Baklava

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Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon Crisco
• 1 lb phyllo dough defrosted properly
• 1 -1 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 4 cups walnuts chopped
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 -2 tablespoon cinnamon
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon brandy or 1 tablespoon cognac

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
• Melt butter start with 2 sticks - you can always melt another stick if needed and crisco together Coat the bottom and sides of a 9 x 13 baking pan completely
• Layer phyllo dough for bottom crust Lay down 1 sheet of phyllo and completely brush with melted butter Continue until you have 6 buttered sheets of phyllo
• Mix the nuts
• sugar and cinnamon together Sprinkle some of this mixture over your bottom crust
• Then lay down 2 layers of phyllo
• one at a time - each sheet needs buttering Sprinkle another coating of your nut mixture Continue alternating with 2 layers of buttered phyllo and a sprinkling of the nut mixture Make sure you have at least 6 sheets of phyllo dough left for your top crust
• Lay your 6 phyllo sheets
• 1 buttered at a time
• to create your top crust Use remainder of butter over top of crust If you didnt have enough butter
• you could melt more
• Score pieces diagonally
• Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes
• or whenever browned
• Turn oven down to 350 degrees F and cover baklava with foil Continue baking for another 30 minutes
• Meanwhile make your syrup
• Boil sugar and water together Add honey
• lemon juice and brandy
• Turn to low heat
• stirring
• until the mixture thickens This should take approximately 10 minutes Let cool
• When baklava is done cooking
• pour the cooled syrup all over the top
• while the baklava is still hot Cool the baklava and finish cutting Keep in a cool place

Blackberry, Honey, and Yogurt Pops

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Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup water
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 3 6 ounce containers fresh blackberries 3 1/2 - 3 3/4 cups
• 1 cup plain nonfat yogurt preferably organic
• 5 teaspoons honey
• 4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Steps:

• Bring 2/3 cup water and sugar to boil in small saucepan over medium-high heat stirring until sugar dissolves Move simple syrup to small bowl and chill until cold about 1 hour
• Place blackberries in processor; puree until smooth Pour blackberry puree into strainer set over medium bowl Using rubber spatula press on solids to extract as much puree as possible Discard seeds in strainer
• Measure 2 cups blackberry puree and place in another medium bowl for pops reserve any remaining puree for another use Add chilled simple syrup yogurt honey and lemon juice to puree; whisk to blend
• Divide mixture among 10 molds each about 1/3 - 1/2 cup capacity Top with mold cover if available and insert stick into each If cover is not available cover top of mold with plastic wrap pulling taut; freeze until partially frozen then insert stick into center of plastic wrap and into pop mixture in each
• Freeze pops until firm at least 8 hours or overnight
• Dip bottom of mold into hot water 10 to 15 seconds to loosen pops Remove pops from molds and serve

Cretan Kalitsounia Sweet Cheese Pastries

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Ingredients:

• 4 cups flour
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 lb manouri cheese ricotta will do in a pinch or 1 lb fresh mizithra cheese ricotta will do in a pinch
• 1 egg lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest finely grated
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• olive oil for frying or clarified butter for frying
• greek thyme honey or cinnamon sugar

Steps:

• Prepare a stiff dough with the flour olive oil salt and water
• Leave to rest covered for an hour
• Crumble cheese
• Mix well with egg zest cinnamon and sugar
• Separate dough in two
• Take half of dough and roll out 1/8 inch thick on a lightly-floured surface
• Using a water glass cut into small rounds 3 inches in diameter
• Place 1 tablespoon of the cheese mixture on each round of dough moisten edges with a little water fold over and seal well pressing the edges together with a fork
• Repeat with remaining dough and cheese filling
• Heat enough olive oil or clarified butter to come up about 3/4 inch of pan
• Fry pastries until golden brown
• Drizzle with honey or sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar and serve hot

Fava Bean Salad

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Ingredients:

• 1 19 ounce can fava beans or 2 cups young fresh fava beans out-of-the pod and steamed
• 1 medium English cucumber coarsely chopped
• 1 large roma tomato coarsely chopped
• 1 cup pitted kalamata olive chopped
• 1 medium red onion finely chopped
• 1 head romaine lettuce finely chopped
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons dried sweet basil leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 cup flat leaf parsley finely chopped
• coarse-ground black pepper
• sea salt

Steps:

• Combine fava beans chopped cucumber tomato olives red onion romaine and parsley in a bowl
• For the dressing combine olive oil red wine vinegar water and the remainder of the spices in a lidded jar
• Shake jar until dressing ingredients are thoroughly mixed
• Pour dressing over salad and mix ingredients until well coated
• Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving
• Serve salad on top of extra romaine or butter lettuce leaves for an attractive presentation
• Makes 4 main dish or 6 side-dish servings
• Variations on a Theme If fava beans are not available or not in season substitute 2 cups cooked cannellini white kidney or Great Northern white beans in the recipe

Greek Pita Lunch

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Ingredients:

• 1 lb cottage cheese blended until smooth
• 1 cup feta cheese crumbled
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 3 garlic cloves finely minced
• 1 tablespoon tahini
• 2 whole pita breads cut in half
• 12 spinach leaves washed and dried
• 2 medium tomatoes chopped
• 1 medium sweet green pepper chopped
• 1 red onion cut in rings
• 1/2 cup mixed sprouts
• pepper
• 1 cup tahini
• 1 lemon juice of
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 cup minced parsley
• 2 teaspoons tamari
• 1 dash cayenne

Steps:

• In a bowl combine; cottage cheese with feta basil oregano garlic tahini Pepper to taste
• Mix well
• Put 1/2 cup of the cheese mixture in each half Pita pocket
• Put in 400F degrees oven for 5-7 minutes
• Add spinach tomatoes onion ringspepper and sprouts to each pocket
• Serve with Tahini dressing on the side Optional
• --------TahiniDressing-----------
• Mix Tahini with lemon juice then slowly add water until the Tahini thins out Stir in the cumin parsley tamari and cayenne

Greek Rice With Cabbage and Tomatoes - Lahanorizo

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Ingredients:

• 1 medium cabbage finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium white onion finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons parsley finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 3/4 cup long grain rice
• 2 large tomatoes finely chopped
• 1 1/4 cups water

Steps:

• Over low heat in a large skillet saut onion until just translucent
• Increase heat to medium and add cabbage Continue cooking until wilted
• Add tomatoes and water
• When in comes to a boil add rice parsley salt and pepper
• Reduce heat to simmer cover and cook until very little liquid remains and rice is tender
• Serve

Greek Salad

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Ingredients:

• 2 lbs medium tomatoes ripe chopped
• 2 medium cucumbers peeled chopped
• 2 green bell peppers cut into pieces
• 1 medium red onion finely chopped
• 6 ounces feta cheese
• 3/4 cup kalamata olive or other Greek olives
• 3 -5 sprigs of fresh mint
• 3 -5 sprigs fresh oregano
• 7 -10 sprigs parsley
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Steps:

• For the vinaigrette
• Coarsely chop the herbs that have been stripped from the stems In a smll bowl whisk together the red wine vinegar salt and pepper Gradually whisk in the oil so that the viniagrette dressing emulsifies and thickens slightly
• Add the chopped herbs then whisk the dressing again and test for seasonings
• For the salad
• Core and chop the tomatoes into 1-inch pieces Peel the cucumbers; cut each cucumber length-wise Scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon discard the seeds Cut the cucumber halves lengthwise into 2-3 strips then gather the strips together and cut them crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
• Cut bell pepper in half then half again Be sure to discard the seeds and slice into stripsBe sure to cut out any of the white ribsCut each strip into dice
• Peel and trim the red onion Cut the onion cross-wise into thin rings Separate the rings
• Cut the feta cheese into 1/2-inch strips Gather the strips together and cut cross-wise into cubes
• Put the tomatoes cucumbers bell peppers and onion in a large bowl Briskly whisk the herb vinaigrette and pour it over the top of the salad With a large metal spoon toss the vegetables thoroughly in the herb vinaigrette dressing
• Add the olives and the feta cheese to the vegetables and gently toss again Taste for seasonings
• Allow the flavors to mellow before serving about 30 minutes

Greek Yellow Split Peas With Garlic Fava

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Ingredients:

• 2 cups yellow split peas picked over and rinsed
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 -6 garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 -4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 3 -4 tablespoons dry white wine
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano crumbled plus more for garnish
• fresh ground black pepper
• 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 -3 tablespoons pitted and chopped kalamata olives
• 4 -5 sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil drained and coarsely chopped
• 1 medium tomatoes cored peeled seeded diced and drained
• 2 -3 spring onions thinly sliced white plus most of the green parts
• 3 sprigs arugula coarsely chopped
• 3 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley coarsely chopped
• extra virgin olive oil

Steps:

• Place the split peas in a large pot add water to cover by 4 inches and bring to a boil Reduce the heat to low and simmer skimming often for 5 minutes Add the bay leaves and simmer for 40 minutes more stirring occasionally and adding a little warm water as needed to keep the peas covered as they cook Add 1 teaspoon of the salt and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes more or until the peas are soft and almost dry
• Puree the peas with a stick immersion blender or transfer to a food processor and puree Let the puree cool completely; it will thicken considerably
• In a large mortar grind the garlic with the remaining 1 teaspoon salt into a smooth paste Add 2 cups or so of the puree and continue grinding to incorporate the garlic Or use a blender or a small food processor
• In a large bowl combine the garlic mixture the remaining pea puree the oil 3 tablespoons each vinegar and wine the oregano and pepper to taste stirring vigorously to incorporate Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight
• If the skordalia seems too thick add a little vinegar wine or water to thin Spread on a large plate sprinkle with oregano garnish with toppings of your choice and serve
• Note Instead of yellow split peas you can also make this with dried peeled fava beans or with the same amount of cooked mashed chickpeas or white beans such as cannellini

Lentil Pilaf

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Ingredients:

• 2 cups lentils washed thoroughly
• 8 cups water
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/2 cup rice washed thoroughly
• 1 cup onion chopped
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup vinegar balsamic perhaps

Steps:

• Clean the lentils with fresh cold water to avoid foaming when cooking
• Mix 2 cups of lentils with the 8 cups of water and 1 tablespoon of salt
• Heat on high uncovered for approximately 30 minutes mixing slightly every 10 minutes removing any foam that may have come up
• After the lentils turn tender and soft not melted make sure there is only about 2 cups of water remaining add or remove water
• Add the half cup of rice Cook for 10 mins at medium fire
• Simultaneously with the rice fry the chopped cup of onion in the olive oil and vegetable oil until golden brown should be about 10 minutes
• After the 10 minutes pass slowly pour the oil and onion over the lentils and rice Lower the heat to Low and let it lay for 10 minutes do NOT mix
• After the 10 minutes pass add the quarter cup of vinegar and mix everything
• Cover with a thick clean kitchen towel and leave covered for about 10 minutes
• After the 15 minutes pass you should have a thick pilaf of lentils and rice with onions showing up here and there

Linguine With Fresh Tomatoes, Olives, and Feta Cheese

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Ingredients:

• 1 16 ounce box linguine
• 4 large tomatoes chopped
• 3 tablespoons fresh basil chopped
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 1 2 1/4 ounce can sliced black olives
• 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to package directions
• Meanwhile combine tomato basil olive oil garlic salt and pepper in mixing bowl
• Drain pasta and place in large serving bowl Top with tomato mixture sprinkle with feta cheese and olives Serve

Pantespani - Greek Sponge Cake With Orange

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Ingredients:

• 6 eggs separated
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 cups self-rising flour
• 3 tablespoons of grated orange peel
• 2/3 cup water
• margarine or cooking spray
• flour
• 3 cups water
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 -4 whole cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 teaspoon orange blossom water
• 1 large orange juice of

Steps:

• In a saucepan combine all syrup ingredients except the orange juice and orange flower water and bring to a boil Boil for 7-8 minutes Stir in orange juice and prange flower water remove from heat and allow to cool
• Preheat oven to 340F 170C
• Beat egg whites 1/2 cup of the sugar and the salt to stiff peak stage
• In a separate bowl beat the egg yolks with the remaining 1 1/2 cups of sugar and slowly beat in all remaining ingredients
• Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl and when all ingredients have mixed in beat for 3-4 minutes
• With a spatula gently fold in the egg whites until well blended
• Lightly grease bottom and sides of a 15 3/4 X 12 inch or equivalent pan with the margarine dust with flour and transfer cake batter to the pan
• Bake at 340F 170C for 55-60 minutes until a knife inserted into the middle comes out dry The top should be a dark gold color
• As soon as the cake comes out of the oven cut into squares or diamonds Discard the cloves and cinnamon stick and pour the cooled syrup evenly over the top Allow to cool and absorb the syrup before serving
• Note Do not open the oven during baking except to test for doneness
• Greek pan cakes are baked in pans that are often larger than baking pans used in other countries The 15 3/4 X 12 inch pan may be available in your market as a roasting pan

Spaghetti With Brown Butter and Feta

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Ingredients:

• 8 ounces spaghetti
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 2 ounces feta cheese
• 1/8 cup parmesan cheese

Steps:

• Cook and drain spaghetti
• In saute pan melt butter and oil together; add garlic; cook just until butter turns brown
• Add spaghetti; toss
• Add feta and Parmesan cheese; toss

Spinach and Feta-Stuffed Focaccia

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Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup onion chopped
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 2 6 ounce packages Baby Spinach chopped
• 3/4 cup feta cheese crumbled
• 1/4 cup golden raisin
• 3 tablespoons pine nuts toasted
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh oregano chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1 13 7/8 ounce can pizza dough that is in the refrigerator case
• cooking spray
• 1 tablespoon 2% low-fat milk
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese grated fresh

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450
• Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat
• Add onion and garlic; saut 1 minute
• Add half of spinach; cook 1 minute or until spinach wilts
• Add remaining spinach; cook 2 minutes stirring constantly until spinach wilts
• Remove from heat; stir in feta and next 6 ingredients through pepper
• Place dough on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; pat dough into a 15 x 12-inch rectangle
• Spread spinach mixture lengthwise over half of dough leaving a 1-inch border
• Fold other half of dough over filling; press edges together with a fork
• Cut 5 1-inch diagonal slits in top of dough
• Combine milk and water; brush evenly over dough
• Sprinkle with Parmesan
• Bake at 450 for 15 minutes or until golden