Marinated pork kebabs and roast potatoes with oregano

Beloved pork kebabs alias souvlaki! They taste even better when you prepare them yourself, using top quality ingredients you keep in your fridge! Perfect choice for a Sunday gathering or any time. 

Ingredients

• 700g pork leg, in bite-sized portions
• 1 teacup of home or ready-made mayonnaise
• 2 red onions, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon of freshly ground pepper
• some parsley, finely chopped
• 8 wooden skewers
• 1 large dried onion
• 2 coloured bell-peppers
• 8 cherry tomatoes
• salt
• freshly ground pepper

For the roast potatoes

• 6 large yellow potatoes
• 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh oregano, finely chopped
• salt
• freshly ground pepper

Method

Place the mayonnaise, onion slices, parsley and freshly ground pepper in a bowl. Combine them with a spoon, add the meat and give it a good toss. Cover with cling foil, put in the fridge and leave to marinate for 2h or, better still, for a whole day, turning everything a few times during that period. Then peel the onion, cut it into 4 and then halve each to end up with 8 pieces.  Halve and deseed the peppers, halve them again and then cut each half into 4. Finally halve the cherry tomatoes.  Now assemble the kebabs by sliding an onion on to a skewer, followed by some meat, a tomato, pepper and onion. Keep alternating the ingredients finishing off with a vegetable. When ready place all kebabs on a large serving plate and season with salt and pepper. Grill them for 3-4 minutes on each side. They usually take 12-15 minutes to cook through. For the roast potatoes: Peel, rinse and cut each potato into 6. Place them in a casserole, cover them with water, bring to the boil and cook them for 15 minutes. Poke them with a fork to check if they are ready. In the meantime preheat the oven to 250ºC. Empty the water from the casserole and give it a good shake so that the potatoes break into irregular pieces. Array them on a baking tray, drizzle them with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, sprinkle them with oregano and give them a good toss. Roast them for 30-35 minutes until golden brown, crispy on the outside and mellow on the inside.

portions 8

Preparation Time 150 minutes

Baking time 12 minutes

Source: www.argiro.com.gr

Meatloaf in puff pastry lid

A different approach to meatloaf or a scrumptious pie? Call it anyway you like but one thing is for certain: once you put it on the table none will be left to tell its story! You can use meatloaf leftovers, however if you make it from the beginning the puff pastry will suck up all the delicious meat juices! 

Ingredients

• 600g minced beef
• 400g minced pork
• 1 teacup of dried bread crumbs
• 2 large onions, grated
• 2 carrots, grated
• 2 eggs
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2 tablespoons of parsley, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1 teacup of grated tomatoes or tomato juice
• salt
• freshly ground pepper
• 2 sheets of ready made puff pastry
• 1 beaten egg to brush the pastry

Method

Mix the two kinds of minced meat and the dried bread crumbs in a bowl. Grate the onion over the minced meat so that its juices infuse it and then add it in. Add the eggs, garlic, parsley, thyme, carrots, tomato, salt and pepper. Mix everything very well until fluffy. Divide the mixture in 2 equal parts and shape each into a loaf. Wrap the loaves separately in greaseproof paper and roast them for 1h at 190ºC. Leave to cool completely. Roll the puff pastry sheets out. Place each loaf on a sheet and carefully roll the pastry over to cover the loaf completely. Brush the seams with the beaten egg mix to seal them and then brush the rest of the pastry. Bake at 220ºC for 35-40 minutes until the pastry rises and turns golden brown. Cut it in slices and serve it garnished with a green salad or serve it cold as a snack.

portions 6

Preparation Time 70 minutes

Baking time 40 minutes

Source: www.argiro.com.gr

Wild Boar Stew with Wine, Honey and Orange

This is a sublime winter dish designed for the most demanding guests. Melt in the mouth wild boar, wonderfully marinated, so it can take on great flavours! Remember to check the liquid throughout the cooking time. 

Ingredients

• 2kg wild boar
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 5 onions
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1/2 tea cup of olive oil
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tomatoes
• 1½ tea cup of dry red wine
• 1/2 tea cup of brandy
• 1/4 tea cup of balsamic vinegar
• a piece of orange zest
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 bay leaves
• 5 pimento grains
• salt
• freshly ground pepper

Method

Cut the meat in serving portions. Place it in a bowl, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of sea salt, pour over ⅓tea cup of vinegar and cover it with cold water. Put it in the fridge for at least 5h, better still, overnight. This is the way to remove most of its blood along with the stench. Remove from the water and pat it dry with a piece of kitchen paper. Cut each onion in four pieces. Use a shallow, wide casserole-type pan and half the olive oil, to wilt the onions for 10 minutes, then sprinkle them with the sugar. Add the garlic. Put the meat in a bowl and sprinkle with the flour. Stir well for the meet to suck up the flour. Warm the remaining olive oil in a frying pan and brown the meat on all sides, a few portions at a time. Put the portions you have already browned in the casserole with the onions. When you are browning the last add the brandy, wine and balsamic vinegar and let them simmer over high heat for 4-5 minutes. Empty the lot in the casserole. Score a cross along the tomatoes stem and add them in. Add the bay leaves, pimento grains and orange zest. Put the lid on and simmer over medium heat for approximately 2h and 30 minutes, until the meat melts in mouth and the sauce thickens and mellows. Season with salt and pepper and add the honey towards the end of cooking time. Check the liquid from time to time and add water if necessary. Serve with potato mash or rice.

portions 6

Preparation Time 10 minutes

Baking time 150 minutes

Source: www.argiro.com.gr

Minced meat and white sauce cannelloni

A truly delicious recipe and an absolute crowd pleaser. Even if it is considered quite elaborate it is worth giving it a try. 

Ingredients

• 24 cannelloni tubes
• 2 tea cups of plain tomato sauce
• For the filling
• 1kg beef minced meat, thinly ground
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 red onion, finely chopped
• 1 tea cup of grated tomato
• half a cinnamon stick
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 tea cup of brandy
• salt
• freshly ground pepper
• 1 tea cup of grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 beaten eggs
• For the white sauce
• 1litre warm milk
• 100g butter
• 100g flour
• a pinch of grated nutmeg
• salt

Method

Brown the minced meat in the olive oil for 7-8 minutes until it changes colour. Add the garlic, onion and herbs and cook for a couple of minutes. Pour the brandy in, add the tomatoes, sugar and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 20 minutes until all the liquids are completely reduced. Remove from heat and let the minced meat sauce cool off. Then add the beaten eggs and Parmesan cheese and give everything a good toss. In the meantime prepare the white sauce. In a casserole-type pan melt the butter and brown the flour for 1 minute. Remove from heat, add half of the milk whisking and put the pan back on the stove. Pour the rest of the milk in, add the nutmeg and season with salt. Whisk constantly until the sauce thickens. Drop 2 tablespoons of the white sauce in a baking tray. Use a spoon to fill the cannelloni tubes and lay them over the sauce. When finished pour the grated tomato and the rest of the white sauce over. Bake at 180ºC for 25 minutes covered with tinfoil. Towards the end of cooking time remove the tinfoil and bake until golden and bubbling.

portions 6

Preparation Time 30 minutes

Baking time 25 minutes

Source: www.argiro.com.gr

Lamb stew with chickpeas

Lamb and chickpeas is the perfect winter match. Besides it is such a simple dish to cook and yet incredibly delicious! 

Ingredients

• 1kg lamb, cut in bite-sized pieces
• 1/4 tea cup of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 large onions, cut in slices
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 500g chickpeas, soaked and boiled
• 1/2kg tomatoes, finely sliced
• 1sprig of thyme
• 1 bay leave
• salt
• freshly ground pepper

Method

Put some bicarbonate of soda in a bowl with water and soak the chickpeas overnight to expand. Rinse them well and put them in a casserole with cold water. Boil the chickpeas for 30 minutes and drain them. In another pan warm the olive oil and brown the meat. Add the garlic and the onion and wait until they get translucent. Then add the chickpeas, thyme, bay leave, tomatoes and a bit of water. Cover with a lid and simmer for 1 h until the meat gets tender and the chickpeas mellow. Season with salt towards the end of cooking time. My tip: since you use a fork to eat this dish make sure the sauce is thick.

portions 6

Preparation Time 30 minutes

Baking time 60 minutes

Source: www.argiro.com.gr

Charcoaled Frigadelia (Grilled Liver Chunks)

Ingredients 

• liver of 2 lambs
• caul fat of 1 lamb
• salt
• pepper
• cinnamon powder

Method

1. Rinse the liver and cut into chunks. Add the cinnamon powder and season with salt and pepper. Combine everything well so that the spices infuse the liver. 

2. Dip the caul fat into warm water, spread it and cut it into large pieces. Wrap each liver chunk with a piece of caul fat and secure with a cocktail stick. Alternatively, you can thread the wrapped chunks onto metal skewers.

3. Chargrill the frigadelia until they turn brown on all sides.

portions 12

Preparation Time 15 minutes

Baking time 20 minutes

Source: www.argiro.com.gr

Sheftalies

These meatballs are so scrumptious you can’t afford to miss! 

Ingredients 

• 1 k (500g pork, 500g lamb) minced meat
• 1 teacup of baked bread crumbs
• 2 large red onions, grated
• ½ teacup of parsley, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
• salt
• pepper
• 4 pieces of caul fat

 

Method

1. Soak the caul fat in a bowl filled with water, salt and vinegar. Drain in a colander.

2. Mix all of the ingredients together. Take one tablespoon of the mixture and mould it into a sausage. Repeat until all the mixture ends.

3. Wrap each sausage in the caul fat and chargrill the sheftalies evenly all around.

portions 25

Preparation Time 20 minutes

Baking time 15 minutes

Source: www.argiro.com.gr