This week we are continuing our journey to Chios island, with a very unique recipe with mastic oil, a 100% pure essential oil, distilled from mastic using steam.
Most of us have associated the aromas of mastiha with sweet creations. In the past we’ve add mastiha to some very delicious cookies with grape molasses, to our classic rice pudding recipe, and we’ve also made the Greek traditional samali cake and mastiha ice cream. However, when it comes to cooking, this aromatic sap has so much potential.
So this week we’ve used mastic oil in a savoury dish. The recipe was shared with us by our producers, and it is truly amazing. A hearty salad with lentils, plenty of Amfissa green olives, fresh parsley and the aroma of mastiha. A nutritious lunch or dinner with a twist! We loved eating this as is, or with the addition of some grilled halloumi or Greek yoghurt.
You can also read all about the story of mastiha in our blog post.
Serves two as a side
100g lentils
2 bay leaves
200g Amfissa green olives
small bunch of parsley
1 tbsp olive oil
zest from 1 lemon, plus 2 tbsp lemon juice
½ tsp mastic tears ground with a few pinches of salt or 3-4 drops of mastic oil
lemon wedges, halloumi cheese, Greek yoghurt (optional, to serve)
Place the lentils in a medium-sized pot. Add the bay leaves and plenty of water. Bring to the boil and cook in medium-high heat until the lentils are tender but not mushy, around 20-30 minutes. Drain and place in a large bowl.
Remove the pits from the olives and finely chop. Finely chop the parsley. Add the olives and parsley to your bowl.
To make the dressing, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice and zest and mastic oil. Taste and add more mastic oil if desired. Season with salt. If using the ground mastic tears add them now. Add the dressing your salad and mix well until combined. Let it sit for a couple of hours so that the flavours develop.
Serve with lemon wedges, halloumi cheese or Greek yoghurt.
