GreekONION LEAVES STUFFED WITH MINCED MEAT aka SOUGANI
Peel the onions, place in the saucepan to cook a little without dissolving and strain. Mix the minced meat with the remaining ingredients, open the onion leaves one by one, put the stuffing inside and roll them. Place in a saucepan, pour olive oil and heated water until covered. Finally, put a dish on top, upside down, so that the stuffed balls do not fall apart and leave them to simmer until the water is consumed and the oil is all that remains.
GIAPRAKAKIA (stuffed vine leaves)
In a bowl mix the minced meat, onion, rice, lemon and salt&pepper and stir until they become a solid stuffing. Scald the vine leaves in a saucepan and leave them to cool. Place on each leaf some of the stuffing, fold them and place them one by one in the saucepan. On top place some vine leaves and add the butter, then cover with a plate upside down. Pour water until the plate is covered. When it starts boiling, lower the temperature and cook for about one hour, constantly checking if the water is enough. When cooked, remove from stove and take away the plate and leaves. Prepare the egg & lemon sauce by adding some batter from the saucepan. Pour in the saucepan and leave in low temperature, stirring for a couple of minutes until the egg & lemon sauce thickens. Instead of vine leaves, you can use cabbage leaves, which, however, should be scalded very lightly so that they do not disintegrate.
GIOUZLEMEDES (fried cheese pies)
Prepare the leaven (not too thick) and let it rest. For the stuffing, grate the various types of cheese starting from the feta and ladotyri cheese and add the rest. Spread the leaven and cut it in square pieces, 8-10 cm long. On one side of each square piece put some stuffing cornerwise and fold into a triangle or put the stuffing on the centre and fold into an envelope. Press the edges tightly together with a fork and fry in well-heated oil. Remove from frying pan and place on absorbing paper. Then sprinkle with grated myzithra cheese and serve.
SELINATO (Pork meat with celery)
Wash the celery, place in saucepan with salted boiled water and leave to cook for approximately 20 minutes. Cut the meat in pieces, wash, steam in saucepan together with the finely chopped onion until the meat turns white and add olive oil and butter. After sautéing, fill with water until meat is covered. Cook for 1½ hour in average temperature until it softens. Strain the celery and add it in the saucepan together with salt and sliced carrots. Cook for one more hour and then remove from stove. Mix and beat the eggs and lemon adding batter from saucepan. Put this mix in the saucepan, cover and shake well until the egg&lemon turns thicker. Then, remove from stove.
Sfouggato of Petra
Grate the courgette using the vegetable slicing surface, add salt and leave them to wither. In a saucepan with 1/2 of the cup of olive oil, finely chop the onions, both dry and fresh, and sauté. Drain the courgette well and sauté as well. In a bowl put 4 eggs, feta cheese, dill and pepper and mix well. Oil a medium-sized baking pan with the remaining olive oil, sprinkle the surface with rusk and pour the mixture. In a bowl beat the remaining 2 eggs and spread them over the mixture. Bake in 150ï for approximately one hour.
Agiasos chestnut sweet
Peel the exterior skin of chestnuts, cook them (yet not to the point of disintegration) and remove the interior skin as well. Boil sugar and water in average temperature. Leave the water to cool and add the chestnuts to soak in the syrup for an entire night. On the next day cook for 5’. Cool again and remove chestnuts from syrup, then add lemon juice to syrup. Cook syrup until it thickens. Put chestnuts inside and leave for 2-3 hours. Take out and place in a platter. After they are well-dried, roll in aluminium foil.
Source: Lesvos Each flavour tells a story – Chamber of Lesvos
