Okay so I am on an Eating Around the World Adventure where we randomly pick a country and eat food from that country for a week. A few of you know my background and have said 'what about Croatia, when are you doing Croatia'. Well as it is a random shuffle I will get there eventually, but now with the hype of the World Cup, where Croatia got to shine in front of the world, I thought I'd give a post about the food I grew up on, food that is already on my blog.

I am an Australian born Croatian, my parents were both born there as was my husband. My father is from the island Lastovo, my mother from Vrsi, Zadar and my husband is from Pula. My husbands parents were originally from Medimurje, so you can imagine the food I have been exposed to. All different, all delicious.

I grew up eating Dalmatian food, met my husband and was introduced to food from Medimurje, made by my mother in law, then went to Pula and got to eat food from there also. Every region has different food, and all of it is truly amazing.

As my husbands parents live in Croatia we visit quite often. Last year we went on a six week holiday there and it was amazing. We traveled through Istra and Dalmacija, it was amazing. The food we ate, so good. The people, the places, truly a country people should put on their bucket list.

Now I know I was not born there, but being Croatian is a feeling. I grew up with a love for a country, for it's traditions, for it's food, all because of my parent's and how they spoke of it, how they raised me, don't get me wrong I love Australia also, but Croatia will always be special to me. On my last visit I would walk around my mum's village and get teary, I would walk and think my mum used to play here as a kid. I visit her village and I belong there, so even though she left in the 60's, when I go back you have a sense of belonging, you have family there.

Watching the World Cup this year was amazing, watching Croatia play, watching them with pride. Watching the country celebrate when the players came home, it was truly special. What was extra special, is my kids had such pride in their background, they showed a love for the country also. That is why I say it is a feeling, something in you, Croatia is in your blood.

Now a lot of the food I grew up on was pre cookbook and the internet era. My mother, God love her, is an amazing cook, the food she made us was delicious. We had such a variety of food, and there was no recipes, she just made things. I am not even close to being that good. To this day I have no idea how she learnt to cook so well, I put it down to loving her family and making sure they had the best. My dad when he was younger cooked also, it was whichever parent came home first from work started dinner, my mum is very organised person.

Dinner time: this was a time my mother said was family time. We always waited for the last person to get home before we had dinner. This is something I now do with my family, we always sit down together for dinner, we eat, we talk about our day, and spend a small time of our day, gadget free, just spending time together.

My husband, he loves to cook also. On days when I don't feel like cooking he'll throw together a meal that is delicious. He loves making soups and stews, but he really can make anything.

So here are things I grew up on, things I was introduced to after meeting my husband. Now some may say not everything is traditional to Croatia, but what I have learnt since starting this little adventure, is that food crosses many borders, so this is more about what people are eating in a country, rather than where it originated.

Scrambled Eggs and Asparagus 
Langusi 
​Chicken Livers and Onions 
​Simple Fried Chicken 
Octopus and Potato Salad
My Mum's Octopus Salad 
Musaka 
Fried Calamari 
Grilled Fish 
Kebabs 
Roast Pork with Sauerkraut 
Mince and Potato Pita 
Mince Stuffed Capsicums 
Sarma 
Mussel Buzara 
Cuttlefish Stew 
Fried Whitebait 
Fried School Prawns 
My Mother in Laws Goulash with Trganci 
My Mother in Laws Cabbage Soup 
Cuz Pajz-Cabbage Soup 
Jota-Sauerkraut Soup 
My Dad's Lentil Soup 
​Pasta Fazol 
Josip's Spinach 
Blitva
Lastovsko Zelje 
Fish Soup 
Chicken Soup with Griz Knedle 
Beef or Lamb Soup 
Beef and Bean Goulash Soup 
Easy Baked Goulash 
Cheese and Zucchini Pita 
Chicken Paprikas with Pljukanci 
Beef Goulash 
Medimurska Gibanica 
Palacinke 
Ricotta Filled Crepes 
Madarica 
​Krempita 
​

Scrambled Eggs with Asparagus: I have lost count how many times my mother in law made us 'jaje i sparoge'. Now in Australia we don't have the wild asparagus that Croatia has, but this is still really, really good with our asparagus, and at certain times of the year we can buy baby asparagus and that is perfect here. This is a Sunday morning breakfast in our house.

Medimurski ​Langusi: Another recipe that my mother in law taught me. This is like a little fried bread. It has a crispy outside but the middle is so soft and fluffy. We love it for breakfast and each of us like it with a different topping. I like it sprinkled with caster sugar, my kids all love it smeared with nutella and my husband (and boys) love it with jam.

Chicken Livers and Onions: A simple dish, perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner. This is something my husband and I grew up eating.

Simple Fried Chicken: Here is another of my mum's recipes that my kids and nieces love. When my mum makes this all her grandchildren love it, it goes very quickly, they call it KFC, Kata's Fried Chicken. Why do I call it Croatian, because the only seasoning is Vegeta.

Octopus and Potato Salad: This is my mum's octopus and potato salad recipe, this is food I grew up on. I cannot begin to tell you how good this is, I love every single mouthful. My mum has taught me how to make the most tender octopus, it melts in your mouth, now I am happy to share this with you.

My Mum's Octopus Salad: My mum is a great cook, and her octopus salad is by far the best one I have ever tried. The octopus is so tender the way she cooks it, you actually can't believe it can be so soft.​ If you would like to cook octopus, but are unsure how, try this, I have never had softer octopus ever.

Musaka: Here is another family favourite in our house. This recipe is so simple, yet very flavoursome. This is like a potato bake with mince in it.

Fried Calamari: This is my kids favourite way to eat calamari. Serve fried calamari up as party finger food or with a salad for lunch or dinner, this is delicious and just needs to be made. This is simple, it is tasty and for me far better than the store bought processed one that seems to have a string in the middle that I can never actually bite through.

Barbecued Grilled Fish: The Croatians love their fish, and grilled fish is something they love, living on the water, how could they not. You can barbecue whole fish or slices. We also grew up with a love of seafood, we prefer to barbecue the whole fish, if a snapper or bream for instance, but every now and then my husband buys a large Red Emperor or a large Snapper, where we slice it and cook it sliced. Delicious.
I love to chop up garlic and parsley, cover with extra virgin olive oil, then pour that over the fish, once it is cooked.

Shish Kebabs-Raznjici: These are great at any barbecue, Croatians, make these all the time, well at least we do. You can season/marinade them however you like, I actually love them made from either pork neck or chicken thighs with either onions or capsicums between the pieces of meat, season well with salt and white pepper and that's it. Simple, yet so tasty. If you can't barbecue, you can fry them if needed. Now we eat them straight off the stick with a salad, but you could easily put them in a wrap and eat it that way.

Roast Pork Belly with Sauerkraut: This a dish my mother has been making us for years, we absolutely love the combination of pork and sauerkraut. Simple and delicious.

Mince and Potato Pita: This is layers of filo pastry scattered with a mince and potato filling. I love to make this at parties as finger food or I make it as a light dinner teamed with a green salad. Simple and delicious.

Punjene Paprike-Mince Stuffed Capsicums: This is another recipe from my mother. She made this for us when we were growing up. These capsicums are my families version of comfort food. 

Sarma: For years I was going to Croatian weddings and I would have Sarma. This is not food I grew up on at home. When I was little, my mum made Stuffed Capsicums a lot, but never Sarma. After I got married and left home, my mother learnt how to make Sarma, she likes trying new things, as I do now, and this is how she makes it and now I do to. We all now love it and it is extremely popular at parties when she makes it.

Mussel Buzara: This is one of those dinners where you get to eat with your hands, my 9 year old loves them so much because they taste great, but also because he can eat with his hands. It is a quick and easy recipe that tastes so good with very little effort. You actually don't get full on the mussels, it is the crusty Italian Bread that is the filler, it is used to soak up all that gorgeous sauce. 

Cuttlefish Stew: When I first got married my mother taught me how to make this cuttlefish stew. My family absolutely love it. This is her recipe. It amazes me how well she cooked, as she taught herself how to cook, she made up recipes and everything she made was brilliant.

Since I got this recipe from my mother my husband has taken over making it from me. Every time we have cuttlefish he now takes charge in the kitchen. He has added anchovies and chilli to my mum's recipe and improved the recipe, even though it was already brilliant. He loves this recipe.

Fried Whitebait: or fries with eyes as I read recently. This is a popular Croatian snack. Some may think it's grouse, but when cooked properly, they are delicious, team it with lemon or aioli and you have a great little snack.

​Here is the recipe:

Serves 4

500g whitebait
1/4 cup plain flour
Vegetable Oil, for deep frying

Lemon Slices, to serve
Garlic Aioli, to serve

Heat oil in a large saucepan or deep fryer to 180C.

Place the flour in a mixing bowl and toss in a few whitebait at a time. Coat the whitebait, shake off any excess flour and place on a plate. Don't pile them on top of each other, or they will stick together.

Add the whitebait to the hot oil in small batches and cook for around 4-5 minutes, or until the fish turn golden brown. Place on a paper towel to absorb any excess oil.

Season with salt and pepper, serve whitebait with lemon slices and dip into garlic aioli.

Fried School Prawns: Ok this one is not for everyone, my mother included. My father introduced this to us. This is school prawns, dusted in plain flour (and chilli powder, if you like), then deep fried until super crisp, I stop frying when the oil stops sizzling. Then you eat them whole, shells, head and all. My youngest loves this. Serve this with a Garlic and lemon yoghurt, delicious. If you're like my mother, you can peel them.

My Mother in Laws Goulash with Trganci: My mother in law makes these trganci when we go on holidays to visit them, they are like dumplings. My husband and kids love them. So when my sister in law came to visit us once, she showed me how to make them. She doesn't measure anything when she makes them, it is all done by feel, I however, weigh everything every time, for me it ensures they turn out right every time. ​The goulash, my family love this. It is my mother in laws recipe. When she was on holidays here a few years ago, as she was cooking I was taking notes on how to make it. It takes a few hours from start to finish, but it is well worth the effort.

Bake Marija's Zelje: When I got married, I watched my mother in law make this and I wrote what she was doing so that I could make this for my husband. As my in laws live in Croatia, I wanted to cook my husband things his mum made for him. Since then this has been something that I regularly make for my family. My kids love this to, they grew up on this kind of food. My youngest, when he was 5 years old and in kindergarten, told his teacher (when asked what his favourite food is) he said his favourite food was Cabbage Soup. I'm pretty sure it is not your standard answer for a 5 year old. It still is his favourite.

Cuz Pajz: This soup is one of the first things my mother in law ever cooked for me. My husband's family love to eat soups, nearly every day there is some sort of soup served in their house, either a broth or something like this, thick and hearty.

Jota- A few years ago, my husband has started making his own sauerkraut. So with his last batch I decided to make this sauerkraut soup. This is a family favourite, you will see a few chunky bits of sauerkraut, that is on purpose, as my family like it chunky, rather having it shredded super fine. Teamed with smoked ribs or a ham hack, simply delicious.

My Dad's Lentil Soup: I'm always in awe of people like my parents. They grew up living in a village in Croatia, were not wealthy and although had home cooked meals everyday, the choice was nothing like we have today.

They came to Australia, married, worked to support their family and cooked dinner for us every day. It was a rare occasion that we had take out. This soup was something my dad made for us, besides barbecues this was his signature soup. He was a great cook when he was younger, now he leaves the cooking to mum.

Pasta Fazol: If my dad had lentil soup, my mum had pasta fazol. This was as a kid and still is one of my favourite things to eat. Now my kids love it to. I love food that is handed down generation after generation.

Josip's Spinach: This spinach is named after my husband. His mother taught him how to make it and he has been making it this way for years, it is our families favourite way to eat English Spinach. Although I know how to make it, I find it always tastes better when he makes it-it means less work for me, as we usually have it with BBQ fish, so I get a night off cooking when he makes it, as he does the BBQ also.

I am lucky that my husband enjoys cooking also. Quite often, weekends especially, he is in the kitchen with me and we cook together. He is the no measure just throw it in kind of a cook, I'm a recipe kind of a gal, so when he cooks something it can always be interesting trying to remake it.

Blitva: This is a traditional side dish in Dalmatia. I love it with fish. This is something I grew up on, this is something I love.

Here is the recipe:

1 bunch silverbeet
300 g potato
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped, optional
salt and pepper, to taste
Extra Virgin Olive Oil, to taste

Wash and cube the potatoes, then place in a pot, cover with cold water, add salt and bring to boil.

Wash the silverbeet, remove the stems and chop the leaves into 3-4 pieces lengthwise. You can add the stems, I quite like them.

When the potatoes are about 10 minutes away from being cooked, add the silverbeet on top of the potatoes.

Cook until the potatoes are done and the leaves are a lovely rich green colour and have wilted. 

Drain, then drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, add crushed garlic, if using, season with salt and pepper.

Lastovsko Zelje: Ever since I was a little girl my dad has made this salad. Usually it is made with my uncle's home grown Lastovosko Zelje (cabbage like they had on the Island of Lastovo), but as my uncle's live 4 hours away from my dad now (and we live in Australia, so I can't buy that type of cabbage leaves), I have started using cavalo nero also known as Tuscan cabbage or kale as it is very similar and more readily available. Of the two cavalo nero is the better option as it is closest to my dad's cabbage, but Kale is great also, more readily available and cheaper. Broccoli leaves work well also, but you need to grow your own, as the green grocers don't sell broccoli leaves.

Fish Soup: Here is a recipe I really don't like, I never have. I am posting it as it something my mum has made for as long as I can remember, it is something I grew up on.  Now I grew up on it, but never liked it, you may wonder why then post it, I'm posting it as my parents love it, my husband loves it and my kids love it.

This soup is something my mum taught me, I have been making it myself for 18 years now (since I got married) and it really is something my family loves.

Chicken Soup with Semolina Dumplings: This is something you will find in every Croatian house regularly, good old fashioned Chicken Soup. It is the start to most meals. My mother always made it with store bought vermicelli, here I have made the recipe with semolina dumplings which my mother in law taught me how to make. They are super easy to make and great to eat, but what I love is if you have run out of vermicelli, you can always whip up some dumplings.

Beef or Lamb Soup: Made exactly the same way as the chicken soup just now I use Beef Spare Ribs or Veal Shanks for the beef version or if making the lamb version I use Lamb Shanks or Shoulder. We love the meat as a meal, so cook it until it is soft and falling off the bone, this with a green salad I find delicious. 

Beef and Bean Goulash Soup: My family love this, when I make this the whole pot goes. It is so simple to make, and I mean ridiculously simple. It is one of those dishes that after a little preparation, it cooks itself. This gets made a lot when my husband plants beans in our garden.

Easy Baked Goulash: Well this recipe is from one of my Croatian Cookbooks, it is called Zapeceni Gulas and when I saw the picture in the book I had to try it, it just looked so good. As soon as this goulash goes into the oven the house had the most delicious aroma going through it. I honestly hoped it would taste as good as it smelt, and it did. This goulash was delicious, every single bite was so good. The meat was soft and tender, the potatoes cooked, but kept there shape, and it was different to my normal stews, this had a very small amount of tomatoes in it, this makes for a completely different stew, it was delicious.

Cheese and Zucchini Pita: One of my favourite things to eat is Pita, I love it, it is party food, it is dinner, it is lunch, it is delicious leftovers, it is anytime food.

Chicken Paprikas with Pljukanci: When we were on holidays recently in Croatia my husband wanted to go to a restaurant to eat Pljukanci, I had no idea what it was. He told me it was a hand rolled pasta that was a specialty in Istra, a region in Croatia where he is from. They were delicious, as soon as we got back to Australia, I learnt how to make them. Here I team it with a Chicken Paprikas for an absolutely delicious dinner my family loves.

Beef Goulash: Beef Goulash, this is food from my childhood. Now I'm married with 3 kids and this is now their food from their childhoods. I love it. Food that I grew up on, my husband grew up on, and now my kids will grow up on. I am a true fan of simple cooking, I love when I only have to spend a few minutes preparing things, a bit of starter cooking and then you just allow something to simmer away for about 2 hours, and dinner is done. Some may not like that idea, but I find it very relaxing and I just love the aroma that spreads through the house as a stew cooks.

Medimurska Gibanica: When I got married my husband and I went on our honeymoon to Croatia. My mother in law is an amazing cook and one day she introduced me to this gorgeous dish. It is like an apple and ricotta strudel, only in a slice. 
This is a dessert that I serve when we have a light dinner. It can be served hot or at room temperature, it is loved by both my family and friends.

Palacinke: Croatians call crepes 'palacinke', and I don't know anyone that can't make them, it is the go to dessert for many households in Croatia, because of the simple ingredients used to make them.
Crepes are probably my families favourite thing to eat. My kids when I make them graze on them all day, breakfast, lunch and dinner. They LOVE them. 
As for the fillings, if I'm going sweet, I love lemon and sugar, that is my favourite. My kids love nutella. My husband loves his Croatian plum jam. It is endless the amount of things you can do with a simple crepe. I use this recipe to make the Smoked Salmon Pancake Rolls on this site. I love them filled with a sweet ricotta mixture that I bake. I also use crepes instead of cannelloni shells when making my spinach and ricotta cannelloni crepes, and most recently I use crepes in my savoury crepe recipe. So a simple crepe can be sweet or savoury.

Ricotta Filled Crepes: This is a recipe my mother in law taught me. In my own recipe 'book' I have at home of all the things I cook (it is actually several folders of typed up recipes my family love, all in plastic sheets), it is actually called 'Baka Marija's Palacinke sa sirom'. It is a dessert I never get sick of, it is something I truly love eating.

Madarica: This to me is by far the greatest slice ever to be made. No slice comes close, for me, to perfection as the madarica does. The layering of biscuit and chocolate custard, topped with chocolate, simply amazing. This is a very traditional Croatian slice. This is a must at any festive Croatian occasion.

Krempita: I finally got around to making a Krempita. This is the Croatian version of a Vanilla Slice.
It is fabulous, now I know why you can find this dessert all over Croatia in every cafe or cake shop you go to. The custard is probably the best custard I have ever eaten. It is so light and the lemon zest through it makes it unbelievably delicious.
I used store bought puff pastry, feel free to make your own.
This is the perfect dessert to serve at a dinner party. It looks like it is big and heavy, yet one spoonful and you realise it is so light and just beautiful.

When Croatia comes up on my next random shuffle, here are some of the recipes that will be making that post. This is food I've made, I just haven't had a chance to blog it yet. There is also so much more food I still want to try, so stay tuned there is so much more Croatian food that 'Aj Lajk' and I have to make.

My Mum's Napolitanke:

Sporki Makaroni

My mum's Bakalar: 

Peka

Green Beans and Potatoes:

Leso Riba:

My Mother in Laws Pecene Lignje:

Cabbage Salad

Savor:

Restani Krumpir

Sauerkraut:

 Week 6 of my Eating Around the World adventure took us to Greece.

Now after I went through my Greek cookbooks, I realised one week will not be enough time to get all the recipes I want to try made, so Greek week has turned into Greece month.

There is just so much food I want to try, so much delicious food I have to share. Before I started really looking at Greek food, I would have told people, I don't really like Greek food, I thought it was boring, but I was so wrong, so much delicious food has been eaten this month, that I truly take those words back.

Greek cuisine is a Mediterranean cuisine. Greek food makes wide use of vegetables, olive oil, grains, fish, wine, meat (all sorts), along with olives, cheese, lemons, herbs, bread and yoghurt.

Here is the Greek food I made this month:

Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder 
Tzatziki 
Eggplant Dip 
Hytipi Dip 
Pita Bread 
Marinated Garlic 
Chilli Oil 
Spinach and Cheese Spirals 
Pastitsio 
Greek Salad 
Mediterranean Chicken 
Taramasalata Bites 
Greek Lemon Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki 
Greek Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki 
Lamb and Tomato Pide 
Baklava 
Galaktoboureko 
​Bougatsa Parcels 
Artichoke and Spinach Dip 
Bean Skordalia 
Cherry Spoon Sweet 
Lemon and Oregano Chicken Wings 
Fried Calamari 
Lemon Yoghurt Cake 
Souvlaki 
Roasted Capsicums 
Grilled Fish
Fish Fries 
Fried School Prawns 
Zucchini and Beef Sfougato 

Slow Roasted Lamb Shoulder: Words can not describe how delicious this dish was. The lamb could be shredded with a fork, it was melt in your mouth perfect lamb. Super easy recipe, and one you need to try.

Tzatziki: Tzatziki, is a sauce served with grilled meats (beef, lamb, chicken, it really goes with anything) or it is served as a dip. Made from yoghurt, cucumber, garlic and oil, this has become a family favourite, we have it in our refrigerator all the time.

Eggplant Dip: I have made a few Eggplant Dips over the last few weeks and this by far is my favourite. The addition of the fresh tomato and onion to the eggplant is absolutely amazing. This I serve as a side to my gyros or just as a dip on a meze table.

Hytipi Dip: This feta and chargrilled capsicum dip is a nice addition to a meze table or I like to serve it with grilled meats as a side dish. I like to make my own roasted capsicums, as I find they taste better, and chilli oil is so easy to make, why would you buy it. 

​Here is the recipe: 

Makes 1 ½ cups
​
100g Greek Feta
100g chargrilled peppers, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons chilli pieces, from infused chilli oil or 1 fresh chilli
Salt and pepper, to taste

Crumble the feta into a food processor and add the chargrilled peppers and the chilli. Blitz for a few seconds until just combined.
 
Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a bowl to serve.

Pita Bread: One of my most exciting discoveries since starting this Eating Around the World adventure. Absolutely delicious pita bread, that is so easy to make. This bread is tasty, soft and goes with so many savoury dishes. I know I will be making this for years to come.

Marinated Garlic: A simple way to add a little extra flavour to your garlic. I add this to roasts, marinades and salads. It is a great addition to tzatziki.

Chilli Oil: Why would you buy Chilli Oil, when it is so easy to make. Make a lot, make a little, super easy and adds a lovely flavour to your dishes. Please don't fry this oil, you will evacuate the house if you do.

Spinach and Cheese Spirals: These truly are delicious. Eat them for breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner, eat them anytime, just eat them. Puff pastry filled with spinach, ricotta, feta, spring onions, so good. The pastry tastes homemade, so good.

Pastitsio: Greece's answer to a pasta bake. Pasta layered with a bolognese type sauce, then topped with a luxurious bechamel. Now in Greece they would make this with lamb mince, my version is with pork and veal mince. This is a great party dish as it feeds many, can be prepared in advance and tastes delicious.

Greek Salad: A simple, delicious salad that has been served at many a barbecue that I have had at my house. A classic combination of tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, olives and feta. And do not forget to use the best extra virgin olive oil here, as that is your dressing.

Mediterranean Chicken: I have been making this for years now, originally this was called Greek Chicken. This dish is so tasty and easy to make. The reason I changed the name to Mediterranean Chicken, was because all the ingredients in this dish, I grew up on, and as my background is Croatian, I figured I would change the name.

Taramasalata Bites: Now this one is not traditional. Taramaslata is, it is a well know Greek meze, but here I spread it onto Melba toasts and topped it with some seaweed salad, which isn't traditional, as an appetiser for parties. This is one of my favourite things to eat.

Greek Lemon Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki: Gyros, what can I say about this recipe, it is perfect. This flavour combination is just spectacular. The chicken teamed with the salad, topped with the tzatziki, wow, and then the homemade pita bread, it is just so good.

Greek Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki: This is delicious, the flavour combination here is truly amazing, the chicken with the tzatziki, with the salad, all wrapped up in the best pita bread I have ever had, this is one great dish. This is actually my second gyros recipe on my blog, the other has a Lemon Chicken marinade instead, that is the difference, but as I loved them both so much, I had to add them both.

Lamb and Tomato Pide: This was like a greek pizza, to simply describe it. You have a bread/pizza base and it is topped with a lovely spiced lamb and tomato topping. The lamb was actually quite nice. 

Here is the recipe:

Serves 8

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium brown onion, 150g, chopped finely
1 clove garlic, crushed
300g minced lamb
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh coriander
1 medium tomato (150g), diced

Basic Pide Dough:
7g yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
2/3 cup (160ml) warm water
2 tablespoons warm milk
2 cups (300g) plain flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
Greek yoghurt or tzatziki, to serve
 
Make Pide Dough: Combine yeast, sugar, water and milk in jug; stand in warm place until frothy. Place ½ cup of the flour in bowl; whisk in yeast mixture. Cover; stand in warm place 1 hour. Stir in remaining flour, oil and salt. Knead dough on floured surface, until smooth (I did it in my cake mixer with dough attachment for 5 minutes). Place in oiled bowl, cover; stand in warm place 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 240C.

Heat oil in frying pan, cook onion and garlic, stirring until tender. Add lamb, cinnamon, cumin, smoked paprika and cayenne pepper; cook until lamb is browned, breaking it up as you brown it. Stir in coriander; cool.

Divide dough into three; roll each to 12cm x 30cm rectangle. Spread lamb filling across centre of each piece, leaving 2cm border. Brush edges with water, fold and press around dough. Fold corners to make an oval shape.

Heat oven trays 3 minutes, place pide on trays; bake 10 minutes. Sprinkle with tomato; bake 5 minutes. Cut each pide into slices. Serve with greek yoghurt or tzatziki.

I also made a Spinach Feta version, but I preferred the lamb version.

Baklava: Baklava is a rich, sweet dessert, made of layers of filo pastry filled with chopped nuts and sweetened and held together with a sugar syrup. It was quite easy to make, and the end result looked as a Baklava should look like. I like smaller pieces, as it is rich, so next time I would make my diamonds smaller, otherwise I wouldn't change a thing.

Galaktoboureko: another new discovery in my Eating Around the World adventure. This is delicious. 

Galaktoboureko is a sweet semolina custard dessert that is poured between sheets of buttered filo pastry, then topped with a scented sugar syrup. Did I think it would be too sweet, yes I did, was I wrong, yes I was. 

Bougatsa Parcels: Now this dessert, what can I say about this dessert, this is delicious. Perfect semolina custard, with a hint of citrus, wrapped in filo and baked to produce a dessert that for me is perfect. I love this and I will add, my non dessert eating husband loves this.

Artichoke Spinach Dip: This dip comes up on my social media accounts quite often, the combination of spinach and artichokes in a dip, I considered trying it, but never got around to it. When I saw it in one of my Greek cookbooks during my Greek month in my Eating Around the World Adventure, I figured it would be a great time to finally give it a go. Well am I happy I did. This dip is delicious. Super easy to make and my whole family absolutely loved it.

Bean Skordalia: I love bean dips, I have been making them for years now. This one has the addition of ground almonds, you can leave it out if you prefer. This is great with fish or meat. I actually like it as a dip, on its own.

Here is the recipe 

400g can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
¼ cup ground almonds
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 garlic clove, crushed
¼ cup olive oil
 
Place all ingredients in a food processor and process to combine. Transfer to a bowl, season with salt and pepper, cover with plastic wrap and set aside until needed.

Cherry Spoon Sweet: This one I made just because of the sheer simplicity of the dish. I used tin cherries, you could use sour cherries, I didn't. It is popular in Greece to store all kinds of fruit in a sugary syrup. These are great on their own, served the traditional way, on a spoon, with cold water (or a shot of rakija for Croations). But after we made this, we discovered we loved it on Greek Yoghurt or vanilla ice cream as a dessert, you could even add it as a topping for a cheesecake.

​Here is the recipe:

Serves 6

425g can seedless black cherries in syrup
1 cup (220g) caster sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthways, scrape out seeds
2 x 5cm strips lemon rind
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Drain cherries over a small saucepan; reserve cherries.

Add sugar, vanilla bean seeds and the bean, lemon rind and juice to pan; stir over heat until the sugar dissolves.

Add reserved cherries, bring to the boil; boil, uncovered, about 7 minutes or until the mixture thickens and will coat the back of a metal spoon. Cool to room temperature.

Lemon and Oregano Chicken Wings: ​A lot of the chicken wing recipes on my blog have an Asian influence. So during our Greek week when I saw this recipe using simple Greek flavourings I really wanted to try it.

These were delicious, my kids who are my food judges, really liked them. What I loved was they were one, tasty and two, different from the other wings I make.

Fried Calamari: This is where food really has no borders, although I add it here in my Greek post, Croatians eat this as well, prepared exactly the same way, I'm sure many other countries do it exactly the same way. This is simple, this is delicious.

Lemon Yoghurt Cake: Sometimes you just want a simple cake to have with coffee. A simple cake that is scented with lemons. A simple cake that is just delicious.

I love anything with lemon in it, especially lemon based desserts. So when I came across this traditional Greek cake called Yiaourtopita in my Eating Around the World adventure, I knew I was going to try it. Will be making this again and again.

Souvlaki: These are great at any barbecue, Croatians, like the Greeks make these all the time. You can season/marinade them however you like, I actually love them made from either pork neck or chicken thighs with either onions or capsicums between the pieces of meat, season well with salt and white pepper and that's it. Simple, yet so tasty. If you can't barbecue, you can fry them if needed. Now we eat them straight off the stick with a salad, but you could easily put them in a wrap and eat it that way.

Roasted Capsicums: Roasted capsicums are amazing, they are so full of flavour and need to be served with any antipasto platter. This to me is not only food for entertaining, I am quite happy to top a slice of bruschetta bread and eat them as a snack or as a light lunch. You can roast just red capsicums, or use half red and half yellow capsicums or even some orange capsicums, for additional colour. They look amazing when the colours are mixed.

Barbecued or Grilled Fish: The Greeks love their fish, and grilled fish is something they love, living on the water, how could they not. You can barbecue whole fish or slices. We also grew up with a love of seafood, we prefer to barbecue the whole fish, if a snapper or bream for instance, but every now and then my husband buys a large Red Emperor or a large Snapper, where we slice it and cook it sliced. Delicious.

Use whatever herbs you love, parsley, rosemary, oreagno, you choose the flavours, I love lemon with my fish and after it is barbecued drizzle it with your favourite extra virgin olive oil.

Fish Fries: or fries with eyes as I read recently. This is a popular Greek meze and I have to admit I grew up on it also. Some may think it's grouse, but when cooked properly, they are delicious, team it with lemon or aioli and you have a great little snack.

​Here is the recipe:

Serves 4

500g whitebait
1/4 cup plain flour
Vegetable Oil, for deep frying

Lemon Slices, to serve
Garlic Aioli, to serve

Heat oil in a large saucepan or deep fryer to 180C.

Place the flour in a mixing bowl and toss in a few whitebait at a time. Coat the whitebait, shake off any excess flour and place on a plate. Don't pile them on top of each other, or they will stick together.

Add the whitebait to the hot oil in small batches and cook for around 4-5 minutes, or until the fish turn golden brown. Place on a paper towel to absorb any excess oil.

Season with salt and pepper, serve whitebait with lemon slices and dip into garlic aioli.

Fried School Prawns: Ok this one is not for everyone, my mother included. Although I am putting it here, in my Greek post, my father introduced this to us before I looked into Greek food. This is school prawns, dusted in plain flour (and chilli powder, if you like), then deep fried until super crisp, I stop frying when the oil stops sizzling. Then you eat them whole, shells, head and all. My youngest loves this. Serve this with a Garlic and lemon yoghurt, delicious. If you're like my mother, you can peel them.

​Zucchini and Beef Sfougato: A sfougato is like a frittata. I consider this a Greek's version of a zucchini slice. This is simple, and easy and can be served for brunch, lunch or as a light dinner with a salad.

Overall Greek food is something we truly enjoyed. Some dishes I would definitely make again and again and again.

Now after a month of cooking Greek food, I realised I still had so much more food I wanted to try, so this is only Part One for that reason, stay tuned for Part Two after we have tried a few more countries.
​

​​​Now to add another sticker to my world map.

Next stop El Salvador

​Call this fried calamari or salt and pepper squid, for me it is the same thing. Some say calamari is the Italian term for squid, while others say they are two different species, where Calamari is supposed to be softer than squid. So in this post I will use whichever word feels right in my sentence. But you buy whichever you prefer squid or calamari or use whatever you catch, even better.

This is my kids favourite way to eat calamari.

Croatians do not remove the skin from squid/calamari, that to us is where the flavour really is, I'm not sure why chefs take it off, as in all honesty I don't find the skin ugly, and I really am not a fan of white pale calamari. But if you prefer them peeled, peel them.

Serve fried calamari up as party finger food or with a salad for lunch or dinner, this is delicious and just needs to be made.

This is simple, it is tasty and for me far better than the store bought processed one that seems to have a string in the middle that I can never actually bite through.

Please do not throw out the tentacles, they are delicious fried up, I just discard the eye/beak area, but the rest can be chopped up and fried just like the rings you make. I like them left whole as pictured below, it's delicious.

Simple and delicious, try it soon.

​500g whole calamari
1 cup plain flour
2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon white pepper

Vegetable oil, for deep frying
​
Lemon slices, to serve
​

Clean the calamari: Remove innards from squid by pulling tentacles from the body, it's easy. Cut across head, underneath eyes to separate tentacles in one piece (discard innards and eyes). Push tentacles outwards, squeeze beak out and discard. You can separate the wings, but I keep them attached. You can remove skin if you like, but I don't. Remove backbone from tube, it looks like plastic, carefully scrape and discard insides.
​

Fill a large saucepan with oil about 5-7cm high, you can use a deep fryer, if you have one. Heat to 190C.


Slice the calamari hood into 1cm rings, leave the tentacles whole or slice them up, especially if large.

Place the flour, salt and pepper in a bowl, mix to combine. The flour needs to taste salty and peppery, this is truly to taste.

Add the calamari and toss to coat.

Deep fry the calamari for about 3-4 minutes, or until golden and cooked, don't overcook them they will become rubbery. Drain on paper towels.

Enjoy with a slice of lemon and tartare sauce if you like.

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​This dip comes up on my social media accounts quite often, the combination of spinach and artichokes in a dip, I considered trying it, but never got around to it.

When I saw it in one of my Greek cookbooks during my Greek month in my Eating Around the World Adventure, I figured it would be a great time to finally give it a go. Well am I happy I did. This dip is delicious. Super easy to make and my whole family absolutely loved it.

You can prepare it in advance, then bake just before serving, so it is a great party dip.

The mayonnaise brand I love is Thomy, but use whichever one you love.

Give this dip a go, it will not disappoint.

​Recipe adapted from The Australian Women's Weekly Cookbook 'Greek'

Makes 2 cups

340g jar marinated artichokes, rinsed, drained
250g frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1/2 cup (120g) sour cream
1/4 cup (75g) mayonnaise
3/4 cup (60g) coarsely grated kefalotyri cheese
​1 clove garlic, crushed


Preheat oven to 200C/180C fan forced.

Chop artichokes coarsely. Squeeze excess liquid from spinach.

Place artichokes, spinach, sour cream, mayonnaise, cheese and garlic in a medium bowl. Stir to combine.

Transfer mixture to 2 cup (500ml) ovenproof dish. 

Cook dip, covered, 20 minutes.

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​Galaktoboureko, another new discovery in my Eating Around the World adventure. This is delicious. 

Galaktoboureko is a sweet semolina custard dessert that is poured between sheets of buttered filo pastry, then topped with a scented sugar syrup. Did I think it would be too sweet, yes I did, was I wrong, yes I was. 

I am completely in love with semolina custards at the moment, they are so good, and yet if I never started this little adventure of ours I would never have tried it. My husband thinks this is amazing, and as I've mentioned previously, he is not a dessert person.

This is either eaten warm or at room temperature. It feeds a lot of people which makes it great for parties. 

Looking for a new dessert to try, give this a go, it is easy and it is delicious.

​Recipe adapted from The Australian Women's Weekly cookbook 'Greek'

Serves 20

1.25 litres (5 cups) milk
1 ¾ cups (385g) caster sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthways
1 cup (160g) fine semolina
20g butter
4 eggs
16 sheets Antoniou filo pastry
150g butter, melted
1 tablespoon icing sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Lemon Syrup:
1 cup (220g) caster sugar
¾ cup (180ml) water
2 x 5cm strips lemon rind
2 teaspoons lemon juice
​

​Stir milk, sugar and vanilla bean in large saucepan over low-medium heat until sugar dissolves, bring to the boil. Gradually whisk in semolina into milk mixture; whisk for about 5 minutes or until thickened.
 
Remove pan from heat; discard vanilla bean, stir in butter. Transfer custard to a large heatproof bowl; cover surface of custard with plastic wrap. Cool 1 hour. Stir in eggs.
 
Preheat oven to 160C/140C fan forced. Grease deep 25cm x 32cm baking dish.
 
Cut pastry sheets to the same size as dish; discard excess pastry. Brush 1 sheet of pastry with some of the butter; top with 7 more pastry sheets, brushing each one with butter. Place in base of dish; spread custard into dish. Repeat with remaining pastry and butter; place on top of custard.
 
Bake galaktoboureko about 55 minutes or until custard is set.
 
Meanwhile, make lemon syrup: Stir ingredients in small saucepan over heat until sugar dissolves; bring to the boil. Reduce heat, simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes or until thickened slightly. Discard rind.
 
Pour hot syrup over hot galaktoboureko; cool. Serve dusted with combined sifted icing sugar and cinnamon.

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​Baklava is a rich, sweet dessert, made of layers of filo pastry filled with chopped nuts and sweetened and held together with a sugar syrup. Up until now I have only ever eaten a Croatian version of Baklava, which in all honesty is nothing like this version, it is delicious, but very, very different. 

So during our eating around the world adventure I always knew I wanted to try and make a baklava. I have tried some that I have purchased before, but was never really impressed with them. This one however I was pleasantly surprised by, yes it was rich and sweet, but not too rich or sweet.

It was quite easy to make, and the end result looked as a Baklava should look like. My husband absolutely loved it, and he generally is not a dessert person. I like smaller pieces, as it is rich, so next time I would make my diamonds smaller, otherwise I wouldn't change a thing.

So if you have always wanted to try to make a baklava, this one is really nice.

​Recipe adapted from The Australian Women's Weekly Cookbook 'Greek'

1 ½ cups (200g) shelled unsalted pistachio nuts
2 cups (200g) walnut pieces
¼ cup (55g) caster sugar
2 tablespoons fine semolina
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of ground cloves

​375g filo pastry, I like the Antoniou brand
310g butter, melted

Syrup:
1 cup (200g) caster sugar
1 cup (250ml) water
¼ cup (90g) honey
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cinnamon stick


Preheat oven to 200C/180C fan forced. Grease 20cm x 30cm lamington pan.
 
Process nuts, sugar, semolina, cinnamon and cloves until chopped finely; transfer to a medium bowl.
 
Brush 1 sheet of pastry with a little of the butter; top with 7 more sheets, brushing each well with butter. Fold pastry in half, place into pan. Sprinkle pastry with a thin even layer of the nut mixture. Layer another 2 sheets of pastry, brushing each well with more butter. Fold pastry in half, place in pan; top with another layer of nut mixture. Repeat layering process until all the nut mixture has been used. Repeat layering and buttering any remaining pastry sheets; brush the final layer with butter.
​
Score the top lightly in a diamond pattern.
 
Bake Baklava about 50 minutes.
 
Meanwhile make the syrup: Stir ingredients in small saucepan over heat until sugar dissolves; bring to the boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, about 10 minutes or until thickened slightly. Discard cinnamon stick; cool syrup.
 
Pour syrup over hot baklava. Cool before cutting.

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​This is probably my favourite discovery so far in our Eating Around the World adventure. This Pita Bread is something we love, making this brings a little excitement into our house. This bread is tasty and goes with just about every thing.

I am a member of a few food groups, surprise, surprise, and for a long time I had seen people commenting that they make bread with greek yoghurt and flour, I didn't pay much attention to it, as I usually made yeast based bread, until I hit Greek week, when I decided to make pita bread. Well now I can see why everyone was making it, it is easy and there is no waiting time to allow it to rise, you just mix, roll and cook these. Super easy, super tasty.

The original recipe said this makes 12 pita breads, I prefer them smaller, so I make about 15-16. Roll them out quite thin as they puff up while cooking.

This bread reheats well, just pop them in the oven wrapped in aluminium foil until warmed through.

Super easy, super tasty and you will never not have bread in the house again.

​Recipe adapted from Helena and Vikki Moursellas' cookbook Taking You Home xx

Makes 12-16

500g self raising flour, plus extra, for dusting
500g Greek Yoghurt
1 tablespoon Baking Powder
½-1 tablespoon sea salt
Olive Oil Cooking Spray
​

Place the flour, yoghurt, baking powder and salt in a large bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until a dough forms. Add a little water if the mixture seems too dry, or more flour if the mixture seems too wet.
 
Tip the dough onto a clean work surface and dust it with a little extra flour. Knead the dough for 1 minute then divide into 10 equal portions.
 
Dust a rolling pin and your work surface with flour and roll the pieces of dough into small circles (about 14cm diameter). Roll them out thin as they puff up when frying.
​
Place a frying pan over medium heat, spray the pan with the cooking spray, place the pita in the pan and spray the pita. Repeat this process for every pita bread. Cook each flatbread for a couple of minutes on each side or until lightly chargrilled, and serve hot.

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​Six weeks ago I started our Eating Around the World adventure which this week led me to Greece.

Now Eggplant dip made an appearance during Egypt and South Sudan week also, but this is by far my favourite dip of the three. And I have figured out why, each of the other two dips were lovely but each time I felt it was missing something and now I know what, a fresh element, the addition of onion and tomato to the eggplant is ingenious, it is exactly what was missing from my other dips.

I served this as an addition side to my gyros night, but this would be delicious as a dip on a meze platter.

Simple, yet delicious, a dip worth trying, especially if you love eggplant, as I do.

​Recipe adapted from The Australian Women's Weekly Cookbook 'Greek"

Makes 2 1/2 cups

2 medium eggplants (600g)
¼ cup (60ml) olive oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
½ small red onion (50g), chopped finely
1 medium ripe tomato (150g), chopped finely
1 tablespoon lemon juice
​

​Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan forced. Place the eggplants in a baking paper lined baking dish, roast for 1 hour. When eggplants are cool enough to handle, pull away and discard the skin.
 
Coarsely chop eggplant flesh; combine with oil in a large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients; season to taste.

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​These are the best spinach and cheese spirals. I know that is a big claim, but they are absolutely delicious.

This one makes me laugh a little as it has been placed in my breakfast section, why, because this is something I would eat for breakfast. 

Growing up, if you ever watched the movie Wog Boys, that was my life, you take to school the mortadella and ajvar sandwich and tell the other kids it was devon, as that is what the other kids were eating. Or you take a chicken schnitzel sandwich and everyone wants to trade you, I actually would trade it for a bread roll, butter and chips, how I wanted the 'Aussie' food, as the Croatian food I had at home. These days gourmet food is the food I grew up on, my kids today take the cool lunches to school, but now as kids are exposed to more and more foods, nothing is weird anymore, their friends will try anything, mind you my kids won't trade their lunches.

I digress, back to the spirals, the filling is delicious, you can vary this recipe, this morning I was cleaning out the fridge, post party, so I used what I had, in all honesty I measured nothing. But the pastry, this pastry tastes like you made it yourself, I'm not talking about the brand, but the pastry as you roll it up, some of it is not exposed to the heat in the oven, so it doesn't puff up, it goes soft and delicious, and it honestly tastes like you made it yourself.

This can be eaten for lunch, for brunch, heck I'd eat it for dinner. I love eating it by unwinding the scroll.

It can be eaten hot, warm or at room temperature, but it is best eaten hot.

Simple and tasty, you have to try this.

​Recipe adapted from Helena and Vikki Moursellas' cooking Taking You Home xx

Makes 14

½ bunch fresh English Spinach leaves, roughly chopped (or 250g baby spinach leaves)
Fresh dill, finely chopped, to taste
3 spring onions, finely chopped
180g greek feta
300g ricotta cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten, plus 1 extra
1 tablespoon salt-I did not add this much salt, add it to taste
Pinch of white pepper
5-7 sheets frozen puff pastry, at room temperature


​Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan forced. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and cook the spinach for 4 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool a little. (If using baby spinach just pour kettle boiling water over it and all it to sit in the water until it softens, then drain and cool).

Place the dill and spring onion in a medium sized bowl. Add the feta, ricotta, egg, salt and pepper. Add the spinach, using your hands, mix the ingredients to combine.

Take a sheet of puff pastry and cut it in half. Spoon the spinach mixture along the long edge of the pastry, Don’t overfill, it will be hard to roll. Make sure the pastry has softened. Roll away from your body to create a tube, then roll inwards to form a snail like shape. Your pastry should now look like a small rolled bun. Repeat until you have used all of your mixture.
​
Arrange the spirals in a prepared baking dish and brush with a beaten egg. 

​Place in the oven and bake for 50 minutes, or until golden. Leave 10 minutes before eating.

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​I love Greek food, but if you had asked me 2 weeks ago if I liked Greek food, I would have said not really, I mean dolmades, souvlaki, sickly sweet baklava, that is what I had in my head about Greek food, so I thought, it's a bit boring really. Well was I wrong. Greek food I have found out is amazing.

Since starting my Eating Around the World adventure I have dedicated a month to Greece, this is the first country in six weeks that I decided to turn a week into a month, why, there is just so much food I want to make that I just can't fit it into a week.

Now this dessert, what can I say about this dessert, this is delicious. Perfect custard, with a hint of citrus, wrapped in filo and baked to produce a dessert that for me is perfect. I love this and I will add, my non dessert eating husband loves this.

It is one of those desserts where you can make the custard in advance, just keep refrigerated until needed, then just assemble the dessert, just before you need to bake it.

Eat it warm or at room temperature, just eat it.

This is a dessert you have to make.

​Recipe adapted from Helena & Vikki's cookbook Taking you home xx

Makes 10
 
3 eggs
125g caster sugar
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
125g semolina
2 cups milk
100g melted butter, plus extra, for brushing
10 sheets filo pastry
Ground cinnamon, for dusting
Icing sugar, for dusting
​

Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan forced. Lightly grease two baking trays and line with baking paper.
 
In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs and caster sugar for a few minutes using an electric mixer. Add the lemon juice, orange zest, semolina and milk, and stir to combine.
 
Pour the mixture into a deep saucepan and place over low heat. Stir constantly until the mixture is thick (about 15 minutes), then add the melted butter and mix to combine. (You can now place plastic wrap on the custard, so the plastic is touching the custard, and refrigerate until needed).
 
Cut the filo pastry sheets in half and brush 2 sheets with butter, place on top of each other. Place 4 tablespoons of the custard mixture in the centre of the pastry. Fold the top over the custard, then roll up, folding in the edges to form a parcel. Continue making parcels until all the custard has been use up.
 
Place the parcels, seam side down, on the trays and brush the tops with butter. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes. 

​Allow the parcels to cool, then dust with cinnamon and icing sugar.  

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