Baklava

Not anywhere near as difficult as people think it is to make!


Baklava

Syrup:
1 1/4 c water
1 c sugar
2 cloves
2 inch cinnamon stick
2 t lemon juice
Small piece of lemon rind
1/4 c honey

Place syrup ingredients in a saucepan and stir over heat until sugar dissolves.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.  Strain out solids and return syrup to pot.

Baklava:
2 c chopped walnuts
1 c chopped almonds
1/4 c raw sugar
2 t cinnamon
1/4 t salt
1/4 t allspice
1 lb package of phyllo dough, thawed
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 c) butter, melted

Melt the butter and cut a piece of parchment for the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish.  Use a pastry brush to coat the top sheet and the sides of the dish with butter.  In a bowl, combine the nuts, sugar, and spices and set aside.

Unroll the phyllo and place on a piece of plastic wrap.  Cover with another piece of plastic wrap and a damp towel.  Place 3 sheets of phyllo in the dish, recovering the rest of the stack.  Brush with butter.  Add 3 more sheet and brush with butter, repeating until about half the phyllo is gone.  Spread 1/2 the nut mixture, top with three more sheets, butter the top, and spread the other 1/2 of the nut mixture.  Continue stacking 3 sheets of phyllo and brushing with butter until you run out.  End with butter.

With a sharp knife, cut through all layers: 6 lengthwise strips and then 6 crosswise strips.  Bake at 350 for about 35 minutes until golden brown.  Cool on a wire rack.

When the baklava is cool, reheat the syrup and pour hot over the pastry.  Let it stand for at least 3 hours at room temperature before serving.

Stuffed mini-bell peppers

This is a terrific appetizer that is pretty fast and easy to make, especially if you've got some cooked rice left over.   If you can't get ground lamb, or you just don't like it, another ground meat can be substituted.

Greek Stuffed Mini-Bell Peppers

2 small bags of mini-bell peppers
1 lb ground lamb
1 c cooked rice
Salt
1 clove garlic, minced
1 c feta cheese, crumbled
2 T fresh mint, chopped
2 t dried oregano

Preheat oven to 400.  Slice each mini-bell lengthwise, without removing the stem.  Clean out the insides.

Mix the rest of the ingredients together in a bowl by hand.  Using a small spoon, fill each bell and place on a foil lined rimmed baking sheet.  Place on the high-middle rack of the oven and cook for about 5 minutes.  Turn on the broiler and cook a few more minutes until the meat is sizzling and cooked through. 

Braised lamb with potatoes

Usually I prefer to roast a large boneless leg of lamb, but there's also a time and a place for smaller pieces or even individual chops.  If you know that timing is going to be really really tricky, this might be your best bet...it won't hurt the dish at all to stay in the oven longer.  The meat and potatoes will just keep getting more tender.

Braised Lamb with Potatoes (Greek style)

1 c fresh lemon juice (from 4 or 5 lemons)
1/2 c olive oil
3 T fresh oregano or 1 T dried
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
Water
2 lbs of lamb, chops, chunks, or leg slices
2 lb Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into quarters

Combine lemon juice, oil, oregano, salt and pepper in a zip loc bag. Add lamb to marinade, turning to coat well. Refrigerate 24 hours, turning a few times.

Place lamb and marinade in a roasting pan, adding water if needed to come up about half way on meat.  Cover pan tightly with foil and roast at 300 for an hour or more. Flip lamb and add potatoes.  Roast for another hour or more.  Uncover and roast at 400 to brown the potatoes.

Stuffed grape leaves

I had a ball the other weekend, preparing (and eating) stuffed grape leaves.  DH was returning from a business trip, and I wanted something that would constitute a full meal, but would also be easy to eat in installments since he never knows what time zone he's in when he gets home.

Having done a fair amount of Greek cooking, I had several different recipes to choose from for the filling, but as I looked around for some tips on the actual stuffing and cooking, I really liked the recipe that was on the About.com Greek Food site.  So that's what I'm recommending.  I substituted ground lamb for the beef, but use whichever you want.  You can also easily make this into a vegetarian meal by subbing in tempeh or another grain for the meat.

Now I can't wait for our grape vines to start leafing! 

Roasted vegetables, salad, and stuffed grape leaves

Spanakopita

I am a huge fan of Greek spinach and feta pie (Spanakopita) ever since I first had it.  But it can be a monstrous bear to make.  Surprisingly enough, Cook's Illustrated, the magazine with a reputation for amazing but complicated recipes, has one of the best versions I've ever had...and it didn't take me all day to make it!

I made some minor adjustments, upping the eggs to 3 and reducing the feta cheese to 8 oz (Mike doesn't like it quite so salty), and I also swapped olive oil for the butter that they called for in the phyllo layers.  I mean really!  This isn't baklava!

Cucumber and tomato salad, Greek-style

Cucumbers and tomatoes together are a wonderful thing, but when you add green olives and feta cheese…heaven! I toasted 2 thick slices of pumpernickel bread and cut them into croutons, but you can use store-bought croutons if you don’t have the time to do this.

Greek-Style Cucumber and Tomato Salad

2 slices of pumpernickel bread

1/4 c olive oil
2 T red wine vinegar
1 t fresh garlic, smashed
3 T fresh basil, chopped
Salt and pepper

Large tomato, chopped
Large cucumber, sliced medium (I like the long English cukes)
1/2 c green olives
1/2 red onion, sliced very thin
4 – 6 oz feta cheese, crumbled

Toast and cube the bread, and let it sit out to get stale if you’ve got time. Whisk the olive oil through the salt and pepper together in a small bowl. In a serving bowl, gently toss the tomato through the cheese. Pour the dressing over and toss again. Add the croutons just before serving or to each individual plate.

Image: Stock.xchng

Lamb skewers with Greek sides

If you cube your lamb small, it will cook very quickly and stay quite tender! Add some Greek sides and some lemon to dowse everything, and you’ll be in tastebud heaven. Besides the Greek accompaniments listed below, we added fresh asparagus to the mix, doing it on the grill as well. Yum! This can all be done and ready in thirty minutes.

Lamb Skewers with Greek Sides

Large cucumber, sliced medium
1 c plain yogurt
1/2 c fresh mint, chopped
Salt and pepper
2 lbs of lamb leg or shoulder, cubed
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Greek black olives
Pita bread, halved
Lemon, cut into thick wedges

Slice up the cucumber, chop the mint and mix together with the yogurt and seasonings.
Toss the lamb cubes with olive oil and season them before skewering them. Cook on a hot grill, turning every few minutes until seared on the outside and still pink inside.

Remove lamb from skewers onto each plate. Serve with the cucumber salad, olives, pita and a wedge of lemon. Drizzle the lamb with the lemon and stuff whatever portion of the feast you wish into the pita.

Lamb with black olive paste

Here’s the perfect recipe to use your black olive paste with! I served small but thick slices of lamb smothered in the paste, along with mixed hearty grains, a Greek salad, and some bread to sop up the extra olive paste. Altogether, it took less than thirty minutes to put the entire meal together, since I had already made the black olive paste during once a week food preparation day.

Lamb with Black Olive Paste

1 lb thick lamb slices or chops
Olive oil

Black olive paste

In a cast iron skillet (preferably), sear the meat quickly on both sides in some olive oil. Cover the tops of the slices with a mound of black olive paste and place into very hot oven, 500, on bake, not broil. Depending upon the thickness, it will take 10 to 15 minutes to cook through without losing all the pink.

While the meat is cooking, heat up some water for couscous, orzo, or quick-cook mixed grains, mix up a salad of dark baby greens, feta cheese, and tomatoes, and cut some small rounds of crusty bread. And pour the wine!

Black olive paste

Black olive paste can be used to season so many things, especially Greek and Middle Eastern dishes. It’s also great on crackers, if a bit high in sodium ;-)

This is a condiment that I would make on my once a week food preparation day so that it’s ready for dishes like the lamb that I’m going to post about tomorrow…

Black Olive Paste

Small can of black olives
1 clove of garlic
Olive oil
Bay leaf
1/2 t thyme
2 t brown mustard

Process all together until thick and pastey, but not totally pureed. Add just enough olive oil to moisten. Store in a small jar in the refrigerator.

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Greek-style chicken (OAMC)

This dish can easily be a thirty minute meal if you've done the once a week food prep. If not, start by boiling up the chicken and cutting it up. Save the stock water for another time. This can also be packaged up for OAMC, as the rice will still be slightly firm. When you thaw and reheat it, the rice will soften slightly.

Greek-Style Chicken

Two breasts of pre-cooked chicken, cut into chunks

4 carrots, cut in chips
Onions, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
Garlic
Olive oil

1-1/4 c long grain rice
2-1/2 c stock and water
Lemon juice
Black olives

In a large skillet, saute carrots through garlic in olive oil. Add rice and saute for 2 more minutes. Add stock and water, bringing it to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook covered for 20-25 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and chicken to heat. Stir in the olives and serve.