Chios:
Eftihia’s Kourabiedes
These are my late mother-in-laws kourabiedes. She was renowned for her cooking in her lifetime. Her family was from Asia Minor but settled in Chios. A great combination for a sweet culture: Chios and Asia Minor.
Ingredients
½ kilo plain flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 egg yolk
250 grams sugar
2 tablespoons ouzo
3/4 cup of strained fresh orange juice
500 grams unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
250 grams coarsely ground, blanched and toasted almonds
4 doz cloves
Method
1. Heat oven 160C.
2. In a mixer beat egg yolk with sugar, ouzo and orange juice for 2 minutes. Add melted butter and almonds and mix for 5 minutes.
3. Sift flour with baking powder and add to mixture making soft dough.
4. Kneed gently for about 15 minutes and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
5. Make into shapes, do not press or flatten.
Place a clove in the middle of each kourabies.
6. Place on ungreased baking paper about 2 centimetres apart
Bake for 30 minutes.
Topping
240 grams icing sugar.
On a flat platter place a layer of kourabies and sift the icing sugar on top. Keep repeating this till all have been layered with icing sugar.
As an alternative to the cloves:
You might like to leave out the cloves and instead sprinkle with rosewater when cooked, just before sifting the icing sugar on.
Crete:
Stuffed turkey
Ingredients
1 turkey (approximately 6 kilos)
Sauce
Juices from the turkey
20 grams cornflour
1/8 litre fresh cream
Stuffing
3 onions finely chopped
400 grams fine lean mince
75 grams rice
1/8 litre water
50 grams sultanas or raisins
3 tablespoons cherry liqueur
1 bunch of parsley chopped fine
1 teaspoon of sage
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
Method
1. Heat the oven to 200°c
2.
Soak the raisins in the liquor for 15 minutes. Heat the olive oil and sauté the onions till translucent then add the mince and sauté together
3.
Add all the other ingredients cover and cook on medium heat till all the juices are absorbed. Put aside and cool
4.
Wash and wipe the turkey salt and pepper in and out and stuff with the mince mixture
5.
Sew the opening of the turkey
6.
Cover and bake for 2 hours. Uncover and cook for another 1/2 hour
7.
Make the sauce by taking some of the juices from the bottom of the pan and dissolve the corn flour in and add the cream. Serve the turkey with rice, or potatoes and vegetables.
Tinos:
Vasilopita
Ingredients
250 grams unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
6 eggs
½ plain kilo flour
½ cup brandy or cognac
Zest of one orange
1 teaspoon cinnamon
A dash of vanilla essence
1 teaspoon of baking powder
Method
1.
Heat oven 180°c.
2.
Beat sugar and butter till a paste. Add the eggs and beat one at a time.
3.
Add all the other ingredients, adding the flour slowly, and mix well.
4.
Butter a baking dish and add the mixture. Place a washed coin wrapped in foil in the centre.
5. Bake for 1 hour.
Kalamata:
Diples
Ingredients
2 cups honey
1 cup water
2 tablespoons sugar
6 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups flour
4 1/3 cups vegetable oil, divided
cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts roasted
Method
1.
Boil first 3 ingredients for 10 to 15 minutes. Keep on low burner until ready to use. Combine eggs and vanilla. Add flour slowly, kneading lightly. Add 1/3 cup oil and mix well.
2.
Separate dough into five sections. Keep unused portion covered to keep from drying.
3.
Roll out each section thinly like rolling a pie. With pastry wheel, or paring knife, cut into strips 2 inches wide and the length of pastry. Roll on a fork to form circle. Heat oil in fryer. Drop into hot oil. Remove when dough is light brown and puffed. Drain on paper towels. Dip in reserved hot syrup; sprinkle with cinnamon and nuts.
Limnos:
Amigdalota
These biscuits keep well in an airtight tin container. Therefore this recipe is for a large amount but you can halve the ingredients if you so wish.
Ingredients
1.280 kilograms of blanched almond meal preferably not freshly ground
800 grams sugar
10 egg whites
Zest of two lemons
1/2 cup rosewater
Method
1.
Heat oven 170°c. Mix the almond meal, sugar, zest of lemon and rosewater. Beat the eggs into a meringue
2.
Add the meringue slowly to the almond meal mixture, mix to make a dough consistency, if the meringue is too much don’t add it all, the dough has to be tight. Leave in the refrigerator to rest for about 1/2 an hour
3.
Make into biscuits. The traditional Greek shape is a small oval, between 4-5 centimetres long x 3 centimetres wide x 2 centimetres deep. Bake in a greased biscuit tin in a slow oven for 15 minutes
4.
Take out of tray, cool, and sprinkle with icing sugar.
Kefalonia:
Poutréda
Ingredients
1 kilo of lean pork cut and diced in bite size pieces
2 onions coarsely cut
1 cup olive oil
1 medium sized cabbage
2 small hot peppers
2 tablespoons sweet paprika
Salt and pepper
Method
1.
In a saucepan put in the onions with very little water and bring to the boil. Add the oil and stir till golden colour
2.
Add the pork, stir till sautéed, add hot water just to barely cover
the meat and cook on medium heat
3.
Mean time clean cabbage, remove the hard core and cut into large pieces. When the meat is almost cooked add salt and pepper making sure there is plenty of sauce left after the cooking. Take meat out of the saucepan with a ladle leaving juices behind in saucepan placing in a large serving dish.
4.
Add the cabbage to the juices in the saucepan and stir till its wilted. Add the paprika and the hot peppers. Stir well and add the cabbage to the meat on the serving dish.
Corfu:
Melomakarona
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose unbleached flour. Extra flour for kneading
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
3/4 of a teaspoon of salt
1 3/4 cup of mild olive oil
1 1/4cup of sugar
1/2 cup of cognac or port
3 oranges zested and juiced
4 teaspoons of freshly ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons of freshly ground cloves
3/4 of a teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg
Syrup
2 cups of honey
1 cup of sugar
One inch piece of cinnamon
1 clove. 1 lemon – zested and juiced.
1 cup of water
Topping
½ a cup of almonds
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of freshly ground cinnamon
1 cup of all-purpose unbleached flour
Method
1.
Start by making the syrup. Put the honey, sugar, cinnamon, clove, and lemon zest in a saucepan and add the water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Add the lemon juice, then chill. Roast the almonds lightly then ground them.
2.
Mix the ground almonds with the sugar and cinnamon and reserve.
3.
Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together.
4.
Put the olive oil and sugar in a large bowl and beat together. Beat in the Cognac, the orange zest, spices, and juice from 2 oranges (about 1/2 cup).
5.
Then beat in the flour, a few spoonfuls at a time, until you have malleable dough, adding more flour if it is too soft, and more orange juice if the dough is too stiff.
6.
Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead for 10-15 minutes until very smooth. Pinch off pieces of dough (about 2 tablespoons worth) and form into flattened oval or lozenge shapes.
7.
Place them on an oiled or non-stick baking sheet. Bake in an oven preheated to 400-425 F for about 20 minutes, until brown.
8.
When they are cool enough to handle, dip them in the bowl of syrup for about a minute. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a tray to cool. Sprinkle with the grounded almonds.
Epirus:
Tiganites
To this day, tiganites are popular throughout Greece, but more popular in Epirus. They are served much as they were 2600 years ago, usually with honey drizzled overtop as well as cinnamon and walnuts in particular. If honey was not available a syrup made of water and sugar, was used instead. Tiganites were eaten on Christmas Eve and they represented Jesus’s swaddling clothes.
Ingredients
120 grams flour
225 ml water
2 tablespoons honey
Oil for frying
15 grams baked sesame seeds
1 cup of ground walnuts
Method
1.
Mix the flour, the water and one spoon of honey and make a dough.
2.
Heat 2 spoons oil in a frying pan and pour in the mixture. When it thickens turn it upside down 2 -3 times to fry it in both sides.
3.
Prepare 3 more fritters following the given instructions. Serve them hot, pour over the rest of the honey and dredge sesame seeds and walnuts over them.