Easy Baklava.

Ingredients:

Safflower oil for coating pan
1 cup ground almonds
1 cup ground walnuts
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
8 sheets filo
1/4 cup melted unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups date sugar
2 tablespoons grated lemon rind
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons honey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil a deep 9- by 12-inch baking pan.

In a small bowl combine almonds, walnuts, and cinnamon. Set aside.

Cut each sheet of filo in half. Stack cut sheets on counter. With a large pastry brush, dot top sheet with about 1 teaspoon butter, then spread evenly to coat as much of sheet as possible (see Preparing Filo). Lay evenly in baking pan. Sprinkle lightly with nut mixture. Repeat with remaining sheets,stacking evenly.

To cut baklava make 4 evenly spaced vertical cuts through the entire stack of filo. Then cut diagonally to form diamond shapes. (Four evenly spaced diagonal cuts will yield 15 to 20 pastries.) Bake for 20 minutes, then lower heat to 300 degrees F and bake for 30 minutes more.

In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, simmer date sugar, lemon rind,lemon juice, and honey until thickened. Pour over cooked baklava as soon as it comes out of the oven. Let cool and then serve.

Spetsofai with Gaea Flame-Roasted Red Peppers and Gaea Santorini Tomato Sauce.

Ingredients:

½ kilo (about 1 pound) fresh beef or pork sausages
4 large green bell peppers, caps removed and seeded
3 Gaea "Flame Roasted Florina Peppers", drained
¼ cup Gaea "Sitia DOP Extra Virgin Olive Oil"
2 Tbs red wine vinegar
1 tsp dried Greek oregano or 2-3 sprigs fresh oregano
1 jar Gaea "Santorini Tomato Sauce"
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Separate the sausages, link by link. Cut into ½-inch round or oval slices. Heat 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil in a nonstick skillet and sauté the sausages over medium heat until browned and cooked through.

Cut the green peppers into one-inch wide strips. Cut the Gaea "Flame Roasted Florina Peppers", into one-inch wide strips and cut in half lengthwise to be about the same size as the green bell pepper strips. Heat the remaining olive oil in a separate nonstick skillet and sauté the green peppers until soft but firm. Add the red peppers, toss to combine.

Empty the peppers into the skillet where the sausage is cooking. Toss all together. Pour in vinegar, oregano and three tablespoons of the Gaea "Santorini Tomato Sauce". Cook all together for 3-4 minutes, for the flavors to meld. Remove and portion out onto individual plates. Spoon remaining Gaea "Santorini Tomato Sauce" around the plate and serve.


Dip with Gaea Sundried Tomatoes and white beans

Ingredients:

1 cup small white navy beans, soaked overnight or according to package directions
4 cups water
1-2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 red onion, peeled and cut in half
1 ½ cups Gaea "Sundried Tomatoes in Extra Virgin Olive Oil"
1 small onion, very finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 scant tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 Tbs fresh lemon juice
½-1 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
½-1 cup boiling hot water
½ cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
lemon wedges for garnish
pita bread on the side


Drain the soaked beans. Bring to a boil in four cups (or more if necessary) of water, together with the halved onion and rosemary sprigs. The beans need about an hour and a half to cook. They need to be quite soft. Drain and disregard the rosemary. Let the beans cool.

Place the cooled beans, chopped onion, chopped garlic, Gaea "Sundried Tomatoes in Extra Virgin Olive Oil", and chopped rosemary in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to chop and combine. Add the olive oil and lemon juice in alternating doses. Season to taste with salt, pepper and cayenne and pulse to combine. Add enough of the hot water, pulsing all the while, until the consistency of the dip is smooth and creamy. Remove and place in a serving bowl. Serve with pita triangles or crudite and garnish with a little parsley and lemon wedges.


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