Pickled Eggplants - Melitzanaki Toursi
1 kilo carrots, 1 clove garlic, 1 kilo celery, 1/2 kilo oil, 1 kilo
vinegar, A few peppers, pickling spices, salt, pepper, parsley, 1
kilo
small eggplants
Clean the eggplants and slice them into three parts. Boil them with
a little oil until tender, then drain. Keep one kilo of this water
for
the pickling process. Slit the eggplants to be stuffed. Thinly slice
the onion, garlic, parsley, carrot and stuff the eggplants with this
mixture.
In the mean time boil the celery until soft and let it drain. Combine
the celery and eggplants so that the celery covers the stuffed
eggplants making sure not to let the filling fall out. Place in a
sterile glass jars, add one kilo water (held from earlier), one kilo
vinegar and a little oil on top.
Cover and let it stand for one week.

Eggplant Patties - Melitzanokeftethes
12 large eggplants, 3 eggs, pepper, salt, oregano, fresh mint
leaves, bread crumbs, 1/4 cup cheese, garlic, onion, flour
Peel the eggplant and boil them. Slice them in a grinder /
processor. Add the eggs, pepper, salt, mint leaves finely chopped,
cheese, garlic and onion. Add some bread crumbs and a little flour
to get some solid texture to the mixture. Form in round balls then
pat into a pattie shape. Slightly flour the outsides and fry the
patties in a frying pan to get color.

Mousaka
2 large (about 1.2kg) eggplants, Coarse cooking salt, 1/4 cup
(60ml) olive oil,2 tablespoons olive oil (extra), 1 large onion,
chopped, 2 cloves garlic, crushed, 1 kg minced lamb, 425g can
tomatoes,2 tablespoons tomato paste, 1/2 cup (125ml) dry red
wine, 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1/4
ground cinnamon, Salt, pepper,1/4-cup (20g) grated
Parmesan cheese, 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Cheese Sauce (Bechamel): 125g butter, 2/3 cup (100g) plain
flour, 1 litre (4 cups) milk,1/2-cup (40g) grated Parmesan cheese,
2 eggs
Cut eggplants into 5mm slices, sprinkle with salt, stand 20
minutes. Rinse eggplant under cold water; drain, pat dry with
absorbent paper. Place eggplant slices in single layer on lightly
greased oven trays. Brush with oil, grill on both sides until lig\f0
htly browned; drain on absorbent paper.
Heat extra oil in pan; add onion and garlic, cook, stirring, until
onion
is soft. Add mince, cook, stirring, until mince is browned. Add
undrained crushed tomatoes, paste, wine, parsley, sugar and
cinnamon with salt and pepper to taste, simmer, covered, 30
minutes.
Grease ovenproof dish (2.5 litre / 10 cup capacity). Line dish with
one-third of the eggplant, top with half the meat sauce, then half
the remaining eggplant, remaining meat sauce and remaining
eggplant.Spread cheese sauce (bechamel) over eggplant, sprinkle
with cheese and nutmeg. Bake, uncovered, in moderate oven about
45 minutes or until lightly browned.
Cheese Sauce (Bechamel): Melt butter in pan, stir in flour, stir over
heat until bubbling. Remove from heat, gradually stir in milk, and
stir over heat until mixture boils and thins. Remove from heat, stir
in cheese, cool slightly, sit in eggs; mix until smooth.
Serves 6, Recipe can be made a day ahead

Oysters gratinŽ with garlic and spices

Open your oysters and keep some juice. Make a mayonnaise ( just
one yolk) starting with a well cruched garlic clove. Finish with a
dash of cayenne, a csp of sweet paprika and a csp of curcuma
(turmeric). Mix with bread crumb finely crushed and some oyster
juice to have something really creamy. Then couver your oysters
and grill them to gratinŽ not really to cook them.

OVEN-FRIED POTATOES

Serves 4.

4 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced thin 3 medium onions,
peeled, sliced, separated into rings Garlic salt and fresh ground
pepper, to taste 1/4 cup butter or oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-inch-square baking pan
with enough foil to cover and seal contents. Butter bottom of foil.
Arrange potato slices in about 4 flat rows overlapping
each other. Slip 2 or 3 onion rings between every 3 or 4 slices.
Sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper. Dot with butter or dribble with
oil. Seal foil tightly; bake until tender, 45-50 minutes.

Black-Eyed Pea Salad

2 lbs. cooked black-eyed peas 2 cloves fresh garlic, crushed 1/2
cup olive oil 2 tbl. lemon juice or vinegar 1/4 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp.
fresh ground black pepper 3 ripe tomatoes black Greek olives 1
onion, sliced in rings
Place the peas in a salad bowl. In a separate bowl, make a mixture
of the garlic, and olive oil. Let marinate for 1 hour, stirring well.
Add the lemon juice or vinegar, salt, and pepper, and mix thoroughly.
Pour over the peas and gently toss to blend. Garnish the peas with
tomato wedges, sliced onions and olives.


Octopus Stew

3 pounds octopus 1/2 cup olive oil , 1/2 cup vinegar, 1 cup red
wine 10 to 12 green onions, sliced into rounds 1 clove garlic,
minced 1 large bulb fennel, halved and thinly sliced , some
coriander seeds, freshly ground black pepper and pepper seeds
2/3 cup rinsed and pitted cracked Greek green olives.

1. Cut head away from octopus with sharp knife. Squeeze out
mouthpiece and discard. Place octopus in medium-sized dry stewing
or soup pot with vinegar and wine, put hole pepper and coriander
seeds and cook over lowest possible heat until octopus turns
bright-pink and softens, 30 to 40 minutes. Octopus should exude
enough liquid to keep from drying out, but add water to pot if
necessary to keep octopus from burning.
2. Remove octopus with juices, discard juices, and set aside a few
minutes to cool slightly. Heat olive oil in same pot and add green
onions and fennel, stirring a few minutes until translucent.
3. Cut tentacles and head into 2-to-3 inch pieces and cut octopus
center into similarly sized chunks. Add garlic to pot, then octopus.
4. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and simmer over
very low heat about 1 hour, adding wine or more water if
necessary. Octopus is done when very tender. Add olives last 5
minutes of cooking. Season to taste with salt.