Sit down for a sunshine soirée that will have your Greek feast guests sipping, sharing and celebrating this festive season. Make it a memorable feast with something out of the ordinary: a Med spread fit for a summer Christmas.
Grilled calamari salad with dill yoghurt
Serves 6
A fresh salad that’s the perfect start to a big Christmas lunch.
Ingredients
For the dill yoghurt
1 cup double-cream plain yoghurt
Handful dill, chopped
1 small red onion, sliced
1 lemon, zested and juiced
¼ cup olive oil + extra for frying
2 sprigs origanum, leaves chopped
Salt and milled pepper
800g calamari tubes
350g cherry or medley tomatoes, halved
200g pitted olives of choice
1 Tbsp capers (optional) 250g pickled peppers
1 small red onion, chopped
1 lemon, zested and juiced
Handful fresh basil
Method
- For the dill yoghurt, combine all ingredients, season and set aside.
- Combine olive oil, origanum and seasoning. Pour mixture over calamari and set aside to marinate for 1 hour.
- Heat a griddle pan over high heat.
- Cook calamari in batches for 3-5 minutes until charred.
- Toss calamari and remaining ingredients together. Season.
- Serve calamari salad drizzled with dill yoghurt.
Roast leg of lamb with mint chutney
Serves 6-8
The fresh mint chutney takes our lamb roast straight down to flavour town!
Ingredients
2kg bone-in leg of lamb
Salt and milled pepper
6 cloves garlic, chopped
3 sprigs each rosemary and thyme, leaves picked and chopped
10-15 sprigs dill, chopped
1-2 sprigs origanum or sage, chopped
1 Tbsp honey
3 lemons, zested and juiced (reserve juiced lemon halves)
½–1 cup olive oil
3-4 small onions, peeled and halved or quartered
For the mint chutney
Handful fresh mint
Handful fresh coriander
2 cloves garlic
1 jalapeño, chopped (optional)
2 limes or 1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 ½ Tbsp honey or sugar
Cold water
For serving
Roasted carrots
Handful dill and mint
Crispy smashed potato salad with tzatziki
Toasted flatbread
Method
- Generously season lamb and set aside.
- Combine remaining ingredients, except the onions, and rub all over lamb to coat.
- Allow to marinate for at least 1-2 hours or overnight in the fridge.
- Transfer lamb to an ovenproof dish or roasting tray. Nestle onions and reserved lemon halves around lamb and pour over excess marinade liquid.
- Preheat oven to 200°C.
- Cover with foil and roast for 31⁄2 hours, basting with pan juices every 45 minutes.
- Reduce heat to 180°C, remove foil and cook for another 30 minutes until browned.
- Combine mint chutney ingredients and roughly blitz in a food processor or with a stick blender, adding a splash of water if needed. Blitz until chunky or smooth, if you like, and season.
- Place lamb on a platter and top with chutney and fresh herbs. Serve with salad and flatbreads on the side.
Phyllo orange cake
Serves 6-8
Serve this scrumptious orange-scented cake with vanilla ice cream as soon as it comes out the oven.
Ingredients
2 oranges, sliced (or use blood oranges when in season)
1 cup (250ml) water
1 cup (200g) white granulated sugar
1 vanilla bean, cut open and seeds removed (or use 1 tsp vanilla essence)
1 box (500g) phyllo pastry, cut in half
4 eggs
1 egg yolk
1 cup (220g) castor sugar
1 cup (250ml) canola oil
1 Tbsp (15ml) baking powder
2 oranges, zested and juiced
1½ cups (375ml) double-cream plain yoghurt
1 cup (250ml) milk
Vanilla ice cream, for serving
Method
- Combine orange slices, water, sugar and half the vanilla in a small pot over medium heat. Simmer to reduce and reach a syrupy consistency.
- Remove oranges slices and arrange on baking paper. Set aside.
- Whisk together eggs, egg yolk, castor sugar, oil, remaining vanilla, baking powder, orange zest and juice, yoghurt and milk until well combined.
- Pour half the batter in a 30x20cm tray lined with baking paper.
- Crinkle each sheet of phyllo pastry and pack tightly over yoghurt batter until the tray is filled.
- Pour over remaining yoghurt mixture, shaking the tin until batter is spread evenly.
- Set aside for 20 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 180°C.
- Bake cake for 50-55 minutes until golden and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
- Pour prepared syrup over cake while still hot.
- Serve garnished with candied orange slices and ice cream.
Recipes & styling: Gail Damon
Photographs: Zhann Solomons