Melitzanosalata (Eggplant salad)

Ingredients
Yield: About 2 cups

Eggplants, medium 1 ½ kilos (3 pounds)
Garlic cloves, crushed 2 – 5, to taste
Extra-virgin Greek olive oil 60 – 125 ml (¼ - ½ cup)
Distilled white vinegar 2 – 3 Tbsp.
Sugar 1 tsp.
Salt to taste
Unshelled walnuts (optional) 60 gr. (1/2 cup), coarsely chopped

Preparation

Grill or bake eggplants whole, until charred and soft. Remove from oven and cool slightly. While eggplant is still hot, remove stem and skin. Cut lengthwise in half. Remove and discard as many of the seeds as possible.
Place eggplant in a bowl and pour in the extra-virgin Greek olive oil. Stir with a fork until most of the oil is absorbed. Add the vinegar, salt, and sugar in alternating doses to achieve desired taste. Mix in walnuts, if desired. Serve.

READ MORE>>

Mussel Pilaf with Tiny Pasta

Ingredients

For 4-6 Servings

3 pounds (1 1/2 kilos) mussels, preferably Greek farmed mussels
1/3 cup Greek extra-virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 large squid, cleaned, body cut into thin rings, tentacles chopped
1 cup peeled, seeded, chopped plum tomatoes
1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/2 pound tiny Greek couscousi pasta or other tiny pasta

Preparation

1.Wash the mussels very well, scrubbing their shells and removing their stringy beards. Place in a large pot without any water, cover, and heat over low heat. Let them steam in their own juices until the shells open, for about 5 minutes. Discard any mussels whose shells have not opened.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and cook the garlic and squid tentacles until bright pink, about 3 minutes. Add the tomato, parsley, salt and pepper and simmer the sauce for about 20 minutes over low heat, until thick. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until tender but al dente, about 7 minutes.
3. Strain the mussels, and strain their liquid through a fine mesh sieve. Shell half the mussels. Add the steaming mussel juices and the mussels themselves to the sauce. Drain the pasta with a slotted spoon and empty it into the sauce, tossing with about one cup of the pasta liquid, until the final dish is juicy. Serve immediately.

READ MORE>>

Grilled Bread with Spicy Cheese and Green Peppers

Ingredients

For 12 pieces

100 gr. (3 oz.) cream
1 Tbsp.boukovo, or red pepper flakes
1 1/2 Tbsp. Greek extra-virgin olive oil
250 gr. (9 oz.) feta
1 tsp. sweet paprika
2 green peppers, diced
1 Tbsp. Greek extra-virgin olive oil for the peppers
Salt and freshly ground pepper
12 slices stale bread, 6 x 2.5 cm (2 x 1 in.)

Preparation

1. Warm the cream in a small saucepan, taking care not to boil.
2. Sauté the boukovo in the olive oil for 30 sec. over medium heat.
3. Process the feta, hot cream, boukovo, and paprika at high speed until creamy. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
4. Mix the peppers with the remaining olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
5. Toast the bread, spread a little of the cheese spread on them and decorate each with a few peppers. Serve.

READ MORE>>

Olive Oil Ice Cream

Ingredients

5 cups heavy cream
1 cup Greek extra virgin olive oil
8 egg yolks
2 cinnamon sticks
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1 1/2 cups sugar

Preparation

1. In a thick, bottomed sauce pan add 3 cups of the cream and cinnamon sticks. Scrape the seeds of the split vanilla bean into the mixture and add the beans. Bring to boil and remove from heat. Set aside to cool for one hour.
2. In an electric mixer at high speed, whip the egg yolks and 1 cup of sugar until the mixture becomes pale and creamy.
3. Strain the cream and discard the cinnamon and vanilla bean. Heat the cream over very low heat. Whisk constantly and slowly add the egg mixture, stirring until the mixture coats the back of a spoon or until it starts to froth. Chill for two hours.
4. Whip remaining cream and sugar. Fold into chilled cream mixture and then whisk in olive oil well. Put in ice cream churner. You may have to do it in two batches or halve this mixture for a domestic churner.

READ MORE>>

Eggplant and Feta Patties

Ingredients
For 30 pieces

3 large eggplants
1 large zucchini
All-purpose flour as needed
Oil for frying
250 gr. feta, crumbled
100 gr. Kasseri, grated
1 bunch shallots finely chopped
1 bunch basil, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups sesame seeds
1 1/2 cups coarse polenta
1 1/2 cups plain dried bread crumbs
6 large eggs, slightly beaten

Preparation

1. Dice eggplant and zucchini with skin on and place in large mixing bowl. Sprinkle flour over the zucchini and eggplant and toss well until they are all coated.
2. Heat oil in a deep fryer. Make sure the oil is hot. Have a tray lined with paper to drain. Fry handfuls at a time of the diced eggplant and zucchini, scooping them out and placing them onto the paper when golden brown. Cool for 15-30 minutes.
3. Toss crumbled feta, grated kasseri, basil, and shallots with the eggplant-zucchini mixture. Mix all together but keep chunky and wet enough to mold well together.
4. Shape golf-ball size pieces out of the mixture and place on a sheet pan.
In another tray mix the coarse polenta, sesame seeds, and breadcrumbs.
Set a plate of flour in front of you, next to the sesame mixture, and next to that the eggs. Dip the fritters first in the flour, then in the egg, then in the sesame mixture. Place on a tray lined with parchment paper. Chill the patties to firm and set. Fry again until golden and serve with tzatziki.

READ MORE>>

Types and how to care you olive oil

Types of olive oil

Generally, olive oil is extracted by pressing or crushing olives. Olive oil comes in different varieties, depending on the amount of processing involved. Varieties include:

Extra virgin - considered the best, least processed, comprising the oil from the first pressing of the olives.

Virgin - from the second pressing.

Pure - undergoes some processing, such as filtering and refining.

Extra light - undergoes considerable processing and only retains a very mild olive flavour. 

When buying olive oil you will want to obtain a high quality EXTRA VIRGIN oil. The oil that comes from the first "pressing" of the olive, is extracted without using heat (a cold press) or chemicals, and has no "off" flavors is awarded "extra virgin" status. The less the olive oil is handled, the closer to its natural state, the better the oil. If the olive oil meets all the criteria, it can be designated as "extra virgin".

What is pure and light olive oil? "Pure" olive oil is made by adding a little extra virgin olive oil to refined olive oil. It is a lesser grade oil that is also labeled as just "olive oil" in the U.S.

"Light" olive oil is a marketing concept and not a classification of olive oil grades. It is completely unregulated by any certification organizations and therefore has no real precedent to what its content should be. Sometimes, the olive oil is cut with other vegetable oils.

How to care for your olive oil

Resist the temptation to place your beautiful bottle of olive oil on the windowsill. Light and heat are the #1 enemy of oil. Keep olive oil in a cool and dark place, tightly sealed. Oxygen promotes rancidity. Olive oil is like other oils and can easily go rancid when exposed to air, light or high temperatures.

A good source on the internet for extra virgin olive oil is ................................... .

READ MORE>>

Mousaka recipe

Moussaka

Ingredients

 (8-10 servings)

 •4 large eggplants

•1 kg of lamb minced meat finely chopped

•1 small onion thinly chopped

•2 cloves gillyflower

•1 tablespoon of black raisins (optional)

•1 clove cinnamon

•½ tablespoon grated orange peel

•2 tablespoons of olive oil

•1 ½ cup olive oil for frying 1 teaspoon salt

For the topping

 •2 tablespoons butter

•3 – 4 tablespoons flour

•2 cups fresh milk

•2 egg yolks

•2 tablespoons grated cheese

•½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preparation

Cut the eggplants into slices and put them in salted water for 1 hour approximately.

Remove eggplants from water and squeeze them so they drain the excess water.

Heat olive oil in a deep frying pan with heavy bottom and fry the eggplants until soften without getting brown.

Arrange them on a kitchen towel paper to absorb the excess olive oil.

In a clean frying pan heat olive oil and sizzle the onion until it golden browns without getting burned.

Add minced meat, stir constantly, add all spices, grated orange peel and raisins- provided that you use them- along with a bit of salt.

Cook 4 – 5 minutes until all fluids are absorbed.

Arrange eggplant slices on a medium size baking dish, sprinkle minced meat and continue with another layer of eggplants.

Prepare bechamel sauce as follows

In a small saucepan melt butter, remove from the heat and add flour, stirring constantly with a wooden ladle till the mixture thickens.

When the mush cools, add the beaten egg yolks. Add cold milk and place the saucepan in the heat, in low temperature, stirring constantly till it becomes a thick and homogeneous sauce.

Sprinkle cheese and add a touch of salt and nutmeg and spoon the sauce over all.

Bake for 25-30 minutes in a preheated 180 degrees oven until the sauce golden browns.

Serve warm.

READ MORE>>

Ancient Olympia, where the Olympic Games were born

Olympia is one of the most popular destinations for tourists in Greece. Even cruise ships dock at the nearby port of Katakolo and put people on buses to visit the site. The village of Olympia itself is a collection of tourist shops, cafes, restaurants and a Historical Museum of the Olympic Games. As in most overly touristic places in Greece finding a restaurant is easy.

The Olympic flame of the modern-day Olympic Games is lit by reflection of sunlight in a parabolic mirror in front of the Temple of Hera and then transported by a torch to the place where the games are held. When the modern Olympics came to Athens in 2004, the men's and women's shot put competition was held at the restored Olympia stadium.

 The town has a train station and is the easternmost terminus of the line of Olympia-Pyrgos (Ilia). The train station with the freight yard to its west is located about 300 m east of the town centre. The area is hilly and mountainous; most of the area within Olympia is forested. But Olympia is close to the sea and you can choose from a great selection of hotels placed in or close the town.

The Olympic Games

Only free men who spoke Greek were allowed to participate in the Ancient Games of classical times. They were to some extent "international", in the sense that they included athletes from the various Greek city-states. Additionally, participants eventually came from Greek colonies as well, extending the range of the games to far shores of the Mediterranean and of the Black Sea.

The Museum

The Archaeological Museum of Olympia, one of the most important museums in Greece, presents the long history of the most celebrated sanctuary of antiquity, the sanctuary of Zeus, father of both gods and men, where the Olympic games were born. The museum's permanent exhibition contains finds from the excavations in the sacred precinct of the Altis dating from prehistoric times to the Early Christian period. Among the many precious exhibits the sculpture collection, for which the museum is most famous, the bronze collection, the richest collection of its type in the world, and the large terracottas collection, are especially noteworthy.

 

READ MORE>>

How to make the best Greek Salad

Greek salad, or horiatiki salata, is a rough country salad of juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumber, sliced red onion, green pepper, crumbly feta cheese and olives. Greek salad can be served as a side dish or as a light meal with some crusty bread.

3 tomatoes—cut into wedges

Extra virgin olive oil

½ teaspoon dried oregano

Salt

¼ red onion—sliced into rings

½ cucumber—sliced into thick half-moons

½ green pepper (capsicum)—julienned

100gr feta cheese—cut into small cubes

16 kalamata olives

Place the salad ingredients into a large bowl. Season with the salt and the oregano to taste and pour the olive oil over the salad. Toss gently to combine just before serving. Your Greek salad is ready! ENJOY!

Buy Greek products HERE

READ MORE>>