Try these 5 Greek recipes to bring your cancelled summer holiday home to you.
Like many of you reading this, we’ve had our summer holiday plans cancelled due to THE Pandemic.
We should have been spending a week lazing around, eating our body weight in hummus and gyros at the ultra all-inclusive Eden Roc in Rhodes. But, after a few hours (days) of self-pity and grief – #firstworldproblems – we decided the best way to cheer ourselves up was to bring Greece home to us in sunny Berkshire (Costa Del Sandhurst).
Let’s be honest, not a lot makes me happier than Food (cocktails excepting).
So, welcome to our fondly named #Greekweek…
Few places in the world excite my taste buds as much as Greece (reference my Taramasalata and Pitta addiction in my mid-20s – a result of living alone and sheer laziness). So, needless to say I was more than willing to spend slightly longer in the kitchen than usual this week.
Our Greek Menu
After Googling ‘Classic Greek Recipes’, ‘Easy Greek Recipes’ etc and opening too many tabs to count, we finally narrowed our meals to the following… (if you’re wondering why there are only 5 main recipes, on Saturday night we had a delicious Gyros from our local, because Saturday Night Takeaways are a must in our house!)
- Lamb Koftas with Homemade Tzatziki
- Greek Chicken Tray Bake
- Lamb Chops with Roasted Vegetables
- Pan-fried Filo Chicken Pie
- Lamb Moussaka
If you want to know how we got on and how to make these Greek classics, keep reading…
Lamb Koftas with Homemade Tzatziki
As this was a recipe recommendation from my lovely mum, I knew it was going to be a cracker & it didn’t disappoint. I’m not quite sure what made this so enjoyable, whether it was the homemade Tzatziki which was easy to make and delicious or just the overall combination of my fave foods on one plate!
- Rating: 5/5
- Difficulty: 3/5
- Total Prep / Cook Time: 45 mins
Tip: You can always make the kebabs ahead and freeze / fridge them raw ready for cooking later on. Serve your Koftas in a soft flatbread with rice and a Greek Side salad of cucumber, feta, tomatoes and olives.
Greek Chicken Traybake
This was a Hairy Bikers recipe, so you knew it was going to pack a flavour punch for relatively minimal effort. It was a great, easy mid-week meal that I enjoyed the minimum prep for and loved how all the flavours came together.
- Rating: 4/5
- Difficulty: 2/5
- Total Prep / Cook Time: 45-60 mins
Tip: Don’t be limited by the veg suggested in the book, although obviously Aubergine is a Greek staple. You could always chuck in any other veg like courgette or mushrooms to bulk out.
Lamb Chops with Roasted Veg
Another pretty easy one (can you tell I’m all about the one tray bake life?) this was again a delight full of flavours. You really can’t beat Feta or a bit of Lamb / Rosemary combo can you! I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as the Chicken Tray back, hence the lower rating, but it was still tasty.
- Rating: 3/5
- Difficulty: 2/5
- Total Prep / Cook Time: 45-60 mins
Tip: As we’d had potatoes the night before, I left these out and instead served on a bed of rice. We also didn’t have any red wine vinegar, but it didn’t seem to lack flavour!
Pan-fried Chicken Pie
As soon as I saw this recipe I knew I wanted to make it. Filo is one of my favourites and it looked like a bit of a Greek Twist on one of our usual favourites, Joe Wicks’ Chicken Pie. Although it was the fiddliest to make, it was worth the effort and would make a great sharer for a casual friend’s dinner party.
- Rating: 5/5
- Difficulty: 4/5
- Total Prep / Cook Time: 30-45 mins
Top Tip: I nearly had a disaster when I flipped it. Make sure you layer the top of the pie with at least 3 sheets of filo. Also flipping it is a 2 person job, so make sure someone is on hand to help 🙂 I used fry light to oil the pan too, which meant the filo didn’t go too greasy!
Moussaka
Now, this wasn’t a new one for us. We first tried this when we had Gousto deliveries and it was a favourite then too. Yummy melted cheesy sauce and the cinnamon spiced lamb is a real warming meal that is ideal for a chillier evening.
- Rating: 5/5
- Difficulty: 3/5
- Total Prep / Cook Time: 60 mins
Top tip: You can also prep the mince / veg in the day ready to top with the homemade roux and whack in the oven for 20 mins later on. Also, if you’re feeling really lazy you could always top with a shop bought white sauce and some cheddar!
By the end of the week I have to be honest and say I still wasn’t fed up with Feta or the taste of Tzatziki AND I managed to keep away from the addictive Taramasalata.
If I’ve inspired you to bring your summer holidays home, then I thought I’d quickly share where I find my recipes.
Where to find your recipe inspiration
Whenever I find myself lacking for recipe inspiration, a firm favourite and first port of call is the BBC Good Food website. It’s great if you have a few random ingredients left, as you can search by ingredient, keyword or dish. Not to be confused with BBC Food, which is also a great resource for yummy recipes.
HelloFresh and Gousto also have their recipe cards online, so if you’re looking for something with clear, easy to follow instructions or to plan your weekly shop by recipe, these websites are a great starting point.
Happy Cooking!
Vix
xoxo
Life Picks with Vix 