The Greek Food

A Blog about Greek Food and Greece

  • Oven baked pasta

    Oven baked pasta

    The following is a recipe that is…pretty basic. Nevertheless, it adds a little spice in it and makes everyone believe that is really special and gourmet when …it isn’t 😀

    For some reason, if you put some extra care to it you might make something really special. After all oven baked pasta always reminds me of food coming from my grandmother for some reason. Or at least cooked in the country side rather than the center of London

    So…here we go..

    OVEN BAKED PASTA INGREDIENTS

    • 500gr of lazagne
    • 1 single cream
    • 400gr of feta cheese
    • 100 gr of regato cheese
    • 150 gr of bacon sliced
    • 8 slices of Gouda cheese

    Ok, now that you have seen the ingredients you realized that is not something low on calories right? 🙂

    Either way, it is so simple that you will be amazed. Well, at least i was when i did it the first time.

    Boil the lazagne like you would always do and when they are ready just drain them and add them in a big baking pan.

     

    just came out from the oven!
    just came out from the oven!

    Add on top of them the crumbled feta cheese and the regato cheese as well as the bacon.  Make sure, using a spoon that you stir them and they go everywhere.

    Now pure the cream and  add the slices of Gouda cheese on top so they cover the pasta from top.  Put it in the oven for 30 minutes on 180c and you are done.

     

    Different versions

    Usually I like to put things like bacon or peppers, but sausage will do also ..it will make it however a little bit more “heavy” for some. In any case it depends on you…the melting cheese will make the difference either way.

     

    Oven-Baked-Pasta

     

  • Red Easter Eggs with Onions

    Red Easter Eggs with Onions

    During Easter it is tradition to colour red eggs and eat them after church in Saturday. According to Christian religion is one way to symbolize rebirth. Whatever it may be… Easter eggs are one of my favourite foods during Easter and one that I really enjoy to eat. So much that …sometimes I overdo it with the amount of eggs that I eat.

    In Greece but also many Christian countries, they eat the red eggs after they return from church together with the magiritsa, a traditional easter soup, cooked at that day.

    This year I tried to see how much difficult it would be to paint the eggs using a natural way rather than the new chemical paints that they use. I have to say that I found it rather easy to make the eggs and without a lot of trouble. It was my first time…and quite successful I would say..

    So this one is one easy recipe to paint red Easter eggs using onions. 100% natural…

    Easter red eggs ingredients

    • 12-16 medium eggs
    • 15-20 skins from yellow onions (red would also)
    • Olive oil
    • Some paper

    Method

    1. Start with around 12 medium eggs.
    2. Carefully remove any material from the surface of the eggs.
    3. Make the dye with the onion skins: In a stainless saucepan, place skins of 15 (more or less) yellow onions and 2 tablespoons of white vinegar in 5-6 cups of water and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, for 30 minutes keeping the saucepan covered
    4. Strain dye into a glass bowl, and let cool to room temperature. (Don’t be fooled by the orange color.)
    5. In another stainless saucepan, add the cooled strained dye and eggs at room temperature. The eggs should be in one layer and covered by the dye. Dont put more than 12 every time as it will be really crowded.
    6. Bring to a boil over medium heat. When boiling, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer.
    7. Dyeing time will be affected by the color of the eggs. Start checking for color at 15 minutes and do not simmer longer than 20 minutes
    8. If eggs are not a red enough color after 20 minutes, leave in the pot and remove from heat. When the pot as cooled enough, place in refrigerator and let sit until desired color is reached.
    9. Remove eggs with a slotted spoon and let them cool on racks.
    10. When they can be handled, coat lightly with olive oil and polish with paper toweling.
    11. Refrigerate until time to use. Happy Easter!
    https://www.instagram.com/p/B_E71I0hNkR/
  • How to make a Greek Salad

    How to make a Greek Salad

    The most basic of salads…..but the most famous one. The Greek Salad Recipe .

    (more…)

  • Traditional Greek Lentil Soup -“Fakes”

    Traditional Greek Lentil Soup -“Fakes”

    Lentils were one of those foods that I hated when I was young as I found that there was nothing interesting on them. As kids the only things that you really like are meat, …meat…..pasta and meat…

    Despite that everything changes when you lose something…and after some years in the uk I realised that I didn’t had Lentils for ages… Lentils are really healthy and really tasty while there are different variations on them.  In Greek its pronounced as Fah-kes and I know that many English can make a lot of jokes regarding the name buuut…we will continue 🙂

    As I said, there are a lot of variations about the lentil soup but I am a traditional kind of guy and I still do them the way that my mother was doing them when I was young…and I was never eating them…

    INGREDIENTS FOR LENTIL SOUP – FAKES

    • 500gr of green lentils
    • 1 red onion finely chopped
    • 2 cloves of garlic chopped
    • 1 can of tomato juice
    • Olive Oil, Salt and Pepper
    • Oregano
    • 2 Bay leaves
    • Vinegar
    • 1 vegetable stock cube

    greek traditional lentil soup fakes
    The traditional greek lentil soup. Fakes with a bit of vinegar

    HOW TO COOK FAKES

    In deep pot, add some olive oil and throw in the garlic and onions. Let them sizzle for 3 minutes making sure that they are not burned at all.

    Add water to fill 3/4 of the pot and then add the lentils inside. Put Salt, pepper, the vegetable cube as well as the bay leaves and bring them to boil for 45 minutes.

    When the lentils have soften a bit then you can add the can with the tomato juice and continue to boil it for another 30-40 minutes.

    Add oregano , and a teaspoon of olive oil in the end so the mixture becomes a bit more thick. Serve together with a bit of vinegar and some feta cheese.

    FAKES

  • Briam- Baked Vegetables

    Briam- Baked Vegetables

    One of the first recipes that I learned to cook when I came in the UK 7 years ago was briam (or else Tourlou Tourlou). That is a really well known dish in Greece and Turkey with baked vegetables. It is very tasty and healthy in the same time.

    If you cook it nicely and you give it some time…the vegetables will melt and become like a cream melting to your mouth giving you a really tasty food without messing up your diet. “Tourlou tourlou” means in…greek and Turkish…mixed up. Basically that’s the basic idea of the food… a lot of vegetables mixed up and baked in the oven providing a range of colours and flavours.

    tourlou tourlou

    Take a look in the ingredients

    INGREDIENTS

    • 2 Aubergines sliced in big pieces
    • 2 courgettes sliced in big pieces
    • 1 big potato cut in various sizes
    • 1 big onion  finely chopped
    • 1 small bunch of parsley finely chopped
    • 1 small bunch of mint finely chopped
    • 1 glass of olive oil
    • Salt and Pepper
    • Baking Foil
    • 250 grs of Feta Cheese.

    METHOD for Briam

    There isnt anything easier than that. Just add all the ingredients in an oven tray and add the Olive oil, Salt and Pepper. Use your hands and make sure you stir the ingredients well.  Cover the tray  with the baking foil and insert it in the oven on high heat.  Leave it there for 45 mins and then remove the baking foil making sure you stir the ingredients once more.

    When the potatoes get soft then its ready. It is important for that reason the Aubergines/courgettes to be sliced in big pieces. Add parsley and the mint, as well as the grated feta cheese and stir so it can go everywhere.

    Tips: be careful to slice the potatoes in really small cubes as they need to be cooked fast or else all the other vegetables will be cooked faster and you will end up eating them rare…