Greek food/recipes

[chefker]

Anyone have any Greek recipes they'd like to share? I am seriously jonesing for Greek food, and sadly there are no Greek/Mediterranean restaurants near where I live!

I'll search for some as well, and if I find anything decent I'll come back and post it here. :)

[lil_geek]

MMMM......

I make souvlaki and tatziki on the fly. They are pretty easy and don't require anything 'different'

For Souvlaki I marinate pork (or chicken) in italian salad dressing then skewer and BBQ or grill.

tatziki
1 container(8 ounces) plain yogurt
8 ounces crumbled feta cheese
1 clove garlic,peeled
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded, sliced
1 tsp. fresh or dried mint

Directions:
Puree in food processor: yogurt, feta, garlic, salt. Add cucumbers and mint, pulse twice.

Serve it all with a big greek salad (lettuce, tomato, onion, olives and feta)
1 clove garlic, pressed
1/2 tsp oregano, ground in hand
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/2 T lemon juice*
3 T olive oil*

Directions:
In a small bowl, combine all but the olive oil. Whisk in the oil till thickened and use immediately.

[Hello Kitty]

I made this and it was amazing, just exactly what I was craving at the time. It's a serving for one, but you can scale it up.

Cook 2 oz orzo pasta in 1/2 water 1/2 chicken broth until tender. Only use enough water so that you don't have to drain the pasta. Add in 4 oz tomato sauce, a dash of cinnamon, and 2 oz leftover lamb roast, diced. Add a little sprinkle of sugar, and some crushed rosemary, and a splash of white wine. Let simmer until meat is thoroughly hot and tender. Top with feta and serve.

Occassionally, we'll fry up Kasseri cheese, after it's been dusted lightly with flour, ant top with fresh lemon.

[chefker]

These are GREAT! Keep 'em coming! That orzo dish sounds fabulous, as does the tzatziki sauce!

I have some lamb chops in the fridge that I need to do SOMETHING with...I think I can make a nice marinade or rub with oregano, olive oil & lemon...mmmm.

[lil_geek]

My Grandma (Italian) makes the simplest lamb chops ... put them in a cassrole dish, add a bit of water/white wine/onion and garlic (likley salt and peper too) and 'bake' at 300-350 for about 2 hours. They end up incredibly tender. Serve that with some tatziki would be amazing! Mmmmmmmmm (just as a note, I tried to make my pita as Greek as possilbe at lunch cause of this thread!)

[tlew12778]

The easiest thing I do (and I had it on Zakynthos) is grilled feta. You wrap it up in a piece of foil along with peppers, tomatoes, and onions. Add some EVOO and oregano and let it grill for 10-15 min on each side (depending on how thick the feta is). It's sooooo good with grilled bruschetta bread.

[cactus]

I just spent a year living in Greece, and these are some of the recipes we tried that we liked best. There's also the beloved Greek salad--which, most of the year, consists of chunks of tomatoes, cucumbers, and red onions (with a few salty olives thrown in) covered with a big slab of feta and dressed with olive oil. Yum! I know I've only been back a month, but now I want to eat Greek again!

FASOLAKIA
Ingredients
• 2 pounds string beans
• 2 onions, minced
• 2-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1�2 - 3�4 cup olive oil
• 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1�4- 1�2 cup fresh parsley
• 1-2 tsp mint
• 2 potatoes, peeled and cut in 1-2� chunks
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup water or broth

Directions
1. In Dutch over, saute� onion lightly in oil.
2. Add tomato sauce, string beans and remaining ingredients.
3. Cover and simmer over medium heat for about 60 minutes or until all vegetables are
tender.
4. Check after 30 minutes; add more water or broth if necessary.

Kotopoulo kokkinisto (reddened chicken)
Yield: 6 servings
1 Frying or roasting chicken*
3 tablespoon Vegetable oil or butter
1 Onion; chopped
2 tablespoon Butter
2 tablespoon All-purpose flour (optional)
1 cup Dry white wine (more if necessary)
2 cup Chopped, drained tomatoes
2 tablespoon Chopped fresh parsley
1 pinch Dried marjoram or thyme
Salt & freshly ground pepper
Water if necessary
*Note: Chicken should be about 3 pounds, and cut into serving pieces. Wash and
dry the chicken. In a frying pan, heat the oil or butter and sear the chicken over
high heat, turning constantly to avoid burning the chicken. Remove each piece
when reddish in color. Lower the heat and saute the onion until soft, adding
butter while stirring. For a thicker sauce, add the flour and cook 2 minutes, then
add the wine and tomatoes. Simmer until thickened, then strain the sauce into a
baking-serving casserole. Sprinkle the herbs over the chicken, season lightly with
salt and pepper, and shake the casserole gently. Chicken should be almost
covered with liquid; if not, add a little water. Cover tightly and simmer over low
heat or transfer to a medium oven (350 F) to bake for 1 hour, or until the chicken
is tender and the sauce thick. Serve warm.

Spanakorizo (A Greek Spinach Risotto)
45 min 20 min prep
1 1/2 lbs spinach, cleaned,stemmed,torn or cut into smaller pieces and washed in several changes of water
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup chopped spring onions (white and green)
1 small onion, chopped
1 leek, chopped (optional)
1 1/4 cups rice, short-grain is best (or use Arborio, but at a pinch, you can use converted. I often make it with brown rice for more fiber)
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 Tablespoons minced fresh dill
3 cups water
salt
fresh ground black pepper
Serve with
feta cheese
kalamata olives
crusty bread
1. In a deep pan heat oil and gently fry onion and leek (if used) until soft.
2. Wash (or soak if necessary depending on what kind of rice you use) rice, drain
and add to onion.
3. Cook for five minutes, stirring frequently.
4. Add remaining ingredients and bring to the boil.
5. When boiling add the spinach, stir well and cover.
6. Reduce heat and simmer on low heat for 15 minutes or so (longer if using brown
rice).
7. Remove from heat.
8. Leave tightly covered and allow to stand atleast 1/2 an hour before serving.
9. Serve with feta cheese, kalamata olives, crusty, peasant-style bread, a glass of
wine and you'll think you're in Greece!
*** I liked it best when I crumbled and stirred the feta right in***

Yemista (Greek Stuffed Tomatoes and
Peppers)
5 medium perfectly-ripe yummy tomatoes
5 medium green peppers
3/4 cup olive oil
15 tablespoons rice, 1 1/2 tblsps per tomato or pepper, to be stuffed
1 large onion, chopped fine (about 1 1/2 cups)
3 garlic cloves, minced very fine
1/4 cup fresh spearmint, minced (1 1/2 tblsps dried, crumbled)
1/2 cup parsley, minced (or cilantro)
1/2 cup pine nuts or slivered almonds
1/2 cup hard mizithra cheese or kefalograviera cheese or parmesan cheese, cut into tiny
cubes
1/2 cup sultana raisins (but I love the slightly sweet contrast they give the savoury
ingredients) (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon tomato paste
salt and pepper
1. Cut off tops of tomatoes (retain tops) and carefully scoop out flesh (retain this as
well).
2. Cut off tops of peppers (retain tops) and remove seeds and membrane.
3. Place tomatoes and peppers in a pan large enough to hold them comfortably and
give each veg a tiny dash of sugar with the tips of your fingertips (I really think
this is important!).
4. Take tomato flesh and process it until pureed.
5. Add olive oil, rice, onion, garlic, mint, parsley/cilantro, nuts, cheese, sultanas, 1
teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper (or season to taste).
6. Stuff the vegetables evenly with this mixture.
7. Replace tops of tomatoes and peppers.
8. Combine 1 cup of water and 1/2 cup olive oil with a scant tablespoonful of tomato
paste and a little salt and pepper and pour this around the veg.
9. Bake in a preheated 375F oven (180C) for approx 1 3/4 hours (vegetables should
pierce easily and be slightly blackened in parts).
10. Turn off oven and leave in for another hour to'mellow' before serving.
11. This is best served slightly warm or at room temperature.

[AttyGrl74]

To try out our new grill with the rotisserie - we made gyros from scratch and they were FLIPPIN' AWESOME!

We also did the tzatiki (sp?).

We followed Alton Brown's recipe: Goooooood Eats (http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_30420,00.html?rsrc=search)

I think in the future I would use less onion and garlic and a LOT less in the sauce.

[Hello Kitty]

Just to note, tzatziki is really yummy when you use yogurt with no gelatin added (check the ingredients) that has been strained in a cheesecloth. Otherwise, if it has gelatin, there's no real point in straining it, as it doesn't seperate out.

There's a WW recipe similar to the one ATTYGirl posted - it just uses ground turkey, and cooks it all up in a pan. It's one of those can't believe it's not bad for you meals. :)

[chefker]

Alton's recipe sounds SO GOOD! I will have to try that next time I buy lamb.

So we had Greek night last week, I made moussaka, and saganaki. Mmmm, saganaki. DH, who was all "I don't think I like Greek food", absolutely LOVED the moussaka & saganaki. In fact, the only thing he would not eat were the kalmata olives I served with our bread - he HATES olives. more for me!