Ancient Fruit Salad

INGREDIENTS

* 1 melon
* 2 peaches
* 2 pears
* 1 bunch of grapes
* 2 glasses Mosxato wine
* 1/2 cup peeled and chopped almonds
* 1/2 cup golden grapes
* 1/2 cup honey

METHOD

Cut the melon in half and carefully remove the flesh and cut into small pieces. Mix the melon with the rest of the cut fruit, the almonds and the grapes and fill the melon skins with this mixture. On a low heat, warm the wine with the honey mixing well. Pour this mixture over the fruit. Before serving, the fruit should be put in the refridgerator for an hour.

Baked Spinach w/ 3 Cheeses

The Filling:
1 tablespoon Butter
2 lbs. Ground Beef
1 small, finely chopped Onion
1 clove Garlic
2 teaspoons Salt
1/2 teaspoon Pepper
chopped Parsley
1/2 cup White Wine
2-3 peeled and diced or Tomatoes
1 lb. can Tomatoes
1 egg whites Eggs

The Sauce:
1/2 cup Butter
3/4 cup Flour
4 hot cups Milk
Salt
Pepper
Nutmeg
1 cup grated (or Parmesan) Kefalotiri Cheese
2 and 2 egg yolks Eggs
1 lb. Macaroni
1 tablespoon Salt
2 tablespoons Butter
1 cup grated (or Parmesan) Kefalotiri Cheese

For the filling: Heat the Butter in a large frying pan and saute the ground beef and onion until slightly browned. Add remaining ingredients, except egg white, cover and cook over a medium heat; allow to cool and add egg whites. To make the sauce: Melt the Butter in a heavy saucepan, add the flour and cook stirring constanly for 1 minute. Add the milk all at once, and stir until the sauce is smooth. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese, eggs and egg yolks. Cook the macaroni in salted boiling water until soft but firm. Drain and return to the pan. Add the Butter. Butter a baking pan and put in half the macaroni. Sprinkle with cheese and cover with the meat filling. Top with remaining macaroni. Sprinkle with cheese and cover with the sauce. Sprinkle top with the rest of the cheese and cook in a moderate oven for about 45 minutes or until golden brown. Leave for 20 minutes then cut into square pieces and serve.

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BAKLAVA

Here's a Baklava recipe that uses standard measurements. The trickiest part is coping with the filo dough, which can be bought frozen in many markets. A decent substitute would be frozen strudel dough. I really don't recommend making your own.

1 pound unsalted (sweet) butter, melted (It really has to be butter, not a substitute)
1 pound filo dough sheets
1.5 pounds (24 ounces) chopped blanched almonds
1 pound shelled walnuts
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice or cloves

Thaw the filo before starting. Melt the butter. Grind or chop together the walnuts and almonds, and mix together with the cinnamon, allspice or cloves, and sugar. Using a rectangular pan, preferably a 9x13x2, brush the pan with the melted butter. Separate a sheet of the thawed filo. Handling it as little as possible, lay a sheet in the bottom of the pan. Brush it with butter. Fold it over if necessary to fit in the pan. Do this until you have about 10-12 layers. Then put a layer of the nuts and spices mixture on top of the sheet of filo, cover with a other sheet of filo, paint that with butter, and continue in this manner until you've used all of your filling. Top with about an equal amount of the filo sheets as you used for the bottom. If you're a little short or a little over, don't worry about it. Too many layers can get a bit gummy, however. Be sure each sheet is brushed with butter. Cut across the completed baklava with a sharp knife, into triangles or diamonds. Bake at 350 for about an hour, or until evenly browned on top - think a nice golden color like some of the sunsets you saw in Greece. Pour the cooled syrup (recipe below) over it and let it sit before serving. If you can bear to. If you are like me, by the end of this I have filo dough in my hair and nuts stuck to me with honey syrup. Syrup 2 cups honey (did you bring back any from Greece? shame on you if you didn't!) 2 cups water 2 cups sugar 2 cinnamon sticks (or 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon) 1 teaspoon grated orange peel (or to taste) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or to taste) (Optional) Simmer together the syrup ingredients for ten minutes and strain. Set aside. A good time to make this is just after you've put the baklava into the oven.

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BOILED OCTOPUS

1 weighing about 3 pounds Octopus
4 cups Water
3 cloves garlic, crushed Garlic
3/4 cup Olive Oil
1/4 cup Vinegar
as desired Pepper
chopped Parsley

Clean the octopus and put into a pan; add water and cook it over a moderate heat until it becomes red and tender. Drain, peel off the skin, and cut into small pieces. Mix the garlic, olive oil, vinegar, pepper and parsley. Pour dressing over the octopus. Will keep covered in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.

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Baked Macaroni With Ground Beef -- Pasticcio

The Filling:
1 tablespoon Butter
2 lbs. Ground Beef
1 small, finely chopped Onion
1 clove Garlic
2 teaspoons Salt
1/2 teaspoon Pepper
chopped Parsley
1/2 cup White Wine
2-3 peeled and diced or Tomatoes
1 lb. can Tomatoes
1 egg whites Eggs

The Sauce:
1/2 cup Butter
3/4 cup Flour
4 hot cups Milk
Salt
Pepper
Nutmeg
1 cup grated (or Parmesan) Kefalotiri Cheese
2 and 2 egg yolks Eggs
1 lb. Macaroni
1 tablespoon Salt
2 tablespoons Butter
1 cup grated (or Parmesan) Kefalotiri Cheese

For the filling: Heat the Butter in a large frying pan and saute the ground beef and onion until slightly browned. Add remaining ingredients, except egg white, cover and cook over a medium heat; allow to cool and add egg whites. To make the sauce: Melt the Butter in a heavy saucepan, add the flour and cook stirring constantly for 1 minute. Add the milk all at once, and stir until the sauce is smooth. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese, eggs and egg yolks. Cook the macaroni in salted boiling water until soft but firm. Drain and return to the pan. Add the Butter. Butter a baking pan and put in half the macaroni. Sprinkle with cheese and cover with the meat filling. Top with remaining macaroni. Sprinkle with cheese and cover with the sauce. Sprinkle top with the rest of the cheese and cook in a moderate oven for about 45 minutes or until golden brown. Leave for 20 minutes then cut into square pieces and serve.

CHEESE PASTRY TIROPITAKIA

1/2 lb. Feta Cheese
1 cup cup Kefalotiri Cheese
Parmesan Cheese
chopped chopped Parsley
2 Eggs
Pepper
1/2 cup, melted Butter
1 1/2 lbs. Phyllo (pastry sheets)

Crumble or mash the Feta Cheese with a fork. Add the grated cheese, parsley, eggs and pepper. Cut pastry sheets in strips about 2x12 inches. Stack them one on top of the other to prevent from drying. Brush each strip with melted butter, put one teaspoon of the filling on one end of a strip and fold over one corner to make a triangle. Continue folding pastry strip from side to side in the shape of a triangle until the entire pastry strip covers the filling. Proceed in this manner with pastry strips and filling until all are used. Put "tiropitakia" on a buttered baking sheet, brush with melted butter and bake in a moderate oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve hot. Makes about 4 dozen.

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CHEESE PIE - TIROPITA

6 tablespoons Butter
8 tablespoons Flour
2 cups Milk
1 teaspoon Salt
dash Nutmeg
1 lb. Feta Cheese
1 cup grated (or Parmesan) Kefalotiri Cheese
4 Eggs
chopped Parsley
3/4 lb. Filo (pastry sheets)
3/4 cup melted Butter

Melt butter in small saucepan over low heat. Blend in flour until smooth. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly with wire whisk or wooden spoon. Add salt and nutmeg, stirring occasionally, simmer for 5 minutes, or until white sauce is thick. Mash Feta Cheese with a fork and combine with the grated cheese, well beaten eggs, parsley and white sauce. Butter a 9X13 inch baking pan. Line with half the pastry sheets, brushing each sheet with butter, and letting them come up the sides of the pan. Pour in the cheese filling and cover with the remaining pastry sheets brushing each sheet with butter. Brush top with remaining butter and, with a sharp knife, score the top sheets into strips about 3 inches wide from one end of the pan to the other. Bake in a moderate oven until golden, about 45 minutes. Cut into squares and serve hot.

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Chicken salad tossed with Gaea sweet pepper & goat cheese spread

4 cups cooked, shredded chicken
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
3 Tbs "Gaea P.D.O. Sitia Extra Virgin Olive Oil"
2 jars "Gaea Sweet Pepper & Goat Cheese Spread"
several s smoked hot pepper sauce (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
½ cup chopped fresh parsley
4-6 lettuce leaves for garnish

Sautee the onion and garlic in 1 tablespoon Gaea P.D.O. Sitia Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Combine the chicken with onion-garlic mixture and all remaining ingredients. Serve over lettuce leaves.

Dolmadakia Me Rizi - Stuffed Grapevine Leaves

1 cup Olive Oil
1 lb. chopped Onion
1 cup uncooked Rice
2 tablespoons Dill
1 cup hot cup hot Water
2 tablespoons (optional) Pine Nuts
1 tablespoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Pepper
50 to 60 fresh or 1 15oz. can Grapevine Leaves
1 Lemon

Heat 1/2 cup olive oil, in a frying pan and saute the onions until soft. Add rice and cook, covered, for 5 minutes. Add all remaining ingredients, except grapevine leaves, lemon and 1/2 cup olive oil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Cool. Rinse the grapevine leaves in cold water. If fresh, drop them in boiling water and boil for 3 minutes. Strain and rinse in cold water. In the center of each leaf, shiny surface of leaf down-wards, place a heaped teaspoon of the filling. Fold ends of leaf over the filling and roll it up. (Do not roll too tightly as the rice will swell). Cover the bottom of a shallow saucepan with vine leaves and place "dolmadakia" side by side in layers. Sprinkle with lemon juice, add 1/2 cup olive oil and 1 1/2 cups hot water. Place a plate over "dolmadakia" to prevent them from opening, cover and simmer over a low heat for about 1 hour. Allow to cool in the saucepan. Serve them as a cold entree.

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EGG & LEMON FISH SOUP - PSAROSOUPA AVGOLEMONO

3 1/2 lbs. To boil Fish
2 Eggs
2 Lemon
2 -3 Carrots
2 -3 Onion
2 -3 stalks Celery
3/4 cup Olive Oil
Rice
Salt
Pepper

Clean and wash the fish, salt and pepper it then drain. Put enough water to boil the fish in a pot with onions, carrots and celery. Bring to a boil. Cook for 45 minutes, then add the fish and the oil. When the fish had cooked, remove and lay on a platter. Strain the broth through a colander and put it again in the pot. Add enough rice (1 heaping tablespoon for each serving) and stir with a fork. When the rice has cooked, beat 2 eggs, slowly adding the juice of 1-2 lemons and some broth from the pot and pour the mixture in the pot, stirring constantly, over a low fire. Remove the soup from the fire and serve. Serve the fish separately.

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Egg and Lemon Sauce

Ingredients:

* 1-2 cups broth from soup or liquid from entree
* 2 eggs
* Juice of one lemon
* a little flour
 

Preparation:
Mix the flour with the lemon juice. Beat the eggs in a bowl. When they are well beat, add the lemon and flour mix (keep beating). Add the broth or other liquid little by little while you keep beating. Pour the egg and lemon sauce in the pot of soup or food and stir well. Notes: Remove the pot from the heat before pouring in the egg lemon sauce. The food must be hot when you pour the sauce in, but it should not keep boiling. If you would like the sauce to be thinner, omit the flour.

Stuffed Grapevine Leaves -- Dolmadakia Me Rizi

1 cup Olive Oil
1 lb. chopped Onion
1 cup uncooked Rice
2 tablespoons Dill
1 cup hot cup hot Water
2 tablespoons (optional) Pine Nuts
1 tablespoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Pepper
50 to 60 fresh or 1 15oz. can Grapevine Leaves
1 Lemon

Heat 1/2 cup olive oil, in a frying pan and saute the onions until soft. Add rice and cook, covered, for 5 minutes. Add all remaining ingredients, except grapevine leaves, lemon and 1/2 cup olive oil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Cool. Rinse the grapevine leaves in cold water. If fresh, drop them in boiling water and boil for 3 minutes. Strain and rinse in cold water. In the center of each leaf, shiny surface of leaf down-wards, place a heaped teaspoon of the filling. Fold ends of leaf over the filling and roll it up. (Do not roll too tightly as the rice will swell). Cover the bottom of a shallow saucepan with vine leaves and place "dolmadakia" side by side in layers. Sprinkle with lemon juice, add 1/2 cup olive oil and 1 1/2 cups hot water. Place a plate over "dolmadakia" to prevent them from opening, cover and simmer over a low heat for about 1 hour. Allow to cool in the saucepan. Serve them as a cold entree.

Hot Chocolate-Coffee-Lemon Cake

Chocolate coffee mix
500 grams of melted chocolate
150 grams of butter
Yolk from 15 eggs whipped with 150 grams of sugar
Egg white meringue from the whites of 15 eggs
3 teaspoons baking powder
5 teaspoons Nescafe
A dash of Vanilla

Lemon cake mix
100 grams of egg yolk
170 grams of sugar
85 grams dairy creamer
The rind from 3 lemons
130 grams of flour
½ teaspoon of baking powder
50 grams of hot, quality butter

Mix together the chocolate with the butter; add the egg yolks with the sugar, and then the flour and finally the meringue and the remaining ingredients gently mixing by hand.Leave it to cool off.  Blanch the sugar with the egg yolk and mix in the remaining ingredients.Butter and sugar the sides of a coffee or tea cup or a soufflé pan evenly.Fill 2/4 of the pan or cup with chocolate-coffee mix, ¼ with lemon mix and leave ¼ empty so that the cake can rise.  Bake at 180˚ for 12 minutes if you are using a large tea cup. (The smaller the pan or cup, the less amount of baking time needed).
Be careful that your lemon cake has a well-baked crust, whereas the chocolate cake should be gooey in the middle. Serve with a ball of vanilla ice-cream as topping!

Homus Dip

200 grams chick-peas
1 tsp soda
200 ml sesame pulp (approximately 1 cup)
salt
3 cloves of garlic
juice of 2 lemons
paprika
olive oil

Optionally
60 grams pinecones
2 Tbs butter
1 spicy sausage

Leave the chick-peas to soak in 3 cups of water and soda for a night. This helps them soften and reduces cooking time. Rinse them thoroughly and place them in a pan with cold water. Once they start to boil, reduce the heat, put lid on and leave them to simmer for approximately 1 ½ hours or until soft and tender. Drain the chick-peas and keep a little of the water. Mash the chick-peas in a blender or other food processor adding the sesame pulp. Add half the lemon juice and taste. Season with salt, add the garlic and beat the mixture until smooth. Add lemon juice and salt to your liking. If the humus is a bit thick you can thin it with some of the water you have kept. Optional: Sauté the pinecones with a bit of butter until they turn golden and garnish the humus with them. Pour the melted butter on top, add a little olive oil and sprinkle with paprika. Alternatively, you can sauté the sausage, cut it in thin slices and serve it with the humus.

Koulouria Yianiotika

Ingredience:
1 cup Butter
1 1/2 cup Sugar
6 Eggs
3/4 oz Bicarbonate of Ammonia
2 lbs Flour
Orange Flower Water
Confectioners Sugar

Method:
Cream the butter and gradually add the sugar. Beat the mixture until light and fluffy. Beat the eggs with bicarbonate of ammonia. Add to the butter mixture. Then add flour and knead dough until smooth. Shape pieces of dough into pencil like strips (10 inches long and 1/2 inch thick) by rolling with fingers or floured board. Make the ends thinner and pinch them together to form a loop. On the ring make slanted slits at 1 inch intervals. Put cakes on a buttered baking sheet. Bake in a moderate oven for about 18 minutes. Sprinkle with orange flower water and dip in confectioners sugar. Makes about 36.

Mousaka

1 1/2 lb. Potatoes
1 cup Olive Oil
1 1/2 lbs. Ground Beef
1 fnely chopped Onion
1 minced Garlic
1 1/2 lb. Aubergines
2 tablespoons Butter
3 peeled and chopped Tomatoes
2 teaspoons Salt
dash of Pepper
2 tablespoons, toasted Breadcrumbs
3 Eggs
Parsley
Bechamel Sauce
1/2 lb. Cottage Cheese
1/2 cup Kefalotiri Cheese

Cut aubergines into 1/3 inch slices. Heat oil in a large frying pan and fry aubergine slices a few at a time, until slightly browned. Do the same with the potatoes. Saute the meaat, onion, and garlic in the butter. Add tomatoes, salt and pepper. Cover and cook, over a low heat, for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and add breadcrumbs, 1 beaten egg and chopped parsley. Prepare bechamel sauce; add remaining eggs and cheeses. Butter a baking dish and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Put one layer of potatoes into the baking dish. Cover with half the meat mixture. Alternate aubergine and meat mixture. Top with bechamel sauce and bake.

Skordalia

Ingredients:
1 lb of potatoes
10 to 12 cells of garlic
some salt and pepper
1-2 spoons of vinegar
1 cup of olive oil

Preparation:

Boil the potatoes and mash them while they are still hot. Crush the garlic to turn it into puree. Add the garlic puree to the mashed potatoes along with the vinegar, the salt and the pepper, and keep mixing it while adding the olive oil one spoon at a time. Work the mix to a smooth texture. A variation is made by using bread instead of potatoes. The bread must be stale. Soak it in water and then squeeze the water out.
 

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Spinach Pie -- Spanakopita

3 1/2 lbs. Spinach
Salt
Olive Oil
5 chopped Chives
3/4 lbs. Feta Cheese
2-3 beaten Eggs
chopped Parsley
chopped Dill
Pepper

Wash the spinach and chop it finely. Add 1 tablespoon Salt and rub it with the hands. Leave for an hour. Squeeze it well. Add 1/3 cup Olive Oil, oil, the onions, the Feta Cheese crumbled, eggs, parsley, dill and pepper. Take a buttered baking pan and line with one pastry sheet. Brush it liberally with oil. Add 6 more pastry sheets, brushing each with oil, and let them come up the sides of the pan. Spread the spinach filling evenly and cover with 6 more pastry sheets, brushing each with oil. Brush the top with oil and score the top three sheets into 3 inch strips from one end of the pan to the other. Sprinkle the top with water, to prevent the pastry sheets from curling upwards. Bake the spinach pie in a moderate oven for 40-45 minutes. Cool slightly, cut into squares and serve either hot or cold. Make about 20 pieces.

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Stuffed Tomatoes -- Yemistes

10 -12 Tomatoes
2 tablespoons Sugar
1 cup Butter
1 finely chopped Onion
1/2 cup Rice
chopped Parsley
and pepper Salt
1/2 teaspoon (optional) Cinnamon
Breadcrumbs

Slice a piece from the top of each tomato and remove the pulp with a teaspoon. Sieve the pulp and set aside. Arrange tomatoes in a baking pan and sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon sugar into each one. Heat 1/2 cup butter in a frying pan and saute onion until soft. Add ground beef and stir for a few minutes. Add rice, parsley, salt, pepper, cinnamon, and 1 cup tomato pulp. Cover and cook over low heat for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Fill tomatoes, leaving room for the rice to swell and replace tops. Pour on remaining butter (melted) and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Pour 1 cup tomato pulp in the bottom of the pan; bake in moderate oven for about 1 1/2 hours. Note: You may stuff green peppers with the same stuffing and bake with the tomatoes.

Tzatziki Dip