Spetsofai

As with all good meals - photographs questionably but tastes fantastic

A firm Greek favourite to finish off 2020.

I go to the same Greek restaurant all the time – but obviously not recently. One thing I was really missing was this amazing chorizo and pepper stew which tastes rich and delicious. I think cooking time is the key, this could be a great slow cooker meal. But I have nothing if not time on my hands at present, so I had time to cook it low and slow on the stove.

The boyfriend required chips with his.

I had mine with flat bread, but this would also be amazing with a fresh slice of thick bread, or even a nice crisp side salad. Rice and chips also work!

Melomakarona - 300th POST!

This is my Christmas present to all of you this year. For my 300^th post (!), I bestow the recipe for the best cookies in the entire world. And I’m posting it in plenty of time so that you can go out and get the ingredients and set aside the time to make them. You honestly won’t regret it.

These are Greek Christmas cookies that you are only allowed to make at Christmas (according to my Greek friend!). They are delicately spiced, sweetened with syrup and they are my EVERYTHING. The amount of ingredients sounds ridiculous – and it is! This is a serious Christmas cookie recipe, you get about 60 of them. Enough to get you through the whole holiday season of gorging.

THIS ISN'T EVEN ALL OF THEM

Now, the recipe looks a little funny. I’ve never baked cookies with orange juice before. I've never dunked hot cookies in syrup before. I was worried that the dough wouldn’t come together and would be too sticky. I was worried the cookies would fall apart in the syrup. But it went great, it all worked out, trust me and just go with it. I bravely went first so that I could light the path for you guys.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Ingredients for syrup

• 375ml water
• 600g granulated sugar
• 100g honey
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 3 whole cloves
• 1 vanilla pod
• ½ an orange, halved again

For the cookies

• 400 ml orange juice
• 400 ml sunflower oil
• 180 ml olive oil
• Grated zest of 1 orange
• 1 kilo all-purpose flour
• 50 g icing sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 3 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 200 g fine semolina

To Finish

• A few tbsp. honey
• A handful of chopped walnuts

Method

Start with the syrup, you can make this a few hours beforehand (it has to be cool before you dip the cookies in it) or even the night before.

Add all of the ingredients except for the honey to a saucepan and gently heat until the sugar has melted and liquid is clear. Stir every now and again.

Remove from the heat and add the honey. Then set aside until cooled and ready to use.

When you’re ready to make the cookies, preheat the oven to 190C.

Add the orange juice, oils and orange zest into one bowl and whisk with a fork.

To another, bigger, bowl, add the flour, icing sugar, spices, bicarb and semolina.

Make a well and add the wet into the dry ingredients.

Mix very briefly, up to half a minute maximum.

Shape the dough with your hands into slightly flattened oval shape, about 4cm long.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and crispy.

Place the hot cookies in the syrup a few at a time. Dunk them real good so they're covered and coated in syrup.

A spatula will help

Coat in syrup and remove to a wire rack to dry off (I put a load of tinfoil underneath to catch the syrupy drips and make cleanup easier).

Drizzle over some honey and sprinkle over the walnuts and allow to dry and crisp up.

ENJOY

Greek Feta and Red Pepper Dip

In need of a little mid week treat?

You all know I have a complete love affair with Greek food. It is everything Irish food would be if we had a better climate, I think.

Dips from the shop never stand up to the ones you make yourself, and I always prefer to make my own. So when a dip is as easy to whip up as this one, you’ll never look back. Really, there’s no way to make this more complicated than throwing ingredients into a food processor.

Served with warm pita bread it’s a meal all of its own, but it is also delicious as a little side to a Greek feast.

And here's one I prepared earlier! Spanakopita, feta dip, and aoili.

Moussaka

I don't know about everyone else, but I plan my weekends around what I'm going to eat. And having days off means I can cook things that take a little more time or preparation. So I'm posting this with a fair amount of time before the weekend, because it's a perfect Sunday night feast.

I eat out at a local Greek place about twice a month. Don't  judge me. The food is delicious and it is really fun there. They bake cheese with honey and sesame seeds. It's damn magical.

I noticed that on their menu they describe their moussaka as a light and healthy snack. I was intrigued, because I always thought moussaka was a sort of Greek lasagna - meaty and rich, with a thick and cheesy white sauce.

So I decided to make it, and it turns out, it is just that. And in Greece - that's health food! Oppa!

Anyway, this is absolutely delicious and I would recommend you all try it. It's really good for you.

Yemista - Stuffed Greek Peppers

Countdown to the weekend is on! Well, not for me, because I'm working this weekend. Feel for me.

But don't feel too bad, because I made these for dinner and they're amazing. You gotta try these. I have been trying to branch out on my side dishes, and I often get inspiration from food I try in restaurants.

After I had eaten them, I just knew I had to recreate these amazing stuffed peppers that I had in my favourite Greek restaurant. I have made some changes to the traditional recipe as I am wont to do.. Traditionally, as far as I can tell, you tend to include sultanas and mint, but I don’t like sultanas and I think mint can be overwhelming in savoury dishes. I also pre-cooked the rice a little because I only had brown rice and my boyfriend is very fussy with the way his rice is cooked.

Delicious filling!

These are great as a side, or on as part of a  little snack-y tapas feast!

Greek Feast! Individual Spanakopita, Aioli, Honey Sesame Baked Feta

Greek food is awesome. I have always found the Greeks to be like a Mediterranean version of the Irish. The Greeks and Irish are both family orientated, with a matriarchal society, and use food as love. But the Greeks are more tanned than us. And their cuisine is superior.

There is a seriously amazing Greek restaurant nearby which is a family affair - dad and mum cook, sons hold the floor. It's my favourite restaurant and if I'm not there, chances are I want to be there. 

And then last weekend, my Greek friend made some amazing Greek food for dinner which I completely PIGGED OUT at. Everything was delicious (how had I never had moussaka before?!) but I was completely enamoured with the individual spinach pies (spanakopita). I had to make them. I bothered him for a week for the recipe. And as soon as I had it in my grubby hands, I made them. Winner.

Then, as I was feeling pretty Greek, I baked the leftover feta (warmed sweet and nutty cheese? Hello!) and whipped up some aioli.

The aioli was pretty easy to make, and much better than my last, disastrous, effort at making mayonnaise. 

Loukoumades (Greek Donuts)

So, I'm taking you on a whirlwind tour around Europe this spring on the blog! I love to know how other countries handle their food/desserts. It is a big factor in my travelling decisions. I was extremely pleased to stumble upon these little tasty morsels when engaging upon my favourite activity (browsing for recipes). I don't normally cook with honey, and I love finding new ways to use little used ingredients.

They are small, light, sweet and zesty. I really liked the addition of the syrup which was incredibly simple to make and had a great pay-off in flavour. The only tricky issue is the dough, it needs to be formed into balls and it is really sticky. Working it with wet hands is the only way to easily form something resembling a dough ball. Mine are not exactly spherical, but they do the job!