YOUVETSI
1 kg meat (lamb, veal or chicken), 1/2 glass oil, 4-5 ripe tomatoes, 1/2 kg barley-shaped noodles, 1 cup grated cheese, salt, pepper.
Cut the meat into small pieces, wash
and place in an oven or an
earthen -ware dish
(one can also use five or six individual
Youvetsi dishes), salt and pepper and cover
with the purred tomatoes, add the oil and
a cup of water. Cook in a medium oven. When nearly cooked add four glasses hot water, the noodles and salt to taste. Stir and return to oven. Leave for approximately fifteen minutes. Sprinkle with grated cheese and serve.
MEAT PIE
Pastry: 1/2 kg flour, 1 yogurt, 1 glass oil, salt. Filling: 1 kg lean meat (lamb, goat or veal), 1 kg cottage cheese (mizithra), 1 glass staka or butter, salt, cinnamon, pepper, mint.
Boil the meat. Cut into small pieces and sprinkle
with salt, cinnamon and pepper. Knead the dough
and place half in a lightly oiled oven dish,
spreading evenly by hand to cover the whole surface.
On top of the dough spread half the cottage cheese
and half the staka. Spinkle with a little cinnamon
and mint. Add the meat and half a cup of the
meat stock in order to soften the dough. Cover
with the remainder of the cottage cheese and
sprinkle with cinnamon and mint. Roll out a thick sheet of pastry with the remainder of the dough. Place pastry on top of pie and trim edge. Brush top lightly with egg and sprinkle with sesame seed. Bake in a slow oven for approximately one hour.
RABBIT STIFADA
1 rabbit, 1 glass oil, 1 1/2 tumblers wine, 1 cup vinegar, salt, oregano, 3 bay leaves, 5-6 cloves, 5-6 peppercorns, buttermilk, 5-6 onions, 1/2 kg tomatoes, red pepper, cumin, 5-6 garlic cloves
Wash the rabbit well, cut into segments and place
in a pot with salt and 3 bay leaves. Leave it to boil
on a low heat until it absorbs the liquid. Add the oil
and the cloves, the pepper and a little buttermilk
and brown. Pour in half the tumbler of wine and leave
to boil until all liquid has been absorbed. Remove the
rabbit from the pot. In pot place onions, coarsely cut.
Once onions are soft, remove half then place rabbit on top of the onions in the pot and cover with the remaining onions. Cover with tomatoes that have been skinned and crushed, some red pepper, oregano, cumin and garlic. Add 1 glass wine and the vinegar. Cover pot and cook on low heat without adding water.
LAMB WITH ARTICHOKES
1 kg meat, 10 artichoke hearts, 1 cup oil, onions, 1 small bunch dill or fennel, salt, pepper, 3 eggs, 2 lemons, 1 spoon flour
Lightly brown meat in oil, add a little water and simmer. In the meantime clean artichokes and place in a basin of water withh salt, lemon and a
little flour in order to prevent discoloration of artichokes.
When the meat has boiled add the artichokes, onions,
dill or fennel finely chopped a little water and cover the
pot. Do not uncover pot to prevent artichokes from
discoloring but shake it from time to time. When the
food is cooked turn off the stove and prepare the egg
lemon sauce. Add lemon juice and a little of the stock
taken from the pot to the flour and pour over the food.
In addition to the artichokes a few potatoes could be added.
CHICKEN WITH OKRA
1 chicken , 1 onion, 1 kg okra, 5-6 tomatoes, 1 glass oil, 1 small spoon sugar, lemon or vinegar
Slice onions and brown in oil, add chicken pieces and
brown evenly by turning regularly. Add skinned and
crushed or finely chopped tomatoes, salt, pepper, and a
little water. Allow to cook over slow heat. When half
cooked remove pieces of chicken with a slotted spoon.
In the meantime the okra should have been washed and
cleaned and left to marinate for 1 2 hours in the lemon
or vinegar. Then place the okra in the pot adding a little
water, salt and a small apoon of sugar. Cover the pot with
a plate placed upside down and allow to cook at a medium heat without stirring but occasiomally shaking the pot. Once the okra is cooked add the chicken.
BROWNED GOAT WITH POTATOES
1 1/2 kg goat meat, 1/2 kg potatoes, 1 cup oil, 1 small onion, 1 kg tomatoes, salt, pepper
Lightly brown meat and onion in oil. Add tomatoes skinned
and finely chopped, salt and pepper and a little water
and leave to simmer. When half cooked remove meat from
the pot and add the potatoes. When the potatoes are half
cooked separete to one side and replace meat on the other
side. Cover the pot with a plate and allow to simmer for a
further ¾ hour.
