| Recettes |
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Tzatziki (yoghurt with cucumber and garlic) 1 small cucumber, peeled and cut into small strips 500gr Greek-style yoghurt 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 tablespoons mint, smashed 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
Salt the cucumber and leave for few minutes. Then squeeze it to take out the remaining water. Add the drained cucumber and the yoghurt and stir. Add the minced garlic. Mix with the mint, the olive oil and the white wine vinegar. Add salt as much as you like. Leave your tzatziki in the fridge for at least half an hour. Generally, the tzatziki is served as a starter, with bread but you can also join it to your grilled or roasted meats.
Spanakopita (Spinach pie)
1 kg spinach, cleaned, washed and drained 6 spring onions, finely chopped ½ teacup dill, finely chopped 1 teacup olive oil Salt-pepper For the puff pastry: ½ kg flour 2 eggs ½ teacup butter 1 teacup warm water Salt
Sauté the spring onions in the olive oil on medium heat until they become transparent but not brown. Shred the spinach in large pieces and add to the onions. Season to taste. Cook for about 15 minutes over medium fire so as the water has evaporated. Stir in the dill. For the puff pastry: place the flour in a bowl. Add the eggs, the melted butter, and salt and add as much warm water as it is necessary for a bough that is pliable. Knead the dough well and roll it out in thin pastry sheets with a rolling pin. Line an oiled pan with a pastry sheet, brush with olive oil, they lay two or three pastry sheets brushing each one with olive oil again. Spread the filling evenly and cover it with 3-4 layers of pastry sheets oiled in the same way as previously. Bake in a medium oven for about 45 minutes. Cut the spinach pie into pieces and serve it either hot or cold.
Poutinga (Greek pudding)
1 tablespoon butter 250 gr sugar Flour 6 to 8 slices of fresh bread 5 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ¾ liter milk 200 gr walnuts, chopped 200 gr golden raisins Ground cinnamon or zest of an orange for taste Jelly (apricot is the traditional jelly in Greece but you can use the jelly that you like) ½ lemon juice
Pre-warm the oven to 180C. Spread butter in a cake mould, sprinkle with sugar and then with flour. Cover the bottom with slices of bread. In a container, beat the eggs up to foam with the remaining sugar and the vanilla extract; mix the milk and add the golden raisins, half of the chopped nuts and the cinnamon or the zest of orange..... Stir well. Pour this mass in the mould and cover it with the remaining slices of bread. Pour ¾ of a big pot with water and put the cake mould into. Bake it in the over for an hour at least, until the egg cream is firm and the bread is starting to get a golden color. Take out from the over and leave it to cool down. Cover the mould and leave it in the fridge for one night. The next day, warm up the jelly and the lemon juice. Take out carefully the pudding from the mould. Coat the pudding with the jelly and shower the rest of the chopped walnuts on it.
Note: we knew about the English origin of this recipe but less about its Greek version! This pudding used to be served during winter, when it was not the season of fresh fruits.
Souvlakia (meat skewer) 1 kg pork meat with parsley 50 ml virgin olive oil 1 lemon juice Oregano Lemons and tomatoes, to fill up Salt and black pepper
Cut the meat into 3 centimeter-wide cubes. Put it into a bowl. Mix the olive oil, the lemon juice, the oregano, the salt and the pepper, pour all of it onto the meat and roll out the meat into. Let it marinate few hours in the fridge, then string the meat cubes on wooden or metal skewer. Grill them on barbecue, turn them frequently. Sprinkle with oregano and serve them with quarters of lemons and tomatoes. You can prepare with rice, potatoes or salad.
Moussaka
5-6 eggplants
½ kg minced meat 2-3 tomatoes 1 teacup olive oil 2 onions, finely chopped 1 bay leaf 1 garlic clove Oil for frying ½ teacup grated parmesan cheese Some flour 3 teacup Béchamel sauce
Heat the cup of oil in a pot and sauté the chopped onions in it. Add the minced meat and continue to sauté for another 10 minutes< Next, add the tomatoes, the garlic, the bay leaf and the salt and the pepper and allow the mixture to boil for approximately one hour. In the meanwhile, wash the eggplants and trim off their stems. Then cut them in round slices, coat them with flour and fry them in very hot oil. In a pan, place a layer of the minced meat mixture (also drained to remove excess liquid). Add another layer of eggplants and minced meat mixture. Finally, pour the béchamel sauce (of medium consistency) over the last layer. Sprinkle with the grated cheese and bake at a high temperature for approximately 20-25 minutes. Take out the “moussaka” and cut it in square pieces. Serve hot.
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