INTERESTING DISHES

                               SPAGHETTI WITH THREE KINDS OF CHEESE

Easy, quick, and delightful.

 

500 g (1 lb) spaghetti, boiled in salted water until “al dente” and drained

4 tbsp butter

 

1 cup grated graviera from Crete

1 cup grated kasseri

1 cup grated San Mihalis

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

 

500 ml (2 cups) cream

 

Mix the hot spaghetti with the butter, most of the grated cheese and black pepper well together.  Spoon into a large, buttered Pyrex dish, drizzle with the cream and sprinkle the remaining grated cheese evenly over.

 

Bake in an oven preheated to 180C (350 F) for 30 minutes until golden brown.

 

 

                                                  SHRIMP WITH RICE

I have given you another recipe for this fabulous dish, but please do prepare it this way.

 

1 kg (2 lb) shrimp, shelled, deveined, thoroughly washed and patted dry

2 cups long-grained rice

2 onions, 1 peeled and grated, the second just peeled

1 celery stalk, threaded

1 bay leaf

6 cups of water

1 tbsp salt

4 tomatoes, halved, deseeded, grated, skins discarded

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

A tiny pinch of Cayenne pepper

½ tsp of sugar or more according to the acidity of the tomatoes

2 tbsp butter

 

Boil the whole onion, celery, and bay leaf for 20 minutes. Add the shrimp and a tsp of salt and simmer for 3 minutes and remove the shrimp with a slotted spoon, set aside, reserving the cooking liquid.

 

Sauté the grated onion in olive oil until translucent. add the tomato and season to taste with salt, pepper, Cayenne pepper, and sugar to taste. Simmer for 30 minutes until the sauce thickens.  Simmer the rice in the shrimp liquid until all the liquid is absorbed by the rice.  Serve the rice with the shrimps, drizzled with the tomato sauce.  

 

                                 

                                               CEPHALONIAN MEAT PIE

Here is a recipe for a famous Greek pie.

 

Pastry:

500 g (1 lb) plain flour

1 tsp salt

½ tsp mustard powder

160 ml (about 2/3 cup) warm olive oil

250 ml (1 cup) warm white wine

 

Cornflour for rolling out the dough

 

2 tbsp olive oil mixed with

1 whipped egg for brushing over

 

Filling:

500 g (1 lb) lamb, fat discarded, cubed, and sauteed in olive oil

500 g (1 lb) veal, fat, and grizzle removed, cubed and sauteed in olive oil

4 tbsp short grain rice

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, peeled and mashed

2 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and cubed

100 g (1 cup) grated kephalotyri or Parmesan, grated

4 tsp fresh sapsiho (a herb from Cephalonia) or marjoram finely chopped

4 tsp parsley finely chopped

2 tomatoes, skinned, deseeded, and cubed

2 tbsp olive oil

125 ml (½ cup) white wine

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 tsp ground cinnamon

250 ml (1 cup) meat stock

60 g (2 oz) kephalotyri or pecorino, cubed

12 prunes, stoned

2 tbsp butter

 

Sift, flour, salt and mustard powder in a large bowl, pour in the olive oil and rub with your fingers.  Pour in the wine and knead until a soft pliable dough is formed.  Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes at least. 

 

For the filling mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, except the cubed cheese, meat stock, prunes and butter. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

 

On a working surface, dusted with cornflour, roll out 2/3 of the dough as thinly as possible.  Drape it over a generously buttered baking dish, 30 cm (12 inches) in diameter. Spoon in the filling and level the top. Pour enough meat stock to barely cover, tuck the cheese cubes, and prunes evenly over and dot with butter.

 

Roll out the remaining dough and cover the filling.  Press the edges to seal and score 3-4 slashes on top to allow the pie to breathe.  Brush with the olive oil and egg mixture and bake in an oven preheated to 180 C (350 F) for about 1 hour, until golden brown.  Serve with a salad.

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