Phyllo and Sesame Pies

Looking for something simple, sweet, light and crunchy?  Then these sesame pies or crescents will definitely satisfy all those urges. Similar to baklavas and typical of Greek sweets they are doused with a simple syrup when they come out of the oven.  Sweets made with phyllo pastry are some of my favourites in Greek cooking.  To me they represent a time of celebration and family gatherings.  You may even call it “sweet comfort eating”.

I made a few adjustments to the original recipe, especially the amount of sugar that was required for the sugar syrup. The rest is easy.  Some store bought phyllo, ground sesame seeds, brown sugar and a few spices.  And for all you good people fasting out there these are also Lent friendly.  I  also opted to brush the sheets with Greek olive oil instead of butter.  Enjoy these for morning or afternoon tea with a lovely cup of Greek coffee.  They are really delicious!

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Lentil Soup-”Fakes”

Souvlaki For The Soul

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HomeAbout MeArchivesPhotographyContact MeCOPYRIGHT & DISCLOSUREPersonalPlacesRecipesGreek FoodReviewsSubscribeLentil Soup-”Fakes”by Peter G on March 12, 2010

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Braised Okra

Today I’m adding another dish to my stable of Greek recipes.   or “bamies” as we say in Greek (pronounced bum-yes) is a wonderful, tasty vegetarian dish.  Truth be told, I was never a fan of okra.  Especially, whilst growing up.  I know it seems like I keep on repeating myself  about particular foods, but I learnt to appreciate it more in my later years.  I had tried it in an “authentic” gumbo in the United States-thought it wasn’t so bad and decided to give the Greek version another go.

This is a very simple dish to prepare requiring a few ingredients.  It belongs to the “ladera” (pronounced la-the-ra) family of dishes which translates as dishes cooked in an olive oil  based sauce (the Greek word for oil is “lathi”).  These dishes are almost always vegetarian and usually include garlic and tomatoes.  They are so tasty and the sauce that is created is perfect for mopping up with plenty of crusty bread.  There is something really magical about using olive oil to braise vegetables in this manner.  I also love green beans prepared this way and will be featuring that recipe in the coming winter months.   is also Lent friendly and suitable for those who are fasting during the lead up to Easter.

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Green Beans with Bacon and Shallots

HomeAboutRecipe IndexPantrythis cook’s toolsjump to navigationGreen Beans with Bacon and ShallotsFebruary 25, 2010Posted by elly in vegetables.
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I’m a firm believer that a lot of people who claim not to like vegetables just haven’t had them prepared in a good way.  Well, not necessarily in a good way, since that’s all subjective, but in a way that the is pleasing to that person’s palate.  Many people steam their vegetables, and that’s really great if you like them that way because it’s healthy and easy.  But me? No way. I am not a steamed veggie kinda gal. I mean sure, steaming some spinach before tossing it with pasta is ok, but just to have a side of steamed peas or something? Nuh uh. I need some flavor, some texture, some…well, fat, usually.  My favorite way to prepare vegetables is by roasting.  This is just as easy as steaming and the results are amazing.  Toss with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and roast anything from brussels sprouts to zucchini to green beans to asparagus.

But, every once in a while, I want something a little different and maybe a little more indulgent without being TOO over the top bad for you.  These are green veggies, of course—just like I’m not one for steaming, I’m not really one for coating them in cheese sauce, either. As good as that may be. :-)

While I love roasting green beans, I also really enjoy them blanched and then tossed with a little oil or butter, usually some garlic, and occasionally some walnuts or pine nuts.  Blanching gets green beans just tender enough while retaining that gorgeous bright green color.  You’ll never get that color with frozen or canned green beans.  Add a little bacon to blanched green beans and really, what could go wrong?

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Koukkia Kounnes (Fava Bean Stew)

HomeAboutRecipe IndexPantrythis cook’s toolsjump to navigationKoukkia Kounnes (Fava Bean Stew)March 4, 2010Posted by elly in beans and legumes, greek, soups and stews, vegetarian.
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Let me just get the apology out of the way.  I know that we eat with our eyes, and probably the last thing you would want to ever eat is something that looks like this – which, let’s face it – basically looks like a bowl of crap.  I’m putting this right up there with split pea soup as far as unappetizing photos go.  I debated blogging this at all, but I realized that it’s a tasty recipe, especially timely during Lent, and well…I’m running low on blog backlogs anyway. :)

Now, onto the food.  For some reason, when I did all my cooking magazine recycling, I couldn’t bare to get rid of my Saveurs.  So, they moved with us to our new condo.  But now, it turns out we’re going to need every teeny tiny cubic inch of space we can get our hands on to store baby-related items, so the Saveurs came out of hiding and had to be picked over.   One great thing about going through old magazines is that it’s almost like reading totally new ones.  I vaguely remember seeing a special section on the cuisine of Cyprus when I first read the magazine a couple years ago, but I would have never actually recalled it on my own. Rediscovering it was great, and this stew in particular caught my eye.

This stew is really easy to make with very few ingredients, but it tastes great.  Bean stews like this are very popular in Greek cuisine in general, but especially during Lent.  The only change I would make to the recipe next time is boiling the fava beans for a few minutes and then peeling them.  This was my first time working with dried favas, and I just thought the texture of the final product would have been better without the skins.  You can buy them without the skins, apparently, but when I bought these (a looong time ago) I obviously did not take that into consideration.  Perhaps because of the skin issue or because my favas were a little old, I did have to add more broth to this recipe and also cook it a bit longer than the original recipe called for.  So, just keep that in mind, as this recipe does already cook for quite a bit of time already.

I wished we  had some feta around because I think it would be great crumbled over the top (and probably would have made for a better photo, too).  Depending on how strict your diet is during Lent, I would recommend trying some feta on top if you make this.  That said, it’s perfectly delicious on its own with some crusty bread to sop up the sauce.  This is really, really filling. I definitely think 6 is on the closer end to the serving size.  We had this with a salad and a little bread and were stuffed. I had plenty leftover to freeze.

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Stuffed Pork Chops

I stuff meats all the darn time.  Usually, though, there is cheese involved.  And occasionally, another meat.  This time,  I decided to stuff pork chops with some…well…stuffing.

This may not look terribly fancy, but it’s not really meant to be.  I know I have been using these words a lot lately, but this is downright homey and comforting.  I guess I just must really be craving that kind of food lately!

This is a pretty traditional stuffing that I added pistachios to (I love pistachios, and think they pair well with the leeks and mushrooms. Oh, and I have a lot sitting in my cabinet.)  The stuffing mixture is easy enough to put together, and since the pork chops are butterflied, they cook up rather quickly, making this an easy weeknight meal.  I made a quick pan sauce/gravy at the end with a small amount of roux and some chicken stock.  It was perfect to spoon over the chops and mashed potatoes.

Serves 2


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Greek Feta Salad Recipes

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Feta cheese is the iconic standard that goes into Greek salad. It seems wrong to chomp on fresh tomatoes and cucumbers seasoned with oil and vinegar without at least  a little feta to add some salt and flavor to the mix. I love ordering Greek salads in restaurants. I also love making them at home.

The beauty to making a Greek salad is that the ingredients don’t need to be rigid. Sure, you can follow the recipe I am going to give you. But if I were you, I’d follow that recipe only once and each time you make it, do something different. A salad, afterall, is pretty much impossible to mess up.

If you’re reluctant to change things because you’re afraid it will break tradition consider this: Greek cooks are all about using the freshest, tastiest ingredients around. If tomatoes aren’t in season, there is nothing wrong with leaving them out and adding some lettuce and green peppers instead. It’s the feta, olives, oil, and vinegar that are really the things that make this salad Greek. Why not use your imagination to come up with of your own?

Also, you don’t need to use kalamata olives. There are other Greek olives out there. And believe it or not, feta isn’t the only Greek cheese. There are others. Why not experiment? You can make all kinds of substitutions and additions until you find the ingredient combination that you like the best.

Ingredients:

1 English Cucumber, chopped

3 tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup chopped scallions

oil and vinegar, to taste

1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives.

1/2 cup crumbled feta

dried oregano as a garnish

Instructions:

Add the tomato, onion, and cucumber in a bowl. Add oil and vinegar. Toss to coat. Transfer to a serving dish. Add olives and feta and sprinkle oregano over the top. Serve immediately. Makes 4-6 servings depending on how big the portions are.

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