Carpo – Greek nuts, chocolate and coffee

On Sunday we decided to go for a wander in Knightsbridge and stumbled across Carpo, a cafe selling Greek coffee, nuts and chocolate, the perfect pit stop after wandering through Hyde Park on a cold, sunny afternoon. 


As soon as you approach Carpo, you can tell that it is Greek as there are people standing outside sipping on Greek Coffee (Elliniko café) and iced coffee (freddo-cappuccino).   

Greece has a huge café culture, hours and hours are spent with friends, drinking coffee watching the world go by. I have never seen it anywhere else in the world - Greeks know how to live!  

 

Greek Coffee is very similar to Turkish coffee. It is made using a briki which is basically a small steal saucepan with a long handle. It is drank without milk and is very strong and smells delicious. Definitely go to Carpo and try it!

Carpo don’t just serve coffee they have a vast selection of nuts, chocolate and honey all sourced from Greece. At the very back of the cafe, there is a large oven where they freshly bake sweet treats and the smell is just divine. Their pasteli is delicious and they kindly showed me how they prepared it - it wasn't to dissimilar from my recipe.

There are two Carpo cafes in London, one in Knightsbridge and the other by Piccadilly Circus, both handily located right next to the shops so a great place to pop into for a pick me up after doing some retail therapy.

www.carpolondon.co.uk

Carpo is the perfect place to pop into during the festive period to buy sweet treats for loved ones or even a gift or two for yourself! 

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Pasteli – sesame seed & nut energy bars

Your very own Greek energy bar!

These days everyone is extremely focused on health and fitness and what the next new diet fad is. I am a huge advocate of healthy eating and I believe that a healthy lifestyle leads to a happy lifestyle. I am also a great believer that a simple fresh diet similar to what our ancestors used to eat is a good guide to follow. Processed food didn’t exist back then and people didn’t use food colourings. It was just pure, simple home cooked dishes with fresh ingredients. You knew exactly what was entering your body!

I want to share with you all one of my favourite ancient Greek recipes that is a great alternative to sweets and chocolate bars. All the ingredients that go in to these sesame seed and nut bars are 100% natural and good for you.

Pasteli has 3 main natural ingredients: honey, nuts and sesame seeds. The ancient Greeks used to eat Pasteli as a dessert, however they have now become so popular in Greece that they are eaten as a snack at any time of the day. They are full of energy and an excellent snack pre and post exercise.

There are two different types of Pasteli, one that is very hard to bite into and the other that is soft and sticky. You can choose which type you want to make by changing your ratio of honey and sesame seeds. The more sesame seeds, the more solid the bar, the more honey, the softer the bar. 

When I make Pasteli I usually try to go somewhere in the middle so that I firstly don’t lose a tooth when biting into it and secondly don’t have sticky fingers...

My recipe will make 24 small rectangular pieces of Pasteli: 

Ingredients

200 grams sesame seeds (Purchased from Carpo - Greek coffee and chocolate shop in Knightsbridge)

120ml honey (I used fresh Greek honey from Samos Island)

100 grams of chopped nuts (I used almonds for this recipe but pistachios are a great alternative)

1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

1. In a frying pan, toast the sesame seeds and the nuts over medium heat for 10-15 minutes. Make sure the sesame seeds do not turn brown

2. Put the honey in the saucepan and heat until it starts to boil

3. Immediately lower the heat and after 5 minutes add in the sesame seeds and nuts

4. Stir the mixture so that the honey covers all of the sesame seeds and nuts

5. Line a baking tray with baking paper and pour the mixture from the sauce pan onto the baking tray

 

Shaping the Pasteli

1. Use a spatula to flatten out the mixture to an even level on the baking tray. It doesn't need to cover the whole tray and the mixture should be about half a cm thick

2. Use a large sharp knife to tidy and straighten the edges 

3. Put the baking tray in the fridge for 30 minutes to cool down

4. Remove from the fridge and cut the Pasteli into small bars like in the photo below

5. Wrap each individual bar in cling film so that they don't stick together

I suggest keeping  the Pasteli in the fridge as this will keep each bar fresh and solid.

Kali orexi - enjoy!!

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Spanakopita - Spinach and Feta Cheese pie

Planning a dinner party this weekend...Spanakopita is your answer!

This is probably one of my favourite recipes of all time. Like all Greeks, I grew up eating Spanakopita. It is a delicious mix of spinach and feta cheese wrapped in crisp filo pastry.

You can buy Spanakopita everywhere in Greece, all bakery's sell it and you will often see Greek people grabbing one to go for breakfast or as a snack. However, nothing beats a homemade dish and my mother's recipe is the best!

Spanakopita literally means spinach (spanaki) pie (pita) and in Greece you can get lots of different types of pitas…Spanakopita (spinach pie), Tiropita (feta cheese pie), Kotopita (chicken pie), Kolokithopita (courgette pie)...notice how they all end in pita, pie! And they are all so tasty! 

Spanakopita has been around for generations and everyone has their own little twist to the recipe. To be truly authentic you should really make your own filo pastry and whilst this can be highly therapeutic, it is just so much easier to buy it from the supermarket and it tastes just as good if I am being honest!

You can make spanakopitakia (confusing huh!?), which basically means small spanakopita which are usually in triangular or half moon shapes…

However, I like to make my spanakopita in a large baking dish, keeping it very traditional. It can either be served as a main dish or cut into smaller pieces and eaten as a snack or as part of meze (Greek starters, similar to Spanish tapas).

My recipe below serves 6-8 people. It is a great vegetarian dish that I usually either serve alongside a meat dish or serve with a large Greek salad and a dollop of tzatziki on the side. Spanakopita should ideally be eaten the same day you make it as the phyllo pastry becomes less crisp the second day, but if you warm it up in the oven (never in the microwave as it gets soggy), it tastes just as good!

Ingredients

500g filo pastry

1kg fresh spinach

2 large leeks

500g feta cheese

60g rice

30g butter

2-3 tablespoons of fresh dill

1 tablespoon dried parsley

2 medium onions

2 eggs

olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Wash the spinach and add to a saucepan of boiling water for 3-5 min. Drain, squeeze out all the water and set aside (if you don't have a big saucepan you may need to do a few batches as there is a lot of spinach - Popeye would be in heaven!)

2. Finely chop the leeks and onion. Saute both in a large fry pan with a tablespoon of oil until soft and brown

3. Boil rice for approx. 10 min until soft, drain any remaining water and set aside

4. Add the spinach, chopped dill and parsley to the onions and leeks and stir 

5. Whisk two eggs in a bowl, add to the fry pan and mix in with the rest of the ingredients, season with salt and pepper

6. Crumble the feta cheese into small pieces and mix it in with the mixture above (delicious)

7. Melt the butter in a cup in the microwave and add 3 tablespoons of olive oil

8. Grease a large baking tray with the olive oil and butter mixture

Now the fun bit begins:

9. Line the baking tray with 1 packet of filo pastry. Brush each sheet separately with the butter and olive oil mixture using a pastry brush, just like my picture below

10. Make sure the pastry is hanging over the edges so that you can fold it over to make a crisp golden crust

11. Add the mixture from the saucepan as the filling and spread out evenly over the pastry in the baking tray

12. Use the filo pastry from the second pack to cover the filling, ensuring the edges are hanging over the baking try as before. Don't forget to brush each sheet separately with the butter and olive oil mixture (you may need to add a tad more olive oil if you are running low)

13. Fold the sides back over into the tray to create that crispy crust around the edge of the tray and brush with the butter and olive oil so that it turns a gorgeous golden colour when baked

14. Bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 45 mins or until golden brown

15. Let it cool slightly before serving

Kali orexi - enjoy!!

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Strapatsada – Greek scrambled eggs with fresh tomatoes

This Greek recipe is a brunch favourite in our household. Can a weekend start without brunch or more importantly eggs…?

No, I didn’t think so!

Strapatsada is absolutely delicious but looks rather less appealing, so I apologise in advance for my photos. However, do not be put off, it is scrumptious and extremely nutritious.

Saturday mornings always start with a Greek coffee in bed, pilates and then brunch. This is a classic brunch dish, super easy to make and ideal if you are having a group of friends round and need to whip something up quickly.

Earlier in the week I went to one of my favourite café/ deli's on Marylebone high street called Natural Kitchen and picked up some large free-range eggs for this recipe.

In Greece this dish is usually eaten in the summer when there is an abundance of fresh tomatoes and as it is so quick to make, it is eaten as a light lunch or a snack. It originates from the parts of Greece closest to Italy – the western Peloponnese and the Ionian, however it can now be found all over Greece.

Here is my easy recipe for Strapatsada which you can whip up in 20 minutes – have a great weekend!

Ingredients

Half a red onion finely chopped 

1 tablespoon of olive oil 

4 eggs 

4 medium tomatoes grated finely (you can use chopped tinned tomatoes but I prefer fresh ingredients) 

Half a packet of feta (chopped up) 

Half a teaspoon of paprika

Half a teaspoon of dried oregano (I buy mine in Greece) 

Pepper to taste

Let’s cook:

1. Wash the tomatoes and grate them in a bowl, dispose of the skin and set to one side

2. Heat the oil in a non-stick saucepan 

3. Sauté the onion until it softens and then add the grated tomato

4. Keep mixing it until all the juices have evaporated and it become a dense sauce

5. Add pepper, dried oregano and paprika

6. Crack the eggs into the mixture and keep mixing until the eggs are cooked

7. Crumble the feta in, mix and serve

Strapatsada goes great with avocado and fresh spinach on the side

Kali orexi – enjoy!!

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Spanakorizo (Spinach and Rice) Healthy Greek Comfort Food

Meatless Mondays are for Spanakorizo!

A classic Greek comfort food that is extremely healthy and absolutely delicious. It is easy to make and can be served as a side or main dish. Try it with some feta cheese and crusty bread on the side and you will be in food heaven!

Spanakorizo is probably one of the easiest and healthiest vegetarian Greek recipes as its main ingredient is spinach, the famous super food! Spinach is full of antioxidants and fiber, essential for staying healthy during these cold winter months.

My recipe below makes two main courses or four side dishes.
Ingredients

500 grams of spinach (washed)

1 onion finely chopped
2 tablespoons of olive oil plus more for drizzling on top at the end

Two thirds of a cup of water
One third of a cup of rice (I used wild rice)

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons of chopped dill

Juice from half a lemon

Instructions




1. In a large saucepan wilt the spinach with the lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of olive oil

2. Drain and set aside

3. Sauté the onion with the rest of the olive oil until soft in a saucepan

4. Add the spinach, dill and two thirds of a cup of water and bring to a boil

5. Add the rice, salt and pepper to taste and simmer for 20 minutes until rice is soft and the water is absorbed (you may need to add additional water to get the rice soft – just taste and see)






6. Serve with a squeeze of lemon juice, a drizzle of olive oil, a slice of feta and some crusty bread – delicious!


Kali Orexi – enjoy!!

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Koulourakia recipe - Greek biscuits

Whenever I think of Greece, I picture myself sitting on my balcony in Samos Island facing the sea, sipping a Greek coffee with a koulouraki first thing in the morning.  No wonder they call the Greek islands paradise!

I grew up eating koulourakia. From a young age even before I drank coffee or even liked it, I remember dipping koulourakia in my mum’s cup in the morning. 

They are extremely popular in Greece and can be found in almost every bakery across the country. It is very traditional to bring them to people’s houses when you are invited round and I have so many memories of aunties and uncles turning up with boxes upon boxes full of freshly baked koulourakia. The big fat Greek family...exists!

If you like dunking your biscuits in coffee or tea, then you will love this recipe, as they are extremely crunchy so perfect for that quick dip before eating. 

In Greece, people traditionally ate them at Easter, however as they have become so popular they are eaten almost everyday. I personally enjoy them with my coffee in the morning however they are also great for that afternoon treat when you are having that work slump at your desk around 3/4pm and need a sugar boost!

For something that is so popular and easy to find in Greece, it is actually surprisingly hard to find them in London. Luckily, they are super easy to make!

Gloomy Sundays in London are for baking, so here is my super duper easy recipe for Greek Koulourakia:

Ingredients for roughly 48 Koulourakia

250 grams butter (make sure its room temperature)  

200 grams sugar 

2 eggs for the mix & 2 eggs for glazing

1 grated orange zest 

1 tsp vanilla extract 

500 grams flour 

2 tsp baking powder 

Sesame seeds for the topping (optional – but I love them)

Baking paper

Instructions

1. Mix together the butter and sugar 

2. Mix in the vanilla extract and orange zest

3. Beat in the 2 eggs, one at a time 

4. Add the flour slowly, whisk continuously 

5. Add the baking powder and mix all together

6. Knead the dough with your hands to ensure that all the flour is mixed in 

7. The dough shouldn’t stick to your hands and needs to be firm - if it is a bit sticky add some more flour

8. Preheat your oven to 175 C

9. Place the dough for the koulourakia on a clean work surface (I always sprinkle a bit of flour on the surface to stop it sticking) 
  
10. You can make whatever shape you like but if you want to keep it traditional and braid the dough like I do: break off a small ball of dough about the size of a chestnut and roll out the dough into a long thin string until it’s about 2cm thick (hopefully my photo below is a good guide)

11. Shape the string into a U shape and twist each piece around to braid. It isn’t as hard as it sounds…trust me!

12. Line your baking tray with baking paper 

13. Lay out the koulourakia on the baking paper and make sure they are not touching

14. Whisk the 2 remaining eggs in a bowl

15. Brush the top of the koulourakia with the egg – this will give your koulourakia that shiny golden brown colour!

16. Bake for 10 minutes

17. Remove from oven and brush on some more egg

18. Bake for another 10 minutes or until golden brown 

19. Sprinkle with sesame seeds (optional)

Leave them to cool down before you move them anywhere. They can last up to 3 weeks in an airtight container - so plenty of biscuits for dunking!

Kali orexi - Enjoy!!

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