Archive for the 'Eva' Category

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Swiss Chard and Black Eyed Beans

Published on December 19, 2008 in Beans, Eva and Vegetarian. 8 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .


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Here is another wonderful vegetarian dish that uses only a few simple and healthy ingredients. Both Swiss chard and black eyed beans are rich in nutrients and very high in fiber. In Greece, this dish is usually eaten as the main meal, but it also makes a great side dish.

About 1½ cup of black eyed beans
Half a bunch of Swiss chard
1 medium onion chopped
1/3 cup of olive oil
1 cup of tomato juice
Pinch of hot pepper flakes (optional)
Salt and pepper

Wash and strain the black eyed beans and place them in a pot of boiling water for about 5 to 10 minutes (the time really depends on the beans; some beans need longer than others).

Chop the Swiss chard into small cubes. Wash and strain the Swiss chard and place the leaves in a separate pot of boiling water for about 3-4 minutes.

Once the Swiss chard had finished blanching, remove the leaves from the heat and strain the water. Do the same with the black eyed beans.

In a medium sized pot, place the oil and onions. Over a medium heat setting, sauté the onions for about 2-3 minutes. Add the beans to the pot and stir for a few minutes. Add a dash of salt and pepper and, if you like a little extra kick, add a pinch of hot pepper flakes. After about 2 minutes, add the Swiss chard and stir. Add the tomato juice and 2 cups of water and stir well. Once the water has begun to boil, cover the pot with the lid and lower the heat. At a low heat setting, allow the beans and Swiss chard to simmer for about 45 minutes to one hour (while stirring periodically). The beans need to cook until all the liquid has been absorbed.

Makes 4 servings.

Oven Roasted Chicken with Lemon Potatoes

Published on November 24, 2008 in Chicken, Eva and oven. 20 Comments Tags: , , , .


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This is the perfect meal to make on a weekend afternoon. It is simple and healthy and fills the house with wonderful smell. Add a side of salad and it is perfect for family gatherings!

Potatoes (use 2-3 potatoes for each person)
2 carrots
1 whole chicken
¼ cup of lemon juice
Half a lemon
5 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon of oregano
Salt and pepper
¼ cup of olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Clean, peel, and cut the potatoes and carrots. Place the chicken at the center of your pan and assemble the potatoes and carrots.

Season the chicken and potatoes with salt, pepper and oregano, and squeeze out the juice of half a lemon. Place the remaining lemon inside the bird, along with a clove of garlic.

Place the remaining garlic cloves on the pan and add the ¼ cup of lemon juice to the potatoes. Add the olive oil and a large glass of water to the pan.

Cook in the oven for about an hour at 400 degrees. Turn over the chicken and potatoes and cook for another 45 minutes.

Gigantes/Yiyantes (Greek Giant Baked Beans)

Published on November 16, 2008 in Beans, Entree, Eva and Greek. 16 Comments Tags: , , .


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This is a nutritious and wonderfully satisfying vegetarian dish. The name ‘yiyantes’ comes from the Greek word for giant (‘giant beans’). Yiyantes can be cooked a couple of different ways, and in this recipe Eva shows us how to prepare these giant beans in tomato juice baked in the oven (plaki-style).

3 cups of large lima beans (yiyantes)
½ cup of olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
4 pieces of garlic, finely diced
1 cup of chopped carrots
1/4 cup of finely chopped parsley
2 cups of crushed tomatoes, or tomato juice
Salt and pepper

Place 3 cups of washed lima beans in a large bowl and cover with water. Allow the beans to soak in the water overnight. Drain the water and pour the beans into a large pot of boiling water and blanche them for about 5 minutes.

In a large pan, add the olive oil and sauté the onions. Add the garlic, carrots, salt and pepper.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

After about 5 minutes of boiling the beans, remove them from the heat and drain the water. Place the beans in a large pan. Add the tomato sauce to the beans. Add 4 cups of water and mix well to ensure the tomato sauce is evenly spread.

Allow the beans to cook in the oven for about an hour at 350 degrees.

Serve as a side dish or as the main meal. Enjoy!

Eva’s Classic Moussaka

Published on October 19, 2008 in Bechamel, Entree, Eva and Greek. 9 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .


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Moussaka is a layered casserole made with layers of eggplant, meat, and a béchamel sauce. In this video, Eva shows us her slightly healthier take on this classic Greek dish. Rather than frying the eggplant, Eva broils the sliced eggplant in the oven for 10 minutes on each side. Her recipe also calls for sliced potatoes to serve as the base of the dish along with the eggplant.

For the Base:

  • 9 Indian eggplants
  • 2 potatoes
  • 1 tablespoon of olive oil
  • 1 cup of mozzarella cheese
  • ½ cup of parmesan cheese
  • ½ cup of breadcrumbs

For the Meat:

  • 1 pound of ground beef
  • 1 quarter cup of onion
  • 2 cloves of garlic (minced)
  • 1 quarter cup of freshly chopped parsley
  • 2 fresh tomatoes chopped or the juice of ½ can of tomato juice
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

For the Béchamel sauce:

  • ½ cup of butter
  • 2/3 cup of flour
  • 3 cups of warmed milk
  • 3 eggs

Slice the potatoes and eggplants into ½- inch slices. Place the slices on an oil pan in the oven for 10 minutes. Flip the eggplant and potatoes and cook the other side for another 10 minutes. Once eggplant is ready, remove from the pan and let them dry on paper towel.

To prepare the meat:

In a large skillet over high heat, add the olive oil, ground beef, onion, and garlic. Next add salt, pepper, and parsley. Once the meat has browned add the tomato juice. Let the meat cook until all the juice is gone. Be sure to stir the meat continuously. Once the meat has cooked, set aside.

To prepare the béchamel sauce:

In a medium pot, heat the butter and mix in the flour. Add 3 cups of milk to the mixture. Stir continuously as the mixture begins to thicken. Once the mixture begins to boil, it will thicken. If you find that your mixture is lumpy, simply strain it. Once the sauce has begun to thicken, remove it from the heat.

Now that you have prepared the vegetables, the meat, and the sauce you can now begin assembling the moussaka.

Preheat the oven at 325 degrees.

Lightly brush a medium size pan with olive oil. Place your potato slices on the bottom of the pan. Next, layer the pan with about half of your sliced eggplants. Next, spread about half of the shredded mozzarella cheese and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.

Next, add the cooked ground beef. Spread the mixture evenly onto the cheese.

Place the remaining slices of eggplant over the meat. Spread the remainder of the mozzarella cheese on top of the eggplant.

Before you add your sauce to the moussaka, fold in 3 beaten eggs into your béchamel sauce. Once the eggs are mixed in, pour the sauce evenly over the moussaka. Sprinkle some parmesan cheese and about half a cup of breadcrumbs over the moussaka.

Cook at 325 degrees for 1 hour.

Enjoy!

The Perfect Biscotti

Published on September 29, 2008 in Coffee, Dessert, Eva and Italian. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , , .


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Biscotti is an Italian cookie which is twice-baked. It makes a wonderful snack and is a great accompaniment to coffee, tea or wine. It is a light and textured cookie and makes a great alternative to the more sugary cookies available at the local supermarket. With biscotti you can really experiment with the ingredients: you can add chocolate chips, any time of nut, and even dried fruit like cranberries. Here Eva shows us her recipe for biscotti. We’ve tried many different biscotti recipes and found this one to be the best.

  • 2 cups of corn oil
  • 2 cups of sugar
  • 6 eggs
  • 5 1/2 cups of flour
  • 4 teaspoons of baking powder
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • The zest of 1 orange
  • 1 cup of sliced almonds or sesame seeds (to roll your biscotti logs)

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Lightly brush your large pan with oil.

Using an electric blender, mix together 2 cups of corn oil and 2 cups of sugar. Add the zest of 1 orange and continue mixing. Add 1 tablespoon of vanilla and then add the six eggs. It’s best to crack each egg into a small bowl and then add the eggs to the mixture one by one.

In another bowl add 4 teaspoons of baking powder to 1 cup of flour and mix together, and then add this to the egg mixture. Slowly add in the remaining 4 ½ cups of flour to the mixture. Continue working the dough with your hands.

On your countertop sprinkle some of your almond/sesame seeds in front of you. Take a large handful of the dough mixture and roll it into a log on your countertop, rolling it onto the almonds/sesame seeds. Be sure to oil your hands before handling the dough; the oil makes it much easier to work with the dough and keeps the dough from sticking to your hands. Continue working the dough into logs and place these on your greased pans. Sprinkle any remaining almonds on top of your biscotti logs.

Bake in the oven at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove the biscotti logs from the pan and place them on a cutting board. Slice the logs into diagonal pieces and place these pieces sideways on your pan and put it back in the oven at 250 degrees for another 30 minutes to dry them out.

These biscotti are wonderful served with Greek coffee!

How to make Greek Coffee

Published on September 29, 2008 in Coffee, Drink, Eva and Greek. 3 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , .


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Greek coffee is both delicious and mysterious! It is a wonderful drink to serve your house guests, but also provides a window into your past, present and future…well, apparently, but we’re not quite sure. Greek coffee is quite strong and is served with the foam at the top and the grounds at the bottom of the cup. It is made using a small pot, called a briki in Greek, and is sweetened according to taste: bitter, medium, sweet, or very sweet. The coffee is served in demitasse or espresso cups and is always served with a cold glass of water. We bought our coffee in Greece while we were there last summer, but it is also widely available in Greek specialty stores as well as the ethnic section of most grocery stores across North America.

To make Greek coffee you will need:

  • Cold Water (1 demitasse cup per person)
  • Sugar (For medium sweetness use 1 teaspoon per cup, but you can adjust this according to your own preference)
  • Greek coffee (1 teaspoon per cup)
  • A small pot (briki)

Use the demitasse cup to measure out 1 cup of water per person and pour the water in your pot. Once the water is hot but before it begins to boil, add the sugar and then the coffee. For medium sweetness use 1 teaspoon of sugar for each cup you are making. If you would like it sweeter, add 2 teaspoons of sugar for each cup, but if you prefer your coffee bitter then don’t add any sugar at all. For the coffee you will use 1 teaspoon of coffee for each cup you are making. Stir to dissolve the coffee and sugar, but do not stir again. Turn your stove to medium-low heat and wait for the coffee to begin to bubble. As the water begins to boil, the foam will rise to the top. As Eva explains in the video this foam is called kaïmaki in Greek. Once the coffee has begun to foam, it’s ready. Place 1 teaspoon of foam in each cup (this way everyone’s coffee gets a bit of the delicious foam) and then pour the rest of the coffee in the cups. The coffee is now ready to serve. Be sure to give of your guests a tall glass of cold water with the coffee!

If you’ve had the chance to visit Greece you might have see people turning their finished cups of coffee over onto the saucer and then having their fortune read to them, a practice known as tasseography. Let us know your experiences with this!

Eva’s Delicious Dolmathes (Stuffed Grapevine Leaves)

Published on September 21, 2008 in Appetizer, Entree, Eva, Greek and Leaves. 11 Comments Tags: , , , , .

This video along with the last two, were created without the use of a tripod (all 3 were recorded on the same day). We learned our lesson and got a tripod. Sorry for any shaky hands :)
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Dolmathes, also known as stuffed grapevine leaves, are a Greek specialty. There are many different variations of this dish, depending on the region of Greece. Some prepare it with an avgolemono (egg and lemon) sauce, others prefer a tomato sauce. Some Greeks cook the dolmathes in a pan in the oven, while others prefer to cook the dolmathes on the stovetop. In this recipe Eva shows us her unique way of preparing this classic Greek dish.

For the Dolmathes:

  • ½ pound of ground beef
  • 1 medium onion (chopped)
  • ¼ cup of chopped parsley
  • ¼ cup of chopped mint
  • 1/3 cup of chopped dill or anise
  • 1 egg
  • 3 tablespoons of olive oil
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • ½ cup of washed and strained uncooked rice
  • 1 tsp of sea salt
  • 1 tsp of black pepper
  • 20-30 grapevine leaves

For the lemon sauce:

  • 1 tablespoon of flour
  • Juice of half a lemon

To begin you need to blanch your grapevine leaves. Some grocery stores sell jars of preserved grapevine leaves, but if you are using fresh leaves you need to blanch them by placing them in a pot of boiling water for about 2-3 minutes then rise with cold water and pat dry.

In a large bowl mix together the ground beef, onion, parsley, mint, anise, egg, olive oil, lemon juice, rice, and salt and pepper.

Once you have mixed these ingredients well you may begin rolling your dolmathes. Place your grapevine leaves face down (smooth side down) on your countertop. Place a ½ teaspoon of mixture at the top of the leaf and roll the leaf by folding in the sides and rolling downwards. Roll the leaves tightly. Repeat until all the mixture has been used up. After you have finished rolling all of the dolmathes, pour about 1 teaspoon of the olive oil in a medium size pot and place your dolmathes (with the seam side down) in the pot. Put the pot on medium heat and let it cook for 2-3 minutes.

In another small pot, bring 2-3 cups of water to a boil. After the water has come to a boil pour it over your dolmathes. Place a small heat-proof plate over your dolmathes and close the lid. Turn the heat down to a light-to-medium heat and let it cook for about 45 minutes. Once it has cooked, remove the dolmathes from the pot and place on a serving plate. Be sure to keep any remaining juice to make the sauce.

To prepare the lemon sauce, mix 1 tablespoon of flour with half a cup of water. Add the juice of half a lemon to the leftover dolmathes juice. Add the flour mixture to this and whisk the mixture well. Let it come to a boil for 1-2 minutes until it thickens. Strain the mixture as you pour it over the dolmathes. Garnish with lemon wedges and serve!