Roasted Potatoes with Olive Oil and Oregano

1.5 kg potatoes
½ cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt, pepper
2 teaspoons dried oregano
Juice of 2 lemons

Peel potatoes, cut lengthwise into 4 or more pieces and place in a baking tray. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, oregano, olive oil, lemon juice and 1 cup water.

Bake in the oven, first in high temperature for 20 minutes and then in moderate heat for another 50 minutes until the potatoes are soft and golden brown.

Fried Red Peppers with Yoghurt Sauce

10 red peppers (peppers of Florina)
2 gloves of garlic
1 teaspoon salt
300 grams strained yoghurt
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon vinegar

Wash the peppers, remove stems and seeds, pat dry with kitchen roll and fry or grill until their skin begins to blister.

Mash garlic with salt and mix with yoghurt. Add olive oil and vinegar and combine all ingredients together. Top red peppers with this sauce and serve.

Potato Puree with Olive Oil

1 kg potatoes
¾ cup olive oil (preferably flavoured with thyme or other herbs)
¾ cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper
¾ cup grated kefalotyri cheese (hard cheese made from sheep’s milk)

Boil potatoes, peel and mash in food processor.

Slowly add olive oil, milk, salt, pepper and cheese and continue pureeing until the mixture is smooth.

Baked Aubergines with Tomato Sauce

2 large aubergines
3 - 4 medium-sized potatoes
½ kg tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt, pepper, cumin, oregano
150 grams crumbled feta cheese
1 cup olive oil for frying

Cut aubergines lengthwise into large oval slices and put in salted water for about one hour.

Slice the potatoes like the aubergines and fry until lightly brown. Drain on kitchen roll, place on oven tray in single layer and season with salt.

Drain aubergines completely, fry and drain again on kitchen roll. Place on top of potatoes and salt them too.

To prepare the sauce: Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a saucepan and soften the onion. Add tomatoes, very little salt, freshly ground pepper, cumin and oregano. Lower heat and simmer for about half an hour. When all liquid has been absorbed, remove pan from heat and stir in the feta cheese.

Top aubergines with sauce and bake in moderate heat for about half an hour.

Kritharokouloura (Rusks) with Tomato and Olive Oil

More about rusks, those coarse, toasted, thick slices of bread, can be seen in the section about salad recipes. The rusks used for this dish are usually round and made from barley or barley and wheat. Rusks seasoned with tomato and olive oil are very popular in Crete, but recently they’ve become popular in other parts of Greece too.

2 thick barley or whole wheat paximathia (rusks)
2 ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt, oregano
100 grams crumbled feta cheese

Sprinkle rusks with very little water to dampen and soften slightly. Place each one on a plate, drizzle tomato, salt, olive oil, oregano and feta cheese and serve immediately. Alternatively you can break the rusk into chunks.

Spinach and Yoghurt

300 grams spinach
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons coarsely ground walnuts or pine seeds (optional)
Salt and pepper, to taste
250 grams strained yoghurt
1 mashed garlic clove
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Wash and boil spinach for 3 minutes.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in saucepan and brown onions until translucent.

Drain spinach thoroughly and add to the pan. (If you use walnuts or pine seeds, put them in the pan before the spinach). Season with salt and pepper and cook until almost all liquid has been absorbed.

Serve spinach with yoghurt on top, which you combine well with garlic, salt, olive oil and lemon juice.

Aubergines stuffed with Minced Meat

6 large aubergines
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, coarsely chopped
250 grams minced meat (lamb and veal)
3 mashed garlic cloves
3 - 4 tablespoons almonds, coarsely ground
4 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
Salt and pepper
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh mint, finely chopped
1 green pepper and 1 tomato

Wash aubergines, cut off their stems and make an incision lengthwise in each aubergine, being careful not to cut them through. Sprinkle with salt into the incisions and let them stand for 1-2 hours.

In a bowl combine all the ingredients for the filling: minced meat, onion, garlic, almonds, tomatoes, 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt, pepper, cinnamon, parsley and mint.

Drain aubergines and fry slightly on all sides. Place in a baking tray. Taking one aubergine at a time, carefully fill each slit with the minced meat mixture. Cut tomato and pepper into 6 slices each and put the slices on the aubergines. Pour over 4 tablespoons olive oil and 4 tablespoons water, cover the baking tray with aluminium foil and bake in moderate heat for half an hour. Remove the foil and bake for another 30 minutes.

Peppers stuffed with Cheese

1 kg green long peppers
4 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup crumbled feta cheese
½ cup grated kefalotyri (hard cheese made from sheep’s milk)
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped
1 teaspoon tomato paste diluted in ½ cup water
Pepper to taste

Wash peppers, remove stems and seeds and boil in water for 5 minutes. Drain completely and let them cool down.

Heat olive oil in a saucepan, brown the onion and add tomato paste, parsley, feta cheese, kefalotyri cheese and pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes and remove from heat.

Stuff peppers carefully with the mixture, put a chunk of bread in the opening and place them in a baking try. Baste with a little olive oil and bake in pre-heated oven for about 40 minutes. Alternatively, you can fry them.

Stewed Potatoes with Onions

1.5 kg potatoes quartered
½ cup olive oil
3 medium onions, coarsely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
5 medium tomatoes peeled, seeded and chopped
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a large pot and soften onions until they gain a little colour. Add garlic along with tomatoes, potatoes, bay leaves, salt, pepper and 2 cups water.

Cover the pot and cook over medium to low heat for about 1 hour. Do not stir the food with a spoon, only shake the pot back and forth to prevent potatoes from getting burnt. (This dish can also be cooked in the oven).