Easter Monday's Greek Recipes

For the Greeks, Easter is regarded as the greatest celebration of the year. The festive pascal menu includes a wide variety of traditional foods such as magiritsa (the midnight soup), ovelias (seasoned lamb or goat on the skew), kokoretsi (seasoned lamb offal wrapped in chopped indestines), tsoureki (a kind of brioche-fluffy easter bread) and flaounes in Cyprus (easter cheese pies) and, of course, the easter eggs. They are mostly painted red on Holy Thursday and symbolise Christ's blood. However, other colours can be used such as green, blue and yellow to symbolise springtime and the fertility of nature. During the Midnight Easter Supper and the Easter Lunch each person chooses an egg and raps it against another's egg. The one whose egg survives and remains uncracked is considered lucky.

A. GREEK EASTER EGGS

You will need
1 package of  easter eggs  dye
1/2 cup white vinegar
12 eggs, at room temperature
olive oil for glazing

Procedure
1.Wash eggs carefully to remove any dirt.

2.Place the eggs in a large stainless steel pot, preferably in a single layer, cover with water, add some white vinegar and  bring to a boil for about 10 minutes. Turn off heat.

3. Dilute the dye powder in a cup of warm water and add it to the eggs stirring lightly.

5.Check for colour after 10-15 minutes, remove eggs that  have reached the desired colour and cool slightly on a rack.

6.Rub each egg with an oiled cloth to glaze the surface and polish with kitchen paper.

7.Keep dyed eggs in the fridge until ready to use.

Tips
1. The eggs must be left at room temperature for about an hour before boiling them.

.2. A natural red dye can be made from yellow onion skins. Just simmer the skins of 15 yellow onions with 2 Tbs white vinegar and 4 ½ cups water for 30 minutes. Strain and let cool until it reaches room temperature. The result will be an orange colored liquid. Simmer eggs, covered, in this liquid, and they will turn a lovely red color.  Turn heat off after 20 minutes and leave to cool with the eggs that have not attained the desired depth of colour yet.

B. MAGIRITSA - Easter Midnight Soup

INGREDIENTS

a lamb's liver

heart lights and intestines

juice of 3 lemons

 salt

6 spring onions, trimmed, rinsed and finely sliced

 25 gr. butter (about 1/2 cup)

2 cos lettuces, trimmed, shredded and rinsed carefully (use only their young leaves and hearts)

 a cup of fresh dill or fennel, rinsed and finely chopped

a cup of finely chopped parsley

1.2 lt hot water

 salt and black pepper

60 gr. rice (about 1 cup)

avgolemono sauce (egg and lemon sauce)

2 eggs

juice of 2 lemons 
 
METHOD
Rinse all the meat. Turn the intestines inside out with the help of a thin stick and rinse them thoroughly. Rub them with salt and lemon juice and rinse them again. Cube them into small portions. In a large saucepan, sautee the onions in the butter, until they start to change colour. Add the chopped intestines, liver, lights and heart, fry together for a few minutes, stirring. Add the shredded lettuces and all the fresh herbs and sautee for a few more minutes. Add the hot water, and seasoning, cover and cook for 30 minutes. Then add the rice and cook for a further 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let it stand for 10 minutes, before proceeding with the avgolemono sauce. Add the Avgolemono Sauce* to the soup, stirring. Return to a very gentle heat for 2 minutes, stirring at the same time. It should be by now a relatively thick soup.

*Avgolemono Sauce

Lightly beat 2 eggs. Add the lemon juice and beat again. Add 3-4 spoonfuls from the soup and stir to mix. Then add the avgolemono to the soup stirring well.

C. FLAOUNES - Easter Cheese Pies

Makes about 12.

Ingredients
Yeast dough
1 ½ lbs (750gr) strong plain flour,
1 sachet easy bake yeast,
1 teaspoon salt,
2 teaspoons sugar,
2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil, water to mix.

Cheese filling
8oz (250gr) cheddar cheese ot 12oz flaouna cheese if available,
4oz (100gr) halloumi,
1 tablespoon flour,
1 teaspoon baking powder,
1 tablespoon crushed dried Mint,
4 eggs, lightly beaten.

To finish
1 egg, beaten,
sesame seeds.

Method
Sift flour into a large bowl. Stir in the yeast, salt and sugar. Add the oil and enough water to make a firm dough. Knead for at least 5 minutes until smooth and elastic. Put the dough in a plastic bag and leave in a warm place for an hour to rise.
For the filling, coarsely grate the cheeses, add the flour and baking powder then gradually stir in the beaten egg and seasonings until you have a stiffish paste ( keep some of the beaten egg back if the mixture becomes too runny).
Divide the dough into egg sized pieces and roll these into 4'' (10cm) discs.
Place a generous tablespoon of filling in the centre of each pastry disc, spreading it slightly. Pull dough up at 3 points to make a triangle, or 4 points to make a square. You should stilll be able to see the filling in the middle.
Press corners together to seal and leave to rise. Just before baking, brush with beaten egg and sprinkle some sesame seeds over the finished flaounes.
Bake in a hot oven gas 8, 450'C, 230'C for 12-15 minutes until cheese filling is puffed and flaounes are golden.
Serve warm or cold.

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ. ΧΡΟΝΙΑ ΠΟΛΛΑ.

Comments

[Laura]

Thank you for sharing the photos but most importantly thank you for sharing your wonderful easter customs and traditions. Happy Easter to you and your family.

[Emma]

Great blog and very yummy too! Those cheese pies look delicious!

[Haruko]

This is perhaps the most yummy blog I have seen online! Those colorfull eggs look great!And the cheese pies too. But I don't think I will like that soup with... lamb liver and indestines? Oh no! Not for me. I hope your easter holiday was great.

[Anastasia]

Thank you very much for your wishes , my dear Laura. Like most Greeks I truly value our customs and traditions, especially at Easter.

[Anastasia]

Well, Haruko, it was my very first magiritsa and wasn't a great success really. All it takes is wash thoroughly the indestines and chop them finely. Believe me, it's delicious!As for flaounes - the cheese pies - I have never made them myself but I love them !

[Anastasia]

Hi Emma! So nice to see you here after such a long time! My next Easter resolutions are : my magiritsa will be just perfect and I may try to bake flaounes - the cheese pies.

[Alexia M]

That soup looks really yummy, Anastasia, if you don't know what you are eating! Sorry I don't mean to be rude but...lamb liver and indestines??? Your easter eggs look great and thanks for sharing the method on how to dye them. The dye powder packages don't always have good instructions. Personally I have never dyed eggs .... I prefer the chocolate ones! I think it shows!!! Xronia Polla my friend.

[Karolina]

Xronia Polla, Anastasia mou. I love your festive midnight table and your white china set. Very beautiful! Your eggs are perfect! My mother cracked most of ours while boiling them! She didn't keep them long enough at room temperature.

[lakisioannoui.blogspot.com]

Kalispera Anastasia, Xristos Anesti. Of course , if I was invited to your easter dinner I would eat everything! The truth is that you are torturing us when you put these photos here!

[lakisioannoui.blogspot.com]

It was pretty chilly in the mountains but my ovelias charcoal fire kept us warm while a very young lamb was roasting. So we put on our jumpers and had easter lunch outside.

[christina-1977.livejournal.com]

xronia polla.what a beautiful festive table! and very elegantly decorated too. i csn almost feel the easter smells. ah now i know what flaounes are. i have bookmarked the recipe. as i spent easter away from home i didn't bake anything. i had a great time but i really missed my mom's tsourekia and mageiritsa.

[stefanie-cy.blogspot.com]

I can't believe YOU made mageiritsa! Well, I made homemade bread this Easter! I thing you are making good progress in cooking. I love your very festive easter blog!And as Christina says...yes I can almost feel the nice smells of our Easter cooking.

[Constantinos]

Great Easter blog, Anastasia! I love your basket with the Easter pies and the tsoureki and I bet your magiritsa was a success judging from the photo. The truth is whenever I visit one of your Monday's yummy blogs , I leave it feeling hungry. Last time I got a dozen of loukoumades and ate them all! I may consider charging you the fees for the gym!Filakia.

[Andreas]

Xronia polla , glyko pedi. You can't imagine how much I miss greek easter homemade cooking as well as all our customs and traditions. Your blog brought back happy memories of my childhood. We all went to the midnight service with our candles and our red eggs. My mother used the onion method you describe to paint them red. Soon after Christos Anesti in the churchyard we kissed each other and cracked our eggs. Then I couldn't wait to go home and taste mother's delicious magiritsa. I always had two generous platefuls.

[Anastasia]

Alexia, if you wash the indestines thoroughly, they are not only very safe to eat but also very tasty! Personally I love kokoretsi although I don't usually eat lamb. You must plan a visit to Cyprus over our easter next year! Here's a big hug for you and thank you so much for your wishes.

[Anastasia]

Hi Karolina and xronia polla. Well, some of my eggs cracked as well while boiling them - but I had an extra dozen to make up for the damage!

[Anastasia]

No problem , Laki mou. And if we run out of food, I will kindly ask you to make that delicious souvla of yours. I think you are an expert at it! Please correct me if I am wrong!

[Anastasia]

Hi Christina and xronia polla. It's a bit fussy to bake flaounes but if you love cooking and baking it should be a pleasure. That's what my mum always said.

[Anastasia]

Unfortunately, Constantine mou, my magiritsa looked great but wasn't a success really. I put too much rice and not enough salt! Hey ! hey! not my fault if you like loukoumades , greedy boy!

[Anastasia]

Kalispera Andrea mou and xronia polla. Don't we all cherish those wonderful childhood memories of long ago? My mother still uses onion skins to dye her Easter eggs - she is very much against chemical dyes however harmless they are.

[Anastasia]

Yes I did make magiritsa this easter. OK, fair enough it wasn't the best magiritsa ever but ...I live and learn. By the way, thanks a million for your special treat. You are spoiling me! We loved EVERYTHING!The bread, the tsourekia, the flaounes and those divine easter cookies of yours! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

[Tina]

I only made the tsoureki for my family's Easter Dinner(at my parent's). My mother dyed the eggs red, and my father(as he always does every year, it seems) won the egg rapping game.

[Anastasia]

Well, Tina, this Easter, I was the one to win the easter egg rapping competition. My green and blue eggs were more resistant than the red ones! Coincidence or not ? I honestly did not know that you celebrate the Greek Easter and you bake your own tsoureki!