Dinner Menu

• Fava Dip
• Melitzanosalata (Eggplant Dip)
• Tzatziki (Strained Yogurt Dip)
• Tebeloturopitakia AKA Lazy Cheese Bites
• Cretan Dakos Salad
• Bouyiourdi (Spicy Feta Cheese Hungarian Pepper Dip)
• Grandma’s Meatballs with Red Sauce
• Greek Cookies

Grandma’s Meatballs with Red Burnt Flour Sauce

Makes about 30 meatballs

Ingredients

• 1 kilo ground beef
• Old bread moistened with some water (about 6 pieces, no ends OR 400 grams if you can measure)
• 3 onions (mix in blender)
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 Greek coffee cup full of olive oil (about 2-2.5 ounces)
• Salt, pepper, oregano, 1 tablespoon parsley, mint to taste

Meatballs:

• Preheat oven to 400 F
• Combine everything in bowl and let sit for 30 minutes
• Roll into small balls
• Place on tray with wax paper in the oven
• Ready to serve when golden

Sauce:

• Put 2 tablespoons of olive oil in pan and add 2-2.5 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
• At low temperature, gently keep mixing until flour looks brown/beige color
• Mix up water with 1 mini can of tomato paste
• Add to pan, mix, and let boil
• Make sure sauce is thick, stir as needed
• When sauce is boiling, add already cooked meatballs to absorb flavor
• Serve!

Cretan Dakos Salad

Duration: ~15-20 minutes

Ingredients

• Dakos barley rusks
  
• Tomatoes (or combination of passata and chopped tomatoes)
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Feta Cheese
• Dried oregano
• Kalamata Olives
• Capers

1. Chop tomatoes and cucumber into small pieces (approx 1 inch) and set aside
2. Break rusks and place at bottom of platter
3. Drizzle some water and olive oil on top to moisten the rusks
4. Scatter tomatoes and cucumbers on top
5. Crumble feta cheese and scatter olives
6. Add oregano generously as well as salt and pepper to taste
7. Drizzle with lots of olive oil
8. Cool in the fridge before serving

Bouyiourdi – Spicy Feta Cheese Hungarian Pepper Dip

Ingredients

• 200 grams feta
• 100 grams medium-hard yellow cheese (like Kasseri)
• 2 pinches of tomatoes, diced
• 1 pinch spicy pepper with the seeds, thinly sliced (Hungarian pepper preferred)
• ½ teaspoons smoked chili flakes (traditionally called boukovo)
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 30 tablespoons olive oil

1. Chop tomatoes and hot green pepper
2. Mix with a little oregano
3. Put in microwave for about 5 minutes
4. Take out and put in ceramic dish  
5. Add feta and 1 tablespoon of olive oil
6. Put in oven or small grill for 3-5 minutes

Kalí óreksi!

 

The dish’s name, shakshuka, essentially means ‘all mixed up’ – and that’s what it really is. The dish, presumed to have originated in either Yemen or Tunis, is made up of eggs cooked in tomato sauce and peppers, sometimes with onions, other herbs or cheese, and is usually served in the iron pan it was cooked in, along with some bread, which is meant for dipping in the sauce and the soft cooked-egg. – The Culture Trip

Dinner Menu

• Homemade Baba Ghanoush
• Homemade Israeli Salad
• Challah from Breads Bakery
• Homemade *Shakshuka*
• Kunafa made by Sweet Refuge. Read more about them in NYTimes and order their delicious baklava here!

 

Merav’s Shakshuka

• Serves 8
• Sauté chopped Onions and Garlic in Olive Oil
• Option: Add some Salt + Wine or Water to the mixture until the onions are soft and there’s no more liquid left (5-10 minutes)
• Add in one chopped Jalapeño and 2 sliced Red Peppers, and give it 2-3 minutes
• Add 10-12 chopped Tomatoes and let it simmer until the tomatoes are soft enough to be squeezed properly (just use a wooden spoon) 
• Add Salt, Pepper, Paprika, Herbs (my personal favorite is Parsley)
• Crack Eggs into simmer mixture and cook until soft (about 2 eggs per person) with the lid on, leave it to cook depending on how runny you like the eggs
• Top with Parsley and Capers and Feta Cheese

  

The fun thing about shakshuka is that you can be creative with the ingredients! So after you understand the basics, mix it up!