This is the meat version of the "Gemista", the stuffed tomatoes and peppers I presented to you in the past. Here the quantity of rice is less and the main ingredient is the ground beef. It is very tasty dish and as popular as the classic vegetarian version all year round
This is a dish based on a traditional recipe which we, actually, share with the Turkish cuisine and this culinary miracle happened thanks to the Greeks from Asia Minor. That's why the recipe is, mainly, a speciality in areas of Greece where a lot of these people had to settle down after "immigrating" from Constantinople (Istanbul), Smyrna (Izmir), or other parts of Anatolia (Asia Minor). The actual name of the dish (in Turkish) is "Hünkar Beğendi" and it can be translated in a few different ways like : "the Sultan’s Delight", "the Sultan’s Pleasure", "the Sultan liked It", "the Sultan approved", "Her Majesty’s Delight" and "Her Majesty’s Favourite". This "Her Majesty" has its explanation and it is related to how this dish, according to a legend, might got its name. Although nobody really can be sure about the beginning of the recipe, there are a couple of stories (legends) around it but nobody ever managed definitely to establish its origin. The first legend about the recipe is from the early 17th century concerning the Sultan Murad IV (who was half-Greek by the way...). The story says that the dish was created for the first time for him in the Palace kitchens and he fell in love with it. Simple as that! The other legend says that the dish was offered to a French empress in the late 19th century (1869) and it goes like this (according to a 1969 book about the art of turkish cooking): Apparently the Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon the III, was in Istanbul as a guest of the Ottoman Emperor, the Sultan Abdulaziz. She madly loved the aubergines purée they offered her as a dish, which was a specialty of the Topkapi Palace. She asked the Emperor if he would allow his cook to teach her chef from France how to cook it so to take the recipe back with them. The sultan was happy with that. The next day the Empress's chef having with him his recipe book and his scales (for a detailed description of the recipe to be written down) went to the kitchens but the Palace chef threw him out and, the legend has it, he said to the Frenchman "An Imperial chef cooks using his feelings, his eyes, his nose!!"... After that the Empress didn't insist and she returned to France without the recipe of her favourite dish. The same story is also mentioned in a historic book of 1998 regarding the History of the Ottoman Empire. Regardless of the story behind this recipe the fact remains that it is a super delicious dish and nothing else really matters!!! This version today is slightly different from the traditional one but don't miss the chance to try it out. If you don't like lamb feel free to substitute with beef
Mastic is a divine ingredient and nowadays more and more often you find it included in various sweet and savoury dishes. This is a classic version of home made biscuits
This is one of many different doughs we use in Greece for home made little pastries (but also to use for large pies). It's good to have a recipe like this because it is simple and not much time is needed. A home made dough always gives the opportunity to use our imagination for various types of filling. It is very tasty and with a nice texture
Yoghurt in Greek cuisine has been used for ages and in many different ways. Here is a traditional recipe with very simple ingredients and a very simple way of cooking but with a delicious result. A recipe that mainly comes from up North Greece but, with a few variations, it can be found in other areas as well. In some areas we find the recipe cooked with "Hylopites", the Greek "egg noodles" . Others though insist that the recipe goes better with any type of tubular pasta (like macaroni, penne etc)
This is a delicious meze for all seasons but during the Summer months is even more enjoyable since you can share it with friends having a nice cold beer or ouzo! The key ingredient here is the good quality of feta cheese. It is an easy recipe to make and you could cook the peppers in the oven or shallow fry them. The result in both cases is mouth watering...
"Skordalia" is one of the two best friends of the fried salt cod but also accompanies other kind of fried fish or sea food, fried aubergines and other boiled or fried veggies or greens as well as other meze type of dishes. You can make skordalia with potatoes or bread. I prefer the latter version with walnuts in and that's the recipe today, but I will give you eventually the potato version so to have the chance to try both and see the difference. In older times they used to make the skordalia in a wooden or bronze mortar and personally I prefer this way because it is more chunky. Still, today I present to you both methods and you choose which one is more suitable for you
This is a simple but such a tasty salad which you can have any time in the year but, along with the "fried salt cod" and the "garlic dip", completes the "trio" of the traditional recipes for the National Day celebrations of the 25th of March. In Greece, although we are not a vegetarian or vegan nation by nature (at least not by the classic (or modern if you like) meaning of the word) we always loved our vegetables and greens and salads and we have so many different ways of cooking them! The beetroots, for example, we boil them and then eat them as a salad without discarding the green leaves as I see they do in other countries, and believe me they are so sweet in taste and delicious! You should try them this way some time
This is a different version of the classic walnut pie and no... it doesn't look or taste like a baklava... Actually, in some areas this dessert substitutes the baklava in Christmas period
Another version of cheese pies with home made pastry. They are very tasty and this type of dough is different in texture from the classic phyllo sheets or other doughs and makes the cheese pies really soft and fluffy. An excellent snack for all hours and a nice idea for a party
Butter beans or "Giant (= Gigantes) beans", as we call them in Greece, is a classic dish of pulses and very popular all year round. They don't need much preparation and they are a light, nutritious and very tasty dish
Ravani is a semolina flour cake with plenty of syrup poured over it. It is a traditional dessert which you can find in various regions of Greece and the recipe differs a bit from area to area. The most famous one comes from the area of Veroia, upNorth Greece. One of the classic versions is the one with dessicated coconut sprinkled on top. The common thing they have though is the semolina flour and the syrup. Not a complicated recipe and for those who don't mind the syrupy desserts Ravani is an excellent example of this kind
This is an alternative for the classic tzatziki. Something totally different than the traditional creamy tzatziki but still very tasty and with such an easy preparation that it will surprise you
The famous Greek pitta breads with the many uses! For your pork or chicken gyros or kebabs or even individual small pizzas! In a frying pan or under the grill or (even better) on the BBQ!
The vleeta greens (amaranth) besides being used as a salad, can be cooked in other ways and become a nice light meal or as a vegetable to accompany various meats. Here we have a tasty old recipe which my mother very often cooks during the Summer months when the vleeta are in their high season
The word of this dish derives from the Greek verb "klevo" which means "to steal" and there is a story behind it. As a recipe it seems that it goes back to the (at least) 1800s during the period of the Greek Revolution against the Ottomans. Back then, the Greek rebels were hiding in the mountains and often they would need to steal some goat or lamb so to be able to feed themselves. They would cook their meals in a very subtle way so the Turks could not spot their hide-outs by the smell or the smoke of the food while it was cooking. What they were doing was to seal all the ingredients of this dish in a clay pot, then bury it along with hot coals under ground, cover with soil, and allow it to braise slowly until done. Nowadays, still, the dish can be found cooked in a clay pot or wrapped in layers of baking paper and baked in the oven for hours. Some people add vegetables like potatoes, sweet peas and carrots in the baking paper and often Kefalotyri or Kefalograviera cheese in cubes. This, though, confuses things because in this way what we have is a totally different recipe called "Exohiko" ("Countryside")! In which, traditionally, the meat and the vegetables are tightly wrapped in layers of phyllo sheets pastry
I told you.... didn't I? that we use almost everything in the fruit and vegetable kingdom when it comes to the spoon sweets and jams.... Well here is another example of this (good) obesession of ours. Such a common (and quite boring to many) vegetable which can be transformed into a very tasty spoon sweet
This is a real classic Summer dish! A recipe that most mothers like to cook on Sundays. The courgettes are in their season and they make such a tasteful combination with the potatoes and the beef
What we call in Greece "Fava" it is the Yellow split peas using them for this tasty dip/spread. On the other hand what abroad people call "Fava beans" in Greek is "Koukia"... and we do use them but for totally different dishes. I wanted to explain this because if you visit Greece and see in a menu the dish "Fava" don't expect to eat the green (or dried) fava beans. So, the Greek fava is a dish which can be found in different versions around the country with the most popular version from Santorini island. It is, though, a popular dish in other Balkan countries and in the Middle East. It is a nice, spicy (or not) dish which it can be served along with other meze dishes and crispy pitta breads
Well, I think the introductions about this dish are not necessary... Moussakas is probably the most famous Greek dish around the globe, so what else can I add on the subject? Unless.... if I give you a few more details about it and try to explain a bit of its history. First of all, few people know that the word "moussakas" is Arabic and means "cold food/dish"! On the title of the recipe I mention "Greek moussakas" because there are versions from other countries which are very different from the recipe we know and follow in Greece. In Greece most households follow the version of ground beef / aubergines / potatoes in layers... The version with the potatoes is not really the authentic one because potato was not known yet in this side of the world and later on never really managed to "invade" in such traditional recipes. On the other hand, there is a dish in Syria with the same name where they use only courgettes and potatoes instead of aubergines... In Turkey, moussakas is made with ground beef or lamb and aubergines and in some areas with courgettes. There is another version, deep in the Asian side of Turkey, where the food is cooked in a saucepan and not in the oven and besides the meat and the aubergines they also add chickpeas... As for Lebanon.... well over there what they call "moussaka" is a dish with layers of aubergines, tomato sauce and raisins! As you can see in all the versions I mentioned above you don't see any trace of béchamel sauce on the top.... What they used to put on top was a mixture of yogurt and eggs or a mixture of beaten eggs with some grated cheese. Who knew those days what béchamel sauce means and what more it could offer to an already delicious dish?? Apparently the French educated chef of one of the Sultans during the Ottoman period had the thought to add on the top of the dish this tasty sauce and here we are..... But I don't want to confuse you even more. I'm giving you the most common version for moussaka in Greece and the one that most of the foreigners have tasted when visiting Greece
"Biftekia" are quiet similar to keftedes (meatballs) but at the same time they are different in more than one thing. First of all the size and the shape, they should be bigger and usually in an oblong shape. Also the herbs we put in the traditional biftekia are different than those in the "keftedes". So, if you are Greek (and if you really know your stuff) you can distinguish the differences immediately. There is a classic recipe, but again, from region to region or even from household to household you can see variations of the recipe. You can find the biftekia plain or stuffed with cheese, grilled, fried or baked. You can even have them with a fried egg on top! Anyway, regardless the version, biftekia are delicious and the fact that they are so versatile (regarding the method of cooking and the ingredients) makes them a very popular dish for every season. The version I'm giving you today is the one my mother follows for years and it is the one that I prefer as well (not because it is my mother's but simply because we like it a lot). It doesn't mean, though, that this is the "correct" recipe. In my opinion there is a difference between "biftekia" and "keftedes" and so it should be! But, although there is a common guideline regarding the biftekia recipe, it is always up to you to adjust it according to your preferences
Their name in Greek is "Karydata" (karydi=walnut). They are delicious and fluffy little biscuit/cookie type of thing and so easy to make at home because of the simple ingredients. Their aroma is something else!
