Category: Greek

Dianne Bibby’s Bobotie Filo Parcels

.Reading time 5 minutes.

Makes: 20

New Years Eve 2024 and we are off to Nat’s parents for Champagne, a swim with the family and counting down the minutes.

My main was this always brilliant Doner Kebab, with the chicken slow cooked and caramelised.

But it was Nat’s starter of these Bobotie filo parcels that won the night.

They’re awesome.

The addition of the Mrs Ball’s chutney means it doesn’t need to be on the side. The sultanas add a sweetness to balance the excellent spice. The addition of the milk-soaked bread keeps the whole thing moist.

The buttery filo pastry and then the egg wash with the black (or white) sesame seeds finishes it off.

Sophisticated? No. And neither expected.

Delicious? Absolutely yes.

I promised my brother-in-law Greg – of South African heritage – I would type these up for his mother – Elaine – who has not only published a cookbook and is a fantastic cook and entertainer, though is also a subscriber of this blog!

Elaine’s specialty is South African. Think Bobotie, Bunny Chow and Cape Malay Curry.

Actually, that’s not fair.

Elaine’s speciality is just great food and sharing the experience of cooking and enjoying it with friends and family.

I’ve had the pleasure.

Catching up with Elaine is always electric. She is as mad about food as I am and we share stories and all sorts of promises.

I don’t think I have had Elaine’s Bobotie and I am not convinced Greg shouldn’t be cooking these for his mother instead, though this recipe is for Elaine and hopefully her next family gathering.

Delicious? Will most definitely be.

Ingredients

2 sliced white bread, crusts removed and soaked in 200ml milk
2 tbsp golden sultanas
45ml freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tbsp vegetable oil
20gm salted butter
1 large brown onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 carrot, finely grated
2 tsp freshly grated ginger
2 1/2 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp dried red chilli flakes
1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp turmeric
Zest of 1 lemon and juice of half
500gm lean beef mince (Nat used turkey mince)
2 cinnamon sticks
1 tbsp Mrs Ball’s chutney
1 c chicken stock
2 tbsp almond flour
20 sheets filo pastry
4 tbsp melted butter
Egg wash (1 egg whisked with 30ml water)
Sesame seeds, for finishing

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180c and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Place the sultanas in a small bowl, cover with the orange juice and set aside.
  3. Heat the oil and butter in a large frying pan. Sauté the onion until soft and translucent. Add the garlic, carrot and ginger and cook for a further 5 minutes.
  4. Turn up the heat, add the mince and cook until nicely browned and just starting to catch on the bottom of the pan. Season with 1 tsp salt and freshly ground pepper; mix in all the spices and cook for a further few minutes.
  5. Stir in the milk-soaked bread along with the milk, drained sultanas, cinnamon, chutney, stock and almond flour. Cover partially with a lid and simmer for 20 minutes or so, until the carrots are soft, the meat is cooked through and most of the liquid has reduced. Set aside to cool.
  6. Lay one sheet of Filo pastry on a bench with the shorter edge facing you and brush with the melted butter.
  7. Lay another sheet on top and brush with butter. Cut the sheet into 3 strips (approximately 15cm each).
  8. Place one heaped tbsp of the filling mixture on the very top of the sheet allowing 2cm from the bottom. Take the bottom right corner of the Filo pastry strip and fold it diagonally towards the opposite side of the strip to form a triangle.
  9. Then take the bottom left corner of the strip and fold diagonally towards the opposite side.
  10. Continue folding in the same way to ensure you keep a triangular shape.
  11. Brush each triangle with the egg wash, scatter with sesame seeds and cook for 18 – 20 minutes or until golden.

Vefa Alexiadou’s Easy Cheese Appetizer (Tiromezes)

.Reading time 1 minute.

Serves: 4

If ever there was a correlation between simplicity and brilliance, this is it.

Cooked by Nat as a starter to a long, Christmas, Greek lunch, we both agreed that this appetizer was just “stunning”.

If you’ve read my blog, you’ll know I am into my superlatives: though hand-on-heart, this dish is stunning.

I followed up with this Arni Pesto accompanied by a wicked mushroom pilaf by Nat and with Champagne, the sun and the holidays starting, this was a lunch to celebrate.

Ingredients

4 square, thick slices feta cheese
1 large tomato, cut into 4 rounds
1 long green chilli, thinly sliced
Pinch of dried oregano
Pepper
Olive oil, for drizzling

Method

  1. Preheat the broiler (grill).
  2. Put the cheese slices side-by-side in a shallow flameproof dish. Put a tomato slice on top of each feta square and top with the slices of chilli. Sprinkle with oregano and pepper and drizzle with a little olive oil.
  3. Cook under the broiler for 6 – 8 minutes until the chilli and tomato are lightly browned.
  4. Serve immediately: ideally with a delicious ouzo apparently. We had none, though if you do, please tell me. I actually get it. Reminds me of Oysters Charentaise where you have an oyster, a bite of a spicy sausage and a good sip of cold, white wine: heaven.

Vefa Alexiadou’s Pork Chops in Wine

.Reading time 1 minute.

Serves: 4

Another excellent and simple Greek dinner from Vefa Alexiadou’s ‘Greek Cookbook’.

We were after a quick Monday dinner and this totally hit the spot.

Alongside a green salad and some pan-fried potatoes with oregano and feta, this is how you celebrate beating Monday.

Plus now that you have an open bottle of red or white wine, well, you know…

Ingredients

4 large pork chops, 1.5cm thick
Salt and pepper
4 tbsp olive oil
2/3 c dry white or red wine
4 lemon wedges
Fried potatoes and greens, to serve

Method

  1. Season the chops with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a skillet or frying pan large enough to hold the chops in a single layer. Add the chops and cook over medium heat for 2 – 3 minutes on each side, until lightly browned.
  2. Pour in half the wine and cook for a few minutes until the alcohol has evaporated, then pour in 5 tbsp water, cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until cooked through.
  3. Increase the heat and let the chops sizzle. Pour in the remaining wine and cook for 1 – 2 minutes, until the alcohol has evaporated. Serve immediately on warmed plates with 1 – 2 tbsp of the wine sauce, garnished with lemon wedges and accompanied by fried potatoes and greens.

Vefa Alexiadou’s Fried Cheese Balls from Crete

.Reading time 1 minute.

Serves: 6 as a starter

Vefa Alexiadou’s book ‘Greece – The Cookbook’ by publisher Phaidon is the sort of wonderful cooking tome you’d expect from one of the world’s best publishers of cookbooks.

The recipes are traditional and numerous. No doubt every dish would be marvellous.

Nat served these cheese balls as a starter before a long Greek, Sunday lunch.

And what a traditional treat.

Ricotta and mint is such a great savoury combination and here you have it in spades.

It’s winter. Do a Greek lunch and start here.

Beautiful.

Ingredients

500gm anthotiro or ricotta cheese
1 – 2 eggs
4 tbsp all-purpose flour, plus extra for coating
4 tbsp finely chopped fresh mint
4 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
Salt and pepper
Vegetable oil, for deep frying*

Method

  1. Place the cheese in a bowl and mash with a fork. Add the eggs, flour, mint and parsley, season with salt and pepper, and blend to a thick, pliable mixture. If it is soft and sticky, add more cheese.
  2. Cover with plastic wrap and put the mixture in the refrigerator until required.
  3. Heat the oil in a deep-fryer to 180c – 190c. Pinch off small pieces of the cheese mixture and roll between your palms to form balls the size of a small walnut. Coat with flour and fry in the hot oil, in batches if necessary, for 3 – 4 minutes or until golden all over. Drain well and serve immediately.

Rosaria Ferrara’s Insalata di Polpo e Patate (Octopus and Potato Salad)

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: 6

Every time we cook octopus, Nat and I tell each other we need to do more.

This salad is why.

It is so classic, so fresh, so moorish. And that splash of white wine!

Do better at your next BBQ and present this. Level up!

Ingredients

1 stick celery, roughly chopped
1 carrot, roughly chopped
1 small white onion, roughly chopped
2 – 3 bay leaves
1 x 600gm octopus, well cleaned (ask your fishmonger to do this)
1 1/4 tbsp rock salt
400gm potatoes
100ml extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
Good splash of dry white wine

Method

  1. Put the celery, carrots onion and bay leaves in a large saucepan, add 2 litres of water and bring to the boil. Continue boiling over a medium heat for 10 minutes to make a broth.
  2. Take the octopus by the head, with four fingers into it like a handle, and dip it into the boiling broth for 30 seconds. Repeat this two or three times until the tentacles start to curl, then release the octopus into the broth (this process should stop the octopus becoming hard during cooking).
  3. Leave it to boil over a medium heat for 30 minutes, adding some rock salt to taste. Test by piercing with a fork – if it pierces easily, it’s ready; if its still hard, let it cook for a little longer. When it’s ready, remove it from the broth and set aside until it is cool enough to handle with bare hands.* Reserve about 250ml of the broth as you may need it later.
  4. Meanwhile, boil the potatoes in their skins until cooked but not too soft. Leave to cool slightly, then peel and cut into a 2cm dice, Set aside.
  5. Pull each cooled tentacle down lengthways, squeezing at the same time to remove the suction pads and gelatine coating. Chop the flesh into 2cm pieces.
  6. Combine the octopus and potato in a bowl and dress with the oil, salt, parsley and garlic. Mix well, then finish with a splash of white wine to give the salad perfume. If the salad seems a little dry, add some of the reserved broth and to see gently.
  7. “Serve with Amore!”

* When it comes to pulling down the tentacles and gelatine coating, the octopus must be warm or hot.

Nat’s Black Eyed Bean Salad

.Reading time 1 minute.

Serves: 4

A couple of years ago, we spent New Years up in Newcastle, about two and a half hours north of Sydney.

We really like Newcastle. We have some very good friends there, the restaurant and bar scene gets better every year and with an AirBNB with a good enough kitchen, the show can go on.

We did a Greek/Mediterranean cook off and Nat made this wonderful salad along-side a braised octopus. Incredibly fresh, a wonderful simplicity of flavour and healthy.

Definitely a keeper for any Greek lunch, and a salad Nat has served a few times since.

Ingredients

2 c dried black eyed beans
1 l chicken stock
1 celery stick, finely diced
1/2 red capsicum, finely diced
1 white onion, finely diced
Big handful of Italian parsley leaves, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Braised octopus optional

Method

  1. Soak the beans overnight.
  2. Heat the stock to a simmer in a large saucepan, add the beans and simmer for 45 minutes or until softened. Drain and set aside to cool.
  3. Combine with the remaining ingredients and serve.

Claudia Roden’s Fried Fish with Cumin and Tahini Sauce

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4

As I started typing up this recipe, it struck me that there is not a Claudia Roden recipe I haven’t typed.

I am new to her cooking; the only question, is why?

This recipe is just lux.

Total joy.

Total simplicity.

Total genius.

If you served this to friends as part of a long lunch in the sun, there would be smiles all around. It’s just that good.

Ingredients

4 firm white fish fillets, such as bream or sea bass, skinless
3 tbsp plain flour
1 – 1 1/2 ground cumin
2 tbsp olive oil, for frying
1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 lemon, quartered, to serve
Saltt

Tahini sauce

3 tbsp tahini
Juice of 1/2 – 1 lemon, to taste
1 small garlic clove, crushed

Method

  1. For the tahini sauce, stir the tahini in the jar before putting 3 tbsp in a small serving bowl. Gradually add the lemon juice and 2 – 3 tbsp water, beating vigorously with a fork and adding just enough water to get the consistency of a runny cream. The paste with stiffen at first and then become light and smooth. Add a little salt and the garlic.
  2. Season the fish with salt. Put the flour, cumin and a pinch of salt on a plate and mix well. Turn the fish fillets into this to coat them all over, then shake vigorously to remove the excess flour.
  3. Heat a small amount of oil in a non-stick fry pan. Put the fillets in and cook over a medium-heat, turning them over once, for 3 – 10 minutes depending on their thickness, until crisp, lightly browned and just cooked through.
  4. Serve the fish with a sprinkling of parsley and the lemon quarters. Serve with the tahini sauce.

Florence Fabricant’s Greek Fisherman’s Stew

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: 4 – 6

Florence Fabricant is a NY Times food writer.

I subscribe to the NY Times Food app (a very worthy $50/annum) and the pro trick is to navigate primarily to those recipes that have hundreds, often thousands and thousands of 5-star ratings.

This is one of them.

Rustic. Easy to prepare. Absolutely moorish, especially as the sriracha mayonnaise breaks up in the juices.

This is definitely the way to kick off the week. Rude not to have a glass of white alongside.

Nat reckons her cheats Bouillabaisse is better. I’m on the fence.

You could cook this for me every week and I’d never be bored of it.

Yum.

Ingredients

3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
6 cloves garlic, sliced thin
1 small head fennel, diced
1/4 tsp red chilli flakes, or to taste
2 large beefsteak tomatoes, cored and chopped with their juices
1 tsp sea salt, or to taste
1 cup dry white wine (or whatever it is you have opened to have whilst you cook!)
500gm potatoes, peeled and diced*
Ground black pepper
1 tbsp lemon juice
1kg bass fillets or similar, cut into 12 pieces
6 basil leaves torn
1 c mayonnaise seasoned with 1 1/2 tsp sriracha or other hot sauce

Method

  1. Warm the oil in a heavy saucepan or casserole over a medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic until soft but not brown. Add fennel and cook a few minutes, until softened. Stir in chilli flakes. Add tomatoes and salt, cover and cook on medium for about 10 minutes.
  2. Stir in the wine and 2 1/2 c water, bring to a simmer, add the potatoes and cook for another 6 minutes or so, or until potatoes are tender. Season and add the lemon juice.
  3. Season the fish pieces with salt and pepper, place them in the stew and simmer on low, covered, until the fish is just cooked through; about 5 minutes. Warm 6 generous soup plates.
  4. When the fish is done, remove to your it to the warm soup plates. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the basil to wilt it. Divide soup among the 6 plates and serve with a good dollop of the spiced mayonnaise.

* The recipe asks for Yukon Gold potatoes of which I don’t know if I have seen in Australia. For me, there are white and red potatoes and then there are kipflers.

It seems the recipe is asking for the white or red varieties, though I did kipflers. Always so good.

I can see either working and for different reasons.

Enough potato talk.

Nigella’s Beef and Eggplant Fatteh

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: 4

Hats off Nigella, as simple – and predictable – as this recipe seems, when everything comes together; especially cooking everything as slow as you can, it is a wonderful weekend meal.

And it is quite literally is about it al coming together: the toasted pita chips, the mince and dollops of the warm yoghurt/tahini mixture.

Throw on top toasted pine nuts, shredded mint and pomegranate seeds* and you really couldn’t ask for more except for a second glass of wine as you watch Masterchef** on Monday night.

Hats off again. A cracker.

Ingredients

Base

4 pita breads, slit open and cut into nacho-sized triangles.

Topping

500gm Greek yoghurt
75gm tahini
45ml lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 – 2 tsp salt, to taste

Eggplant-beef layer

3 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 eggplant, cut into small cubes
2 1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground paprika
1 – 2 tsp salt, to taste
500gm minced beef

Garnish

125g pomegranate seeds
50gm pine nuts, toasted
1 – 2 tbsp finely shredded mint leaves

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 180c.
  2. Spread the pita triangles on a large baking tray and toast in the oven until toasted, moving them around regularly to ensure even toasting. Set aside until needed.
  3. Bat the yoghurt, tahini, lemon juice and 1 tsp of salt together in a heat proof bowl which will later be used to sit over a saucepan. Check the salt levels and adjust as needed.
  4. Warm the oil over a low heat in a wide, heavy frypan. Add the onion and sauté for 10 – 15 minutes until softened and caramel.
  5. Turn the heat up to medium, add the eggplant cubes and stir well to mix with the onion. Cook for 10 minutes or until the eggplant is golden, stirring frequently.
  6. Stir in the cumin, coriander and teaspoon of the paprika and a teaspoon of salt. Increase the heat to high and add the beef mince, breaking it up. Cook until browned. Reduce the heat and cook for another 10 minutes. Check the seasoning.
  7. Heat a saucepan of water and bring to a slow simmer. Place the bowl of tahini-yoghurt mixture on top, ensuring the bowl does not touch the water. Beat until the yoghurt is slightly above water temperature and has the consistency of lightly whipped cream.
  8. To assemble, arrange the crisp pita triangle on a large plate. Top with the eggplant-beef mixture, followed by the tahini-yoghurt sauce. Sprinkle with paprika to give a light dusting. Scatter over pomegranate seeds and toasted pine nuts and then finish with the shredded mint leaves.

* In a rush, I grabbed a Fuji fruit rather than a pomegranate. Laughs all round.

** Where we saw this recipe.

Greek Butterflied Leg of Lamb

.Reading time 1 minute.

Serves: 6 – 8

My mother used to serve us this leg of lamb – at least three times a year – BBQed by my father. The smell of it cooking is a smell I’ve never gotten over.

I’ve cooked it plenty of time too.

Nat loves it and the boys love it.

Max turns one this weekend and we’re having a picnic to celebrate.

A picnic with crusty, buttered rolls, plenty of rocket and egg mayo… and a slices of warm, slow-rotisseried leg of lamb.

Good Lord.

Happy first birthday or whatever you cook this super simple, always amazing lamb for.

Ingredients

Leg of lamb, butterflied
1 cup red wine
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp salt
Pepper
1 tsp oregano

Method

  1. Combine all the ingredients except the lamb and pour into a large ziplock bag.
  2. Add the lamb and marinate in the fridge for 24 hours.
  3. BBQ, basting liberally with the marinade until cooked medium.