PLEASE NOTE: This is an archive page of previous recipes-the latest updates are to be found here.
This was submitted to us by a Symiot. It is a traditional recipe enjoyed on 25 March, Independence Day when many people eat fish.
Ingredients (for 2 people): 1 Palmida or two mackerel, cleaned, gutted and scaled. Wash and dry the fish thoroughly, cut 3-4 deep slashes on each side through the thickest part of the fish and leave to drain for 15 minutes in a colander. Combine the salt, pepper and oregano and rub into the fish inside and out, including into the slashes. Let stand for fifteen minutes. In the meantime mix together the chopped onion, celery, parsley and garlic. Stuff into the body cavity of the fish and secure with toothpicks if necessary. Put into a suitable oven dish with the potatoes around. Put the slices of tomato on the fish if used and pour over the oil and water. Bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 35-40 minutes, until the fish is cooked and there is still a little juice left in the pan. Pour over the lemon juice to taste. And let stand for 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy! Recipe 92 - Posted Tuesday, 21st March 2005
Roast Pork with
Island Herbs and Nuts
This is a simple roast that is transformed into
something special by the addition of a handful of garden ingredients.
It is also good cold with a Greek potato salad. Pistachios or
walnuts can also be used.
1 kilo piece lean boneless leg of pork or pork fillet if feeling affluent!
Freshly ground black pepper
![]()
30 ml pinenuts
30 ml almonds, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 twig rosemary
1 twig thyme
Olive oil
Make small incisions in the meat in 5 or 6
places. Season the meat all over with salt and pepper. In a
dry frying pan toast the pinenuts and almonds. Mix with crushed
garlic and finely chopped herbs and enough olive oil to form a paste.
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees and place the meat in a small roasting
dish with a little olive oil. Press the nut and herb mixture evenly
over it to form a crust, pressing well into the incisions too. Bake
in the hot oven for about 40 minutes or until done to your liking.
Cover with foil and let rest for about 10 minutes before serving.
Recipe 91 - Posted Sunday, 13th March 2005
Leek and Feta
Cheese Pie - this is by request!
Just remember that with leeks it is important to
wash them really thoroughly as even the slightest bit of grit remaining
will ruin the whole dish. The only crunchy bits should be the
pastry! Some cooks sautee the leeks in a little olive oil until
wilted rather than salting them, some cooks also add spring onions...
As with all things in this part of the world, it is a case of making best
use of what is available. If you have a choice, go for the heavier
sort of phyllo pastry rather than the really fine Beirut variety. If
phyllo in any shape or form is unavailable, use good quality shortcrust
made with butter rather than margerine. Avoid puff pastry as it is
far too greasy for this dish.
350
grams (about 10 sheets) phyllo pastry
100 ml olive oil or 100 grams unsalted butter,
melted
5 big leeks
salt
250 grams feta cheese, crumbled
125 ml finely chopped flat leaf parsley
30 ml finely chopped dill or fennel fronds
80 ml olive oil
4 eggs
Remove roots and tough tops from leeks.
Slit lengthwise and wash very thoroughly. Slice very finely and rub
with salt. Put in a colander and leave to drain for about 20 minutes
or until limp. Wash again and then press firmly until as dry as
possible. You should have about 6 cups of leeks.
Put the leeks in a bowl and combine thoroughly
with the cheese and herbs. Beat the eggs lightly until frothy and
add to the leek mixture along with the smaller amount of olive oil.
Brush a baking dish with olive oil or melted
butter and line with a layer of phyllo, tucking neatly into the corners.
Brush pastry with oil and lay another sheet on top. Repeat until you
have used 5 sheets. spoon the filling evenly into the dish and level
off. Top with the remaining pastry, once again brushing each layer
with oil or butter. Trim the edges neatly and tuck in. Using a
sharp knife score the top layer into either diamonds or squares.
Heat oven to 200 degrees. Sprinkle the top of the pie lightly with
cold water and bake in a hot oven for about 30 minutes, reducing the heat
to 180 after the first ten minutes. Let stand for about 10 minutes
before serving.
Recipe 90 - Posted Friday, 4th March 2005
Spinach and
Feta Muffins
Fusion food! This makes a lot but they freeze well. ![]()
1.5 litres (6 cups) cake flour
45 ml baking powder
15 ml salt
10 ml dried oregano
750 ml crumbled feta cheese
600 grams fresh spinach, washed, tough stems
removed, cooked and drained off all excess moisture or the equivalent in
frozen spinach, well drained.
300 ml olive oil
250 ml milk
6 big eggs, beaten
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and prepare
about 4 dozen muffin cups.
Sieve all the dry ingredients together in a big
mixing bowl. Add the spinach, feta cheese and spinach and mix lightly.
Make a well in the middle, pour in the rest of the liquid ingredients and
mix until just combined (overbeating tends to make holes in the muffins)
Fill muffin cups about two thirds full and bake
for about 25 minutes or until done when tested with a skewer. If your
oven is too small to take them all in one go, you may need to add a little
water to the remaining batter as it thickens on standing.
Recipe 89 - Posted Monday, 24th January 2005
Pistachio
Keftedes
200 grams minced lean beef
200 grams minced lean pork
1 spring onion, finely chopped including the
green parts
1 clove garlic, crushed
60 ml finely chopped parsley
2-3 sprigs fresh mint, stems removed and roughly
chopped
75 grams shelled pistachios
small knob unsalted butter
5 ml paprika
salt and pepper
Olive oil for shallow frying
Heat the butter in a small pan and toast the
pistachios, shaking frequently, until they just start to turn golden.
Remove from the heat and cool slightly before finely chopping. Combine
all the ingredients in a basin and knead thoroughly. Let stand for an
hour for the flavours to develop. Form into small balls, about the size
of a walnut, and flatten slightly. Shallow fry in hot olive oil, turning
once or twice. Drain on paper towels and serve either hot or warm.
Recipe 88 - Posted Monday, 3rd January 2005
Spicy Orange Pot
Roast Pork
Came up with this one on Sunday afternoon to
warm up the kitchen a bit!
2 kilos boneless and fairly lean chunk of leg
of pork (as sold at the butcher in the harbour)
4 small slightly bitter but still juicy Symi
oranges from the tree in the garden
A tablespoon of coriander seeds, crushed
2 small dried chillis, deseeded and finely
chopped
A tablespoon of sweet paprika
salt and pepper
2 cups white wine
olive oil
Combine the seasonings and rub all over the
meat and let stand for half an hour. Heat the olive oil in a tapsi (the
round stainless steel dishes they use here for everything from cakes to
pies to roasts) and brown the meat all over. Grate the zest off two of
the oranges and squeeze all four. Drizzle the orange juice over the
meat. Sprinkle with the zest. Pour the wine into the pan. Cover with
foil and bake at about 180 degrees until cooked through, basting
occasionally with the pan juices. The steam will keep the meat moist
and makes a good sauce afterwards. Take the foil off for the last 10
minutes and let stand for another 10 after you've taken the meat out of
the oven so it has a chance to rest before carving.
We had ours with the first new potatoes from
the garden and a salad of peppery rocket, sweet cucumbers and a handful
of fresh parsley.
Recipe 87 - Posted Monday, 29th November 2004 Pesto is something one can fiddle with quite a bit. This recipe is unusual in that it does not include any cheese so it is suitable for vegans.
Almond and Basil
Pesto
100
grams blanched almonds
5 ml sea salt
4 medium garlic cloves, quartered (optional)
50 large leaves fresh basil
5 sprigs flat leaf parsley
2 ml chilli pepper flakes (optional)
6 small tomatoes, peeled, seeded and roughly
chopped (or 3 sundried tomatoes in oil)
125 ml olive oil
Put the almonds and sea salt in a food
processor and whizz until like flour. Add the remaining ingredients
and whizz until creamy. Use as required.
Recipe 87 - Posted Friday, 5th November 2004 This
is one of the ways I am serving the glut
of peppers in our garden. Garlic
and chilli fans can add these to the oil at the beginning for a bit of
zip.
Warm Pepper and Plum
Salad
A selection of colourful peppers, cored and cut
into strips
2-3 red onions, peeled and cut from
top to bottom in thin segments
4 firm plums, stoned and cut into wedges
60 ml olive oil
45 ml balsamic vinegar
Heat the olive oil in a wok and stir fry the
onions and peppers until they soften and the onions become translucent.
Add the plums and stir round briefly until just heated through. Pour in
the balsamic vinegar, mix well and serve immediately.
Recipe 85 - Posted Friday, 22th October 2004 Cured Olives
An uncured olive is a bitter and inedible thing,
only attractive to wasps, birds and various insects. To enjoy the olives
from your tree some effort is required - and quite a lot of patience.
These
are some of the methods I have experimented with, with varying degrees of
success, over the years.
1. Place black olives in a jar, alternating
with layers of coarse salt. Leave for 20 days, shaking every day and
topping up the salt as the juices start to run. After 20 days, rinse one
olive and taste it. If it is still bitter, add more salt and leave for
longer. If it is okay, add luke-warm water to cover. Pour in 60 ml red
wine vinegar and add to the olives in the jar. Pour over some olive oil
to cover. Leave for a few days before eating. This method works quite
well for fairly small olives as it is not labour intensive.
2. Slash the olives with a sharp knife or
pierce several times with a darning needle, being careful not to damage
the pit. If you have a lot of olives try to rally some helpers for this!
Soak the olives for 12-15 days, changing the water daily. When they are
no longer bitter put into a brine made up of one part sea salt to 10 parts
warm water. Add vinegar and olive oil as above and leave for a few days
before eating.
3. Layer olives and coarse salt in a sack or
wicker basket and leave in the sun for 3 weeks until the bitter juices run
out, adding more salt and shaking the sack or basket every day. This
results in shrivelled olives so it is best to start off with quick large
specimens. When they are no longer bitter, you may wish to replace some
of the lost moisture by marinating in the olives in vinegar or olive oil
for a few days before eating.
All of the above can then be flavoured with
various additions such as slices of lemon, garlic, chillies, rigani etc
but it is very important to eliminate the bitterness first.
Recipe 84 - Posted Friday, 22nd October 2004
This one is for Kojak. It comes from a small
cookbook modestly entitled 'Greek Cooking - the finest traditional recipes'
by Despina Tsakira and with a pedigree like that it has to be authentic...
Just remember that this is for free range rabbits which need a lot of
cooking, not specially fattened plump bunnies.
Spicy
Rabbit Stew (looks like a stifado recipe to me)
2 kilos of rabbit or hare
1.5 kilos small onions
1.5 cups olive oil
2 tomatoes, grated
1 head of garlic
2 bay leaves
1 cup vinegar
2 cloves
some whole peppercorns
salt
Marinate hare or rabbit by cutting into pieces and
putting in a bowl with vinegar and water the night before. The next day
drain, add salt and pepper. Sauté meat well in a saucepan with half the
olive oil. Douse with a cup of vinegar, add grated tomatoes, whole cloves
of garlic, cloves, bay leaves, peppercorns and a little water and cook. At
the same time, clean the onions, without removing roots which are scraped so
that they do not disintegrate while cooking. heat the rest of the olive oil
in a frying pan and saute whole onions. Empty contents of frying pan, along
with olive oil, into pan, add a proportional amount of salt and pepper, a
little hot water and simmer until the meat is cooked, onions are done and
sauce has thickened.
Recipe 83 - Posted Friday, 15th October 2004
Halloumy and Red
Pepper Salad
There are lots of beautiful shiny red Florina
peppers around at the moment and the first of the new season's greens are
for sale too. What better way to combine them than in this simple and
colourful salad.
200
grams halloumy cheese, sliced 2 mm thick and patted dry
2-3 long red peppers, cored and cut into strips
1 fat red onion, cut into segments from top to
bottom (they are sweeter that way!)
60 ml olive oil
selection of rocket, endive, Kos lettuce, blanched
dandelion and other suitable greens, washed, dried and torn into bite- sized
pieces
handful of pine nuts, crushed walnuts or roughly
chopped almonds
Divide the greens between salad plates. Heat the
olive oil in a frying pan and fry the halloumy on both sides until crisp.
Place on top of the greens. Add the onions and peppers to the frying pan
and saute quickly until they start to soften. Spoon over the cheese.
Sprinkle nuts on top and serve immediately.
See, lots of flavour without having to add any
gloop from a bottle!
Recipe 83 - Posted Friday, 29th September 2004
It's easy to think that peas are a typical
English vegetable, usually served to add a little colour on a plate
of meat and potatoes. Greeks cook them too, but in a way that has
little to do with a plate of 'meat and three veg'. And they are just
coming into season now... This type of vegetable dish appears on
Greek menus until the heading of ladera, referring to the olive oil
in which they are cooked.
Recipe 82 - Posted Wednesday, 15th September 2004
Sounds
like it is comfort food time
on the Chat Page, judging by the debate on
the relative merits of marmite and jam and the horrors of deep fried
pizza. Here's a Middle Eastern variation on pizza that is easy
to make. They used to make these at the Arab bakery near the
entrance to Jaffa port (see photo) when we lived there about 12 years
ago and it was impossible to buy the bread for the day without buying
one of these to munch on the way home!
Jaffa Pita Pizza
One quantity risen pizza dough,
rolled out and shaped as per my recipes (see archive) but unbaked
One
egg per person
Handful of black olives, pitted
A little olive oil
Some
feta cheese mashed with a handful of chopped fresh parsley
Preheat the oven to very hot as for
the usual pita. Shape the pita dough into slipper shapes but
pinch a bit of a rim around the edges so the topping doesn't slide
off. Work quickly as this is one time you don't want pita to
form a pocket! Crack an egg onto the top of some of them and
spread the others with the cheese mixture. Add a few olives to
each, to taste. Drizzle a little olive oil over the egg yolks so
they don't burn and put them all into the oven until the egg has set
and the dough is cooked through. If the oven is hot enough this
should not take longer than five minutes. Eat while still warm.
Recipe 81 - Posted Friday, 27th August 2004 Peppered Lamb Chops
This is
a slightly different variation on marinated lamb chops and can be
cooked either on the BBQ or under the grill if the weather turns
against you. It is a good recipe for those who have to watch
their salt intake as all the herbs and spices add plenty of
flavour without added sodium.
12-16
lamb chops, of even thickness and neatly trimmed
1 tablespoon freshly ground
mixed peppercorns
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
1 tablespoon fresh marjoram or
oregano
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1 tablespoon fresh mint,
chopped
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
250 ml olive oil
Wash and pat dry the lamb chops
and put them in a plastic or porcelain dish with a lid. Put
all the seasonings in a blender and chop together or crush with a
pestle and mortar. Mix into the oil and pour over the lamb
chops. Cover and marinate in the fridge for 2-3 hours.
Grill or BBQ until cooked to
your liking and season with salt to taste if necessary.
Serve immediately.
Recipe 80 - Posted Friday, 16th July 2004 This is an interesting - and healthier - alternative to the cheeseburger. It is one I included in the cookery feature in the July edition of the Symi Visitor and I make it quite often in the summer. Biftekia
with Feta and Herb Stuffing Or
Who Needs Cheeseburgers? 800
grams lean minced beef 1
onion, grated 15
ml medium hot mustard 2
eggs Salt
and freshly ground black pepper 15
ml sweet paprika powder 15
ml dried marjoram or 10 ml rigani a
few breadcrumbs to bind. Stuffing: 200
grams feta cheese 1
small bunch flat leaf parsley 1
small bunch spring onions 2
cloves of garlic Yoghurt
to serve. Mix
together all the hamburger ingredients and form into 8 patties.
Cut the feta into small dice.
Finely chop the herbs and crush the garlic.
Put a third of the chopped herbs and garlic with the cheese and
mix the rest with the yoghurt. Set
the yoghurt aside. Put
the feta and herb mixture in the centre of each of four patties and
put the remaining four on top. Press
together firmly around the edges to seal.
Grill or barbecue the hamburgers until cooked through and serve
with the herb yoghurt. Recipe 79- Posted Friday, 2nd July 2004 Yoghurt and Peach Ice Cream
This is from 'Yoghurt. Yes, Please!', a new Greek cookbook by Ermione
Spheeris which I have reviewed in the July edition of the Symi
Visitor. Just the thing for summer and it doesn't need an ice
cream machine or other equipment either so anyone can make it.
750 grams peaches
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest, slightly
toasted
1 tablespoon orange zest, slightly
toasted
350 grams low fat yoghurt
6 tablespoons honey
2 egg whites
3 tablespoons cognac
Mash the peaches in a bowl and mix
in the lemon and orange zest. Add the yoghurt, honey and cognac
and stir together well. In another bowl, beat the egg whites
into stiff peaks and then gently fold the meringue into the yoghurt
and peach mixture. Make sure you keep your strokes light and in
one direction. Freeze the mixture making sure that over the
course of the freezing you beat the mixture at least once or twice
more. This will ensure that your ice cream stays smooth and
doesn't crystallise. Serve in decorated tall ice cream glasses.
Recipe 78- Posted Friday, 18th June 2004 If you like carrot cake, this is similar and a great way of using up a glut of courgettes. And it is a sneaky way of feeding vegetables to the sweet-toothed. If you have a food processor it is one of those recipes where you can sling into all into one bowl and go whoosh. It freezes well.
Spicy Courgette
Cake
50 grams almonds, walnuts or
pecans, coarsely chopped
zest of one lemon
4 courgettes, peeled and grated to
make 250 ml
1 egg
125 ml olive oil
200 grams plain flour
145 grams brown sugar
5 ml ground cinnamon or ground
ginger
3 ml ground nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
3 ml salt
3 ml baking powder
3 ml bicarbonate of soda
Preheat oven to 170 degrees
centigrade. Oil and line two loaf tins about 20 cm by
10 cm.
Mix together grated courgettes, egg
and oil until well mixed. Then stir in all the other
ingredients. Do not overmix.
Divide the mixture between the two
tins, smooth the tops and bake for about an hour or until a skewer
comes out clean. This is quite a moist recipe so let the loaves
cool in the tins for 10 minutes before turniing them out.
Recipe 77- Posted Monday, 14th June 2004 This is an easy lunch or supper to put together when you want something slow to nibble on in the garden while you admire whatever is flowering and plan your holidays. Add or subtract according to what is looking good. Remember to vary tastes, textures and colours. If you have a divided dish, use that, otherwise use a big plate. Make the whole thing as pretty as possible and serve with small plates, forks, fresh bread and, of course, some Greek wine or retsina. Adjust quantities to suit appetites! Mezze Plate
6-10 new potatoes, steamed
until just tender
1 big red tomato, cut into
large chunks
1 cucumber, peeled in stripes
and cut into chunks
piece of feta, diced
handful of black olives - the
wrinkly dried ones add a smokey taste
handful of green olives - the
ones bottled with lemon and coriander have a clean fresh taste
a few sardines or anchovies,
well drained. If you have any Greek sardines canned with
oregano, so much the better.
2-3 hardboiled eggs, cooled and
shelled quickly so the yolks are still bright yellow
1 red or yellow pepper, sliced
longways into strips
Some pickled capers or, better
still, pickled caper leaves from your last Symi holiday
Some rocket if it is good and
fresh, well washed and any scraggy bits removed
The heart of a cos lettuce (use
the outside leaves to line the plate)
Some flat-leaf parsley, roughly
chopped
80 ml olive oil
juice of one good lemon
2 pinches of dried oregano
Whisk together the olive oil,
lemon and oregano. Pour half of it over the potatoes while
they are still warm and toss to coat.
Arrange all the ingredients in
little heaps on the serving plate, tucking rocket and lettuce
leaves between the different items. Halve the eggs and
sprinkle with parsley and make a nest for them with the heart of
the lettuce. Drizzle the remaining dressing over the
tomatoes and cucumbers.
Recipe 76- Posted Saturday, 29th May 2004 Fried Courgettes and Onions with Pine Nuts This is nice as either a vegetable accompaniment to grilled meat or as part of a mezze table. A dollop of yoghurt goes well with this. The calorie conscious can roast the vegetables in the oven instead but I have found that this is only worth doing if the oven is on for something else. 4
young courgettes, topped and tailed and then sliced thinly into
ribbons
1 big red onion, peeled and
sliced from top to bottom into slivers
60 ml olive oil
60 ml pine nuts
lemon wedges to serve
Heat half the olive oil in a
heavy sauté pan or wok and cook the onions until they start to
colour, shaking occasionally to make sure they don't burn.
Remove and keep warm. Add the rest of the oil and cook the
courgette ribbons until golden. Return the onions to the
pan. Add the pine nuts and toss everything together.
Serve warm or at room temperature with lemon.
Recipe 75- Posted Saturday, 22nd May 2004
500 grams kataifi pastry
(available from Middle Eastern, Turkish, Lebanese or Greek delis)
250 grams unsalted butter,
melted
Filling:
250 ml coarsely chopped walnuts
250 ml coarsely ground almonds
125 ml caster sugar
5 ml ground cinnamon
3 ml ground cloves
1 egg white, lightly beaten
15 ml Metaxa
Syrup:
500
ml sugar
325 ml water
5 ml lemon juice
thin strip of lemon juice
4 cloves
Small piece of cinnamon bark
15 ml runny honey
First make the syrup.
Dissolve the sugar in the water over gentle heat. Add lemon
juice and rind, cloves and cinnamon. Bring to the boil and
simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in honey, strain and cool.
Combine all the filling
ingredients in a bowl.
Divide the pastry strands into
8 bundles and spread them out lengthwise. Dab some melted
butter over the strands. Put a dollop of filling at one end
and roll up firmly into a neat roll. Pack the rolls snugly
into a cake pan or baking dish. Brush with the remaining
butter and bake for about an hour in a moderate oven. Pour
the cool syrup over the warm pastries and leave them to cool
Recipe 74- Posted Sunday, 16th May 2004 Classic Stuffed Vine Leaves (Dolmades)
This is from my column in the
Symi Visitor newspaper and is a bit fussier than the recipes I
usually select for this web page but it is by special
request. Serve with avgolemono sauce or yoghurt.
375
grams preserved vine leaves or 60 fresh leaves
1 medium sized onion, finely
chopped
30 ml olive oil
500 grams finely minced lamb
250 grams finely minced beef
125 ml short grain rice
30 ml finely chopped parsley
10 ml finely chopped mint
7 ml salt
Freshly ground black pepper
30 ml lemon juice
15 ml butter
500 ml light stock
Rinse the vine leaves in cold
water and blanch in boiling water for 3 minutes in 3 or 4 batches.
Remove to a basin of cold water to cool and then transfer to a
colander over a plate to drain.
Gently fry onion in oil until
soft. Lightly mix lamb, beef, rice, onion and oil, herbs,
salt and pepper until well combined.
Place a vine leaf, shiny side
down, on a clean work surface. Snip off the stem if
necessary. Place a tablespoon of the mixture near the stem
end, fold end and sides in neatly over the stuffing and roll up
firmly. Repeat until you have used up all the filling.
Line the base of a heavy pan with about 6 leaves. You can
use up any damaged ones this way. Pack the dolmades closely,
seasoning each layer with salt and pepper and a little lemon
juice. Cover the top with the remaining leaves. Add
butter and stock to the pan with any remaining lemon juice.
Invert a heavy plate on top to keep the rolls in shape during
cooking. Cover pan with lid and place over medium heat.
Bring to a slow simmer and simmer gently over very low heat for
about one and a half hours.
Drain cooked dolmades and
arrange on a dish. Garnish with lemon wedges and parsley
Recipe 73- Posted Friday, 7th May 2004 Pita Bread - this is for Christine and anyone else out there who cannot buy pita easily locally. The recipe is not difficult - it just takes a little practice but if you follow the instructions below you should not have any problems. Watch points are that you roll the dough thin enough, don't let the shaped pittas rise for too long after shaping and that you have a really hot oven. If necessary use the grill to provide top heat. I sometimes make them on a flat sheet of hot metal on the BBQ. If your pockets don't work out the first time, the bread will still taste delicious and it can always be wrapped around the food instead of stuffed.
500 grams plain flour
1 sachet instant yeast
3 ml salt
5 ml sugar
15 ml olive oil or sunflower
oil
Approximately 400 ml tepid
water.
Recipe 72- Posted Friday, 23rd April 2004
Potato
Afelia
1 kilo small even-sized new
potatoes, washed and dried
60 ml corn oil
125 ml dry red wine
salt and freshly ground black
pepper
25 ml crushed coriander seeds
(or more if you wish)
Crack the potatoes by
whacking each one sharply with a mallet. Heat the oil in a
big frying pan with a lid. Add the potatoes and fry over
high heat to brown them slightly, shaking the pan occasionally.
Reduce the heat and add the red wine, salt and pepper.
Cover and simmer gently until the potatoes are tender, shaking
the pan occasionally so that they don't stick. Sprinkle
the crushed coriander seeds over the potatoes and cook with the
lid off for a few minutes before serving.
Recipe 71- Posted Friday, 16th April 2004 Fresh
broad beans are now in season and while they are young and tender
they lend themselves to a variety of simple dishes.
A word of warning
– shelling broad beans can leave you with black fingers so apply
barrier cream before you
start or wear gloves.
750
grams shelled broad beans 60
ml fresh dill, finely chopped juice
of one small lemon salt olive
oil Cook
the beans in boiling water until just tender – not more than 10
minutes and considerably less if they are really fresh.
Allow to cool and then carefully peel off the little skins.
This makes them considerably more digestible and gives the
dish a more delicate flavour.
Toss the beans gently in olive oil until they glisten.
Then season with a little salt and the lemon juice.
Sprinkle over the chopped dill and serve at room
temperature.
Recipe 70- Posted Friday, 2nd April 2004 Dikia's
Special Bread for Lazarus Saturday
1 cup olive oil
2 kilos flour
500 grams sultanas
500 grams chopped walnuts
1 cup sugar
2 sachets instant yeast
1 large spoonful aniseeds,
crushed
Sift together flour, sugar
and instant yeast. Make a well in centre and pour in the
oil. Add enough lukewarm water to make a dough and knead
well. Knead in the aniseed, walnuts and sultanas and let
it rise. Knock the dough down and knead again.
Divide the dough into three and roll each piece into a fat
sausage. Plait into a braid and let rise again. Bake
in a hot oven until the bread sounds hollow when knocked.
Arni Stamnas – Lamb and Vegetables Baked in an Unglazed Pot.
This
was traditionally baked in a clay water jar.
The story is that the wives and mothers of a band of
guerrillas hiding out in the mountains used to leave water jars
with this stew in them close to the well for the men to collect in
secret. The modern
answer to this cooking technique is a slow cooker if you have one.
1
kilo boneless leg of lamb, cut into cubes 125
ml olive oil 5
ml minced fresh chilli or 3 ml dried chilli pepper flakes 3
onions, sliced 1
bay leaf, crushed 15
ml dried oregano 5
ml dried thyme Salt 3
medium aubergines, cut into the same size cubes as the meat 3
green sweet peppers, seeded and cut into strips 4
cloves of garlic, minced 2
medium potatoes, cut into the same size cubes as the meat 1
cup fresh tomato puree, strained to remove seeds and skin, or
passata Mix
the lamb with the olive oil, chilli, onions and herbs.
Allow to marinate overnight or for at least 3 hours. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees centigrade. Salt the aubergine and allow to drain in a colander for about 30 minutes. Rinse and dry. Add all the remaining ingredients to the meat and herb mixture and stir well to mix. Put in an unglazed clay pot. Cover tightly and bake for about 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 150 degrees centigrade, stir contents and add more liquid if necessary. Cover and bake gently for about an hour and a half or until the lamb is very tender.
Carrot
Cake with Honey and Fresh Grapes This
recipe is from Myrsini Lambraki’s new book, ‘Honey, Wild Flowers
and Healing Plants of Greece’ and is a departure from the usual
carrot cake recipes. This
makes quite a large cake if you use a standard European measuring
cup of 250 ml. For best
results remember to use the same cup throughout.
If you don’t fancy the Greek ‘hands on’ approach, a big
wooden spoon will do the job. 2
cups honey 1
½ cups white grapes without stones 1
cup orange juice 2
tbsp brandy ½
cup olive oil 1
egg 1
tsp poppy seeds ½
star anise, grated ½
tsp ground cinnamon 1
small shot of salt 2
tsp baking powder 3
cups all purpose flour 1-2
cups self-raising flour
Recipe 68- Posted Friday, 12th March 2004
Greek
Ham Pies
There are several versions of this. I like this filling the best. You will need a chunk of ham cut into cubes so it is a good way of using up a boiled ham. It also works well with tinned ham, but scrape off all the jelly as otherwise it will be too salty with the feta cheese. It's a filling that you can play with. A handful of peas makes a good alternative to the red peppers. Bottle peppers can be used in which case don't cook them, just add them with the parsley at the end.
500 grams puff pastry, home
made or bought
300 grams ham, cut into dice
2 sweet red peppers, seeded and
cut into matchsticks
3 spring onions, washed and
finely chopped including both green and white parts
250 grams feta cheese
125 ml flour
500 ml milk
250 ml olive oil or
sunflower oil
3 eggs
60 ml finely chopped fresh dill
or parsley
Extra egg yolk for brushing
Heat the oil in a pan over
medium heat and cook the onion until soft but not coloured.
Add the red pepper strips and cook for a minute. Then add
the ham and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes. Don't
let it brown. Sprinkle the flour over and stir into the oil
as though you were making a roux based sauce. Stir the milk
in steadily and remove from the heat. Crumble the feta
cheese into the mixture. Beat the three eggs until frothy
and stir into the pot. Taste the seasoning and only add salt
if absolutely necessary. Stir in the dill or parsley.
Roll out the pastry and using a
saucer as a template, cut out circles with a sharp knife.
Put a dollop of filling in the middle of each circle. Brush
the edges with beaten egg or water and bring up to form half-moon
shapes. Press to seal. Put on a lightly oiled baking
sheet, make a small slit to let out the steam, brush with beaten
egg yolk and bake in a moderately hot oven for about half an hour,
until golden and risen. Let cool slightly before eating as
the filling will be very hot and firms up on standing.
Good with green salad for lunch
or for picnics.
Recipe 67- Posted Friday, 27th February 2004 Anraki Anixiatiko i Lemonato - Spring Lamb Casserole
This is very easy and once
assembled looks after itself. The health conscious may want
to let it cool and remove any fat from the top before adding the
vegetables but most Greeks wouldn't bother!
6
portions of lamb, about one and a half kilos, cut into pieces and
bones discarded
1 kilo potatoes, peeled and cut
into long slices
500 grams small carrots,
scraped and topped and tailed or 3 big carrots, peeled and cut
into long chunks
3 spring onions, finely chopped
30 ml finely chopped fresh dill
juice of one big lemon
250 ml olive oil
Salt and pepper
Sauté the onions in the oil
over a medium flame until just starting to colour. Add the
meat, salt and pepper and add water to cover. Cover pan and
simmer until the meat is half cooked. Add the potatoes and
carrots, dill and lemon juice and simmer until done. Serve
hot.
Recipe 66- Posted Friday, 20th February 2004 Bottomless
Lentil Soup Pot 500ml
(2 cups) brown or beige lentils, washed and any small stones
removed
1 cinnamon stick or 2 bay
leaves or 1 dry chilli
1
large onion, finely chopped
30 ml olive oil
1 big carrot, peeled and cut
into fine dice
1 litre good vegetable or
chicken stock
Put the lentils and the
seasoning of choice in a big pan. Boil the lentils in water
to cover until just tender. Meanwhile in a large pot heat
the olive oil and cook the onion until soft, add the carrot and
cook for a few minutes. Add the lentils and their cooking
water and the stock and simmer until the lentils start to
disintegrate. At this point you can:
serve as is,
stir in a good dollop of
passata,
cook until it thickens and
serve with boiled, sautéed or mashed potatoes, sausages or hard
boiled eggs.
serve with extra browned onions
on top
all of the above at once with
good bread
Any leftovers can be diluted
with the addition of more stock before reheating as lentil soup
tends to thicken on standing. A generous sprinkling of
ground cumin brings out the flavour of the lentils and makes it
more like dhal in which case, bring out the yoghurt and roti!
Recipe 65- Posted Friday, 6th February 2004 Onion Soup
with Cheese This
is the Greek version of the French classic. Just the thing
for lunch on a cold day.
The cheese should be perceptible so don't use that thin powdery
pregrated parmesan. Rather buy a chunk and grate it yourself.
You don't need much and it is worth the extra effort.
4 large onions, preferably red,
finely sliced
30 ml flour
100 ml olive oil
250 ml good beef or vegetable stock
500 ml hot milk
500 ml hot water
125 ml coarsely grated kefalotyri
cheese or parmesan
10 thin slices toasted farmhouse
bread, halved
Salt and pepper, paprika
Gently cook the onions in the olive
oil until soft. Stir in the flour and cook until golden brown.
Add the meat broth, season with salt and pepper and cook gently for 5
minutes.
Combine the milk and water and stir
slowly into the soup pot. Continue to cook slowly for another 10
minutes.
Check seasoning and add paprika if
desired. Divide the toast between 4 soup plates. Sprinkle
over half the grated cheese. Pour over the soup. Sprinkle
over the remaining cheese and serve.
Recipe 64- Posted Friday,23rd January 2004
1 kilo skinless boneless pork shoulder, about 20% fat 60 ml port or sweet wine such as Mavrodafne 5 ml black peppercorns, coarsely crushed 3 ml freshly ground black pepper in addition to the above 12 ml ground coriander seed 3 ml ground cinnamon 3 ml whole cumin seeds 10 ml salt 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed Grated rind of one orange Sausage casings if available. Either mince the pork using a coarse screen or chop in a food processor. The texture should be fairly coarse, not like an English pork sausage! Mix with all the other ingredients except the casings and leave, covered, in the fridge over night. Fit the sausage filling attachment to your mincer and use that to fill the sausage casings or alternatively use a funnel with a long nozzle. Put the sausage casing on the end of the funnel nozzle and ease it off as it fills. (An extra pair of hands in the kitchen can be helpful with this!) Push meat through with the handle of a wooden spoon. Knot the end of the skin as the meat begins to come through the nozzle. When the casing is filled, twist into sausages about 15 cm long and knot the end. The sausages can be stored loosely covered in the fridge until required. Apart from using them as an ingredient in spetsofai they can also be fried in olive oil or grilled and served cut into chunks as part of a mezze. If you are unable to obtain sausage casings, shape the mixture into sausage shapes with your hands and fry a test one carefully. If the mixture shows signs of breaking up, try rolling them in a little flour to bind. Recipe 64- Posted Friday,23rd January 2004 Fresh Herb Omelette
300 mls finely chopped spring onions, including the green tops 125 ml finely chopped flat leaf parsley 60 ml finely chopped leaf coriander 30 ml finely chopped dill leaves 30 ml finely chopped fresh tarragon 60 ml finely chopped garlic chives 15 ml flour Salt and pepper 8 large eggs 125 ml unsalted butter |