Everybody likes Meatballs. Anyway, you make them, it will be a great recipe for lunch with the family and the kids will love you.
In Greece, my mother used to make almost biweekly and in different variations but i have to say that personally, i have missed them a bit. There are different variations and the fried ones are quite different from another kind of meatballs we have in greece like giouvarlakia and soutzoukakia.
The word meatballs probably come from the Persian “kofta” (kofta) from which all the peoples of the Middle East, Asia Minor and the Eastern Mediterranean have named their meatballs. “Kofta” may again be related to the corresponding Byzantine “kopton”. Anyway, when the word “meatballs”(κεφτέδες) is mentioned, smiles of happiness follow!
When we make meatballs our house is filled with their aromas and we become really impatient to taste them. In our opinion, however, they are best served hot but not piping hot, so that one can better appreciate their taste. We also like them at room temperature.
The meatballs can be served either as an appetizer/appetizer with wine, beer or ouzo or as a snack at any time of the day. We can also put them in improvised sandwiches, serve them at family gatherings, parties, buffets… The possibilities are really unlimited.
Of course, we can serve them as a main with french fries or baked potatoes and salad. In fact, their combination with a classic Greek salad is magical! Their combination with tzatziki is equally fantastic!
INGREDIENTS
650gr. ground beef
Crumb of 3 slices of medium bread
1 medium onion, finely chopped, or grated on a grater
2 teaspoons chopped parsley soup
1 teaspoon sweet oregano
1 teaspoon sweet mint fresh chopped
1 beaten egg
2 teaspoons olive oil soup
Salt Pepper
flour for sprinkling
oil for frying
Method
Soak the bread crumbs in plenty of water until it swells and then squeeze it well with your hands.
In a large bowl, mix the minced meat, onion, parsley, oregano, mint, egg and 2 tbsp. olive oil soup. Add the bread and then mix the mixture very well, until all the ingredients are unified.
Allow the mixture to stand for 15 minutes.
Take small pieces of the mixture and shape round meatballs. Spread a greased pan on the kitchen counter, sprinkle it with plenty of flour and roll the meatballs until they are covered with flour everywhere.
In a large pan, heat enough oil (about 1 finger depth) and when it burns, put as many meatballs as you can and fry them, turning them on all sides, until they turn ruby red.
Remove the meatballs from the pan and place them on a plate lined with kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil. Continue the process until all the meatballs are fried.
When i was young i didn’t remember at all eating any orange cake. It was basically chocolate all day. As you get older though you just start to appreciate those things a little bit more. The following orange recipe came from my mother and she reminded to me how many times she has experimented in the past with cake recipes.
Obviously, its a bit too much to say that it is a Greek orange recipe as i bet many others similar to this one exist all over the world. But.. that’s how we were eating it at home.
Cakes like that are so easy to make that you can use it as a base for various other cake recipes
Orange Cake recipe ingredients
150gr sugar
180gr of carrots shredded
60gr of olive oil
100gr of shredded walnuts
200gr of orange juice
1/2 of small spoon baking powder
the zest from one orange (or vanilla)
300gr self raising flower
For the cream
250gr of cream cheese
1 +1/4 cup of sugar
1/2 cup whipping cream
How do we do it?
We preheat the oven at 170c
Add olive oil in one baking tin for cakes and put it in the fridge.
In a big bowl, we add olive oil, sugar, the orange juice, the baking powder, carrots, the orange zest, cinnamon and the clove. Mix them all and add slowly the flour spoon by spoon.
Remove the baking pot from the fridge and add flour on the sides to not stick. Pour all of our mixture over there and bake for 40 to 45 minutes.
Mix the sugar with the whipping cream. In a separate bowl we mix the cheese to become more fluffy and then we mix both of them.
When the cake is done,let it cool down first and then add on top the cream and cover all sides …Alternatively, you can add just sugar.
The smell of bread coming out of the oven is unique in Greece. It awakens childhood memories, reminds you of situations and travels you on delicious paths and roads. I think there is no better start to the day than visiting an oven that is full of freshly baked goodies and that is why we have gathered the 10 best stops that if you stay close you have to go every day if you stay for it is worth visiting if they are on your way.
Before we go on, some more details about bread in Greece.
Psomi” (greek: ψωμί) is the word for the classic, traditional type of bread found throughout Greece, dating back perhaps thousands of years. Historically, when homes did not have their own ovens capable of baking bread, women would take their dough to the town baker to use his oven to get this essential item fresh for their families daily. In Greece the local baker became a central point in every village, sometimes acting as a communal kitchen. That had as a result the Greeks having very intimate, personal, and involved relationships with their favorite bakers and bakeries.
Have a look now on the best bakeries in Greece
Takis
Takis Bakery in Koukaki
If you live in Koukaki then you are lucky. You have the privilege to start your day with a stop at Takis, who has been working in the same position since the 70’s. It is a small struggle to find what you will choose from its huge variety of breads. And it does not stop there. Sweets, sandwiches, buns and everything else you can imagine, you will find them all in their excellent quality at Takis. Its aesthetics are genuine and traditional. If you want to be stunned by its smells, you can spend the early morning hours. But believe me this is a slow torture.
Misaraliotou 14, Athens
Pnika
The history of bread in Athens is intertwined with Mr. Dimitris Kotsaris, who built a legacy that even today seems to teach the right bread. Its ingredients are simple. Water, a little salt and proper flour. The latter was his greatest passion, so he built his own stone mill in the bakery of Pagrati.
Today, his son continues the glorious work and the three shops of Pnyx daily offer pure, divine and delicious bread. Do not forget to try the bread ‘Pnyka’ with buckwheat and sourdough, as well as the bread with herbs in a form with stone mill flour. Also, on the way to get his cheese pie with a secret recipe from Pnyx. With the three bakeries in the center of Athens, you have no excuse that you were not close to try it.
Pratinou 13, Pagrati, 2107251941,
Lycabettus
If you are a fan of the German school in bread then you will love this oven to death. The wonderful aesthetics of the space is harmoniously combined with the wonderful aesthetics on its shelves, with the breads making a wonderful canvas with their different colors. I will not start giving you categories of bread, since you have to go from there to see them, to smell them and to choose which one will turn a blind eye to you. Of course, you should not forget to try his mini sandwiches, his sweets and his Christmas melomakarona. Generally, once you enter Lycabettus, you will not know where to move and you will lose your orientation.
Deinokratous 59, Kolonaki, tel. 210 7211348
Mom bread
From the outside, it looks like another bakery in the neighbourhood. But as soon as you enter, first, the aesthetics and then the smells (or even upside down) make you understand that something beautiful is happening in here. The piano has its own prominent position and you may be surprised to find it in an oven. But the issue here is bread. Pure, delicious and fragrant, made with organic flour by small producers in Epidaurus, you immediately understand that in this corner shop the bread lives its apotheosis. Zacharitsa 42-44 & Zinni, Koukaki
Rizos
Koukaki could easily be the perfect area for bread. Another stop you must make if you are in this beautiful neighborhood is Rizos. With continental roots, it is a guarantee for delicious traditional bread. But Rizos does not live there alone. It has a wide variety of German breads, rusks and a wonderful bun. I’ve had fun with his baguette but these are preferences.
Matrozou 12, Koukaki
Bread Varieties Exarchos
There in Piraeus there is a bakery that has a tradition since 1934 and is located in Gallipoli. He moved to his current location in 1981. From generation to generation, few things have changed and that is what makes him so enchanting. More than ten types of bread, from Gianniotiko, with yellow village flour, wholemeal dandruff to octahedron but also more modern breads with chia seeds. Do not forget when you go to try his awesome cheese pie and his handmade sweets.
Friendly Society 29
Karras
A little further north, on the borders of Attica and specifically in Agios Stefanos, is Karras. An oven that bakes in wood and has a tradition since 1930. Whatever you choose has the magic touch of the wood oven that makes it even more perfect. Apart from his bread, everyone is talking about his bun with the chocolate layers.
58 Marathonos Ave., Ag. Stephanos
Ioannina
As we said before, Epirus and Ioannina have a special tradition in bakery. From its name alone, this oven in Peristeri predisposes you to hide something very delicious. It has been there since 1970, with traditional recipes, it offers wonderful bread and goodies. Personaly, i love the traditional pies and cookies you can find there.
Megalou Alexandrou 35, Peristeri – Athens
The Good Boy Bakery
The most recent addition to the space is the one that has brought a youthful air to the bakery. The awesome kid came to offer quality, delicious and fragrant bread in the city but with a fresh and modern look. His baguettes may even be envied by Frenchmen who grew up with them.
Papadiamantopoulou 30, Ilisia
Bettys Bakery
The last sentence on our list does not look like any other oven. Maybe very simply because it is not an oven in the natural sense of the store. When Elizabeth decided to quit her previous job, she had only one vision. To make wonderful, fragrant bread, with authentic raw materials that will arrive at your door every day. She succeeded and now you know that if you want the best bread at your door while you are in Greece then Betty will make it and bring it to you every day. Go to her site, choose and try. Then you will understand what fresh bread means.
www.bettysbakery.gr tel: 6944600896
Article was written with info from the greek websites oneman and popaganda.
Ok, i know that is not the classic Greek recipe article you expect in a greek food blog but it is something we were discussing recently with my mother. So it does deserve its place in the blog.
But before we go to the sauce, a little bit of history.
The idea of putting sauces on food goes back pretty far. Barbecue sauce is a sauce used as a marinade, basting, condiment, or topping for meat cooked in the barbecue cooking style, including pork or beef ribs and chicken. It is a ubiquitous condiment in the Southern United States and is used on many other foods as well.
Lately also in our kitchen!
During the covid pandemic, my mother sat down and explained to me how she tried and made her own Barbecue sauce in a time when…well she couldn’t much!
INGREDIENTS FOR GREEK STYLE BARBECUE SAUCE
200 g tomato paste
50 white vinegar
100g jam
20 g sugar
1 cube of vegetables
1 medium onion
1 can of garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion flakes
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 tsp Sumac
1 tablespoon lemon syrup.
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 tablespoon Worcestershire
2 tablespoons soya sauce.
200g ready ketchup
The most difficult thing apparently is to gather all the ingredients in the table. Cause as soon as you do that then it is pretty straight forward
All your ingredients to make barbecue sauce
Add, the tomato paste, the vinigar, the jam, thesugar, the vegetable cube, medium onion,garlic powder, onion flakes, smoked paprika, Sumac and the lemon syrup on deep saucepan and bring it to a boil. Stir in between a lot as you dont want the ingredients to stick to the pan. When it starts boiling and becomes a unified mixture remove it from the heat.
Throw in the remaining ingredients and you are done. , Store in glass jar or in an empty ketchup package!.
The following recipe is a result of my endless efforts in cooking during the 2020 Covid lockdown in UK. Even if my life (as well as of many others) was not so exciting at that time, the soup ended up to be delicious!
In our family we have now as a tradition to go to the local fishmonger and have a fish every Saturday. However, the situation forced us most of the time during the Covid lock down to rely on deliveries. It doesn’t matter, smoked mackerel was equally good. For that kind of recipe you can use any kind of fish you would like but i highly suggest to at least try once smoked mackerel.
Its taste is different from any other fish you have ever tried and its believed to be incredible healthy. Dont take my word for it. Thats what NHS says!
Oily fish (like mackerel) are:
high in long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, which may help to prevent heart disease
Obviously there are many ways to cook it but the following recipe even if it is not traditionally Greek is still extremely good. Lets not forget that any Fish is really popular in Greece and we have lots of variations for our traditional fish soup.
Any way, on with the recipe!
Smoked Mackerel Soup Ingredients
1 whole smoked mackerel or 2 packets of vacuum-sealed mackerel fillets
1 peeled onion
2-3 small potatoes
2 carrots
3 sticks of celery
large handful of parsley
1 bay leaves
1 vegetable stock
100ml cream
METHOD
I did use for this case vacuum sealed mackerel fillets but in case you have a whole smoked mackerel then you have to clean it first. Make sure you keep the flesh, and discard any bones from the mackerel.
Take a deep pot and add the choped onion until it begins to sizzle. Cut the carrots and the potatoes into cubes or basically small sizes. Also dice the celery and the parsley.
Throw the vegetables and the few bay leaves to the pan and fry with the onions for a few minutes. Fill it up with around 750ml of water and throw in the vegetable stock. Cook as long as it takes for the vegetables to become tender.
Gentle add the fish to the bottom of the pot and let it cook for 2-4 minutes in low heat. Finally, add your cream and pepper and remove from the heat after 1 minute just as it comes to simmer.
Taste for seasoning and add seasoning based on your requirements.
