deVOL Recipes: Helen’s Greek Feast
14th April 2016
We’ve been doing lots and lots of cooking at Cotes Mill recently. Making beautiful, fresh dishes for our staff and customers to eat. Food is something that we all have a passion for here at deVOL, whether it’s cooking it or eating it, or both, and I suppose cooking and kitchens go hand-in-hand, so it seems so right for us to be making all of this lovely food in our lovely showroom kitchens.
We are going to be sharing all of our favourite deVOL recipes on the blog, so you can have a go at making these delicious dishes for your friends and family too. We would love you to let us know if you try any of them out!
First up, our creative director Helen is going to share the recipes for her greek feast, an incredible mix of juicy lamb koftas, tabbouleh, tzatziki and spanakopita.
L A M B K O F T A S
A N O T E F R O M H E L E N :
The quantities for koftas are not specific, which I like because I don’t like to follow any instructions. I like to just go with a feel and these koftas work whatever ratio or quantities of each ingredient you use. The most important part of the dish, and of course any dish, is use lovely ingredients to start with and then it will always taste good. While you are mixing up the ingredients soak your kebab sticks in water so when they go on the bbq or grill they won’t burn. When I’m making these koftas I always mix it all up then fry a little ball of the mixture and taste , then add more of whatever’s lacking, better safe than sorry. Bland is a no no but so is too spicy!! So it’s definitely worth the effort.
Get yourself a big bowl and a nice big work surface, under an olive tree would be good!!! And start mixing…………
I N G R E D I E N T S
2/3 minced Lamb
1/3 minced beef
Good few pinches of ground cumin and mild chilli powder
Good dollop of harissa paste to taste
Garlic minced up with a little salt in the pestle and mortar
Large handful of parsley chopped up, the flat leaf kind and small pieces otherwise they poke out of the mixture and burn
Sea Salt and lots of ground pepper
You’ll also need some wooden skewers
M E T H O D
Mix the whole lot together with your hands, don’t squash the ingredients too much but really mix it up well. Then form a sausage shape and slide onto the wooden skewer and give a gentle squeeze. The mixture will bind well so no need for eggs or bread, just treat them with respect when you put them on the bbq, don’t throw them around or keep moving them early on or they will collapse. Once a crust has formed they get a bit more sturdy, I like to cook them hot and quick so they are really dark and crispy on the outside but still juicy inside.
T A B B O U L E H
A N O T E F R O M H E L E N :
This amazing salad is another throw it all in type of dish, it originates from the Lebanon. The recipe varies in the amount of bulgur wheat used, I guess it’s a regional or family thing. I much prefer it with a suggestion of bulgur wheat rather than lots, it’s more refreshing and light.
I N G R E D I E N T S
Very tasty tomatoes, it’s not worth doing with watery insipid looking ones. Squeeze out all the seeds and liquid, then chop into small dice
A big bunch of flat leaf parsley, chopped finely, use about the same amount of tomatoes as parsley
Cook a small amount of bulgur wheat, about a teacup full in boiling water for 20 mins.
A few lemons
Lots of really good olive oil
Sea salt and ground black pepper
M E T H O D
Find a lovely big bowl and mix the tomatoes and parsley, then add a little bulgur wheat so it is just visible running through the salad. Then go crazy with the olive oil and lemon juice, tasting all the time until you get a sharp fresh flavour that packs a punch. Best eaten sooner rather than a day later.
T Z A T Z I K I
A N O T E F R O M H E L E N :
Tzatziki is good with all sorts of meals and so easy to make, a big spoonful on a hot curry is great, or any bbq meats. Its cool sharp taste cuts through rich meat and is so much healthier than mayo. Sometimes as I’m mixing it and before I put the seasonings in, I think it would make a good spa treatment for the face, cool cucumber and yogurt especially after a day in the greek sunshine.
I N G R E D I E N T S
Big pot of Greek yogurt
1 cucumber
Salt and pepper
1 lemon
A dollop of mint sauce
M E T H O D
Grate the whole cucumber then lay in a clean tea towel and squeeze out the liquid, mix into a pot of Greek yogurt in a big bowl. Season with salt and pepper, the juice of one lemon and a good dollop of mint sauce. You can use fresh mint too, but the readymade stuff gives more of a kick.
To finish off the dish I like to drizzle olive oil over the top and sprinkle with cayenne for heat or paprika for colour. It just finishes off the dish and makes it looks extra pretty.
S P A N A K O P I T A
A N O T E F R O M H E L E N :
Another dish with lots of variations from Greece and Turkey. Cigar boreks are a favourite of my family, the little cigar shaped rolls of pastry with feta filling you can buy on the street in Turkey. Well spanakopita is the same really just made in a big pie dish. It’s super easy and super impressive and super tasty!!!
I N G R E D I E N T S
Pack of filo
Pack of feta (crumble the whole pack)
1/ 2 Bag of frozen spinach (defrost and squeeze out all the liquid)
Pine nuts (toast them dry in a pan til brown)
Good grate of fresh nutmeg
Two free range eggs beaten
Olive oil
M E T H O D
Find a really pretty wide shallow oven proof dish of Mediterranean origin if possible and brush olive oil all over the inside. Lay around 2 – 3 sheets of filo brushed with oil and butter inside and hanging over the edges.
Mix the feta and defrosted squeezed spinach in a bowl, grate in some nutmeg and the toasted pine nuts, season and then mix the eggs in gently. Go easy on the salt as feta is already really salty, in fact I would recommend leaving it out if you’re not keen on salty food. Don’t make the mixture too gloopy, try to keep the structure of the different ingredients. Dollop inside the filo and then fold the overhanging pastry on top of the ingredients. Then scrunch a couple more sheets of oiled filo up and place on top of the mixture so the whole top is covered in a light layer of filo. Cook at about 200 degrees for around 20 – 30 mins until golden brown.
S E R V E I T A L L U P…..
A N D T U C K I N !
