A childhood favourite. Although it’s the same recipe for any kima (meat sauce) recipe I make, the cut of pasta always makes a delicious difference.

I remember in 2018, Aegean Airlines served this. Now I never eat aeroplane food, ever! I remember everyone on board was so impressed with it and so was I after trying it. It was delicious! Do they still serve it? I’ll fly Aegean just to eat this again 🤣.

Over medium heat combine the oil, onion and garlic and sauté until it’s sweats. Add the beef mince and break it apart over the heat stirring through continuously until it’s browned (approx 10 mins).

Pour in the white wine and cook off the alcohol for 2-3 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, dried herbs and spices and stir through. Follow by adding 1.5 cups of water and combine everything well. Add your seasoning and allow the sauce to simmer over medium heat for approximately 30-40 minutes with the lid ajar stirring occasionally until the sauce has thickened.

Boil the Koralaki as per package instructions and once al dente, strain and combine with the kima (meat sauce). Sprinkle with plenty of myzithra, grated kefalogaviera or any hard cheese you like.

Featured is my Chios linen tea towel designed by me and Kali Orexi wooden spoon. Both available worldwide from my website, maryskouzina.com.au .

 KORALAKI ME KIMA. A childhood favourite. Although it’s the

Cabbage leaf rolls filled with beef, rice & plenty of fresh herbs in an egg lemon sauce. So homely and comforting, it’s childhood on a plate.

Peel away a few outer leaves of the cabbage if they’re damaged or dirty & discard. Cut out the core of the cabbage, place it in a large pot and fill with water, vinegar & salt. Allow it to boil and gently remove the leaves as they pull away from the body and set aside.

For the filling you can either cook the beef fully with 4 tbsp olive oil or keep it raw then combine all ingredients into the one bowl. Set aside & prepare the leaves.

To prepare the leaves, cut out the large vein running through the the leaf, this will make the dolmades easier to roll. Do not discard. Then cut the leaf in half which is now ready to fill. Refer to my highlights to watch a more in-depth description.

Line your large pot with the leaf cut offs & any odd pieces you cannot use to roll. To fill your prepared leaves, add approximately 1.5 Tbsp of filling toward the bottom of the leaf. Begin to roll up, bring in the sides to seal then continue rolling tightly. Place the dolmades seam side down tightly in your pot, fill with water (add stock paste if you wish) until it just reaches the top layer but not fully covering them. Place a plate on top & simmer on medium heat for approximately 1.5 hours or until the rice is cooked.

Prepare the avgolemono by whisking the eggs & lemon until frothy. Scoop out some of the stock from the dolmades and pour it into the egg & lemon whisking vigorously. Pour the avgolemono mixture back into the pot and let it stand for 10-15 minutes before serving.

 LAHANO DOLMADES . Cabbage leaf rolls filled with beef, rice

Κοτό σουπα Αυγολέμονο (Kotosoupa Avgolemano) 🍋 🍋 .

Our family has a little tradition. Each time someone comes back from an overseas trip, we make beautiful egg lemon chicken soup for them to come home to.

Such a comforting dish, we believe it nourishes the body.

It’s Greek chicken soup for the soul. .

 Κοτό σουπα Αυγολέμονο (Kotosoupa Avgolemano) 🍋 🍋 . Our

Have you tried my keftedakia recipe yet? I love them jam packed with fresh mint so sometimes I add more 🪴. They’re even better the next day 🤤. We used to have keftedakia sandwiches 🥪 with the leftovers 🤣. They saw us through most of our primary school days. Anyone else 🤣?

Roll just under an tablespoons worth of the mixtures and shallow fry in olive oil for approximately 2 minutes on each side and till nicely browned.

 Have you tried my keftedakia recipe yet? I love them jam

Beef eye fillet rolled with capsicum, asparagus, onion and

 Tonight’s roast dinner. Beef eye fillet rolled with

Have you tried my recipe for Soutzoukakia sto fourno? It’s one of my most made recipes from my gram 🤤. Large spiced beef meatballs baked with potatoes in a gorgeous fragrant tomato sauce. I love using spices such as cinnamon and all spice in my cooking, for me it takes these traditional dishes to another tasty level. Watch how I make this delicious dish in a detailed video in my highlights. It’ll become a family fav! 🤩🤩.

 Have you tried my recipe for Soutzoukakia sto fourno? It’s

Tonight’s Middle Eastern inspired keftedes. I shared this recipe back in January although with this much flavour, I think they deserve a repost 🌿.

- Combine all ingredients except beef to the food processor and also pulse a few times till it resembles a finely chopped consistency.

- Combine all ingredients with the beef and knead vigorously until the mixture holds together really well.

-Roll into small flat patties and grill using a little olive oil on your grill plate.

- Serve with rice and a garnish of parsley or coriander and pomegranate.

 - If you intend to cook enough for a family of 4 or more, double the quantities 👌.

 Tonight’s Middle Eastern inspired keftedes. I shared this

Γεμιστά - Stuffed vegetables 🍅 🌶.

This dish is definitely sitting high in my top 5 favs 🤩.

We usually enjoy Gaimista as a vegetarian dish although tonight I felt it was necessary for us to enjoy it with the addition of beef mince. What a great decision that was 🤤.

 Γεμιστά - Stuffed vegetables 🍅 🌶. This dish is definitely

As promised! Last nights recipe for Biftekia sto fourno.

I’ve shared this recipe before and the method is also in my highlights but to save you the trouble here it is once more.

Btw. What do you think of the Reels? I think they’re so fun! 💃🏻 Love creating them!

To prepare dish preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Begin by combining all potato ingredients in your baking tray. Cover with foil and bake for approximately 30 minutes or until potatoes have softened.

Whilst potatoes are in the oven, in one bowl add all ingredients to make the biftekia. Mix all ingredients well, preferably by hand to combine (if you feel the mixture is not holding very well, keep working it with your hands, it will come together). Form 2 Tbsp of mince mixture in your hands into oval shapes and set aside till they’re all made.

Once you’ve formed the biftekia, arrange them into the tray with the potatoes (you may need to move the potatoes around in order to fit the Biftekia). After everything has been fitted back into the tray, give potatoes and biftekia a drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and return to the oven for approximately 25-30 minutes or until golden and biftekia have cooked through.

 As promised! Last nights recipe for Biftekia sto fourno

Stuffed zucchini’s in an egg and lemon sauce (Γεμιστά κολοκυθάκια αυγολέμονο). 🍋🥒 🇬🇷 Because it’s all I can think about eating at the moment haha 🤤 .

 Re-sharing one of my earlier posts. Stuffed zucchini’s in

It seems this dish received a lot of interest over night and for those lovely people who have contacted me regarding the recipe and method, you’ll be able to find it in my highlights ⚪️⚪️⚪️.

I thought I’d repost this with a few tips.

2. When cooking the meat in the oven, make sure it’s tightly covered with foil.

3. Depending on the thickness of your steak, it may take longer to cook in the oven than mine did. Always check. If the meat is not falling apart, recover and cook longer. You may also need to add additional water.

4. When cooking the kritheraki (risoni pasta) in the oven, sometimes the water absorbs faster than the pasta cooks. So if you do add more water be sure to check the seasoning.

5. If you want to elevate this dish even more, add 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the liquid when cooking the meat.

6. Serve with grated hard goats cheese (mizithera)! Omg yum!

Hope this helps! Enjoy and καλή όρεξη!

 Τ  B O N E  G I O U V E T S I 🥩. It seems this dish

Thank you so much for joining in on our live chatting all things pastitsio! Here is my family’s delicious recipe:

Grated Kefalogaviera 🧀 as much as you’d like.

Boil pasta, drain, add to a large 14” tray, add a splash of olive oil and a generous grating of cheese. Set aside and begin the meat sauce.

Pour in the white wine and cook off the alcohol for 2-3 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, dried herbs and spices. Follow by adding 1.5 cups of water and combine everything well. Add your seasoning and allow the sauce to simmer over medium heat for approximately 30-40 minutes with the lid ajar stirring occasionally. Once ready spoon evenly over the pasta and set aside.

Preheat your oven to 180c. To prepare the bechamel add the butter, flour and corn flour to a pot over medium heat. As the butter melts, cook off the flour for approx 2 minutes. Follow by adding a cup of milk at at time to the pot, adding each one once the previous has thickened. Whisk continuously until all the milk has been added and the bechamel has thickened. Grate in as much kefalogaviera as you like season to taste then quickly whisk the egg through. Pour the bechamel over the pasta and meat and finish with another sprinkle of cheese. Bake for approx 30 mins until golden on top. Once ready allow the pastitsio to sit for 20 minutes before cutting.

 PASTITSIO. Thank you so much for joining in on our live

Cabbage dolmades filled with beef and rice, plenty of fresh mint, dill and parsley, finished in an egg lemon sauce. 🍋 .

Confession. When I was a child, I wasn’t a fan of lahano (cabbage) 🥬 dolmades. But over the years I came to appreciate this traditional dish and how delicious it is.

Mum, I’m sorry for the times I stomped my feet when you cooked this. ❤️😘❤️😘.

 Cabbage dolmades filled with beef and rice, plenty of fresh

GEMISTA - are you team Gemista with meat or team Gemista vegetarian?

This batch has a combination of ground beef and feta cheese. I’d have to say this is one of sexiest of all the Greek dishes. Don’t you agree? .

This recipe is very dear to me, it will become available in the near future 😘.

 GEMISTA - are you team Gemista with meat or team Gemista

Παπουτσάκια (Papoutsakia) which translates to ‘little shoes’. Beautiful aromatic ground beef traditionally baked in eggplant, but tonight I chose zucchini. Καλή όρεξη 😘😘

 Παπουτσάκια (Papoutsakia) which translates to ‘little

🎥 Γεμιστά - Stuffed vegetables 🍅 🌶.

We usually enjoy Gaimista as a vegetarian dish however in this batch, I added beef mince .

 🎥 Γεμιστά - Stuffed vegetables 🍅 🌶. We usually enjoy

My Dutch oven lamb shank recipe using lamb shoulder on the bone, inspired by

_food4thought famous slow cooker lamb dinner. Set and forget! Check it out!

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C. In your Dutch oven add the olive oil along with the onion and garlic. Sauté for approximately 2 minutes before adding the white wine. Allow the alcohol from the wine to cook off for a minute and then add the stock cube, oregano m and the lemon juice. Add salt and plenty of pepper.

Pour in the water and place the lamb shoulder into the pot. Cover and place the pot in the oven for approximately one 2 hours.

After approximately 2 hours, remove pot and check the lamb is beginning to soften then add the potatoes around the lamb. Place the lid back on and cook for an additional 30 mins or until potatoes are cooked through. Squeeze some extra lemon and enjoy!

 My Dutch oven lamb shank recipe using lamb shoulder on the

Μακαρόνια με κιμά - Thank you so much for your interest in this recipe. Coincidentally we had it for dinner tonight so I took the time to document it for you and it is now saved in my highlights.

I really love aromatic spices in Greek sauces. The cinnamon and clove remind me of my Yiayia Kiki 🙏.

Grated myzithra (hard goats cheese) to sprinkle on top.

Head over to my Instagram highlights to watch how I make it 🎥!

 Μακαρόνια με κιμά - Thank you so much for your interest in

Lamb, potatoes and lemon 🍋. Ingredients that just work! This dish consists of such simple ingredients that promise loads of flavour. This took a total of two hours to make, start to finish and majority of that time was in the oven whilst I was able to do other things. I guarantee you’ll love this one ☝️.

 , if you do not have a cast iron pot you can simply use a baking tray tightly covered with foil although cooking time may be a little longer 🍋🍋.

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C. Using an oven proof pot begin by browning the lamb shanks with a drizzle of olive oil on each side for a few minutes and set aside.

In the same pot add the olive oil along with the onion and garlic. Sauté for approximately 2 minutes before adding the white wine. Allow the alcohol from the wine to cook off for a minute and then add the stock cube and the lemon juice. Add salt and plenty of pepper and also the oregano.

Pour in the water and add the lamb back to the pot. Cover with the oven proof lid and place the pot in the oven for approximately one hour.

After one hour, remove pot and check the lamb is beginning to soften then add the potatoes amongst the lamb. Place the lid back on and cook for an additional 30 mins or until potatoes are cooked through. Squeeze some extra lemon and enjoy!

 Lamb, potatoes and lemon 🍋. Ingredients that just work!

Παπουτσάκια - Eggplants filled with aromatic beef topped with a bechamel. .

Yes, the Greek translation for ‘Papoutsakia’ is, Little Shoes (sounds cuter in Greek 🥰).

Be sure to check out my highlights for the method. Such a comforting dish on during these winter nights 🥶.

 Παπουτσάκια - Eggplants filled with aromatic beef topped

As promised, I’m re-sharing my recipe for baked Soutzoukakia sto fourno. Large Greek spiced meatballs baked with potatoes in a aromatic tomato sauce 🍅. Traditionally these are cooked over the stove in the tomato sauce but you have to try it this way too!

This recipe is one of my most made recipes on my Instagram and for good reason. It’ll become a family favourite, I guarantee you! Here the recipe if you haven’t yet tried it.

Make sure you head over to my highlights to watch how I make it 🎥.

 As promised, I’m re-sharing my recipe for baked

Tonight’s dinner! Stuffed zucchini’s in an egg and lemon sauce (Γεμιστά κολοκυθάκια αυγολέμονο). 🍋🥒 🇬🇷 I think I claim every dish I see and make to be my favourite. I can’t help it, I love food 🤷‍♀️ .

 Okay, enough about cake! Tonight’s dinner! Stuffed

Okay, you can only choose one! To enjoy these Kokkinista Keftedes with:

1. Macaronia (spaghetti) and grated goats cheese (mizithera) OR

I’m pregnant, so I can chose both 😇.

 Okay, you can only choose one! To enjoy these Kokkinista

Lemony artichokes and peas with chicken. A traditional vegan dish for us but today I added chicken. I can guarantee any other meat would also work really nicely 🍖 🥩.

Lemon and dill, a match made in heaven 🍋 🌿.

If you’re interested to see how I made this dish, you can check out my highlights for the full method! Happy cooking and Καλή όρεξη!

 Lemony artichokes and peas with chicken. A traditional

My yiayia cooked up a storm this Mother’s Day. My favourite!! Giamista! 🍅 Stuffed vegetables with rice, meat, fresh herbs and spices. I’ll be spooning masses of tzatziki ontop of these babies!!! 🇬🇷 💖 .

 My yiayia cooked up a storm this Mother’s Day. My

I always make it snow with grated goats cheese but for the sake of this post, I held back 🤣.

Beef cooked till soft and tender in an aromatic red sauce. A seriously comforting meal I can never eat enough of 🤤🤤.

Traditionally served with spaghetti or olive oil chips although my hubby opted to have brown rice instead. Me? I’m all for a good carb fest 😏😏😏.

 I always make it snow with grated goats cheese but for the

One of mums specialties and a great winter dinner. Paired with tangy lemony potatoes, it’s one of our favourite meat bakes.

Begin by pre cooking the potatoes in the oven. Add all of the potato ingredients into the tray, cover tightly with aluminium foil and bake at 180C for 30 minutes.

Prepare the meat. Add all the ingredients for the meat onto a bowl and use your hands to combine well. Portion the meat into halves and on a clean board roll out a log and flatten out the centre slightly so you can place the cheese and eggs.

Roll then flatten out the other half of the meat placing it on top and creating a seal with the bottom half.

Once the potatoes have softened, remove the tray from the oven and carefully rearrange them to be able to fit in the meatloaf. Once sealed give the meat a small drizzle of olive oil and return to the oven uncovered for approximately 20-25 minutes.

Note: I pre cook the potatoes first because they take longer than the meat. You can cook the entire meal in one go (meat and potatoes together) though it made result to a dry meatloaf.

 Ρόλο - Greek Meatloaf. One of mums specialties and a great

Dishes like these are the kind of comfort foods I love during winter. Tender melt in your mouth chuck steaks cooked with greens in an avgolemono sauce. Traditionally cooked with lamb or pork, today I added a few variations and the outcome was nothing short of delicious.

7-8 stalks of celery cut into large chunks.

Salt your steaks then add the olive oil to a hot pot browning them on each side. Remove and set aside. Add the chopped onion and sweat for 2 minutes. Add a splash of water to deglaze your pot to lift any flavour stuck at the bottom.

Add the steaks back to the pot and add enough water to cover. At this point you can allow the steaks to simmer over the stove or place them in the oven (only if your pot is oven proof) with the lid closed. Allow the beef to cook for up to 1.5 hours or until tender. If the beef doesn’t tenderise and the water evaporates, add more and continue to cook.

Once the meat has become tender, add the lettuce, endive and chopped dill plus 2 cups of water. Cover once more and allow it to simmer over the stove until the greens wilt right down (at this point you can also add your stock cube) and season. Once the greens have wilted add your zucchinis and continue to cook for 15 mins.

Prepare the avgolemono in a separate bowl. Whisk the egg and lemon together and use a ladle and slowly stream the liquid from the pot into the avgolemono whisking at the same time. Add approx 5 ladles worth of liquid and return the foamy lemony liquid back in to the pot. Gently stir through and garnish with more fresh dill.

 Beef Fricassée. Dishes like these are the kind of comfort

Giourvalakia 🍋. Is there anything more comforting than avgolemano? A big thank you to

 for sharing my recipe with you all. It includes my yiayias secret ingredient which is freshly grated tomato. It adds another flavour into the meat balls and into the stock 🍅 . Brilliant!

Begin by placing a large pot of water (filled approximately half way) onto medium high heat with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Combine all the yiourvalakia ingredients together in a bowl. Work the mixture well with your hands until it holds very well. Using a table spoon, spoon out equal parts of the mixture and form them into balls gently placing them in the water.

Once all of the meatballs have been added to the pot, add in the extra 1/4 cup of rice (this will help the soup to thicken slightly).

All the soup to come to a gentle boil, begin to skim off any impurities that surface. Allow the yiourvalakia to cook for approximately 40 minutes or until the rice in the meat balls has cooked through.

Once it’s ready, taste and adjust for seasoning and turn off the heat whilst you prepare the avgolemano. In another bowl, begin by vigorously whisking the egg whites until they are foamy then add the yolks and whisk again. Slowly stream in the the lemon juice as you continue to whisk.

Using a ladle spoon out the hot stock from the pot and gentle stream it into the avgolemano mix whilst whisking and repeat with another 5-6 ladles full. Pour the avgolemano mix with the stock back into the pot stirring gently and place the lid on for 10-15 minutes and serve with freshly cracked black pepper. Kali orexi.

 Giourvalakia 🍋. Is there anything more comforting than

Lately my father in-law and I have been discussing all things Politiki Kouzina. Born in Constantinople he grew up on dishes so fragrant with spice prepared by, Yiayia Malama who was a fantastic cook and tailor in Kurtuluş. The Greek women of this area, known as, Politises prepared such amazing recipes. These dishes have a history of their own very much worth reading up on if you’re interested.

This dish has an extra Polítiko touch to my original Soutzoukakia sto fourno recipe with the addition of grilled eggplant wrapped around the Soutzoukakia. If you love the original recipe, you’ll love it this way too. Enjoy!

One large thinly sliced eggplant. Brushed with oil and sprinkled with salt.

I’ve added the method to my comments below❤️.

 Eggplant wrapped baked Soutzoukakia . Lately my father

Did you catch my Insta story today cooking with my grandmother? I had the day off work and spent my time with Yiayia in the kitchen. We were honestly so humbled by all the messages she received from so so many of you in regards to her cooking methods, her advice as she was cooking, Cretan accent, our relationship and even her nail colour 💅🏽(Yiayias always on point). What touched me the most was how many of you found it very nostalgic to watch and hear Yiayia speak as she cooked, as I’m sure this is how a lot of us remember our mothers and grandmothers ❤️🙏.

I think I’ll make ‘Yiayia Maria’s Kouzina’ a thing on my page as often as I can. It’s not only enjoyable to watch but it reconnects us to traditional cooking methods. This is the very reason why I cook and share so much about Greek food because I want to share moments like these with my children and grandchildren 🙏❤️. No matter the cuisine, cook where you come from and pass down that knowledge 🙏🎈📖 .

Have a beautiful weekend, everyone! 💕.

 Did you catch my Insta story today cooking with my

My no fuss quick and tasty paprika chicken marinade roasted with lemon potatoes, zucchini and cherry tomatoes .🍋 🌿 .

My parents joined us for dinner tonight ❤️❤️. We also enjoyed fresh fava dip, marinated onions and a Greek salad. .

Not a traditionally Greek chicken dish, but it’s definitely full of Greek flavour. ❤️