Greek Recipes:
Veal with aubergines (eggplant)

Recipes of Crete and Greece: Veal with aubergines (eggplant)

"Explore Crete" brings you a selection of Mediterranean recipes prepared by the chefs of Crete. This month Michalis and Eleni prepare Moskhari me Melitzanes, or Veal with Aubergines, or with eggplant, if you are buying them in the USA.

taverna in crete Just past the Palace of Knossos, a few minutes walk, some rather interesting diversions lie in wait for the intrepid explorer. First is the sight of an Arabian aquaduct looking very picturesque, home these days to a colony of ravens. Beside this structure sits our destination today, the small and very charming Taverna “O Hreiazomenos”. The taverna straddles the corner of the main highway and a smaller country road. Follow this latter path and you will soon discover a sort of nature reserve, actually a very fine park. Here in Crete, so close to crowded Heraklion, such an undisturbed expanse of green wilderness is a valuable thing and we heartily recommend that you take the time to visit ‘Agia Irini in Spilia’, as it is known. Bring a picnic, why not? Or, if good, healthy Greek cooking is required, call into see Michalis whose family name, Hreiazomenos indicates how essential they are around the old Minoan palace, otherwise something of a tourist trap.

taverna in crete The key to success for Michalis, who speaks good English, is Freshness First. The preparation of his, and Eleni’s, food comes to them as naturally as breathing, following slight variations on recipes that are informed by tradition and the seasonal availability of fresh ingredients. Both members of this husband and wife team cook, but today we follow Eleni in the kitchen, and she deals with our questions as Michalis pops in and out, ferrying steaming plates to the customers. Here is a version of one simple Mediterranean staple, Veal with Aubergines. In Greece, veal is simply younger beef. The word for beef, vodino is rarely used here, everyone asks for moskhari, veal. Melitzanes, aubergines, are available everywhere.

The recipe: Veal with Aubergines (eggplant)

This simple recipe serves four:
1 kilo of good beef, or veal
1 kilo aubergines
1 large onion
4 large tomatoes
Salt and pepper.

First, and most important, get hold of good fresh ingredients. Ask your butcher, if you want, to cube the meat, ‘kopste se kivous’. Sorry for the Greenglish translation.

recipe veal eggplant aubergines The aubergines are roughly cubed, as shown, each into four or five pieces. Most people sprinkle a thin coat of salt onto them at this stage, removing any bitterness. Rinse off the salt after 10-15 minutes. The meat is cubed into fork-sized chunks. Leave a bit of fat on the meat.

Chop your onions and soften them in a frying pan. Don’t use too much oil, the beef will provide its own. Add the veal and cook at a medium heat. Grate your tomatoes and add them too. Fry the aubergines separately in plenty of oil, hot enough to sizzle. When browned, remove from the pan.

Now, both aubergines and meat are fully cooked and all you have to do is to add the fried Aubergines into the veal. This recipe is not made to look pretty on the plate, but is simple and delicious.

Kali Orexi,

Yannis and Louis

* Article by Louis Tracy and Yannis Samatas