Tag Archives: Auntie’s recipes

How to make roxakia (Greek cocoa, cinnamon and vanilla syrupy goodies)

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Roxakia | Ροξάκια

See the Greek version of this postRoxakia are a Greek type of sweet dough. I hope it’s mainly Greek but you never know. Anyway. They are bite sized cocoa and vanilla and cinnamon goodies that look lovely and taste like heaven. Avoid if syrupy stuff is not your cup of tea, but you will love them if you like any of the syrupy Greek, Turkish and Arabian goodies.

So. Friends of the Greek blog LOVE this dessert and have been asking me to do a video for absolute ages. I got around to it over the weekend (you can watch the video here – it’s in Greek obviously but you’ll see the technique I am describing below) and I managed to take some pics for the English side too.

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Easy green salad with shrimps and sour dressing

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See the Greek version of this postThis is an easy salad that I kinda created during dieting times (it’s all the cakes, you see, they add up)

INGREDIENTS:

For the salad:

  • Green bits (anything you like but I prefer various types of lettuce)
  • 2 medium sized tomatoes
  • 3-4 medium sized mushrooms
  • Shrimps (this is an easy salad so ready-to-eat shrimps. I hear they are anathema to the foodies but hey ho)

You can also add anything else you like – e.g. cubed courgette, fresh peppers etc.

For the dressing:

This is an amazing dressing a la Auntie Sofia. It is GREAT with chicken or sausages where you just bathe the meat in it and then cook it. It’s also really nice for a salad.

  • Olive oil
  • Mustard (same amount as olive oil)
  • Lemon juice (same amount as olive oil)
  • Pinch of salt
  • Oregano

METHOD:

Chop up all the ingredients. Actually it’s better if you just tear the green leaves with your hands. It saves time and looks better.

Εύκολη σαλάτα με γαρίδες και ξινούλι dressing

Use your green leaves as a basis and then add the tomato.

Εύκολη σαλάτα με γαρίδες και ξινούλι dressing

Add your mushrooms. If you don’t enjoy them raw (I do), just place them in a pan with a tiny bit of water and brown them a bit.

Add all the rest of your salad ingredients.

Εύκολη σαλάτα με γαρίδες και ξινούλι dressing

In a big glass add all the ingredients for the dressing and shake em (use a foamer if you’ve got it or just a little handheld mixer).

That’s it!

Εύκολη σαλάτα με γαρίδες και ξινούλι dressing

Lamb chops and machine bread by Giannis

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Here is the first food material from one of the Digital Scullery friends, Giannis Sklavos who know all about good bread and good BBQs.

For the bread:

  • 400ml water
  • 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil
  • pinch of salt
  • 2-3 grams of fast action yeast
  • 150 grams of brown flour
  • 450 grams strong white flour

put all of them in your bread machine and let it work its magic.

Ψωμί του Γιάννη

 

For the lamb chops:

    • Here is a traditional wood oven, burning with olive tree wood.

Παϊδάκια του Γιάννη

  • Lamb chops (try to get lamb chops from a young lamb)
  • salt – pepper – oregano – lemon

Παϊδάκια του Γιάννη

use a fork only to cook them – you should only be eating them using your hands.

  • red wine
  • good friends

Παϊδάκια του Γιάννη

Παϊδάκια του Γιάννη

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Photos: All photos are by Giannis Sklavos

Apple pie without using a mixer for Hero

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Hero sent me a little message in Greek via facebook. She has a lot of apples and no food mixer so she was wondering if I have a recipe for Apple pie with only kneading by hand.

Here goes

Ingredients:

For the dough:

  • 2 cups of flour
  • 3/4 of a cup soft butter
  • 3 tablespoons sugar (preferably caster sugar)
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 teaspoon cognac
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

For the filling:

  • Apples
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon butter
  • 1 egg white

Do it 

Mix the flour with the sugar and baking powder.

Put in the softened butter, the egg yolk and the cognac.

Knead with passion, first just rubbing between your fingers and then normally (punch it). The dough should be relatively crumbly

Just place the dough on a pastry dish (preferably a pie dish). It might be impossible to use a rolling pin so just beat it into the dish and flatten with your fingers.

Prick with a fork since you don’t want it to rise.

Place in the over for about 20 minutes (180 fan – Celsius) so that it just starts changing color. If you want to be a perfectionist cover with baking parchment and fill with red or other beans to stop it from rising.

While it’s in the oven slice the apples and sprinkle with sugar (consider brown sugar for this), cinnamon and the egg white.

Take the pie base out of the oven and just place the apples in with all their juices. concentric circles work well here. Pour any remaining juices over. Melt the butter and pour that over too.

Place in a moderate oven for about half an hour more.

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Recipe: A really old Greek cook book by Sofia Skoura, Μαγειρική Ζαχαροπλαστική του Ελληνικού Σπιτιού, Athens, 1967
Photograph: Caramel-Apple Streusel Pie Recipe Uploaded by Pillsbury.com on 20 Aug 09, 9.10PM GMT.