Savory pie with Spetzofai

Spetzofai is a traditional dish of central Greece. It is made of fried sausages with red sweet peppers, lots of onions and tomato. Very delicious!

Today me and Stratis were thinking what to cook for dinner. Stratis came up with an idea of a savory pie so I was googling around a bit to find a new recipe. The usual spinach an feta cheese pie is of course wonderful but sometimes you really want something different. When we saw a spetzofai pie, we both got excited. Normally, the stuffing is served separately, as a main course, so combining it in a pie was a rather interesting variation. I thought I might give it a try and it was very good! A bit spicy but really really good!

INGREDIENTS:

For the dough:

200 gr flour

100 gr cold butter, cut in cubes

1 egg

1 pinch safran

1/2 tsp salt

For the Spetzofai:

2 Greek "choriatiko" sausages, cut in 1 cm thick pieces (you could use bratwurst or something similar instead)

300 gr Pancetta, cut in thin stripes

3 tbsp olive oil

2 large red onions, sliced

2 red horn peppers, seeded and sliced

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tsp chilly flakes

2 tbsp tomato puree

1/2 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped

1/2 cup spring onions, chopped

1/2 cup dry red wine

salt to taste

1. First prepare the dough. Sieve the flour with the salt, add the cubes of butter and work with your hands. You should get "sand-looking" mix. Add the remaining ingredients, mix well and work with your hands until the dough is smooth. Place in a bowl, cover with a kitchen towel and place in the fridge.

2. Prepare the Spetzofai. In a large pan hit the oil. Add the pieces of sausage and pancetta and brown over a strong heat.

3. Add sliced peppers, onions, garlic, tomato puree and chilly flakes, cover and cook until the vegetables are soft. Add the wine, parsley, spring onions, season to taste and set aside.

4. Take 2/3 of the dough and roll out a sheet big enough to cover a baking tray about 25cm in diameter. Place the sheet on the tray, fold all the stuffing on top of it and spread evenly. From the remaining dough roll out another sheet, place it on top of the stuffing and with your fingers or a fork seal the edges. Brush with some oil and bake in a preheated oven at 200°C for about 30 minutes or until the pie is golden brown.

Chicken Fajitas

I don't know how does this happen, but every time I go shopping for something I finally buy something completely different! Like today for example, we went to buy candles and ended up in front of the stand with ingredients for ethnic food. So, eventually, we bought tortilla wraps, special spice mix and Mexican salsa and made Fajitas for dinner! Yum!

INGREDIENTS:

4 large corn tortillas

1 whole skinless, boneless chicken breast

1 medium onion, cut in wedges

1 green and 1 red bell peppers, sliced

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 cup spring onions, finely chopped

3 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped

juice of half lime

1 cup canned red kidney beans, mushed

2 tbsp avocado oil for frying (I used chilly flavored avocado oil for extra spicy taste)

3 tbsp fajitas spice mix dissolved in 1/2 cup water

1 cup Mexican salsa (I chose mild salsa but it's totally up to you!)

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp hot smoked chilly flakes

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Guacamole or low-fat thick yogurt to serve (optional)

1. Season the chicken breast with salt and pepper and grill it until golden outside and cooked through. Cut in small stripes.

2. In a heavy pan heat the oil. Stir fry the peppers, onions and garlic. Do not overcook the vegetables! They should be slightly cooked but still crunchy. Set aside.

3. Pour some more oil to the pan and add the chicken, diced tomatoes, salsa and fajitas mix and cook for few minutes until the most of the liquid evaporates.

4. Return the vegetables to the pan and add spring onions, parsley and lime juice. Mix well, season with coriander, chilly flakes, salt and pepper and set aside, allowing for flavors to mix.

5. Brush the tortillas with some oil and warm them in a pan.

6. Divide the mushed kidney beans in 4 parts and spread each part over one tortilla. Place some of the chicken mix in the middle of the tortilla, pour some guacamole or yogurt if using, and roll into a tight wrap. Enjoy!

Greek herbs & spices

Before continuing with recipes I thought it would be a good idea to describe the spices that I constantly use and always have in my kitchen. These are typical Greek spices, some of them very popular and others less known abroad. I will try to translate the names and explain how they look and where to use them, to spice up your food.

Dry oregano and basil: Basic spices used in almost all Greek meat and fish dishes, salads as well as all tomato-based sauces. It doesn't matter if the oregano is actually Greek or from other countries as long as it was growing in the mountains. The best oregano grows at sunny spots, where the soil is dry and infertile and only the flowers should be dried and used, as those contain high percentage of oils that make the food smell like summer on a plate. On the other hand, basil could be used both dry and fresh. Lately I have a pot of basil growing in my kitchen so I could have it fresh any time.

Dry thyme: gives amazing smell, especially when used in a sauce together with white wine. Similar to oregano and basil could be used in a large variety of dishes from salads to all kind of meat. Also matches perfectly with cheeses, particularly creamy ones.

Boukovo: crashed dried red chilly peppers. You could find it in two versions: hot or sweet (less spicy than the hot one). Commonly, used to marinade red meat or give spicy flavor to sauces. Otherwise, could be used in a same way as cayenne pepper.

Kimino = cumin, either seeds or ground. Originally from India, now used almost in all spicy cousines, like for example Mexican. In Greece, it is mostly used to spice up minced meet dishes, such as meatballs, burgers, soutzoukakia etc. Sometimes could be added to breads.

Bahari = either Jamaican pepper or Guinea grains or allspice. Looks just like black pepper grains, just a bit bigger and smells slightly different. Typically bahari is added to stews (stifado) and tomato-based sauces. In Amsterdam I usually buy it in Turkish stores although I have the feeling that it is slightly different from the one I bring from Greece.

Kanella - cinnamon, either stick or ground and Garifalo = clove, either whole or ground. These are the spices that you either love or hate. Mostly used in traditional deserts. You could use the cinnamon sticks and whole clove to flavor the syrup for baklava or other similar sweets. On the other hand ground cinnamon could also be used for spicing red meat, chicken or tomato-based sauces. This is very common in Konstantinoupoli (today Istanbul) cousine. Just make sure you don't use too much of it, otherwise you risk making your food bitter. By the way, there is a great Greek movie that I highly recommend to everybody. The movie is called "Politiki Kouzina" (Touch of spice) and it presents recent Greek history as well as Greek food-philosophy.

I think I covered the most important ones. Of course there are many many more, but these are the most typical and widely used.