Recipes

Stir Fried Vegetables and Rice with Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Written by Lisa Radinovsky
Ingredients:
  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (or more!)
  • 3 colorful sweet peppers, chopped fairly small (in ½ inch pieces or so)
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped (probably smaller than the pepper)
  • 3 large carrots, chopped (maybe like the onion)
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • Other vegetables (optional)
  • 3 eggs (optional)
  • Salt and pepper to taste (or no pepper if you prefer this mild and sweet)
  • A cup or two of your favorite uncooked rice (I like brown basmati or long grain brown rice)
  • 1 bay leaf (optional)
  • 1 or 2 garlic cloves (optional)
  • Additional olive oil (optional)

http://www.greekliquidgold.com/index.php/en/recipes-with-olive-oil

How to prepare:

Rinse and drain the rice. Start cooking the rice in a saucepan according to the package directions (that is, as required for the type of rice you’re using). I like to add a heaping half teaspoon of salt, a bay leaf, a peeled garlic clove or two and a bit of extra virgin olive oil as the water begins to boil, and cook the rice with all of that.
Work on the vegetables as described below while the rice cooks, but don’t forget the rice! When it is done, remove it from the heat and set it aside, covered. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Cook the onion and carrots for about 10 minutes, stirring to prevent sticking and allow even cooking. If you’re adding other vegetables that aren’t listed in this recipe’s ingredients, add the ones that need to cook the longest first. Add the sweet peppers and cook another few minutes, stirring. Add the frozen peas and cook a few more minutes, stirring.
When the vegetables are almost as tender as you want them, add the eggs to the same pan, scrambling them and breaking them up into small pieces as they begin to cook. Cook until the eggs are well done, stirring constantly, then turn off the stove.
Add salt and pepper as desired. Mix in the cooked rice. Adjust the seasoning and add more olive oil if you wish.

 

Yaya’s Zucchini Burger Recipe (Kolokithokeftedes) Written by Lisa Radinovsky
Ingredients:
  • 2 kg grated zucchini (about 4 pounds and 6.5 ounces or 4.4 pounds)
  • 1 large peeled, grated onion (could be chopped in a food processor rather than grated)
  • 1 large peeled, grated carrot
  • 2 peeled, grated potatoes
  • ½ kg crumbled feta cheese (about 1 pound and 1.6 ounces or 1.1 pounds)
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley (could be chopped in a food processor)
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh spearmint (could be chopped in a food processor)
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 tablespoons dry, uncooked oatmeal
  • Salt and pepper to taste, if needed (but remember the feta is salty)
  • More olive oil for frying
  • Flour as needed

http://www.greekliquidgold.com/index.php/en/recipes-with-olive-oil 

How to prepare:

After grating the zucchini, onion, carrot, and potatoes, mix them with a bit of salt, if desired. (The onion could be chopped in any food chopper, but the other vegetables should either be grated by hand or processed with a special grating blade, if available, for best results.) Mix the vegetables together with clean hands until well blended.

Squeeze out the excess vegetable juices, then leave the vegetable mixture in a colander inside a bowl in the refrigerator for two hours or more (overnight is fine) to allow the juices to seep out. (You don’t need them for this recipe.)

After the vegetable mixture has drained well, add the remaining ingredients, except for the flour and the olive oil for frying. Mix everything together with clean hands. (You’ll see whole mint leaves in the photo instead of chopped ones; they’re fine that way, too.)

Form the mixture into flat patties like small hamburgers (a bit more than 6 cm or less than 2 ½ inches diameter). Pour some flour onto a plate, then coat each patty with flour, top and bottom, and set aside.

Heat some oil for frying on high heat. (Extra virgin olive oil is best and healthiest, if available; other olive oil will work, too). Test the oil by putting in one patty; if it begins to turn golden brown before too long, the oil should be ready. (Lower the temperature if it seems too hot.) Fry the patties until golden brown on one side, then turn them over and fry on the other side. Drain on a plate covered in paper towels.

These are best while fresh and hot, but if you wish to save some for later, they can be refrigerated or frozen with baking paper between each layer of zucchini burgers. Do not microwave; rather, defrost in the refrigerator (if frozen) and reheat in the oven.

Peas in Olive Oil and Tomato Sauce (Arakas Laderos) Written by Lisa Radinovsky
Ingredients:
  • 1 kg (about 2.2 pounds) frozen peas or green beans
  • ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 large peeled potato, cut into bite sized pieces
  • 2 large peeled carrots, sliced into pennies (but not quite that thin)
  • 2 medium tomatoes, finally chopped with a knife or food processor
  • 1 large onion, finally chopped with a knife or food processor
  • Salt and pepper to taste
How to prepare:

Put all ingredients into a large pot.

Bring to a boil at high heat.

Reduce heat, cover, and simmer about half an hour. That’s it!

http://www.greekliquidgold.com/index.php/en/recipes-with-olive-oil 

 

Mom's Fudge Cake, Even Better With Extra Virgin Olive Oil! Written by Lisa Radinovsky
Ingredients:
  • 5 cups sugar (1 kg + about ½ cup)
  • 5 cups flour (1 ¾ to 2 cups less than 1 kg; best to measure with measuring cups)
  • 1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 ½ teaspoons salt 
  • 4 vials powdered vanilla (or a couple teaspoons of liquid vanilla flavoring)
  • 1 3/5 (yes, about 1 3/5, a bit less than 1 ¾) cups extra virgin olive oil (perhaps a delicate, smooth, mellow, and/or buttery one, probably not an early harvest); part or all could be citrus flavored, if you like the citrus/chocolate combination, for example with bitter orange flavored EVOO
  • Oil for greasing cake pans (I like to pour a little on a paper towel for a thin, even coating)
  • 1 ½ cups (125 g + about ¼ cup; best to measure with cups) unsweetened cocoa powder
  • Additional cocoa to use instead of flour to coat pans after greasing them
  • 2 ½ cups water
  • 1 ½ cups (340 g) Greek yogurt (full fat)
  • 5 eggs 
  • 2 ½ teaspoons baking soda

http://www.greekliquidgold.com/index.php/en/recipes-with-olive-oil 

How to prepare:

In your largest bowl, mix the following:
5 cups sugar (1 kg + about ½ cup)
5 cups flour (1 ¾ to 2 cups less than 1 kg; best to measure with measuring cups)
1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons salt 
4 vials powdered vanilla (or a couple teaspoons of liquid vanilla flavoring)

In a large saucepan on the stove, melt these together:
1 3/5 (yes, about 1 3/5, a bit less than 1 ¾) cups extra virgin olive oil
1 ½ cups (125 g + about ¼ cup; best to measure with cups) unsweetened cocoa powder

Then add 2 ½ cups water.  Bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute. Stir hot mixture in with dry ingredients, then beat with an electric mixer until smooth (1-2 minutes). Add 1 1/2 cups (340 g) Greek yogurt (full fat).  Beat 1 minute. In another bowl, beat well 5 eggs. Add eggs to the other mix and beat 1 minute at low speed.  Measure 2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda, smooth out lumps with your fingers, and sprinkle it over the batter with your fingers.  Stir it in gently to blend thoroughly, but do not overmix. Pour into greased and cocoa'd (not floured) pans, and bake right away. Bake at 350 F (180 C) for about 45 minutes, or more if necessary, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (free of wet dough).  45 minutes is usually enough for square or 9 inch round pans or a thin 9X13, but a full-size 9X13 may need another 5 or 10 minutes. Cool 10-15 minutes, then remove layers from pans by turning them upside down onto plates.  Inspect layers; flip the best top up.  If the layers aren't level, and neither top is good, some pruning may be necessary, and the bottom up may work best if you will be frosting a layer cake.  Don't leave layers upside down when taken out of the pans without cutting off the rounded part; they may break.  Leave a sheet cake in its pan. Cooled cakes can be wrapped in plastic wrap and then foil, and frozen for later use; a Pyrex pan can go in the freezer with the cake in it.  Cakes can be frosted before freezing if desired. Freeze cakes for two hours or more before frosting with warm frosting, because frosting can otherwise be hard to spread without breaking off bits of cake.  Or just dust the cake with powdered sugar before serving, as Greeks do!

In loving memory of my wonderful mother, Linda Sue Klahr, expert cook and baker

Homemade Bread
Ingredients:
1 tbsp active dry yeast 1/4 cup warm water 1/3 cup sugar 1 1 tsp ground cardamom 1/4 tsp salt 1 egg 1/4 cup milk 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 cup golden raisins 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
How to prepare:
Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Combine the sugar, cardamom, salt, egg, milk and oil in a large bowl. Mix well. Add the yeast mixture, flours, raisins and nuts. Mix well. Add enough extra flour to make soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5’. Shape into a round loaf. Put the dough into a lightly - oiled 8-inch-round cake pan. Cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Bake in a 350F oven for 35 to 40’, or until brown.
Raisin Cake
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup (375 ml) extra virgin olive oil
 1 kg (2 pounds) plain flour
 2 cups sugar 1 1/2 cup lukewarm water
 1/2 cup (125 ml) brandy
 1 cup fresh orange juice
 2 1/2 cups raisins, cut in half
 1 Tbs powder nutmeg
 1 tsp cloves a pinch of cinnamon
 1 tsp baking soda, dissolved in the orange juice 1 tsp baking powder.
How to prepare:
In a large bowl, mix with your hands in circular movements sugar and olive oil until completely blended. Add water, brandy, spices and soda dissolved in orange juice. Mix flour and baking powder. Add gradually to bowl and mix well until the dough is thick. Transfer mixture to a lightly oiled oven proof dish, sprinkle with a little oil and bake for 45-60 minutes at 180 C – 350 F – Gas Mark 4. To check readiness, pierce the center of the cake with a knife (it should come out clean). Cool and cut cake in squares.
Halva Semolina
Ingredients:
1 glass of LESVOS P.G.I. olive oil 2 glasses of coarse semolina 3 glasses of sugar 4 glasses of water
How to prepare:
Boil the water with the sugar for 1-2 minutes and keep the syrup hot on low heat. Heat the oil in another pan. Add some skinless (white) almonds, cut in big pieces, until they become brown. Then add the semolina in the oil and stir with a wooden spoon until it gets a "blond" color. When the semolina is ready, poor the syrup and stir continually until the halva solidifies. Serve in individual forms or a large form sprinkled with cinnamon.
Pasta Salad
Ingredients:
1 kg cherry tomatoes, cut up in four 1 tea spoon of sugar ½ cup fresh thyme, oregano and basil,mixed together 500 gr. Pasta (rigatoni, penne)
 4 garlic cloves finely cut
 ½ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil 2 table spoons Olive pate zest of ½ lemon 1 table spoon balsamic vinegar salt & pepper
 coarsely or finely grated manouri cheese (Cretan Cheese from goat’s milk) for garnish
How to prepare:
Mix the tomatoes, sugar and herbs and set aside. Boil the pasta in plenty of salted water and drain once they have reached al dente boiling point. Add the steaming pasta to the tomatoes. Slightly heat up the olive oil in a frying pan and soften the garlic. Add the olive pate, the zest, the balsamic vinegar and stir for 1 minute. Add the mixture to the pasta. Try for salt and pepper and garnish with grated manouri cheese (Cretan Cheese from goat’s milk).
Greek Salad Cous-Cous with Kalamata Olive Tapenade
Ingredients:
1 box instant cous-cous
 water or chicken stock 3 firm, ripe tomatoes cubed or diced large 
1 green bell pepper, diced 
1 onion, diced and sautéed in 2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil 2 Tbsp. "Kalamata olive tapenade"
 2/3 cup grated feta
 Salt & pepper Grated zest of 1 lemon 1 tsp. grated orange zest 
Pinch of cinnamon 1 bunch parsley, finely chopped 1 bunch mint, finely chopped
 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
How to prepare:
Prepare the cous-cous according to package directions, using either water or chicken stock. Add the remaining ingredients and fluff with a fork. Let stand for 15 minutes and serve.