Tsoureki

Ingredients

• 1 lb sweet butter

• 3 cups sugar

• 1 dozen jumbo eggs

• 1 quart milk

• 4 packages dry yeast

• 6-7 lbs Heckers’s flour (Buy 4 - 2 lb bags. It helps to keep track of the flour used)

• 2 teaspoons salt

• 1 tsp ground mahlepi (optional) – found in Greek stores or online.

• 1 stick sweet butter

• 1 egg 

• Sesame seeds (optional)

• 5 Red Easter eggs (optional)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees and turn off.

• Place yeast in a large bowl. Add 2 cups of warm milk and 2 cups of flour.   Blend well using a whisk. Cover and let rest for one hour in oven.

• Melt butter with 2 cups of milk and 3 cups of sugar over low flame in a saucepan.  Let cool. 

• Add salt and mahlepi to the butter mixture

• Beat 12 eggs one at a time until frothy.  Add milk mixture and yeast mixture.  Blend well.  

• Add flour a little at a time.  Knead it into mixture before adding more flour.  Continue kneading and adding flour until dough is still a little sticky but shapes into a nice ball.  DO NOT ADD TOO MUCH FLOUR. (It usually takes a total of 6-6 ½  lbs-including the amount used in Step 1-but the amount can vary.)  

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees and turn it off. 

• Shape the dough into a ball and wipe the top with melted butter so it doesn’t dry.  Cover loosely with saran wrap and a large lightly damp towel.  Put in warm oven (heat off) and allow to rise. It should double in size – about 2 ½ to 3 hours. 

• Knead dough VERY WELL (you can be rough) until air bubbles are broken and dough is shiny.  

• Grease 5 9” round cake pans (or any variation desired)

• Cut dough into 15 pieces.  

• Take three pieces.  Roll each piece into a 16” log.  Place the three logs side by side and braid them together sealing the ends.  Tightly roll the braid into a circle and put end piece under the circle.  Put bread into 9” round greased pan.  Brush with butter. Cover loosely with saran wrap and then with towel.  

• Repeat this process 4 more times.  Let breads sit in oven or, if not enough room, on the counter (warm/no draft) for 1-1 ½ hours until they rise. 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees

• Brush breads with egg  that has been beaten with 1 tbl of water.  Sprinkle breads with sesame seeds (optional). 

• Bake (in several batches) in 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes or until done.   Cool on rack thoroughly before wrapping.  Cut a small circle in the center of bread and place a red egg in hole (optional). 

• Bread can be frozen.  Freeze right after it has been wrapped for freshest results.

Red Easter Eggs

Easter is not complete without red eggs.

The biggest trick to this is buying the correct dye before it sells out! Seriously… go buy it now.
While you’re at it, buy some for next year too, just incase…

Ingredients

• 1 Pack of red Easter egg dye.
  Brand matters, get this kind.

• 1 dozen large BROWN eggs
  not white eggs.

• 1 cup white vinegar

• Olive Oil

• Water

Instructions

You really should just follow the instructions on the pack of dye carefully.

• Hard-boil your eggs and let them cool before dying.

• Dissolve one packet of this dye in a glass of hot water and then add to a larger pot containing 3-4 cups of hot water and one cup of vinegar. Give it a stir.

• Carefully place the eggs in the dye/water/vinegar mixture and let them soak for 2-5 minutes.

• Remove eggs from water and dry them gently and polish with a towel moistened with some olive oil.

• You’re done! You can store your beautiful red eggs in their original carton.

Shrimp with Tomatoes and White Beans

Source: Jessica Seinfeld

INGREDIENTS

• 4 slices French or whole-wheat bread

• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 15-ounce can diced tomatoes

• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

• ½ cup dry white wine, such as pinot grigio

• 1½ pounds peeled and deveined large shrimp (thawed, if frozen)

• 15-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

• 2 cups wild arugula

• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• to taste kosher salt

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat the broiler with the oven rack 4 inches from the top. Drizzle the bread (both sides) with 2 tablespoons of the oil and place on a sheet pan. Broil 1 to 2 minutes per side until toasted.
Drain the tomatoes and reserve the juice for another use. Prepare and measure your ingredients before you start to cook.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant (do not let it brown), about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Pour in the wine and bring to a simmer. Add the shrimp and cook, turning occasionally, until opaque throughout, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the beans, arugula, red pepper and black pepper (6 turns on pepper mill) and cook, stirring, until the beans are heated through and the arugula is wilted. Season to taste with salt. Serve with the toasted bread.

Stuffed tomatoes

Stuffed tomatoes are another in the delicious line of traditional Greek stuffed vegetables, or gemistes.

Source: Kiki Vagianos

This recipe also features the very Greek use of sweet, dried fruits in savory dishes. Currants, toasted pine nuts, fresh herbs and fluffy rice fill these tomatoes to the brim with so many wonderful flavors – they’re the most perfect meal imaginable! And once you see how simple stuffed tomatoes are to make, they’ll be regulars in your dinner rotation.

Ingredients

• 8 large tomatoes

• 1 cup chopped onion

• 1 cup (uncooked) rice

• 1⁄2 cup olive oil

• 1⁄4 cup currants

• 1⁄4 cup pine nuts

• 1⁄4 cup fresh mint

• 1⁄4 cup fresh dill

• 2 cups water

• 11⁄2 tsp salt and pepper

• 1 cup of tomato insides, mashed

• 3⁄4 cup warm water (in addition to 2 cups above)

Instructions

1. Slice off top of each tomato to make small lids.

2. Scoop out insides of tomatoes and save 1 cup. Mash tomato insides well and set aside.

3. Toast pine nuts in pan over medium heat for 2-3 minutes until very lightly brown. Finely chop and combine fresh herbs. Set aside.

4. Saute onions until soft then stir in rice and cook on low for 5 minutes. Add pine nuts, currants, herbs, tomato insides and 2 cups water. Bring to simmer, cover and cook for 10 minutes.

5. Allow filling to cool for approx 10 minutes before filling tomatoes. You can make filling up to 5 days ahead of time and keep covered in refrigerator until ready to fill/bake. Remember to bring to room temperature before using.

6. When ready to bake, fit tomatoes into a pan which holds them snuggly and fill each tomato to the top with rice filling. Cover filled tomatoes with lids and brush tops and sides with olive oil. Add 3⁄4 cup warm water to the bottom of the pan in between stuffed tomatoes and bake for 1 1⁄2 hours in 375° oven.