"Red" Giouvarlakia

Few tourists in Greece ever get to know the dishes that make us bow to our "mama's" comfort food.
One of these, is "Giouvarlakia", that is meatballs with rice, either in the form of a soup or with a thick egg-lemon (avgolemono) sauce.
Actually I prefer the second version - that's the way my mum used to cook it - so I like to pay homage to her cooking many times during the winter.
However, I'm such a fun of the dish that I experimented with this summer alternative, using fresh tomato instead of the egg-lemon sauce. The result was a fusion between "giouvarlakia" and "soutzoukakia" which made us all clean our plates with big chunks of freshly baked bread.
I thought you would like this version which is much easier, since it doesn't require the tricky "avgolemono".

- 750 grams of beef mince (or any kind of mince)
- 1 cup of rice, the type you usually buy for soups
- 1 thinly chopped onion
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 of a teaspoon grounded cumin
- 1 crashed garlic clove
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 500 grams finely chopped fresh tomatoes or tomato juice
- 1/2 cup of olive oil
- a pinch of each: grounded pepper, cinnamon, clove
- 1 fresh or dry bay leaf.

In a large bowl, we mix together the minced beef, the rice, the onion, the spices, half the olive oiland the wine. While mixing, add some spoonfuls of water until you have a very soft mixture. Put the bowl in the fridge and let it rest for about 1 hour.
In a large cooking pot we put the rest of the olive oil, 4 cups of water and the tomato and we let come to the boil. Then we add some salt, and the bay leaf and we turn down the temperature to medium. We form small balls with our mixture, the size of a walnut, and we drop them carefully into the simmering sauce.
Cover the pot and let it simmer until the rice is well cooked (about 1 hour). In the meantime you can add some hot water if you thing it is needed.
The final consictency should be that of a thick soup as it will become thicker when it cools. It can be eaten warm or in room temperature, after all that's why I cook it in the summer.
You can also experiment with your favorite spices, either inside the mixture or in the broth.
Finally if you want the original version, don't add tomato in the beginning but when the food is cooked add the "avgolemono" sauce.
You can see my step-by-step tecnique here.

You can also find the recipe on my sister Greek blog here.



Kali orexi!

"Pastitsado" from Corfu

During my many years of "wandering" round Western Greece, I picked up many local recipes which became our favourite Sunday meals.

One of the most appreciated is "Pastitsado", from the island of Corfu. It usually refers to a chicken stew (usually poor old roosters) - "kokoros pastitsado"- served over very large macaroni or penne pasta. However it is also made with veal or beef which do not have to be from the expensive cuts.

There are many recipes in books or on the internet, yet nothing compares to the original flavour at a local house or a taverna. The difference lies on the one hand in the use of local products and on the other hand in the correct balance of herbs and spices. Cloves, allspices and rosemary along with red wine and a bit of vinegar, add to the final distinctive taste.

Today I cooked beef pastitsado but with white rice instead of pasta. It was equally tasty though lighter for our digestive system!

What you need:

- 1 kilo beef meat, in small chunks (If you use a country chicken, have it cut in portions)
- 1/2 cup of olive oil
- 1 full tbsp of butter
- 2 large onions finely chopped
- 2-3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 4 medium size ripe tomatoes chopped (or 400 grms tomato juice)
- salt, pepper (optionally 1 small chili pepper)
- 4 whole cloves, 5 whole allspices, a pinch of fresh rosemary leaves
- 1 tbsp wine vinegar (plain or balsamic)

Heat the olive oil and the butter in a deep casserole. Add the chunks of meat and stir-fry for a few minutes. Add the onions, the garlic, salt, pepper and the spices. Fry for a few minutes, pour in the wine and let it evaporate. Finally add the tomatoes and the vinegar, put on the lid and let it simmer for about one hour and a half. Boil some rice or pasta and serve with some grated cheese on the top.

Bon apetit - ΚΑΛΗ ΟΡΕΞΗ!

Canelloni... no resistance!

They are tasty, they are juicy, they are a staple for every family with children... of all ages.
Yet they are a bit time consuming since they require three different sauces and they leave behind them a heap of dirty pots and pans. That's why I avoid making them so often but when I do, I make the most out of them and double-up the recipe!

For a medium size baking dish and 4 people, we need:

- 500 grams dry canelloni pasta
- 1 egg
- 200 grams grated cheese (whatever you like to use with other types of pasta - I like greek pecorino)

a) the meat sauce
- 750 grams of mince/ground beef or pork
- 500 grams thick tomato juice
- 1 diced onion
- spices, 1/4 tsp of each: ground cinnamon, ground clove, nutmeg, 1 bayleaf
- 3 tbs olive oil
- salt* - peper

b) the tomato sauce
- 500 gr tomato juice
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp dry oregano**
- 1 tsp dry basil**
- 3 tbs olive oil
- salt* - peper
(You can cheat and save time by using 1 jar of ready-made tomato sauce, just check the salt)

c) the white sauce
- 4 tbs butter (50grams)
- 4 tbs flour (50grams)
- 1 lt warm milk
- salt, pepper, ground nutmeg.
(and surely you can cheat again and use a ready-made gratin sauce but perhaps you'll need to add some extra milk to it because it must not be very thick but almost at the same consistency as the tomato sauce)

* salt, well you can adjust this to your liking because we like our food on the salty side, so I use 2 level tsp on everything I cook.

** I use dry herbs in the winter and fresh in the summer, so double the portion if you use fresh herbs. To tell you the truth, however, I find dry oregano by far better than fresh one while the opposite goes for basil.

If you are not tired so far by just reading this, then go on cooking.

Prepare the meat sauce. Put some oil in a large frying pan and sautee the onion. Add the neat and stir for 15 minutes or until the juices are evaporated. Add the tomato juice, 1 large glass of water, the spices, salt, pepper, and let it simmer for another 20 minutes.

Meanwhile in a different saucepan prepare the tomato sauce. Just put everything in it and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Take it off the heat, and prepare the white sauce. On medium heat melt the butter in a pan, take it off the heat and add the flour, stirring continuously with a whisker. Keep stirring and add the milk. Put the pan again on heat, add salt, pepper and the nutmeg. Keep on stirring until it thickens lightly.

By now, hopefully, you have everything ready. So it's time to stuff the pasta. Don't forget to turn on the oven at 180 C. Slightly butter a baking dish. (Mine is big enough to hold all the canelloni from the packet in one layer). In a bowl, beat the egg, add half the cheese and 3 tbs of the white sauce. Pour this mixture over the meat sauce and mix it well. Use a teaspoon to fill each canelloni and put it in the baking dish, forming rows. Pour over firstly the white sauce and on top the tomato sauce. Sprinkle with the other half of the cheese and put it in the oven for about 30 minutes or until it becomes golden brown on top, as you can see in my picture.        Let it stand for 15 minutes and serve. Be sure to engage someone beforehand to wash the dishes, and enjoy!!!!!