Tag Archives: Greek food

Watermelon Gazpacho

One Monday after a weekend of entertaining I eyed in my fridge some leftover Greek salad I had made using some watermelon along with the traditional tomato and feta cheese. I decided to just blitz the leftovers in the blender resulting in a wonderful combination of flavors. It was a perfect marriage of flavors. I decided to continue to play with the ingredients adding the cucumber and jalapeno as I would in any gazpacho I would make. The cucumbers also help balance the soup from tasting too sweet. You’ll love this recipe. If you are in a rush you can save alot of time by buying your watermelon already cut and ready to go. This is a refreshing dinner for a hot summer evening!

From by the bay, wishing you cool watermelon food memories!

Maryann

Watermelon Gazpacho

Ingredients

1 large tomato, seeded and coarsely chopped

3 cups watermelon, cubed and seeded

1 english or hot house cucumber, peeled, seeded and cubed

1 tablespoon jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped

2 tablespoons red onion chopped

2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

To serve:

1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

fresh dill

olive oil to drizzle

flake sea salt such as Maldon

optional: additional cucumber and tomato cut into 1/4 inch cubes for garnish

Directions

In a food processor or blender puree tomato, watermelon and jalapeno. Add remaining ingredients ( onion, vinegar, salt and pepper) and blend until smooth. Chill and serve by drizzling the top with olive oil. Add crumbled feta cheese and optional additional chopped cucumber and tomato. Sprinkle lightly with dill and sea salt. Enjoy!

Grilled Lamb Kefta Kebobs with Tzakiki

If you are tired of making hamburgers on the grill, but looking for something as easy and delicious, try these grilled lamb kefta kebobs. It’s a hamburger on a skewer, flavored with cumin, fresh mint and crunchy pistashios. I like to serve it on a warm pita topped with some homemade tzakiki, mint and red onion. Simply delicious.

From by the bay, wishing you kefta kebob food memories!

Maryann

Grilled Lamb Kefta Kebobs

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds ground lamb

2 tablespoons ground pistachios

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons ground chili powder

1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint

1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Directions

Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. To make kebabs, take small amounts of kefta and shape them into cylinder or sausage shapes. Skewer the meat, squeezing it to mold it the skewer.Cook over hot coals, approximately five minutes each side. (It may take less or more time, depending on how hot the coals are, and how thick you shaped the kefta.) Watch the kebabs carefully, so you don’t dry out the kefta. Serve with Tzakiki ( recipe follows) and pita bread.

Tzakiki

Ingredients
1 English cucumber
1 tablespoon sea salt
2 cups greek style yogurt
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
fine sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Peel and thinly slice the english cucumber. Coarse chop and place into a bowl. Add the sea salt and mix. Let sit for about 1 hour. Strain the cucumbers and rinse. Shake off remaining water and place into a bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use. When serving drizzle with a little more olive oil. Serve on the side of roasted lamb or serve as an appetizer with pita bread.

Jalapeno Hummus

Bring and party or barbecue to life with this easy hummus recipe, with just enough heat from the fresh jalapeno pepper. The fresh bright taste of these ingredients definitely say summer! Hummus is so easy to make just a few ingredients in a food processor . The taste is so much better than store brought! Serve with home pita bread and it’s a light summer meal!

From by the bay, wishing you Middle Eastern food memories!

Maryann

Jalapeno Hummus

15.5 ounces Chick Peas / Garbanzos , drained and rinsed

6 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon chopped jalapeno

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Place all ingredients into a food processor and process until smooth. Serve cold or room temperature with pita chips or homemade pita ( recipe below)

Home made Pita Bread

Adapted from mygreekdish.com as posted by Eli K. Giannopoulo

Ingredients

17 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon dry yeast
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 glass of lukewarm water (40C)

Instructions

To prepare this pitta bread recipe start by sieving the flour into your mixer’s bowl. Add the yeast, sugar and salt and blend with a spoon.
Add a little bit of water and start mixing, using the dough hook. Pour in the water a little bit at a time, at a steady stream, whilst mixing. Wait each time for the water to be absorbed and continue adding some more.
Depending on the flour, the dough may or may need a little bit less water than this pita bread recipe calls for. After mixing for a while, the dough for your pita bread should become an elastic ball. If the dough is still crumbled, you should add some more water. If it becomes too sticky, this means that you added more water than needed. In that case, add 1 tsp of flour and continue mixing.
When done, cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it sit in a warm place, for at least 1 hour, until it doubles its size. This is an important step for this pita bread recipe, so that the pita bread becomes fluffy and soft.
Take the dough out of the bowl and knead a little bit with your hands. Split in 6 evenly sized portions.
To form the pita bread, you can either use a rolling pin, or stretch it with your hands for a more rustic look (and my preference actually ), about 1/4 inch thick.
Heat an outdoor grill. Put the stretched dough on the grill and close the cover. Let bake a minute or two and flip the bread. Grill another minute and remove. If you don’t want to use the grill – heat a non-sticking frying pan to medium-high heat (with no grease) and fry each pita bread for about 3-4 minutes on each side, until slightly colored and still soft. To give more color, push the pita bread with a wooden spoon on the pan. Remove the serve.

Homemade Pita Bread

It’s summer and one of the perfect canvases for a summer meal is the reliable pita bread! Let’s all remember my mother is Greek!! Last weekend, I decided to tackle homemade pita bread, thinking it was a big chore and difficult to do, much to my surprise it was super easy. I know you’re thinking really how is this easy? It’s 5 steps – measure, mix, rise, pull and grill. If you are like me , how many times have you watched Bobby Flay make flatbread or pizza or pita on the grill and wonder how is this not a mess. I’m here to tell you , Bobby speaks the truth when he says it’s easy. The key is to put the dough on the grill and let it bake a a minute or two. The dough pulls away naturally once it’s baked. The taste of home made pita is so superior to store brought you will want to give this a try! I’ll have a few recipes coming up that is the perfect complement to homemade pita! Yum!!

From by the bay, wishing you perfect pita food memories!

Maryann

Home made Pita Bread

Adapted from mygreekdish.com as posted by Eli K. Giannopoulo

Ingredients

17 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon dry yeast
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 glass of lukewarm water (40C)

Instructions

To prepare this pitta bread recipe start by sieving the flour into your mixer’s bowl. Add the yeast, sugar and salt and blend with a spoon.
Add a little bit of water and start mixing, using the dough hook. Pour in the water a little bit at a time, at a steady stream, whilst mixing. Wait each time for the water to be absorbed and continue adding some more.
Depending on the flour, the dough may or may need a little bit less water than this pita bread recipe calls for. After mixing for a while, the dough for your pita bread should become an elastic ball. If the dough is still crumbled, you should add some more water. If it becomes too sticky, this means that you added more water than needed. In that case, add 1 tsp of flour and continue mixing.
When done, cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it sit in a warm place, for at least 1 hour, until it doubles its size. This is an important step for this pita bread recipe, so that the pita bread becomes fluffy and soft.
Take the dough out of the bowl and knead a little bit with your hands. Split in 6 evenly sized portions.
To form the pita bread, you can either use a rolling pin, or stretch it with your hands for a more rustic look (and my preference actually ), about 1/4 inch thick.
Heat an outdoor grill. Put the stretched dough on the grill and close the cover. Let bake a minute or two and flip the bread. Grill another minute and remove. If you don’t want to use the grill – heat a non-sticking frying pan to medium-high heat (with no grease) and fry each pita bread for about 3-4 minutes on each side, until slightly colored and still soft. To give more color, push the pita bread with a wooden spoon on the pan. Remove the serve.

Grilled Watermelon and Feta Salad

A classic Greek salad combination is watermelon with feta., it’s one of those perfect food pairings- sweet and juicy watermelon paired with creamy and salty feta cheese. This recipe gives this classic a new twist by grilling the watermelon. The natural sugars in the watermelon caramelizes when grilled, heightening the sweetness of the fruit. It’s and easy salad to make and perfect summer food fare. Enjoy!

From by the bay wishing you sweet and salty food memories!

Maryann

Grilled Watermelon and Feta Salad

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 small red onion
2 limes
4 watermelon slices cut inch thick (sweet and ripe)
8 ounces feta cheese
1/4 cup fresh italian parsley leaves
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, torn
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
fresh ground black pepper

Directions

Peel and halve the red onion and cut into very fine half-moons and put in a small bowl adding the juice of two limes. This will soften the onion and making it more transparent and pink.
Slice the the watermelon into 1 inch slices including the rind. Cut into triangle shapes. Heat grill and brush both sides of each watermelon slice using 1 tablespoon olive oil. Place on grill for about 3 minutes per side, until charred. To assemble the salad place watermelon on platter. Crumble feta cheese over the watermelon. Toss over the salad the parsley and mint. Sprinkle the red onion over the salad along with lime juice. Drizzle remain olive oil and add pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Feta, Mint and Lamb Burger with Herb Yogurt Dressing

My mom is of Greek heritage. One of her many great pleasures in life includes being an active member in the local Greek church. The church has an annual outdoor summer festival, which recently got rained out on opening night. My mom missed the festival and another opportunity to enjoy some greek food because of torrential rain. So when mom came to visit this past weekend, I decided to make a greek style barbecue. The burgers were made of ground lamb mixed with feta, mint and a nice amount of lemon juice. My yogurt dressing was filled with fresh leafy herbs from the garden. The burgers were a big hit with mom and we had perfect weather too!

From by the bay wishing you some greek food memories!

Maryann

Feta, Mint and Lamb Burger with Herb Yogurt Dressing

Serves 4

1 ¾ lb ground lamb

2 teaspoons lemon juice

½ cup crumbled feta cheese

3 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 soft rolls, split and toasted

Directions

In a large bowl combine lamb, lemon juice, feta cheese, mint and salt and pepper. Make 4 patties. Brush the outside of the patties with olive oil on both sides. Preheat grill. Grill approximately 5 minutes on each side or until well done. Place burger on ciabiatta roll along with lettuce, roasted red onion and herb yogurt dressing.

Herb Yogurt Dressing

6 ounces greek yogurt

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley

2 tablespoon fresh mint

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Directions

Place all ingredients in a food processor, blend well. Keep in refrigerator until ready to use.

Greek Mezes

As I shared in a previous post, my mother is of Greek heritage. So to add to the Easter Menu, I’m sharing three mezes recipes . Two of the recipes feature fresh mint – one against the saltiness of feta cheese and the other against the coolness of cucumbers and rich yogurt. I’m suggesting them along with the herb crusted leg of lamb from last week’s post but they are both wonderful dishes for summer entertaining which is just a few short weeks away. The third mezes is a red chili hummus, a warming and smooth companion to the cool mint mezes, this is a perfect year round recipe. All three recipes are the essence of greek cooking, fresh, simple and delicious. Say “Yasou” to Greek cooking!

From by the bay, wishing you “happy greek” food memories!
Maryann

Feta and Mint Dip

Ingredients
1/2 cup fresh mint
1/2 cup fresh flat leaf parsley
4 ounces greek feta cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspsoon coarse fresh ground pepper

Directions
Plac all the ingredients into a food processor and blend well. Place in a bowl and chill for at least one hour . Serve with pita chips or crackers.

Tzakiki

Half Greek Hummus

Ingredients

15.5 ounce can Chick Peas or Garbanzo Beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup olive oil

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

3 tablespoons warm water

2 tablespoons tahini

2 cloves garlic chopped

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon toasted pine nuts

olive oil to garnish

sweet paprika to garnish

Directions

Combine all ingredients except the pine nuts and paprika into a food processor and process until smooth. Refrigerate in a covered container until ready to serve. Can serve cold or room temperature, Before serving drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with pine nuts and sweet paprika.

Natural Red Dye Easter Eggs

One of the many traditions for Greek Easter is the coloring of all the boiled eggs red. In the Greek religion the Easter eggs are used to symbolize the blood of Christ. There is a game played at Easter called Tsougrisma. Each player gets a red egg. One player will gently tap the egg of another player. The winner is the one whose egg does not crack. This player will go on to play others. The winner is the one who successfully cracks the eggs of the other players. It is said that this will bring good luck to the winner through out the year. These are important traditions to my Greek heritage mother, so I did a little research. My maternal grandmother came to the United States early in the 20th Century from a small fishing village in Greece. In that small town they didn’t have access to red dyes. I discovered that the traditional way to dye the Easter Eggs was with a natural dye made from yellow onion skins. This method yields a deep rich byzantine red color, like the color that you find in many of the religious Greek icons. It’s the perfect color, the color of my mom’s childhood and it’s all natural. I suggest trying this out. You boil your eggs in the dye and you can save the dye to color more eggs, I kept it in a plastic container in the fridge. Have fun coloring your Greek Easter eggs!

Red Easter Eggs

Makes 6 eggs

6 white eggs, room temperature

skins of 6 large spanish or yellow onions

3 cups water

2 tablespoons white vinegar

1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 teaspoon olive oil

In a medium ( 6 1/4 inch) sauce pan add the onion skins, water and vinegar. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and place cover on the pan. Let simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and strain dye into a bowl and cool. The dye will appear orange, but it will yield red eggs. In the same medium sauce pan add the eggs in one layer. Cover with the cool liquid and add the salt. The eggs should be completely covered , if not add a little water until they are. Bring this to a low boil, reduce heat and cover the pan. Simmer no longer than 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Using a skimmer remove eggs and place on a wire rack to dry. Once dry, use a paper towel to rub olive oil on the eggs to give a glossy finish. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve. Serve cold or room temperature

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entertaining by the bay

casual cooking and living

Tag Archives: Greek food

Watermelon Gazpacho

Grilled Lamb Kefta Kebobs with Tzakiki

Jalapeno Hummus

Ingredients

Instructions

Homemade Pita Bread

Ingredients

Instructions

Grilled Watermelon and Feta Salad

Feta, Mint and Lamb Burger with Herb Yogurt Dressing

Greek Mezes

Natural Red Dye Easter Eggs