A pie in layers called.... "Cheese bread"...

Don' even ask!.... Although it looks like it and although a kind of phyllo pastry is involved they don't call it "pie"... On the other hand, as it is obvious, you could not call it "bread"- not with the classic meaning of the word anyway because.... it is a pie actually. Whatever the name, it is a traditional and unusual recipe coming from Central Greece. Despite the fact that the name and its definition can easily confuse you, it is delicious!!!!!

Grilled filleted fresh sardines

So many ways to cook the fresh sardines. This is the most easy recipe for those who don't have a BBQ

Fried octopus

Another seafood meze. So tasty and so simple to cook! A great company to other mezes during the Summer together with ouzo or beer

"Kontosouvli" with spiced yoghurt dip

"Kontosouvli" literally means "short skewer" and it is a Greek delicacy with marinated pork pieces mixed with lamb pieces or with only one of the two meats and cooked over coals while the spit slowly turns. It is delicious! The "kontosouvli", usually found in the grill houses around Greece, is cooked on a really long skewer (spit). They take big pieces of meat (marinated overnight), pass them through the spit and then (in most cases) they cover the meat all around with caul fat (the fatty membrane which surrounds the internal organs of lamb or cows etc). This helps the meat not to fall off the spit while it is cooking and also keeps it juicy because of the long time of slow cooking over an open charcoal pit. I will not pretend that kontosouvli can be as successful when cooked at home as the one in the grill houses but still it can be delicious if we follow a few essential rules so to end up with a great tender and succulent meze to share with friends. Just remember that Kontosouvli is not ready at one time. While the rotisserie slowly turns the outter layer of the meat gets cooked and lightly crispy and then it is sliced-off and ready to be served. The cooking continues and when the next outter layer of the meat is cooked and crispy slice off some more... In this recipe today, for your convenience, the pieces of the meat are cut in smaller pieces (see last photo)

No pastry "Chania Boureki" with courgettes and potatoes

This is a delicious pie recipe coming from Chania, in Crete. The classic "Chania boureki". The secret in this pie is the very, very thin slices of the vegetables and of course the good quality of the cheese which traditionally it is the fresh "myzithra" cheese. This version is made with no crust involved but there is also the one which is made with home made pastry

Melopita - Traditional honey pie

This is a very tasty and very light dessert coming from Sifnos island (in Aegean Sea) and for a change with no syrup on!! We could call it the "Greek cheesecake"... Traditionally "Melopita" is an Easter sweet pie but it doesn't mean that you can not have it during the rest of the year. The classic version is the one I present to you today with only a few nutricious ingredients (with no crust or any other kind of pastry involved) . The key ingredient is the cheese they use in this pie. It should be the "anthotyro" (similar to the goat's cheese) or the fresh unsalted "myzithra cheese". I have seen and tasted a version with a home made pastry which was delicious but I'm not sure how much traditional it was. It's an easy recipe and it will accompany your tea or coffee perfectly

Beef in tomato sauce with green olives

A classic Winter recipe, traditionally coming from Crete, with no trouble at all to prepare. Very tasty dish, with the olives giving a special touch

Roast chicken cooked in egg/yogurt sauce

Fantastic recipe! So easy and fast, so tasty and light! It is a variation of the original recipe with lamb and different herbs in the sauce. The sauce is something else and together with some nice green salad this chicken dish will save the day on a Sunday lunch

Vleeta (Amaranth) greens salad

Well, I will try to explain the best I can about this kind of leafy greens that we boil and usually eat as a salad. In Greece we have so many different kind of edible leafy greens, collectively known as "Horta". Many of them grow wild in the countryside and it is such a common scene to see women and even men (mainly older generations nowadays) with an overused knife and a plastic bag in hand bending over and trying to spot these nutritious greens around the fields..... Horta can be sweet in taste, tart or even bitter, and some are wonderfully aromatic. Apart from the greens collected from the hills and mountains, there are also some that grow as weeds among the cultivated crops. And since we never really had "official" knowledge in school books about the horta, what we know about them (names and uses for each one) come orally from generation to generation... We learned how the various greens should be cooked and which ones should be combined in stews and pies. We usually blanch different kinds of horta together, and eat them as a salad or a side dish, simply dressed with fresh lemon juice or vinegar and olive oil. My mother was loving doing it and although I've been there watching her I never really managed to spot the "right" and safe ones for consuming, so I never really have gathered "horta" myself.  Greeks used to eat "horta" since the ancient times (they knew better than us Neo-Greeks...). Later, people who were living in the countryside were rather poor and had little else to eat, they could not afford to have meat often (because they had to sell it and earn money out of it), so the "horta" was an easy and cheap meal and they discovered that they could cook them in many different ways and not just as a salad. They had to complement their frugal menu of bread, cheese, olives, and olive oil.... These days though most city people can buy horta from the weekly farmers’ open markets and they have become quite expensive believe it or not! One very popular kind of "horta" is the "Vleeta" and here is how they look, fresh and uncooked, after they are thoroughly washed and cleaned from the stems

The recipe that follows is one of the most tasty dishes (and my favourite type of "horta") with leafy greens and it is an excellent way to accompany your meat or fish or to have as a main salad. After some research in the Internet I found out that in English they are called "Amaranth Greens" or "red spinach" and if you spot them in a market (only during the Summer months though) don't hesitate to try them out. It is very easy to prepare them and if they are really fresh and in season it doesn't take long to cook. For those who can't find them and might visit Greece at some point please, if it is not during June, July or August, say "no" to the restaurant people who will tell you that they have "fresh vleeta" on their menu.... They are lying and you will get disappointed from the taste...

Greek sweet pumpkin pie

Another classic sweet pie that you can find in various areas in Greece. Totally different than the traditional "Thanks Giving Day" pie in the USA. It has its own taste and spices and of course the crunchy phyllo pastry. It is a recipe that in many areas of Greece is considered as the main Christmas dessert

Home made Pasteli - Honey and sesame bars

This is a delicacy which you can find in every Super Market in Greece but also in every kiosk in every neighbourhood. This sweet bar (brittle), called "Pasteli", is one of the cornerstones of Greek confectionery. The traditional recipe simply contains roasted sesame seeds and honey, and is therefore indigenous to the sesame-growing area up in North Greece (especially around Thessaloniki). There are varieties, though, with almonds, filberts and peanuts which have also become increasingly popular and are manufactured nationwide. Greece is a country that produces such an abundance of nuts. Almonds grow in rocky regions, filberts and walnuts in agricultural areas, pistachios in Aegina Island and peanuts coming from Cyprus.

Pasteli, although it is an ancient delicacy, was never something that you would find easily prepared at home in later years- but if that was the case then it was something delicious. It is easy to make and keeps for long periods. The pasteli most commonly sold at the market is generally very hard because of the addition of refined sugar in the recipe. The home made version though does not use refined sugar and creates a chewy texture with the fabulous tastes of sesame seeds and honey. The good quality and taste of the honey is the key in this delicious candy and it will effect the final product. In Greece we have a large variety of different flavours of honey like thyme, wildflower, fir, pine, chestnut, etc. depending on which area it comes from. Because of the coexistence of sesame and honey, pasteli is considered nowadays as "an energy bar". A very nutritive delicacy, full of useful vitamins and that's why it is very popular among children and adults. We don't know exactly pasteli's first origins or the exact period that it first appeared but there are references about it in ancient documents. It seems that it originated in Greece (and the Middle East) over 6,000 years ago. Pasteli is considered as a "candy" in modern times but historical references portray it as a health food. In the Iliad, according to Homer, warriors used to eat pasteli in order to build energy before battles during the Trojan War. It was also praised by the Greek historian Herodotus as "both a delicacy and a benefit to one's health." Why don't you try it at home?

Yaourtopita - Crustless Yoghurt pie with syrup

This is a traditional sweet pie which resembles a little bit to Ravani dessert. There are many variations of the recipe coming from different areas of Greece. With syrup or not and sometimes with phyllo pastry. It is a delicious and light dessert and not a difficult recipe to put together

Lemonato - Beef cooked in lemon sauce with potatoes

This is another classic dish for a Sunday lunch. Most mothers around Greece have it as their favourite and of course each claims that "hers is the best"... You can cook it with beef or veal and the potatoes in this dish are the best part along with the nice syrupy lemon sauce. It's not a complicated recipe and the secret is to keep the heat very low and simmer the meat for hours

Lamb cooked in Tentura sauce and wrapped in aubergine slices

A delicious traditional recipe from Patras, in Peloponnese area. The liqueur "Tentura" makes the difference in the tomato sauce of this dish. Tentura is a liqueur traditionally produced in the city of Patras since the 15th century! It contains alcohol, water, sugar and fermented essences of cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, and citrus fruits. Tentura has a dark orange-red colour and an alcohol content of around 25% by volume. It is served chilled, in a small glass. It can also be added in espresso coffee, which is then called "coretto". If you can find Tentura it is the best choise for this recipe but you cun substitute with any good quality red sweet wine

Touloumba

Touloumba is another traditional sweet dessert. A speciality coming from (initially) the Greeks of Asia Minor and then the recipe passed on to Northern Greece where you can find the best Touloumbes (in plural) in the country (especially in Thessaloniki). It is though a speciality that can be found in Turkey as well and as you know by now the Turks and Greeks share many delicious recipes. It is a very tasty dessert, made of a kind of pastry but without any filling inside. First they get deep fried and then dipped in thick syrup

Kourkoubinia - Little fried rolled bites with phyllo pastry

What this could be now?? Hmm-it is a syrupy dessert, very tasty and very crunchy and you can never have just one! Kourkoubinia (always referred to in the plural) are phyllo pastry bites, with no filling, first deep fried and then dipped in syrup or honey and they are made of very thin phyllo sheets. They used to be my father's favourite syrup dessert and he always praised his mother's recipe- the "one she brought with her from Smyrna"...which unfortunately none of us now has it... They are a bit tricky regarding the shape they have but if you decide to try them out you won't regret it

Open rice pie with chicken

It is a traditional and delicious pie recipe. Quite convenient when you have some chicken left from the previous day

Macaroni with yogurt/garlic sauce

This is a very simple but soo tasty traditional recipe coming from the Greeks of the Black Sea area

Potato fritters with dill

Another classic meze for ouzo or beer and for all seasons!

Ingredients (for 30 fritters):
6 medium potatoes
1 large onion, minced
1/2 a bunch of fresh dill, finely chopped
1 egg
2 tbsp of olive oil
1/2 a tea-cup fine breadcrumbs
4-5 tbsp of all purpose flour + some extra for coating
Salt
pepper
Frying oil

Method:
Wash the potatoes and boil them in salted water - with their skin on - until they are soft enough.
Let them half cool, peel them and put them in a big plastic bowl.
Mash them with a fork while they are still warm.

Add in the bowl the dill, the onion, salt and pepper, the egg, the breadcrumbs, the olive oil and the flour.
Mix the ingredients well with your hands ~ you must achieve a firm mixture. If the consistency seems a bit thin add some more flour.
Let the mixture stand for a while and then make medium size fritters.

In a deep frying pan (or pot) heat enough oil in medium heat.
Coat lightly the fritters with some flour and fry until they are browned on both sides.
Let them drain on some kitchen paper and serve them while they are still warm.

Baked pork with lemon and orange sauce

A very classic Sunday roast in Greece where the subtle flavour and aroma of the orange makes the difference!

Feta pie in layers

Another version of the classic cheese pie. A bit different ingredients and a bit different procedure but with an excellent result

Pork with peas in tomato sauce

A tasty classic dish for all seasons since you can use either frozen or fresh peas. Simple ingredients with a great result. A very common Sunday dish around Greece. You never fail with this one



Orange flavour cookies

No, it's not "all cookies are the same"!!.... Different flavour in the dough means different result, even if the shape is similar... This one, again, is an easy recipe and the aroma of the orange makes the difference

Dolmadakia Yalanci - Stuffed vine leaves with rice

Well, this is another famous and delicious dish - one of soooo many - the Greeks from Asia Minor brought with them when in the early '20s were forced to abandon Constantinople and Smyrna (the modern Istanbul and Izmir) and other areas of that region and come to live in Greece (the mother land). The name of the dish is Turkish but the Greeks continued to use it for this dish. "Dolma" means "stuffed" (dolmadaki = small size) and "yalanci" means "fake". Fake because, probably, the original version was the one with mince meat inside besides the rice and it is the other version of this recipe. I'm not sure if the "yalanci" version was invented from the Greeks in Asia Minor  having this delicacy even in periods of fasting or if the recipe existed like this from the beginning. The fact is that it is a very popular appetizer/meze and you will find it everywhere in Greece. It requires some skill regarding the handling of the vine leaves and that's why nowadays a lot of people prefer to buy the tinned dolmadakia, which  are not bad if the brand is a good one but still the homemade are something else in taste. But believe me it is worth the trouble and they can be preserved in the freezer for quite some time. You can use fresh vine leaves during the Summer season where they are bright, green and tender but also you can find them in jars preserved in brine. Give it a go and I think you will agree with me that it is worth the effort

Ingredients (for 40-50 pieces):
40-50 vine leaves (plus some extra)
80ml olive oil
1 onion, minced
160-300gr. uncooked long grain rice (or arborio rice)
4-5 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
1-2 fresh spearmint, chopped
160ml water
salt
pepper
vegetable stock
 
Method:
Heat the oil in a frying pan, in medium heat and add the onion. Sauté until translucent and tender. Add the rice, the dill, the spearmint, the water, salt and pepper. Keep cooking for about 10 minutes until the water is absorbed while stirring every now and then so the rice doesn't stick to the bottom. Set aside.

Using a large sauce pan with a lid, line it's bottom with the extra vine leaves. This will keep the dolmadakia from getting burned.

And now the instructions of how to fill the vine leaves and how to roll them into dolmadakia.

Whichever type of leaves you use (fresh or preserved) begin by rinsing them well (carefully so as not to damage them) under running water and setting them aside to drain.

Place a vine leaf in the palm of your hand with the 'veins up'. Put a tablespoon of the rice mixture into the centre of the leaf. Fold in each side over the stuffing, then fold up the bottom so it resembles an envelope, and roll it up into a parcel. It needs patience and it takes time but in the end you'll get the gist of it and it won't be a problem. Check the photo underneath to see better what I mean

After you have filled all the dolmadakia, arrange them with the seam side down in the sauce pan.
You do it in a manner of putting them in the pan side by side (really close to each other) so they won't unroll while cooking. If there is not enough space left in the pan to arrange all in one layer you can make a second and a third layer with no problem.

When you have arranged all the dolmadakia, add enough stock to fill the pan up to 5cm below the top layer. Get an oven proof plate that will fit inside the pan. Place it upside down, by pressing it gently, over the dolmadakia to keep them down so not to unroll while cooking. Cover the pan with the lid and cook over medium heat for about 30 minutes. They are done when the rice is cooked.

Let them stand for about 30 minutes and then serve them together with a lemon cut in wedges.

Cookies with anise seeds

Classic flavoured Greek cookies and very tasty to accompany your coffee or tea. Easy recipe to follow with no complications