Ingredients

60 ml olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 bunch shallots (spring onions), finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1.2 kg baby spinach
2 tbsp chopped dill
250 gm feta cheese, crumbled
150 gm full-fat ricotta cheese
3 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
4 eggs, lightly beaten
½ tsp grated nutmeg
12 sheets phyllo (filo) pastry
120 gm butter, melted

For phyllo pastry
200 gm unbleached flour
A pinch of salt
7 tbsp water, plus more if needed
2 tbsp vegetable oil, plus additional for coating the dough
½ tsp cider vinegar

Preparation:

Combine the flour and salt. Mix the water, oil and vinegar in a measuring cup. Add this mixture to the flour and knead the dough till soft. Make sure it is not too dry, add a little more water if necessary. Knead for about 2 minutes. Pick up the dough and throw it down hard onto your working surface occasionally.

Shape the dough into a ball and transfer it to a plate. Oil the top of the dough ball lightly. Cover the ball tightly with plastic wrap. Allow to stand for 30-90 minutes.

Flour well and roll it out as much as you can. Pick the dough up by holding it by an edge. This way the weight of the dough and gravity can help stretching it as it hangs. Using the back of your hands to gently stretch and pull the dough. You can use your forearms to support it.

Put it on your work surface. Leave the thicker edge of the dough to hang over the edge of the table. Place your hands underneath the dough and stretch and pull the dough thinner using the backs of your hands. Cut out 12 sheets of 15cm x 15 cm measurement.

Heat oil in a frying pan. Add onion, shallots and garlic. Cook for 1 minute until softened, then add spinach and half the dill. Cook, stirring, over low heat for 1-2 minutes or until spinach has wilted. Drain in a colander and cool, then combine with cheeses, egg, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 180°C. Brush a 2 ½ litre baking dish with butter. Lay one sheet of phyllo on base and sides and brush with butter. Repeat with 5 more sheets. Spread cheese mixture over top. You can make this dish by layering it like a puff or using the filling in samosa-shaped pastries. Cover with remaining phyllo, brushing each sheet with butter. Trim excess pastry with kitchen scissors and tuck edges into sides of dish. Brush top with butter and score in diamond patterns.

Bake for 45 minutes or until golden. Rest for 10 minutes. Warm remaining butter, add remaining dill and, when serving, pour over sliced spanakopita.

To read more, please visit deccanchronicle.com

Ingredients

1.5kg chicken, cut into portions
1 teacup olive oil
640g fresh tomatoes
500g orzo/risoni
1 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper
water

Preparation

Wash and clean the chicken.
Cut into portions and sprinkle salt and pepper over the chicken.
In a large baking tray add plenty of olive oil, you may need to add more than 1 teacup depending on the size of your tray.
Grate the tomatoes over a bowl and keep.

In the tray add the chicken, and 1/3 of the tomatoes and mix all in.
Put in the oven on a medium heat and roast until the chicken is cooked.
Take the tray out of the oven and remove the chicken.

Add the rest of the tomatoes to the tray along with the orzo, 4-5 teacups of boiling water, oregano and salt to season.
Stir through.
Replace the chicken in the tray and return the tray to the oven.

Keep a check on this and give it a stir regularly to make sure the pasta doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan and also that the liquid doesn't dry up. If it does, add some more water, a little at a time, until the pasta is cooked. Be careful not to overcook the pasta.
The orzo should be coated in a rich tomato sauce with just a little runny sauce left over.

Serve with graviera cheese and a spring green salad.

You can adjust this meal to use beef or lamb instead of chicken. It is served in Greece with all meats. If using lamb, use a very lean piece and cut off all visible fat.

This recipe can be cooked in a large casserole saucepan on the stovetop. It is suited more to chicken and is ideal for smaller quantities. You will probably need to add a little water to the chicken in the beginning and let it simmer until cooked.

When you add the pasta, check the water levels, and stir often as it is more likely to stick on the stovetop, regulate the heat to low to not burn.

Source: Ultimate-guide-to-greek-food.com

Ingredients
Serves: 8 

500g beetroots
250g Greek yoghurt
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, crushed
salt and pepper
2 teaspoons virgin olive oil
1 heaped tablespoon coarsely chopped walnuts
half walnuts for garnishing

Method
Prep:5min  ›  Cook:30min  ›  Extra time:1hr chilling  ›  Ready in:1hr35min 

Scrub and wash beetroots thouroughly under running water.

Put into pan with enough water to cover them and boil in medium heat for 30 minutes or until they are tender.

Rinse under cold water, peel (now the skin comes out easily with just a little squeeze of your fingers). Cut into slices, cubes, whatever you like.

Prepare yoghurt: in a bowl blend yoghurt, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper and half the olive oil. Add the beetroots and the chopped walnuts in the yoghurt mix, reserving a few pieces of beetroot for garnishing.

Place salad in bowl. Decorate it with pieces of beetroot and walnut halves and drizzle with the rest of the virgin olive oil.

Tip: You can omit the yoghurt and walnuts and serve beetroots with salt, vinegar, olive oil and finely chopped garlic.

By Maroula

allrecipes.co.uk

Pick the right apple

“You can buy apples year-round, but it’s much better to buy in-season apples. Right now, we use Cortland and Jonagold or sometimes even Granny Smith. Empires will be out soon and they are also a good baking apple. You want an apple that is both tart and sweet, as they will give the pie the best flavour. An apple like Red Delicious isn’t as flavourful when baked and tends to fall apart.”

Keep the filling simple

“To let the flavour of the apples come through, we keep the filling very simple: just cinnamon, sugar and flour. If you want to get fancier, you can add some of the earthier spices, like vanilla, nutmeg or allspice. But always make sure to only peel the apples right before use, so they don’t get brown before you start baking.”

Handle it as little as possible

“There’s really only two components to an apple pie: the crust and the filling. The filling is the easiest part; where it gets trickier is the pastry – pastry can intimidate people. It’s better to throw out an overworked crust and start again than to have a pastry that is tough. A 1/4 cup of water should be enough to bring the dough together, then start adding it by the tablespoon if it isn’t forming a loose ball.”

Butter is better

“You can use lard, shortening, butter, oil or some combination of the above for the fat for your crust, but we have found that an all-butter crust is what works best. The dough may not be as tender as with shortening or lard, but we’ve found butter imparts the best flavour to the dough.”

The secret ingredient

“One surprising ingredient we sometimes use in our pastry is white vinegar. Just a tiny splash, 3/4 tablespoon, won’t impart any flavour, but it does help tenderize the dough. It makes the final product a little less crunchy and the pastry … softer.”

Two baking temperatures ensure everything is cooked:

“First, cook the pie at a high heat (between 400 F and 425 F) for about 15-20 minutes to get the pastry nice and flakey. Then, to make sure the filling is cooked, lower the temperature to 350-375 F and bake for another 15-20 minutes. If you want the apples softer, you can cook it for up to 40 minutes, but you have to watch the crust. If it starts to brown (or burn) too much, cover it with foil or parchment paper.”

By Fraser Abe

www.theglobeandmail.com

Ingredients

1 chicken, weighing about 1.4kg
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large buffalo tomato, sliced into 8 segments
1 large onion, sliced horizontally
2 tsp chopped oregano
2 tsp ground cinnamon
freshly ground salt and black pepper
cumin potatoes, to serve

For the village salad:

large bunch of coriander, trimmed and chopped
large bunch of flat leaf parsley, trimmed and chopped
large handful of Greek rocket
6 cherry tomatoes, chopped
sea salt
splash of extra virgin olive oil
squeeze of lemon juice

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

2. Place the chicken in a roasting pan. Rub with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil.

3. Arrange the tomato segments on the breast and legs. Split the onion rings and place all around the chicken

4. Sprinkle with the oregano and cinnamon, and salt and pepper.

5. Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the chicken. Roast for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until the juices from the thickest part of the thigh run clear when pierced.

6. Transfer to a warm serving dish and leave to rest for 10 minutes in a warm place.

7. To make the salad, combine the coriander, parsley, rocket and tomatoes in a serving bowl. Sprinkle with salt and just enough oil to coat the leaves. Toss briefly, then add a squeeze of lemon juice and toss again.

8. Serve the chicken with the salad and Cumin Potatoes.

uktv.co.uk

The frying has its tricks, too. I always fry in olive oil, fully aware that it is a luxury many cooks outside of olive-growing regions cannot afford. You actually don’t need that much oil for this recipe, as the keftedes, like most Greek fried foods, are pan-fried not deep fried. What you will need is to pay attention to the oil. It should not be so hot that the keftedes burn on the outside but remain undercooked within. You can also fry in pure olive oil, which retains some of the good qualities of EVOO and is a lot cheaper.

To read more, please visit dianekochilas.com

By Diane Kochilas

On that note, the thought of roasting a whole chicken mid-week makes me cringe.

There’s that cold squishy giblet bag, trussing string, cooking and resting time, plus all that carving? Way too intense for a Tuesday.

During the week I purchase my bird pre-cut. No giblet bag, no string, no carving. It cooks in half the time and yet still has that slow-cooked taste.

Ingredients

For the Chicken

1x 3-4 lb. roasting chicken, cut into pieces*
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. black pepper

Marinade/Vinaigrette

2 tsp. lemon zest
¼ c. fresh lemon juice, about 2-3 lemons
1 tbsp. dried oregano
¾ c. olive oil
½ tsp. salt
3 sprigs fresh oregano
3 cloves of garlic, grated

On the side

1½ lbs. potatoes, skin on, cut into 1" chunks
2 tsp. olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

Salad

6 large handfuls of mixed lettuce
1 pint of colorful cherry tomatoes
½ c. feta cheese, crumbled

Garnish

2 lemons for roasting
fresh oregano sprigs

* Your cooking time will vary (+/-) depending on the size of your chicken.*Make sure to reserve half of the marinade for your vinaigrette. Do not use all of it on your chicken!

To read the rest of this recipe, please visit theclevercarrot.com