Recipe(tried): Down Home Greek style

Okay okay...I know david has the monopoly with his wonderful food and stories so I thought I'd get my own back. But only with the recipes...my stories need a little polishing at the moment! Here you all are then....tried and true traditional greek recipes and I can vouch for them all. So can my waistline....*sigh*

Take care y'all!! (hey, this Southern thing is catching...)

Afelia

4 pork chops
bottle good red wine
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbs crushed coriander seeds - grind to a powder if you don't like the seeds
1 tbs vegetable oil

Marinade.
Mix together the red wine, cinnamon and coriander seeds. Bring to the boil in a small saucepan. Boil for about 2-3 minutes. Turn off the heat.

Pour the marinade over the chops and soak overnight. Next day drain the marinade but do not throw away.

Fry the chops in the oil until browned on both sides. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in the reserved marinade and then bring to the boil. Skim off any scum on the surface. Lower the heat and simmer for 1 hour. Add peeled potatoes if wished, they will soak up a lot of the sauce.


Avgolemono Soup - Mum always makes this when I have a cold but hey, who needs an excuse???

3 1/2 pints/ 2 litres strong fat free chicken stock
2 1/2 oz/75g short grain rice
4 eggs separated
juice of a large lemon
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bring the stock to the boil in a large pot, add the rice and simmer for 15 minutes until the rice is cooked.

Five minutes before you are ready to serve, turn the heat off from under the pan, whisk the egg whites until stiff, then whisk in the egg yolks. Add in the lemon juice and whisk some more!

Take a ladle full of the stock and add it to the egg mixture whisking constantly and then add slowly to the rest of the pan, again, keep whisking. The eggs must not curdle. You can very gently simmer the soup a little but do not boil it or scrambled eggs happens...

Serve with poached chicken and fresh lemon to taste. This is a taste of home for most greeks...and good when you have the flu!!


Christopsomo

This is the traditional bread baked for the Christmas holiday in various parts of Greece.

3 packages (3 tablespoons) active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 teaspoon plus 11/2 cups sugar
2 tbs plus 7-8 cups all-purpose flour
11/4 teaspoons salt
5 eggs
11/2 cups milk, scalded and cooled
1 tsp masticha flavoring (see note) or 1 tsp vanilla extract
2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup slivered blanched almonds
1/2 cup white sultanas 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

Combine yeast, warm water, 1 teaspoon sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Let stand in a warm place until mixture bubbles and foams, about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, beat together 4 eggs, 11/2 cups sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, cooled milk, and yeast mixture. Add 3 cups of flour and masticha or vanilla extract. Add melted butter, almonds, sultanas, and lemon peel. Continue to add flour and knead well about 5 minutes, or until dough is quite stiff but elastic. Place in greased bowl. Cover first with plastic wrap and then with a damp towel. Let dough rise in a warm place until double in bulk. Punch down and turn over in bowl.

Cover and let rise for 30 minutes more. Shape dough into 6 ropes and braid 3 at a time. Place braids on a lightly greased cookie sheet and let rise for 40 minutes.

Preheat oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 .

Beat remaining egg and brush each braid with it. Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Variation: 1 cup mixed candied fruit can be added with the almonds.

Note: Masticha is a flavoring made from the sap of the mastichodendro bush, which grows only on the island of Chios.

Yields 2 large braids.

Cinnamon Beef

I'm not too sure about the measurements in this as i usually just chuck it all in but here goes....


You need:

good stewing beef - brisket, skirt or silverside. Enough for two people.
1 large onion
2 large carrots. peeled and halved
2 large potatoes peeled and halved
roughly 5 tbs red wine vinegar
3 bay leaves
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp balsamic vinegar (optional)
5 cloves
plain flour
olive oil
salt
black pepper
ground cinnamon
2 tsp beef gravy granules (not sure what you'd do about this bit Helen)


Righty ho then,

Cube the beef into large-ish chunks about 1" square.
half fill a plastic bag with flour and then put in the beef cubes and coat well. Take out the cubes and get rid of the excess flour. I put them in a sieve and give them a good shake.

Heat the oil in a frying pan. Sprinkle the meat liberally (and I mean liberally!) with cinnamon and black pepper. Fry in batches of about 7 pieces so as not to overcrowd the frying pan. You need to get them to a good golden brown. The smell is wonderful so don't be hungry when you cook this! Remove the meat from the pan but don't throw away the residue in the pan.

Put the fried cubes of meat into a large ovenproof casserole dish.

Next bit. Don't stand too close to the frying pan when you do this or the old nasal passages will suffer!

Heat the residue in the frying pan so it sizzles. Pour on the red wine vinegar, stand back for a bit, add in the garlic, bay leaves, cloves and 2 tsp ground cinnamon, a bit of salt and some black pepper. Simmer for about 5 minutes and then pour over the beef.

Finely chop the onion and put in with the beef. You can put in whatever vegetables you like for this.

Add enough water to cover the beef and vegetables, sprinkle in about 2 teaspoons of gravy granules (not strictly a cheffie thing I know but who cares?) and then put in the oven on a low heat for at least 2 hours. The meat has to be tender and the potatoes cooked through. If the potatoes mush a bit don't worry - say it was on purpose to thicken the sauce!

When the beef is cooked, you can thicken the sauce with some cornflour. I teaspoon of cornflour diluted with about 3 teaspoons of water should be fine.

Serve with rice.

Pork with Egg & Lemon Sauce
Hirino me Avgolemono

2 lb. cubed leg of pork
2 cos lettuces blanched
2 oz butter
1 bunch spring onions, finely chopped
1 tbs. plain flour
salt and pepper
1 pint chicken stock
3 egg yolks beaten
Juice of 2 lemons
1 tbs. parsley chopped

Melt the butter and fry the pork in it until sealed. Do not brown.
Add the spring onions and thicken with the flour. Season well with salt and pepper.
Add the parsley and mix well.
Pour in the stock, enough to cover and then simmer for 40 minutes.
Chop the cos lettuce into large sections and add to the pork.

Add the juice of the lemons to the egg yolks and beat well. Take some of the hot stock and add to the egg mixture. Mix very well.
Take the pork off the heat and allow to sit for a minute. Add the egg mix to the pork slowly and stirring all the time. Cook over a low heat, stirring, for 1 minute and then serve.


Meatballs
Keftedes

2-3 slices white bread, crusts removed
500g/1 lb minced beef or lamb
1 large egg
1 large onion, grated
1-2 garlic cloves crushed
2 tbs olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin
salt and pepper
small bunch flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
a few sprigs of mint, chopped

sunflower oil for frying
flour to coat

Soak the bread in water and squeeze it dry.

Mix all the ingredients together and work together with your hands for about 5 minutes until it has a soft, dough-like consistency.

With wet hands, form the mixture into walnut sized balls then flatten them slightly.
Flour the keftedes twice, so as to get a good crust.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan until it sizzles.
Fry the keftedes for 5-6 minutes, do not overcrowd the pan.
Turn them once so they are crisp and brown.
Drain and serve hot.

For parties these are made very small and by the ton!!!!


Koulourakia These are made at easter...my word do I love these....

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs (reserve one yolk for glaze
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
finely grated rind from an orange
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon of fresh squeezed orange or lemon
sesame seeds

Preparation

Cream butter. Add sugar gradually and cream together
thoroughly. Add eggs, reserving one yolk for glaze. Beat well.
Blend in juice, vanilla, and grated rind. Stir in dry
ingredients. Knead well until dough is smooth and does not stick
to your fingers. Pinch off pieces and roll on board lightly by
hand to desired length. Fold in half and make into braided
twiests. Place on cookie sheet. Add a few drops of cold water to
egg yolk and beat. Brush tops of koulourakia with yolk mixture.
Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately
15 minutes or until lightly browned. Place on cookie rack to
cool. Store in airtight container

Yield

4 dozen - coffee dipping size

Notes

Optional: You may wish to add a little sugar and cinnamon to
the sesame seed sprinkle for topping.


Olive Bread - Eliobitta/Eliopsomo

1 tsp honey
2 medium onions, very finely chopped/diced
8 fl oz tepid water
12 plump black olives, chopped
1 tbs active dry yeast
1 tbs mint leaves chopped or 1 tbs dried
4 fl oz fine grain sea salt
1-11/4 lb wholemeal flour

Dissolve honey in the water and add the yeast. Set aside in a warm place until foamy whisk in 3 tbs. of the olive oil and the salt

Sift 10 oz/280g of the flour into a large mixing bowl, make a well in the centre and add the yeast.

Knead for 10 minutes adding enough of the remaining flour to make a firm but elastic dough. Set aside in a warm place for 2 hours or until at least doubled in bulk.

Heat 3 tbs. of the remaining olive oil in a heavy frying pan and saut the onion over a low heat until golden and soft.

Cut 5 of the olives in half and finely chop the rest. Add the olives and mint to the onions and stir to mix. Add to the dough and knead for a minute or two.

Brush a heavy baking tray with olive oil, form the dough into 1 or 2 round slightly flattened loaves spaced well apart on the tray. Cover with a tea towel and leave to rise for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to gas Mark 5/375F/190C. Bake for 10 minutes then reduce the heat to gas 4/350F/180C brush with the remaining olive oil and bake for 25 to 30 minutes longer. The bottom should sound hollow when tapped and they should look a golden brown colour.

For a different flavour try green olives or spiced olives.

Stifatho

2 lb. Braising/stewing steak, cubed
1 lb medium onions finely chopped
5 tbs olive oil
2 cloves chopped garlic
salt and pepper
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tbs chopped parsley
1-2 tsp ground cinnamon (add more if you wish)
red wine/water

Fry all the onions except one cup in 4 tablespoons of the olive oil. Fry them until they are browned. Remove from the pan. Add the last bit of oil and fry the steak until it changes colour. Add the reserved cup of onion and the garlic. Add in the bay leaves, pepper, salt, oregano, cinnamon and parsley. Mix well and add enough water/red wine to cover the meat. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 11/2 hours. After that, add in the fried onions and then simmer for another half an hour.

Serve with rice or boiled potatoes.

Lots of bread to mop up the juice.

Taramosalata
Fish Roe Salad

125g/4 oz smoked cods roe
juice of 1 or more large lemons
2 large slices of white bread, crusts removed and soaked in water
75-125 ml/3-4 fl oz olive oil
small onion grated and the juice drained off

Skin the roe and put in a food processor or blender with the lemon juice.

Squeeze the bread dry, add to the mix and blend well.

Slowly add the olive oil until the mix is the consistency of mayonnaise.

Mix in the onion at the end and add more lemon if wished.

Hope you enjoy these!!

Let me know how you get on..please?

Good Luck!!

Lisa
xx