Greek-Style Flatbread: Lamb Meatballs in Spicy Tomato Sauce with Greek Yogurt

When Elie and I went on our honeymoon to the Greek islands, our first stop was Paros, where we fell in love with the tiny island and its narrow winding roads, never-ending views of the sea, gracious people and beautiful food.  Ever since we left, I’ve been dreaming of a dish we had at Thea, a restaurant with a stunning view of the water and the island of Antiparos:  tender meatballs cooked in a spicy tomato sauce and served on top of a grilled flatbread with thick Greek yogurt.     

It’s taken me a year-and-a-half to recreate this dish, but I think it was worth the wait. 

It's the same idea as the dish at Thea, but with a twist: savory lamb meatballs simmered in a spicy tomato sauce and served on grilled flatbread with roasted cauliflower, pine nuts and a big dollop of Greek yogurt.  The tomato sauce is dangerous, because I could just stand at the stove and eat spoonful after spoonful until the pot is empty.  Rich with olive oil and warm with smoked paprika, allspice and cinnamon, it’s the perfect simmering bath for tender lamb meatballs.  For the meatballs, I used ground lamb combined with shredded zucchini, a trick from the turkey kebabs in Yotam Ottolenghi’s Jerusalem cookbook, which adds great moisture to the meatballs and keeps them very tender.  I wanted more vegetables to create a complete meal, so I added roasted cauliflower.  For the flatbread, I used my standard whole wheat pizza dough recipe, grilling the dough for a smoky char.  A garnish of toasted pinenuts, fresh parsley and a big dollop of Greek yogurt and I’m back at Thea.

Don’t be intimidated by the long ingredient list, because most of it is just spices that you already have in your pantry.  It took me less than an hour to make this dinner, start to finish (not including letting the flatbread dough rise).  You could also make each of the components ahead of time and then just reheat and serve.

  

Greek-Style Flatbread: Lamb Meatballs in Spicy Tomato Sauce on Grilled Flatbread with Greek Yogurt

Serves 4, with extra meatballs

For the sauce

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 onion, cut in small dice

1 teaspoon sea salt

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste

1 red bell pepper, cut in medium dice

1 clove garlic, sliced

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

¼ teaspoon allspice

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ cup white wine

1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 strip of lemon peel*

For the meatballs

1 pound ground lamb

1 zucchini, shredded

1 egg

¼ cup parsley leaves, chopped

1 teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon smoked paprika

¼ teaspoon allspice

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Zest of half a lemon

Extra virgin olive oil

For the cauliflower

1 large head of cauliflower, cut into small florets

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt

1 whole wheat pizza dough, store bought or from our recipe

Extra virgin olive oil

¼ cup pine nuts, toasted

Extra parsley leaves, for garnish

Greek yogurt

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

First, make the sauce.  Heat a large pot over medium heat.  Add the olive oil, chopped onion, salt and red pepper flakes and cook until the onion is translucent and very tender, about 10 minutes, stirring often.  Add the chopped red pepper and garlic clove and cook another 5 minutes, or until the pepper is starting to soften.  Add all of the spices and stir them into the onions and pepper, coating them in the oil.  Let them toast in the oil for a minute or two.  Add the white wine, crushed tomatoes, black pepper and lemon zest and stir.  Bring the sauce to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.  Let the sauce cook while you make the meatballs.

Next, make the meatballs.  Add all of the ingredients for the meatballs to a large bowl and mix well with your hands.  The mixture will feel rather wet.  Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Start forming the lamb mixture into balls, a little smaller than golf balls.  You’ll get about 12 – 15 meatballs.  Gently place the meatballs in the pan, being sure not to crowd the pan.  You will probably have to do this in batches, depending on the size of your pan.  Once they have browned on one side, gently roll them to the other side to brown.  If they are sticking, add a little olive oil to the pan.  How much olive oil you need depends on how much fat is in your ground lamb.  Once they are browned on all sides, about 5 minutes, remove them from the pan and place them in the pot of sauce to finish cooking.  These are very tender meatballs, so if some of them fall apart, don’t worry!  Just add the pieces to the sauce.  Let the meatballs simmer in the sauce for at least 20 minutes, or until they are cooked through.

Next, roast the cauliflower.  Place the cauliflower on a rimmed baking sheet.  Add the olive oil and salt and toss to coat.  Place in the oven and roast for 15 minutes, or until deeply golden brown.  Remove the pan from the oven.

While the cauliflower is roasting, grill the flatbread.  Heat your grill to at least 500 degrees.  Divide your pizza or flatbread dough into 4 equal pieces.  Roll or press the dough into a circle about 6 inches in diameter.  You don’t want the dough to be too thin, because you want it to stay tender instead of crispy.  Brush the dough with olive oil.  Place the dough directly on the grates of the grill and then close the lid of the grill to trap in the heat.  Wait about 1 – 2 minutes and then check the bottom of the flatbread.  If it lifts easily, turn the dough to the other side and let it cook for 1 – 2 minutes on the other side, or until it’s cooked through.  If the bottom of the dough seems like it is going to burn, turn off the burners on one side of the grill and place the dough on that side.  Let them continue to cook until done all the way through.  Remove from the heat.

To assemble, top each flatbread with about three or meatballs with sauce.  Garnish with roasted cauliflower, pine nuts, fresh parsley and a big dollop of Greek yogurt.

Enjoy, preferably with a glass of red wine and someone you love!              

Disclaimer:  McKenzie and I are consulting dietitians for the Tri-Lamb Group, Lean on Lamb.

Mediterranean Diet: More Vegetables for Breakfast!

I’m currently reading The Third Plate by Dan Barber, the chef and co-owner of Blue Hill and Blue Hill at Stone Barns.  It’s a lovely treatise on rethinking how we fill our plates and farm our land, focusing on plants and consciously-consumed animals.

Barber quotes William Albrecht, “To be well fed is to be healthy.”  I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to be well-fed, to be nourished.

At the same time, I’m travelling through Israel, a country that elevates a plant-based diet to new heights.  You never knew eggplant could be so, so good.

Israel really excels at breakfast.  I’ve said this before, I know.  But every time I visit this country, I am blown away by breakfast.  A typical Israeli breakfast includes a chopped vegetable salad, tahini, cheese, olives and whole grain bread.  Sometimes eggs.  Maybe some smoked or cured fish.

Adding vegetables to breakfast makes it a lot easier to eat more vegetables overall.  That makes sense.  And a vegetable-filled breakfast tastes so much better than cereal.  And satisfying.  

Here's proof.

This weekend, experiment with a Mediterranean-style breakfast.  Here are a few ideas.

1.  Make shakshuka, a traditional breakfast of eggs poached in tomato sauce.  You'll love it.  I promise.

2.  Add a salad to your usual breakfast.  Try chopping tomatoes, cucumbers, red bell peppers and fresh parsley and tossing them together with lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and pepper.  Top with toasted sunflower seeds.  Sometimes adding something nourishing to your meals is easier than changing your current habits. Change takes time.  Be nice to yourself.

3.  Make an eggplant dip, drizzle with tahini and top with goat milk feta cheese (my favorite).  Spread on whole grain toast.

4.  Roast or saute your favorite vegetables and top with an egg.  Here's a recipe.

5.  Fry an egg in extra virgin olive oil and top with a sprinkling of za’atar.  Serve with a salad of tomatoes, olives and roasted red peppers.

I’m ready for breakfast.  Wishing you all a healthy, well-fed weekend!

Honeymoon in the Greek Islands

On August 24^th, I married my best friend, a man who must have been destined for me.  We've never had a cross word. Not once. He thinks my ears are cute. He laughs at my quirks, which we’ll leave unnamed.  No matter how certain I am about a question, he’s always right.  He doesn’t have any quirks.  He thinks ice cream and chocolate are food groups.  He’s just so darned cute.

We are blessed.

A post on our wedding will come later.  In the meantime, I want to tell you about Greece.  Elie and I spent three glorious weeks in the Greek islands—Paros, Santorini and Crete—celebrating our marriage with good food and sunshine.  Seems a fitting way to start our life together.

We arrived at our first island, Paros, in the early afternoon, after an overnight flight from the U.S. to Paris, and then Paris to Athens, and then Athens to Paros.  It’s not a short trip.  We arrived to a tiny airport—a white, blue-trimmed building sitting on a runway under a cloudless sky.  That's a good way to beat jet lag.

We picked up our cute little car and found our way to the hotel, Yria, just south of the main port town of Parikia.  It wasn’t hard.  Paros basically has one road that circles the island.  You almost can’t get lost.

We were greeted with a welcome drink while we relaxed on the veranda, just one symbol of the hospitality of the people on the islands.  Everywhere we went, the Greek people greeted us with warmth and kindness, going out of their way to ensure we were having a good time, and falling in love with their country.  Whether it was the gift of a honey dipper (for our honeymoon) from a store owner or someone who walked us through town to personally show us her favorite restaurants, we found generosity of spirit everywhere we went.

This spirit of generosity extends to the way the Greeks eat.  The Mediterranean diet—rich in olive oil, nuts, beans, fish, fruits and vegetables, and wine—has gotten a lot of press over the years, most recently for its ability to prevent heart attacks, strokes and deaths from heart disease.  While traveling the islands, the reason for the region’s fame for vitality and longevity became clear.  First, the diet on the islands epitomizes the ‘eat local’ movement.  There’s not a great deal of diversity among menus—tomatoes, peppers, olives, zucchini, potatoes, lamb, goat, and cheese, cheese and more cheese—because restaurants serve what’s grown locally.  That means food is fresh, and handmade.  Second, there is a genuine sense of community, of taking care of each other.  You see this best when you look at the cafes, filled with older men drinking coffee, swinging worry beads and playing backgammon.  There are few retirement homes in Greece.  As people age, they move to live with their children, and they spend their days with friends.  Research shows this sense of community—of belonging—leads to longevity.

farmers market in Elounda

In short, they eat real food and share it with those they love.

But the food is not light.  The traditional comfort food of the islands is rich and hearty, because they were mainly farmers and fisherman who worked hard and needed the calories to get through daily life.  Now, life is not so hard, but the food remains the same.

The richness comes almost entirely from olive oil.  Greeks consumes an average of 24 liters of olive oil per person each year, compared to only about one liter per year for Americans.  Some sources show people in Crete consume as much as 30 liters of olive oil per year.  I believe it.  Every single meal in Crete was made with extra virgin olive oil, even the baked goods.  Olive oil was on every table—and it was good.  In fact, Greeks take their olive oil so seriously, every restaurant menu tells you exactly what kind of oil is used to make the dishes.  Pretty cool.    

  

While the food is rich, salads and vegetables are the mainstay of the diet.  I feel like I ate 101 Greek salads while we were there.  They are on every menu, with some variation of fresh tomatoes, cucumber, thinly sliced green bell pepper, olives, sometimes capers, red onions (but not for me), copious amounts of olive oil, a little red wine vinegar, freshly dried oregano, and a huge wedge of feta cheese or the local mizithra cheese, made from sheep or goat milk.

a sampling of the 101 Greek salads

The islands, especially Crete, are also famous for their wild greens, which include dandelion, wild arugula and wild fennel.  Historically, when times were tough, the people would head to the mountains and forage for wild greens for nourishment.  Today, you can still see the grandmothers with their knife and bag, gathering greens for home, although they are also widely available in the markets to buy.  You’ll see them on menus as a ‘salad’—boiled greens drenched in olive oil, and often paired with boiled potato and zucchini.

buying wild greens at the farmers market in Elounda

boiled wild greens, served with potato, zucchini, olive oil and lemon

Pies are popular in Greece—but they’re not what we think of as pie.  It usually means a savory filling wrapped in phyllo dough or another homemade pastry dough, always made with olive oil.

Cheese pie is a traditional late-morning snack of homemade phyllo dough stuffed with mizithra cheese and baked until golden.  It's often topped with sugar before serving.  We had the pleasure of watching cheese pies being made at a small shop in Chania.  It takes years of practice to learn how to toss the dough, stretching it so thin you could read through it.

the unbaked cheese pies, with a huge bowl of handmade mizithra cheese

the finished cheese pies, which are sold by the gram

There’s also fennel pie, a Cretan specialty, almost like a quesadilla with sautéed fennel and fennel fronds inside.

And Caesarean pie, which is a pastry stuffed with spicy cured beef, tomatoes and graviera cheese.  We had a version at Thea, on Paros, that was out-of-this-world.

The diet in the islands developed from necessity, and since most of the islands’ people were fisherman, fish is a mainstay.  Whole fish, simply grilled or fried with lemon, olive oil and oregano, is delicious, and can be found in every fish taverna, freshly caught and delivered that day.

fishing boats, like these in Elounda, can be found at every port town

On the western coast of Crete, the cuisine does not center as much around fish, because over the past centuries, most of the people lived in the hills away from pirates and marauding invaders.  Instead, they became farmers and foragers, learning to raise goat and sheep, for milk as well as meat. 

They use the sheep and goat milk to make delicious, creamy cheeses, from the tangy ricotta-like mizithra to the aged manchego-like graviera.  

a family-owned cheese shop at the market in Chania, featuring wheels of graviera at the top

And they put cheese on and in everything.  There is usually a special section on the menu, just for cheese and cheese dishes, like saganaki.  Saganaki is basically baked or fried cheese, so anything can be made into a saganaki—shrimp saganaki or spinach saganaki, below.  

Our favorite cheese dish was the boureki—a casserole with layers of potato, zucchini, mint and mizithra cheese that’s baked until golden brown and delicious.    

You can’t speak of Greek food without talking about wine.  Grapevines grow everywhere on the islands, and they have hundreds of varieties of grapes, making wine tasting interesting and fun.  Most people seem to make their own wines, or community wines.  When you visit a taverna, you’re likely to have a glass (or carafe) of wine made by the owners.  Everyone has their ‘house wine’ which is the only wine available by the glass.  More than likely, it will be poured from a large water jug and it will be good.  If you want choices, you have to order a bottle of wine.     

standing in the vineyard at Sigalas Winery in Santorini

The Greek people’s spirit of generosity extends to mealtime.  Greeks show their love through food.  Portion sizes are huge, and they take personal offense when you don’t eat everything on your plate.  By the end of the trip, Elie and I were stuffing food in my bag, just to finish the meal without offending the proprietors—and not come home stuffed ourselves! 

And when you think you’ve finished your meal, you’re not really finished.  Every meal ends with complementary dessert and raki, the traditional hard alcoholic drink.  After a while, we stopped asking them to please not bring us dessert and raki.  It’s futile.  

loukoumades, like beignets dipped in honey, are a popular dessert and snack

So, obviously our days were filled with eating.  The rest of the time, we read books, sunned ourselves, napped, and explored just enough to keep things interesting. 

Here are a few recommendations of things to do and places to eat, when you visit the Greek islands.

Paros

You can drive around the perimeter of Paros in about an hour, so nothing is very far away.  We stayed at the Yria resort, just south of Parikia, the largest town.  

The town of Naoussa is a quaint, seaside town with winding whitewashed streets that invite you to get lost in their maze.  You’ll find a confusing tangle of streets among most island towns.  It was purposeful by design, to help the townspeople to hide and escape when they were attacked by pirates or invaders.  You feel the impact of history very closely when you’re there.

Rent a scooter on Paros.  The roads are fine, and there’s not as much traffic here, as on the other islands.  We took the scooter up to Lefkes for the magnificent views and to walk a bit of the Byzantine trail. 

On another day, we took the scooter to the port at Pounta, and took the ferry to Antiparos, only a seven minute crossing.  

This was one of our favorite days.  We turned left out of the port and rode to the other side of the island, to Ag. Georgios.  We had lunch in an idyllic fish taverna right on the water, with a golden retriever trying to catch fish below us.

  

Elie talked to a boat captain who offered to take us to the sea caves, and where we could go swimming.  After lunch, we climbed aboard (with the golden retriever) and motored to several shallow caves before anchoring in a beautiful cove.  We changed into swimsuits and jumped overboard into the clear, turquoise water.  After we dried off, the captain handed us little plastic cups of homemade wine, poured out of a large water jug.  It was delicious. 

As for restaurants, we had some of our favorite meals on Paros.  Don’t miss Levantis, in Parikia, which serves a creative, lighter version of traditional Greek food.  You won’t find light meals like this everywhere.  The roasted tomato salad with arugula and grilled haloumi wrapped in grape leaves is on my list to recreate at home.

Thea, which sits at the water’s edge at the port at Pounta, is known for its wine cellar and for the exquisite sunsets.  

We loved it so much we ate there twice.  Both nights, we had Costas chose our dishes for us, and he brought me wines to match.  I’ve already mentioned the Cesarean pie.  But our favorite dish was beef, pork and lamb kebabs in a spicy tomato sauce with lots of green peppers, served on top of a fluffy pita with yogurt.  So simple and good.

At Yemini, in Naoussa, we sat outside in the whitewashed alley, laughing at the very polite, well-kept cats who kept coming to ask for our leftovers.  We had a delicious appetizer, layers of eggplant and tomato sauce topped with mizritha and baked and served like a lasagna. 

Santorini

If you go to Santorini, stay in Oia (pronounced ee-ah).  The town is unlike anything you have ever seen before in your life, and even the pictures don’t do it justice.  The town is built into the cliffs high on the northern edge of the caldera, a volcanic crater flooded with ocean water.  Many of the hotels, restaurants and shops are built like caves, tucked into the sides of the cliff, with paths snaking through and connecting them to the main pedestrian street at the top.  All of the buildings are whitewashed, and trimmed in that iconic blue of the islands.  With the ocean as backdrop, it is truly spectacular. 

Our time in Santorini was perfect.  We stayed at Canaves, which is an exquisite but completely unpretentious and relaxed resort, right at the beginning of the pedestrian walkway in Oia.  

So relaxed, Elie would walk to reception each morning in his robe to order us breakfast (room service on our patio!).

One of the highlights of our time in Oia was a catamaran cruise around the island.  We motored to the volcano (which is still active) and went swimming in the warm sulfur springs around the volcano’s edge.  We anchored at two other beaches for swimming and then ended with a traditional Greek lunch on the boat before heading back to the port. 

view of Oia from the water

One of the thousands of churches on the islands, this one at the volcano off the coast of Santorini.
Look closely and you can see goats roaming on the rocky hill.

On another day, we rented a cute convertible mini car and went exploring.  We visited Akrotiri, an ancient preserved settlement that was destroyed by a volcano, and then sunbathed at Perissa beach, unique for its black volcanic sand.  

We stopped at Fira, the other main town on the caldera, for a late lunch.  Since we had the car, we made a diner reservation at Selene, about 20 minutes from Oia in the village of Pyrgos.  It was worth the drive.  The quail starter, served with a soft quail egg I could have taken a bath in, was exquisite.  As was the langoustine.  And for me, the server opened bottles of wine, just to pair a glass of wine with each dish.  It was a lovely experience.

We also loved Ambrosia, which has a small rooftop patio, perfect for a romantic dinner.  Here we had a prawn appetizer in an incredibly unusual and delicious sauce made with mastic, a popular liquor. 

And 1800, is another great restaurant, right on the pedestrian walkway in Oia.  It’s housed in a historic mansion, where you can dine in the garden courtyard, or on the rooftop. 

Crete: Elounda and Chania

Crete is a large island, so if you visit, be sure and give yourself time, preferably staying on both sides of the island.  The two sides are quite different.

In Elounda, we stayed at Elounda Mare, the epitome of a refined, elegant resort.  No walking around in bathrobes here.  At Elounda Mare, you’ll feel very grown up.   

I’m afraid we can’t quite give Elounda a fair impression, because we had three cloudy, windy, chilly days in Elounda, which drove us to the spa (poor us) and inside for room service and movies (again, poor us) for much of the time we were there. So, we didn’t get out and experience as much as we would have, had the weather been beautiful.

But don’t miss Agios Nikolaos, which is a bustling town, great for walking and exploring. 

  

For dinner, we really enjoyed The Ferryman in Elounda, so much so that we went twice.  The lamb slow cooked in rice was amazing, worthy of recreating at home.    

The drive from Elounda to Chania is gorgeous, with breathtaking views of towering mountains on one side and clear, turquoise ocean on the other.

We absolutely loved Chania.  We stayed at Casa Delfino, in the heart of the quaint old town.  Chania has been conquered by the Romans, the Turks and the Venetians (among others) so the architecture is fascinating, feeling a bit like Venice or Florence. 

Note:  If you’re driving to a hotel in the old town, be sure and call ahead and ask where to park.  The old town is pedestrian-only, which we found out only after driving into the middle of the pedestrian streets.  Thank goodness Elie is a great driver. And calm.

There is a lot to explore around Chania, including an ancient settlement, Aptera, and many beautiful beaches.  We went to Phalasarna, a breathtaking beach about a 45 minute drive from Chania to the west coast of the island.

Phalasarna Beach

One of the best things you can do in Chania is to travel off the beaten path to some of the mountain towns, where you will encounter traditional, handmade Cretan food.  We went to Aetofolia, perched in the tiny village of Somonas with sweeping views to the sea.  The proprietor, Mrs. Katarina, cooks and serves you herself.  Her homemade bread alone is worth the drive.  We had goat stewed with green beans that reminded me of country style green beans from Kentucky.  Country cooking is the same everywhere—making delicious food from simple, humble ingredients. 

In the Turkish section of Chania, don’t miss The Well of the Turk, which serves creative versions of traditional Cretan food.  Be sure and go inside to see the well, but eat in the quaint courtyard.

Oinopoieio is around the corner from The Well of the Turk, and is also quite good.  Tamam is very popular, and has tables on the pedestrian walkway, as well as inside in an old Roman bath.

Chrisostomos was our favorite restaurant in Chania.  As with most of our favorites, we ended up eating here twice.  As with any restaurant, the experience is usually greater than the sum of its parts.  The restaurant is tucked into the back of the harbor, so it doesn’t have a view and no outside tables.  But, it’s cute inside.  The menu is nothing fancy—just traditional Cretan food done really well.  Great service, good wine, and a room full of locals.  Perfect.

The entire honeymoon was perfect, actually.  We couldn’t have asked for a better way to start our married life together.

A big thank you to Ronnie Liadis of Liadis Travel, for helping us to plan the perfect honeymoon!