The Greek Food

Tag: courgettes

  • Oven baked omelet with Asparagus

    Oven baked omelet with Asparagus

    Ok, the story goes as follows… I wanted to eat an omelete and I already had one in mind with nice sausage mix. It was already late at night and I was really tired for anything complicated. In the process though I realised that if I didn’t cook some asparagus that I had then I would be forced to throw them away…

    Then, I found out on a recipe book that I have about a really nice oven baked recipe that they are doing –according to a book and this site (Greek)  – in Crete, Greece. Apparently, looking a bit online, one of the typical omelet’s in Crete is to mix the various greens that they have at the time, like asparagus and vegetables, creating a green omelet.

    I didn’t knew that… and unfortunately didn’t had all the ingredients.

     

    Either way, I didn’t mind because of two main reasons!

    1.  I was hungry
    2.  It looked really nice and I had to try it

    So, I added some of my ingredients, using the basic traditional idea…and it worked!

    INGREDIENTS

    • 3 eggs
    • 1 small bunch of asparagus chopped in small pieces
    • 3-4 baby courgettes chopped (That was my addition)
    • 250gr of feta cheese (I didn’t had Feta cheese at that point so I just used some Parmesan. It worked!)
    • 1 onion chopped (yeap, my addition that also… I like onions..)
    • Salt, Pepper,
    • Olive Oil!
    • A bit of milk

    AND THAT’S WHAT I DID!

    METHOD

    In a frying pan, add the olive oil and then in medium heat add the chopped onions, courgettes and asparagus and stir them slowly. In the meantime open the oven in 200c to pre-heat it.

    Beat the eggs with the milk. After 5-10 minutes the greens should be ready , a bit brownish. Add the cheese and stir again. Then add the mixture with the eggs to the pan and immediately remove it from the fire. Put it inside the preheated oven as it is in the pan and leave it there for 10-15 minutes.

    You will notice the omelet to grow thick and you can remove it when you like it. I usually wait to become a bit brown on the edges. Add some parsley if you want…sprinkle it on top. I just love how nice oven baked omelets taste without being so heavy in the stomach when you fry them.

    Well…enjoy!

     

     

     

  • Courgette fritters with Feta

    Courgette fritters with Feta

    There are some times that you have an idea on your mind for too long and you are just not sure how to compete it.

    In Greece having fried courgettes is a classic appetizer that you can find in many taverns. The classic way to make them is to have them cut in slices and fry them while you have covered them in a mixture of flour and beer.

    Which is pretty nice but since I had a whole Sunday where I didn’t had anything to do, I decided to make the following recipe a little bit more complicated.  After all, its not fun to cook if you don’t play around to see what comes up…

    The worst thing that can happen is that you will cook something that is… not eatable…well there is always pizza hut I guess. But let’s be positive..

    So I guess the best way to name the following dish is courgette balls! As we want to make them look like meatballs but without the meat….mmm . Be advised that even if that was our main dish that specific Sunday, it is mainly served as a side dish or appetiser in Greece.

    Ingredients for Courgette Fritters

    • 1 kilo of of medium courgettes
    • 300gr of crumbled feta cheese
    • 100gr of flour
    • Half a bunch of mint
    • Half a bunch of parsley
    • Dill (remove the stalk)
    • 2 eggs
    • salt, pepper
    • oil for frying

    Method

    • Grate the courgettes and leave them in a strainer. Use your hands to drain them even more and then add them in a deep bowl.
    • Add the flour, feta, herbs, the 2 eggs, pepper and a bit more of salt if you want. Be careful, because the feta cheese will be either way
    • Gently mix them with your hands and check if you can mould them to small round burgers . If not add more flour
    • In a deep non sticky pan, add around 3 cm of olive oil to medium to high heat. Put some extra flour around your courgette balls and then fry them .
    • When you remove them add them in a plate with a kitchen paper on top to drain the liquids . Serve them with a sauce of your choice. Maybe tzatziki ?