Greek meatballs & kritharaki (orzo) in tomato sauce

Past two weeks were extremely busy for me and I didn't even have time to eat properly! What a shame! Today I'm making it up and decided to cook these delicious meatballs, served with kritharaki pasta & tomato sauce. This dish is one of the best comfort food you can think of! I mean, who doesn't like the classic combination of meatballs and pasta, right? I used kritharaki (orzo), but you can serve these amazing meatballs with any other type of pasta you like. 

Lazy cabbage rolls (leniwe gołąbki) in tomato sauce

Who doesn't love cabbage rolls? They're delicious and to die for, but there is one problem - they take a lot of time to make. This version of classic Polish cabbage rolls is a solution!

The taste is amazing, they're easy to make and you won't have to spend hours in the kitchen in order to enjoy them! Lazy cabbage rolls are quite popular in Poland - my mom makes them, when there is not enough time to make traditional ones. My reason to make these delicious food yesterday was the fact, that there was half of a cabbage sitting in the fridge and I had to figure out what to do with it. So, I thought - I've got cabbage, I've got meat - lazy cabbage rolls that is! And let me tell you - they were a hit!

Tourlou tourlou - Greek ratatouille

Tourlou - tourlou is one of these dishes one cannot stop eating! It's so rich in taste and colorful that everyone loves it. Its name means "mixed up" and basically that's what you do - you mix various vegetables into this delicious combination. I didn't know tourlou before I came to Greece - in Poland we make a vegetable stew dishes, but with completely different spicing and ingredients, so it was a very pleasant surprise for me and my taste buds. 

When I was doing a research about it, I found two ways of making it - one calls for a pot and you braise vegetables on a medium heat and the other one is made in the oven on a deep baking pan. Personally I like it made in a pot, as I'm getting more of the delicious juices this way and I just love to dip my bread in it. 

Tourlou is perfect comfort food and easy to make, it also gets better in time! So grab a big pot and make enough to enjoy it next day as well!

Polish steamed dumplings (Pampuchy) with pork stew and beetroot salad

Sometimes I really miss some Polish dishes and today was one of these days. Pampuchy are a type of yeast based dumplings, that are very popular in Poland. Depending on a region one can find them served as savory or sweet dish. I remember eating them in two versions - sweet with sauce made from fruits and cream and with stew, as in my recipe.
Also it's the first time in my life I made pampuchy from a scratch! When I lived in Poland we used to buy them precooked to save time. I must say - homemade are much better! They're really soft and fluffy and will go well with almost any type of sauce or even just with some fried onions on top. I also heard of them being stuffed with meat, groats or fruits, but never had them in such version.

Prasorizo (leeks with rice) - Greek traditional dish

Leeks. One of the rather underrated vegetables. We use it to add broth a little more taste, we put it in the salads or as extra-something in our stews and soups, but it's very rare to make leeks a star of a dish! Leeks were appreciated by the ancient Greeks and Romans - they believed eating leeks may improve voice strength and make it more clear.
Did you know that leek is one of the national emblems of Wales? There is a legend saying that King Cadwaladr of Gwynedd has ordered his army to identify themselves by wearing leeks on their helmets in a battle against Saxons. Shakespeare mentions this custom in Henry V play. Leek was even present on the coronation gown of Elizabeth II! Who would have thought?
Today, we know that leeks are great for our cardiovascular system, thanks to antioxidants, vitamin B folate and flavonoid kaempferol they contain.
So let's give leek some of the love it needs by making prasorizo!
Prasorizo is traditional Greek dish - very simple - only few ingredients are needed. Yet it's surprisingly rich in taste and simply delicious!

Pastitsio with béchamel sauce - Greek pasta casserole

Another culinary discovery from Greece! I'd say pastitsio is a Greek housewives' response to Italian lasagne. This dish is made of layers of pasta, meat sauce with spices and topped with béchamel sauce.

Delicious, rich and very filling comfort food from amazing Greece. It smells and tastes heavenly good!

In my recipe I'm using a pastitsio pasta which can be found in local stores, but you can substitute it with other type.

I'm also using kefalotyri cheese to mix with pasta and eggs. If you can't find it, you may skip it or use parmesan. 

Turkey roulades with sun dried tomatoes and mozzarella

It's one of the experimental meals I've made when I couldn't decide what to cook for a dinner. I had some turkey fillets and wanted to make something different than simply fried or with some sause. Quick look into my pantry and I've decided to create these small roulades stuffed with dried tomatoes, mozarella cheese and olives.
It's a delicious and light combination, perfect for the Summer!

Greek "little shoes" - stuffed eggplants (Papoutsakia)

Another delicious Greek dish! Now eggplants are at their peak, so I wouldn't forgive myself if I didn't make papoutsakia. The name in Greek means literally "little shoes", which I find adorable and accurate at the same time, as they do resemble little shoes when they're cooked.
These incredible stuffed eggplants are filled with aromatic meat sauce and topped with béchamel. 

It takes some time to make them, but trust me - the effort really pays off!
As with some other Greek dishes, I always make enough papoutsakia to have it for 2-3 meals.  They're as delicious as fresh or even better the next day - reheated with some melted halloumi cheese on top.

Stuffed portobello mushrooms

This dish was another culinary experiment - I got these beautiful portobello mushrooms and was wondering what to do with them. I've decided to stuff them with some of the things I already had in the fridge and it turned out delicious!
It's a food that doesn't need much preparation, a little bit of frying, then stuck in the oven and wait for it to be ready, so it's a good idea for a dinner when you don't have so much time!

Classic Greek moussaka (μουσακάς) with béchamel sauce

If you'd ask me what's an example of a Greek food, moussaka would be one of the top ten on my list. It's one of the most known Greek dishes and really worth trying if you haven't yet!
The combination of vegetables, meat and spices creates an explosion of taste in your mouth and it's really hard to stop eating once you start.

Moussaka (μουσακάς) is a type of layered casserole made with potatoes, eggplants, tomatoes and minced meat. Ideally you would use lamb meat, but pork, beef or mix of these work great too.

The secret of a great moussaka is to fry eggplants and potatoes before you make them into layers - it really does make a difference!

Buckwheat with mushrooms à la risotto

Buckwheat is a very popular ingredient in Polish cuisine and we use it in many ways - as stuffing, addition to soups, fried as cutlets or we serve it cooked with stews and sauces.
I haven't had buckwheat for a long time now, so I got pretty excited when I saw it being sold in the supermarket and immediately got an idea for this dish.
I would call it a variation of traditional Polish buckwheat with mushroom sauce with a "twist". 

Normally you would cook buckwheat in salted water and prepare mushroom sauce separately, but I've decided to make it a little bit differently.
I couldn't find any wild mushrooms like boletus ("borowik" or "prawdziwek" in Polish) so I've used portobello mushrooms as they have more taste and substance than regular white ones.

Sole fillets on celery salad and cauliflower puree

With days getting warmer, I usually get motivated to eat healthier and lose some weight before summer comes. Since I'm not a big fan of diets limiting you too much, I simply try to cut on carbohydrates - potatoes, pasta, flour, bread and replace them with low-carb alternatives.
This dish is one of the inventions I've made during my "diet" phase.

Even if you're not on a diet, try it out! It's delicious, light and very refreshing. Cauliflower makes a great alternative for potato puree if you're bored with it and celery salad goes wonderful with any type of fish or meat.

Meatballs with egg-lemon sauce (Giouvarlakia)

This is one of my favourites - and one of my discoveries after I came to Greece. I guess in every country you'll find some type of meatballs, I knew for example the Polish version with tomato or dill sauce, served with mashed potatoes. Giouvarlakia was something new and captivated me with its refreshing, lemon taste of avgolemono. 

The love story between avgolemono and me started with a pinch of scepticism, as the combination of egg and lemon was a little bit exotic to me and I really wasn't sure what to expect.

After giving it a try with giouvarlakia, my attitude changed from reserved to pretty passionate about it!

Some recipes describe giouvarlakia as soup, some others make it more into meatballs with sauce - I prefer it rather thick and love to scoop out the sauce with some bread, but it's really up to you!

Potato pancakes (Placki ziemniaczane) with mushroom sauce & garlic dip

Another dish that brings my childhood memories! Potato pancakes ("placki ziemniaczane" in Polish) are one of the most popular Polish food - crunchy, delicious and easy to make. 

This time I've decided to make them with mushroom sauce and garlic dip, but they go well with other sauces too. And if you feel adventurous - I suggest trying them with sour cream and sprinkled with sugar. This is how I used to eat them when I was a kid and believe me - however crazy it might sound, it's actually amazing!

Pierogi with cottage cheese & potato filling (Polish dumplings)

If you'd ask anyone in Poland about the typical Polish food, most likely their answer would be "pierogi ruskie". This is a classic Polish recipe - the name translates to "Russian dumplings", but it has nothing to do with Russia. It comes from the area of Red Ruthenia, called in Polish "Ruś Czerwona". It's a historical term describing territory of southeastern Poland and western Ukraine.

In Poland we make many types of pierogi - with meat, mushrooms, sauerkraut, fruits etc., but these have a special place in my heart - my grandma was making them, my mom did and now me.

Greek roasted vegetables (Briam)

This is one of the dishes I've discovered after I moved to Greece two years ago. When I came here I've started researching recipes and asking people about food their mothers used to make. I wanted to learn how to cook "greek" and bring some of the traditional tastes to my new greek home.

As I found out, briam is a variation of another greek dish called "tourlou", or at least this is how it functions in my cookbook now.
Briam acquires taste in time, so usually I make enough for 2-3 days - and basically we could eat it everyday for a week and won't get bored with it.

Spinach & feta penne

There are days, when you want something delicious but don't want to spend hours cooking - here's solution! An amazing and simple spinach & feta penne done in less than 30 minutes.