Greece+recipes

Greek family recipes:
Here's the recipe for Avgholemono, which can be tweaked any number of ways (use canned chicken stock instead of boiling a whole chicken first; use orzo/pasta instead of rice; use more or less lemon, put pieces of chicken in the soup, etc.) This is a tricky soup and takes some practice, because you are combining hot stock with egg/lemon mixture. There is a chance it will curdle unless you do so gradually. I would do a trial run before surprising Steve :) Good luck and let me know how it goes. AVGHOLEMONO (Chicken Soup with Egg and Lemon) 6 Servings 1 chicken, about 2 kg (4 1/2 - 5 lbs) 1 teacup rice 2 eggs Juice of 2 lemons 1 small onion (optional) 1 carrot (optional) 8 cups water salt, pepper Clean and wash chicken. In a large pot, boil chicken in 8 cups of water, skimming off the foam. Add butter, onion, carrot and salt. Boil until chicken is tender. Remove chicken and vegetables to a platter. Add rice to the stock and boil for 20 minutes. Beat the eggs well in separate bowl. Add lemon juice to eggs, beating constantly, and then GRADUALLY add some of the hot stock. Remove soup from heat. Pour egg mixture in the soup, stirring vigorously. Enjoy! 4/10/08,Lillian Dimas, Athens/family friend

Lokoumades -2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
 * 1 cup warm water
 * 1/2 cup warm milk
 * 1/4 cup white sugar
 * 1 teaspoon [|salt]
 * 1/3 cup butter, softened
 * 3 eggs
 * 4 cups all-purpose flour
 * 1/2 cup honey
 * 1/2 cup water
 * 4 cups vegetable [|oil], or as needed
 * 2 teaspoons ground [|cinnamon]


 * Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in a small bowl. The water should be no more than 100 degrees F (40 degrees C). Let stand for 5 minutes until the yeast softens and begins to form a creamy foam. In a large bowl, mix the warm milk, sugar, and salt, and mix to dissolve. Pour the yeast mixture into the milk mixture, and stir to combine.
 * Beat in the butter, eggs, and flour until the mixture forms a smooth, soft dough. Cover the bowl, and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 30 minutes. Stir the dough well, cover, and let rise 30 more minutes.
 * Mix honey and 1/2 cup of water in a saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn off the heat and let the honey syrup cool.
 * Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Oil should be about 2 inches deep.
 * Place a large table or soup spoon in a glass of water near the batter. Scoop up about 2 tablespoons of dough per puff with the wet spoon, drop it into the wet palm of your hand, and roll it back into the spoon to create a round shape. Do not overhandle the puffy, soft dough. Drop the dough balls into the hot oil in batches, wetting the spoon each time you make a dough ball. Fry in the hot oil until golden brown on the bottom, and roll them over to cook the other side, 2 to 3 minutes per batch. Gently set the loukoumades aside to drain on paper towels.
 * Place the loukoumades on a baking sheet, drizzle them with honey syrup, and sprinkle with cinnamon. Serve warm.

__Spanakopita:__
My mother makes her //spanakopita// with flaky Greek dough called //filo// dough. She lays out six thin layers for the bottom, and spreads a mixture of olive oil and liberal amounts of butter on each layer. A mixture of chopped (usually frozen) spinach (1 pkg), sautéed in olive oil with parsley (2 TBS), onions (1), and green onions (2) then mixed in with eggs (about 3) and a mixture of feta (3/4 cup), ricotta 1 cup), and parmesan (1/4 cup) (my mother’s special touch) cheeses, is spread onto the layers of filo dough. Six additional layers, similarly slathered in olive oil and butter, are then put on top. Extra butter is added to the top layer to ensure it comes out crispy and browned. Once it comes out of the oven it is then cut into squares or triangles and served warm.

(Seth Eisenstein. Robert McAuliffe/significant other April 2013)

(Amy Boutselis. Rick Boutselis/father. May 2013)