Greek recipes blog

Beef stew with cauliflower

You’ll Need: * 1 kg beef, cut in servings
* 1 kg cauliflower
* 2 onions, cut in slices
* 1 cup olive oil
* 2 tomatoes, peeled and cut in small pieces
* 1 cube of vegetable stock
* 2 garlic cloves
* parsley
* Pinch of sugar
* Salt
* Pepper

Procedures :
Use a large saucepan and saute the onions with one cup of olive oil. Add beef and saute in all sides. Add parsley , the cube, salt, pepper, garlic and some water. Let the meat simmer. In the meanwhile heat the cauliflower in hot water. Then, cut it in pieces and add the pieces into the saucepan. Let the meat simmer until tender and all water is absorbed. Add more water if required.

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Beef Casserole with Onions

You’ll Need: * 4 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 small sprig of rosemary
* 1 kg tender beef, cut into large cubes
* 900 ml water
* 2 tablespoons tomato puree
* salt
* black pepper
* 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
* 4-6 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 700 grams small onions (the pickling size), peeled and left whole
* 1 small glass red wine
* 5 cm cinnamon stick
* 1 teaspoon demerara sugar
* 5 grains allspice

Procedures :
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and brown the meat in it. It will produce a lot of moisture but continue until it has all evaporated and the meat starts to turn golden. Slowly pour the vinegar over it and, when the steam subsides, add the wine. Then add all the remaining ingredients except the vegetable oil, onions and sugar, cover and cook slowly for 1 hour or until the meat is almost tender. Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan and add as many onions in one layer as it will take. Sautee them gently for about 15 minutes, shaking and turning them over until they brown lightly. Lift them out with a slotted spoon and spread them over the meat, distributing them evenly. Repeat until all the onions are done. Sprinkle the sugar over the onions, cover and cook very gently for 30 minutes, until the onions are soft but not disintegrating. Do not stir once the onions have been added, but rotate the saucepan occasionally to coat them in the sauce

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Bechamel

You’ll Need: * 4 tablespoons Butter
* 6 tablespoons Flour
* 1 teaspoon Salt
* 1/4 teaspoon pepper
* Dash of Nutmeg
* 2 cups Milk
* (Optional) 2 egg yolks

Procedures :
Melt butter over a low heat; add flour, salt, pepper and nutmeg; stir until well blended. Remove from heat. Gradually stir in milk and return to heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until thick and smooth. Makes 2 cups. With Eggs: When sauce is thick, remove from heat and gradually add 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten, stirring constantly.

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Bean salad

You’ll Need: * 1/2 kg dried beans
* 1 onion, cut in rings
* 1 pepper, cut in stripes
* 2 eggs, boiled and cut in pieces
* 1 tomato, peeled cut in slices and with its seeds removed
* Spoon of finely cut parley
* Black olives
* Pepper
* Oil
* Vinegar or lemon juice

Procedures :
Soak beans in water overnight. Boil them in salted water ans strain them when cooled. Place them in a platter and cover them with onion rings, pepper, parsley, eggs, tomato and some olives. Pour oil over the salad and season with pepper. Sprinkle with vinegar or lemon juice.

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Batter Puffs with Honey and Cinnamon

You’ll Need: # 1 c Boiling water
# 1 ts Baking powder
# 4 tb Butter or margarine
# 4 eggs
# 1/4 ts Salt
# Olive or other vegetable oil
# 1 tb Granulated sugar
# Honey; warmed
# 1/2 ts Grated orange rind
# Ground cinnamon
# 1 c All-purpose flour

Procedures :
In a medium-sized saucepan, combine the boiling water, butter, salt, sugar, and orange rind. Bring to a boil. Meanwhile, sift together the flour and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients all at once to the hot mixture, beating hard with a wooden spoon over medium heat until the mixture forms a compact mass and leaves the sides of the pan. Remove from the heat and let cool for 1 minute. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating hard after each addition; the mixture should be smooth, glossy, and thick. Heat the oil (which should be 2-1/2 to 3 inches deep) almost to the smoking point, then drop the batter by tablespoons into the oil, without crowding, to form puffs. When the puffs surface, turn them to fry on all sides, using tongs, then lift them out, drain off excess oil on absorbent paper. Place on warm platter and keep warm. If using the syrup, boil the syrup ingedients for 5 minutes; spoon the syrup, or warm honey, over the puffs, sprinkle with cinnamon, and serve hot.

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Basil and Feta Cheese Spread

You’ll Need: * 1 lb feta cheese
* 1 cup loosely packed basil leaves
* 1/4 cup chopped chives
* 2-3 cloves garlic
* olive oil

Procedures :
Process basil and and chives in food processor until fine. Add feta and garlic until well mixed. Add enough olive oil to make spreadable. Spread on bread, crostini, or little pizzas, dollop on pasta, or add to soups or vegetables.

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Baleze sweet

You’ll Need: * 6 cups water
* 1 cup niseste flour
* 1 cup sugar
* Rosewater
* Roasted, cleaned almonds, finely chopped.

Procedures :
Boil 5 of the cups of water with the sugar. Dissolve the flour in the sixth cup of water and mix it with the syrup that is boiling. Stir well until the mixture thickens. Add the rosewater. Put the mixture in a baking pan and when it cools dredge the almonds over it. Place the sweet in the fridge. When it cools and becomes more solid cut it in pieces of square size; serve.

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Baklavas with Almonds (Bakalvas me Ameegdhalo)

You’ll Need: for the baklava

# 2 lb. 4oz. (1 kilo) sheets of fillo pastry
# 2 lb. 4 oz. (1 kilo) crushed almonds
# 2 tbsps. ground cinnamon and clove
# 15 fl. oz. (400g) buttermilk

for the syrup

# 4 lbs. 4oz. (2 kilos) sugar
# 2 pints (40 fl. oz) water
# vanilla
# juice of one lemon

Procedures :
# Lightly brush a baking tin with buttermilk # In a bowl mix the crushed almonds with the cinnamon and cloves # Spread the sheets of fillo pastry and brush each sheet with a coating of buttermilk # Put a layer of 3 sheets of pastry on to the baking tin and sprinkle the top with the crushed almond mixture # Continue laying alternate layers of pastry and almonds in the tin leaving 4 sheets of pastry without any cinnamon mixture for the topping # Brush the top with buttermilk and, using a sharp knife, mark the baklava into serving pieces # Bake in a pre-heated oven 350F, Gas Mark 4, 180C for 60-70 minutes # In a large saucepan put the sugar, water, lemon juice and a little vanilla # Bring to the boil and simmer for about 10 minutes adding water if the syrup is too thick # Remove baklavas from the oven, cool a little, and pour syrup over it # When sufficiently cool, cut out the pieces that were marked before baking

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Baklava Rolls

You’ll Need: # 1/2 lb Walnuts, finely chopped
# 2 1/2 tb Sugar
# 1/2 ts cinnamon
# 1/8 ts Ground Cloves
# 1 lb phyllo Dough
# 3/4 lb Unsalted Butter, melted
Syrup:
# 1 1/2 c Water
# 1 cinnamon Stick
# 1 1/2 c Sugar
# 2 ts lemon Juice
# 1/2 c Honey

Procedures :
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix first four ingredients together for filling. Combine syrup ingredients and cook until sugar dissolves and mixture turns syrupy. Set aside to cool. Remove cinnamon stick before using. Unfold phyllo. Using a sharp knife, carefully cut phyllo sheets crosswise, into thirds. Cover phyllo not being used with a barely damp towel. Using two pieces of phyllo – phyllo sheets are so thin they must be doubled – and keeping narrow ends towards you, brush with butter. Place 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons filling 1/4 inch from end nearest you, to within 1/4 inch of sides. Fold long sides in 1/4 inch. Fold over bottom to cover filling. Place a clean pencil on top of fold and roll into a cigar-like cylinder. Push both ends toward center and remove pencil. Place roll on cookie sheet and generously brush with butter. Repeat with remaining filling and phyllo. Bake 25 minutes or until golden brown. Dip hot rolls into cooled syrup – kitchen tongs work well for this. Place onto a platter to cool. Cover and refrigerate. Can be frozen.

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Baked vegetables

You’ll Need: * 4 medium sized zucchini
* 4 medium eggplants
* 2 onions
* 4-6 potatoes
* 2 green peppers
* 4-6 tomatoes
* parsley
* olive oil
* salt
* pepper

Procedures :
Clean and chop the eggplants, the zucchini, the peppers and the potatoes in pieces. Mash the tomatoes and chop the onions. Add all the above in a deep pan, add salt, pepper, parsley and olive oil and bake for about 1 1/2 hr in medium oven (120 C).

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