Religious Tourism Cookbook

We would like to present you an international kitchen. We took recipes from some of the best Greek chefs.
In our region some specific ingredients are not always available. So we decide to put something on our own.

You can feed with it six to eight people. So it will be perfect for the family dinner or meeting with your “foodie” friends.

Approx. cost of the dinner – 30€

Pilaf with mushrooms and carrot

Recipe: Niki Chrysanthidou

Materials
– 400 gr. rice, preferably basmati or other rice for pilaf of our choice, such as jasmine, carolina etc.
– 250 gr. white mushrooms, well wiped with a damp towel, cut into thin slices
– 2 medium carrots, peeled and grated on the thick side of the grater
– 2 cloves garlic, melted (or as much garlic as we want)
– 800 ml of water
– 1 teaspoon Soup of fresh lemon juice
– 1/3 bunch parsley, finely chopped (without the thick stalks)
– 100 ml olive oil
– salt, freshly ground pepper

Procedure
In a large saucepan, sauté the mushrooms over high heat for about 2-3 minutes, without fat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until their liquids evaporate. Add the olive oil, garlic, carrot, mix gently and continue sautéing for about 2 more minutes, until slightly softened. Add water, salt and freshly ground pepper and cook for about 2 minutes or until it starts to boil.

Add the rice, lower the temperature to medium to low, stir gently, cover the pot with the lid and simmer for about 18 minutes, until the rice softens and drinks all its liquids. Remove from the heat, sprinkle with the parsley, stir gently and leave for 2-3 minutes to “rest”.

Serve the pilaf with freshly ground pepper and accompany with gruyere saganaki and barley nuts.

Roast beef casserole with dried sour cherry sauce

Recipe: Christoforos Peskias

Materials

For the calf

• 2 kg beef steak, weighed without bone, in a single piece
• 2 medium carrots, peeled, whole
• 3 sprigs of celery, coarsely chopped (Rel. Tour team used parsley)
• 2 medium onions, in medium pieces
• 6 cloves garlic, with peels
• 400 ml Xinomavro (Rel. Tour team used Freschello)
• 550 ml  vegetable broth

• 3 large sprigs of fresh rosemary
• 4-5 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 80 ml olive oil
• salt, freshly ground pepper

For the dried sour cherry sauce

• 120 gr. dried sour cherries (in nuts)
• 120 ml brandy (Rel. Tour team used Whiskey)
• salt, freshly ground pepper

Procedure

Calf:Season the meat with salt and pepper. In a large saucepan, heat the oil over high heat and sauté the meat for about 10 minutes, until it is well browned on all sides and comes off without much difficulty from the pan. Take it out on a plate. Pour half the oil and add the celery, carrots, onions and garlic to the rest and sauté for 1-2 minutes. Put the meat back in the pot together with its juices. Add the wine, the broth and the herbs. The liquid should half cover the meat and not cover it. This is the difference between grilled and boiled. For proper baking, we use a thermometer. We have it, if possible, permanently inserted in the center of the piece and we monitor its temperature. Cover with a lid and bake for about 45 minutes, until the temperature in the center of the meat reaches from 57 to 60 ° C, for moderately cooked. If you wish, bake more, but be careful not to let it dry. Once it is ready, transfer it to a plate. Cover with foil and leave it in a warm place until the sauce is ready. During this time, the meat “rests”, its juices are redistributed and it becomes evenly juicy.

Sauce:Attach a fine strainer over a large bowl and empty the entire contents of the pot. With a spoon we start to press all the ingredients until they get all their juice and the garlic their creamy flesh. Put the whole thing in the pot and boil on low heat for 3-4 minutes, skimming around the thick, creamy foam that comes out. Add the brandy, the sour cherries, season with salt and pepper and cook for another 10-15 minutes, over high heat. Pour in the pot and the juices that the meat took out while it was resting, and after 1 minute remove from the heat. With a hand blender, beat the sauce to bind and homogenize. Cut the meat with a good knife into thin slices. Put it on a plate and serve the sauce in a saucepan, so that everyone can put as much as they want.

Green beans with cucumber, mint and roast beef

Recipe: Christoforos Peskias

Materials

• 500 gr. beef steak against, without bone, cut into sticks 0.5 cm thick.
• 1/2 kg fresh or frozen beans, peeled and cut in half
• 3 small cucumbers, in thin slices
• 3 Florin peppers, in thin sticks
• the leaves of 1/2 bunch of fresh mint, finely chopped
• 100 ml olive oil
• salt, freshly ground pepper

For the marinade

• 30-50 ml lemon juice
• 1/2 small chili pepper (if we like hot, we can put the whole pepper)
• 1 teaspoon sweet lemon zest
• 40 gr. Brown sugar
• 50 ml olive oil

Procedure

Beat in the food processor that we have the marinade ingredients until they become a thick cream. Pour half the amount into a bowl and spread the rest on the steak sticks. Cover with cling film and leave in the fridge for 30 minutes, to marinate.

At the same time, in a deep saucepan with plenty of boiling salted water, boil the beans for 8-10 minutes, until slightly softened. Take them out with a slotted spoon and put them for 2 minutes in a deep bowl with cold water, so that the boiling stops, and they retain their green color. Drain and pour into a salad bowl.

Take the meat out of the fridge and wipe it gently with kitchen paper. In a pan, heat 50 ml of olive oil over high heat and “cook” the meat for about 4-5 minutes or until cooked as we like.

Sprinkle the steak with its oil on the beans, add the onion, cucumber, peppers and mint. Mix the remaining olive oil in the bowl with the marinade that we had kept aside and pour over the salad. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer as much as you want to a bowl.

Salad with grapes and felt kefalotyri

Recipe: Nena Ismirnoglou

Materials

• 1 French salad, coarsely chopped
• 1 bunch of portulaca, coarsely chopped
• 2 chicory, coarsely chopped
• 2 cups grapes of our choice, cut in half
• 3 spring onions, finely chopped
• 20 gr. raw pistachios (crumbs), coarsely chopped
• 80 gr. niotiko (or other) kefalotyri or gruyere, in thin slices with the filler
• 30 gr. thin slices of louza or prosciutto (in grocery stores and delicacies)
• salt, freshly ground pepper

For the dressing

• 1/2 cup grapes beaten in a food processor for a few seconds until finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons mint soup, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon spicy mustard soup
• 30 ml lemon juice
• 60 ml olive oil
• 1 small chili pepper or 1/4 tsp. sweet cayenne pepper

Procedure

Stir in the greens, chicory, grapes, onion and salt and pepper. Mix all the ingredients for the dressing and pour over the salad. Top with peanuts, cheese and cold cuts and serve with sesame breadsticks.