Tag Archives: Food

Greece 2019 – Cooking with Eleni

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Every summer, I look forward to a cooking lesson with my cousin, Eleni Kostakos. Last year, we made κεφτέδες (keftedes, meatballs). This year, δολμάδες (dolmades, stuffed grape leaves) were on the menu. A google search will bring up dozens of recipes, but none are as good as Eleni’s.

Her grape leaves come from her brother’s vines and are picked when young and tender. She freezes them with no loss of flavor. Fresh, even frozen, leaves are infinitely better than the brined and salted ones which come in jars; but since I have to use jarred leaves, Eleni recommends boiling them to remove the salt and vinegar.

Frozen grape leaves, thawing at room temperature

Our first task is to cover the table with a laminated brown paper, which absorbs fluids and drips. Next, the meat mixture is prepared.

Ingredients 
1 kilo (2 pounds) ground beef
2 very large onions (Eleni used red onions)
3 eggs
1 can tomato paste (6 oz)
1 cup rice, rinsed
salt, pepper (no measurements)
dry mint (a handful, rubbed)
about 1/3-1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
fresh mint leaves

Fresh mint dot the grape leaves

Directions
1. Soak fresh mint in water.
2. Begin to separate grape leaves. Put a layer in the bottom of a casserole, add a few fresh mint leaves, then another layer of grape leaves and mint.
3. Put ground beef in large bowl.
4. Finely chop onions in a food processor. There should be absolutely no chunks! Add to meat along with tomato paste, eggs, oil, salt, pepper, dry mint and rice.
5. Mix, mix, mix by hand until everything is smooth and shiny. The oil acts like glue to hold the ingredients together. DO NOT use bread crumbs or other fillers.

Eleni measures the rice. Note the bowl on the left with meat ingredients, ready to be hand mixed.

When the meat is ready, the grape leaves are stuffed. This is a tricky process. When Eleni and her husband were owners of a taverna, her dolmades had to be picture-perfect. She showed me her method of folding the grape leaves around the meat and tucking the ends of the vines inside so there is an exact mitered angle. I tried and failed. So we did it the easy way–by putting the meat inside the leaves, folding in both ends, and rolling. I learned that the meat is put on the bottom side of the grape leaves (where you see the veins), so that the shiny and smooth side is visible after rolling.

Eleni rolls the dolmades. You can see that this “easy” method does not yield mitered ends.

My handiwork!

The rolled dolmades are carefully placed in the pot on top of the mint and vine leaves. Boiled water is poured over them, the pot is covered, and the dolmades simmer for one hour. If they start to open, put a plate over them. After one hour, drain the liquid from the pot and reserve.

Simmering on the stove

Now comes the lemon-egg sauce — the final touch that gives that unique flavor. Use four eggs and the strained juice of two large lemons. Beat the eggs at least five minutes until they are smooth and creamy. Add the lemon juice one Tablespoon at a time. Finally add about 1/2 cup hot liquid which had been drained from the pot. Pour the lemon-egg mixture over the dolmades and heat thoroughly. Don’t boil or the egg will curdle!

Lemon-egg sauce is added to the pot

Dolmades can be kept in the refrigerator for one week, and can be successfully frozen. Make a batch and enjoy with traditional Greek salad, olives, feta cheese and crusty bread. You will feel like you are in Sparta!

A perfect meal!

And next summer’s lesson? Γεμιστά, stuffed peppers and tomatoes ❤

Cooking with Eleni

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Greek food is the absolute best. Using the freshest of ingredients, locally-grown products, aromatic herbs and tangy spices, there is nothing that compares to this harbinger of the Mediterranean diet. Every Greek woman has her own way of making traditional recipes–those “secret” tips that make her cuisine unique.

And this especially applies to my cousin, Eleni Koniditsiotis Kostakos, born in Amykles and now residing in Agios Ioannis. Because I offered to help one afternoon as she was preparing dinner, I finally, finally learned her secret to making meatballs that are soft yet firm.

The secret ingredient? Olive oil in the meat. It provides the “glue” to hold the meat, bread crumbs and other ingredients together and to keep the meatballs from falling apart.

Making the mixture; notice the puree of red onion and garlic

In this bowl are (no measurements): ground beef, dry bread crumbs as well as stale bread which has been rolled between our hands to make crumbs, a puree of garlic and red onions (this prevents chunks which cause the meatballs to crack), eggs, salt, pepper, basil and cumin. I was surprised that there was no oregano, but I might try adding some. And of course, olive oil. Lots of it! Squish everything together and start rolling the meatballs. I was surprised at how smooth they were, and that’s the secret to keep them from falling apart while cooking.

Next step: fry in lots of extra-virgin Greek olive oil! They are delicious served as-is, or in a homemade tomato sauce.

Speaking of olive oil, there is nothing like fresh-pressed oil found in every Greek home. Eleni’s family, like most in Sparta, have olive trees. The olives are beginning to grow now, and are harvested in early winter, November-December.

Baby olives

The harvest is a task that is done by hand, not machine, and the entire family works together. Preparation begins early. Last week, Eleni washed the nets which are spread under the trees to catch the fruit. She then stretched them out to dry.

Washing the olive nets

 

Drying the olive nets

Every village has a processing plant where the oil is extracted; smaller settlements will bring their olives to the closest one. Families keep enough for their own use and may sell their surplus. I love Eleni’s olives. Unlike those sold in stores, hers are not kept in brine, but are packed in oil which makes them sweet, not bitter.

Eleni’s olives and oil. You can tell by the dark green color that this oil is the first-press, or extra virgin.

Now I have to figure out how to get bottles like these home!