In order to explore a country with all your senses, you naturally need good food. Greece in particular is all about food and it was important to me to show how much more Greece has to offer than just gyros and tzaziki. At our Female Focus Retreat, our own female chef cooked delicacies for us every day. The ingredients were regional, local and fresh and you could taste it. While we were spoiled with a wide variety of dishes every day, there were a few highlights that we found particularly great. The wonderful chef provided us with the recipes and I don’t want to withhold them from you. For that little retreat feeling at home. Let’s see if it tastes the same 😉 I’m looking forward to your feedback!
Red Beet Salad
ingredients
- 1 kg (35.3 oz) fresh red beetroot
- 2 sour apples
- 200 g (7.05 oz) Greek yoghurt strained
- 50 g (1.8 oz) mayonnaise
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 Tbsp vinegar, 1 for boiling, 1 for basting
- walnuts peeled
- basil chopped
- 1 Tsp honey
Preparation
Boil beetroot in water, vinegar and sugar.
Once the beetroot is cooked, peel, salt, sprinkle with a little vinegar and drain in a colander.
Cut the beetroot into small pieces.
Peel the apples and grate them on a grater.
In a bowl, mix the apples with the beets. Then add yoghurt, mayonnaise, garlic and vinegar and mix everything together carefully.
Chill the salad in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.
Before serving, sprinkle the beetroot salad with chopped fresh basil and garnish with walnuts.
Moussaka
ingredients vegetables
- 3 potatoes
- 2 medium zucchini
- 2 eggplants
- salt and pepper
ingredients meat
- 1 onion
- 2 Tbsp olive oil to braise
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 Tbsp thyme
- 3 pinches of sugar
- 1/2 Tsp cloves
- 1 Tsp cinnamon
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste
- 500 g (17.7 oz) ground beef or vegan alternative
- 400 g (14.1 oz) canned tomatoes
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 handful parsley
- 1/2 handful basil
ingredients Béchamel
- 100 g (3.5 oz) butter
- 100 g (3.5 oz) flour
- 750 ml (3.17 cups) milk 3,5%
- salt
- ground pepper
- 1 Pinch nutmeg ground
- 100g (3.5 oz) parmesan shredded
- 3 egg yolks
Heat a deep pan over high heat. Add some oil and let it heat up.
Peel the potatoes and cut into thin slices.
Thinly slice the eggplant and zucchini and fry in a separate pan for 5-10 minutes.
Remove with a spatula and place in a baking pan lined with kitchen paper. Drain excess oil.
For the ground beef
Place a saucepan over high heat and add the olive oil.
Roughly chop the onion and add to the pan.
Finely chop the garlic and add to the pan along with the thyme, cloves, cinnamon and sugar. Fry for 2-3 minutes until nicely caramelized.
Add the ground beef and break it up with a wooden spoon. Sauté until golden brown.
Add the tomato paste and sauté until it loses its bitterness.
Add the chopped tomatoes, reduce the heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes until the sauce thickens.
Remove from heat and add parsley and roughly chopped basil. Season with salt and pepper.
For the Béchamel Sauce
Place a saucepan over medium heat.
Add butter and let melt.
Add the flour and stir until it absorbs all of the butter.
Add the milk in small portions, stirring constantly to avoid lumps forming.
Once the béchamel sauce has thickened and bubbles form on the surface, remove from the heat.
Add nutmeg, salt, pepper, 100 g parmesan and 3 egg yolks. Whisk thoroughly.
Put together
Preheat the oven to 180*C (350*F) fan assisted.
Spread a layer of potatoes in a 25 x 32 cm baking dish, cover with a layer of eggplant and top with a layer of zucchini. Season between layers.
Add 2-3 tablespoons of béchamel sauce to the ground beef mixture and mix. Spread the minced meat over the vegetables.
Cover with the béchamel sauce, spread evenly and sprinkle with 50 g grated parmesan.
Bake for 35-40 minutes.
When done, remove from the oven and let cool.
Serve with fresh herbs and olive oil.
Artichoke Stew
Ingredients
- 4-5 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion
- 4 scallions
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 3 carrots
- 2 potatoes
- 600 g (21.16 oz) frozen artichokes
- 1 Tbsp flour
- 1 Tbsp vegetable broth powder (or 1 cube)
- 750 ml (3.17 cups) boiling water
- grated zest of 2 lemons
- lemon juice from 2 lemons
- 1/2 handful dill
- salt and pepper
Heat a saucepan very hot over high heat.
Cut the onion into 1 cm thick slices and the spring onions into 1 cm round slices.
Pour the olive oil into the hot pot and then add the onions.
Stir with a wooden spoon and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
Thinly slice the garlic, halve the carrots, then cut into 1/4-inch slices. Put both in the pot.
Cut the potatoes into 1-2 cm cubes and add to the pot.
Stir and sauté until all the vegetables turn golden brown.
Add the artichokes and sauté for 4-5 minutes until lightly golden.
Add the flour, bouillon cube, water and lemon juice.
Stir, cover pot with lid, reduce heat and simmer for 40-50 minutes.
Then remove the pot from the stove.
Finely chop the dill and add to the saucepan along with the salt and pepper and stir.
Serve with dill, lemon slices and olive oil.
