A Mediterranean Dinner by Candlelight

We've been having some late summer sun this autumn and that's meant some wonderful outside days. It seems a pity to huddle around the fire eating soup and stew when it's still possible to sit outside late into the evening, eating by candlelight in the afterglow of the day and watching brilliant stars overhead.

It looks like the best of it is over now but last night we had a last chance dinner of Greek inspired dishes, made with vegetables and herbs from the garden and served with lemon, olive oil and warm summer breezes.

The French and Runner green beans are more or less finished as green vegetables but they're still packed full of big tender beans that can be shelled out of their pods and used in stews and braises like this dish of Giant Greek Beans. These beans aren't yet dry so don't take long to cook; if you are using dried beans soak them well and cook until just tender before using as below.



Take a couple of big handfuls of mature beans without pods. Put them in a pan with just enough water to cover, the juice of half a lemon, a pinch of fennel seeds and a bay leaf. Add a couple of cloves of garlic and a big glug of olive oil and leave to simmer for about 20 minutes until the beans are cooked how you like them. I also added some young achocha pods to the pot. You could add some sliced green pepper if you like it.

Meanwhile skin some big meaty tomatoes, remove the hard cores and chop into small pieces. Add the tomato to your beans in their pot of liquid and allow to heat through. Add salt and pepper to taste. Finally add a big handful of finely chopped parsley, stir through and turn off the heat. Serve at room temperature with lots of bread for the juices.



Greek roast potatoes are just like ordinary ones cooked in olive oil with the addition of lemon juice. I par-boiled some  Pink Fir Apple but other firm roasting potatoes are fine. Coat the hot drained potatoes in olive oil and lemon juice and roast in a very hot oven for 40-50 minutes stirring after about 25 minutes. You can add extra woody herbs like rosemary if you want and a few peeled cloves of garlic tossed in are lovely.

I've been trying to get to grips with the huge list of bloggers taking part in this year's MoFo. It looks like there's some great stuff out there and I hope to be able to visit most of you at least once over the month.

My top tip, use a different browser to subscribe to the blogroll RSS in a reader under a throwaway identity. Last year I tried to put the big list into my usual reader and really messed it up. By having a separate identity in a different browser there's no chance of overwriting your usual settings, which I find really helpful. It's still possible to comment as whoever you want to be, so you're not lying to anyone.