Hen’s eggs, however, were slow to enter the human diet, especially the Western diet. The chicken is the last addition to the poultry yards of ancient Greece and Rome, and there is considerable disagreement over the date of its arrival. Some sources point to the fifth century B.C., others go further back, arguing that chickens first appeared in Central Europe around 1500 B.C. and reached Greece some 400 years later. Homer doesn’t mention chickens.

When the hen’s egg finally did enter the larder of the ancient Greeks, it wasn’t very well esteemed. There are very few  mentions of recipes with hen’s eggs in ancient Greek texts, although there is ample mention of the delicate peacock’s egg, which was considered far superior.

Egg cookery really took off with the Romans. Eggs are mentioned frequently in the Ars Magirica, by the great Roman chef Apicius, who is said to have invented baked custard–milk, honey and eggs beaten and baked in an earthenware dish at low heat. Beaten eggs were used as a thickening agent to bind sauces and stews, and hardboiled eggs were an ingredient in many ancient Roman dishes.

By Diane Kochilas

www.dianekochilas.com

Ingredients

1 ½ packet of butter,
1 egg,
3 cups of sugar powder,
4 spoonful of cocoa,
3½ packets of plain morning biscuits
½ wine glass of brandy,
½ tin of evaporated milk and ½ water,
2 vanillas
250 gr., of walnuts chopped
(optional ingredients: raisins, dried fruit, spoon sweets, almonds, coconut, etc.)

Method

1. Leave butter outside fridge for 2 hours to soften.
2. Beat butter with mixer until white.
3. Add cocoa and sugar and continue beating.
4. Add vanillas, egg and walnuts (we leave some to put on top) and continue to mix.
5. Put milk, water and brandy in a bowl and wet biscuits, then break into small pieces and add to the butter mixture. Mix well.
6. We cut a big piece of aluminum foil and put the mixture giving it a salami shape.
7. Sprinkle with the walnuts. Roll and fold.
8. Put in a platter and place in deep freeze for a couple of hours before serving.

By Ivy

grouprecipes.com

Semeli was founded in 1979 - the wines have been well received both on the home market and abroad and have won many international awards. The company is committed to developing local wines that are based on local products that are affordable. It also wants to create more wine tourism to the country, and offers tours around their wineries in Nemea and Mantinea in the Peloponnese.

http://neoskosmos.com

 

 

For the pork gyros

1 pork tenderloin, cut into strips
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1/2 red onion, sliced
3-4 tbsps of olive oil
1-2 tbsps red wine vinegar
1 tbsp oregano
thyme
rosemary
1/2 tbsp of honey

For the tzatziki sauce

1 cucumber
2 cloves of garlic
1/4 of a cup extra virgin olive oil
500g of yogurt (18 ounces)
1-2 tbsps of red wine vinegar
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

To serve

4 pita breads
1 red onion, sliced
1 tomato, sliced
fried potatoes (optional)
some lettuce

Instructions

To prepare the pork gyros, mix into a large bowl the tenderloin (cut into strips), the garlic, the red onion, 3-4 tbsp of olive oil, 1-2 tbsp of red wine vinegar, some thyme, some rosemary, and mix with your hands. Squeeze the ingredients together, so that all the flavours blend and add 1/2 tbsp of honey. Wrap the bowl and put it into the fridge. Leave the marinade in the fridge for at least 2 hours, before using it (ideally leave it over night).

In a (very hot) large non-sticking pan, add the tenderloin along with the ingredients of the marinade, and sauté for 1 minute on each side, without stirring, until the meat is nicely coloured, crispy and tender inside.

To prepare the tzatziki sauce for the pork gyros, pour in a food processor the olive oil and garlic and blend until the garlic is diluted (don’t leave any large pieces of garlic). Into a large bowl, grate the cucumber, season with salt and pepper and leave it aside for 10 minutes. Wrap the grated cucumber into a towel and squeeze, in order to get rid of most of the water. Into a bowl, add the cucumber, the blended garlic and oil, the yogurt, 1-2 of red wine vinegar, salt and pepper and mix. (This recipe is for 5-6 servings. Store in the fridge and always serve cold.)

Use a cooking brush to oil the pita breads on both sides and season with salt, pepper and oregano. Place a large pan (upside down) at the bottom of the oven, place the pita breads on top, and bake in preheated oven at 250C for about 1 minute.

Pork gyros is usually served wrapped, like a sandwich. To serve, spread some tzatziki sauce on the pita breads and top with the pork gyros, some slices of red onion, some sliced tomato and wrap.

For an easier version, you can substitute the tzatziki sauce with some fresh yogurt or some mustard and mayonnaise sauce.

To read more, please visit mygreekdish.com

Ingredients for Dough

300 gr. self-raising flour
300 gr. all purpose flour
½ a yogurt bowl
1 cup sunflower oil
½ cup white wine
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
½ cup margarine
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 sachet yeast

Ingredients for Filling

2 cups left over cooked meat in tomato sauce
1 large potato diced
1 cup carrots diced
1 cup corn
1 cup peas
1 cup mushrooms cut up in small pieces
½ cup parsley finely chopped
1 teaspoon corn flour
Salt, pepper
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water for the egg wash

Preparation:

First prepare the dough. Place all the ingredients in the bowl of your food processor, except the salt. Use the hook attachment and mix the ingredients. Then add the salt and continue mixing for about 5 minutes. You will have a nice, soft dough. Take it out of the bowl, place it in a plastic bag and leave it in the fridge while you prepare the filling.

Dice the meat and put it in a pan. Add ½ cup of water and bring to a boil. Add the vegetables, salt and pepper, stir and simmer for 10 minutes. Dissolve the corn flour in a couple of tablespoons water and add to the mixture. Check the seasoning and remove from the fire. Let the filling cool down.

Take the dough out of the fridge and divide it roughly in two pieces, the one a littler larger. Roll out the larger piece to fit your pan, with a little more dough to overhang the sides. The pan must be lightly oiled so that the dough doesn’t stick to it. Put the cool filling over the dough. Level it out with the back of a spoon. Fold the dough over the filling.

Roll out the second piece of dough. Brush the dough you have folded over the filling with the beaten egg. Place the rolled out dough over the filling and trim it round the edges. Press down gently so that it sticks to the bottom dough and gently tuck the leftover dough under the pie. Cut a few slits on the pie to enable the steam to escape. Brush the top with the egg wash. Bake the pie at 180oC until it is golden brown.

Source: CookingInPlainGreek.com

The Greek yogurt banana bread uses bananas and Greek yogurt to completely replace the oil or butter in an attempt to make it a little healthier while leaving the bread nice and light, fluffy and most importantly, moist. For my pumpkin Greek yogurt banana bread I pretty much took the Greek yogurt banana bread recipe and added pumpkin spices and pumpkin puree while removing some of the bananas to keep the moisture level consistent. In addition I replaced some of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour and since pecan go so well with pumpkin I added some of those as well. The pumpkin Greek yogurt banana bread turned out amazingly well, having one of the best textures that I have ever had in a quick bread! I am looking forward to breakfasts this week especially on Halloween!

Even after spending the time making a healthier pumpkin bread recipe I could not resist topping it with a vanilla bourbon caramel sauce!

I like to wrap my leftover quick bread in aluminum foil and store it in fridge. When I want another slice I simply pull one out and put it in the microwave for 10-20 seconds to warm it up and it is almost just like the day that it was made.

This pumpkin Greek yogurt banana bread with vanilla bourbon caramel sauce makes for such an amzing breakfast!

Servings: makes 1 loaf

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 60 minutes
Total Time: 1 hours 10 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour (or all-purpose flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cloves
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree (homemade or store bought)
2 large over-ripe bananas
2 eggs
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1 cup pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped (optional)

Directions

Mix the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves in a large bowl.
Mix brown sugar, pumpkin puree, bananas, eggs and yogurt in another large bowl.
Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients followed by the pecans.
Pour the mixture into a greased 12 x 24 cm loaf pan.
Bake in a preheated 180C oven until golden brown and a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean, about 60 minutes.

By Kevin Lynch

http://www.closetcooking.com

I have used two methods here, one with fillo pastry, the other with puff pastry. Try either method, they both taste fantastic!

Ingredients

8 - 10 sheets filo pastry
70 - 90 gms butter, melted
200g feta cheese, crumbled
200g fresh ricotta cheese
2 eggs lightly beaten
ground black pepper
pinch of ground nutmeg

Preparation

With the cheese, you need at least 200g of feta, you can have more feta and less ricotta if you like, especially if the feta is quite mild.

Combine all the filling ingredients in a Mixing Bowl and mix well.

On a board, stack the fillo sheets on top of each other and cut into 3 strips, lengthwise.

Prepare and grease a large baking tray.

Take one strip of filo at a time, using a Pastry Brush carefully brush the melted butter over the pastry, then place 1 or 2 teaspoons of filling on the pastry at one end.

Taking one corner, fold it over diagonally to create a triangle shape. Keep folding it back and forth, diagonally along the strip. You will find the filling has become enclosed in a triangle shaped envelope.

Place the cheese pie on the baking tray with the loose end underneath. Repeat for all other pies.

Brush the tops of the pies with the melted butter.

Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes or until light golden - 180 C, 350 F, gas 4.

Serve warm or at room temperature. Serve as part of a meze with a drink!

Another very simple method is to use puff pastry. (I often use the shop bought frozen sheets of pastry as it is much easier, but you can make your own puff pastry.)

You will need 5 -6 sheets of pastry.

Cut each sheet into 6 portions, place 1 or 2 teaspoons of cheese filling on each piece.

Brush with water around the edges of the pastry, then fold the pastry over the filling to create a bit of a square.

Pinch the sides together and then place on a baking tray.

Brush the pastry with milk and bake as above.

Both versions are delicious and are great to serve as party food.

Bon Appetit - Kali Orexi

 

 

 

 

Take a stroll through this bustling neighborhood where vendors sell fish, meat and vegetables alongside more touristy fare of T-shirts, worry beads and replicas of ancient vases, and you’ll come across one of my all-time favorite treats : roast chestnuts. You have to work a little at peeling back the crispy outer layer, but it’s worth it! Chestnut vendors sell roast corn as well — tastes great with a sprinkle of Greek sea salt on top.

If you get thirsty from the chestnuts and corn, just a few steps away is the Salep vendor. What is Salep, you might ask? I passed by this  huge bronze urn for four days before I got up the nerve to try, and found out……. it’s orchid tea!

The vendor handed over a tiny cup with a foamy finish, a dash of cinnamon and the most exotic fragrance…….I took a taste and it had the strangest mix of sweet, citrus and nuttiness.

Apparently there’s enough demand for orchid tea in Athens to support more than one vendor. In the middle of Ermou, a busy downtown shopping street, this man has also set up shop. And instead of one gleaming bronze dispenser on his mobile cart……

To read the rest of this blogpost, please visit www.travelbelles.com

By Amanda Summer