When vegetarians come to dinner - The Best from Greece

Posted on: 04/Dec/2011 If your friends eat neither meat nor fish but you want the meal to be special, try this balanced menu by chef Myrsini Lambraki. It begins with a spicy carrot soup and little Cretan herb pies before moving on to an unusual salad combination and a hearty pastitsio made of tagliatelle with spinach and a cheesy crust. For some, the best will come last -- a hot baked chocolate cream with sweet wine from pastry chef Stelios Parliaros. A meal for eight at the relatively low cost of around 70 euros.

RECIPES

Carrot soup
Ingredients

8 large carrots (preferably organic) peeled and cut in large chunks
3 large potatoes (preferably organic)
3 large onions cut in thick rings
1 lt vegetable stock
2 cups dry white wine
1/2 tbsp curry (or coriander powder or paprika)
8 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
2 tbsp grated carrot (for the garnish)
1 tbsp brown or white sugar
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 180C.
Spread the carrots over a small baking dish with the onions.
Douse them with the wine, half the olive oil, the salt and pepper, curry (or coriander or paprika) and bake for about 30 minutes until soft.
Meanwhile, boil the potatoes in plenty of salted water until soft. Peel and set aside.
Put the contents of the baking dish in a blender with any liquid still left and puree together with the potatoes and 2 cups of the stock. Empty the puree into a saucepan. Add the rest of the stock and boil for 10 minutes.
Test and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
Heat the rest of the oil in a frying pan and saute the ginger, grated carrot and sugar for 4-5 minutes, stirring continually until caramelized.
Serve the soup with a teaspoon of the garnish in each bowl.

Little Cretan pies
Ingredients (for about 30 pies)

2 beaten eggs
Sesame seeds
For the pastry
1 kg soft flour
2 cups warm water
4 tbsp raki or tsipouro
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
For the filling
1 net kg wild greens (mixed), cleaned and finely chopped
1 finocchio, grated finely, or a bunch of fennel, finely chopped
2 bunches shallots (including the green part) finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
Leaves of 3 bunches of mint or dill, finely chopped
1/2 kg grated manouri cheese
4 tbsp flour
Salt and pepper

Filling
Saute the greens, finocchio and shallots in a little olive oil for about 3 minutes. Add the mint or dill, cheese, flour, salt and pepper. Mix all the ingredients well.
Pastry
Put the flour in a large bowl, make a well in the center. Pour the water, raki, olive oil and salt into the well and begin kneading, working all the ingredients together. Roll out the pastry to a thickness of about 1 cm and cut it into 8x8 cm squares.
Preheat the oven to 200C.
Place two spoonfuls of filling into the middle of each pastry square. Wet the 4 sides of the pastry and turn them in to the middle. Brush the pies with the beaten eggs and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Place the pies on an oiled baking tray and bake for about half an hour, until golden. Can be eaten hot, cold or at room temperature.

Green salad with dried figs and nuts
Ingredients

2 red and 2 green Lola (curly) lettuce heads
1 endive
1 bunch rocket (the thick stems removed)
4 shallots (including the green part), finely chopped
4 dried figs, finely chopped
8 walnuts, roughly chopped
For the dressing
8 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp honey
Juice of a large lemon
1 tsp zest of unwaxed lemon (preferably organic)
Salt and pepper

Cut greens into large pieces and place in a bowl. Add the shallots and mix. Add half the figs and walnuts.
Put all the dressing ingredients in a glass jar, close the jar tightly and shake until well blended.
Pour the dressing over the salad, mix well and transfer to a platter. Sprinkle the rest of the figs and walnuts on top and serve immediately.

Vegetarian pastitsio
Ingredients

500 gr tagliatelle
1/2 cup olive oil
2 large onions, finely chopped
2 celery sticks, finely chopped
1 kg spinach, cleaned, roughly chopped
1 cup dill, finely chopped
200 gr katiki cheese
300 gr grated feta cheese
2 lightly beaten eggs (preferably organic)
Salt and pepper
For the bechamel sauce
3 tbsp olive oil
3-4 tbsp cornflour
2 cups fresh milk
2 egg yolks (preferably organic)
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
3 tbsp grated kefalograviera cheese
Salt

Heat the olive oil over a low flame and add the cornflour, mixing continually with a wooden spoon so no lumps form, making sure it doesn’t get too thick.
Remove the pan from the heat and when cooled slightly, add the egg yolks, continuing to stir. Add the cold milk and return to the hub, simmering and stirring until the sauce thickens.
Remove from the hub, add the cheese and nutmeg, and salt if necessary.
Boil the tagliatelle in salted water according to the instructions on the packet. Strain and place in a bowl of cold water so they don’t stick.
For the vegetable mixture
Meanwhile, boil the spinach in a heavy-based saucepan, without any water.
Wilt it over a low heat, covered, until all the liquid has evaporated (about 10 minutes), then strain.
Heat half the oil and saute the onion and celery for 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Add the spinach, onion and celery, dill, cheese and mix.
Add the eggs, salt, pepper, the rest of the oil and 2 cups of the bechamel. Mix well.
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Oil a large Pyrex dish. Strain the pasta, dry it on kitchen paper and spread a third of it in a layer on the bottom of the Pyrex dish.
Then spread half the vegetable mixture on top of it and repeat the layers, ending with vegetables. Spread the rest of the bechamel over the top and sprinkle, if desired, with some more of the grated cheese.
Bake for about 45 minutes. Let cool a little before cutting into portions and serve.

Baked chocolate cream
Ingredients

250 gr bitter chocolate (70 percent cocoa)
400 gr cream (35 percent fat)
70 gr whole milk
6 egg yolks (preferably organic)
80 gr sugar
60 gr sweet wine (preferably Mavrodaphne)

Heat the milk and cream until 90C. If you don’t have a kitchen thermometer, remove from the hob before it starts to boil.
Break up the chocolate into small pieces in a bowl and pour the hot milk-cream mixture over them. Leave for 3 minutes and then mix slowly with a spatula to make a smooth cream.
In another bowl, beat the yolks and the sugar with a whisk and add to the chocolate mixture. Stir, adding the wine.
Preheat the oven to 160-170C.
Fill eight individual fireproof bowls with the mixture and stand them in a baking tray, adding water to the tray to reach two thirds of the way up of the sides of the bowls.
Bake for 10-12 minutes. When removed from the oven, the cream in the center of the bowls should still be slightly liquid.
Dust with cocoa powder if desired, and serve.

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