For Erasmus Team 

Salomé Oliveira, Portugal

is for 

Greece

See more Greek  traditional 

             recipes here: 

G is for 

Greek Salad with Feta Cheese

Equipment:

Ingredients:

 Preparation instructions

   1. Onion: cut the onion into thin strips; if you prefer, leave them dipped  in water for 5-10 minutes to reduce the chist; remove them dipped in water for 5-10 minutes to reduce the chist; remove them from the water and ditly them with absorbent paper.

   2. Cucumber: peel the cucumber, remove the seeds (optional) and cut it into small pieces.

    3.Tomato: remove the pedicle (part that connects the tomato to the twig of the plant) and cut into slices (6 to 8 slices).

    4. Chili (optional): cut into very thin slices. 

 5. Mix: place, tomato, cucumber, onion, peppers and olives in a large bowl, add half the olive oil and half the oregano and stir well.

 6. Feta: place pieces of feta cheese on the Greek salad and sprinkle  with the oregano and the rest of the olive oil.

 7. Salt and pepper: add salt and black pepper. Feta cheese is very salty, so check how much the salad is already salted before adding the salt.

Watch the video prepared from Greek school  and make your own salad:

                                 https://youtu.be/vVFAKF472As

M is for Moussaka 

Eggplant  moussaka is probably  the most popular traditional Greek recipe!  It was created in 1910 by Greek chef  Nikolaos  Tselementes and consists of a dish  with eggplant,ground beef and whitesauce. 

Ingredients:

Start by preparing this recipe for traditional moussaka by cutting the eggplant into slices about half an inch thick. Place on an oven tray with parchment paper, dwell with olive oil, sprinkle salt and pepper to taste. Bake at 200ºC for 15 minutes, or until soft.

Then prepare the white sauce as follows: bring to the fire a pan with the butter and the maisena and cook, stirring, until a paste becomes.

Tip: We advise you to stir this sauce with a  fouet so  that it is easier to dissolve the lumps.

Little by little, while stirring, add the milk. Keep stirring for about 10 minutes or until the sauce boils and thickens. Season to taste with  nutmeg, blackpepper andsalt, turn off and set aside.

Finally, it's left to cook the ground meat! In the original moussaka recipe is used lamb meat, but you can use another of softer flavor if you prefer (I used beef). Start by sautéing the onion and garlic in the olive oil until tender. Then add the meat and stir in with the spoon to separate.

When the meat changes color more or less equally add the tomato sauce (or beaten tomato, as in my case). Season with oreganos, thyme, clove powder, black pepper and salt to taste and cook until the sauce reduces and the meat is dry.

Tip: Seasoning well the meat is one of the secrets of a good moussaka! So don't hesitate to use the seasonings indicated and some others like bay leaf, cinnamon and allspice if you want.

Assemble the moussaka  by placing the eggplant on the bottom of a baking sheet. Cover with ground meat and press with the spoon to be compact. Then spread the white sauce on the meat, add the cheese to gratin (we advise grated mozzarella  cheese or slices) and bake at 200ºC for 10 minutes or until the cheese browns.

is for Italy

L is for Lasagna

Wonderful of Italian gastronomy in which the most common flavor takes ground meat, pasta, tomato sauce and lots of cheese.

The traditional Italian lasagna recipe with Bechamel and Bolognese sauces. 

Sauces are simplified to facilitate and streamline the recipe.

Preparation time: 2h.

Ingredients:

500 g ground beef

800 g peeled tomato San Marzano

150 g carrot

150 g onion

1 clove garlic

2 tablespoons oregano

500 ml milk

50 g butter

40 g wheat flour

75 g Grated Parmesan Cheese Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano

1 pinch nutmeg

1 pinch of sal and pepper

Olive oil

Lasagna pasta

Confection:

Chop onion, carrot and garlic

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and sauté the onion, carrot and garlic

Add the ground beef. Make sure it is very loose and season with salt and pepper. Cook until well done

Beat the tomatoes in a food processor or similar.

Add tomatoes and oregano. Cook over low heat for 20 minutes.

In another pan, for the Bechamel sauce, melt the butter.

Add the flour with a sieve and stir until it forms a roux

Add cold milk gradually and reduce over medium/low heat for about 10 minutes.

Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper

Spread bolognese sauce until it covers the bottom of the dish. Cover with the lasagna dough and cover the dough with a layer of Bechamel sauce. Always repeat in the order bolognese-mass-bechamel

Finish with one last layer of Bechamel sauce and top with grated Parmesan cheese

Use in preheated oven at 200 degrees for 30-45 minutes.

The origin of the pizza is disputed by Egyptians, Hebrews and other peoples. But one thing no one disputes: it was in Italy, especially in the city of Naples, that it developed, and the best flavors and preparation techniques were created. Uma legitimate Neapolitan pizza,  tandm thick edge and coverage following the rules of  AVPN - Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana. This is the most common type of pizza in Italy. Even with different types of pizza consecrated in countries with strong Italian immigration, such as Brazil, the United States and Argentina, food remains an Italian symbol. In Italy, the most requested flavor is the classic margherita.

P is for Pizza

Ingredients:

How to Do:

1. In a bowl add the flour and mix the salt, make a hole in the middle and set aside.

2. Heat the water without boiling.

3. Dissolve the yeast of bread in this water and add the sugar.

4. Add this mixture in the middle of the wheat, let it rest in a warm place for 30 minutes.

5.  Add the olive oil and work this dough like working dough, make a ball with the dough and let it rest for an hour in a warm place. Open the dough and fill your way.

is for Lithuania

Blynai or potato pancakes.

Ingredients:

B is for Blynai

Making about 10 blynai (potato pancakes)

Peel the potatoes and remove any dark spots. Finely grate the potatoes with a food processor or box grater. Place the grated potatoes in a mesh sieve and allow them to drain above a bowl. Save the water that collects in the bowl as you will reuse the potato starch that settles at the bottom of the bowl. Continue this process of grating and draining until all of the potatoes are processed.

After the potatoes have had a chance to drain, empty them into a large bowl. Sprinkle them with the crushed vitamin C or ascorbic acid powder. Mix thoroughly to distribute the vitamin C/ascorbic acid powder evenly throughout the potatoes. This prevents the mixture from turning gray.

Add the onion, egg, salt, and farina to the potato mixture and mix until well combined. Carefully pour off the potato water from your collection bowl but be careful to save the potato starch that settled at the bottom of the bowl. Add the potato starch to the potato mixture and stir until well combined.

If you are making this potato batter ahead of time, cover it with one sheet of paper towel and then with a piece of plastic wrap. Place both the paper towel and plastic wrap directly on the potato mixture to keep any air from reaching the batter. Refrigerate this batter up to two days before using it.

Heat ½” of canola oil in a large frying pan. Test the oil temperature by dropping a small amount of batter in the oil. If it sizzles, then the oil is hot enough. Drop about ¾ cup of potato batter into the oil for each blynas. Make several blynai at a time, but be sure to leave enough space in your pan so that the blynai do not touch each other. Fry until the bottom is golden brown and then use a spatula to flip the blynai. Fry the other side until golden. Remove from the oil and place on paper towels to drain.

S is for Šaltibarščiai

Cold beet soup (Šaltibarščiai) is one of the typical Dishes of Lithuania. This cold beet soup, of an extraordinary color, is very refreshing and delicious. 

Ideal for hot summer days and prepared with grated marinated beetroot, kefir, boiled egg and dill, in some places it is still served with cucumbers. 

The accompaniment is with boiled potatoes.

Serves 2-4 people.

Ingrs:

1 big red beet

1 large cucumber

2 colher of chive soup 

1 spoon of dill

500ml water

500ml sour milk

salt and pepper

Boiled potatoes to accompany,

1 boiled egg on top.

Confection:

In boiling water, we start by baking the whole beetroot, with skin, and it should be fully submerged. It should take about 15-20 minutes.

Drain the beet water and allow to cool well.

Peel the beetroot and grate coarsely. Put it in a bowl.

Add the sour milk, water, chopped chives and dill, mix everything very well.

Cut the cucumber with the skin into cubes and add to the previous preparation.

Season everything with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve immediately with boiled potatoes sprinkled with dill, as if it were bread, as well as boiled egg in the center of the soup.

Geras apetitas!

is for our country

Portugal