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Spiced Chickpea & Lemon Soup

NOTES: This warming, fragrant soup is delicious at any time of year. Use a can of chopped tomatoes when fresh ones are out of season.

INGREDIENTS:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 x 400g (14oz) cans chickpeas
1 onion, chopped  
450g (1 lb) ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed 
1 (1 3/4pts) chicken or vegetable stock
2 tsp ground cumin               
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp ground cinnamon         
 juice of about half a lemon, to taste
Quarter tsp ground ginger             
salt and ground black pepper

METHOD:
Heat the oil in a lrge saucepan. Add the onion and garlic, and cook gently for 4 minutes. Stir in the cumin, cinnamon and ginger, then add half the chickpeas, the tomatoes and most of the stock, reserving about 200ml (7 fl oz.). Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, process the remaining chickpeas and reserved stock to a smooth puree I a food processor or blender. Stir the puree into the soup. Stir in the parsley. Add salt and pepper, and lemon juice to taste, and serve.

**You can use chopped fresh coriander in place of the parsley.**

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Moroccan Couscous

NOTES: I use the Gourmet Pearl Couscous (packets available in supermarkets) : Packet directions to cook.

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups couscous, large spanish onion, 1 red capsicum, Handfuls each of coriander, parsley and mint,
1/2 cup currants, olive oil, red or white wine vinegar, Dijon Mustard, Honey,
2 cloves crushed fresh garlic, cumin, nutmeg, ground coriander, 1 medium lemon.
 
METHOD:
Step 1: put couscous in a large bowl & pour over 2 1/2 cups boiling water. Cover & set aside.
Step 2: Chop finely onion, capsicum, green herbs,add currants & put aside.
Step 3: In a jar with a lid put 1/2 cup olive oil, dessertspoon each of vinegar, dijon mustard, honey, cloves of garlic. Heaped teaspoon each of cumin, ground coriander&  sprinkle of nutmeg and shake well.
Step 4:  combine everything into a large couscous bowl (fluff up grains with a fork) & pour over jar contents as close to serving as possible.....squeeze in lemon & toss through.

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Pork Souvlaki  (Spero's Recipe)

For a great, Greek dish straight from the grill, why not try a fantastic pork souvlaki, It's small pieces of marinated pork grilled on a skewer and is a very popular form of Greek fast food. It's a perfect, simple dish that can be made from a variety of meats like lamb or chicken, but we felt like cooking with pork.

Souvlaki is a fantastic dish characterized by its bright, fresh flavor. This is due in no small part to its marinade made from red wine vinegar, garlic, lemon juice, and oregano. The lemon juice gave it a great tang while the rest of the spices helped give the dish a distinctly Greek flavor. Serve this dish with fresh tzatziki sauce and warm pita...

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup olive oil
1 small red onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
1 teaspoon dried mint
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 lbs pork loin, trimmed of silver skin and excess fat, cut into 1? cubes
Directions

METHOD:
Mix together all of the ingredients except the pork loin in a zipper-lock bag. Add in the pork pieces, seal the bag, and toss to coat the pork with the marinade. Open the bag and reseal, removing as much air as possible. Place the pork in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Heat the grill to high. Thread the pork cubes into metal or wooden skewers. Once the grill is heated up, grill the pork skewers until they are browned on all sides and cooked through (about 8 to 12 minutes), turning 4 times during cooking. Remove the skewers to a plate and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Serve with pita and tzatziki sauce.

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Pork Souvlaki Kontosouvli (by Rick Stein)

This recipe is my take on the kontosouvli, a souvlaki marinated in oregano and chilli. Kontosouvli is best known from Cyprus and is usually described as a souvlaki made with larger marinated pieces of pork. you will need skewers.

INGREDIENTS:
400g pork shoulder, cut into 3cm/1in cubes

For the marinade
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp dried oregano
Half tsp ground cumin
Half tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 small garlic clove, grated
 tsp salt

METHOD:
Mix all the marinade ingredients in a bowl and add the meat. Marinate for an hour or so.
Thread the cubes of meat on to skewers. Grill on a barbecue 10 or12 minutes, turning once onto side, wait till cooked then turn upside down, cook for a few min then turn over again until cooked through.

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Garlic Prawns, Garithes Yiouvetsi or Baked garlic prawns by Spero Davias

NOTE: This makes enough for 6 hungry persons and maybe some left over..

INGREDIENTS:
1kg large raw prawns pealed and no tail
1 Jar oysters (if required)
 200gms tasmanian type scallops (if required)
 Half a cup of olive oil
 5 large onions, finely chopped
 10 garlic cloves, crushed
 8 large tomatoes, boiled chopped and peeled
 2 cans chopped tomatoes
 1 can or jar tomato paste concentrate
 5 anchovies
 1 bottle dry white wine
 4 teaspoons of dried rigani or oregano
 salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
 2 large tablespoons of sugar
 quarter tea spoon chili flakes (to taste)
 quarter tea spoon greek spices to taste
 500g good dodoni feta cheese
 10 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, chopped finely
 crusty bread, to serve

METHOD:
Shell the prawns, Devein, get rid of the tail, and rinse them. Dry with paper towels and refrigerate until required.
Peel the onions and put them through the 'whizzer' so they are finely chopped to medium. Strain to dry the onions and keep the onion juice separate.
Do the same with the garlic, put it through the 'whizzer' so its finely chopped.
Boil a large saucepan of water, place the tomatoes in water boiling water until the skin starts to crack, take it off the boil then cool them down and unskin, uncore the tomatoes. Put them through the 'whizzer' so they are finely chopped
Heat the oil in a wok or saucepan and gently fry the onion until translucent. make a pool in the center of the wok so some hot olive oil gathers, place the garlic in the hot olive oil in center and stir for 5 minutes until its cooked then mix in with the onions, do the same with the finely chopped anchovies, then cook for two minutes or so before mixing in with the onion/garlic mix,
Stir the mix so nothing sticks to the pan. add the onion juice and stir for two or so minutes.
now add the oregano, salt, pepper, sugar, chili flakes, greek spices, and cook for a further 2 minutes. Stir in and add the tomatoes, half a cup of wine and stir. Keep on adding the wine until the sauce is thick, keep on stirring occasionally, Cover and simmer gently for 2 hours add the remaining wine, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 250 degC.
Spoon half the sauce into a very large baking dish. Add the prawns, scallops, oysters then spoon the remaining sauce over them.
Bake for 15 or so minutes, or until the prawns are pink and you can see the mixture boiling around the edges of the dish then take the dish out of the oven, Coarsely crumble the feta cheese and sprinkle over the top, Sprinkle with the parsley then place back in the oven until the feta has partly melted and is lightly browned.

Serve immediately as a first course with warm crusty bread.

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NOTE: Greek cuisine has a great number of seafood dishes that take advantage of the country's proximity to the sea and its delicious and nutritious offerings, which can be prepared in a variety of ways. Kαλαμάρια γεμιστά, (pronounced kah-lah-MAH-reeyah yeh-mee-STAH) is one such famous Greek dish, which features juicy and firm squid stuffed with a flavorful sauce filled with classic Mediterranean flavors like tomatoes, parsley, olive oil, garlic, and onions.
Usually referred to as calamari, from the Italian term for squid, these tasty mollusks are a great source of protein, with 13 grams per 3-ounce serving1. The firm and tender meat of calamari makes them easy to work with, while the bold and nutty flavor leads to great seafood dishes when either served on its own or combined with other shellfish or different mollusks like shrimp and scallops. Squid makes a simple and tasty appetizer when pan-fried or deep-fried and served with wedges of lemon. That said, our stuffed calamari is a wonderful and filling main dish, especially if accompanied by other Mediterranean-inspired dishes like sun-dried tomato pasta, horiatiki salata, grilled vegetables, and fresh bread.

INGREDIENTS:

for any further info, contact Liz Davias