Greek Tapas

Last week I went to a Greek cooking class at the South Melbourne Market. The ladies from Greek Food Odyssey were friendly and informative. It wasn't a hands on class but rather a demonstration class with plenty of delicious samples to taste. For $50 (which was a last minute discount) it was well worth it.

My two favourite dishes were the Thracian hot eggplant salad and the Spetsofai (Greek sausages in a capsicum, tomato wine sauce). For me the thing that makes these two so delicious is the roasting of the capsicum and eggplant on hot coals (my webber). Both were relatively easy to make the only tricky bit was timing the roasting of the vegetables.

For the eggplant salad I peeled the roasted skin and cut it so that it opened up flat on the serving plate. Then I drizzled balsamic vinegar and finely chopped garlic over the top followed by a sprinkling of fetta cheese and a generous amount of continental parsley. For the Spetsofai I browned onion and sliced greek chorizo. Then added tomatoes and a generous drizzle of red wine followed by the sliced roasted capsicum. To garnish I added a sprinkling of parsley. I also barbecued some pork spare ribs which is not exactly Greek but oh well they tasted great.

It's really satisfying to got out and eat something and then come home and pretty much replicate the dish with the same flavour. The lucky guests for my first monthly dinner will be having both Greek dishes.