Greek recipes to keep the celebration going at home
The Dayton Greek Festival benefiting the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church may be over, but the flavors don’t have to end with it.
Greek food boasts some of the most delicious, timeless dishes out there. Here are three of my favorites from the cradle of civilization that are always a great treat and true staples. Whether youmade it to Greek fest or not, these are dishes that will impress from start to finish and are a joy to make in the kitchen.
GREEKEGGANDLEMON SOUP(AVGOLEMONO)
Recipe fromwww.thekitchn.com
AuthorMeghan Splawnnoticed thatwhenit cameto this very well-knownsoup, therewere lots and lots ofvariations. She turned to Greek cookbookauthorAglaia Kremezi to help with the recipe. Recipe serves 6, makes about 9 cups
6bone-in, skin-on chicken
thighs
8cupscoldwater 1 largeunpeeledyellowonion,
quartered 2tablespoonswholeblack
peppercorns 1 tablespoonkoshersalt ½ cupdriedorzo
4largeeggs ¼ cupfreshlysqueezedlemon
juice(from1 largelemon) FORSERVING: ½ mediumlemon, thinly sliced Freshdill ororegano Freshlygroundblackpepper Cookchicken andmake stock. Place the chicken, water, onion, peppercorns, and salt in a 5-quart or largerDutch oven. Coverand bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer and simmeruntil the chicken is cooked through, about 45minutes to 1 hour. Ifany white foamforms, use a slotted spoon to skimoff and discard.
Strain the broth.Transfer the chickentoacuttingboard. Strain the stockthroughafine-mesh strainersetoveralargeheatproof bowlanddiscardthe solids. Ifthere isanabundanceof fat rendered fromthe chicken, skimitoffitwith aspoonorusefatseparator.
Reserve 2 cups of the stock in ameasuring cup. Return the remaining stock to the Dutch oven and keepwarmover lowheat.
Shred the chicken. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, use yourhands to shred themeat into bite-sized pieces; set aside. Discardthe skin and bones.
Cookthe orzo in thebroth. Bring the stockback to a boil overmedium-high heat. Addthe orzo and cook until al dente, 7 to 9minutes. Stir in the reserved shredded chicken. Reduce the heat to low.
Make the avgolemono. Place the eggs in amediumbowl and whisk until lightened in colorand frothy, about 2 minutes. While whisking, slowly pourin the lemon juice. While still whisking, temper in the eggsby slowly drizzling the reserved2 cups ofwarmstock into the egg-lemon mixture. This warms the eggs just enough so that theydo not curdlewhen added to the hot soup.
Thicken the soup. Addthe avgolemonoback into thepot with the chicken and orzo and stir to combine. Cookuntil the soup thickens slightly, 3 to 5 minutes, but do not let it cometo a boil.
Serve the soup. Pour the soup into serving bowls and servewith lemon slices, fresh chopped dill or oregano, and freshly ground black pepper.
RECIPENOTES Gluten-free: Tomake this soup gluten-free, use white rice instead of the orzo.
Storage: Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator forupto2days. Reheaton the stove over lowheat, making sure not to boil the soup. Ifyou expect that you’ll have an excessiveamount left over, simply halve the recipe.
Makeahead: The chicken and stock canbe prepared 2days inadvance. Shred the chicken and refrigerate separately. Strain the stock and refrigerate. The lemon canbe juiced ahead of time aswell
TemperingtheEggand LemonMixture: So, you’ve simmered and shredded the chicken thighs. You’ve got the broth frommaking the chicken, and cooked the orzo in itswake. Nowyou’ve come to the only challengingpart ofmakingGreeklemon and egg soup: adding raweggs to hot broth without scrambling the eggs. No, no, don’tworry — tempering to the rescue! Tempering is the process of adding a small amount of the hot broth to the eggs while whisking vigorously. You’ll slowly raise the temperature of the eggs enough to add themtothe soupwithout the eggs curdling. Remove the soup fromthe heat before you begin tempering, and never bring the soupback to a boil once the eggs have been added.
Shortcut: Iwant totell you a secret shortcut for those nightswhenyou just can’tmake broth from scratch. Buyyour favorite carton of chicken broth and reduce it by half. This will take about30minutes. Meanwhile, shred themeat froma rotisserie chicken and then start this recipe from step four. It will still be really, really satisfying in about half the time.
MOUSSAKA
Recipe fromwww.themediterraneandish.com
This dish is Greek comfort
food at itsfinest. It’s a hearty eggplant-based casserole that is like a Greek lasagna. Variations inMoussaka abound, including the use of different vegetables. 2largeeggplants, sliced lengthwiseinto1/4inchthickslices, endslices discarded
Salt
Extravirgin oliveoil 1 largeyellowonion, finely
chopped 1 lbgroundlamb(orbeef) 1 tbspdriedoregano 1 tspgroundcinnamon 1/2tspblackpepper 1/2tspgroundnutmeg 1/2tsppaprikaorhot
paprika
1/2cupredwine 1 14ozcandicedtomato 1tspsugar 1/2cuphotbeefbroth 2largerussetpotatoes, peeled, verythinlysliced lengthwise water 4tbspdriedbreadcrumbs CHEESETOPPING: 3/4cupfat-freeGreek
yogurt
3largeeggs, at room
temperature, beaten 1 tbspall-purposeflour 1/2cupreducedfat ricotta (creamcheesewould work ifyouprefer) 3ozcrumbledfetacheese
Spread the eggplant slices in one layerand sprinkle with salt. Let set for30minutes to“sweat out”its bitterness. Pat the eggplant slices dry and assemble in one layeron a lightly oiledbaking sheet.
Drizzle generously with olive oil.
Place thebaking sheet on the topoven rackand broil briefly, turning over so that both sides of the eggplant are softened and golden brown (do notworry ifparts of the eggplant are slightly charred, butwatch carefully so it doesn’t burn). Remove fromthe oven and set aside.
Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a skillet. Cookthe onions on mediumheat until they turn slightly golden brown, stirring regularly (about 5 minutes). Nowadd the ground lamb. Cookthe lamb until fully browned, tossing regularly. Drain the lamb fromany excess fat and returnback to the skillet. Nowaddthe dried oregano, ground cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg, and hot paprika. Stir to coat themeat with the spices.
Addthe wine and boil for 1 minute to reduce. Stir in the canned tomatoes, sugarand broth. Simmeron mediumlowheat for30minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In themeantime, boil the sliced potatoes in plentyofwateruntil they are completely soft and easily breakable (about 5-7 minutes). Drain thewater and set the potatoes aside briefly.
To prepare the cheese topping, whisk theGreek yogurt with the eggs and flour. Addthe ricotta and feta cheese andwhisk again to combine. When ready, lightlyoil a91/2 x 13 oven-safebaking pan. Layer the eggplant slices on the bottom.Addthemeat sauce and spreadto cover the eggplant. Layer the potato slices to cover themeat sauce and sprinkle with the breadcrumbs. Finally spread the cheese topping to thinly cover the potatoes.
Bake in the 350Fdegreeheated oven for45 minutes. Ifyou need to, transfer the baking pan to the toprack and broil briefly so that the topof themoussaka gains a nice goldenbrowncolor (watch carefully). Remove fromthe heat and let sit 5-7minutes before cutting through into squares to serve.
DOLMADES(STUFFED GRAPELEAVES)
Recipe fromwww.themediterraneandish.com
If Iwas going to choose mydesert island dishes, this wouldmake it tomy list. I love dolmades for breakfast, lunch and dinnerand snack time in between. The bitter grape leaves are stuffedwith savory mixture ofmeat, rice and spices and cooked up in a lemonbroth that adds zip and playsoffthe other flavors.
1 16-ozjargrapeleavesin brine(about60to70 leaves) 11/2cupshortgrain rice, soakedin plentyofwater for 15minutes, then drained
Extravirgin oliveoil 1 largeyellowonion, finely chopped12ozlean groundbeef
Koshersalt
Blackpepper
1 tspallspice
1/2tspcumin 1/2cupeachofchopped freshparsley, freshdill, andfreshmint 1 to2tomatoesslicedinto
rounds About4cupsormorelowsodiumchickenbrothor water
Juiceof2lemons
PreparetheGrape Leaves
If using jarred grape leaves as I amhere, removethem fromthe jarand discard the brine. Rinse the grape leaveswell and placethem in a colander to drain. (Later in the process, you’ll remove the stemsbefore stuffing.) (See notes if using fresh grape leaves)
Preparethe Stuffing Soak the rice in plenty ofwater forabout 15 to 20minutes or until you are able to breakone grain of rice easily. Drainwell.
While the rice is soaking, cook themeat. Heat 1 tbsp extravirgin olive oil in a large skillet. Addonions and cook briefly, about 2 minutes orso, tossing until translucent. Addthemeat and cook till fully browned, tossing occasionally. Drain any excess fat, then season themeat with kosher salt, pepper, and spices. Toss to combine. Remove fromheat and set aside to cool.
In a mixing bowl, combine themeat, drained rice, and fresh herbs. Season lightly with kosher salt. Adda generous drizzle ofextra virgin olive oil, and mix so that everything iswellincorporated.
StuffGrapeLeaves, Assemble,andCook
Prepare a heavy cooking pot and lightly brush the bottomwith extra virgin olive oil. Arrange a fewgrape leaves in the bottom. Top with sliced tomatoes. To stuffthe grape leaves, you willworkone leaf at a time. Place one grape leafon a cutting boardthe textured/ rough side facing you. Take 1 heaping teaspoon of the filling and place in the center of the leave, then fold the sides over the filling and roll (think about this like rolling spring rolls or cigars.) Repeat with the remaining grape leaves or until you’re out of stuffing.
Neatly arrange the grape leaves in row, seamside down, in your preparedpot, covering the circumference ofthepot.Thenplace a small plate invertedontop. Boil the brothorwaterandpourover the grape leaves, arriving at the toplayerandsomewhat covering (about4cups liquid, maybe a littlemore.) Now coverthepot with thelidand cookovermedium heat for 30minutes until the liquid hasbeenabsorbed. Uncover andremove theplate, then pourjuiceof2 lemons. Cover again with the lid (no needfor the plate at this point), cook onlowheat for30to45more minutes or until fullycooked. Toserve Removegrapeleaves from heat.Allowtorestuncovered for20to30minutesbefore serving.Addagenerous drizzleofqualityextravirgin oliveoil, andtransfer toa serving platter. Servewitha sideofGreekTzatziki sauce orplainyogurtandwedgesof lemon.
RECIPENOTES
Be sure to soak the rice before using, this allows it to cookmore evenly.
Roll the grape leaves tightlyenough so they don’t unravel orbecomeundone while cooking, BUTagain, rememberrice will expand as it cooks, so don’t fold too tightly or the ricewon’t cook properly.
Adding a small inverted plate on top ofassembled grape leaves in the pot helps keepthemintact and in place and preventsthemfrom floating while cooking. Once the liquid has been absorbed, you can remove the plate to finish cooking as instructed.
Once cooked, allowthe grape leaves to rest for 20to30 minutes so that any remaining liquids are absorbed and the leaves set nicely.