Featured Articles

Latest Articles

Garides Saganaki (Baked Prawns in Tomato Sauce)

When it comes to seafood look no further than Greek cuisine, and Garides Saganaki is a perfect example of this.  It’s a quick yet delicious Greek appetizer of prawns in a tomato sauce topped with gorgeous Feta cheese, perfect for long warm summer evenings with a glass of wine or Ouzo.

 

Ingredients:

3 tbsp olive oil for frying
500 g tomatoes, peeled and diced (fresh or tinned)
3 garlic cloves thinly sliced
Half a pimento, finely chopped
750g large prawns, shelled if you prefer
1 bunch of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
100g Feta cheese, crumbled
Salt
 

Methods:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the tomatoes, garlic, pimento, prawns and parsley and cook gently over medium heat for 15 minutes. 
Stir in the Feta cheese and cook for a further 2 minutes and transfer to an earthenware casserole (we have a lovely clay pot which we bought in Sifnos island). 
Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. 
Serve hot with lots of kitchen roll for your fingers.
 
 

7th Aug 2019

Posted by Ben Bland

Share:

Northern Peloponnese Review

The northern Peloponnese forms part of ancient Arcadia - a bucolic landscape watered by Elysian streams - and is a great place to start a Greek adventure with flights into Athens being frequent and very well priced. Easily accessible within a 2 hour drive is a stunning and varied landscape of mountains, sea, rivers, gorges, alpine lakes, and pretty mountain villages just waiting to be explored.
 
There are plenty of hiking trails to discover and some of our favourite walks include the rugged valley of ancient Pheneos, The Fall of the River Styx where Achilles was dipped to ensure immortality, Heracles's spectacular Vouraikos Gorge, and Lake Tsivlos with the clean scent of the surrounding pine forests. Transhumance is still a way of life in these parts and high up in the pastures of Mount Helmos you will still come across flocks of sheep or goats and their blue-eyed shepherds. An added delight is foraging for wild mushrooms and collecting wild greens that grow profusely in these parts amongst the mossy clumps of wild cyclamen and star-studded meadows of saffron crocus. 
 
Archaeological treasures abound where history and culture meet to tell the story of this ancient country. Aside from the well-known sites of Mycenae, Corinth, and Delphi which are easily accessible, the Northern Peloponnese has a few treasures of its own up its sleeve including Ancient Eyira. This site is set on a quiet hillside with astonishing views right out over the Corinthian Gulf with the mountains of Parnassos and Helicon beyond. Eyira was one of the twelve great cities of the Achaean League. Its amphitheatre, with superb acoustics, dates to around 280BC. There are two temples as well as the Agora and the Acropolis still in the process of excavation. 
 
Another fascinating trip is to the Monastery of ‘Panagia ton Katafigion' (Our Lady of Refuge) close to the mountain village of Evrostina. The monastery is built into a vertiginous cliff and exploring it is not for the faint-hearted! In Evrostina itself is the lovely church of Aghios Georgios (St George) which has an interesting history - it was built during the Turkish occupation when building permits were only valid for 40 days and no building was allowed to take place after dark. The wily Evrostinians, who numbered around 6,000 at that time, built one third of a church in the first 40 days knowing that the Turks would order it to be knocked down. They numbered every stone and hid them away in their houses. Re-applying for their second permit, they managed to complete an incredibly beautiful and unusual church within the 40 days stipulated which is still studied today at the Athens Polytechnic.
 
The Peloponnese is also a great place for wine lovers since it grows about a quarter of the grapes used in the production of Greek wine. In the Northern Peloponnese close to Diakopto, Tetramythos is one of Greece's most interesting small wine producers and is becoming justifiably well-known among wine connoisseurs. A tour of the vineyard followed by wine-tasting is a must for anyone visiting this area.
 
The biodiversity and ecological tapestry offered to nature enthusiasts is literally endless in Greece. Whether your interest is walking, hiking, mountain biking, river rafting, mountain climbing or simply eating, all is at your disposal - and the lovely mild climate in autumn and Greece's warm people combine to create an off season adventure worth remembering.
 
Browse our range of gorgeous properties in the Peloponnese to find the ideal place for your next adventure. 
 

31st Jul 2019

Posted by Ben Bland

Share:

Bourekakia Melitzanas: 3 Cheese Eggplant Appetizer Rolls Recipe

A mixture of three delicious kinds of cheese marks the filling for thin slices of eggplant that are rolled, dipped in flour, breadcrumbs, and egg, then fried to perfection. Make these in large batches because they will disappear very quickly!

Yield: about 50 pieces

 

Ingredients

 

FOR THE FILLING

- 1 egg

- 1 cup of cold water

- 1/2 cup of olive oil

- 2 cups of flour

- 1 can of evaporated milk

- 7 ounces (200 gr) of feta cheese, crumbled

- 3 1/2 (100 gr) ounces of kefalotyri (or pecorino), grated

- 1 3/4 ounces (50 gr) of edam cheese, grated

- 5 ounces (150 gr) of fresh dill, finely chopped

- Sea salt

- Freshly ground white pepper

FOR FRYING

- 3 eggs, beaten

- 1/2 pound (225 gr) of crushed toasted bread crumbs

- 1/2 pound (225 gr) of flour

- Oil for frying

- 2 1/4 pounds (1 kg) of large eggplants

 

Method:

Beat the egg with the one cup of water until fully combined.

In a frying pan, heat 1/2 cup of olive oil over medium heat. Add flour and, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon, cook until golden. Add evaporated milk and the water-egg mixture and cook to combine thoroughly. The colour may darken.

Set aside to cool to room temperature and transfer to a mixing bowl.

Stir in cheeses and dill.

Trim eggplant stems and ends and cut in very thin slices lengthwise (around 50 slices total). Add several tablespoons of oil to a frying pan and sauté the eggplant slices until softened and lightly browned.

Take a rounded teaspoon of the filling and with hands, form into a small sausage shape. Place at one end of an eggplant strip and roll up.

To fry: Roll each eggplant roll in flour, dip in beaten egg, roll in toasted bread crumbs, and dip in egg once again. Fry in 1/4 inch of hot oil.

Serve hot and enjoy!

Image source: https://www.kopiaste.org/2008/01/melitzanes-me-feta-eggplant-rolls-with-feta/

23rd Jul 2019

Posted by Ben Bland

Share:

12