For the sauce

4 cups canned chopped tomatoes
2 garlic cloves
Salt and sugar to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil

For the eggplants

1 - 2 cups all purpose flour
4 large eggs, slightly beaten
3 1/2 cups breadcrumbs
2 2/3 cups grated Kefalotyri cheese (about 220 g)
2 medium-large eggplants, cut lengthwise into 18 slices, each about 1 cm thick
350 g kasseri cheese, or any semi-hard, mild yellow sheep's milk cheese, coarsely grated
1 1/4 cups anthotyro or ricotta, drained
3/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
½ cup chopped fresh mint leaves
1/3 cup chopped fresh oregano leaves
Pepper to taste

Instructions

1 In a medium saucapan, simmer the tomatoes, garlic, salt, sugar and olive oil together until thickened and reduced by about 1 cup. Remove from heat and set aside.
2 Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Oil 3 baking sheets and one glass baking dish large enough to hold the eggplant rolls (about 13 X 9 X 2 inches).
3 Place flour in a wide shallow bowl, eggs in second bowl, and breadcrumbs mixed with 1 cup kefalotyri cheese in another.
4 Season each eggplant slice with salt and pepper. Press each slice, one at a time, into the flour, then dip into the beaten egg, and finally into the breadcrumb-cheese mixture.
5 Arrange eggplant slices in single layer on prepared sheets. Bake eggplant in batches until coating is golden, turning after 15 minutes, about 30 minutes total. Cool on sheets.
6 Mix the kasseri, anthotyro, herbs, and 1 cup of kefalotyri in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
7 Spread about 2 tablespoons of the cheese filling over the surface of each eggplant slice. Starting at the narrow end, roll up eggplant slices. Arrange rolls, seam side down, in prepared baking dish. Spoon the sauce over the rolls and sprinkle with remaining kefalotyri.
8 Bake uncovered until the eggplant dolmades are heated through and the kasseri melts, about 30 minutes.

greek food - greek cooking - greek recipes by diane kochilas http://www.dianekochilas.com/

Sofrito Preparation

Dredge the fillets with salt and fresh ground pepper. Coat them with flour and fry slightly on both sides. Scrape any excess flour from the bottom of the pan and remove them.
Add olive oil in a saucepan and sauté the onion.
Add rosemary, marjoram, garlic and white wine.
Cut the stems of both the parsley bunches, tie them and add them in the saucepan.
Add meat fillets and simmer until the sauce thickens and meat is tender. If needed you should add more water.
Remove parsley stems from the saucepan.
Serve meat in a platter and pour the sauce over them.
Serve fillets with mashed potatoes and carrots.

Potato and Carrot Mash Preparation

Boil the cubed potatoes and carrots in water.
Add plenty of salt and pepper and the mashed garlic.
When the vegetables are tender remove from the sauce pan and drain.
Preserve half glass of the water.
Melt butter on the saucepan.
Add on a a blender the vegetables and blend. Gradually add the milk and the water that you preserved. Blend until the texture is soft and creamy.
Add the melted butter and mix again.
Empty the puree on a saucepan.

Sofrito Ingredients

1kg boneless beef fillets (leg part preferred)
1 onion, finely cut
2 garlic cloves, mashed
1 glass of white wine
Rosemary
Marjoram
2 bunches of parsley
Salt
Pepper
Flour for coating the fillets
Olive oil for frying

Mash potato and Carrot Ingredients
5 medium potatoes, cut in cubes
1 mashed garlic
Mix of pepper and salt
6 medium carrots, cut in thin slices
1 glass of milk
2 spoons of fresh butter

www.greek-recipe.com

Ingredients

a pack of shredded filo pastry (kataifi)
8 (2 for the filling) eggs
1l fresh milk at room temperature
300g anthotyro cheese
300g feta cheese, grated
300g spicy gruyere or pecorino cheese, grated
300g kasseri cheese, grated
300g gouda cheese, grated
1 teacup of extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons baked bread crumbs
2 tablespoons of melted butter
freshly ground pepper

Method

Grate all the cheeses in a large bowl. Add the 2 eggs, whisked, the olive oil and freshly ground pepper. Combine everything well with a spoon. Grease with butter a large, rectangular, ovenproof pan and sprinkle with the baked bread crumbs. Divide the filo pastry into 2 equal parts. Spread it with your fingers and line the bottom of the pan with the first half. Empty the filling in. Spread the other half of the shredded filo pastry evenly on top to cover the filling. Use a knife to score the pie into pieces. Whisk the remaining 6 eggs and the milk together and pour the mixture over the pie. Then pour over the melted butter. Preheat the oven to air250ºC. When you place the pie in, reduce heat to 180ºC and bake for 50 minutes until golden and crispy.

www.argiro.com

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic (about 1 large clove)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups plain yogurt (or low-fat)
• 1 cup peeled, seeded and grated cucumber (about 1 medium cucumber)
• 1 whole peeled avocado, diced small

Add the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and salt to the yogurt. Add the grated cucumber, diced avocado and mix well. Chill for at least an hour to allow the flavors to blend.

To read more, please visit: Morethanburnttoast.blogspot.com

Ingredients

500g thick spaghetti
1/3 tea cup of extra virgin olive oil
1 dried onion, cut in thin slices
1 clove of garlic, crushed
2 country sausages, casing removed
1/2 tea cup of dry red wine
1 green bell pepper, cut in cubes
1 red bell pepper, cut in cubes
1 large aubergine, cut in cubes
800g fresh tomatoes, finely chopped
1/2 tea cup of olives, finely chopped
1 sprig of fresh thyme, leaves picked
1 sprig of fresh oregano, leaves picked
grated kefalotiri cheese for serving
salt
freshly ground pepper

Method

Line a baking dish with greaseproof paper. Put the bell peppers and aubergine in a bowl, coat them well with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and then transfer them to the baking dish. Bake them at 200ºC for 10 minutes until they wilt. Cut the sausages in thin slices. In a casserole type pan warm the remaining olive oil and cook the onion and garlic for a couple of minutes until they get translucent but not brown. Add the sausage and stir it in for 2-3 minutes. Add the vegetables, pour the wine in and wait until all liquids evaporate. Then add the tomatoes, herbs and olives. Season with salt and pepper and simmer the sauce for 10 minutes. In the meantime boil the spaghetti and drain them in a colander. Combine them with the sauce, sprinkle with the grated kefalotiri cheese, mix everything well  and serve immediately.

argiro.com.gr

More than 20 varieties are cultivated up here, with their pink and white blossoms fluttering in the springtime breeze before the first harvest begins in June and ends when summer does, toward the end of September.

Yellow-fleshed, white-fleshed, clingstone and freestone, peaches come in many shapes, sizes and hues, but it is the latter, with its two halves separated from one another so easily, that is the star of the local canning industry, which is a formidable one in the north. Greek peaches are canned at peak freshness by state-of-the-art processors. Besides fresh, they come in many forms: frozen; as juice; halved, quartered, or diced, in syrup; sliced as a fruit compote; as an ingredient in frozen desserts, especially in ice creams and sorbets. Canned peaches are also a major Greek export, and about half of the annual 750,000 tons that are produced go to the canning industry.

Why Peaches are good for you:

How to savor them the Greek way: Cut a great peach in wedges and enjoy with a glass of N. Greek Chardonnay or Malagouzia wine. Or, mix it into a cup of Greek yogurt. For dessert, grill some peaches, drizzle with honey and serve with buttery Greek manouri.

By Diane Kochilas

Source: www.dianekochilas.com/healthy-greek-peaches

It can substitute honey almost in every recipe, so use it to make a dressing, drizzle over pancakew or yogurt, use it in baking (it is great with carrot cake and with anything that has pumpkin in it), as a glaze for turkey, pork etc.

Traditionally petimezi was used as a spread on bread especially for children, as it is very high in antioxidants and minerals. You can also make cookies with it called moustokouloura, when grape must (moustos) isn’t available any more.

I recently made this beef stew using petimezi and red wine vinegar and was amazed by the depth of flavours. The vinegar you use is very important so find a good one, but do not use balsamic.The vinegar counteracts the sweetness of the petimezi and the resulting effect is sweet and sour, but not as strong as a Chinese version for example.

Note: you can make your own petimezi if you boil down the juice you get from lets say 2 kg of white grapes, until it is dark and viscous, but I have never done it myself.

INGREDIENTS for 6 people

for the marinade

1 cup white wine
1/4 cup (60ml) olive oil
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped

for the stew

1.5 kg stewing beef cut into chunks
1/3 cup (80ml) petimezi
1/4 cup (60ml) red wine vinegar
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, finely sliced
2-3 berries all spice
the marinade

DIRECTIONS

Mix all marinade ingredients in a plastic container with a lid and add the beef chunks. Marinate for 24 hours, turning once or twice.
Drain beef from marinade and pat dry with kitchen paper. Keep the marinade and vegetables separately to use in the stew.
In a large pot heat 3-4 tbsp of olive oil and  brown the beef pieces from all sides. Remove from pot and saute the onions until they start to colour. Add the marinade vegetables together with the sliced carrots and cook for 2-3 minutes. Pour in the petimezi, vinegar, allspice, and 1/3 of the marinade. Wait until the alcohol has slightly evaporated (about 1-2minutes), give it a good stir and turn down the heat. Cover the pot and let the meat simmer until it is meltingly tender, about 2-2.5 hours. Every now and then check whether it needs more liquids and add some of the marinade. I actually ended up using all of it.
By the end of the cooking time you mush have a nice thicki-ish sauce (petimezi is also a thickening agent). Season well with salt and pepper and serve with mashed potatoes, roast potatoes, pasta or rice. This dish can very successfully be frozen or eaten the next day.

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