Greek Ground Beef Roll Recipes

GREEK SOUZOUKAKLIA

Steps:

• Preheat grill for high heat.
• In a large bowl, mix together ground beef, onion, raisins, and parsley. Season with cayenne pepper, cinnamon, coriander, nutmeg, sugar, salt, and pepper, and mix well. Form into 6 flat sausages around skewers. Lightly brush sausages with oil; this prevents sticking to the grill.
• Arrange skewers on hot grill grate. Cook for approximately 15 minutes, turning occasionally to brown evenly, until well done.

GREEK GROUND BEEF ROLL

Steps:

• Heat oil over medium-low heat. Add onion and cook about 10 minutes. Add meat and cook, breaking up meat, until all liquid evaporates and meat is browned. Add tomato, thyme and cinnamon. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Meanwhile, melt 3 tblsps butter in small saucepan over low heat. Add flour and stir 3 minutes. Pour in milk, increase heat to medium-high and stir until sauce boils and thickens. Remove from heat and whisk in egg. Place over medium heat and continue stirring 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.
• Melt remaining 1 tblsp butter in small skillet over medium heat. Add pine nuts and stir until golden-brown.
• Heat 2 tblsps olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.
• Add garlic and sauté just until it begins to release its fragrance. Blend in spinach, cover and cook just until spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.
• Stir sauce, pine nuts and cheese into meat. Taste and adjust seasoning.
• Let cool. (this can be prepared up to 1 day ahead and refrigerated until ready to use).
• Preheat oven to 350F (175C). Lightly grease rimmed baking sheet.
• Cover work surface with towel. Place 2 filo sheets on towel with long edge nearest you. Brush with melted butter. Repeat 4 more times, brushing each double layer with butter. Spread cooled meat mixture on filo, leaving 1 ½ inch border. Arrange spinach in lengthwise strip along center of meat. Using towel as aid, roll filo up lengthwise. Transfer, seam side down, to baking sheet. Brush butter over top.
• Bake until crisp and golden, about 1 hour.
• Let stand 10-15 minutes before slicing. (can be assembled ahead to this point and refrigerated overnight before baking).

LAHANODOLMATHES (GREEK CABBAGE ROLLS)

Steps:

• Combine the ground meats with the 3 tblsps olive oil, rice, onion, parlsey, celery, carrot, tomato paste, garlic and spearmint. Season with salt and pepper. Knead well to combine everything.
• Place cabbage in a large pot of boiling water and cover pot.
• When the outer leaves are blanched and softened, remove leaf by leaf, keeping the leaves whole, and place flat on a towel on work surface.
• Continue in this way, removing leaves as they become blanched and soft.
• Take some leaves that have not removed in one piece (the worse looking ones, or chop up some cabbage) and put in the bottom of a large pot.
• Take a cabbage leaf and place 2 tblsps of meat filling in the center.
• Fold both sides in and start rolling up, away from you, to make a cylinder, like an egg-roll or cigar. Do this rather loosely to allow for expansion of the meat and rice as it cooks. Lay these neatly in your pot, packing them in next to one another so they hold their shape.
• Continue rolling cabbage leaves until all your filling has been used up and/or you run out of leaves.
• Put more torn cabbage leaves or chopped up cabbage over the cabbage rolls.
• Pour over olive oil, add stock cubes and add enough hot water to just cover the cabbage rolls by ½".
• Weight the cabbage rolls with a plate and bring to the boil (the plate keeps the rolls from moving around too much as they cook, so that they don't unroll).
• Cook for just over an hour.
• Remove from heat.
• Carefully remove cabbage rolls to serving dish and make your sauce using the liquid remaining in pot.
• Beat the eggs with the corn flour and lemon juice.
• Very carefully and very slowly and whisking all the time, start to dribble the hot stock into the egg mixture. Keep doing this until you've added nearly all the stock. This tempers your eggs so that your sauce won't curdle.
• Pour the sauce back into the pot, and cook until the sauce just starts to simmer.
• Remove from heat and serve with the cabbage rolls coated generously with this sauce.
• Another recipe that goes so well eaten with nibbles of feta cheese and crusty bread (as all Greek recipes seem to).

"LIGHT" GREEK GROUND BEEF ROLL

Steps:

• Heat large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and meat and cook breaking up meat until all liquid eaporates and meat is browned. Add garlic and spinach. Cover and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Whisk together nugmeg, cinnamon, thyme, flour and milk. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat stirring constantly for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat. Whisk in egg. Place over medium heat and contine to stir for 2 minutes. Set aside.
• Heat butter in small skillet over medium heat. Add pine nuts and stir until golden-brown.
• Stir sauce, pine nuts and cheese into meat. Season with salt and pepper and cool.
• OAMC: The meat mix may be frozen at this point for later use. To use, thaw overnight in the fridge before proceeding with the remaining directions.
• Preheat ove to 350.
• Lightly grease rimmed baking sheet. Cover work surface with a towel.
• Place 1 phyllo sheet on towel with long edge nearest you. Spray with butter spray. Add 1 sheet of phyllo. Sray with buttter spray. Continue until 10 sheets are layered.
• Spread 1/3 of cooled meat mixture on phyllo leaving 1 1/2 inch border. Using the towel as an aid, roll the phyllo lengthwise.
• Transfer, seam side down to baking sheet. Repeat with remaining mix and phyllo. Spray tops with butter spray.
• The roll may be frozen at this stage as well. Wrap in foil and freeze. Do not thaw before baking.
• Bake until crisp and golden, about 50-60 minutes. If cooking from frozen may require an additional 10 minutes of baking. Let stand 10-15 minutes before slicing.

GREEK BEEF PITAS

Steps:

• In a large skillet, cook beef, onion and garlic over medium heat 8-10 minutes or until beef is no longer pink and vegetables are tender, breaking up beef into crumbles; drain. Stir in oregano and 1/2 teaspoon salt., In a small bowl, mix yogurt, tomato, cucumber, dill and remaining salt. Spoon 3/4 cup beef mixture over each pita bread; top with 3 tablespoons yogurt sauce. If desired, top with additional tomatoes and cucumbers. Serve with remaining yogurt sauce.