Greek Night at Home
Eat Greek, Love Life.
There’s something about Greek food which brings a smile to my face. It’s a joy to cook, and every time I’m at a Greek restaurant the atmosphere is lively and the hospitality makes you feel at home.
For this dinner, I wanted to cook all my favourite Greek-inspired dishes. Although not Greek, we also made a big pitcher of Limoncello Spritz -which is my cocktail of the moment!
Anyways, this was a big menu and unfortunately I did not take photos of all the dishes… because…. I drank too much. But here’s what I made:
Entree
Meltizanosalata Dip (recipe below)
Antipasto and bread to serve
Main
4 hr Roasted Lamb in Red Wine (recipe below)
Lemon Pepper Fish (seasoned with lemon, turmeric, thyme, olive oil and S&P, wrapped in foil and cooked on the BBQ for 15-20 mins)
Sides
Radicchio Mozzarella Salad (recipe below)
Smashed Lemon Thyme Potatoes (Ottolenghi Simple recipe)
Dessert
Baklava Cigars with White Chocolate Ice Cream
Drink
Limoncello Spritz (recipe below)
Rosé, Red Wine… and Mezcal Margaritas.
Menu! Whoops, Radicchio was spelt incorrectly.
Melitzanosalata (Greek Eggplant Dip)
PS. This is not Babaghanoush (no tahini).
‘Melit-zano-salata’ is a smokey, garlicky, sweet yet peppery eggplant dip.
It was my first time making it this weekend and I LOVED it. It’s so much easier than making hummus because you don’t have to skin any chickpeas 😜
I also cooked the eggplant on the stove which was super scary, yet fun. Worth it because you can definitely taste the smokiness.
Method:
POKE the eggplants with a fork all over, then cook directly on the stove for around 15-20 mins. Turn them around every once in a while so it’s evenly black.
ONCE cooked, cut the eggplants in half and let it cool.
SMOKE the capsicum the same way.
SCOOP out the eggplant from the skins and place half in a bowl.
TAKE the remaining eggplant and scoop it out into the NutriBullet, add the capsicum (cut into pieces), 3 garlic cloves, some olive oil and blend.
PLACE the eggplant capsicum mixture on top of the eggplant in the bowl.
GARNISH with olive oil, S&P, lemon squeeze, chopped up spring onion and parsley.
The sweetness from the capsicum balanced the smokiness of the eggplant quite well. We had it with some crackers and bread, but it was honestly good we had it as a side itself. Can’t wait to make it again!
Opa!!!! My Entree Table of Dreams.
Melitzanosalata
Charred Eggplant
Antipasto and Feta Parcels.
Eucalyptus Branches and Baby’s Breath (dried up flowers) on the table.
Raddichio Mozzarella Salad
Radicchio Mozzarella Salad
This salad tastes like a Summer holiday!
Radicchio is a bitter leaf which works well with sweet and citrus ingredients (hence the roasted figs and orange squeeze in this salad). It looks like red cabbage but it is tastier, thinner and less ‘waxy’. I’ve been looking for it in Singapore for ages and finally found it on Open Taste!
Method:
ROAST 6 figs cut in half with a little bit of honey for 20 mins @ 180 deg. After 10 mins, add in a handful or crushed hazelnuts.
WHISK in a small bowl around 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, 1/2 table spoon of honey, pinch of salt and a drizzle of olive oil.
WASH the radicchio leaves, keep them in the original shape no need to chop them up.
COAT (lightly) radicchio leaves and place 5-6 leaves in a salad bowl.
ADD to the leaves the figs, hazelnut, broken up mozzarella salad and finish off with a drizzle of olive oil and orange squeeze.
Optional to garnish with mint and bean sprouts.
Prepping for the 4 hr Lamb
4 Hour Lamb Shoulder w/ Red Wine
Yes, I don’t eat meat anymore…BUT once every 6 months I will cook my favourite roast.
I would cook this on a ‘Sunday Roast’ session back in Bondi with some girlfriends. It was always a good sharing meal and a few bottles of red always helps the good times role too ; )
Because this dinner we had a few guys, I wanted to beef up the menu. In this case, ‘lamb’ up haha.
Method:
RUB lamb shoulder with olive oil, paprika and S&P.
CUT a few incisions in the lamb and press in some chopped up garlic, onion and rosemary.
PLACE lamb shoulder in the middle of an oven proof pot.
ADD in a handful of baby tomatoes, 5 cut up garlic cloves, 1/2 a large onion chopped up and some olive oil at the bottom of the pot.
POUR in some red wine (just get a cheap one because the heat will reduce the alcohol anyways), I used a Cabernet Shiraz, until you cover the lamb shoulder in red wine.
ROAST at 180 deg for 4 hours.
Tip: Make sure the whole lamb is soaked in wine, otherwise the roast will be dry. Lamb shoulder is the best cut as it is the most tender, as opposed to a rack or shank.
PS. Lamb bought from Ryan’s Grocer in Great World City, Singapore.
Into the Oven @ 180 deg
2 hr Check-in (Needed to add more wine to cover)
Limoncello Spritz
I first tried this drink at Miss Fitz in Marina, to which I ended up ordering 4 within the hour -it was that good!
I think it’s more refreshing than an Aperol Spritz because by nature it’s lemon based. But perhaps the real secret to this is the Bergamotto Liqueur.
Bergamotto is an orange & rose petal liqueur, which balances well with the acidity and sweetness of the Limoncello. Here’s my take:
1 Part Limoncello
2 Parts Prosecco
3 Parts Soda Water
Splash of Italicus Bergamotto Liqueur
Garnish with cut Lemons & Mint.
Image Source: Limoncello Spritz on Mitra
Image Source: Ondanomala Suite Club
This good lookin’ bunch xx
Greek Night was one of my favourite Nonna Lizzie menus.
The food was light(ish) whilst full of flavour and the Limoncello Spritz is something you can drink all night. The fish and lamb were juicy and the smokey eggplant dip was a great condiment for both dishes. The radicchio salad was also a great mix of sweet and sour which worked well with the mains.
It was a drink heavy night, with the Limoncello Spritz, Rosé, Red Wine (I forgot what we had), Mezcal Margaritas and Mezcal alone, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way. After all, restaurants and bars close at 10:30pm here in Singapore, so it’s nice to have a little shindig at home.
The best part… lunch leftovers the next day!!
Liz xx