The Greek Food

A Blog about Greek Food and Greece

  • 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!
  • Salmon with Balsamic

    Salmon with Balsamic

    As I have said my cooking was based on the idea to do things that are nice to taste but also really quick to cook and without a lot of trouble.  On this thought is based and the following recipe that I think I learned from somewhere else online. Ok, its not really Greek recipe ..but its something that I do all the time..

    Always, when I was looking the salmon fillets in the super market I was wondering about any possible ways that you could cook them. Oven, looked as the best option at the time and indeed it was. After some quick discussion with my mother ( 30-40 minutes on the phone …) and some online research I did went for the following…

    INGREDIENTS

    2 Salmon fillets

    1 red onion chopped

    A bunch of fresh dill chopped

    3-4 Spoons of Balsamic Vinegar

    METHOD

    Dead Simple, slice the onions, add them on top together with the salt and pepper. Add olive oil and the balsamic vinegar. Put it on the oven for 40 mins in high heat. Serve it with some extra dill on top.

    If you have green or red peppers .. (or both) you can add some slices on top.

     

  • How to make a Greek Coffee

    How to make a Greek Coffee

    Greek coffee…well it’s not Greek food as the name of the site suggests but it’s a typical thing for all greeks and you will find it where ever you go.

    It’s easy to make but it requires some practice and to have of course the Greek coffee and the “briki” (greek word for the coffee pot we use) where the coffee is made. Just to make clear, that is more or less the same coffee that is served in Greece, Turkey and a lof of Arab countries with little variations.

    You measure the required cups of water into the briki. So if you want to make 3 cups of coffee you put 3 cups of water into the briki. Typically you will need 2 ½ spoons of Greek coffee for 2 cups of coffee and half spoon of sugar. Nevertheless this depends on your taste and how you drink your coffee.

    So…you put the water into the briki and you add the coffee and sugar in low heat. Stir until the coffee is diluted in the water. Hold the briki all the time as it will boil really quickly and there is a danger that it will spill if you don’t take it off the heat fast.

    Watch it carefully as it starts to rise and create a bubbly foam….let it rise for couple of cm and then take it out of the heat immediately.

    Let it cool down for 30 seconds and put a little on all the cups. Be careful to distribute equally the foam an all the cups as this is what brings the distinct taste.

    briki greek coffee

    When you serve the coffee, you don’t need to stir it after that.  Ideally it is served together with a glass of water and some sweets.

    Typically the Greek coffee is drunk really slowly and you can see every day in Greek coffee shops old men drinking and discussing the news of the day. It’s one of the typical traditions in Greece that its followed even today.  I am not kidding at all if I say that my father used to drink the same cup of coffee for up to three hours in the morning smoking his cigarette… Enjoy J

    Note: You cannot make the greek coffee with any type of coffee. You need to search and find where they sell greek or turkish coffee’s in your area. There are places in London but..you need to search for any other countries..

  • Greek traditional Tzatziki recipe

    Greek traditional Tzatziki recipe

    Every time when they are talking about Greece there are some things that stand out. Of course it’s the fact about the economy and the Parthenon…bla bla bla…but one thing that really makes the difference is Ouzo and Tzatziki.

    Well, even if Tzatziki is not my specialty (my brothers is) , this is a classic recipe about making a traditional Greek tzatziki as a side dish , salad.

    Additionally, it is one of the main ingredients of the Greek Souvlaki  that you can find on practically any corner in Greece. Now the problem you might face with that is that it has a lot of garlic..

    So essentially, if you are going to a nice dinner party or you going out with your girlfriend/boyfriend maybe that is not the best sauce to go. On the other hand tzatziki is ideal when you are with friends and refreshing as any other time you eat yogurt.

    You dont need any equipment to do it or cooking, you just need to devote 15 minutes of your time for tzatziki.

    Here we go.

    INGREDIENTS FOR TZATZIKI SAUCE

    • 3 cups Greek yogurt (around 350gr)
    • 2-3 garlic clove, minced
    • 1 large English cucumber, diced (the long, skinny ones)
    • 1 tablespoon salt (for salting cucumbers)
    • 1 tablespoon fresh dill (or both, depending on preference) or 1 tablespoon of fresh mint, chopped (or both, depending on preference)

     

    HOW TO MAKE TZATZIKI

    In food processor or blender, add cucumbers, garlic, dill and/or mint, and a few grinds of black pepper. Process until well blended, then stir into yogurt.

    Taste before adding any extra salt, then add salt if needed. Place in refrigerator for at least two hours before serving so flavors can blend.

    Serve your tzatziki together with warm bread to make your grilled meat lunch even better!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2cc_4apFSo

  • Greek Style Roasted Lamb

    Greek Style Roasted Lamb

    This recipe is one of the first that i have ever written for this blog. Roasted Lamb is a classic dish on any given Sunday in Greece but also during Easter.

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