Greek Food Demo & Wine Pairing with Eleni Saltas

Join us for our very first cooking demo and wine pairing with social media cooking sensation, Eleni Saltas. Salt Lake City native, Eleni Saltas has been fully immersed in Utah’s vibrant Greek community through dance, sports, and youth activities since childhood. With a degree in Exercise and Sports Science from the University of Utah, Eleni is a full time personal trainer with a specialization in training the aging body. Her passion for health and fitness led her to starting a fitness blog which eventually morphed into stories and blogs about healthy foods as well… which of course means healthy Greek foods! Her blog led her to compiling her work into her first book, All You Can Greek: Food-Life-Travel. Eleni will be demonstrating two traditional Greek recipes and our resident wine expert, Fotios Stamos, has the honor of pairing these dishes.


Here are the recipes:

Tyrokafteri

Ingredients:

  • 3 to 4 sweet red peppers, seeded and chopped
  • 1 pepperoncini or banana pepper, seeded and chopped 1 to 2 spicy red peppers, seeded and chopped*
  • 2-3 sprinkles of chili flakes—more for more heat
  • 1⁄2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 16 ounces soft feta cheese
  • 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
  • 3 heaping tablespoons Greek yogurt

*Hot red peppers are optional. Use 1 or 2 or none at all, depending on how hot you want the dip. The chili flakes alone are just enough kick for many people.

Directions:

  1. Add half the olive oil to a medium frying pan over medium heat. Add all of the chopped peppers and chili flakes and sauté. Once the peppers have softened, take them off the heat and let them cool for about 10 minutes.
  2. Cut the feta into chunks and place into food processor or mixer. Add the yogurt, vinegar, and the grilled peppers, along with the oil accumulated from the pan.
  3. Mix everything together in the food processor until you have a smooth texture. With the mixer on medium speed, gradually add the remaining olive oil. Check for flavor and add more chili flakes for more spice, or more yogurt if it seems too salty.
  4. Empty into a bowl, garnish with chives or parsley, and serve with pita bread or vegetables.

Note: Tyrokafteri can be stored in the refrigerator for up 5 days and will harden the longer it sits. Just add oil or yogurt before serving if that happens.

Makaronia me Kima

Ingredients:

  • 11⁄2 pounds ground beef
  • 8 ounces of your preferred pasta noodles
  • 1⁄4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 large yellow onion, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1⁄4 cup red wine (optional)
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
  • 2 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 11⁄2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 3 tablespoons dry oregano
  • 1⁄4 cup parsley, chopped (optional)
  • Grated cheese (Mizithra, Kefalotyri or Parmesan)

Directions:

  1. In a saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat and add in the ground beef. Pound the beef with a spoon to break up into chunks. Season with salt, pepper, cinnamon and oregano, and brown the beef.
  2. Add onions and garlic and cook until onions have softened. Make sure to stir continuously. If using wine, add the wine and allow it to simmer for 2-3 minutes before adding the next ingredients.
  3. Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and water to the pot.
  4. Cover the pot with a lid (leave the lid off slightly). Lower the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes, being sure to stir occasionally (from the bottom).
  5. While the meat sauce cooks, prepare the spaghetti according to package directions.
  6. Check the meat sauce and add more salt and pepper, cinnamon and oregano if needed. Once the meat sauce has thickened and you’ve adjusted spices to your taste, stir and remove from heat. Mix in the parsley.
  7. Serve noodles on a large platter and top with the meat sauce. Sprinkle on the grated cheese.

Tip: Make a double or triple batch of the meat sauce and freeze in freezer bags. Works well when warmed back up for nights when there’s little time to cook.

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Purchase your wines here in time for the webinar, delivered to your door with FREE SHIPPING:

Vaeni Xinomavro, Naoussa, for the Makaronia with Kima recipe

Mylonas Rosé, for the Tyrokafteri recipe