Author: Karen Claassen

Hi and welcome to my blog! My name is Karen and I love cooking simple, uncomplicated, flavourful food. My cooking is inspired by seasonal ingredients, punchy flavours, an awareness of sustainability and of course by the likes and dislikes of my family and friends that sit around my table as well as you, the virtual guests around my table! I am a chef, recipe developer and food stylist and generate my own content. I am also completely addicted to recipe books, of which I have an extremely large collection but the essence of my food is about celebrating life and all the fabulousness that we can add by creating good food. Thank you for reading my blog. Please keep on giving me feedback and may your kitchen, as mine, be filled with joy and the best tasting food!

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Oven Roasted Lamb Ribs

July 27, 2022June 22, 2022by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

1,5kg lamb ribs
15ml dried origanum
10ml ground cumin
grated zest of 1 lemon
2,5ml salt
30ml olive oil

Yoghurt Sauce:
250ml yoghurt
100g feta cheese, finely crumbled
a handful of mint leaves, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2,5ml salt

Preheat your oven to 160℃.
Add the origanum, cumin, lemon zest, salt and olive oil to a small bowl and mix together.
Cut the ribs into individual pieces.
Rub the spice mixture over the ribs and space evenly in a baking tray.
Cook in the oven for 90 minutes.

For the yoghurt sauce:
Mix the ingredients together and stand for at least an hour to allow the flavours to develop.

Serve the ribs with the Yoghurt Sauce.

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Clam and Porcini Spaghetti

July 26, 2022June 22, 2022by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

300g dried spaghetti
1kg clams, washed
60ml white wine
45ml olive oil
45ml butter
250g porcini mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
10ml dried oregano
2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
a large handful of parsley, chopped

Bring 5 litres of water to the boil in a large saucepan with 30ml (8 teaspoons) salt.
Add the spaghetti to the pot of boiling water and cook for 9 minutes.
Heat another large saucepan over a high heat.
Add the clams and the wine, cover with a lid and cook over a high heat until the clams have opened. This should not take longer than 8-10 minutes. Discard any clams that stay closed.
Drain the clams and set aside.
Place a large frying pan over medium-high heat and add the olive oil and butter to it.
Add the sliced porcini and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the onion, garlic and oregano and cook for another 3 minutes or so.
Now add the tomatoes as well as the clams and simmer gently for 5 minutes.
Drain the cooked spaghetti and add it to the sauce.
Sprinkle the parsley over and stir through.
Serve immediately.

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Chicken Gyros and Flatbread

July 25, 2022June 21, 2022by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

9 chicken breasts, skin removed
Marinade:
125ml olive oil
juice of one lemon
5ml salt
1 clove of garlic, minced
15ml oregano leaves, chopped

Slice the chicken breasts into strips and place them in a mixing bowl.
Add the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, garlic and oregano and mix together.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for an hour.
Heat a cast iron pan and cook the strips for about 6 minutes, turning occasionally.

Yoghurt Flatbreads: (makes 6)
500ml self-raising flour
2,5ml salt
435ml yoghurt

Mix all the ingredients together to form a sticky dough. Add more flour if the dough is too sticky to handle.
Divide into 6 equal portions.
Flour a work surface and roll each portion to a 20cm diameter circle.
Heat a cast iron pan until very hot.
Add one flatbread to the dry pan and cook for a minute. Flip it around and cook for another minute or so. Repeat with the rest of the flatbreads.

Serve the chicken gyros on the flatbread with Greek Salad and Tsatziki sauce.

Search this site for the recipe for Tsatziki as well as Soft Flatbreads, which offers an alternative recipe.

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Greek Rice Pudding/Rizogalo

July 22, 2022June 19, 2022by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

150g risotto rice
30ml cornflour
600ml milk
zest of 1 lemon
75g sugar
2 egg yolks

Add the rice to a saucepan and pour in 300ml water.
Set the saucepan over a low heat and cook the rice for 10 minutes, until most of the water has been absorbed.
Add the cornflour to a small bowl and pour about 45ml of milk into it. Stir to dissolve and set aside.
Pour the rest of the milk into the saucepan with the rice, add the lemon zest and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes, stirring often.
Add the cornflour-slurry and the sugar and simmer for 3 minutes more.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and cool for about 10 minutes.
Add the egg yolks and mix through.
Serve the rice pudding slightly warm.

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Greek Cheese Pie/Tiropita

July 21, 2022June 18, 2022by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

7 sheets Phyllo pastry
butter, melted
250g feta cheese
250g ricotta
15ml milk
15ml olive oil
30ml chopped dill
2 eggs

Preheat your oven to 170℃ and spray a 24cm loose-bottom cake tin with cooking spray.
Place one sheet of phyllo pastry in the cake tin and gently press it into the bottom and sides of the tin.
Brush the pastry with the melted butter.
Repeat the routine with the remaining 6 sheets of pastry, brushing each with butter and rotating the phyllo sheets slightly so that the corners are staggered. Leave the overhang.
Crumble the feta into a mixing bowl and add the ricotta. Mix through.
Add the milk, olive oil and dill and season with ground black pepper.
Add the eggs to a small bowl, whisk together and pour over the cheese mixture.
Stir the mixture really well until thoroughly mixed through.
Spoon the cheese mixture into the prepared baking tin and spread it out evenly.
Turn the pastry overhang in over the filling so that you have an uncovered area of about 5 cm in the centre. Cut the sheets with scissors if they are too long!! The pastry will be doubled over in places in an irregular way but that is how it is supposed to be – we are in Greece after all!!
Brush the top of the pastry with melted butter and bake in the oven for 40 minutes.
Cool the pie for about 10 minutes before slicing it.
Serve warm or at room temperature.

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Greek Meat Pie/Kreatopita

July 20, 2022June 18, 2022by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

45ml olive oil
1kg ground beef/mutton
1 onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
30ml tomato paste
2 tomatoes, chopped
5ml origanum
10ml salt
200ml white wine
62ml basmati rice
a handful of parsley
500g puff pastry, store bought
100g feta cheese, crumbled
1 eg + 15ml water, whisked together

Add the olive oil to a saucepan set over medium-high heat.
Fry the meat in batches until well browned. Set aside.
Lower the heat, add the onion and cook until soft.
Add the garlic and tomato paste and stir-fry for one minute.
Add the chopped tomato, origanum and salt and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
Pour in the wine and simmer until it has reduced by half.
Add 200ml water and cook the meat on a low simmer for 40 minutes.
Take the saucepan from the heat, stir in the rice and parsley and set aside to cool to room temperature.
Taste and adjust seasoning.
Preheat your oven to 180℃ and spray a 22cm loose-bottom cake tin with cooking spray.
Roll the pastry thinner and line the bottom and sides of the baking tin.
Spoon the cooled meat into the pastry shell.
Sprinkle the crumbled feta over the filling.
Cut a pastry round to fit the top of the pie, brush the edges with water and place on top of the filling to form a lid.
Seal the pastry around the edges by scrunching it together and brush all over with the egg wash.
Make a cross slit in the centre of the pastry lid and bake in the oven for 1 hour.
Stand the pie for 15 minutes before slicing to serve.

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Baked Greek Omelette

July 19, 2022June 18, 2022by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

30ml + 15ml olive oil
250g leeks, cleaned and sliced
250g spinach, chopped
8 eggs, lightly beaten
45ml chopped mint leaves
45ml dill, chopped
180g feta cheese, crumbled
25g Kefalotiri/parmesan cheese

Preheat your oven to 160℃ and spray a 26cm x 11cm loaf tin with cooking spray.
Add the 30ml olive oil to a frying pan set over medium heat.
Add the leeks and cook for about 10 minutes.
Add the 15ml oil and the chopped spinach and cook for another 3 minutes or so, until wilted.
Spoon the spinach into a bowl and add the eggs, mint, dill, feta, Kefalotir/parmesan, 2,5ml salt and a few grindings of black pepper.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared loaf tin and bake for 45 minutes.
Slice the omelette and serve with fresh tomato.

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Chicken Milanese Greek Salad

July 18, 2022June 18, 2022by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

Chicken Milanese:
4 chicken breasts, skin and bone removed
125ml flour
2 eggs
250ml Panko breadcrumbs
5ml dried oregano
5ml salt

Salad:
tomato, cut into wedges
red onion, sliced
kalamata olives
feta cheese
45ml olive oil
15ml lemon juice

Set a cast iron pan on to medium-high heat.
Place the flour, eggs and breadcrumbs in three different shallow bowl and beat the eggs together. Add the salt and oregano to the bowl with the flour and mix through.
Dredge the chicken first in the flour, then the egg and finally the breadcrumbs.
Fry the breasts for 4 minutes before turning and frying for another 4 minutes on the other side. Drain on kitchen paper.
Slice the cooked chicken and place on a serving dish.
Mix together the tomato, onion, olives and feta and drizzle with the olive oil and lemon juice. Season the salad with salt and pepper.
Arrange the salad on the serving dish with the chicken and serve with extra lemon wedges.

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Yoghurt Beetroot Salad/Pantzarosalata

July 15, 2022June 17, 2022by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

This Greek beetroot salad is refreshing, earthy, creamy and crunchy – all at the same time!!

600g beetroot
45ml olive oil
zest and juice of 1 lime
2 cloves of garlic, minced
10ml red wine vinegar
30ml parsley, chopped
320g yoghurt
50g pistachio nuts, chopped

Preheat your oven to 180℃.
Wash the beetroot and wrap each individually in aluminium foil. Bake for one hour and then allow to cool.
Peel the cooked beetroot and cut into small dice. Set aside.
Add the olive oil, lemon zest and juice, garlic and red wine vinegar to a mixing bowl and whisk together.
Add the diced beetroot and parsley and season with salt and pepper.
Add the yoghurt and half of the chopped pistachio and gently mix through.
Scatter the rest of the nuts over the salad and serve.

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Greek Meatballs in Tomato Sauce/Soutzoukakia

July 14, 2022June 17, 2022by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

500g minced pork
500g minced beef
100g panko breadcrumbs
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
1 bunch of parsley, chopped
15ml ground cinnamon
5ml ground cumin
10ml salt
1 egg, beaten
150ml olive oil

Tomato Sauce:
45ml olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 x 400g tin tomato purée
500ml water
4 sprigs of thyme, leaves stripped
1 bay leaf
20ml sugar
1,2ml ground cumin
1,2ml smoked paprika
5ml salt

Add all the ingredients for the meatballs to a mixing bowl and mix it through with your hands.
Now shape the mixture into 30-40 fat sausages and place on a baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.

For the Tomato Sauce:
Add the olive oil to a saucepan set over medium-high heat.
Add the onion and garlic and fry until soft and translucent.
Add the tomato purée and stir-fry for 1 minute.
Add the water, thyme leaves, bay leaf, sugar, cumin and paprika and simmer until the sauce has thickened.
Remove the bay leaf and blitz the sauce with a hand blender until smooth. Set aside.

Preheat your oven to 220℃ and cover the bottom of an oven tray with a thin layer of oil.
Transfer the meatballs to this tray and bake in the preheated oven for 12 minutes.
Now put the tomato sauce back on the heat and add the meatballs to it. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Serve with basmati rice as a main or in the sauce as a Meze.