Chicken Souvlaki

Yes, this does look like a lot of ingredients, and let's be honest, there are, but most of them you probably already have in your kitchen because half of them are herbs, oil, and vinegar. However, this recipe in all actuality is quite simple and boasts lots of flavor without too much effort. I will admit that I don't think it is quite as good as the other souvlaki recipe that we have on our blog, but this one is quicker and easier.

Baklava

We end our Greek feast with a Greek favorite, Baklava. This dessert is a layering of buttery phyllo dough and slightly sweetened nuts. Many cultures and countries claim it as their own, but the first real record of baklava comes from Turkey, which then spread it throughout the Mediterranean during the Ottoman Empire.

The ingredients used in baklava will differ depending on where in the world you are. Turks prefer pistachios while Syrians use almonds and walnuts. The filling might be flavored with cinnamon, cloves, or cardamon. The syrup usually incorporates the same spices as the filling, but may also include lemon juice, rose water, or orange-blossom water. But it is always nutty, buttery, and delicious.

Our recipe comes courtesy of my Greek-American friend's mother. She's tried just about every baklava recipe out there, and this one is her family favorite. Although baklava isn't very difficult to make, it can be time consuming, especially if you've never worked with phyllo dough before. So be sure to give yourself plenty of time if you're making this for a special occasion.



Baklava
adapted from the Lowe Family
Pictures by Caroline

1 pound phyllo dough*
1 pounds walnuts**
1 pound almonds
1 pound pistachios
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, melted

1. Heat oven to 350°. If phyllo sheets are frozen, bring to room temperature before using.
2. Grind all nuts together in a blender or food processor, leaving some pieces; do not grind them to a powder.
3. Combine nuts with cinnamon, sugar and nutmeg.
4. Brush a 9 x 13 inch pan with melted butter. Unwrap phyllo sheets and unroll them. Keep phyllo covered with a damp cloth, so they don't dry out.
5. Put one phyllo sheet in pan. Using a pastry brush, brush it lightly and evenly with butter. Top it with 4 more sheets, brushing each one with butter. Evenly cover the fifth sheet with the nut mixture. Cover it with another sheet of phyllo, brush it with butter, and top it with 4 more sheets, buttering each one. Cover with nut mixture and repeat process until you reach the top of your pan. Butter the top layer.
6. With a very sharp knife, cut pastry into square or diamond shaped pieces, 1-2 inches wide (cutting all the way through the layers of nuts and pastry). This will allow the syrup to sink into the baklava, and make it much easier to serve after it is baked.
7. Bake for 40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.
8. While baklava is baking, make syrup.
9. When baklava is done baking, remove from the oven and immediately pour the syrup over the top. Let cool and then serve.

Syrup
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup honey
2 cups water
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2-3 tablespoon lemon juice

1. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Cook over low heat until sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally.
2. Once sugar dissolves, bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and let cool.

*You will probably be left with about 8 sheets extra.
**The only criticism we received for this recipe was that some people felt there were too many nuts. If you're not crazy about loads of nuts, you may prefer to reduce the quantity of nuts to about 2-2.5 pounds.

Souvlaki with Yogurt-Garlic Sauce

Greek week continues. These souvlaki are delicious, seriously. The grilled meat and vegetables combined with the yogurt sauce make a perfect pair. In fact, if you have been looking for a good Greek-style yogurt sauce, you needn't look further, because this one is great and is quite simple to make.

This recipe calls for a lot of marinating time, so plan ahead if you can, the longer you can marinate the more flavorful everything will be. To make it a complete dinner, we paired these souvlaki with our Greek Salad recipe and warmed flat breads. It turned out to be a truly wonderful dinner. It was fresh, healthy, and delicious.

Souvlaki with Yogurt-Garlic Sauce
Adapted from The New Greek Cuisine by Jim Botsacos with Judith Choate

Pictures by Caroline
Makes 4-6 servings

1 ½ cups extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
1 tablespoon dried Greek oregano (I used regular oregano, and it tasted great)
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
2 pounds very lean boneless lamb from the leg, or filet of beef, cut into 1 ½ inch cubes
3 yellow bell peppers cut into 1 inch squares
36 red pearl onions, peeled and blanched (I couldn’t find pearl onions, so I used red onion instead)
36 cherry tomatoes

Yogurt-Garlic Sauce (below)

1. Combine the olive oil with the garlic, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste in a small mixing bowl. Remove ¼ cup, reserving the remainder. Place the meat in a medium mixing bowl, add ¼ cup marinade, tossing to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
2. Remove the meat from the refrigerator. Working with one skewer at a time, thread on the meat, onion, and tomatoes in a random order. (Note: I generally soak my wood skewers in water before using, so that they won’t burn on the grill.)
3. Place the filled skewers in a shallow nonreactive pan large enough to hold them in a single layer. Pour on the reserved marinade, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 8 hours. (Note: I didn’t have 8 hours to marinate, only about 1, and they were delicious. Marinate as long as you can; the longer the better.)
4. Heat up your grill. Remove the souvlaki from the refrigerator, carefully remove any excess marinade with your fingers; season with salt and pepper to taste. Place the skewers on the hot grill, turning occasionally for about 8 minutes, or until meat is lightly charred and medium-rare. The time will depend on the desired degree of doneness for the meat.
5. Remove the skewers from the grill. Serve with the Yogurt-Garlic Sauce and warmed flat bread.

Yogurt-Garlic Sauce from The New Greek Cuisine

by Jim Botsacos with Judith Choate
Makes about 1 ¼ cups

½ large hothouse cucumber, peeled
3 garlic cloves, minced
¾ cup Greek yogurt*
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Line a colander with a double layer of cheesecloth. Place the colander over a bowl deep enough to catch the draining liquid without the liquid touching the bottom of the colander.
2. Roughly chop the cucumber and then place it in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Add the garlic and process just until finely chopped. Transfer the mixture to the colander and set aside to drain for about 30 minutes, or until all the juice has drained off.
3. Pull the cheesecloth up and tightly twist the ends together to force out any remaining juices into the bowl. Discard the cheesecloth and cucumber, remove the colander, and reserve the juice in the bowl. (Note: We actually did this backwards; we used the drained cucumber in our sauce, and discarded the juices.)
4. Place the yogurt in a nonreactive mixing bowl. Whisk in the reserved cucumber-garlic juice along with the lemon juice. The sauce should be the consistency of creamy vinaigrette. You may not need all of the juice. When blended, season with salt and pepper.

*You can either buy Greek yogurt, which is creamy, thick, and rich. Or you can make your own alternative, which is what I did, and it worked out really well. Line a colander with a double layer of cheesecloth and place it in a bowl deep enough to catch the draining liquid. Use four cups of conventional, plain yogurt to get 2 cups of drained thick yogurt. Place the conventional yogurt in the prepared colander and let it drain for 12 hours (I did it for about 6 hours and it worked great). Discard the liquid and measure out the desired amount of the thick yogurt.

Greek Salad

We are going Greek. This is the first part of an entire Greek dinner to be posted this week. Greek food, at least the Greek food I have had, always taste's so fresh, and this salad is no exception. This salad is unique because there is no lettuce involved, but it is delicious and healthy. One note, if you are like me you might be tempted to skip the olives and use dried parsley, don't! Both the olives and the parsley add important flavors to this salad to make it just perfect. This salad can be combined with our Souvlaki with Yogurt-Garlic Sauce or as a side to almost any meat dish. Enjoy!

Greek Salad
Adapted from Bon Appetit, July 2001

Pictures by Caroline

3/4 pound tomatoes, seeded, diced (about 2 cups)
2 cups diced seeded peeled cucumber (from about 1 large)
1 cup diced red bell pepper (from about 1 large)
1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives, quartered
1/4 cup diced red onion
3 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (about 2 ounces)

Toss all ingredients, except cheese, in a medium bowl to blend. Gently mix in cheese. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)