Ladenia (Λαδένια)
Sep 10th, 2009 | By Peter Minakis | Category: Appetizer, Baking, Bread, Greek, Meze, Recipe, Vegetables, Vegetarian
Sometimes you want something lighter…Ladenia from the island of Kimolos is just what summer ordered (orig. posted July 2008)
Doesn’t this look an awful lot like a pizza? This is the specialty that comes from the Greek island of Kimolos.
Each Greek island can boast of a specialty dish (and I’m going to enjoy trying each & every one of them) but for now, let’s focus on Ladenia from Kimolos.
It’s a pizza crust that’s allowed to rise, then treated with olive oil, followed by a topping of sliced onions and very ripe tomatoes. The finishing touches are coarse sea salt, black pepper and the fabulously pungent dry Greek oregano.
Laurie of Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska is the lady responsible for bringing Ladenia to my attention and from a brief search on the internet – to several others.
I’m not going to toy much with this recipe – I’m sticking to the pizza dough, oil, onions, seasonings and herb combo. Simple is best here. Your choosing of quality ingredients will shine through when you taste the finished product.
Some key factors in making a good Ladenia:
- Allow the dough to rise at least a half hour to thicken up. I’m a thin-crust pizza kinda’ guy but thick works best here. The olive oil and juices from the onions and tomatoes will provide ample flavour.
- Choose ripe, not too watery tomatoes. No matter how long you bake (roast) them, a shit tomato will still taste like well, “skata”.
- Use regular olive oil when covering the dough and then drizzle the primo, good extra-virgin olive oil just as the Ladenia comes out of the oven.
- Top off with dried Greek oregano. Again, it’s the one herb that’s superior dried (rather than fresh).
Eat this as a lighter lunch, make a large Ladenia for a party as offer as an appetizer or snack but do make it. This was a big hit throughout the household – I know it will be in yours too!
Ladenia (Λαδένια)
For the Dough
1 cup warm water
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/8 cup olive oil
1 heaping tsp. active dry yeast
1/2 tsp. salt
Approx. 3 – 3 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour
Topping
1/4 cup olive oil
2 large onions, sliced
2 large tomatoes, cut in half then cut into half-moon slices
coarse sea salt
ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. dry Greek oregano
extra-virgin olive oil (for finishing)
Pre-heated 400F oven
- In a large bowl, add your yeast, sugar, and warm water and allow about 7-10 minutes to activate (as evidenced with the bubbling). Now add your salt and olive oil add about 2 cups of flour into the mixture. Keep on adding flour while kneading on a floured work surface until your dough is pliable and no longer sticks to your hands. NOTE: (flour amounts vary from 3 to 3 1/4 cups flour, depending on the weather you are experiencing and how the flour and yeast react.
- Spread some olive oil on your round baking pan and sprinkle some fine semolina flour. Roll out your pizza dough to the approx. circumference of your pan and allow the dough to rise for about 30 minutes in a warm spot in the home. You may now preheat your oven.
- Pour and evenly spread the olive oil over your dough, followed by spreading out the sliced onions all over area of the Ladenia. Now top with your tomato slices, coarse sea salt, black pepper and dry Greek oregano.
- Bake on the middle rack of your oven for 40 45 minutes until the edges have just browned and the top has a light brown colour.
- Serve hot or cold, as a meal or a snack.
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Peter, this looks amazing! I’m definitely making this once tomato season hits in full. What a perfect summer dish. I’ve been learning so much about Greek cooking on your blog.
Oh, I could get seriously addicted to this.
Grace, there’s a little Greek in everyone…I’m just bringin’ out with the food.
Nuria…YAY…no cheese, you can eat the whole thing. Chica, you’re my #1 Senorita!
Pete, good to see you slowly getting back in the blog world. I hope “Soul” is up & runnin’ soon.
Kittie, wait ’til you try the tomatoes in Greece…get on it!
Leslie, so what if we eat a whole pie, right? Next time you make your banana/chocolate thingies, I’ll unload them for ya.
Rosa, it does but it’s different too…fabulous recipe.
Diane, great for those that don’t like cheese too.
Jessica, I knew that when I started to smell this emanating from the oven…it was gonna be REAL good.
Leah, I’m surprised to find out there are so many deep-dish people out there…this one’s for you!
Jen, if you can’t wait, cherry tomatoes are usually good now too.
Patricia…this LAdenia would appeal to kids and adults alike.
Peter, it looks amazing! Good job. As for using olive oil on the pan, I use it all the time without a hitch.
Looks amazing and very flavorful with the ripe tomatoes , and oregano. Great as appetizers I would imagine.
That looks like the best dang pizza I have ever seen, Peter! Blows lots of “Italian” pizzas right out of the water!
I want this NOW…(no other comment needed)!
oh does this look fantastic! I am making this as soon as the tomatoes in the garden are ripe, I can taste the sweetness right now.
Thank you thank you thank you!!! all those wonderful pictures… i can almost taste this!
My goodness this looks fabulous! I love that it has no cheese on it.
And lurking on your food blog has convinced me that I need to start trying to cook more Greek food. I’m so curious now!
Onion and tomato are my favourite pizza toppings, maybe I was Greek in a past life – or it could be the influence of living at Broadview and Danforth in my college years!
Great combo Peter and definitely a great entry for this :
http://whiteonricecouple.com/blog/?p=171
This is the perfect dish for a 4th of July function I’m attending this weekend. I’ll be searching out those perfect tomatoes and making it tomorrow. Thanks Peter!
Sam, thanks so much…it was a wonderful surprise and I’ll give olive oil another try.
Glam, I’d think this would be great served as smaller bites (appetizers).
Jenn, pizza has it’s own place but Ladenia can fit in too!
Sandie…come & get it!
Kat, you’ll be well rewarded with a most delicious Ladenia.
Meghan, your welcome, welcome, most welcome!
Mary, I pleased that you want to try some Greek food…it is a fabulous cuisine.
Joanne, you Italians and us Greeks – we groove well together and perhaps your days on Broadview & Danforth did help a bit!
Giz, this was a huge hit…the overbearing Greek mom wants more!
Christine, this is perfect for anytime…have a wonderful & safe July 4 weekend.
Hi Peter, hi everyone,
ladenia is super easy and super tasty!
Give it a try and you will forget the pizza dough!
Is as simple as to drink a glass of water.
Thanks Laurie for your comment on olive oil used to oil the baking ban.
I use only olive oil in my kitchen while cooking or baking. No way I would use a vegetable oil! And it sure does not burn.
Especially in ladenia – the olive oil is very important – it gives the perfect taste to it.
Do not be affraid of olive oil! The Greeks use it all the time and everywhere.
This is extraordinary! Wow! on my list of “must cook”.
Simple straightforward ingredients combined to make perfection in the kitchen.
And, Ooh those roasted tomatoes. Lovely. Feeling sorry for the upstanding tomato farmers these days. Glad you posted this now.
Peter, this pizza looks delicious!! I enjoy it when the pizza isn’t cluttered with sauce and too many toppings… tomatoes, onions and a few spices sound perfect.
I would never have guessed from the first pic that there is no cheese involved! And it does look an awful lot like a pizza. Would be wonderful for lactose intolerant friends
Hi Peter, my first visit to your blog and this is what instantly caught my eye. I love Greece and Greek food. This looks perfect for a wonderful warm summer evening on the terrace with a bottle of chilled wine. I’ll bring the wine if you bake this up for me! LOL!
Fabulous! Do you deliver?
Ha ha… wish there were delivery places that had something NEAR what you make. Sometimes I just need to take a break and hauling 2 little ones to get food isn’t always easy.
Love it!!! What a great introduction to Greek food for my family. This is destined to become a family favorite.
I blogged about it today (and plan to make it again tomorrow!) Thanks for the recipe!
Peter,
Just wanted to let you know that this is my “Go To” recipe from now on. I made it for a party yesterday and it disappeared so quickly that I didn’t even get a piece! I can’t tell you how many people I met because they’d heard I was the one who made it and they wanted the recipe. Thanks again!
[...] I first made Ladenia last year and you can view the recipe details here. [...]
wow….looks fantastic!
I usually love thin pizza crust but can see why you are using thick in this one. Looks so good.
This looks so good! I am definitely saving the recipe to make before garden tomatoes are gone. By the way, Ladenia is such a beautiful name:) Sounds human, too:)
so interesting about it being better dried, glad to know that. I always thought so, but it is good to hear it reaffirmed by a greek.
Yes, yes, yes! I want this five minutes ago – anything with tomatoes and tender crust. Lovely!
Wow that just looks so beautiful and so so yumm.
What a beautiful dish & so perfect for right now when tomatoes are at their best
Looks fantastic, simple but robust flavors, looks like it would make for a great appetizer. Thanks for sharing!
HI Peter
I think I am a Kalofagas too !
I have browsed your blog and love it : I hope You will like mine ; come and visit if you like French creative food you are very welcome and leave a comment in english it will make my day !! à bientôt Pierre
Positively awesome, Peter — those tomatoes are just perfect, and the crust looks like it rocks!
Tomatoes are still in season here, so I’m definitely going to make this dish this weekend! I found your site through Sizzle Says and I’m in love!
Peter! Vacation man.
You know, I love pizza the next day even better when it’s cold with my morning coffee. Is that weird? Naw.
How are those blue waters feeling?
Peter, I’ve just finished reading up on all the posts I missed. Gosh you do know to leave me wanting more (lol)
This would be welcome anytime Peter.
I know I’ve been absent from commenting for a while but I saw this and had to drop in and say hello. This looks like my perfect pizza… err I mean Ladenia! Really, I could do without all the extra stuff if I could have the crust with some high quality tomatoes, onions and olive oil.
I love the combination of flavors. Adding the onions as a main ingredient is brilliant!
I love dishes with lots of onions. I can almost taste it!
Finally, a perfect way to use up all my tomatoes and oregano. Looks incredible, Peter.
This looks absolutely delicious Peter and will definitely be made here!! Bookmarked the recipe!
Perfect with minimal ingredients and looks good!