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Greek Meatballs in Tomato Sauce/Soutzoukakia

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Greek Meatballs in Tomato Sauce/Soutzoukakia
Greek Meatballs in Tomato Sauce/Soutzoukakia

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.

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Garlic Prawns/ Gambas

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Garlic Prawns/ Gambas
Garlic Prawns/ Gambas

This is a Meze classic, easy to put together and bursting with mediterranean flavours. Best served with crusty bread to mop up all the delicious leftover juices!

500g prawns, shelled and deveined
30ml olive oil
2,5ml crushed chilli flakes
3 cloves of garlic, minced
zest and juice of 1 lemon
a handful of parsley, chopped
20g butter
5ml Worcestershire sauce
5 drops tabasco

Add the olive oil to a frying pan and set it over medium-high heat.
Add the chilli flakes and 2 cloves of garlic and fry for a minute.
Add the prawn and stir-fry until cooked.
Add the lemon zest, juice and parsley and stir through.
Season with salt and pepper.
Spoon the prawns into a serving dish.
Melt the butter in the same pan and mix in the Worcestershire sauce, tabasco and one clove of garlic.
Spoon the mixture over the prawns and serve with a crusty loaf of bread and a glass of wine.

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Fresh Bloody Mary

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Fresh Bloody Mary
Fresh Bloody Mary

Tomato Juice:
1,5kg ripe tomatoes, cut into chunks
1 onion, finely chopped
10ml tomato paste
1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped
15ml lemon juice
salt and white pepper

Add the tomato and onion to a blender and process until smooth.
Pass the mixture through a sieve.
Pour the strained juice into a small saucepan and add the tomato paste and chilli to it.
Bring the mixture to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
Skim the surface of the juice while simmering.
Take the saucepan from the heat, add the lemon juice and season to taste with salt and white pepper.
Cool the tomato juice and refrigerate.

For the Bloody Mary:
vodka
1 egg white, lightly beaten
coarse sea salt
olives
rosemary twigs

Dip the rim of a serving glass into the egg white and immediately dip it into the sea salt. Allow to dry.
Fill the glass with ice.
Mix together 150ml tomato juice and 30ml vodka and stir together.
Pour the juice and vodka over the ice and garnish with an olive studded rosemary twig.

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Traditional Greek Sofrito from Corfu

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Traditional Greek Sofrito from Corfu
Traditional Greek Sofrito from Corfu

Greek Sofrito is originally from the island of Corfu. It is a hearty and delicious meal of beef cooked in a garlic and vinegar sauce which in turn produces a fork-tender beef stew that literally melts in one’s mouth. This is a very traditional version and a staple food in every household …. I do hope you give it a try!

1kg beef shank, cut into chunks
125ml flour
30ml butter
80ml olive oil
8 cloves of garlic, sliced
80ml white wine vinegar
80ml white wine
450ml beef stock
125ml parsley, roughly chopped
salt and pepper
fresh lemon wedges

Add the beef chunks to a large mixing bowl and season the beef with salt and pepper.
Sprinkle the flour over the meat and mix the chunks with your hands so that each piece of meat gets covered in a thin coating of flour.
Add the butter and olive oil to a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
Add the beef in small batches and sauté until browned on all sides. Remove from the pan, add another batch and keep going until all of the beef is browned.
Turn the heat down to medium, add the garlic and stir-fry for one minute.
Now add the white wine vinegar, white wine, beef stock and beef chunks.
Simmer until the meat is tender and the sauce is thick and glossy – about 40 minutes.
Scatter over the parsley and cook for another 5 minutes.
Serve the Sofrito on chunky mashed potato and drizzle over a squeeze of lemon juice.