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Souvlaki
Wooden Skewers, 8-inches long
2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, 1 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
2 tablespoons garlic, chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
6 pitas
Shredded salad, recipe below
Instructions:
1. Soak skewers in water for at least 1 hour.
2. In a bowl, toss together pork, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, oregano, thyme, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper.
3. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. On the 8-inch skewers place 5 pieces of meat.
4. Lay on a hot grill and grill slowly (no flame) continuing to brush on marinade, until meat is done. Serve immediately in a pita, topped with shredded salad.
Shredded Salad:
3 cups shredded green leaf lettuce
1 small white onion, thinly sliced into half moons
3 large round tomatoes, medium dice
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions:
Toss all the ingredients in a large bowl, taste and adjust seasonings.
Keftedes: Greek Meatballs
3 slices white bread with crust
1 cup milk
2 pounds ground beef
1 yellow onion, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup finely chopped oregano
2 finely chopped tablespoons mint
2 teaspoon white wine vinegar
2 eggs beaten
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/2 cup olive oil
Flour, for dusting
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Pita Bread
Cucumber Yogurt Sauce, recipe follows
Instructions:
1. Dunk bread quickly in milk and press the liquid out to dampen the bread.
2. Combine the beef, bread, onion, garlic, oregano, mint, vinegar, eggs, nutmeg, salt, and pepper in a bowl and mix well.
3. Take a large spoon of the mixture and roll into a ball until all the mixture has been rolled.
4. In a sauté pan, add the olive oil and bring it to 360-degrees F for frying. Dust the balls in flour and add to the oil. Brown on all sides, leaving room in the pan to roll them
around.
5. Pull from the pan and drain on paper towels. Serve with pita and cucumber yogurt sauce.
Cucumber Sauce:
2 cups plain yogurt
1 cup seeded and small-diced cucumber
3 cloves minced garlic
Salt
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
Pastitsio Kima
1 pound ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 cup red wine
3/4 cup tomato puree
1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, ground, plus more, for seasoning
1 1/2 pound uncut macaroni
2 tablespoons butter, plus 1/2 pound
3 eggs, separated
2 1/2 cups kefalotyri or kasseri, grated
2 quarts milk
1/2 pound flour
Nutmeg
Instructions:
1. Brown beef in a pan. Add onions and garlic and cook until soft.
2. Deglaze with the red wine and reduce to 2 tablespoons.
3. In a small bowl, mix together tomato puree and crushed tomatoes to make a sauce. 4
4. Add to the onions and garlic.
5. Season with salt, pepper, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Simmer for 10 minutes.
6. Cook macaroni in salted water until al dente drain.Return to pan.
7.Add butter, egg whites and 1/2 cup of cheese, mix well.
8. Heat up milk on medium high until it comes to a simmer.
9.In a separate pan, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour until well blended. Whisk in warm milk. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook until fairly thick. Season with salt and
nutmeg, to taste.
10. Temper in the egg yolks. Add 1 cup of cheese.
11. In a buttered 13 by 9-inch baking dish, layer macaroni mixture and meat sauce, cover with white sauce and sprinkle with remaining grated cheese on top.
12. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven to rack and let stand for 15 minutes. Cut into squares.
Baklava
For the Syrup:
1 cup sugar
1 cup honey
3/4 cup water
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 cinnamon sticks
1 (1-inch) strip lemon zest
Pinch ground cloves
Pinch ground cardamom
Instructions:
1. Combine the sugar, honey, water, lemon juice, cinnamon sticks, lemon zest, cloves and cardamom in a medium saucepan.
2. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until the sugar has dissolved.
3. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the syrup is slightly thickened, about
10 minutes.
4. Remove the cinnamon sticks and lemon zest and set syrup aside to cool.
Filling and Dough:
1 pound walnuts, or a combination of walnuts, pistachios and almonds
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 pound phyllo, thawed according to package instructions
Instructions:
1. Finely chop the nuts. (Using knife or food processor)
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the nuts, sugar, cinnamon, and salt and stir well to combine.
3. Melt the butter over low heat in a small saucepan. Using a pastry brush, lightly coat a 13 by 9-inch or 15 by 10-inch baking dish with some of the melted butter.
4. Open the package of thawed phyllo and lay the thin sheets on a clean work surface.
Instructions continued:
5. Cut the phyllo sheets approximately the same size as your baking dish.
6. Cover the sheets with a piece of plastic wrap and a lightly damp kitchen towel, as the sheets of phyllo dry out very quickly if left uncovered.
7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
8. Place 1 of the sheets of phyllo in the bottom of the buttered baking dish and lightly
brush with some of the melted butter. Repeat this with 6 more sheets of phyllo.
9. Measure about 3/4 cup of the nut mixture and spread the nut mixture evenly over the buttered phyllo sheets.
10 Repeat with 7 more sheets of phyllo, buttering each layer as before, and top these sheets with another 3/4 cup of the nut mixture.
11. Continue this layering process, buttering 7 sheets of phyllo and topping each 7 sheets with 3/4 cup of the nuts, until you have used all of the nut mixture.
Instructions continued:
12. Layer any remaining sheets of phyllo on top, buttering between each layer, until all
of the phyllo sheets have been used.
13. Use a sharp knife to make 4 cuts lengthwise through the layered phyllo at 1 1/2 inch intervals. (You should end up with 5 lengthwise strips 1 1/2 inches wide.)
14. Now use your knife to cut diagonally across the strips at 1 1/2-inch intervals to form diamond shapes. You should end up with approximately 36 diamond-shaped pieces of
baklava in the baking dish.
15. Bake the baklava until golden brown, about 40 minutes.
16. Using oven mitts or pot holders remove the baklava from the oven and set aside on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Using a ladle or small measuring cup, slowly drizzle the cooled syrup over the warm baklava.
Allow to stand several hours before serving.
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