Spicy Hot Cheese Dip

Τυροκαυτερή - Spicy Hot Cheese Dip

Spicy hot and cool at the same time, this dip is a perfect company to roast or grilled meat. You can order it at almost any "taverna" around the country and its color or "heat" depends on the chef. Personally I prefer the Northern Greek version made with roasted red Florina peppers. And I use only one of those almighty chillies. 😛

200 grams Feta cheese or some other crumbly goat cheese
100 grams "anthotyro" or ricotta cheese
1 chilli pepper
1 green and one red bell peppers (or two roasted red peppers from a jar)
5 tbs olive oil
1 tbs vinegar

If you use fresh peppers, put them in a bake dish and roast them until they become brown-black. Put them in a bowl, cover with cling-film and let them rest for 20 minutes. This way it will be much easier to peel them and de-seed them.
Put all the ingredients in a food processor, push the button and voila!, stop when you like the texture of the mix. Some people prefer it more crumbly while I prefer it more smooth. Check the salt and the vinegar and put in the fridge at least for 30 minutes before serving.

Enjoy! Kali Orexi!

Stuffed vine leaves "Dolmadakia"

Stuffed vine leaves with ground beef and rice

It is a different flavor. It is true that not everyone likes them, especially if your first try is with preserved vine leaves which sometimes are very tough and leave the impression that chew a package along with its string!
But the fresh leaves are tender and melt in your mouth. Their sour taste raises the usually indifferent ground beef and make them memorable.
For a few days a year, April and May, when I find fresh leaves in the market, I wash, drain and put them in the freezer. From there directly to scalding and I have fresh leaves for another three months at least. I like to stuff them with a mixture of ground beef and rice but there is also the vegetarian alternative, only with rice.
For 4 people we need:250 grams of grape leaves
1 large onion, chopped1 1/2 cup of olive oil 1 cup of rice300 grams of ground beef1 shot of ouzo (optional)1 cup warm watersalt, pepper, a handful of fresh mint, choppedthe juice of a large lemon
Wash the leaves and add little by little in salted boiling water. Let stand 3 minutes, then put into a bowl with cold water. Once you finish the process put them in a colander until you prepare the filling.
In a small bowl put the minced meat, onion, rice, 1/2 cup oil, mint, salt, pepper and ouzo. Mix to make a mixture soft enough, and if necessary add a little water.
With a spoon take a bit stuffing and place on the base of the leaf. Fold both ends and then wrap them in a 
roll. The truth is that at the beginning it needs a little effort to get down to the point but after the 4th or 5th dolmadaki you'll have no problem.
We throw the remaining oil to the pot and place each dolmadaki in concentric circles from the outside to the center. Depending on our pot we will make one or two layers.
Sprinkle with a little more oil to the surface and cover into the pot with a plate upside down. This will help to keep them firmly in place and not unfold with cooking. Add enough hot water to reach the middle of the dish, cover the pot and simmer for about half an hour.
Once ready, remove from heat and pour the lemon juice. Cover again and leave to cool completely. So it is better to start cooking early.
We can accompany with extra egg-lemon sauce or even with tzatziki.
Good appetite.

You can find the recipe in Greek here.
 

Marinated Salted Anchovies

I'm doing my best with the last anchovies of the fall, before their price climbs again to unreachable heights.
I pull off  the intestines from the ancovies and the central fishbone. I put the fillets in layers in a shallow bowl and in between I sprinkle salt and vinegar. I let them rest for 24 hours in my fridge, and then put them in a strainer. Finally (in a plastic container) I make beautiful layers of anchovies, olive oil, finely chopped garlic, parsley and chilli pepper.
They keep well in my fridge for about a month.
I usually serve them as a meze for ouzo or tsipouro, bu they also accompany wonderfully winter soups with legumes such as beans (fasolada) or lentils fakes)!

Seftalies (Σεφταλιές) from Cyprus

Seftalies

 

It's a quite simple recipe, just burghers wrapped in caul of fat. Half a teaspoon of cinnamon powder gives that extra kick in the mix. The size varies from burghers to meatballs but I prefer the the latter since the feeling of the fat is minimum. The best option is to grill them in your BBQ, but yesterday it was a rainy day here, so I put them under the grill in my oven ant they were equally great. The caul of fat I had was rather small, so I made small meatballs with the rest of the stuffing.

Now, the ingredients:

- 750 grams mince (I used 500 grams lamb ans 250 beef, but you can also use pork)
- 1 large onion
- half a loaf stale bread, without the crust, soaked in water and then squizzed
- 1 bunch of parsley
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
- 2 level tsp salt
- caul of fat

caul of fat

Put the mince in mixing bowl.
Add the bread, the onion and the parsley finely chopped, the egg, salt, pepper and the cinammon.
Mix well and let it rest in the fridge for half an hour.

Take the coul of fat and put it in a bowl with tiepid water and two tablespoons of wine vinegar.
Rinse it and strain it wit a clean kitchen towel.
Put it on your working surface and cut strips of 8 cm in diameter.

Take a small quantity of your stuffing and wrap it with the caul of fat, just as you would with spring rolls.

Grill them until the fat gets a golden brown colour and serve them with fried potatoes (This time of year we have plenty of Cypriot potatoes) and a green salad.

We like finely chopped lettuce with spring onions and dill, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and wine vinegar.

If you want to be more authentic, serve also some fried haloumi cheese.

Good Morning Cyprus!

Melitzanosalata - Eggplant dip

This is a specialty from Epirus, in Northwestern Greece. There are many varieties of this dip around Greece and there is also a manufactured version which uses mayonnaise. The actual recipe, however, was created as an alternative for the fasting days during the Great Lent (the forty days before Easter) when the diet must be strictly vegetarian. What makes this recipe special is not that much the eggplant per se, but the "tahini", the sesame puree, which enhances the flavor and makes it more intense. There is also a different version which instead of tahini uses roasted ground almonds. It's just a matter of taste and all you have is to experiment yourselves. It's an ideal mezes and accompanies ouzo and tsipouro perfectly.

You'll need:

• 1 kilo of large round eggplants
• 2 large onions
• 2 medium lemons (the juice)
• 100-150 grams extra virgin olive oil
• 200 grams tahini (sesame puree)
• 100 grams dry breadcrumbs
• some chopped parsley
• salt, pepper

Put the eggplants whole in a baking dish and roast them in the oven for 30 minutes or until their skin is slightly burnt. Take them out off the oven, put them in a bowl, cover them with cling film and let them cool down for about 10 minutes. This way it will be much easier to peel them.
Put the flesh of the eggplant in a food proccessor, add the salt, peper, parsley and onion. Mix them for 1 minute, then add 1/3 of the olive oil and 1/3 of the lemon juice. Mix again for two minutes, add the rest of the oil and the lemon. Pour the sesame puree in the mixture, in small doses, making sure that the mix is getting homogeneous. Finally add as many breadcrumbs as you think it needs to become firm. Taste for salt and peper and put in the fridge for an hour. As with all mixtures, this will help the flavors to develop.

Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and serve with toasted rustic bread!

Good Apetite and have a Nice Great Lent! Kali orexi kai Kali Sarakosti!

Avgotaraho

Avgotaraho = A Taste with… History. 

Avgotaraho has been considered a delicacy since the era of the Pharaohs and it was an important element in the Ancient Greek diet. Its value was also known in Byzantine times, while nowadays it occupies a prominent place among gourmet products. 
A delicacy of cured Grey Mullet Roe. Natural without preservatives, with high nutritional value and a pleasant long-lasting aftertaste. 
Produced exclusively from Grey Mullet Roe, recognized as the best roe for Avgotaraho production. 
Standardized production techniques properly balance the salting and drying processes to deliver higher moisture and lower sodium in the final product. It is coated by natural bee’s wax, which sufficiently preserves the product and its delicate taste during its shelf life, despite the low sodium content. It constitutes a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, which reinforce body health by acting positively on the cardiovascular system and by strengthening the immune system.

Tzatziki, the Greek weapon-answer to the Twilight.

Tell me, which vampire could resist this garlic-fused greek bomb called tzatziki? As long as your breath is lightly (or heavily!!!) scented with the delightful fragrance of this garlic sauce, you can sleep calmly, unless you really want to be bitten by a blood-thirsty creature of the night.

In the real world now, Greek souvlaki is nothing without tzatziki, and if you share this passion for greek food with your potential boyfriend, then there won’t be any trouble, since neither of you would detect the garlicky smell.

Tzatziki is also very easy to make at home but since it is made of raw ingredients you have to be sure that they are of the best quality. Extra virgin olive oil, thick strained greek yogurt, organic and juicy cucumbers and red wine vinegar. You can use fresh garlic cloves but if you like a milder version which holds the flavor but not the heat, you can use garlic powder.

The quantities vary according to your taste but to start with, 500 grams of yogurt, a large cucumber and 2-3 garlic cloves are just fine.

You have to peel and coarsely grind* the cucumber. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and let it strain in a drainer for about an hour. Then squeeze it to get rid of the extra water and it is ready to mix. In a big bowl add the yogurt, the cucumber, the garlic cloves mashed or very thinly chopped, 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon of vinegar. Mix them gently and then taste for salt, because the cucumber has already been salted. Experiment with the quantity of olive oil and vinegar (you can start with 4 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of vinegar)  until you come up with a result that you really like. Don’t add more garlic. The dip must remain in your refrigerator in an airtight container (for obvious reasons) for at least one hour before the flavors are developed.

For more authenticity, when you are ready to serve it, just drizzle it with some olive oil and decorate the center with a Kalamata olive.

*Sometimes, especially when the cucumber is very juicy, I prefer to scoop the seeds out and dice it instead of grind it. This way it keeps its moisture and it adds a crunchy feeling to the dip.

 Finally, as much as I admire Jamie Oliver, NO, dear Jamie, we don't add dry oregano in the mixture. Maybe, just maybe, some dill!