We love doing our theme nights, and one of our absolute favorite theme nights is our mini Greek Festival. Salt Lake City, Utah has an absolutely fantastic Greek Festival at the beginning of every September with the most amazing Greek food imaginable. However, I haven't been in years because we can't go as a family because my oldest son is allergic to tree nuts (and Greek food, mostly desserts, have a ton of tree nuts in them...I'm looking at you, Baklava). Also, my husband and I just never seem to be able to get away that first weekend in September for a date night to the Greek Festival. However, We have our fantastic family Greek Night and it really satisfies that craving for Greek food.
I'm including the recipes we made on this particular night as well as some of our tried and true favorites from other nights (just so we have them all in one place). You can also check out these other Greek food posts that we have made in the past: original post for Greek Meatballs, Greek Lemon Potatoes, and Avgolemono Soup
here, Slow Cooker Greek chicken
here, Pastitsio
here, Greek Quinoa Salad
here, first version of Chicken Souvlaki
here, second version of Chicken Souvlaki
here, Chicken Gyros (kind of the third version of Chicken Souvlaki) and Lemon Rice
here, Slow Cooker Chicken Gyros
here, Meat Loaf Gyros
here, Greek Orzo Salad
here, Greek Tacos
here, and Galatoboureko (Greek Milk Pie)
here...that's all...for now, at least! Yeah, we're not Greek, but we love our Greek food!
Baked Feta
Ingredients:
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup Kalamata olives (pitted and chopped)
1 clove garlic, minced
2-3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley, divided
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound block Greek feta
4 scallions, sliced
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined, for serving
Bell peppers, sliced, for serving
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
In a bowl, mix the tomatoes, olives, garlic, 2 tablespoons parsley, oregano, olive oil, and a few grinds of pepper.
Place the block of feta in the middle of an 8x8-inch baking dish. Pile the tomato mixture on top of the feta. Bake for 20 minutes or until the cheese has softened and melted.
Remove from the oven and garnish with the remaining parsley and scallions and serve immediately while still warm. This can be placed back in the oven to melt if the cheese starts to firm up again. Serve with peppers and grilled shrimp.
To grill the shrimp: Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium-high heat. Season shrimp with salt and pepper and grill for 2 minutes per side, or until shrimp is opaque. Serve.
Recipe Notes: This dish is best served hot, warm, or room temperature.
Source: The Chew, recipe by Michael Symon. You can find it
here.
Notes: We did not serve this with the bell peppers and shrimp. We served this with homemade pita chips. Baked feta is a fantastic, wonderful thing. I highly suggest you try it!
Spicy Baked Feta (Feta Psiti)
Ingredients:
1 (8 ounce) block feta cheese
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 tablespoons crushed red pepper flakes, or as needed
1 pinch dried oregano, or as needed
Directions:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
Place the feta in an ovenproof baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil. Cover liberally with pepper flakes, and sprinkle with oregano.
Bake, uncovered, in the preheated oven until feta is soft, about 10 minutes.
Source: Allrecipes.com, submitted by Diana Moutsopoulos. You can find it
here.
Notes: This was so, so good. It's hard to say which baked feta I liked better...you might just have to make both of them like we did! Again, we served this with homemade pita chips.
Pita Chips
Ingredients:
12 pita bread pockets
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried chervil
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Cut each pita bread into 8 triangles. Place triangles on lined cookie sheet.
In a small bowl, combine the oil, pepper, salt, basil, and chervil. Brush each triangle with oil mixture.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 7 minutes, or until lightly browned and crispy. Watch carefully, as they tend to burn easily.
Source: Allrecipes.com, submitted by Dawn. You can find it
here.
Notes: These were fantastic. They were delicious topped with the baked feta and they were awesome all by themselves. The kids particularly loved these. They kept asking for more "slices of little pizza."
Grecian Meatballs
Ingredients:
1 lb. lean, finely ground beef or lamb
1 medium onion
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 tbsp chopped fresh mint
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper
1 egg, beaten
olive oil, for brushing
Directions:
Put the ground beef or lamb in a bowl. Grate in the onion, then add the
garlic, bread crumbs, mint, and parsley. Season well with salt and
pepper. Mix the ingredients well, then add the beaten egg and mix to
bind the mixture together.
With damp hands, form the mixture into 16 small balls and thread onto 4
flat metal skewers. Lightly oil a broiler pan and brush the meatballs
with oil.
Preheat the broiler and cook the meatballs under medium heat for 10
minutes, turning frequently, and brushing with more oil if necessary,
until browned.
Source: From the cookbook "Perfect Greek," published by Parragon in 2008. ISBN: 978-1-4054-8858-7. You can find it
here.
Notes: These are awesome. They are very similar to what you can get at the SLC Greek Festival.
Red Sauce for Meatballs
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon oregano
1 (8 oz) can tomato puree
1 (4 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (28 oz) can whole, peeled tomatoes
Directions:
In a pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic. Cook, stirring
well, until fragrant (about 1 minute). Add oregano and cook for about
30 seconds to a minute. Add tomato puree, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes,
and whole, peeled tomatoes. Break up whole, peeled tomatoes with the
back of a spoon or cut up with kitchen sheers.
Simmer on low while meatballs cook (at least 30 minutes).
Source: I came up with this recipe on my own.
Greek Lemon Potatoes
Ingredients:
2 lbs potatoes, unpeeled, washed, and cut into bite sized pieces
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 lemon, juiced and zest grated (see notes)
4 Tbsp. water
6 cloves garlic, peeled
4 bay leaved
2 rosemary sprigs (see notes)
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped (see notes)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 pinch sugar
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 Tbsp parsley, chopped
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Line a 9x13 baking dish with tin foil. Place the cut potatoes into the baking dish.
Drizzle the olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, and water over the
potatoes. Place the garlic, bay leaves, rosemary, thyme, oregano,
sugar, salt, and pepper on top of the potatoes.
Stir well to coat.
Bake the potatoes for 1-1 1/2 hours or until they are cooked through, tender, and slightly crispy.
Stir every now and then during cooking to coat with the herby oil.
Sprinkle with chopped parsley prior to serving.
Source: Darn it, I found this online at least four years ago and now I can't remember what recipe site I found it on. Sorry!
Notes: I didn't have fresh lemons on hand, so I used a liberal amount of
bottled lemon juice (to make up for not having lemon zest). The dish
was still yummy, but honestly, lemon is the star flavor of this dish.
Don't substitute the fresh lemon for bottled juice! If you really love
the flavor of lemon, I would recommend using the juice of two lemons and
the zest of one. Also, in addition to peeling the garlic, I halved it
as well.
As for the herbs, substituting dried herbs works just fine in this dish.
I didn't have fresh rosemary, so I used 1 teaspoon dried and crushed
it between my fingers as I sprinkled it over the potatoes. I also
didn't have fresh thyme, so I used 1/4 teaspoon of dried thyme.
Basic Greek Salad
Ingredients:
1 large bunch Romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
1 cucumber (you can either peel, thickly slice, and quarter this, or simply slice it into rounds with the peel on)
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion, optional
1/2-1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup pitted, sliced kalamata olives
Whole or sliced banana peppers, optional
Favorite bottled or homemade Greek salad dressing (see notes)
Directions:
Combine and toss all ingredients together in a large bowl.
Note: If you would like to make your own Greek salad dressing, here's a simple recipe found in the South Beach Diet cookbook:
Absolutely Fabulous Greek/House Dressing (Large Batch)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 quarts olive oil
1/3 cup garlic powder
1/3 cup dried oregano
1/3 cup dried basil
1/4 cup pepper
1/4 cup salt
1/4 cup onion powder
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 quarts red wine vinegar
Directions:
In a very large container, mix together the olive oil, garlic powder, oregano, basil, pepper, salt, onion powder, and Dijon mustard. Pour in the vinegar and mix vigorously until well-blended. Store tightly covered at room temperature.
Source: Allrecipes.com, submitted by Danielle M. You can find it
here.
Notes: The recipe on Allrecipes says, "This is the 'secret' Greek dressing recipe from the pizzeria that I work at. The recipe makes almost a gallon, but can be scaled down easily. It can be used for picnics and travels very well, since it doesn't need to be refrigerated. This is the best dressing I have ever tasted, people offer to buy it constantly, but if we sold it, we wouldn't be able to make enough to use in the restaurant!" This was, indeed, good stuff.
Absolutely Fabulous Greek/House Dressing (Smaller Batch)
Ingredients:
3/4 cup, plus 2 tbsp, plus 1 tsp olive oil
2 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
2 1/2 tsp. dried basil
1 3/4 tsp. pepper
1 3/4 tsp. salt
1 3/4 tsp. onion powder
1 3/4 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 cup, plus 3 tbsp. red wine vinegar
Directions:
Mix all ingredients, except vinegar, together. Add red wine vinegar and mix vigorously until well-blended. Store tightly covered at room temperature.
Source: Allrecipes.com, submitted by Danielle M. You can find the original (big batch) recipe
here (and above).
Avgolemono Soup (Greek Lemon Soup)
Here is the recipe. I got it from a book Clint gave me, but I have modified it...
Ingredients:
3 pints chicken broth ( 3 16 oz cans)
2 eggs
2 Tbs lemon juice (or more depending on taste, I like things extra lemony)
about a cup of cooked rice or orzo pasta
one cooked chicken breast, shredded
parsley, chopped about 1/4 cup
salt, pepper to taste
Directions:
Bring broth to a boil, reduce to a simmer. In a separate bowl, whisk
eggs, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Add a small ladle of the soup to
the egg mixture and whisk until well combined, then slowly add this
mixture to the pot of the cooking broth. Whisk constantly until texture
is smooth and egg is well integrated. Add chicken and rice cook on low
for a few minutes, then add some fresh parsley. Yummmmmy!
Happy cooking!
Note: It is important to add a small ladle of soup to the egg mixture
before adding the egg mixture directly to the soup. It tempers the egg
mixture so that it doesn't cook immediately once it is added to the
soup. If you add the egg mixture directly to the soup, it will end up
more like Chinese egg noodle soup with string of egg throughout the soup
rather than a silky, creamy texture as intended in this recipe.
Greek Festival Lemon Rice Pilaf
Ingredients:
1/4 lb. butter
2 cups uncooked rice
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
5 cups hot chicken broth
salt and freshly ground pepper
Directions:
Heat butter in a heavy skillet. When it is hot, add the rice and,
stirring constantly, sauce over medium heat until transparent, but not
brown.
Add the lemon juice, chicken broth, and salt.
Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat and let pilaf stand uncovered for 5 minutes before serving.
Source: I found this on food.com. You can find it
here.
Notes: This isn't a fluffy rice pilaf, it is more of a sticky rice. It
is so good. It is spot on with the Greek rice that you can get in a
Greek restaurant. The recipe provides this note: "Every September, Salt
Lake has an amazing Greek Festival. Back in 2001 I got a pamphlet of
Greek recipes from the festival. This rice pilaf is very similar to the
rice pilaf served at my favorite Greek restaurant. Opa!" This really
does taste like the rice from the Greek festival. Good stuff!
The only change I made was to use half of the butter that the recipe called for. It was still fantastic.
Herbed Greek Roasted Potatoes with Feta Cheese
Ingredients:
5 pounds potatoes, cut into wedges
6 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup olive oil
1 cup water
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Sea salt, to taste
Ground black pepper, to taste
1 1/2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon chopped fresh mint
1 (8 ounce) package crumbed feta cheese
Directions:
Preheat an oven to 450 degrees F. Lightly oil a large baking dish.
Stir the potatoes, garlic, olive oil, water, lemon juice, salt, and
pepper together in a bowl until the potatoes are evenly coated; pour
into the prepared baking dish.
Roast in the preheated oven until the potatoes begin to brown, about 40
minutes. Season the potatoes with the oregano and mint. If the dish
appears dry, pour another 1/2 cup water into the dish. Return to the
oven and bake about 40 minutes more. Top with the crumbled feta cheese
to serve.
Greek Lentil Salad
Ingredients:
1/2 cup French (du Puy) lentils
1/2 cup quinoa
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
2 small/medium zucchini or 1 large, cubed
1/2 cup red onion, finely chopped
1/3 cup kalamata olives, halved and pitted
4 tbsp. chopped fresh oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
6 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Directions:
Rinse and drain the lentils. Place in a saucepan and cover by 2 inches with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer 20-25 minutes, until tender. Strain and set aside.
While the lentils are cooking, make the quinoa. Place quinoa in a small sauce pot with 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer until all water is absorbed, about 12 minutes.
Remove from heat, keep the lid on and let sit another 2-3 minutes. Fluff with a fork and set aside.
Once the lentils and quinoa have cooled, place in a bowl with the tomatoes, zucchini, red onion, and olives.
Whisk together the oregano, salt, ground pepper, lemon juice, and olive oil. Toss with salad and serve.
Source: Delish Knowledge, recipe by Alex Caspero. You can find it
here.
Greek Tzatziki
Ingredients:
1 (32 ounce) container plain low-fat yogurt (Greek yogurt can also be used for a thicker tzatziki)
1/2 English cucumber with peel, grated
1 clove garlic, pressed
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
Directions:
Stir together yogurt, grated cucumber, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil in a bowl. Add lemon zest, dill, salt, and pepper; whisk until smooth. pour into a serving dish, cover tightly, and refrigerate 8 hours before serving.
Source: Allrecipes.com, submitted by Leelee Cooks. You can find it
here.
Notes: This is one of many tzatziki recipes on our blog, but it is a great one. It's always fun to try new combinations. We served this with our smoked lamb and it was fantastic. I need to hunt down the smoked lamb recipe from my brother and add it to this post.
Milk Pie aka Galatoboureko
Ingredients:
4 cups whole milk
1/2 cup fine semolina
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup unsalted butter
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (16 ounce) package phyllo dough, thawed
2/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
3 cups water
2 cups sugar
1/2 large lemon
Directions:
In a 4 to 6 quart heavy pot, bring the milk to a boil, and reduce heat
to low. Sprinkle in the semolina, whisking constantly. Add the sugar,
and simmer for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the
heat, whisk in 2/3 cup of the butter, and add eggs, one at a time,
stirring well after each addition. Blend in the vanilla. The mixture
will be thick, but pourable, like a soft polenta.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Line bottom with 8 sheets of phyllo,
layering them one at a time, and brushing each sheet with butter. The
sheets will be larger than the baking pan. Be certain that the bottom is
covered by pressing the dough into the corners, and allow the excess to
run up the sides of the pan. Phyllo sheets not in use should always be
covered with a damp towl.
Pour the milk filling over the sheets. Cover with remaining 12 sheets of
phyllo, repeating the layering process, and brushing each sheet with
butter.
With a very sharp knife, trim the dough around the edges of the pan, and
score the top diagonally in two directions to make diamond-shaped slits
on the surface. Sprinkle the top with a little water, and bake 45
minutes to 1 hour. Check after 45 minutes. Pie is done when top is light
brown and the filling is set.
As soon as the pie is in the ove, begin to make the syrup. Combine water
and sugar in a 4 quart saucepan. Squeeze the halved lemon in the
sugared water, and drop the juiced half in the liquid. Simmer on low
heat for about 45 minutes. Discard the lemon. Very carefully, because
syrup can boile vigorously, pour the hot syrup over the pie as soon as
it is removed from the oven.
Let the pie cool completely, and then serve by cutting along the diagonal scores made prior to baking.
Source: Allrecipes.com, submitted by Kenmore featured chef, Cat Cora. You can find it
here.
Notes: This is one of my favorite Greek desserts. It is so delicious. It is also wonderful with almond flavoring added in (in place of the vanilla).
Greek Honey Cake
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon orange zest
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup white sugar
3 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 cup chopped walnuts (we used almonds because my son isn't allergic to those)
1 cup white sugar
1 cup honey
3/4 cup water
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9-inch square pan. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and orange rind. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and 3/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the milk, mixing just until incorporated. Stir in the walnuts (or almonds).
Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool for 15 minutes, then cut into diamond shapes. Pour honey syrup over the cake.
For the Honey Syrup: In a saucepan, combine honey, 1 cup sugar, and water. Bring to a simmer and cook 5 minutes. Stir in lemon juice, bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes.
Source: Food.com by CaliforniaJan. You can find it
here.
Notes: This was really good. Plus, it was beautiful with the diamond shapes on top.
