Corfu Food and Wine Festival - May 2018

A great reason to visit Corfu this May. From the 9th to the 13th the island will be holding its first Food and Wine Festival!

Find out more on their Facebook Page here.

 

Greek Easter Magiritsa

 

 

Magiritsa is a traditional dish associated with the Greek Easter. It is eaten to break the Fast before Easter and is prepared on Holy Saturday and eaten directly after the midnight service. There are variations in the recipes used, but this recipe (which is not a soup) is a simple, traditional way of preparing it - called Tsilihourdi - from a village in northern Corfu.

For recipe, click here.

  Vegetarian Magiritsa

This is an easy recipe for a vegetarian alternative to Magiritsa. It's basically an alternative soup for those who are vegetarian or who do not like magiritsa. It's very, very nourishing and terribly easy and quick to make. 

Click on the link above to go to recipe.

Eat and Enjoy!

 

Greek Panorama Triangles (Trigona tou Panoramatos)

 

How to make 'Triangles' from Panorama. This sweet is absolutely delicious! It gets its name from the shape, obviously, and also from the fact that it is a speciality of a district just outside Thessaloniki called Panorama.

Making them is rather time-consuming, but absolutely worth it. Whoever you serve with these will love you for it! The recipe below is for 24 triangles.

Ingredients

12 sheets filo pastry at room temperature

200g melted butter

For the cream

1^st mix

1 litre milk

120g sugar

0.60g vanilla powder

2^nd mix

2 large eggs whole

3 egg yolks

120g icing sugar

120g corn flour

50g butter

300g whipping cream

For the syrup

600g sugar

500ml water

1tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp glucose

Preparation

Take 1 sheet of filo pastry and keep the others covered in cling film so as not to dry.

Brush the filo with melted butter.

With the filo lengthwise, fold it twice to reach halfway.

Cut the filo at the halfway point and do the same with the other half.

Butter the two lengths of pastry you now have.

 

Start from the corner of one end to fold small triangle shapes (see photos below) until you reach the other end. Cut off any extra pastry.

Do the same for the other length of pastry.

Repeat this process for each of the filo sheets, remembering to cover the sheets not being used, with cling film so as not to dry.

Put the triangles in a shallow, buttered oven tray. You may need two trays.

Brush on top with melted butter.

Put in a preheated oven at 190 degrees Celsius for approx. 20 minutes or until golden brown.

 While they are in the oven, prepare the syrup. Put all the syrup ingredients in a pan and boil for 4 minutes.

When you remove the triangles from the oven, cut open the top end of each one. (see photos below)

Pour the syrup over the triangles and set them aside, uncovered.

Cream

1^st mix

Put the milk, sugar and vanilla in a pan, mix well over a low heat and leave on the heat while you prepare the 2^nd mix.

2^nd mix

Put the 2 whole eggs and extra 3 egg yolks in a bowl and whisk well by hand.

Add the sugar whilst continuing to whisk.

Gradually add the corn flour whilst continuing to whisk.

It is very important that the mixture is smooth with no lumps.

Just before the milk in the pan is about to boil, take a ladleful of the milk mixture and add it to the egg mixture and whisk. This is to raise the temperature of the egg mixture gradually before it is added to the milk mixture.

Now add the egg mixture to the pan with the milk mixture and whisk well for at least 5 minutes, while still on a low heat.

The mixture will have thickened now and it should be smooth with no lumps.

Remove from the heat, add the butter and whisk well until the butter has been absorbed.

The mixture needs to cool gradually – not quickly – so we spread it in a shallow oven pan to cool.

As it is cooling, turn it and spread it gently every so often, so as not to form a crust.

Once it is completely cold, whip the 300g whipping cream in a mixer. Add the cold cream to the whipped cream in the mixer and continue mixing for approx. 1 minute until it is one smooth cream.

Put the cream in a pastry bag with nozzle and fill all the triangles.


If you've tried this recipe please rate it!

Eat and Enjoy!

 

Greek Easter Magiritsa

Magiritsa is a traditional dish associated with the Greek Easter. So, for those of you celebrating Greek Easter this weekend, here is a recipe for it. Magiritsa is eaten to break the Fast before Easter and is prepared on Holy Saturday and eaten directly after the midnight service. There are variations in the recipes used, but the recipe below (which is not a soup) is a simple, traditional way of preparing it - called Tsilihourdi - from a village in northern Corfu.

Happy Easter - Kalo Pascha - to those of you celebrating this weekend!

Ingredients

Offal from 1 lamb

Intestines from 1 lamb

1 clove of garlic finely chopped

2 tbsp dill finely chopped

120ml olive oil

100ml vinegar

2 tbsp rock salt

Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Use scissors to cut the intestine lengthwise.

Wash and rinse it in water extremely thoroughly.

Rub well with the rock salt.

Rinse 3 times in separate basins of water. In the third basin, add the vinegar when you rinse it.

Cut the intestine into 10cm pieces.

Blanche in a pan of hot water for about 2 minutes.

Rinse the offal well and blanche in a pan of hot water for about 2 minutes.

Cut the offal into 2cm pieces.

Put the intestines and offal into a pan along with the oil, garlic, salt and pepper and sauté for approx. 5 minutes.

Add 500ml water and the dill.

Simmer for approx. 1 hour until it is left with just the oil.


If you've tried this recipe please rate it!

Eat and Enjoy!

Greek Kastoria Butter Bean Salad (Gigantes Kastorias)

This is a salad recipe using what are called 'black' butter beans, which is traditional in Kastoria. Kastoria, in the north of Greece, is renowned for its beans and these particular butter beans, which are actually a very dark brown have a taste which is similar to the taste of chestnuts. The salad is very simple, though you need to soak the beans overnight. It is best served the following day, allowing the sald to absorb the vinegar and oil.

Don't worry if you can't find the 'black' Kastoria butter (or 'elephant') beans where you live, it can also be made with ordinary butter beans.

Ingredients

½ kg black butterbeans (soaked overnight)

1 large onion diced

1 red pepper diced

2 small red chillies chopped (optional)

1 cup chopped parsley

2 tbsp vinegar

120 ml olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Boil the butterbeans and just before they come to the boil, skim off the foam at the top of the water.

Boil for 10 minutes and then throw away the water and drain the butter beans.

Put enough hot water back in the pan for the butter beans, bring the beans to the boil again and simmer for approx. 1½ hours, until they are tender.

Drain the beans.

Mix them in a salad bowl with the rest of the ingredients.

Leave overnight in the fridge and serve the following day.


If you've tried this recipe please rate it!

Eat and Enjoy!

 

Greek Skaltsounia With Onions

 Skaltsounia (or Kaltsounia) are a speciality of Crete. The recipe here is with onions and cheese, but the most common savoury skaltsounia in Crete are made with Greek greens such as Kafkalithres or Mironia. As these are probably unavailable where you live, an alternative could be with spinach, spring onions and dill.

In the recipe below we have used the spirit Ouzo, but normally in Crete Raki or Tsikoudia is used. If you can get it, then do use it. Also, an alternative to Greek Anthotiro cheese is Riccotta.

Ingredients

For the Dough

1 kg all-purpose flour

100ml olive oil

60ml ouzo

1 egg

1 level tbsp salt

Tepid water – enough to make a pliable dough

For the Filling

4 large onions cut into fine slices

6 cherry tomatoes quartered

400g anthotiro cheese (or ricotta)

2 tbsp tomato puree

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp sugar

For the frying

300ml sunflower oil

Preparation

Put all the ingredients for the dough into a large bowl and slowly add the tepid water while you make a pliable dough. It should take approx. 400ml water.

Transfer the dough to a flat surface and knead well for about 10 minutes.

Divide the dough into 24 balls, cover them with cling film and set aside to rest for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling.

Put the oil into a frying pan and heat well.

Add the onions and stir continuously for 5-6 minutes, until they are slightly brown.

Add the sugar and keep stirring.

Add the tomatoes and puree and stir for another 3-4 minutes, until the liquid has been absorbed.

Set the mixture aside to cool.

Once it has cooled, mix in the cheese and add salt and pepper to taste.

On a floured surface roll out all the balls of dough into circles of approx. 13-14cm diameter.

Place the filling equally on the bottom half of each of the circles. Don’t go right to the edge, but leave the bottom lip free.

Fold the top half of the pastry circle over the filling, but without covering the bottom lip.

With your thumb and index finger fold the bottom lip over the top edge and press. Go all the way round folding and pressing. (see photo at top)

Heat the sunflower oil in a frying pan and fry the skaltsounia 4 at a time for approx. 2 minutes on each side.

Place on a large plate with kitchen paper to absorb the oil.

Ideally served warm.


If you've tried this recipe please rate it!

Eat and Enjoy!

Santorini - World's Best Island (BBC)

Image: Wikipedia Commons

 On its website the BBC has just declared the Greek island of Santorini the World's Best Island.. They asked readers to vote in their annual Travel & Leisure World's Best survey and Santorini came out on top. 

They stated, "Here, everything is brighter: the whitewashed cube-shaped houses, the lapis lazuli sea, and the sunsets that light up the caldera. So it seems about time that Santorini captured the No. 1 island title for the first time in World’s Best Awards history."

Santorini was placed ahead of Bali - Indonesia, Cape Breton - Canada, Boracay - Philippines and the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

One of the specialities of Santorini is Tomato Fritters (Domatokeftedes). They are traditionally made with Santorini tomatoes, but if these are unobtainable, then any other tomato is fine. They are especially delicious with Tzatziki and Greek Salad!

For the recipe go here.

How To Make Corfu Tzitzibira (Ginger Beer)

This is the recipe for Corfu Tzitzibira. When the British were on the island of Corfu in the first half of the 19th century, one of the things they introduced was ginger beer. After they left, it remained a traditional drink here and the name became tzitzibira.

It's a delightfully refreshing drink in the hot summer and also extremely healthy. Below is the recipe to produce 5 litres of tzitzibira - if you need to convert this to gallons and pints, then please go to the bottom of the page, where you'll find a Metric Converter.

You will need to use bottles that are either hard plastic or glass, with tightly sealing screw tops. If the bottles are light plastic, then they will expand during fermentation and will not be able to stand upright. Also, the bottles should preferrably be small - 200ml is ideal - as the larger they are, the fizzier they are when opened.

The fermentation process happens due to the sultana raisins that are included in the recipe.

Ingredients

5 litres water

900g sugar

150g ginger root

500g lemon juice

50g lemon flesh from inside of lemons

12 sultana raisins

Preparation

Peel the ginger and along with about ½ cup of water from the 5 litres grind well in the blender.

Heat 1½ cup of water from the 5 litres until it is lukewarm and melt the sugar in it.

In a heavy plastic or glass container (over 5 litres capacity) with a tightly-screwing lid put the water and the ginger, melted sugar, lemon juice, lemon flesh and sultanas.

Stir well and close the lid tightly.

Leave this for 34 hours, and during this period, unscrew the lid, stir well, and screw the lid back on 3-4 times.

At the end of the 34 hours, strain the liquid and transfer it into the bottles, making sure that you don’t fill them more than 3/5 full. Close the bottles tightly.

As a control, take a small bottle made of light plastic (e.g. a small water bottle) and fill it up to 3/5 full. This will expand with the fermentation and show you that it is ready.

Leave the bottles for 7 days at room temperature without moving or shaking them. At the end of this time fermentation will have taken place and the control bottle will have expanded fully as an indication.

Put the bottles into the fridge and they are ready to serve. They can stay in the fridge for 3 months.


If you've tried this recipe please rate it!

Drink and Enjoy!

 

KumQuat Fruit

Image: Mavromatis Distillery

The island of Corfu is the only place in Greece where the Kumquat fruit is cultivated. The word Kumquat in Chinese means "golden orange" and the fruit resembles very small oranges. It can be eaten with the skin and the flavour is bittersweet. Kumquats were first brought to Corfu by the British botanist Sidney Merlin in 1860.

Image: Wikipedia Commons

Nowadays, kumquats are mostly grown in northwest Corfu, especially near the village of Nymfes. The Mavromatis Distillery, where kumquat products are produced, also has an exhibition area where visitors can see how the liqueur and sweet are made. 

 Images: Mavromatis Distillery

Kumquat can be made into liqueur, marmalade and sweets. It can also be sliced and added to salads, as well as being a garnish for cocktail beverages. 

Greek Meat Pie (Kreatopita) From Corfu

This delicious meat pie is a speciality of Corfu. Traditionally it is only made in the Carnival period (Apokries) leading up to Clean Monday, which is the beginning of Lent. We are in that period now - Clean Monday is next Monday 7th - so, true to tradition, we made the pie. At the bottom of the post you can see the proud cook (none other than my mother-in-law!) holding the pie just after it was taken out of the oven.

Ingredients

For the Pastry

500g all purpose flour

1 free range egg

120ml extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp vinegar

1 level tsp salt

Tepid water – enough to make a pliable dough

For the Filling

1½ kg leg of lamb cut into small pieces (bitefuls)

400g Carolina rice

9 free range eggs

580g condensed milk

580g water

200ml extra virgin oil

1 tbsp flour

1 clove garlic finely chopped

½ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp ground cloves

Salt and pepper to taste

5 free range eggs for the eggwash

Preparation

Pastry

Put the egg in a mixing bowl and beat for 1 minute.

Add the oil and vinegar.

Mix the salt into the flour and add to the liquid in the bowl.

Adding enough water, make a pliable dough.

Cover in clingfilm and set aside to rest for 1 hour.

Filling

Put the water in a pan and bring to the boil.

Add the rice and boil for 1 minute.

Remove from the heat and stir in the oil and milk.

In a mixing bowl beat the 9 eggs for 2-3 minutes.

Put the meat in a large mixing bowl and add the rice mixture.

Add the beaten eggs to this mixture.

Add the flour, garlic, cinnamon, cloves, salt and pepper, mix well and set aside.

Pastry

Butter an oven dish 40cm diameter and set aside.

Take the dough and with a rolling pin open it out on a flour-dusted surface.

The pastry should be large enough to cover the base and sides of the oven dish plus another 15cm approx. extra around the edge.

With the help of the rolling pin, place the pastry in the oven dish so that it fits tightly along the base and sides – this is important as there should be no bubbles left.

Add the filling.

Fold the edge of the pastry inwards over the filling, making sure that no liquid gets in between the pastry and the inside of the oven dish.

Lightly spread the liquid from the filling evenly over the top with your fingers, again making sure none goes down between the pastry and the dish.

Place in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 1 hour.

Beat the remaining 5 eggs well and spread over the whole pie when you remove it from the oven.

Put the pie back into the oven for another 5-10 minutes approx.


If you've tried this recipe please rate it!

Eat and Enjoy!

Greek Spetsiotiko Fish

This is a method of baking fish that comes from the island of Spetses - hence the name Spetsiotiko. It can be used for a few different types of fish. The one we prepared which you can see in the photo is Fagri or sea bream. You can also use large Lavraki or sea bass, Sinagrida or dentex, Sfirida or white grouper, large Tsipoura or dorado. As far as I have checked, these are the correct English translations of the fish names.

Ingredients

1 kg fish

3 cups grated tomatoes

1 ½ cups olive oil

3 tbsp parsley finely chopped

1 clove garlic crushed

1 cup crumbled rusks

Salt and pepper

Preparation

Clean the fish and salt it.

You can leave the fish whole, but if it is large you can cut it into slices.

Make the sauce by mixing all the ingredients in a bowl, apart from the rusks.

Place the fish in an oven dish and pour the sauce over it.

Take half of the rusks and sprinkle them over the fish.

Put a little of the sauce over the rusks to moisten them.

Sprinkle the rest of the rusks on top.

Put in a pre heated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for approx. 1 hour.

During this time, once or twice you can spoon some of the sauce in the oven dish over the fish. If, for some reason, you find that there is not enough sauce, you can add a little white wine.

When it’s done, the sauce should be like a crust on the fish.

If you've tried this recipe please rate it!

Eat and Enjoy!