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Archive for the ‘Greek’ Category

Gigantes Plaki

Posted in Food, Greek, tagged , , , , on 3 January 2011| Leave a Comment »

A classic from Greece that we’ve been wanting to do for ages – really Greek Baked Beans, but much more exciting than the tinned variety we’re used to! We served these with barbecued sausages but they’d go with any grilled meat, or just as they are with some crumbled feta cheese over the top.

Gigantes Plaki – a huge pot full

  • 500g dried butter beans
  • olive oil
  • an onion, finely chopped
  • 3 rashers top quality smoked streaky bacon
  • 4 cloves garlic, finely sliced
  • 2 carrots, finely sliced
  • 4 large tomatoes, roughly chopped
  • 1 tablespoon tomato puree
  • 2 fresh bay leaves
  • small bunch flat parsley
  • 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
  • red wine vinegar

Soak the butterbeans overnight in plenty of cold water.

The next day, drain the beans, put them in the pan and cover again with lots of cold water. Put the pan on a high heat and when it comes to the boil, turn the heat down and leave to simmer gently for about an hour, or until soft and tender (this can take quite a bit longer if your beans are old). Skim off any foam that comes to the top as they cook. Drain in a colander and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 4, put a lug of olive oil into a big casserole on a medium heat and gently fry the onion and bacon, for about 5 minutes, or until the onions are soft but not coloured. Add the garlic and cook for a few minutes, then add the carrots, fresh tomatoes, tomato puree and bay leaves. Chop the parsley and stir it in too. Add a splash of red wine vinegar and lots of seasoning. Leave to simmer for 10 minutes.

Add some more seasoning and tip in the drained beans. Stir well, then cover the pan with a lid and cook in the oven for 1 hour, until the beans are really soft and a lot of the liquid has been absorbed.

That’s it!

Original recipe in Jamie does…

Wine suggestion: A juicy and easy Cotes du Rhone Villages.

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Greek Feast – Stifado

Posted in Beef, Food, Greek, tagged , , , , , , on 7 November 2010| 3 Comments »

This was so easy and super tasty. All the prep can be done before your friends arrive and then it just simmers away and makes the house smell lovely. Serve with steamed potatoes.

Warning: The meat is supposed to be marinated for 24-48 hours – I only realised this on Saturday afternoon so mine was marinated for about 5 hours – still was fab.

Moshari stifado (Veal Stifado but we used beef) – Serves 6

  • Make a marinade from: 120ml olive oil, 250ml dry red wine, 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, 3 bay leaves, 20 black peppercorns, 10 allspice berries, 4 garlic cloves.
  • Add 1kg stewing beef pieces, turn to coat, cover and let marinate in the refrigerator, turning occasionally, for 1 to 2 days.
  • Blanch 2kg small pearl onions or shallots in boiling water for 1 minute, drain and peel.
  • Heat 250ml olive oil in a large heavy pan over a medium heat. Add onions in batches and cook each batch for 8 – 10 minutes until lightly browned all over. Remove each batch with a slotted spoon.
  • Remove meat from marinade and strain liquid into bowl – reserve the flavourings
  • Add meat to pan used to cook the onion and cook for about 8 minutes until lightly browned all over.
  • Pour in reserved marinade and season with salt & pepper. Add 2 of the bay leaves, 6 of the peppercorns and 6 of the allspice berries.
  • Add 750ml puréed fresh or canned tomatoes (we used pasatta). Cover, bring to boil then reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.
  • Add the onions and 3 of the reserved garlic cloves. Recover and simmer for 1.5 hours until meat and onions are tender and the sauce is very thick.
  • If the sauce has not reduced enough, remove meat and onions with a slotted spoon and then boil the sauce rapidly. Stir meat and onions back in before serving.

Julie

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Greek Feast – Stuffed Vine Leaves

Posted in Greek, Vegetarian, tagged , , , on 7 November 2010| Leave a Comment »

Our friends are just home from their honeymoon in Greece and as we are still new-fangled with Vefa’s Kitchen so we invited them over for a Greek Feast on Saturday night.

These vine leaves were a labour of love (they took me hours) but were well worth it and our friends reckoned they were better than any they had in Greece – though maybe they were just being nice. Perfect party food and can be made well in advance.

Dolmadakia gialantzi (Rice-stuffed Vine Leaves) – Serves lots of people!

  • Rinse 500g vine leaves and trim off the stems.
  • Add the leaves, a few at a time, to a pan of boiling water and blanch briefly, then drain, and leave to cool.
  • Cover the bottom of a large, wide, heavy pan with some of the leaves.
  • Put 175g finely chopped scallions and 2 large chopped onions into a colander, sprinkle with a little salt, and rub with your fingers. Rinse and drain, then squeeze out as much water as possible.
  • Combine 500g medium-grain rice (we used basmati), the onions, 25g chopped parsley, 15g chopped dill, 225ml olive oil, 4 tablespoons pine nuts and 4 tablespoons currants in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.
  • Lay a leaf out flat, shiny side down. Put about 1 tablespoon of the mixture at the stem end in the middle, fold the sides over the filling, and loosely roll up into a parcel.
  • Arrange the stuffed leaves in the lined pan, seam side down – you will have more than one layer.
  • Pour over 225ml olive oil, 600ml boiling water, and 5 tablespoons of lemon juice.
  • Invert a heavy plate on top of the parcels to stop them from opening while cooking.
  • Cover the pan, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, and simmer until all the water has been absorbed (the recipe suggests 35-45 minutes but ours took much longer than this!).
  • Remove from the heat, put a cotton cloth between the pan and the lid to absorb the steam, and allow to cool.
  • Transfer to a serving platter and serve with Tzatziki or plain yoghurt.

Julie

These tasted great the day after too – best vine leaves ever! – Jono 🙂

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