Tag Archives: Greek recipes

Fresh Roasted Figs with Gorgonzola

Loving this time of year and one of the best things available in early September is figs! I just picked up some Black Mission Figs at the market and was deciding how to prepare them, when my mother recalled some of her fond food memories about eating figs as a young child in Brooklyn. Her parents had a few figs trees in their small backyard. My grandmother prepared the figs with honey. I found this recipe from Emeril Lagasse , loving that the figs are roasted stuffed with blue cheese for a salty note and finished honey for additional sweetness. We loved this recipe, especially my mother remembering her childhood with this food memory!

From by the bay, wishing you sweet fig food memories!

Maryann

Fresh Roasted Figs with Gorgonzola

Adapted from Food Network Recipe by Emeril Lagasse, 2004

Ingredients

12 ripe figs
1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup Gorgonzola
1/3 cup good-quality honey
4 pinches finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Using a paring knife, carefully trim any tough portion of the stems from each fig. Rub each fig all over with extra-virgin olive oil, then slice down through the stem about 3/4-inch. Make a second cut perpendicular to the first cut, so that you have an X-shaped cut in the top of each fig. Gently pry the edges apart and stuff each fig with about 1 teaspoon of the Gorgonzola. Place the figs upright on a baking sheet and bake until the figs are plump and shiny but have not burst, about 10 minutes.
Drizzle equal amounts of the honey on each of 4 serving plates and place the figs on top of the honey. Sprinkle each plate with a pinch of the chopped rosemary and some of the remaining Gorgonzola. Serve immediately.
Recipe courtesy of Emeril Lagasse, 2004

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.

Herb Crusted Leg of Lamb

My mother’s parents immigrated to the United States in the early part of the 20th century from Greece. Easter by far and away is the most important religious holiday in the Greek Orthodox Church. Growing up my mother and her family would celebrate Easter with family and friends with a whole roasted baby lamb. My grandfather, my Papou, would buy the lamb and bring it to a bakery on 14th St. and First Avenue in Manhattan to be roasted. Papou would then take the subway home to Brooklyn, lamb in hand, so the family could celebrate Easter. As much as I would like to recreate my mother’s wonderful childhood memories, I’m not prepared to roast a whole lamb, but I do look forward to celebrating with the family by slow roasting a leg of lamb in the oven. I have tried different recipes over the years, but this recipe from Martha Stewart Living, is my favorite. I have adapted it a little over the years so this is the version, I’m sharing with you today. Kalo pasha……….

Happy Greek Easter!From by the bay wishing you the happiest Easter and food memories! Maryann

Ingredients

1 leg of lamb approximately 9 pounds, bone in

1 teaspoon olive oil, plus 1/4 teaspoon

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 medium head garlic

1/4 cup olive oil 1/4 cup lemon juice

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon thyme leaves

zest of 1 lemon

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1/3 cup chardonnay

1 1/2 cup chicken stock

1 tablespoon chopped rosemary

Directions

Let leg of lamb stand at room temperature for one hour. Preheat oven to 325 degree F. Rub lamb with 1 teaspoon olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt and 1/4 pepper. Place into a heavy roasting pan. Meantime, rub head of garlic with 1/4 teaspoon olive oil, wrap in aluminum foil and roast in the oven for about 1 hour until very soft. Let cool. Cut off the head of the garlic and squeeze cloves into a bowl. Use a fork to mash garlic into a paste. Add the remaining olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, oregano, parsley, thyme leaves and remaining salt and pepper. Mix well and place to the side. Place lamb into the oven and roast for approximately 1 1/4 hours. Rotate pan and roast another 30 minutes. Remove lamb and slather it with the roasted garlic and herb mixture and place back into the oven to roast another hour or until thermometer inserted at the thickest part reads 160 degrees for medium and 170 degrees for well done. Remove from oven and let rest for 20 minutes. Transfer lamb to cuttting board and cover with foil. Pour off fat from the roasting pan and place on medium heat. Sprinkle in flour and stir with wood spoon. Pour in chardonnay to deglaze pan, scraping up the brown bits, reduce liquid to 1/2 and then add the chicken broth, stirring to combine. Add rosemary and salt and pepper to taste. Slice the lamb and serve with the gravy to the side.

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entertaining by the bay

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Tag Archives: Greek recipes

Fresh Roasted Figs with Gorgonzola

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

Herb Crusted Leg of Lamb