Dishing with Di-Anna: Traveling to Greece

Di-Anna Arias with Don Strange of Texas, joined us for our Daytime Travels show and took us all the way to Greece! She made a Greek Honey Cake with Orange and Pistachios

Greek Honey Cake with Orange and Pistachios

Servings: 15

Ingredients

For the Cake

5 large eggs

1 cup low-fat Greek yogurt (plain)

2 cups granulated sugar

5 tablespoons ground almonds

Zest of 1 lemon

Zest of 1 orange

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

1 cup coarse semolina

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing the pan

Handful of shaved almonds, for topping

For the Honey Pistachio Syrup

1 1 /4 cup shelled salted pistachios

1 1/4 cup quality honey

Juice of 2 oranges

Juice of 1 lemon

Instructions

1.Get ready. Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with oil and dust with all purpose flour (shake the pan a little to get an even coating of flour).

2.Make the cake batter. Place the eggs, yogurt, sugar, ground almonds, orange and lemon zest, AP and semolina flour, baking powder, and olive oil in a large mixing bowl. Mix with a wooden spoon or a whisk to combine. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and spread evenly with a spatula.

3.Bake and cool. Bake on the center rack until the cake is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the cake completely cool in the pan.

4.Make the honey syrup. Once the cake has cooled, toast the pistachios in a large dry non-stick pan over medium-low heat. Once they become fragrant, stir in the honey, orange juice, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil and reduce until nice and syrupy, 1 to 2 minutes. (Do NOT taste the hot syrup as it will burn your mouth).

5.Soak the cake. Use a small knife or skewer to poke holes all over the cake. Pour the honey pistachio syrup all over the cake as evenly as possible. If you need to, use a spoon to distribute the pistachios across the top of the cake. Sprinkle on the shaved almonds. For best results, allow the cake to soak with the syrup for a few hours.

6.Serve. Cut the cake into 12 to 15 squares and serve.

Adapted from Suzy Karadsheh

Roasted Butternut Squash Feta Dip

Ingredients

1 1/4 lbs squash, halved lengthwise + seeded

olive oil

kosher salt

1/2 lb feta cheese, crumbled

1/4 cup olive oil + 2 tablespoons

3 tbsp honey

1/4 cup water

12 sage leaves

Thyme springs

1/2 cup chopped pecans

freshly cracked black pepper

toasted bread or crackers, for serving

Instructions

1.Preheat the oven to 425F. Place the squash halves on a sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil, rub to coat, and season with a good pinch of salt. Arrange the squash cut-side down. Roast for 40 minutes, or until tender. Allow the squash to cool to room temperature.

2.Scoop out the squash and discard the skins. Add the squash to a food processor, along with the feta, a 1/4 cup of olive oil, and 1 tablespoon of honey. Pulse to combine. With the food processor running, slowly drizzle in the water, blending until smooth.

3.Over medium heat, toast the pecans and toast for a few seconds until fragrant. Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of honey and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Allow the mixture to simmer for about a minute until thickened. Turn off the heat.

4.Spoon the dip into a shallow serving bowl. Top with freshly cracked black pepper. Spoon the honey pecan topping over top and garnish with sage leaves and fresh herbs. Serve with toasted bread or crackers alongside for dipping.

Don Strange of Texas, Inc.

1551 Bandera Rd.

San Antonio, TX 78228

DonStrange.com