TRADITIONAL GREEK RECIPES

PastitsioFor béchamel sauce

• 100 g parmesan or kefalotiri cheese,

grated

• 1 liter milk, 100 g butter

• 3 egg yolks

• 100 g all-purpose flour

• ½ tablespoon ground nutmeg

• Salt, pepper

For pasta

• 300 g long ziti or bucatini pasta

• 2 eggs

• 200 g feta cheese, crumbled

• ½ bunch of parsley, finely chopped

• 30 ml olive oil

For ground meat

750 g ground beef

2 onions, finely chopped

1 clove of garlic, minced

2 beef bouillon cubes

1 can chopped tomatoes (400 g)

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon sugar

100 ml red wine

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons olive oil, for the onion

2 tablespoons olive oil, for the ground meat

2 bay leaves

½ bunch of parsley, finely chopped

To assemblePreheat oven to 180o C. Bring the baking pan containing the pasta mixture.To the ground meat, add a ladleful of the béchamel sauce. Mix until completely incorporated.The béchamel sauce will make the ground meat mixture hold together better when serving.Spread the ground meat mixture over the pasta in the baking pan. Pour the remaining béchamel sauce over the ground meat. Last, sprinkle the reserved cheese gruyere over the top. You can also add some cubes of butter. Bake for 40 minutes until the béchamel turns golden brown.

Pork Souvlaki

For marinade

• grated zest from 2 lemons

• 100 g orange juice

• 20 g white wine vinegar

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 tablespoon dry oregano

• 1 tablespoon fresh oregano, finely chopped

• 1 teaspoon honey

• salt

• pepper

For meat

• 500 g pork, neck, boneless

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• salt

• pepper

• 4-6 souvlaki skewers, wooden

Soak the wooden skewers in water for a few hours so

that they don’t burn while cooking.

Combine all of the ingredients for the marinade in a

bowl.

Cut the meat into 1-1 ½ cm cubes and place in a

separate bowl.

Add the olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix well.

Add the marinade and mix to coat completely.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for

at least 3 hours or even better, overnight.

The following day, thread the meat on the souvlaki

skewers.

You should have 4-6 souvlakia and grill on a grill pan

over high heat or on a bbq, cooking for 4-5 minutes

on each side.

Fish soup• 1 angler or monkfish along with the head, 1 ½ kilos• 1 ½ liters water• 1 onion, large• 2 carrots• 2 celery stalks• 3 potatoes, medium• 4 sprigs leaf celery• 1 sprig rosemary• 1 star anise• 2 bay leaves• 1 hot chili pepper• Salt -pepper• grated zest from 1 lemon• juice from 1 lemon• 2 tablespoons olive oil• pepper• 1 lemon, for serving• 5 sprigs thyme, for serving

Add the fish in a large pot, add the stock and cover

with plastic wrap or lid.

Place the pot over low heat and simmer for 30-40

minutes.

When the fish is ready, remove pot from heat and

uncover pot.

Carefully remove the fish from the pot with the aid of

a slotted spoon and transfer to a large dish.

Drain the stock into a bowl and wash pot. Transfer

stock back into pot.

Peel the onion and coarsely chop.

Peel the carrots and chop into 0.5-1 cm cubes.

Cut the celery into slices.

Peel the potatoes and chop into 1 cm cubes and finely

chop the leaf celery.

Add the onions, carrots, celery, potatoes, leaf celery,

bay leaves, star anise, hot pepper, the zest and the

juice of the lemons, rosemary, salt and pepper.

Place over medium heat and boil for 20-30 minutes.

Carefully remove all of the bones from the fish and

separate the fish meat into small or large pieces

depending on how you like it in your soup.

When the vegetables are ready, add the pieces of fish

to the pot and gently stir.

Serve with 2 tablespoons of extra virgin Greek olive

oil for each serving along with your choice of herbs

and lemon wedges.