Category: Banquet
Lamb Koftas with a Mint Yoghurt Dip

Lamb Koftas with a Mint Yoghurt Dip

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Here’s the final dish of the meze-fest, some delicious, meaty koftas served with a zingy yogurt dip! Working with the raw meat and shaping it into balls like this can feel a little odd, but its also super fun! Traditionally these are served on sticks, but a) I had no sticks at home when I made these and b) it’s way easier just to serve them as balls like this. But if you prefer you can get some skewers and pop a couple on each one before you pan-fry them.

Recipe

Makes 8 balls

Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

For the Koftas

  • 1 Small white onion
  • 1 Garlic clove
  • 1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for frying the koftas
  • 200g Minced lamb
  • 1 tsp Ground cumin
  • 1 tsp Zaatar spice blend
  • 1 tbsp Dried mint
  • Salt and pepper to season

For the Yogurt Dip

  • 2 sprigs of Fresh mint
  • 100g Greek yogurt
  • Salt and Pepper to season
  • ½ tsp Ground cumin

Method

  1. Begin by making the koftas. Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic. Then put the oil into a saucepan and place over a medium heat. Add the onion and garlic to the oil and fry until they begin to caramelise. Tip this into a bowl and leave to cool.
  2. Add the lamb, cumin, zaatar and mint to the onion mix and mix together with your hands to bring the ingredients together. Season with salt and pepper and stir again to combine.
  3. Divide the mixture into 8 balls. At this point, if you want to serve the koftas on skewers, take 4 skewers and push two balls onto each.
  4. Brush the koftas with more oil and then heat a large frying pan on a high heat. Add the koftas and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side until they’re browned all over and cooked through.
  5. Meanwhile move onto the dip. Scrunch the mint into a bundle and then finely chop it with a sharp knife.
  6. Put the mint and Greek yogurt into a bowl. Add some salt and pepper to season, and then add the cumin and mix together.
  7. When everything’s ready tip the yogurt dressing into a pot and serve alongside the warm koftas!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Greek Salad

Greek Salad

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Next up as part of this banquet is this delish Greek salad. Traditionally a Greek salad is made up of the classically Greek ingredients Romaine lettuce, feta and olives to make a beautiful salty, sweet and refreshing salad all in one! This salad, like most, is very quick and easy to put together, and makes a delish light lunch on it’s own! In this selection of mezes though it acts as a great refreshing dish to pair with the warm, aromatic ones.

Recipe

Makes 1 Meze dish

Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 3 Vine tomatoes
  • 5cm Length of Cucumber
  • 1/4 Red pepper
  • 2 Leaves of Romaine lettuce
  • 5g Feta cheese
  • A few Olives, halved
  • A Drizzle of Balsamic vinegar
  • A Drizzle of Olive oil

Method

  1. Take a sharp knife and quarter the tomatoes. Then slice the cucumber into quarters length ways, and then chop along the batons to make small pieces. Then dice the pepper into similarly sized pieces.
  2. Rip the lettuce into pieces and scatter the over over serving dish. Then scatter over the tomatoes, pepper and cucumber. Crumble the feta over the salad and then scatter the olives.
  3. Finish with a drizzle of the balsamic and olive oil and serve!

Thanks for reading!
Emma x
Tabbouleh

Tabbouleh

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 In every Greek meal there has to be tabbouleh. It’s refreshing, zingy and a great palette cleanser for the richer, spicier dishes on the table. Personally, I’m not a massive fan of tabbouleh because on its own it’s a bit too herby for my liking, but I will admit that it’s delicious when paired with anything else on the table!

Recipe

Makes 1 Mezze dish

Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 50g Bulgar wheat
  • 40g Flat leaf parsley
  • 40g Mint
  • 200g Vine tomatoes
  • 2 Beef tomatoes
  • 3 Spring onions
  • 2 tbsp Olive oil
  • 2 tbsp Lemon juice
  • A pinch of Sea salt

Method

  1. Put the bulgur wheat into a sieve and rinse under cold water. Then put this into a bowl and pour over 200ml boiling water. Cover with clingfilm and leave to soak for 30 minutes.
  2. Roll the parsley into a bunch and then roughly chop it. Do the same with the mint so that it’s chopped super fine. Next take your tomatoes and chop them roughly into bits. Put all the herbs and tomatoes into a big bowl.
  3. Slice the spring onions in half and then finely chop them. Add this to the big bowl.
  4. Drain the bulgur wheat and then mix this into the herbs. Add the lemon juice, olive oil and some salt and pepper to season. Mix it all together and then serve!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Homemade Hummus

Homemade Hummus

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I’ll admit to you now that I am one of those hummus freaks who gets inexplicably excited when hummus is out at a party. Until a few weeks ago I didn’t touch the stuff for reasons I’m not quite sure why, but when it came to this idea of doing a Greek meze thing it had to go on the menu, and now I can’t get enough of it! Hummus is also insanely easy to make as you just whop everything into a food processor and blend until smooth, and whilst it may seem easier to buy a tub from a shop, the best thing with making your own is that you can alter the amounts of stuff you put in for your own personal preference. If you prefer your hummus more sharp, add more lemon, more spicy, and more paprika, more salty, well…you get the gist.

Recipe

Makes 1 meze dish

Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 200g Canned chickpeas
  • 2 tbsp Lemon juice
  • 2 Garlic cloves, skinned and crushed
  • 1 tbsp Tahini
  • 4 tbsp Water
  • 1/2 tsp Paprika, plus extra to dust
  • Salt and Pepper to season
  • 2 tbsp Olive oil
  • A few Pomegranate seeds
  • A few coriander leaves

Method

  1. Drain the chickpeas into a sieve and then rinse them under cold water.
  2. Put the chickpeas, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, salt, tahini, water, and paprika into a food processor and blend to a smooth paste.
  3. Taste the mixture and then season to taste with the salt, pepper, lemon juice and cumin. Spoon the mix into a bowl and then garnish with olive oil, pomegranate seeds and coriander. Finish with  a sprinkle of paprika and serve with lots of pita bread!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Falafels

Falafels

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It’s time for these lil’ chickpea balls of happiness to enter the meze-sphere. These are made with chickpeas, cumin and lots of other lovely stuff, which all come together to make some very tasty kinda non-meat meatballs. These can be a little dry on their own, so they’re best served with something juicy like the roasted aubergine dish I posted yesterday, or some delicious homemade hummus!

Recipe

Makes 8

Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp Vegetable oil
  • 1 Shallot
  • 1 Garlic clove
  • 250g Chickpeas
  • ½ tsp Ground cumin
  • 1 tsp Mixed herbs
  • Zest of 1 Lemon
  • 1 Small chilli
  • Salt and Pepper to season
  • 1 Medium egg
  • 1 tbsp Olive oil

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 200˚C.
  2. Put the vegetable oil into a small pan and put over a medium heat. Finely chop the shallot and then add this to the pan and fry for 2-3 minutes until starting to caramelise. Add the garlic and fry for another couple of minutes before taking off the heat.
  3. Drain the chickpeas into a sieve and then rinse and dry them. Tip the chickpeas into a bowl and add the onion and garlic. Mash the mixture so the chickpeas are all broken down and then add the cumin, herbs, lemon zest, and chilli. Mix together and then season with salt and pepper.
  4. Add the egg to the mix and then stir to make a sort of dough. Divide the mixture into 10 small balls. Place these onto a lined baking tray and then leave in the fridge to chill for half an hour.
  5. When ready take the falafels out of the fridge, drizzle with the olive oil and then put into the oven to bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown and crisp.
  6. Transfer to a serving dish and serve warm with lots of hummus and salad!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x