Skordalia is a traditional Greek dish that resembles garlic mashed potatoes and is typically served with fried cod. This recipe is very straightforward and allows for a great degree of flexibility. Some Greeks use bread instead of potatoes and vinegar instead of lemon juice. If you prefer a thicker skordalia, use less fish stock and olive oil. Want to make it vegan? Opt for water instead of fish stock. Don’t want to overwhelm everyone with garlic breath? Cut back on the number of cloves. The ingredient list below is intended as a guideline and reflects our own family’s preferences. Ingredients 4…
Vegan
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Continue ReadingThese refrigerator pickled peppers have a hint of garlic which makes them addictive. They are traditionally made with Florina peppers, which are grown in Northern Greece. However, you won’t find fresh Florina peppers in the United States. Instead, you can use regular bell peppers or red Cubanelle peppers, which have a thiner flesh than traditional bell peppers. This recipe for refrigerator pickled peppers shows you how to roast and pickle fresh peppers. A time saving tip is to buy jared roasted peppers, in which case you can skip straight to the pickling process. Enjoy these pickled peppers as an appetizer or cut up in salads.…
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Continue ReadingThis simple boiled cabbage is perfect on a hot summer’s day. It tastes great cold or at room temperature and can be enjoyed over several days. Rather than serving the cabbage as a main or side dish, our family typically enjoys it with other small plates such as beets, spinach pie, cheese pie, Greek meatballs, and other foods that can be shared. Before you know it, you have a summer’s feast! Ingredients 1 head of cabbage 1 tablespoon salt 12 cups water 2 lemons 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil Preparation Fill a large pot with approximately 12 cups of water. Add the salt to…
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Continue ReadingSpoon sweet or “gliko tou koutaliou” is preserved fruit, which as the name suggests, is customarily served on a spoon. Making strawberry spoon sweet calls for the same ingredients as those used for jam. The difference is in the preparation, which allows for the fruit to be kept whole or halved. While this involves slightly more work than a traditional jam, it is well worth the effort. Ice cream, waffles, yogurt, biscuits… forget serving it on a spoon, just pour it over everything! The trickiest part with this recipe is achieving a syrup that isn’t too thick or thin. Ideally, it should resemble the…
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Continue ReadingThese Greek braised greens with tomato taste great, are easy to prepare, and work well with cold weather crops like collards or chard, and score high on the nutritional front. Other than the extra virgin olive oil, there aren’t many calories in these braised greens with tomato, yet they are warm and comforting, making it the ideal side dish when you aren’t willing to compromise comfort for healthy eating. Ingredients 1 medium onion 1 clove garlic 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 1 bunch collards 2 tablespoons tomato paste Salt to taste Preparation Wash the collards, cut the base of…
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Continue ReadingIt wouldn’t be a Greek Christmas without kourabiedes, a type of Greek almond shortbread cookies. A few weeks back, one of my good friends asked if I could share our family’s recipe. She wanted to make a batch for her husband who is of Greek decent and fondly recalls his grandmother’s own Christmas treats. As I discussed the recipe with my mother-in-law, she mentioned that her own mother-in-law made kourabiedes with olive oil instead of butter, which is the usual ingredient. As soon as I heard that these could be made with olive oil, I had to give it a try;…
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Continue ReadingGreek roasted potatoes are addictively delicious. They are very similar to the potatoes from our roast chicken recipe, with the exception that they are prepared on their own and can be served as a vegetarian side dish. The garlic, lemon, olive oil, and white wine give these potatoes loads of flavor. We tend to prefer to prepare this recipe with yukon gold potatoes. They texture holds up best during baking. However, any large potato will do. Ingredients 8 potatoes 1 clove garlic Juice from half a lemon 1/4 cup white wine 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 1-2 cups…
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Continue ReadingThis recipe is a wonderful way to enjoy beets’ earthy flavor on a warm summer’s day. Boiled in salt water and dressed with extra virgin olive oil and vinegar, they are as delicious as they are easy to prepare. While beets are prized for the root, their leaves and stems are edible as well. This recipe walks you through how to prepare all parts. Ingredients 1.5 pounds beets 1 tablespoon of salt Water for boiling the beets 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 3 tablespoons wine or cider vinegar Preparation Using a sharp knife, separate the stems and leaves from…
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Continue ReadingSimilar to pastry dough, store bought bread contains far more ingredients than those required to bake bread at home. In addition to all sorts of preservatives to extend shelf life, most store bought bread contains too much salt or sugar. This can be particularly problematic for people following a low sodium or low sugar diet. Home baked bread is a perfect answer. While making your own bread will require a little time, it freezes well and can be enjoyed for days or even weeks depending on how much bread you consume on a daily basis. In our home, one loaf of…
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Continue ReadingThese Greek cinnamon cookies known as “koulourakia” are a staple in our family. They are crunchy with a light cinnamon flavor, making them the perfect accompaniment to your morning or afternoon coffee. I also love that I can involve my kids in the baking of these homemade Greek cinnamon cookies. Because they don’t contain any egg, I don’t panic if one of them decides to sneak a bite of raw cookie dough. While the pictures below illustrate three different shapes, you can make whichever shape you wish. The only thing to consider with different shapes is your baking time. Ingredients…