EASTER 2018

Happy Easter

Our warmest wishes for Easter to Orthodox Christians, all over the world.  And to people of other Christian denominations and other religions, our best wishes for a lovely Sunday.   May we all have a very happy and fulfilling day with our families and loved ones.

Our heart goes out to all who are in sickness, pain grief, need and poverty.  "May the Lord bless them and keep them and let His light shine upon them and grant them peace .."   We, also, cannot forget the countries who are at war, where hundreds of innocent people are being killed and injured due to hatred, greed, fanaticism and religious intolerance.   We hope and pray for better days where peace, sanity, well being and love will prevail.

Have a lovely Easter day!!

My dear Alexandra Diakopoulos, one of our Elpida's treasured sisters and her son Antonis, kindly invited me over for Easter lunch.  Almost all the family were there, with the exception of Joy, Angela and Colin, and Anthousa and Yiorgos.

Alexandra is an excellent hostess, thoughtful and generous and a very nice person.  The atmosphere was warm and friendly, the conversation interesting and witty and the food was just superb, a real feast!

                                       MAGIRITSA– GREEK EASTER SOUP

Kalo Pasha!

After the midnight service of the Greek Orthodox Church, commemorating our Savior’s Resurrection, we return happily home to enjoy a very tasty and comforting traditional Greek Easter soup, called "magiritsa".

1 kg (2 lb) leg of lamb, all visible fat removed  

Salt

500 g (1 lb) lamb’s intestines

Vinegar

1 lamb's pluck (liver, heart and spleen)  

113 g (½ cup) butter at room temperature

1 cos lettuce, the inner, tender leaves, trimmed, finely shredded and cut into smaller pieces

1 medium-sized onion, peeled and finely chopped

4-5 spring onions, trimmed and very finely sliced

250 ml (1 cup) good quality white wine

1500 ml (6 cups) tasty lamb stock (please see instructions below)
6 tbsp short grain rice 

3-4 tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped

4 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped

3 eggs at room temperature

Lemon juice to taste (2 lemons)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place the leg of lamb in a saucepan, cover with water and season with salt.  Bring to the boil, over low heat, skimming the scum as it rises to the surface.   Simmer for 1½ hours or until the meat is tender and comes away from the bone.   Reserve the meat for another dish, strain the stock and refrigerate it, overnight.  The next day, discard the solid fat from the surface of the stock and heat it.

Meanwhile, wash the intestines very well and cut them into ½ metre pieces.   With the help of a wooden skewer, turn them inside out and rinse them thoroughly under cold, running water.  Place them in a bowl, sprinkle with vinegar and after 12 minutes, rinse very well and drain.   Blanch them in salted water for 5 minutes, drain well and chop finely.  Also, blanch the lamb’s offals, except the liver, and chop finely, discarding any veins or hard parts.

Chop the liver finely, without blanching, and cook it in clarified butter until it changes colour.  Sprinkle with very little salt, pour a little hot lamb stock to cover and cook it for not more than 5 minutes, strain and reserve.   I was, once, told by a very good cook, that the liver must be cooked separately, to prevent the soup from darkening.

In a large saucepan, sauté first the shredded lettuce and remove with a slotted spoon and reserve.   Then add the onion, spring onions and cook gently, stirring occasionally until the onions are soft and translucent.   Add the chopped intestines and the chopped pluck, and cook, stirring for 5-7 minutes more, then pour in the wine and cook, gently, for 4-5 minutes until the alcohol evaporates.   Add the hot lamb stock, cover and simmer for 30 minutes, until the meat is almost tender.   Stir in the rice, the herbs and the sautéed lettuce and sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.  Cover and simmer the soup for 15-20 minutes more or until the rice is cooked.   Finally, stir the cooked liver into the soup.

In a bowl, beat the egg whites to soft peaks, also whip the egg yolks with the lemon juice and fold them gently into the egg whites.  Gradually, pour 500 ml (2 cups) of the hot soup into the beaten eggs, whipping constantly.  Remove the saucepan from the fire and reverse the process by gradually pouring the egg mixture into the soup and do not stop stirring.   Taste the soup and season with more salt, pepper and lemon juice, if necessary.   Reheat over low temperature, please do not boil and continue stirring all the time.   Serve with warm, crispy brown bread and a glass of the same wine used for cooking.   Kali  Anastasi!!

             

    

                              LIVER COOKED WITH LEMON AND SUGAR 

                            

  If you like liver, do try this Cephalonian dish.

1/2 kg (1 lb) liver, trimmed and cut into small slices 1.25 cm (1/2 inch) thick

Flour

About 60 ml (1/4 cup) olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp or more sugar, diluted in

2 tbsp lemon juice, or according to taste
a little salt, and

125 ml (1/2 cup) water or more

Dip the liver in the flour and shake off the excess.   Heat the olive oil in a frying-pan, and fry the liver for 2-3 minutes on each side.  Do not overcook.  Sprinkle with salt, remove from the frying pan and keep hot.

Discard all of the oil from the frying pan.   Pour the lemon, sugar, salt and water mixture into the pan scraping off any brown bits.  Stir and boil the sauce briskly, and taste and adjust with extra lemon, water and sugar, if needed.

 

 Return the liver to the frying pan and heat it thoroughly, making sure that every slice is coated with the sauce.   Taste once more and add some salt, if necessary, and freshly ground black pepper.  Serve with a salad of your choice and warm, crusty bread.

  

 DOLMATHAKIA AVGOLEMONO – VINE LEAVES STUFFED WITH MINCED MEAT

Dolmathakia with Avgolemono Sauce

50 – 60, fresh vine leaves blanched, stems removed

Stuffing:

500 g (1 lb) minced veal or beef or pork or a mixture

2 thick slices of at least 2 days old bread, soaked in white wine and squeezed dry

3 onions, peeled and finely grated

6 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced

½ cup finely chopped parsley

1 tbsp finely chopped dill

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 sprigs mint leaves

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp clarified butter

1000 ml (4 cups) unsalted meat or chicken stock

Avgolemono Sauce:

30 g (2 tbsp) butter

1 bay leaf

1 tbsp plain flour

The cooking liquid

Lemon juice to taste

2 eggs, well beaten

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Mix all the ingredients for the stuffing well together.   Dolmathakia are rolled up in the following way.

Place one vine leaf on a plate, the shiny part of the leaf facing down and the stem part closer to you.  Put one teaspoon of stuffing in the middle the vine leaf, fold the sides of the leaf inwards, almost covering the stuffing and roll up into a neat packet.

Line the bottom of a large flat saucepan with vine leaves, and arrange the dolmathakia over, in layers, placing 2-3 mint leaves in between.  Add the stock, olive oil, clarified butter, a little salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Place a plate on top to weight the dolmadakia down, cover the saucepan and simmer gently for about an hour.

Carefully, pour off most of the cooking liquid and reserve.     In a small saucepan, melt 2 tbsp butter, add the bay leaf, sprinkle the flour over and cook stirring for 4-5 minutes.  Gradually add the hot cooking liquid, stirring constantly with a wire whisk.   Pour in lemon juice to taste, and cook, stirring, for 5-6 minutes, until the sauce bubbles and thickens.  Remove the hot sauce from the stove and slowly add the beaten eggs still stirring vigorously for 4-5 minutes more.  Discard the bay leaf and pour the sauce over the dolmathakia or serve it separately in a sauce bowl.

         ROAST EASTER LAMB WITH MUSTARD, WINE AND A TOUCH OF GARLIC

Roast Lamb with Roast Potatoes and Gravy

This recipe was given to me by our Elpida’s beloved Mother, and my very dear friend, Lina   Diakopoulos.

2 legs and 1 shoulder of lamb, all visible fat removed

Salt and pepper to taste

1 large garlic clove, peeled and minced, mixed with

1½ tbsp mustard

1 tbsp butter, cut into small pieces

500 ml (2 cups) sweet white wine

Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F)

Sprinkle the lamb with salt and pepper, rub all over with the garlic and mustard mixture and place in a Dutch oven.  Pour the sweet white wine over and dot with butter and roast, covered for about 1-1 ½ hours until the meat is tender and succulent.

Serve sliced with gravy, roast potatoes and a zesty, green salad.

                                          STRAWBERRY PAVLOVA

A Delightful Treat

This is a recipe for my favourite dessert.

6 egg whites of medium-sized eggs

A pinch of salt

300 g (10 oz) caster sugar

1 tsp vinegar to make the meringue chewy (optional)

1 tsp vanilla essence

500 g (1 lb) whipped cream

500 g (1 lb) hulled strawberries, sliced in half

60 g (2 oz) dark melted chocolate or milk chocolate if preferred

Whip the egg whites with a little salt to the soft peak stage, add the sugar by the spoonful, whipping continuously until the mixture is thick and glossy.  Add the vinegar, if using, and the vanilla and beat for a minute more until well combined.

Trace two circles, on baking parchment, about 26 cm (10 in) in diameter each, brush with oil and place the parchment in a baking tin.   Pipe the meringue to shape two equal disks.  Bake in an oven preheated to 150 C (285 F) for about 1 hour.  Then turn off the oven and remove the meringues the next day, when they are completely cold.

Place one meringue disk on a serving dish, spread with a third of the whipped cream and the sliced strawberries and cover with the second round.  Garnish the Pavlova attractively with the remaining whipped cream and with strawberries, dipped in melted chocolate.