Revithia giahni sti gastra is a vegan dish with stewed chickpeas, traditionally cooked in a clay pot and baked in a wood burning oven. However, not all of us have wood burning ovens or clay pots but we can still cook it in a Dutch oven or any casserole dish in our home oven. If you don’t have any of the above, use a baking tin which cover with an aluminium tent.
Greek Traditions
Kokoras Bardouniotikos is a stewed rooster recipe from Lakonia. In the classic recipe there are no potatoes in it but is served with pasta, such as hilopites. The meat and onions are browned in olive oil before stewing and then it is simmered until cooked. In the end a lot of sphella cheese (a spicy, hard feta) and some kalamata olives are added and the combination of cloves and cinnamon is what gives this dish its unique Greek flavor.
Ntomatokeftedes are tomato patties or fritters, served mostly in most of the Greek islands, especially in the Aegean. These are served as appetizers but they can also be served as a main dish with a salad.
These Chicken Souvlakia are so tender and juicy due to the marinade which features the fresh-tasting combination of lemon juice, garlic, and olive oil combined with Greek yoghurt that are so prevalent in Greek cuisine.
I made these Marinated Pork Chops with ingredients I had at home. The marinade tenderized the pork chops, while making them extra juicy, infusing them with a sweet and sour flavour.
If you get some lovely, fresh courgettes (zucchini) with their flowers on don’t throw away the flower and if you scoop the interior or courgettes to stuff them, don’t throw that away either. Here’s what I did:
Gemista (pronounced as yeh-mee-STAH), are Greek stuffed tomatoes and peppers filled with rice and herbs, baked with potatoes, in a tomato sauce.
Tiganopsomo, which means fried bread is very easy to make. All you need is any kind of yeasted bread dough, which is fried in olive oil. Some times it is filled with cheese, such as feta or any other hard Greek cheese but when it is not filled, it can turn into a dessert by sprinkling some honey or icing sugar and cinnamon on top.
Tyropita me Maratho means cheese pie with wild fennel. This is a traditional cheese pie, which my mother in law used to make with feta cheese and fennel.
Vegan Spanakopita or Nistisimi Spanakopita, is a Lenten version of a spinach pie, which we make during Lent without any egg or cheese. A small amount of semolina is added in the filling to bind the ingredients.