Manti - Traditional stuffed dumplings from the "Lost Lands"

This is a dish which has travelled quite a lot from country to country and was brought to Greece by the Greeks coming from the southern coast of Black Sea area which we call "Euxeinos Pontos", meaning "Hospitable Sea". It is a traditional recipe which you can find also in the Turkish and various Central Asian and Caucasian cuisines. "Manti" consists of a spiced meat mixture, usually lamb, in a dough wrapper either boiled, baked or steamed. The "Euxeinos Pontos" variation usually is served with a nice yogurt/garlic sauce and then drizzled on top with tomato sauce. Another variation is topped with yogurt and garlic and sprinkled with ground red pepper and melted butter, and then topped with ground sumac and/or dried mint. It is one of those traditional recipes that we try to save regardless if our families come from that area or not. It is a part of our history and we try our best to keep it alive. I must warn you that this is a recipe which needs time and patience and it's not one of those you can come up with at the last moment... If you want to try it out, and believe me it worth the trouble, it's better to do it during the weekend

Marinated rabbit with rosemary

Rabbit is another kind of meat which we cook in many different ways. Perhaps the "rabbit stifado (stew)" is the most common recipe but believe me rabbit (as well as hare and wild rabbit) can be cooked so easily and they are quite popular. Today we have a traditional and very easy recipe of fried rabbit coming from Crete and it can be served with french fries or mashed potatoes or a nice rice pilaf or even plain with a nice green salad

Fried courgettes in batter

Well, this is one of my best Summer meze as long as somebody else has to fry them!:-) The easy way (and not bad in taste at all) is to pass them through flour and fry them but with the batter they are really delicious! The secret for really crispy courgettes is to slice them thinly and fry them at high heat so to have the time to fry properly but not to absorb a lot of oil

"Papoutsakia" - Baked aubergines stuffed with ground meat and topped with bechamel sauce

A classic and very popular dish which will remind you of the moussakas but it is not! The dish is called "melitzanes (aubergines) papoutsakia (little shoes)" and the reason is because after they are baked they look like little shoes... funny name for a dish isn't it? But I'm telling you, it's delicious. Normally, in the good old days, they used to fry the aubergines before adding the filling. Nowadays a lot of people in their effort to eat lighter and healthier food they prefer to bake the aubergines so to keep calories and cholesterol under control without missing any of the taste dishes like this can offer.... It is up to you how you will prepare the aubergines but be sure that both ways will give an excellent taste

Sweet peas cooked in tomato sauce

Cooking peas in this way is a very common vegetarian Greek recipe and I think it is the best way of letting our bodies recover after all that meat during the Easter feast. It is a popular dish all through the year and not only during Lent period. Easy to prepare and it doesn't take long to cook, especially if you use frozen peas (which are just as suitable)

Classic Greek lettuce salad

On Easter day, as you are aware by now, we have so many different dishes on the table and to be honest most of them are rather "heavy", from the point of view that some grease is involved in the recipes one way or another. So we keep the salads of that day rather simple and light. Now that Romaine lettuce is in season it is a good chance to use it in a salad since it is fast to prepare with simple ingredients in it and still tasty. As my husband says it is the best salad because "it cuts through the grease and it is so refreshing"