The Greek Food

Category: Beef

  • Beef burgers recipe

    Beef burgers recipe

    When i was in Greece, burgers had always a special place in our menu. Home made ones i mean of course…

    I still remember the looks of the pan getting out of the oven with the round burgers and sizzling oven potatoes as my mother were placing them on the kitchen board to get some rest. I had kept some minced meat from last time when i made the peinirli which gave me the idea to make some nice burgers. Well, to be honest it wasn’t so much left….so i made only one, but it was big enough.

    I think what makes this recipe so nice is the addition of the trimmed tomato as it gives a nice sweet taste to the burger that is kind of different in relation to what i usually tried. The portions are adjusted for a one mans meal… so you made your own adjustments depending on the amount you are looking for and hopefully it will come up as nice as it did for me.

    Ingredients

    • 250gr of minced beef.
    • 1/4 of a big onion trimmed
    • 1/2 medium small size tomato trimmed
    • A bit of oregano
    • 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil
    • One small cup of vinegar
    • Salt and pepper
    • The crumb from 1 slice of bread

     

    The whole idea is pretty simple on how to make the burgers and i guess that is what makes it so nice. In a big bow you add all the ingredients and you start mixing them with your hands until you manage to form one big burger. You can brake it up to two i guess but i preferred to make one big one. When you do that make sure to leave them in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to relax.

    Put it to a per-heated oven  in medium heat and leave it over there until you see it becomes brown. Pinch it a bit with the fork to see there is no blood coming out but in the same time its not completely dry…and its ready. You can serve them with oven baked potatoes .. or just salad…or both…its up to you!

     

  • Gemista – Greek Stuffed tomatoes and peppers

    Gemista – Greek Stuffed tomatoes and peppers

    The following is by far my favourite Greek Dish. Ok this and souvlakia which you can read here. Well, both ways Gemista is a recipe I really like to cook and one of the most traditional Greek recipes you can find.

    It takes a lot of time though and needs some preparation, so don’t start to do it if you really don’t have time.

    Nevertheless if you try it once, I am sure you will try it again… Just before we go to the ingredients, a simple note, the size of the peppers and tomatoes must be more or less the same or else its possible some of them not be rightly cooked..

    In Greece many people debate whether Gemista should be served with minced meat or without making them a purely Vegetarian food. As if we didn’t had any other reasons to fight… Thats the reason why the recipe is placed in multiple categories on my blog. The only thing that you have to do is prepare the stuffing with the minced meat and the rest is more or less the same.

    The truth is that either way its great. It is a great dish especially for the summer when tomatoes and peppers are at their best!

    INGREDIENTS FOR GEMISTA (GREEK STUFFED TOMATOES AND PEPPERS) RECIPE

    Gemista
    Stuffed tomatoes, peppers and potatoes
    • 500gr of minced meat beef
    • 4-5 beef tomatoes and 1 pepper
    • 1 cup of rice
    • 1 onion finely chopped
    • 2cloves of garlic
    • 1 small bunch of parsley chopped
    • Olive Oil, salt, pepper
    • 1 can of tomato juice.

    HOW TO COOK GEMISTA

    • First of all we need to make the stuffing that we are going to fill in the vegetables.
    • We need to cut the tomatoes making a little “hat” on top of them and with a spoon to remove all of its inside. Dont throw it away,we will need it!
    • So go ahead and grab a deep frying pan and add 2 tea spoons of olive oil and in medium heat throw in the onions and the garlic. Let them sizzle a bit and stir them. Be careful not to burn them.
    • Throw the minced meat in and stir it well until it becomes brownish.
    • Add Salt, pepper and 2-3 teaspoons of oregano. Pour the tomato juice and the inside juice from the tomatoes you have removed. Let it cook for 5-6 minutes making sure you stir it in the mean time.
    • Add the rice and then fill the frying pan with water and let it boil. Let it cook and taste it in the mean time to make sure that the rice is cooked..
    • As it is being cooked the water will evaporate and a lit bit before its done you should add the chopped parsley removing it from the heat
    • You need to stuff the tomatoes and the peppers with the mixture.
    • Take a spoon and simple add the mixture inside but dont over do it because that might crack the tomatoes.
    • When you fill them, you need to close the tomatoes and peppers with the tops.
    • Bake it in a preheated oven for around an hour…an hour and a half. Make sure that your pan, has always a bit of water in it. For the pan i have on the picture i just added a glass. The water evaporates making sure the tomatoes are getting softer.
    • When the vegetables become slightly blackened on the sides then it’s ready. Don’t serve it immediately but let it “mellow” for some minutes.
    • It is best done with oven baked potatoes which you can add in the same pan.

    This is typically a summer food that you can have even cold. Hope you enjoy it!

    Gemista
    Our Stuffed tomatoes and Peppers are ready!
  • Casserole Beef with Peas

    Casserole Beef with Peas

    The following is a simple recipe for a casserole meat with peas. Its not basically a really Greek Food as I believe its more or less the same all around the world but we were doing it in my family so I have to consider it Greek.

    Ok here it goes

    INGREDIENTS

    • 1 teaspoon of Olive Oil
    • 350gr of Onions finely cut
    • 1 clove of garlic
    • 1 tomato juice can
    • 1 vegetable stock cube
    • 300 gr of Peas
    • Salt and Pepper
    • 1200gr of Beef in cubes
    • 100ml of red wine

    casserole beef with peas
    Shiny peas with beef casserole

    HOW YOU DO IT?

    Just add Salt and Pepper to the beef.  In a big pot, add the olive oil and heat it up.

    Add the onions and the beef. Stir well until it becomes brownish from all sides. Add the garlic  and the tomato juice.

    Stir well for 2 mins and then throw in the glass of red wine. Lower the heat and let it boil for 2-3 minutes.  Add the peas and cover it with water.

    Continue to boil until the water vaporizes and the beef softens up.

    Tips: You can add deal on top of it as it creates a distinct flavour or garlic in the beginning for a more…”heavy” one.. You can add more vegetables like potatoes etc etc but that just increases the boiling time.

    Enjoy!