Category: Greek Mains

Giant beans (gigantes) with greens

~ miakouppa ~ 4 Comments
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A Greek recipe which combines giant beans (gigantes) with a mixture of greens.

A Greek recipe which combines giant beans (gigantes) with a mixture of greens.

Γίγαντες με λαχανικά. Have you met our parents? If you have, in person, then you have hopefully visited them in the summer and taken a stroll through their garden. They love sharing this outside oasis with family, friends and people they just met. A garden is a lot of hard work, but the payoff is priceless. The pride of growing your own food, knowing that it is as fresh and as clean as possible – well, there is nothing better. It also offers a perspective that you can’t really appreciate otherwise. A garden, big or small, gives you a glimpse into the work that our farmers and agriculturalists experience every day to keep us fed.

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Youvetsi with lamb

~ miakouppa ~ 4 Comments

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Youvetsi with lamb is a classic Greek slow cooked meal made with lamb and orzo.

Youvetsi with lamb is a classic Greek slow cooked meal made with lamb and orzo.

Γιουβέτσι με αρνί. Several years ago one of us was gifted a cookbook called Slow Food. Like all great cookbooks it was bedtime reading for weeks. Only after every page had been turned over at least once did the book make its way into the kitchen, where a few of the recipe were tried. We still have that book, and love it. The photos are appetizing, the recipes varied and delicious, and the spirit of the book is exactly what we needed then, and now. Slow cooking (not to be confused with slow cooker cooking) is about intentionality, calm and patience. Since that book, the slow food movement has ebbed and flowed in its popularity but one thing is for sure – the Greek kitchen is full of recipes that require time, and little else.

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Prasorizo Greek leeks and rice

~ miakouppa ~ 8 Comments

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Prasorizo is a classic Greek vegan meal made with leeks and rice.

Prasorizo is a classic Greek vegan meal made with leeks and rice.

Πρασόριζο. Our father was a little older than 18 when he left his village in Messinia to fulfill the obligation that all young men in Greece, to this day, must fulfill. Universal and compulsory military service for men (women can now enroll on a voluntary basis) meant that young men like our father would leave their homes for several months in order to take part in this national service. Universal conscription was introduced during the military reforms of 1909 and was seen (and is still seen by some) as a rite of passage for young men; a final stepping stone before entering the real world

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Chicken souvlaki

~ miakouppa ~ 4 Comments
Marinated chicken breasts which make an amazing chicken brochette.

Marinated chicken breasts which make an amazing chicken brochette.

Σουβλάκι κοτόπουλο. Years ago our parents, and each of our families, spent several weeks in Greece. It was a special trip because we were all together, for almost the entire summer. There were periods during which we went our separate ways, to visit places and people outside of our Kalamata home base, but otherwise we were together. It was also the year that our dear cousin got married, and the first time that our extended family met Billie’s daughters, the youngest being 3 years old at the time.

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Vegan moussaka

~ miakouppa ~ 10 Comments
A recipe for a plant-based, soy-free version of the classic Greek moussaka.

A recipe for a plant-based, soy-free version of the classic Greek moussaka.

Νηστίσιμος Μουσακάς. Settle in guys, this is going to be a long one. No, not the post…don’t worry about that. If you’re here only for the recipes, you’ll be happy to know that this particular blog entry doesn’t come with any nostalgia, no family stories, and no personal anecdotes that some people seem to find annoying on food blogs. Also, some people love them and if you happen to be in that group of people, head on over to posts like Horta and How to dye really cool Easter eggs…and Thea Voula’s cheesecake. Heck, most of our posts come with a healthy dose of, well, US!.

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Greek stuffed calamari

~ miakouppa ~ 4 Comments

Home » Greek Recipes » Greek Mains
Baked squid stuffed with rice and herbs and baked in a tomato sauce.

Baked squid stuffed with rice and herbs and baked in a tomato sauce.

Καλαμάρια γεμιστά με ρύζι. Greek stuffed calamari is a spectacular meal. If you have never had stuffed calamari we strongly encourage you to give this recipe a try. Calamari were made for stuffing. With their long, hollow (once cleaned) and supple body (which is technically called a mantle), you can easily fill them with an assortment of good stuff. In this Greek stuffed calamari recipe we use rice, some vegetables and herbs to create a wonderful lenten meal.

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Octopus and pasta

~ miakouppa ~ 5 Comments
Greek recipe for octopus in a tomato sauce and small shaped pasta, baked in the oven.

Greek recipe for octopus in a tomato sauce and small shaped pasta, baked in the oven.

Χταπόδι με κοφτό μακαρονάκι.. There are certain scenes which are immediately recognizable as being part of the landscape and story of Greece. The white washed walls and bright blue roofs of homes in Santorini is one. The expansive aqua-blue sea and pink sand of Elafonisi is another. Donkeys carrying satchels of whatever the mountainous village has to offer. The Acropolis at night. The sunset in Meteora . The dozens of octopus hanging and drying in the sun as if they were freshly laundered button-downs, while the fishermen look on and nearby psarotaverna (fish tavern) patrons rest assured that the menu is certainly fresh.

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Biftekia with roasted lemon potatoes

~ miakouppa ~ 4 Comments
Biftekia with roasted lemon potatoes

The best biftekia with the most lemony roasted Greek potatoes

Hearty, easy, humble food! That is what this meal is. Biftekia sto fourno (or meat patties baked in the oven) are like mini meatloafs or large meatballs. These oval shaped hamburger patties are perfectly Greek, and our recipe is perfectly delicious!

Growing up our parents would sometimes take our biftekia and serve them in a hamburger bun, their oval shape causing a bit of dead space resulting in bites of plain bread with ketchup. Most often however, biftekia were served just as they are here – no bread and with a side of slow roasted, creamy and lemony potatoes. So good!

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Rice with fide (Ρύζι με φιδέ)

~ miakouppa ~ 4 Comments
Rice with fide

A classic and traditional Greek side dish of rice cooked with fide

Frugality. Simplicity. Versatility. These are definitely values that homemakers of years gone by looked for in recipes that they would prepare for their families. You can be sure that women in villages all over Greece, and our mom when she came to Canada, would often make this side dish of rice with fide to serve their families. More economical and easier than this is hard to come by!

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