APPETIZERS

The evening before cooking this dish, put the snails into a bowl of water and cover it with a plate so they don’t crawl away. Wash them well keeping only the live ones. Boil them for 15 minutes. With the point of a knife, make a hole in the rear side of each shell. Rinse them well and drain.
Heat the olive oil in a pot and brown the onions and garlic. Add the tomatoes, bay leaves, vinegar, rosemary, salt, pepper and a little water and let the sauce boil for about 15 minutes. Add the snails and continue cooking for another 20-30 minutes until most of the water has evaporated and the sauce has thickened.

Peel the tomatoes, remove the seeds and chop them up finely. Heat the oil in a frying pan and brown the onions with the coquettes cut into round slices. Add the chopped tomatoes, salt and pepper. Cook until most of the liquid has evaporated and add the well-beaten eggs. Simmer for a few minutes. Serve hot or cold.

Wash the aubergines, cut off their stems and slice them lengthwise.
Place half the salt in a pot of water, bring it to a boil and add the aubergines. Boil them until they are tender but not too soft, and then drain them.
Mix the parsley, garlic, onions and carrots together. Stuff the aubergines with the mixture and carefully tie them shut with the celery stalks. Put the aubergines into a glazed earthenware container with the oil, vinegar and the rest of the salt. Leave them in a cool, dark place for 15 days.

Wash the tomatoes and dry them well. Score them around the middle, put salt on the cut and let them drain. Mash the garlic to a paste and mix it with the cumin, salt and red pepper. Stuff the tomatoes with the mixture and put them in a glass or glazed earthenware jar with the vinegar and 1 ½ cups of water. Leave them in the container for two days.

Put the béchamel sauce into a deep bowl and add the eggs one by one, mixing each egg in well. Add the cheese and nutmeg and blend together thoroughly.
Cut the dough into broad strips, brush each one with melted butter and place a spoonful of the cheese mixture on each strip. Roll each one up to form a small cylinder. Put the cheese rolls on a buttered baking sheet, brush them with the rest of the butter and bake in a moderate oven for 10-15 minutes.

Saute the onion lightly in the butter and add the minced meat. Continue to saute, stirring continuously. Add the salt, pepper, tomato juice and bay leaf. Reduce the heat and cook the meat for approximately 30 minutes longer, until all the liquid had evaporated. Add the beaten egg, the cheese, the crumbs and the parsley. Cut the dough into strips, brush each one with butter, and place one spoonful of the mixture on each strip. Roll them up to form cylinders, place them on a buttered baking sheet and brush them with the remaining butter. Bake in a moderate oven for 20-25 minutes.

Mash the cheese with a fork and add the beaten eggs, the mint and the pepper. Cut the dough into about 6 cm wide strips. Brush each strip with butter, place a teaspoon of the filling on one end and fold it up into a triangle. Put the cheese pies onto a buttered baking sheet, brush them with a little melted butter and bake in a moderate oven 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

Wash the courgette flowers and remove the small green leaves. Make a thick batter with the flour, egg, milk, the tablespoon of olive oil and the salt. Dip the flowers one by one into the batter and fry them in hot oil.

Peel the tomatoes, remove the seeds and rub them through a coarse grater. Put them into a frying pan and boil until most of their juice has evaporated. In another frying pan, heat the oil, pour in the tomatoes and saute them for a few minutes. Add the beaten eggs, salt and pepper and stir until thick.
Tip: just before the Kayanos is done, add grated feta cheese and stir.

Wash the aubergines and cut them into slices. Salt them and leave them to dry in a colander for about an hour. Rinse them and squeeze out the excess liquid. Mix the flour with the pepper. Dredge the aubergines in the flour and fry them in hot oil. Serve at once.

Add the salt to a large pot of water. Peel the potatoes and boil in salted water until well done. Drain. Sprinkle the potatoes with pepper and mash. In the blender bowl of the food processor (or with a hand mixer), puree the potatoes and garlic until well mixed, about 30-45 seconds. Still pureeing, slowly add the olive oil and vinegar, alternating between them, tasting as you go, until the mixture is smooth. Skordalia should be creamy and thick. If it gets too thick, add a little cold water (not more than 1/4 cup).

The night before cooking, put the beans in water to soak. Next day drain them and boil them in plenty of water, until they are tender but still firm. In one bowl, place the flour mixed with the salt and pepper, in another the beaten eggs, and in a third the rusk crumbs. Heat the oil in a frying pan. Dip each bean first in the flour, then in the egg and finely in the rusk crumbs, before frying. Garnish with finely chopped parsley and serve at once.

1 kg Green peppers
2 medium onions
2 cups vinegar
1 cup water
1 cup rusk crumbs
A few whole pepper corns
2 teaspoons salt

Wash the peppers and cut them into strips. Peel the onions, slice them and separate them into rings. Put the water, vinegar and salt into a pot to boil. Add the peppers and the onions and cook for 1-2 minutes. Turn off the heat and let cool. Fill a container with the peppers, the onions and their liquid, adding a few peppercorns. Let them stand for 10-15 days.

2 kg red peppers
1 small head of cabbage
5 medium carrots
1 bunch of celery
1 whole bulb of garlic
1 tablespoon salt
1 liter vinegar

Shred the cabbage, carrots and celery. Add the crushed garlic and half the salt, and then mix together. Wash the peppers and cut a slit in each pepper and fill with the mixture. Put the peppers in a glass jar and cover them with the vinegar, the rest of the salt and a little water. Let them stand for 15 days.

Grate the peeled cucumber on a coarse grater and press as much liquid as possible out of it. Mix the cucumber with the rest of the ingredients. Garnish with the dill and olives.

2 1/2 cups of canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup of tahini
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
pinch of freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon of salt
1/3 cup of water
parsley and olive oil to garnish

Put 1/2 the lemon juice and all ingredients into the blender except the chickpeas (and the parsley and oil for garnish) and blend for 5 seconds. Add the chick peas and blend on high until it reaches the the consistency of sour cream, but granular, about 10-15 seconds. Blend in remaining lemon juice to taste. If the dip is too thick but you don’t want to add more lemon juice, add a little water slowly and blend until it reaches the correct consistency. Transfer to a serving bowl, cover and refrigerate for a few hours before serving. (It may be eaten immediately, but becomes even more flavourful if left to chill well.) Drizzle of olive oil over the top and add a garnish of parsley or black olives before serving. Serve with pita wedges or slices of whole grain breads. Note: Be sure to rinse the canned chickpeas well to clear away the taste of any ingredients used in the canning process.

8 slices of day old white bread, crusts removed
4 tb sp. tarama (carp roe caviar)
2 tbsp. finely minced onion
3/4 cup olive oil
5 tb sp. fresh lemon juice

Remove crusts from bread and soak slices briefly in a bowl of water. Squeeze out excess water and set aside. Add tarama and onion to food processor or blender and mix for approximately a minute or until well blended. Tear the bread into pieces and add to processor or blender. Mix until combined. With machine running, slowly drizzle the olive oil into the mixture forming a paste. Add the lemon juice a bit at a time and blend until smooth and creamy. If you prefer it tangier, you can add more lemon juice .Serve taramosalata with pita triangles or other bread for dipping and enjoy with a glass of chilled ouzo!

8-10 thick slices of crusty bread
1/2 pound of margerine or butter
5-6 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon of salt

Combine margarine (or butter), garlic, and salt in the blender and pulse until mixed. Spread on slices of bread and toast in the oven, directly on the rack, at 175°C (350°F) for 15 minutes.