Fat Chefs or Skinny Gourmets? A Food Event

When the temperatures started to rise with the arrival of spring in the Northern hemisphere a lot of my foodie friends started to talk about “losing weight”. I joined that conversation because all the cooking, blogging and not exercising during the winter took its toll on me. I don’t regret all the delicious food I made, learned to make, ate and share. What I regret is the extra pounds they left on me.

Summer is quickly approaching and we all want to look our best. I don’t think there is anything wrong with that. I believe that our bodies reflect our health and minds, mens sana in corpore sano "Νους Υγιής εν Σώματι Υγιή". That’s why I decided to go on a diet. My diet, however, isn’t a typical diet where you count calories, weigh food and keep a detailed list of what you are allowed to eat and what not. I find those diets depressing. I think that all you need to eat healthily is common sense.

I’ve seen people who don’t eat carbs (you need them for energy) or fats (you need those to absorb and digest important vitamins, to maintain healthy skin and hair, to promote proper cell functions and many other things) at all and I’ve seen people who avoid fruits and vegetables altogether. I think both extremes are unhealthy and should be avoided. The key word for a healthy life has always been, and will always be, moderation.

As the Greek Philosophers used to say “Παν Μέτρον Άριστον” meaning Everything in Moderation, my Mexican friend Ben of What's Cooking, shares this belief with me. After I posted this salad Ben commented that we should start a diet club since a lot of us were going into diets. That gave me an idea to host a food event that focused on Diet Food or Low Calorie Food. That would give us an opportunity to share our health and fitness goals with others and a list of healthy foods we can prepare to achieve those goals. Now, Ben and I are proud to announce this event called Fat Chefs or Skinny Gourmets? The rules to participate are the following:

• Make something that you consider Diet Food for its nutritious value (high in vitamins and other nutrients and low in calories)
• Post the recipe on your blog with a link to both, Ben’s blog and Ivy’s blog.
• Send your entry to skinnygourmets@gmail.com
• The deadline for this event will be June 30th.
• Ben and I will post the roundup in the first days of July

If you don’t have a blog you can still participate. Just send us your pictures and recipes to the e-mail address above and we’ll post it with the rest.

Stay tuned. There might be some surprises for this event.

You are encouraged to share with us your health goals for this summer. For example, I want to be able to wear my speedos or bikini again or just a simple I want to feel good again suffice. Healthy food doesn’t have to be boring and eating healthily doesn’t have to be difficult. Let’s show the world we can take control of our bodies and health!

Note: The pictures of the event badge belong to this Russian Cake and this Tropical Tuna Salad recipes.

Our Logo is not very professional but feel free to use it in your blog entries. Enjoy Eating Healthy!

Russian Cake

Lately I haven't posted any cakes or desserts as I am trying to avoid them but this recipe was prepared early March, so I thought for a change I could add a dessert. Don't get me wrong, I am still on a "healthy diet" not that I am starving but I am trying to eat healthier and loose a few extra kilos. Back in March I liked the idea of preparing a meringue based cake and searched the internet and found this.

I increased the recipe as I had some friends for dinner and instead of using only 6 egg whites I tripled the dose and used pecans and walnuts instead of hazelnuts. I also substituted the butter with whipping cream. My oven's baking tin is quite large so when assembling the cake I cut two pieces to fit in the bowl and what remained was inserted in the middle to form the third layer.

Yield: serves 15

Preparation time: 45 minutes

Baking time: about 2 hours

Assembling: 15 minutes

For Meringue

• 18 egg whites
• 450 grams of sugar
• 200 grams of grated walnut
• 150 grams of roasted pecans mixed together
• a few drops of lemon juice
• 1 pinch of salt
• 4 packs of vanilla sugar

For Ganache:

• 18 egg yolks
• 150 grams of icing sugar
• 3 packs of vanilla sugar
• 1 ½ tablespoon cocoa powder
• 100 grams of dark chocolate
• 3 cups of heavy whipping cream

Directions

Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt, vanilla sugar and sugar until stiff peaks form.

Stir in grated walnuts and pecans (reserve about 12 for decoration). Place on parchment paper and bake each for about 60 minutes on 150°C.

For the ganache:

Add the icing sugar, vanilla powder and cocoa to egg yolks and mix well. In a bain marie add chocolate into it, stir occasionally for about 30 minutes and let it cool down. Reserve one third separately.

Add whipping cream and mix and after it has cooled down spread cream on each layer.

Finally on top add the reserved chocolate and decorate with the pecans and serve with chocolate syrup.

Cardamom and Rocket Pesto

Remember when I made that awesome salad with rocket and fresh cardamom a few weeks back? Well after making a couple more salads everyday, there was still some cardamom and rocket left. Although I loved the salads I didn't want to eat any more so I decided to make a pesto with what was left and see how it works. When I finished it, I tried just a little bit to see how it turned out. Again, the flavour of the cardamom and the rocket was very strong and peppery and I had to add something in to balance it. The only thing I had at home and could use were frozen peppers (I always have some in the deep freezer, just in case I need some). I added and tasted, added and tasted and YES, finally it was perfect.

I made this pesto a week ago and used it in a few recipes. Today I made the last one and hope to find some fresh cardamom again so that I can make some more soon. However, as all of you commented that you could not find any fresh cardamom, I believe that even if you use only the rocket it will still taste awesome.



I am submitting this recipe to Sweetnicks, who is hosting this week's Weekend Herb Blogging, created by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen.

Ingredients

• 3 - 4 sprigs of fresh cardamom (just the leaves)
• 3 - 4 sprigs of rocket
• 1/2 cup of peppers (yellow, red, orange)
  
• 50 grams (about) of goat cheese
  
• 1 spoonful wine vinegar
  
• 15 (about) grams of pine nuts
  
• 1/2 cup of Extra virgin olive oil
  
• 1 large garlic clove
  
• salt and pepper to taste
  

The quantities are just indicative as I did not weigh them but you can see in the photo below what I used.

Directions

Wash and drain the rocket and cardamom. Combine them in with the pine nuts and some olive oil and pulse a few times in a food processor. Add the peppers, the vinegar, garlic and salt and pepper and pulse a few times more.

Slowly add the remaining olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add the cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Makes 1 cup.

Serve with pasta, or as a dressing to salads, over baked potatoes, or spread over toasted baguette slices.

See also

Spinach Pesto

Lemon Marmalade

Hope everybody had a nice and relaxing week-end and have charged your batteries for another week's blogging.

I found some time to write about the Lemon marmalade which I made last month when I made the Lemonade. As I said then, I wanted to make a spoon sweet with the peels just like the bergamot I had made a few months ago but seeing that the were very thin and therefore not suitable for the spoon sweet, I gave it a quick though and decided to make the Marmalade. I have made orange marmalade and mixed citrus fruit marmalades before but it was the first time I attempted to make a marmalade with lemons.

I kept all the pulp, pith and seeds which I tied in a cheese cloth so that I could get the pectin from there but still I wasn’t sure that I would get enough flavour from just the peels so I decided to add half of the lemon squash I had prepared earlier.

This marmalade turned out so delicious, everyone at home loved it and the recipe is pretty straightforward. I've detailed as much of the method as I could, to make it easier for any of you who might try the recipe to be successful with it. However I do not have a thermometer to help you but I believe if you follow my instructions you will be able to make it. Also in Greece we do not have various brands of lemons, so we do not know what kind of lemons we eat. We just say lemons, so I don't know which type you must use, that's why I put the picture on the top as that may help you.

I am submitting this recipe to Elly, of Elly says Opa, who is organizing the second Eat to the Beat.

The event is on all year round so find a song to go along with your recipe and submit it any time you like. The round up is every three months.

The song I chose for this event is Lemon Tree (by Fool’s Garden). Enjoy whilst reading the post!

Lemon Marmalade

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 2 - 2 1/2 hours

Ingredients:

500 grams of peels (about 12 – 14 lemons or 2 kgs)
1.2 litres of water
1 kilo sugar

Half of the Lemonade I made with the juice

Directions

After squeezing lemons to take the juice, remove pulp, seeds and pith and tie them into a cheesecloth.

Cut peels into small stripes and put them into a sauce pan together with water and cheesecloth and bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer covering with the lid (about an hour).

Remove cheesecloth and squeeze all liquid out in the sauce pan again, add sugar and the lemonade and bring to a boil again, lower heat and keep stirring from time to time until the marmalade is set.

To know if marmalade is set when starting the whole procedure put a small plate in the refrigerator and after simmering for about an hour place a drop of the liquid in the plate. Try pushing it with your finger. If it is watery keep simmering and try after a while until it forms a wrinkle when pushed. Another way to try this is the one described in my Strawberry jam where a last drop of the syrup must hang on the spoon.

Store in sterilized jars. See how to sterilize your jars here.






See also
Tsoureki with Lemon Marmalade filling









Carrot Cake with lemon and chocolate glazing

Courgette Croquettes with Quinoa and Anchovies

A few days ago I wrote about the other parcel I received from sweet Nuria and as I promised I am writing about the parcel I received from Pixie before Easter. When Pixie asked me what I wanted I told her that I wanted maple syrup because it was something I saw in recipes and I always wanted to try it. Well when the package arrived, apart from the maple syrup, Pixie surprised me by sending quinoa and that was the first time I heard of it and some tea, which we enjoyed, Jaffa cakes, breadsticks, toffees and a chocolate. The children love this sort of things and they were saying "That’s for me" or "Oh, I want that" but they behaved and they ate the stuff on Easter Day. I tried everything and they were all delicious. Thank you Pixie very much. We enjoyed everything. (I shall be writing more as I have not tried the maple syrup yet).

With the quinoa I made three recipes and today I shall start with some croquettes based on a recipe I found on the internet, to which I have made my own twist.

I am submitting this recipe to Gay of A Scientist in the Kitchen, who is hosting this week’s Weekend Herb Blogging, created by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen.

Courgette croquettes with quinoa and anchovies

Prep Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes

Serves: 4-5

Ingredients:

• 5 green courgettes, grated
• 1 onion, grated
• 5 spring onions finely chopped
• ½ cup of parsley, finely chopped
• ½ cup of fennel, finely chopped
• 2 spoonfuls of fresh mint, finely chopped
• 1 egg
• Salt and pepper
• Flour
• 1 teaspoonful of baking powder
• 1 spoonful of olive oil
• 1/2 cup of crumbled goat cheese
• Extra virgin olive oil for frying

For Quinoa:

• ½ cup of quinoa
• 1 cup of water
• ¼ teaspoon of salt

Directions:

In salted pot of boiling water, cook quinoa for 20 minutes, remove from the heat and leave it in the pan until it cools. (As the quantity needed is small I doubled the dose and with the remaining half I prepared a dessert).

Wash the vegetables and let them drain from the water.
Grate the courgettes and place into a colander with salt for half an hour.
Squeeze to remove any remaining fluid.
Break the egg into the bowl and add the cheese, chopped herbs and salt and pepper.
Do not add too much salt, as the cheese has salt and don’t forget that we added salt to the grated courgettes.
Add the quinoa and continue to massage the mixture between fingers after adding flour until you have a smooth, but not runny, consistency.

After this, the mixture is helped by being allowed to stand in the fridge for, at least, an hour, before frying in olive oil.
Make the croquettes and run them in some flour. Fry in hot olive oil. The level of olive oil in the frying pan should cover half the croquette.

Turn the croquettes once, browning both sides.

Place them on a platter and decorate with the anchovy fillets.

See also: Zucchini Balls (kolokythokeftedes)

Eggplant rolls, with feta

Marinated anchovies

For those reading my blog regularly, I wrote at the beginning of May that during the days my sons were sick, my husband went to buy some fresh fish for a soup for the boys and he called me to ask if I wanted some fresh anchovies for us.

I thought that it was a good idea as we didn’t have them for a while and told him that ½ kilo would be enough for us. I would fry them and serve them with a big salad.

As usually my husband asks my opinion about something but he always ends up doing what he has in mind.

This time of the year anchovies are in abundance and are affordable and a popular choice among the fish, everything being so expensive. You can buy a kilo at about 4 – 5 euros at the fishmongers’ or 2 – 3 euros at the farmers’ market.

Instead of half a kilo he bought about a kilo, so when I asked him “Who is going to eat all this?” he said “Why don’t you marinate some? ”

Actually it wasn’t a bad idea after all, as we love it and there are so many things you can do with it.

I am submitting this recipe to Michelle of The Accidental Scientist, who is hosting this month's event called “Herbal essences HotM 15” where we have to incorporate our herbs into heart healthy recipes. Anchovies are rich in Omega 3 fats which are considered to be very healthy for the heart and the anchovies are marinated with garlic and oregano, two very healthy herbs and of course preserved in olive oil.

MARINATED ANCHOVIES (GAVROS MARINATOS)

Ingredients

1/2 kilo fresh anchovies

Salt

Wine vinegar

2 cloves of garlic sliced

Olive oil

Oregano

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Marinating time: 15 – 20 hours

Directions

Wash and cut the head pulling out the guts. With a filleting knife cut it in the middle and remove spine and tail and any remaining guts. Wash again and strain. Place them in a bowl with a lid placing a layer of anchovies, salt, garlic, vinegar. Repeat until they are all placed and finally they should be covered with vinegar. Place lid and store in the refrigerator and let them marinate overnight.

The following day drain them from the vinegar and sprinkle some oregano and cover them in olive oil. They can be preserved for a week.

:

Some older recipes:

Farfalle with rocket and anchovies

Spaghetti with anchovies and capers

Fried anchovies

and
Courgette croquets with quinoa and anchovies:


Beetroot salad with anchovies (which I have not posted yet).

I Heart you this much and Yummy Blog

It's been several days now that sweet Rosie of Rosie bakes a "Peace" of Cake, has nominated me with the I LOVE YOU THIS MUCH award and a few days ago, another friend Swati, of Sugarcraft India nominated me for the YUMMY BLOG award, so although my schedule is full this week, I am writing a few words to thank both Rosie and Swati for awarding me with these excellent awards.

It means so much to me and I shall treasure them both.

Rosie and Swati are both very talented ladies who make beautiful cakes and bakes. If you have yet to visit their blogs please do so to see and drool over their beautiful creations.

I have to pass these awards on to 5 + 5 other bloggers and it is so hard to chose and just narrow it down. I think that a lot of my friends deserve both these awards and as I have to chose among them I also had a problem which one to give to them. All the persons I am awarding it to deserve both as I love them all and they have yummy blogs, each one doing something different.

I wish I could pass it on to all the readers of my blog for taking time to visit and leave such beautiful comments but their turn will come soon. Forgive me for not summarizing what I like from everyone individually but I am trying to make a short post and it's not that easy to find the right words when it's not your native language.

I am awarding the "I LOVE YOU SO MUCH" to :

Val, of More than Burnt Toast

Pixie, of You say Tomahto, I say tomayto

Cakelaw, of Laws of the Kitchen

Nuria, of Spanish recipes

Swati, of Sugarcraft India.

The YummyBlog Award is the award given to the blog with the most yummy recipes/photos




Rules for the ‘Yummy Blog’ award Receiver:
The person who receives the award should display the "Yummy Blog" logo on their blog and also the meaning of the award which is "Yummy blog award is the award given to the blog with most yummy recipes/photos".

The receiver should also quote their favorite yummy-licious :) dessert(s) that they have ever prepared/eaten. Don’t restrict yourself to any dessert, chocolate bars also welcome.Also the receiver should pass on the award to five other bloggers whose blog they find "yummy" and let them know about the rules:)

My favourite yummy desserts which I have prepared are:

Pecan Cookies Dessert (BTW I received the One Perfect Ingredient Cookbook, today )

The Bergamot Spoon Sweet, and

Tsoureki with Lemon Marmalade Filling

I am passing on the Yummy Blog Award to

Peter G, of Souvlaki for the Soul

Ben, of What's Cooking

Deeba, of Passionate about Baking

Susan, of Food Blogga

Lore, of Culinarty

Hurry up and see what delicious things they have prepared and I am sure you will be drooling as I am.

"Spanish Recipes" with Iberian Ham

Two good friends of mine, Nuria from Spanish Recipes and Pixie from You say Tomahto, I say Tomato, sent me a message about the same time, asking if we could exchange parcels with local things from each country.

Around end of April I received both parcels with a few days difference but unfortunately it was during Lent and we were fasting, so we could not taste them.

Nuria’s package came first and here’s what she sent me.

Wow, Iberian Ham! I have seen Nuria posting about this many times and was hoping for either the Iberian Ham or for a Chorizo and how lucky I was, Nuria had read my thoughts.

I searched the internet to find a suitable recipe but unfortunately I didn’t. I did however learn a lot about the ham here.

On Easter Monday, when we returned from our short Easter get away, whilst my husband was barbecuing I thought that it was the right time to try the ham and headed into the kitchen to prepare a meze with ouzo until the dinner was served and I made pa-amb-tomquet-i-pernil, at least I tried to do something like the one Nuria did.

I cut one of the Easter Breads I made (and by the way even five days after I had made it, it was still fresh and absolutely delicious) and gave it to my husband to toast on the barbecue.

Then I wet the bread with olive oil and some salt, pepper and oregano and added some grated tomato on top, a slice of Iberian Ham and an extra piece of tomato and salt on top. It was fantastic and super delicious. I couldn’t keep them away from the platter to take the photos and those empty spaces are evidence of what I am saying.

There was still some left but then the boys were not feeling well so it rested in the refrigerator until yesterday when I used it in a couple of ways.

One was in a salad with raw mushrooms and spinach with herbs and cherry tomatoes, cottage cheese and Iberian Ham, dressed with a strawberry dressing (that was my diet dinner).

For the others I prepared an omelette with mushrooms, fresh cardamom, three different colour peppers, spring onions, wine, salt and pepper.


My version of Spanish omelette

Ingredients for two:

4 slices of Iberian Ham
2 fresh portobello mushrooms
1 cup of peppers, (yellow, orange, red)
2 spring onions
4 - 5 fresh cardamom sprigs (optional)
4 eggs
salt
pepper
2 spoonfuls of olive oil
3 - 4 spoonfuls of white dry wine


Directions:

After a quick sautéing of the mushrooms for a couple of minutes, in a non stick frying pan, I added the onion and shortly after a few spoonfuls of wine until it evaporated, then I added all the other ingredients and just before I turned the omelette over I added the Iberian ham.

Thanks Nuria and Pixie for the parcels. I shall blog about Pixie' s parcel soon.

Cardamom and Rocket Salad

I am going to keep this post short. I just broke my promise to myself not to post more than two posts a week as I was planning to post one for another friend’s event by the end of this week but I still have time for that one. However, on a visit to my friends' sites earlier, I visited Laurie, of Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska and who is one of the first friends I made when I began blogging. Laurie is the host of this week’s Weekend Herb Blogging, created by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen and if you have not yet visited Laurie's blog, you still have time to submit your recipe and "taste" her delicious Mediterranean dishes.

Yesterday I had some business to attend to in another municipality of Athens and in the street I had to go, there was a Farmers’ Market going on. When I had finished, I could not resist buying a few things such as strawberries and rocket. When I paid for the rocket I noticed that he was selling fresh cardamom. That intrigued me as I had never seen fresh cardamom before and asked the man how this could be eaten. He told me that I could do it just the same way you I eat rocket. I paid for it and when I was about to leave he added “You give some of this to your husband to eat and you will not regret it. Better than Viagra". I assured him that my husband did not need it and I could see some people giggling with the joke and left”.

When I returned home, it was quite late and I had to grill Some Greek biftekia (burgers) I had prepared before leaving in the morning and I wanted to make some salad. I made a quick google search for "cardamom and rocket" but I could not find anything with fresh cardamom. I checked what else I had at home. I had spring onions, parsley, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes and lettuce. I decided to use the cherry tomatoes and the spring onions. I washed all the vegetables and let them dry. When I prepared the salad and added the vinaigrette I tasted it to see what it was like. If you think that rocket has a peppery and tart taste then cardamom has an even more peppery, tart and bitter taste and imagine both greens together.

I looked for something sweet to add but the only thing I found in my closet was a packet with four leftover dried figs and some walnuts. I added them to the salad and although the cherry tomatoes and the figs balanced the taste, it still needed something more. I remembered seeing strawberries in other salads so I added a few strawberries in my plate and that gave the perfect balance. I think it was exactly what it needed. Although I heard a few jokes from my daughter, like "salad and dessert together" my son and husband tried it and they loved it. (Now don't ask me about the after effects).

Rocket and Cardamom Salad

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of rocket
• 2 cups of fresh cardamom
• 2 spring onions, finely chopped
• 8 cherry tomatoes
• 4 strawberries
• 3 - 4 dried figs, sliced
• 3 tablespoons walnuts, crushed
• salt and cracked black pepper to taste

For dressing:

• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp honey

Directions

Wash and drain all the vegetables. Cut spring onions, rocket, cardamom, cherry tomatoes and strawberries. Cut figs and crush walnuts to small pieces.

In a container with lid add oil, balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar and honey and shake well. Add dressing to salad, salt and pepper and toss to coat evenly and serve.

Leftover Lamb - A Tag - Memoir and an Award

I shall start my post today with something that gave me great joy and hope that I will be able to give the same joy to my fellow blogger. I have been tagged and given an Award from dear friends.

Peter, of Souvlaki for the Soul and Susan, of Food Blogga have tagged me for the 6 Word Memoir Meme.

(At this point I want to apologize to my dear friend Peter G, who had tagged me for the same Memoir during the week before Easter, but everything was was hectic that week that I planned to deal with it after Easter, but it seems that I am growing old and I forget).

To play in the Six Word Memoir, simply tell readers 6 characteristics that describe you.

Well I’m going to give you only the good side of my character.

• Spontaneous
• Caring
• Honest
• Hard working
• Compassionate
• Generous

This tag I have decided to pass on to new blogger friends. This is done in an effort to help people find new and interesting blogs to read, which obviously will lead to more good kitchen stories and recipes!

Sam, of Greek Food, Recipes and Reflections

Lulu, of Mama's Taverna

Erik, of My Life as "Chef Erik"

Mike, of Mike's Table

Lore, of Culinarty

Anamika, of Sugarcrafter

One other dear blogger friend, Deeba of Passionate About Baking, has honoured me with a nomination for for the Arte y Pico Award. Deeba also gave it to Val, who in her turn gave it back to me. So thank you Val as well for giving me this award as well.

Here's how it works:

You select 5 blogs that you feel excel in creativity, design, interesting material, and also contribute to the blogging community, no matter what language.

Thank you, Deeba and Val, for your kindness; I am honoured that you consider that my blog fits in all the above. :

Time for me to pass this phenomenal award on now...

The rules for the Arte y Pico Award are:

1. You pick five blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also contribute to the blogging community, no matter what language.

2. Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.

3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and the link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself.

4. Award-winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of Arte y Pico blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.

It was really difficult for me to pick 5 blogs. Deeba apart from myself has passed this award on to three other friends of mine to Val, Ben and Cynthia and of course to Jai and Bee whom I only know through the click event. As much as they all deserve it again, I would like to pass it on to some other friends as well.

Nuria, of Spanish Recipes

Pixie, of You say Tomahto I say Tomayto

Jenn, of The Leftover Queen

Rosie, of Rosie Bakes a Peace of Cake

Emiline, of Sugar Plum

And after all this excitement I hope that you will stick around and read the recipe as well.

Usually I don’t have a lot of leftovers. On Monday I prepared lots of food as it was my eldest son’s name day but they did not eat much. On Tuesday I made a Lamb Roast, tabbouleh, tzatziki and a Birthday Cake but unfortunately again I had lots of leftovers as they DID NOT EAT. Well they both were not feeling well and the doctor diagnosed gastroenteritis. They are feeling much better but are still on a diet so today I prepared four different meals. I prepared lapas, for one of them which is boiled carrots with rice, with a little olive oil, salt and lemon juice, as the doctor prescribed whilst my other son who is feeling better needed something light, but tastier to eat so I added a potato to his lappas as well as some fresh cod fish.

Well as I said I had lots of lamb in the refrigerator so I had to make good use of it. I made a search on the internet but I did not want to make a Shepherds’ Pie or a Stew or a Curry. My husband wanted to go out shopping as he had to go to Athens later in the day for some other business and he was pressuring me to decide what to cook. I kept thinking and thinking and then I found the solution in my own site. I would make a Lamb Pie, based on my Meat Pie.

My husband went out to buy some fish for soup and as I was preparing the pie he called me to tell me that he found some fresh anchovies called gavros in Greek and asked me if we wanted some for tomorrow. I could have said “no thanks” but it’s been a while that I wanted to make anchovies so I told him that it was a great idea but only ½ a kilo as the boys would still eat something light tomorrow. Of course that added some extra time in the kitchen as I had to prepare the fish as well

The pie I decided to make would be somewhat different to the one I usually make and instead of using ground beef I would use the leftover lamb. However, as I had so many things to prepare I would use ready made puff pastry instead of making the phyllo myself. Apart from all the above my daughter did not want to eat the meat pie and asked me to reserve some meat for her as she planned to make something herself.

Leftover Lamb Pie

Ingredients:

1 Puff Pastry

1 egg for glazing

Sesame seeds

For the filling:

leftover roasted lamb or goat (about ½ kilo)

2 medium size leeks chopped in slices

5 - 6 spring onions

½ cup of dill finely chopped

Salt and pepper

1 spoonful of olive oil

½ cup graviera cheese

Directions

Boil leeks until tender, then strain them. Sauté the onions, with one tablespoon of olive oil in a non stick frying pan, add leeks and add salt and pepper before adding the leftover meat, which is already salted. (I removed all visible fat from the meat and finely chopped it). Remove pan from the heat and then add the dill and let it cool down.

Cut the puff pastry into square pieces 15 x 15 cm and wet the edges with a brush either with water or olive oil. Place some filling in the centre and add a spoonful of graviera cheese on top of the filling. Join the two sides, by pressing together and then join the other two. You can leave them square or continue folding the edges towards the centre and make them round. Place them on an oiled tin and beat an egg and with a brush glaze them and sprinkle some sesame seeds on top.

Preheat oven and bake them for about one hour at 180^ο until a golden colour is achieved.

There is more to this recipe.

I told you that my daughter wanted to make something else, so she called her father to bring some ready made pitas to make Lamb gyros.

She asked me to fry some potatoes and I prepared the pita for her by spraying some olive oil in a non stick frying pan, I let it warm up and fried the pita on both sides for a few minutes. She added leftover tambouli (or tabbouleh), leftover lamb meat and potatoes et voila.