Appetizers

Mediterranean Flatbreads: A Guide & 3 Recipes

Last Updated on June 2, 2022 by Simply Healthy Family - Team

When one mentions Mediterranean foods, what are the first things that come to your mind? I know, it’s probably something like pizza, olive oil, fish, and a plethora of seafood. These thoughts appear rightfully so since the previously mentioned foods are delicious and worthy mentions of this region’s cuisine. But, today we would like to talk about one unfairly overlooked and amazing food item – the flatbread.

About Mediterranean Flatbreads

Mediterranean Flatbreads on the chopping board

If you’re thinking about hard, dry, bland crackers, then I assure you that you couldn’t be further from the truth. We’re talking about soft and flavorful, handmade breads topped with a series of different condiments and ingredients.

Flatbreads are present in many Mediterranean cooking traditions, and we’ll mention a few examples. The Greek pitas are used as wraps for delicious meats, and North African mana’eesh is usually topped with cheese or lamb. Italian airy Foccacia is rich with olives, sprinkled with herbs, or can even be made into a sweet version with fruits. For those who love juicy and rich toppings, we would recommend the French pissaladiere which is packed with caramelized onions and anchovies.

As you can see, the styles and culinary uses of flatbreads can greatly vary, meaning that they can be an ideal side dish for a number of main courses, the main course by themselves, or delicious starters and snacks.

Since there is so much diversity in case of this food item, we decided to handpick the best Mediterranean flatbread recipes in our humble opinion. Each of these come from a different country and have different flavors, so there’s no better advice than to try them all out and see which suits you the most!

Recipes

1. Focaccia Olive Flatbread

Focaccia Olive Flatbread

This bread is a perfect, warm and tasty addition to your dinner. It’s super easy to make, and all the ingredients you need can be found in the pantry. It can be made with any kind of olives, and they will do a fantastic job of adding flavor to the dough. Sprinkle with salt and drizzle with olive oil before serving.

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Ingredients

450 grams of flour
260 milliliters of warm water
2 teaspoons of baker’s yeast
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 teaspoons of salt
1 jar of pitted olives

Instructions

Place the flour and the yeast in a large bowl. Make a well (a hole in the middle of the flour), then add water, oil, and salt, and start mixing the flour in using your fingertips. When you form the dough, start kneading it and continue to do so for about 15-20 minutes.
Chop the pitted olives and add them to the dough. After that, mix it again, form it into a ball, and let it sit covered in a warm place for about 40 minutes.
After the dough has rested, start pushing the air out with the palms of your hands.
Spread a little bit of flour over your working surface and place the dough on it. Using a rolling pin spread the dough to about 1 cm thickness.
Cover the baking sheet with parchment paper, place the dough on it and let it rest for another 40 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 420 degrees Fahrenheit.
Press in little holes with your fingers all over the dough, then pour some olive oil into them and bake for 25-30 minutes.

2. Pita Bread

A plate of Pita Bread and slices of lemon on the table

A rolling pin will make sure your pita bread comes out flat, but if you don’t have a rolling pin, there are plenty of rolling pin substitutes you could use instead.

Pita Bread

We are pretty sure that pita doesn't need any special introduction. If you've ever eaten gyros or a falafel wrap, then you know what it is. This flatbread is ideal as a wrap, but that is not its only purpose. It can also be served with curries and grilled meats of all sorts. Pita is a great base for inventing new dishes too.

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Ingredients

230 milliliters of warm water
2 teaspoons of active dry yeast
360 grams of flour
2 teaspoons of salt
2 teaspoons of olive oil

Instructions

Pour water in a bowl, add yeast to it, and wait until it dissolves (approximately 5 minutes).
Add 300 grams of flour, salt and olive oil to the mixture, and mix it until you get a dough.
Take a little bit of the remaining 60g of flour and sprinkle it over your working surface.
Start kneading the dough and add flour whenever you need to stop the dough sticking to your hands. Remember to add extra flour sparingly, since it is better to add too little than too much of it in this case. Knead for about 5 minutes.
Place the dough in a bowl, cover it with a cloth or some plastic foil, and let it grow for about 1-2 hours.
Take the dough and put it on a floured surface, then split it into 8 equal parts.
Using a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough balls into circles with a diameter of 15-17cm. If the dough starts to stick to the surface sprinkle it with more flour. After rolling the pitas, let them sit for a few minutes.
Preheat the oven to about 450 degrees Fahrenheit. It would be ideal if you had a baking stone, but if not, a regular baking sheet with parchment paper will do just fine.
Place the pitas (as many as you can fit) on to the baking sheet and bake for about 3 minutes.
Take the pitas out of the oven and bake them on a medium heat skillet with a bit of oil. 30 seconds on one side, 1 minute on the other.

3. Mana’eesh with Za’atar

Mana’eesh with Za’atar on the chopping board

In case you’re wondering what this is, mana’eesh is a flatbread made in the Middle East and North Africa. On the first look it looks plain and simple, but if you have a bite, you will discover a new taste of eastern, marvelous flavors. It can be topped with lamb or cheese, or just eaten by itself.

Mana’eesh with Za’atar

This flatbread is chewy, and its texture is similar to that of a very good pizza crust. Za’atar is a herb used to season the dough, and it comes from the same family as oregano, basil, and thyme. Along with some olive oil, it makes an awesome combination.

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Ingredients

2 eggs
550 grams of flour
1 tablespoon of salt
170 milliliters of water
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Za’atar
100 milliliters warm water for the yeast
½ teaspoon of yeast
½ teaspoon of sugar

Instructions

Pour 100 milliliters of warm water into a bowl and mix in the yeast and sugar. Let the mixture sit for about 15 minutes.
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs until they are just mixed.
Add ¾ of the total flour into a food processor along with the salt, and pulse it a few times. This is done so that the flour gets some air.
Turn on the processor and slowly add the eggs. After that add the 170 milliliters of water and the water/yeast mixture. Let it mix well.
Gradually add the remaining flour to the wet dough until it forms a solid bowl that moves around the food processor. You may not need to use all of the flour.
Take the dough out from the processor and start kneading it with some extra flour. Knead until you form a nicely shaped ball.
Put the dough ball in a bowl coated with olive oil, then cover with a cloth or plastic wrap, and let it sit for about 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Take the dough and divide it into 12-14 pieces.
Oil up your hands and form thick little circles with the dough. The dough should feel ‘relaxed’ under your fingers, and if it doesn’t, leave it for about 10 minutes and try again afterward.
Brush the mana’eesh with olive oil and sprinkle with za’atar.
Place it on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and bake for about 13-17 minutes, until golden brown.

Conclusion

People of all Mediterranean nations are known to be kind, sociable, open, and warm as the weather they live in. The flatbreads from this part of the world carry a piece of this tradition with them, and maybe that’s why folks from all over the globe love them so much. Or, maybe it’s just because they’re so delicious! Whichever the case, we would advise you to try out any of the recipes we provided that resonate with you.

No need to go to overpriced restaurants when you can easily bake your own flatbreads at home. Gather up your family or friends around your dinner table and enjoy some quality time with them, because the Mediterranean spirit teaches us about the importance and joy that people can give to each other. We leave you with this thought, so, until next time – bon appétit!

How To Cook White Sweet Potatoes – 3 Tasty And Easy Recipes

Last Updated on May 16, 2022 by Simply Healthy Family - Team

There’s a lot you can do with a bit of potato. It’s quite a versatile food, and you can use it as a cornerstone of many different dishes. It’s inexpensive, and it is available at all times of the year, so you will always be able to get some at your local grocery store.

There are also a lot of different kinds of potatoes, allowing for plenty of great variations on standard potato dishes that you can try. It’s easy to modify them and preparing different kinds of potatoes is mostly the same in the end.

The white sweet potato is an often overlooked type of potato that can improve some common potato dishes massively, and today we will cover some of the great recipes you can make with it.

What Are White Sweet Potatoes?

You might not have heard about white sweet potatoes, and that’s not surprising since they are not quite as common as the other types of sweet potatoes. As you might know, sweet potatoes can come in a wide variety of different skin colors – yellow, red, brown, and so on.

Different flesh colors like white, orange, yellow and even purple are also out there. However, the most common type of sweet potato is the one with copper-colored skin and soft orange flesh. The other main type comes with golden skin and white flesh, which is the one we will cover today.

The white sweet potatoes are less sweet than the orange variant, making them well-suited for dishes that require a bit less flavor from their ingredients.

They can also be used with a wider variety of spices since their natural flavor won’t overpower the spices used in the dish. They can add that little bit of sweetness and texture without dominating the dish, which is something you can’t do with orange sweet potatoes.

Don’t confuse sweet potatoes with yams though, that’s a completely different story. Orange sweet potatoes tend to be labeled as yams as a way to distinguish them from the white sweet potatoes. However, yams are a completely different sort of vegetable, and you shouldn’t mistake them for sweet potatoes.

The Nutrition White Sweet Potatoes Provides

In general, sweet potatoes of all kinds are healthier than regular potatoes, even though both are good in moderation. There are a lot of reasons why sweet potatoes come out above regular potatoes as the healthier food item.

First is the fact that they contain more antioxidants which are beneficial for people with high blood pressure. The other one is that, despite what their sweetness may lead you to think, they actually contain fewer carbs than regular potatoes, on average.

They also contain a lot more vitamin A and vitamin C, which are both essential for a healthy balanced diet. There’s more, but going into every detail might be a little too much for this article.

When it comes to nutrition, white sweet potatoes aren’t much different than orange sweet potatoes. They contain slightly fewer antioxidants, but that’s about it. The main difference is in the taste, rather than in the nutrition.

Skin vs. No Skin

Some people will tell you to take off the sweet potato skin when baking or cooking them, but others will swear by it and say that taking the skin off is a bad thing to do. So, what’s the deal? Well, we looked into it and here’s some info we came across.

Overall, the skin of a sweet potato is extremely beneficial and contains plenty f useful nutrients that you shouldn’t pass up on. It’s rich in Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and Beta-Carotene, which are all essential to a healthy and balanced diet. If you take off the skin, you make the sweet potato a lot less nutritionally beneficial for yourself.

Of course, you should wash the potatoes thoroughly before eating them, since a lot of dirt can be gathered up in the skin. This is where the myth of the potato skin being inedible or bad for you, comes from – badly washed potatoes that made people sick.

It was not the fault of the skin but rather the people preparing the meals that used it – don’t make the same mistake.

The 3 Best White Sweet Potato Recipes We can Recommend

Let’s get right down to it and go through some of the best white sweet potato recipes we know of. Most of them are relatively easy to make, and you should be able to find all the ingredients at your local grocery store. You will be able to cook up some of them in no time at all.

So, let’s begin with one of our favorites.

White Sweet Potatoes with Mirin and Honey

This is a great sweet side dish that can be served with a wide variety of main dishes, like pork chops or a roasted turkey. It can also be served as an appetizer or even as a dessert if you don’t want something too sweet and carb-heavy. It’s quite a versatile dish.

Ingredients You Need

2 pounds of white sweet potatoes,
half a cup of mirin or some other sweet wine,
2 tablespoons of honey,
1 tablespoon of distilled white vinegar,
half a tablespoon of salt,
2 teaspoons of corn oil or some equivalent substitute,
2 tablespoons of butter, and
some sea salt, which is optional.

Making this dish might seem complicated at first glance, but it’s not.

Recipe Instructions

First, you should put a cast-iron skillet in the oven to preheat it. The oven should be at around 450 degrees.
You start out by microwaving the potatoes on high for around 5 minutes.
After that, you wisk the honey, vinegar, and mirin with salt in a small to a medium-sized bowl.
Now peel the potatoes and cut them into round slices, preferably not more than 1-inch thick, then add them to the mixture you made and leave it to coat.
Now, take out the skillet and add oil onto it before tossing the potatoes, cut side down, onto it.
Bake them for around fifteen to twenty minutes, until they caramelize, then turn them over and cook them for five to ten more minutes, until they are tender.
After that, transfer them to a platter and scrape the brown parts off.
Add some melted butter, sauce and salt to them for seasoning, and it is done!

You can also experiment with other spices when making this dish, and some of us have found that we like it lot with some wasabi. Try it out and see how you feel about it.

White Sweet Potato Pie

You can whip this pie up in almost no time at all, and it will be a great fit for almost any dinner table. It can be served standalone or as a nice and healthy dessert.

Ingredients You Need

1 stick of butter or margarine,
2 cups of sugar or stevia,
2 eggs,
2 tablespoons of flour,
1 cup of mashed white sweet potatoes,
3 tablespoons of vanilla, and
a pie crust.

Recipe Instructions

Start out by boiling the potatoes until they are soft, draining the water they were boiled in, then adding a bit of milk and mashing them.
After that, melt the stick of butter in a pan, add the sugar and eggs to it, then mix it all until it becomes creamy.
Follow that up by adding the flour and the mashed potatoes to the mix before pouring it all into a premade pie crust.
Bake the pie at 300 or 350 degrees until it becomes firm and takes on a golden brown color.
Take it out and serve it while still hot for the best results!

Roasted White Sweet Potatoes

Here we have a nice and savory dish that can be served as a good appetizer or just a light and tasty snack that doesn’t contain a lot of carbs or fat. You can also replace some of the seasonings here with different ingredients and experiment until you get the recipe down to how you like it.

Ingredients You Need

4 medium-sized white sweet potatoes,
3 medium-sized red onions,
3 tablespoons of olive oil,
2 tablespoons of chopped rosemary(fresh, not dried),
1 tablespoon of sea salt, and
1 cup of grated parmesan.

Recipe Instructions

Begin by cutting the potatoes into one-inch pieces (peel them before cutting, if you want) and chopping the red onions into slightly smaller pieces.
Put in the oil and toss it around before adding one tablespoon of chopped rosemary, preferably fresh, and spread it all out on a roasting pan.
Roast it all at around 400 degrees for around thirty to forty minutes.
After that add in the second tablespoon of chopped rosemary as well as the grated parmesan and salt, then toss it all and serve!

You can also experiment with adding a few more different spices or replacing rosemary with a different seasoning. We like adding some black pepper to the recipe for extra spice!

Conclusion

Those are the best recipes for white sweet potatoes that we could find, and they are all relatively straightforward and easy to make. You should try them out and see for yourself! Once you get the hang of them, you can also modify them to your liking with ease.

What To Serve With Paella? Five Great Paella Side Dishes

Last Updated on March 20, 2023 by Simply Healthy Family - Team

Paella might be the most famous main course Spanish dish of all time. This rice dish is well-loved throughout the world. If you are wondering what to serve with paella, read on and find out which dishes are the perfect sides.

What is Paella?

A pan of Paella

Non-Spaniards like me typically associate paella with Spain. Many people think it is the country’s national food. However, Spaniards usually say that paella is a regional dish. Paella is a rice dish from the Spanish province of Valencia. It can be made in numerous ways, like vegetarian, seafood, or mixed. Mixed paella would be considered the most authentic. Classic paella from valencia uses chicken and either pork ribs or rabbit with green beans, butter beans, garlic, and spices like paprika and saffron.

The dish comes from the shallow, wide traditional paella pan used to cook it – Paella is the word for frying pan in the Valencian/Catalan language.

Best dishes to serve with Paella

Paella is a heavy dish. It is usually served by itself. But while paella can stand on its own, there are certain dishes that you can serve with it. My top recommendations for the perfect side dish include the following:

Caesar salad

A plate of Caesar Salad and a fork

I believe Caesar salad is the best complement to paella. Their flavors blend well. Caesar salad gives a fresh flavor that goes well with the meaty flavor of paella. Serve these two dishes, and you have a tasty lunch or dinner.

Aside from being delicious, Caesar salad is very healthy. The lettuce found in Caesar salad has high levels of carotenoids that protect the body against free radical damage. It is also rich in folate and saponins that can help prevent cancer.

Crusty Bread

Slices of Bread on the chopping board

This may surprise you. After all, why serve another carbohydrate-heavy food when the paella is already loaded with carbs?

Sure, both bread and paella are packed with carbohydrates. But bread, especially crusty, can significantly change texture when you serve it with paella. It can also gather all the juices from the paella pan!

A warm baguette should be good enough to be paired with paella. Add warm olive oil to the bread, then eat the paella in the crust without cutlery. It’s an authentic Spanish dining experience that you should try. You can also have cheese or olives on the side as beautiful accompaniments.

Fried Sweet Plantain slices

In Spanish, they call these Plantanos Maduros Fritos. These are delicious, sweet plantain slices that were fried to perfection. Many Spaniards say this is the best side dish to be served with paella.

This side dish is also effortless to prepare. You can cook one in less than 10 minutes! No kidding!

Ingredients

green bananas

2 ripe sweet plantains
A cup of vegetable oil
Salt

Step-by-step guide

frying pan with slices of banana

Heat oil in a frying pan placed over medium heat.
Peel the plantains. Cut them into slices about half an inch thick. Add them to the frying pan.

A bowl of fried slices of banana

Cook on each side for about 2 minutes, or until the plantains have turned golden brown. Remove from the frying pan and place into a plate lined with paper towel to remove excess grease.
Add salt, then serve warm as a side dish.

Fried Pimientos de Padron or Padron Peppers

A bowl of Fried Pimientos De Padron

If you haven’t heard of this dish, then don’t worry. It’s not the most popular dish from Spain, after all. This is a type of Spanish chili that is often fried and eaten (generally as a tapas or an appetizer). If you want an all-Spanish party, I suggest you serve this dish with seafood or vegetable paella.

This is a chili that’s lightly fried in olive oil. It makes for a great side dish with paella.

In Spain, people usually wash the chili and dry it thoroughly before cooking. They then heat olive oil over medium heat in a medium skillet. The peppers are added and fried for about 2-3 minutes or until their color turns brown.

The fried Pimientos De Padron are then sprinkled with salt before serving. Some say it goes well with bread.

Roasted red peppers

Roasted Red Peppers on the chopping board

Another tapas-type idea is roasted red peppers. The problem with the preceding side dish is that sourcing Pimientos de Padron can be quite tricky. Instead of using Spanish chili, you can roast red peppers with the paella.

What I love about roasted red peppers is that they provide a smoky taste to the paella. This side dish can also add texture to the paella.

Like the other side dishes I shared, this roasted red pepper recipe is simple. All you need are some red peppers.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, then place the peppers on their sides. The stems of the peppers should point sideways. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Then bake the peppers for about 20 minutes.

You’ll know that the peppers are done when they are slightly collapsed, and the skin charred and soft.

Of course, there is always dessert – almond flan, cake or ice cream could be another fantastic experience after the paella!

Conclusion

Paella may be considered a complete dish, but that doesn’t mean you can pair it with other side dishes. You can serve paella with Caesar salad, roasted red peppers, and bread.

If you want an authentic Paella party, you can serve it with fried Pimientos de Padron or fried sweet Plantain slices.

Whatever side dish you choose from this list, I assure you that you will enjoy paella even more.

What Goes Well With Potato Salad?

Last Updated on June 2, 2022 by Simply Healthy Family - Team

Potatoes are one of the most versatile vegetables. There are countless ways to cook it. You can mash it to go with meatloaf or pork chops. You can fry or bake them. And you can make them into potato salad.

But what goes well with potato salad? Is it just a cold treat to accompany main dishes? Or is it something that you eat simply to nourish your body with fiber?

I’ve always enjoyed potato salad. I remember my mom making a lot of this during summer barbeque parties. It’s also something she would always bring to family gatherings. Suffice to say, it was always well received.

What is potato salad?

A plate of Potato Salad and a fork on the table

Potato salad is a type of salad consisting of boiled potatoes, mayonnaise, and other ingredients like onion, celery and herbs.

There’s no written record how potato salad came about, but some quarters claim that it originated from Europe in the 16^th century. It eventually made its way to the US in the 19^th century thanks to European settlers.

The potato salad that Americans know is different from the European style potato salad. The standard European potato salad is served warm. It also includes olive oil and herbs.

On the other hand, American potato salad is served cold with mayonnaise and chopped potatoes like pickles and pimentos.

What to pair with potato salad?

Potato Salad and slices of black bread on the plate

Potato salads are often paired with meat dishes like barbecue, grilled pork and chicken, and meatloaf. Rich in fiber and nutrients like vitamin C and potassium, potato salads are the perfect complement to these protein-packed dishes.

Aside from the meat dishes I mentioned earlier, you can also pair potato salad with chicken nuggets, roasted chicken, pork chop, battered chicken, and the like. Potato is a light dish that can go well with any of these dishes.

I personally love pairing potato salad with grilled ham steak. It’s a very flavorful and appetizing combination with a Southern flavor. The salad complements the thick-cut ham steak (see also ‘25 Easy Leftover Steak Recipes For Midweek Meals‘). Then add apricot curry sauce to the salad—perfect!

Another dish that I usually pair potato salad with is lemon roasted chicken. Zesty and delicious, lemon roasted chicken is packed with flavor. It’s a great dish that you can cook in less than 30 minutes. Even simple foods like hot wings, hamburgers, sausage and hotdogs would go well with potato salad.

But what if you’re tired of too much meat? Well, you can also pair potato salad with other fish dishes. From pan seared fish to breaded fish fillets, any fish recipes would go well with potato salad. You can also serve potato salad with fresh or smoked salmon and tiger prawns.

**Want to know a quick way to store sweet potato? Read here for a quick guide on how to freeze them!**

Smoked duck and sesame potato salad recipe

Here’s a sample recipe that I would like to share with you. This smoked duck and sesame potato salad is a very filling snack that you can serve to your guests. It’s easy to prepare as it would only take less than 30 minutes, and can feed 4 people.

Ingredients

Slices of smoked duck breasts and Potato Salad on the plate

2 smoked duck breasts, sliced
1 large potato, peeled and cubed
Two tablespoons of vegetable oil
Salt and black pepper to taste
50 grams of sesame seeds
Soy sauce
100 ml of plum sauce
50 ml of rice wine vinegar
1 lime (juice only)
1 tablespoon of fresh coriander
1 chili
Fresh mint leaves
2 baby gem lettuce leaves

Step by step guide

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Put oil in an ovenproof dish then place the dish in the oven. Wait for five minutes or until the dish has become hot.

Add the potato cubes and season with salt and pepper

Add the potato cubes and season with salt and pepper.
Remove the dish from the oven then add sesame seeds and soy sauce. Stir well.

Combine the plum sauce, rice wine vinegar, chili, lime and fresh coriander in a bowl

Combine the plum sauce, rice wine vinegar, chili, lime and fresh coriander in a bowl.
Place the mint and lettuce leaves in a large bowl. Add the dressing and mix well so that the lettuce leaves will be well-coated. Add potatoes and top with the slices of smoked duck breast.

Tips for making potato salad

A plate of Potato Salad and a fork on the table

Here are some pointers to remember in preparing potato salad:

Use waxy potatoes for potato salad. These include fingerling and red bliss potatoes. These potatoes are not starchy and can retain their shape when boiled.
Add salt to the water when the potatoes are being boiled. This can make the potatoes flavorful. Don’t add salt to the potatoes when these are cold or when you are to dress the salad.
Remember not to overcook the potatoes. Since potatoes are the main ingredient in a potato salad recipe, you want them to be soft and tender. Check if they’re cooked by piercing their skin with a fork. Based on my experience, it would only take 8 to 12 minutes for potatoes to get cooked.

**Searching for a tasty potato treat? Here’s an amazing white sweet potato recipe, see it here!**

Conclusion

A plate of Potato salads on the table

Potato salads can go well with a lot of dishes. That what separates it from many other salad types. It can go well with chicken, pork and beef dishes. And you can eat it with fish dishes, too.

What’s your favorite dish to go along with potato salad? Let us know in the comments section below.