.com/

Weeknight Meal - Mediterranean Smorgasbord
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Weeknight Meal – Mediterranean Smorgasbord

Recipe by kristenCourse: Dinner, LunchCuisine: MediterraneanDifficulty: Easy
Servings

4

servings
Prep time

15

minutes
Cooking time

1

hour 

5

minutes
Calories

300

kcal

Note: calorie count is auto approximated. Cooking time is inclusive of oven roasted tomato and sauté of the founder

Ingredients

  • Cucumber, Red Onion and Carrot, sliced

  • Fresh Pita bread

  • Medjool dates (6-8)

  • Hummus

  • 15.5 oz. can of chick peas, drained and rinsed

  • 2 tbsp. tahini paste

  • 1-2 cloves of garlic (this is to your taste, I go with 2 large cloves)

  • 1.5 tsp. cumin

  • Juice of 1 lemon

  • Tsp. kosher salt, + more to taste

  • 4 Tbsp. water

  • Tbsp. EVOO

  • Sumac and/or Paprika to finish

  • Flounder

  • 2 Tbsp. butter

  • 2 Flounder fillets

  • Paprika

  • Roasted Tomato

  • Vine tomatoes (approx. 12)

  • Honey, Tbsp. thyme and olive oil to coat

Directions

  • Coat tomatoes in olive oil, sprinkle with thyme and put into 350 degree oven for approx. 60 mins. Watch for the tomatoes to become deflated and quite roasty-toasty browned. Before taking out of oven, drizzle with honey and allow to roast the remaining 5 mins
  • Arrange crisp veggies, pita and dates on serving platter, with bowl at center for the hummus
  • In food processor, combine all ingredients, except for the olive oil and sumac/paprika, leaving a small handful of the chick peas for topping the hummus. Pulse or blend until hummus is smooth and creamy. Pour into bowl and top with olive oil and dusting of sumac and/or paprika
  • Once tomatoes are out of oven and cooling, heat the butter in large sauté pan. Pat the fillets dry and sprinkle with kosher salt, pepper and paprika. Once butter is just beginning to brown, place fillets in pan. The fillets are so thin, that 1-2 mins on the first side should result in a nice, seared color. Flip and then tip the pan and continually baste the first side with a spoon, scooping the butter from the edge of the pan. Another 1-2 mins and you are done! Serve and smorgasbord is complete!