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slice a few aubergines longways and fry the slices in generous amounts of olive oil.
meanwhile, make a tomoato sauce by frying onion and generous helpings of garlic, add a couple of cans of tomatoes, a few bay leaves and a desert spoon or so of dried greek oregano. plus seasoning.
arrange the slice of auberine in a roastiung dish in layers with the sauce in between and covering the top. bake for an hour or so, crumbling some feta onto the top 10 mins before the end
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I also love greek yogart with lots of chopped up fruit.....but think the right way is honey on top....love that too......you could get in the mood by cooking yourself this simple meal and pud....then close your eyes and dream ...tweetie
thanks for explaining the delights of gyros-they sound just up our street and will be sampling them during our visit
We really enjoy the starters in Greece, especially saganaki (fried cheese, different cheese for different islands) tzatziki, skordalia (garlic sauce) giant beans, fava (yellow split pea dip) and fried aubergines or courgettes in batter.
Also, if you fancy a meat free dish, briam(veg stew) and stuffed peppers and tomatoes. Fish is expensive, and sold by weight so you need to know how much you will be spending in advance. On a really hot day you can't beat a good old Greek salad.
If our weather would just brighten up we could get out into the garden with some home made Greek grub and dream!
tosca, I've had moussaka in Greece which contained sliced potatoes also.
ingredient of moussaka, only used when necessary to hold it together, often depending on the aubergines used.
In 5 years of living here I have never had it with potatoes since, nor has it been included in any of the recipes the locals are always giving us. As you are talking about resorts I suppose you are more likely to have them, the larger the pan used the more need for a solid base, I have only eaten it since at smaller tavernas used by Greeks where the amount cooked wouldn't warrant a large pan.
Out of interest (I was curious as we often have this at home using one of our recipes) I googled it & out of the first 8 to come up, only one mentioned potatoes. Strangely enough it was on a site that has 2 recipes for moussaka, one with, one without!
http://greekfood.about.com/od/eggplant/r/moussaka.htm
http://greekfood.about.com/od/maindishes/ss/moussaka.htm
This doesn't actually surprise me much, we have been given many recipes for the same thing, all varying slightly as so many claim to have a 'secret' ingredient that makes theirs the best! You wouldn't believe the variations in home made stifado, some work well, others were a bit bland, but we know who gave us the recipe we prefer & is now the only one we use!
Do try & find a moussaka without potatoes though, cooked well with the right balance of the other ingredients it is so much lighter & less filling, leaving room for all the other lovely grub!
Ok, potato is used (& I have had it with them once in a large tourist restaurant) sometimes, but it isn't an In 5 years of living here I have never had it with potatoes since, nor has it been included in any of the recipes the locals are always giving us. As you are talking about resorts I suppose you are more likely to have them, the larger the pan used the more need for a solid base, I have only eaten it since at smaller tavernas used by Greeks where the amount cooked wouldn't warrant a large pan.
Out of interest (I was curious as we often have this at home using one of our recipes) I googled it & out of the first 8 to come up, only one mentioned potatoes. Strangely enough it was on a site that has 2 recipes for moussaka, one with, one without!
http://greekfood.about.com/od/eggplant/r/moussaka.htm
http://greekfood.about.com/od/maindishes/ss/moussaka.htm
This doesn't actually surprise me much, we have been given many recipes for the same thing, all varying slightly as so many claim to have a 'secret' ingredient that makes theirs the best! You wouldn't believe the variations in home made stifado, some work well, others were a bit bland, but we know who gave us the recipe we prefer & is now the only one we use!
Do try & find a moussaka without potatoes though, cooked well with the right balance of the other ingredients it is so much lighter & less filling, leaving room for all the other lovely grub!
i must admit out of the few moussakas ive had ive only had 1 which didnt have potatoes and that was in a lovely restaurant in zakynthos town which was recommended to me by a local and it was 1 of the best ive had
I think it's definitely worth seeking out the non-tourist tavernas if you are a real foodie and prepared to eat anything. As I am a veggie I tend to play it safe, but on Samos we got friendly with a hotel owner who took us to a couple of out-of-the-way eateries, and ordered for me. Very different from the usual resort tavernas. Also, his mother used to send me dishes to try, to see what veggie dishes could be put on the menu for a change. A couple of times my heart sank when I saw what she had sent, one especially was a very unappetising looking grey mess with overcooked baby sprouts....my all time hate. But it was amazingly tasty and I woolfed the lot down. Similarly green beans can come looking grey and overcooked but tasting great.
Souvlaki, gyros, lamb kleftico and tsatsiki I'm not jealous at all of all you lot going to Greece soon
Samos in 2 days! Cannot wait to spend 2 fantastic weeks eating (in my opinion) the best food on earth.
I've tried 10 of them - and I'll be on the lookout for the rest next month
I've only tried 7 of those but fancy a couple of the others.
Some dishes certainly don't look that appetising when you go to more traditional places, presentation isn't always high on the agenda, but the flavours are wonderful! One example of this is the first time I had 'soupies kai spanaki'. I was in a place where they spoke no English & they tried to explain what it was in simple Greek, the problem being that soupies (cuttlefish) sounded too similiar to 'soupa' (soup). Anyway, I decided to try it & it was delicious, I've had it a few times since too, usually on the traditional day of 'Clean Monday', the beginning of Lent. Here is a more appetising picture (with the recipe) than the ones I've had, which have been darker, because most places are less thorough in removing the ink from the cuttlefish!
http://realgreekrecipes.blogspot.com/2009/02/cuttlefish-with-spinach-soupyes-and.html
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On our first visit to Samos (first Greece for me) one of the things I found confusing was the "salad" items on the menus. Eg, tuna salad....is what we know as tuna mayo. Felt a bit stupid waiting for my "main" of tuna salad when the saucer of sandwich filling in front of me was it!
Still the highlight of our lives out here is a 'proper' english sunday roast though,greek food isn't 'greek food' when it's your everyday normal meal.
Must say i've never been a fan of moussaka,find the aubergines too rich and overpowering a lot of the time,much prefer pastisio
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