Easter Recipes
Nikchick's Recipe Page has been updated:
Galactoboureko (sweet custard and filo dessert)
Spanakopita (spinach pie)
Greek Meat/Tomato Sauce
Pasticcio ("Greek lasagna")
Greek String Beans with Olive Oil
Greek Roasted Potatoes
Stuffed Grape Leaves (dolmades)
Galactoboureko (sweet custard and filo dessert)
Spanakopita (spinach pie)
Greek Meat/Tomato Sauce
Pasticcio ("Greek lasagna")
Greek String Beans with Olive Oil
Greek Roasted Potatoes
Stuffed Grape Leaves (dolmades)
Your Easter spread looked amazing. I'm a bit jealous. Two questions for you: (1) Where did you get the chocolate quail eggs? They are beautiful! (2) Do you have a recipe/directions for preparing the lamb? My mouth watered, watered, watered seeing it brown on the grill.
Where did you find grape leaves large enough to make the dolmades you pictured? The typical pickled leaves I can find make that seem considerably smaller.
The leg of lamb roasts looked good, too, although I'd have a hard time not making shish kabob instead.
re: the "quail" eggs: I don't know where they came from! They were a gift to the kids from adult friends. Max, the youngest, shared some of his eggs with the adults and we swooned over them. I'd buy them for myself in a heartbeat.
re: the lamb: We modified a recipe that I'd used for our now defunct cooking club. The original recipe involved making a rub, slitting a bone-in leg of lamb and rubbing it generously, then cooking the whole leg on a bed of rosemary, olives, and red onions, while basting it with a red wine and balsamic mixture.
We had boneless legs, and they needed to be trimmed of fat. By the time that was done, we decided to pound the meat and roll them back up, so the "rub" ended up becoming more like a roulade. We slit the legs and studded them with garlic slivers, and generously salted and peppered the outside. We knew we wanted to grill them, so we skipped the bed of rosemary, etc. but did baste them with the red wine and balsamic (which we then reduced and served as a sauce on the side).
The unmodified recipe:
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves (tightly packed)
2 ounces lean pancetta
leaves from 4" branch of fresh rosemary
6 large garlic cloves
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup good-quality commercial balsamic vinegar
1 5- to 7-pound bone-in leg of lamb, trimmed
2 medium red onions, cut in 1" dice
1/3 cup herbed Kalamata or Sicilian black olives
2 cups dry red wine
1/2 cup water
If possible, season the lamb a day ahead and refrigerate overnight. Mince together the fresh basil, pancetta, rosemary leaves, and the garlic. Blend in the oil, dried basil, salt, and pepper. Make 20 deep wide slits all over the lamb and stuff all but 3 Tablespoons of the mixture. Rub the rest over the meat. Lightly cover and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread onions, rosemary branches, and olives in a shallow roasting pan. Set the lamb on them. Roase 20 minutes. Pour 1/4 cup of the balsamic and 1 cup of the red wine over the meat. Roast 1 houre, basting often. Add another 1/2 cup wine. Roast 20 minutes or until meat reaches 130 degrees F (for medium rare).
Transfer lamb to platter and keep warm. Set the roasting pan over two burners and stir in the remaining 2 Tablespoons Balsamic. Boil and stir until thick and syrupy. Add the remaining 1/2 cup wine and boil down by two thirds, then stir in water. Stir until sauce is "rich-tasting" (about 2 minutes). Discard the rosemary. Serve warm sauce with lamb, onions, and olives.
Whole Foods had the chocolate quail eggs. I don't know if you can still find them, but it's worth a look.
It was a pleasure cooking with you, Nicole. I don't know if I could do such an ambitious project with anyone else without loosing my mind.