Today is our National Day of Independence. We celebrate the revolution against the Ottoman Empire, under which our country was occupied for almost 400 years. The revolution of 1821 led to the establishment of the new, independent country of Greece.
Today is a national holiday in Greece. Regarding the Greek Orthodox Church, it is Clean Monday (Kathará Deftéra) a religious feast equivalent to Shrove Monday or Mardi Gras. Actually it is the first day of the pre-Easter lent period that lasts for 40 days.
“Pastitsada” is the term we use to describe pasta sauces as they make them in the Ionian island of Corfu. Rich sauces with bold flavor, they are extremely delicious and a wonderful Sunday dish that everyone will appreciate!
These little, golden cheese pies that we’ve got for you today are the perfect appetizer…or snack. Made with philo pastry, they’re perfectly crispy on the outside, whereas on the inside hides a delicious creamy filling, slightly tangy and salty thanks to the feta cheese which is the key ingredient.
To be frank, these are the most delicious meatballs you can imagine! When you start frying them, you won’t be able to escape the mouth-watering effect! And beware! You’ll start eating them from the frying pan, so addictive they are!
We’re in the heart of winter, which means it’s the appropriate time for soups made with legumes. As we’ve mentioned before, legumes play a dominant role in Greek cuisine. The most usual way to cook legumes in Greece is to make soups.
Today we’ve got a lovely, smooth split pea soup and we are going to serve it with sautéed cubes of sínglino, an extremely delicious charcuterie from Lakonia, in the SE parts of the Peloponnese region. Sínglino is smoked pork, flavoured with sage and orange and conserved with additional pork fat. Unique in flavor, hard to find, but totally worth it!
Baklavá is probably the most famous Greek dessert. Even though it is considered to be typical for Christmas, this rich, crunchy, syrupy delicate pastry can be found in every pastry shop all year round in the country. More or less it is made in the same way, preferably using walnuts in the filling. A combination of walnuts and almonds is also frequently used.
