Volume 10, Issue 082 - April 25, 2006

Good Day ,

"I'm Greek," says Kyrtatas. "So Mediterranean food is second nature for me. I was raised with it, it's in my blood. It's the food I love to cook, the food I love to serve my family, friends and colleagues and simply the food I'm most proud of. But I don't believe you have to be from the Mediterranean to love the food or to make it and make it well."

Big Fat Greek Fact #1:

Since Greece has a year-round temperate climate, it has never really developed a soup tradition. Most Greek soups are simple to prepare. Vegetable, bean, and fish soups are the most popular. Avgolemono (a mixture of egg and lemon juice) gives many traditional soups a burst of flavor.

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Greek Lemon Soup
"Avgolemono"

This is the traditional wedding soup in Greece. It is light and not too filling and is just the right soup to serve when having many courses.

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
3 lemons, freshly squeezed
1/2 tablespoon dill
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
5 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup hot cooked long-grain rice
1 cup boiled and diced chicken

Preparation:

Heat chicken broth and water in a sauce pan. Add lemon juice, dill, salt and pepper.

Place eggs in a large serving bowl. Stirring constantly, slowly add broth to the bowl with the egg mixture. Add rice and diced chicken.

Serve hot. Garnish with fresh parsley, if you like.

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Big Fat Greek Fact #2:

Souvlakia is the Greek national street food. In Greece there are restaurants called souvlatzidikos that specialize in souvlakia. They serve souvlakia either wrapped in pita bread (called souvlakia-pita) or straight from the skewer (kalamaki). Souvlakia are also stuffed into pitas with tomatoes, onions, tzatziki, and oftentimes, French fires.

Big Fat Greek Fact #3:

Cucumbers are one of the oldest cultivated vegetables and were eaten by ancient Greeks and Romans. Greek cooks don't really "cook" anything with cucumbers. The are eaten plain with salt, included in the classic Greek salad and blended into dips such as the following tzatziki, a garlicky yogurt-cucumber dip.

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Meat Kabobs
"Souvlakia"

This is a great summertime dish to make on the BBQ. I like to invite my closest friends and family to my house and we eat the souvlakia hot from the grill. Bet you can't eat just one? A great tip: top the souvlakia with tzaziki sauce and serve in a toasted pita bread.

Makes 6 to 8 kabobs

Ingredients:

3 pounds lamb, beef, pork, or chicken, cubed
2 onions, quartered
2 green bell peppers, seeds removed, cut in 1 inch squares
2 tomatoes, cut in 1 inch squares
10 mushroom caps
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons each salt and pepper
3 lemons, quartered

Preparation:

Arrange meat on skewers, alternating meat with vegetables. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with oregano, salt and pepper.

Preheat the broiler or barbecue and grill for about 10 minutes, turning once or twice, until meat is the temperature that you like.

Squeeze lemon juice over the kabobs and serve hot.

Garlic Cucumber Dip
"Tzaziki"

Makes 5 cups

Ingredients:

4 cups plain yogurt (sour cream can be substituted)
2 cucumbers, seeded and grated
4 teaspoons olive oil
3 tablespoons white vinegar
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 tablespoons finely chopped dill
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preparation:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

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