Learn to cook Greek food

Koulouria - Greek Cookies

2012-08-22T19:45:00.000-07:00

I love the smell of freshly cooked Greek cookies during the Easter time. You can make them at any time of the year of course but traditionally they are made during Easter The ingredients are simple to gather but it does require some work to get the dough right, that's the tricky bit. As most of you would know it does take a couple of tries to get the recipes right so if you don't get it right the first time have another try.

The amount of ingredients used below would make about 140 koulouria, rather a large amount if you just making them for family, so adjust the amounts accordingly.

Ingredients:
3 cups of sugar
1 250g butter (melted)
100 ml vegetable oil
7 700g size eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla essence
200 ml freshly squeezed orange juice
2 kilos self raising flour (approximately)

Let's start off with the easy stuff, mix the eggs, vanilla essense and sugar in a mixing bowl and use a blender to mix these ingredients until the mixture turns white or it's all well mixed together.

Next, add the oil and butter and again mix with the blender for about 3 minutes.

Now while still mixing with the blender slowly add the flour and mix it in well, continue to add flour until the mixture becomes firm. You may need to remove from the blender and mix by hand after a while as it will become difficult for the blender to continue turning. This is where it get's tricky, you will need to keep adding flour until it becomes firm enough that you can plait the koulouria but not hard where the dough is brittle and breaks. The photo below may help to get the firmness right.

Now once the dough is nice and firm you break a piece of dough and roll it in strips of about 15 cm's and twists the two ends a couple of times and cut off the ends to make them look nice as show in the video and place in a greased tray, space them as shown in the photo.

Once the tray is full place it in the oven at 180 celsius for about 30 minutes or until golden brown.

The below video shows how to twist them in their finished state.

If anyone has tried this recipe, please feel free to drop a comment. Would love to hear your thoughts.

Patates me avga (Potatoes and eggs)

2012-03-02T14:52:00.000-08:00

This is a quick and easy recipe that you can whip up in about 15 minutes. I don't know where this originated exactly but I can remember eating this way back when I was a little tacker. As a youngster I always had this with potatoes and eggs but over the years I've modified it by adding other ingredients, such as mushrooms, peppers etc, just as most people do with scrambled eggs. When I made this and took a photo I used mushrooms (I couldn't resist).

Feeds 2

Ingredients:

4 eggs
3 potatoes
salt
pepper

Cut the potatoes into fries and then cut them in half, some people cut them into small cubes.

Fry the potato chips until golden brown.

In a bowl crack 4 eggs and whisk, add salt and pepper.

When chips are almost ready place a fying pan over full heat and warm the pan.

Once chips are ready place in the frying pan and then add the eggs, with a wooden spoon mix the eggs in with the potatoes until egg is cooked.

Pastitsio

2012-02-29T16:37:00.001-08:00

I love this recipe, and one of my favorite Greek recipes, it looks similar to Lasagnia but that's where the differences end. It uses thick spaghetti rather than sheets of pasta. It takes some time to prepare but is well worth it in the end. It takes about 30 mins to prepare and about 45 minutes to cook.

Ingredients:

500g Spagetti No 5
750 g mince meat
2 small onions
4 tbl olive oil
350 mil of cooking sauce
400 ml water
1/2 table spoon salt
1 pinch pepper
1 green pepper
70 gram feta cheese

Bechemal sauce

1 heaped table spoon butter
4 heaped table spoon flour
700 ml milk
3 eggs

Boil pasta in a large pot, add oil and salt. When ready strain over cold water. In the pot where you cooked the spaghetti sprinkle a little oil and place the spaghetti back in and mix oil through.

In a frying pan add the diced onions and cook for a couple of minutes or until soft, add the mince and cook until brown. Add the cooking sauce through, add oregano, pepper, salt and water.
Cook for 25 minutes or until the water has mostly evaporated. As shown below.

Bechemal instructions:

Melt butter in frying pan then add flour and stir until clumpy (will take approximately 2 mins).

Add milk, eggs, salt and stir until mixture begins to boil and thinkens. Turn heat off and leave.

Grease the bottom of baking tray and add half the pasta and spread evenly. Grate half the feta cheese over the pasta.

Then add 4/5 of the mince over the pasta and spread evenly, grate the remainder of the feta.

Add remaining mince in the other half of the pasta in the pot and mix through.

Add this pasta over top of the pasta in the baking tray.

Spread the bechemal sauce over the pasta and spread evenly, place in a preheated oven at 180 degrees.

Cook for about 45 mins or until the bechemal sauce and turned a nice brownish color.

If you've tried this recipe please come back and comment, I'd love to get your feedback with any suggestions you may have on improving the dish or how your recipe turned out. Either way drop me a line. Looking forward to your comments.

Avgolemono (Lemon mixture)

2012-02-25T16:44:00.004-08:00

This mixture is used to add to the chicken soup if you want some tang in your soup. It can be used for other soups which is why I have created a seperate recipe. The Greek word avgolemono is a combination of two words, the first is avgo (egg) and lemoni (lemon). So you only require 2 ingredients for this but enhances the taste of the chicken soup two fold.

Ingredients:

1 egg
2 lemons

Crack the tip of the egg and remove the white into a small bowl. Once all the white is removed whisk the egg white until it becomes fluffly, this could take up to five minutes.

When egg white is ready add the yolk and continue mixing for another 2-3 minutes until completely mixed. You can do this with a mixer but I use good old elbow grease.

Squeeze two lemons in the mixture and it is now ready.

You are now ready to pour the mixture in the chicken soup, please keep in mind, before pouring mixture into the chicken soup that you have previously left to cool for about 15 mins

The trick is to pour the mixture in small amounts and stir requrlarly otherwise the egg will cook and not create the right taste.

Kotosoupa (Chicken soup)

2012-02-23T15:15:00.001-08:00

This recipe is very easy and is one of my favourites during winter. It's very easy to make and takes roughly 30-40 minutes to make.

Feeds 4 people

Ingredients:

Whole chicken cut into approximately 8 pieces.
1 1/2 cups of rice
1/2 table spoon salt
1 teaspoon of pepper
20 ml virgin oil

Place chicken pieces in a large pot of boiling water just enough water to cover the chicken pieces.
Boil until chicken is cooked, a good indicator is when small pieces begin seperating from the bones.
Remove the chicken pieces and strip the meat from the bones.

In the meantime strain the water in the pot with a fine strainer and place back in the pot, add the rice and boil until the rice is cooked.

Add the chicken, salt and pepper and your done.

You can add avgolemono (lemon mixture) which gives the soup a tangy taste which is the way I prefer to have the soup. I will detail how to make this in the next update.

If you've tried this recipe please come back and comment, I'd love to get your feedback with any suggestions you may have on improving the dish or how your recipe turned out. Either way drop me a line. Looking forward to your comments.

Psarosoupa (Fish soup)

2012-02-21T13:54:00.000-08:00

This fish soup is another favourite for the winter months, try and get the flathead or whaterver fish your using as fresh as possible. Also be extra careful in removing all the bones from the flesh.

Feeds 4 people

Ingredients:
1 large flathead (you can use other fish but this is my favourite)
1/2 celery stick diced
2 small carrots diced
3 potatoes cut into mouth size pieces
2 onions chopped into medium to large pieces
3/4 of a cup of rice
2 tablespoons oil

Method:

Place fish into a large pot of boiling water, boil for approximately 20 mins or until meat begins to fall off.

Strain fish broth and place back in the pot.

Add celery, carrots, potatoes, oil and onions into broth.

You will need to remove the meat from the flathead, this is a delicate process and you must be careful to remove all the bones, it's fairly easy with flathead as there a few small bones.

Once meat has been removed add to the pot with the other ingredients.

Boil the soup for about 15 minutes and add the rice, boil for another 25 minutes or until the carrots begin to get soft. Add salt and pepper to taste and your done. Leave to cool for about 15 minutes and serve.

If you've tried this recipe please come back and comment, I'd love to get your feedback with any suggestions you may have on improving the dish or how your recipe turned out. Either way drop me a line. Looking forward to your comments.

Chicken with potatoes (Kota me patates)

2012-02-21T01:19:00.001-08:00

Here's a recipe that's quick to prepare but takes about 1 hour and 45 minutes to cook. I love this one because I can prepare it in the morning and place it in the fridge and place in the oven ahead of time.

Feeds 4 people

4 large potatoes (cut into mouth size pieces)
6-7 pieces of chicken (you can either cut up a whole chicken or use drumsticks)
1/3 cup virgin oil
1 squeezed lemon
1 cup tomato paste
1 cup water
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspon pepper
3/4 tablespoon salt

Place chicken pieces and diced potatoes in a baking tray and distribute evenly.

In a bowl add the tomato paste, oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, oregano and water, mix thoroughly.

Pour mixture over the chicken and potatoes and if required add extra water to almost cover the chicken and potatoes as shown below.

Place in preheated oven at 200 degrees and leave to cook for approximately 1.5 hours or until potatoes are firm. Turn the chicken over after 45 mins so as not to burn the top of them.

Ready to serve...... kali orexi

Greek coffee in 5 easy steps

2012-02-19T19:04:00.000-08:00

Love coffee? Why not try the coffee that's made in most Greek households in Greece and possibly in many countries around the world where expatriat Greek's now live.

Briki

To make this type of coffee you will require a Greek coffee pot called a briki which is shown above.

The instructions below will be enough for one coffee, to increase the number of coffee's you will require a larger briki and double the amounts provided below.

Instructions:

1. Fill a Greek coffee cupswith water and pour into the briki.

2. Place one tea spoon of sugar into the briki.

3. Place one heaped tea spoon of Greek coffee into the briki.

4. Heat briki on low to medium heat, stir for about 20 seconds, does not require much stirring.
    Some people like to stir until the coffee boild but I don't think this is necessary.
    Leave on heat until the coffee begins to boil, turn the heat off just before coffee begins to rise,
    this will take some practise as this is a critical moment. Exactly where you turn the heat off
    can be the difference between a good or excellent coffee. With practise you will get better.

5. Leave for about 20 seconds and then pour into coffee cup.

Now if, after pouring into the cup you don't see a creamy layer you have probably boiled the
coffee for too long, next time, turn the heat off a little earlier. Trial and error is the key here.
I like to leave it cool down before drinking the coffee but this can vary depending on your taste.

You will probably only be able to drink 3/4 of the coffee as the last little bit is very thick and strong.

Trahana (Pasta soup)

2012-02-18T13:00:00.000-08:00

Trahana (Pasta soup)

Great soup served in winter, magnificient with a loaf of fresh bread used to dip into the soup.
Trahana can be made using milk or water, this recipe uses milk. The trahana used to make this
soup can be homemade or bought from a deli. There will be a forthcoming recipe on how to make
the actual trahana but for now you can use the premade trahana.

3 1/2 cup of trahana
1.5 litres of water
3/4 tbl spoon of salt
550 ml of milk
1 tbl spoon of virgin oil

Heat the water in a pot, once boiling, add the trahana and the oil, boil for about 15 mins on medium heat while stirring occassionaly.
Add the milk and heat until it begins to boil, continue boiling for about 3 mins and your done.
Leave to cool for about 15 mins and is now ready to serve.

Kali orexi..

Traditional Greek salad

2012-02-17T14:42:00.000-08:00

Let's start off with an easy recipe that should be served on most tables at dinner time. I know it was in my days growing up, there was always the Greek salad served up where I would break chunks of bread and dip into the salad juices. This would hardly happen nowadays especially when friends are over.

Serves 4

4 medium sized tomatoes
1 large cucumber
1 medium sized onion
1 medium sized green pepper (not hot)
4 large table spoons of virgin oil
20 grams feta cheese
½ pitted Olives cut into half if desired
½ teaspoon oregano
salt and pepper to taste.

In a large bowl cut your tomatoes, cucumber, onion, pepper, crumble the feta cheese with your hands and sprinkle over the salad and then the olives. Sprinkle the oregano and salt and pepper. With a couple of forks toss the salad to mix the ingredients, and there you have it.

Kali orexi