"Tigania" or fried pork

"Tigania" is a fast and tasty way to prepare a starter for a nice dinner. Actually these starters in Greece we call them "mezes" and we can eat several starters like this instead of following the classic procedure of a dinner.
Once again, a Greek recipe that in old times, people were cooking in villages with meat coming from their own pigs and instead of olive oil, they were using the pork fat. Not so healthy, but soooo delicious! Even the modern version is very tasty, so do not hesitate to try it :)

"Karydopita" or moist walnut cake

Classic Greek cake, "karydopita", is a moist walnut cake that smells cinnamon and clove and is rich in walnuts. It's quite sweet, so adapt the recipe to your style but I will give here the one that is the typical that you will be served in a Greek house.

Recipe reminder

Have you seen my recipe for a "quiche"?
I have done it recently and I though to remind you of this easy and tasty solution for a starter.
This version is with feta, tomatoes and ham cubes and some grated yellow cheese.
But you can use whatever you have in the fridge in general...
Especially for John that tried it and liked it :)

Dolmadakia "yalantzi"

"Dolmadakia" are stuffed grape leaves and it is a very popular dish as it is very tasty and once you try it, you get addicted :)
You can find it in several countries and even at the supermarket in small cans.
I will share with you today one of the greek versions that is called "yalantzi" and it is the vegetarian version using rice.
I could not miss from this blog a traditional greek recipe like this one...

Feta & dried tomatoes cake

I promised to give you the recipe of the mozzarella cake with feta and I always keep my promises :)
So, find today another version of this salty cake with a greek touch this time ...
Just replace the mozzarella with feta cheese and fresh tomatoes with dried tomatoes and add more flour so that in total will be about 250gr. Try it! 
See some photos from the preparation below...

Chicken curry

I will share with you my favorite chicken curry recipe that a dear friend of mine has given me years ago. It had been quite some time that I did not do it, as my kids where pretty young and such recipes were too exotic for them.
Thanks to an indian friend that brought me recently some of the ingredients, I decided that it was time to indulge myself. Not a bad idea, as kids really liked it, and it was a nice change.
I serve the chicken with some basmati rice and the trip to India starts... (ok with some chinese touch :)

Greek tzatziki!

Tzatziki is the famous greek dip that is actually a white sauce made with strained yoghurt, cucumber and garlic. It's easy to make, veeeery tasty, great for your bbqs, and is the perfect condiment for "souvlaki", the greek skewers. Find today, how easy it is to make it at home in just a few minutes!

Raisin bread

An easy and light cake today without eggs, butter, milk and such!!! Still delicious, though. Sounds great, non? If I tell you that has raisins charmed by cinnamon, what would you say? It's greek name : "Stafidopsomo".
When I was a child, I did not like raisins, so despite that my mother was making often this "cake" I was spending my time trying to take out all the raisins before attacking to the cake :)))
But it was smelling sooo nice that I could not resist, I wanted still to taste it, although it was making my life difficult, kind of a torture.

I kept asking my mother whether she could make the recipe without the raisins and I remember that my question was always shocking her. I did not know anything about cooking at that time. Now that I see the recipe, years after, I can see why ... it does not have much this cake, so if you take out the raisins there is not much to be left there :))) So, here it is today, full of raisins, and in preference greek if you can find at your place (Corinthian raisins are among the best!). 

Tomato-mozzarella-oregano cake

Summer is coming soon and I would like to urge all the fanatic ones with cakes like me to calm themselves down by doing salty cakes ! I start the sugar banning :) today by proposing to you a tomato-mozzarella cake that has my favorite oregano to boost it. Easy, fast and excellent starter for a nice dinner or a fancy aperitif.
I would add feta cheese instead of mozzarella to be honest, but I live far from Greece and feta is a precious cheese at home, especially for my daughter :)
As far as it concerns the sugar banning... it was a joke ! I am addicted to sugar, so it's not easy to ban it, for the time being, I can only lower my daily intake ...
Ready? Let's go for it then!

Bugs Bunny's cake or Carrot cake :)

If you want to change from the classic chocolate cake then this tasty carrot cake would do :)
It's simple to do, just mix the ingredients, bake and taste! Try it and you will be addicted as it tastes really nice.
The problem is, that I am not very concentrated these days and although I did 2 times this recipe I made a mistake with the ingredients :)
In the first version (as I call it in the photos :) I added one more cup of flour. Taste was amazing but texture was not very good I have to admit ... We ate all of it in a few hours though! No-one could resist to the smell of cinnamon and the sweet touch of the carrots.
In the second version, I forgot to add the sugar and I came up with the idea to add a light syrup (made by boiling for 5 min 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water) and add it once the cake has cooled a bit down after baking.

See photos of both versions and judge for yourself. Imagine still, that if I am persisting so much in doing this cake it has to be very good in taste :))) I am still working the looks though and once I have a better one I will keep you informed !   

The greek focaccia with feta ("tyroklouri")

Want to try a different focaccia, this time with feta? Actually it is a traditional greek recipe from my region Thessaly, that looks like focaccia but more to the crunchy side.
It is very tasty and for the ones that like focaccia style breads, you will love this one!
It takes time to make it, so choose a cold day that you will stay at home, as you will have to wait for the dough to rise.
The result will reward your patience :)

Roast leg of lamb

I didn't like to eat lamb. I didn't like the smell of lamb... until... I invented my way to cook it and it became my favorite and the dish that my kids like and my friends are asking me to cook for them :)
It's a simple, very simple recipe that just needs a covered dish for the oven and one orange and one lemon!
The orange juice covers the smell of lamb and perfumes it in a delicate way. If you add also potatoes around the meat, they will be caramelized in a surprising way. And if you cannot resist and want to add some herb, just add oregano, the ultimate seasoning herb for the oven in my opinion.
Another tip, is to buy one week before cooking the meat, to put it in the freezer and unfreeze it the day before cooking. That way, the meat will be tender. Enough with secrets, let's pass to action!

Nefeli's breads

This is a very important recipe for me that I will share with you, today 2 of May. It is a recipe that my grand-mother used to make and I have so many sweet memories and makes lots of small breads that have a sweet topping. These breads are soooo delicious and fluffy that will touch directly your soul!
In Greece, those breads very often are made to commemorate someone dear that you have lost and we distribute them to people at the church.
As there is no name for this recipe (my grand-mother used to call them small breads) I decided to give my first daughter's name to this recipe...
For my amazing grand-mother and all the stories that was telling me when I was a child... she would be very proud for me seeing me making this recipe!
For my father, the best father ever, that is watching over me... and would be very surprised that his little girl is not only good in maths but has finally learned to cook :)