Classic cheese Saganaki - Fried Greek cheese

Those of you who have tasted this meze dish I'm sure can start feeling your mouth watering.... For those who don't know let me tell you just a few things. The term "saganaki" in the title of the recipe refers first of all to the special kind of pan the food is prepared in. Usually is a quite small in size pan (for one or two people at the most) and the recipe cooked in it is served as a meze or first dish. If the recipe is to be fried then the pan is a small, usually cast iron, frying pan with one or two handles. When the recipe requires to be cooked in the oven small, usually clay pots, are used to cook in. There are various dishes prepared in Greece in this way having the term "saganaki" next to a meat, cheese, sea food or vegetables recipe and all are sooo delicious!

Greek "dessert spoon sweets"

Just after Spring comes the housewifes start planning of making this year's jams and fruit preserves or "Spoon Sweets" as we call them. Spoon sweets (Glyka tou koutaliou) are a big part of the Greek cuisine and in many ways are equal to the meaning of "Greek hospitality". They are traditional sweet preserves made of various fruits and even vegetables. They are very sweet because of the syrup they are preserved in and that's why we serve them as a couple of spoonfuls- usually on a small china or crystal bowl/dish using a spoon of the size of the (English) tea-spoon (so to have an idea what kind of spoon we are talking about). The right way to accompany them with is a glass of cold water. Often, though, you will see them as a topping on Greek yoghurt or vanilla ice cream or kaimaki ice cream (another special delicacy).

Unfortunately at some point the "spoon sweets" have started not being so popular any more. I mean, people still liked them but they didn't consider them as a special treat for their guests as they used to do in the past, so the traditional recipes had started disappearing, at least in the big cities. On the other hand the modern day housewives could not really get bothered or they didn't have enough spare time to prepare their own "spoon sweets" and they prefered to buy them at the market- which is something that you would not even imagine happening in the past and to be honest I don't think you could find them at all at the market. But the last few years I see that more and more housewives go back to the traditional way of making them at home and they actually find them quiet trendy!!!...

"Spoon sweets" can be made of almost everything and I'm not exaggerating.
You can use the peel of oranges, bitter oranges, quinces, grapefruit, frapa (=citrus maxima) a sour/bitter fruit similar to grapefruit but bigger, the bergamot, lemons, tangerines and mandarins....
Even the watermelon rind!! In other words many fruits or parts of them which normally are not edible.

Various types of seedless grapes and berries, cherries and sour cherries, apricots, figs, prunes. Flower petals like roses or citrus blossoms. Various types of nuts like the walnuts when they are still unripe with their green skin on.... As for the vegetables... the baby eggplant is a good example.

One of their main purposes is to capture the essence of a particular season. Here are some examples:

Spring
Unripe (immature) whole walnuts with their green skin on (still soft)
Immature pistachios (unsalted) - A specialty of the pistachio-producing island of Aegina.

Summer
Rose petals - Typically from Chios island and the Peloponnese area
Watermelon, made from the rind of the young fruits
Sour cherries
Cherries
Apricots, the fruit in whole 
Small tomatoes
Immature figs, when still small and green

Late Summer
Various types of seedless grapes
Raisin, traditional to Crete
Baby eggplants
Ripe figs

Fall
Quinces
Firiki, a small type of apple originated and a specialty of Mt. Pilio
Pumpkin, a specialty of Naoussa (up North Greece)

Winter
Bitter oranges, preserved whole when immature and in pieces of rind when ripe.
Oranges
Bergamot
Kumquat, originated (in Greece) and a specialty of Corfu

The "spoon sweets" are made by slowly and gently boiling in water and sugar over several hours or (in some cases) even days, until the syrup sets. The traditional saying about what it takes to make a really good spoon sweet is "patience and a heavy pot"....  Some lemon juice is often added to preserve the fruit's original color, as the citric acid prevents oxidation. A small quantity of blanched almonds, slivered or whole, are often added for crunch, especially in fruits like apples, quinces and grapes.

The overall method of preparation is really the same as that of marmalade or jam, except that the fruit pieces remain firm and whole; a well-made spoon sweet holds the original shape, color, aroma and taste of the fruit.

For years and years they used to use pickling lime to make some of the "spoon sweets"!!!!!!!!! My mother, actually, she kept doing it this way up to a few years ago especially when she wanted to turn the watermelon rind into a "spoon sweet". It was not easy to find it though so they would compromise by going to building sites and ask for some "quicklime for the watermelon...." and the builders knew immediately what they meant... amazing is it not???

You see, the quicklime helps the fruits or the vegetables meant to become "spoon sweets" to be crunchier and hold their shape during and after boiling. The watermelon rind is a good example and also the whole apricots and the sweet and sour cherries. They would dissolve 1 cup of quicklime in about 2 litres of water and then soak the fruits in this water for a few hours or overnight. Next day they would wash the fruits very well and continuing with the rest of the procedure.

For those who don't know, they must be warned that quicklime can be dangerous and if they decide to use it they have to be very very careful. So, in my opinion, always is better to use the pickling lime if you can find it otherwise maybe it is wiser to skip this step of soaking the fruits in this liquid and proceed as normal.
I found out last year that my mother didn't get bothered to find any quicklime for her watermelon rind and she still had the same success.

One classic Greek "spoon sweet" (and my personal favourite) is the snow-white, sugar rich and intensely aromatic "vanilla submarine" as we call it and there is a good reason for its name!!!!!! It is a confection flavoured with vanilla (the classic flavour) but you can find it with other flavours like the pistachios or the mastic (a rare tree growing exclusively in the Aegean island of Chios) and it looks like a thick paste. This delicious "spoon sweet" is served as a generous dollop on a teaspoon and then dived into a tall glass full of ice-cold water and because of that it has the nickname "submarine"....

The Greeks from Asia Minor made it famous and brought it to the mother land. For decades it was the favourite sweet treat of the children and you can still find it at the market and at traditional "Kafenia" (Cafés)..

Eggs "Strapatsada" or "Kayianas"

In other words the Greek "scrambled eggs" cooked in fresh tomato sauce, a very tasty Summer dish. The "strapatsada" comes from Corfu and because of the Italian influence it is believed that the name of the dish derives from the Italian word "strapazzare" meaning to "handle roughly", to "beat"....  You can also find the recipe with the name "Kayianas" and "Sfouggato" depending on the area the dish comes from. And although the "eggs with tomatoes" (as a lot of people referred to them) is the basis of the recipe, you can easily find small differences here and there throughout Greece. It is a very easy and fast recipe and you can have "strapatsada" as a side or even a light main dish

450gr. ripe tomatoes, roughly grated or 1 tin of tomatoes (400gr.), diced
2-3 tbsp of good quality olive oil
Salt
black pepper
1 tsp. of sugar
4 eggs
1 tbsp. fresh mint, finely chopped (if you use the fresh tomatoes )
or
1/2 tbsp of dry oregano (if you use the tinned tomatoes)

Method:In a non stick frying pan add the grated tomatoes, the olive oil, the sugar, salt and pepper and let the tomato sauce cook, in medium heat, until most of the water has evarporated. You need a rather dry-ish tomato sauce. You stir, while cooking, regularly so to avoid sticking on the pan. Taste the sauce and if you think it is too acidic add a bit more sugar.

In a bowl whisk the eggs lightly. Turn the heat to low, add the eggs into the frying pan together with the mint or the oregano and, while stirring regularly with a wooden spoon, let the eggs cook until they form small curds. The eggs, when served, should not be totally dry but still a bit juicy.

Notes: A well known common combination of strapatsada is the one with diced green pepper and crumbled feta cheese added in it

Savoury cake with lentils and feta cheese

Another unusual combination of ingredients to make a very tasty savoury cake. The recipe comes from Mrs Parliarou, author in cooking section of newspapers and magazines in Greece. You might have already noticed from previous posts, that in some of the recipes the measurements of the ingredients come in a bit of a strange way, like in tea-cups or wine glasses or water glasses. Personally, that confuses me a bit because I'm used to do everything in grams (using a kitchen balance) but it is a very common way in Greece (making it very handy for the older generations of houswives) and in the end you can't really get it wrong. Each place with its own habits....



Gemista - Stuffed tomatoes and peppers with rice and herbs

This is a dish which needs a bit of preparation but when it is done it's soooo tasty. For many people it is the king of the Summer dishes in Greece. Every time we go this is one of the dishes I ask my mother to cook for us. The specific version has just a small touch of the Greek cuisine of Asia Minor, since there are a couple of ingredients we find mainly in the versions of Smyrna and Constantinople. The "gemista" can also be cooked with ground beef mixed with the rice, a recipe which can be found in the blog here

Chicken wings in the Greek way

A very easy, simple and quick recipe without being essential to cook them on the BBQ. The oven of your home cooker is just fine and the taste is something else