Last year I was given a review copy of Vefa Alexiadou’s book, “Vefa’s Kitchen” and the recipes in this heavy tome are endless! I could easily do a recipe a day (a la Julie Powell) and probably still have a few recipes to take me halfway into the next year. The recipe I want to share from this book is one that can be recreated in a skillet or on your grill. I always prefer grilling meats but you may choose what’s convenient for you.

The recipe that interested me recently were these keftedes or ground meat patties that also contained chopped spinach in the mix. Vefa’s recipe uses ground pork – I went for ground beef with some pork added in the mix for some juicyness. Basically this recipe is a compound of ground meat, chopped spinach that’s been boiled, blanched, strained, squeezed and chopped, grated onions, some dried Greek oregano and seasoning.

The keftedes are then fried or grilled and then finally a slice of cheese is placed on each pattie and cooked until just melted. I loved the spinach in the mix for their flavour and because we all need more roughage in our diets. In Vefa’s recipe, a white cheese slice (yeah I know) was used but I opted for a slice of Kasseri cheese.

Vefa’s recipe in the book is titled “Kypriakes Propetes”. I asked a few friends from Cyprus if they have ever heard of this dish and I’m still waiting to hear from som Cypriot friends if they have heard or tried this dish? Aside from the mystery of this dish’s orgins, give this one a go. It’s easy, you get some spinach in the mix and who can deny the experience of eating a juicy pattie with melted, oozing cheese to complete the dish?

Ladies & gentlemen, start your grill or stove-top – time to make some Kypriakes Propetes!

Kypriakes Propetes (Κυπριακές Προπέτες)

makes 4-6 patties

(recipe adapted from Vefa Alexiadou)

1/2 lb. lean ground beef

1/2 lb. lean ground pork

1 medium red onion, passed through a box grater

1/2 cup of blanched, squeezed-dry spinach, chopped

(you may also used frozen spinach found in most grocery stores)

1 large egg

1-2 slices of stale bread, soaked lightly in milk or water

1/2 tsp. of ground black pepper

1 tsp. of sea salt

1 tsp. of dried oregano (or chopped fresh mint or dill)

thin slices of Kasseri cheese

1. For the spinach, you’ll need about 6 cups of fresh spinach to yield you the 1/2 cup of wilted, chopped spinach needed for the recipe. Bring a pot of water to a boil and then add some salt. Wash the spinach 2-3 times to remove any sand or grit before boiling it. Add the spinach to the boiling water and cook for a couple of minutes or until wilted. Place in a ice-cold water bath and once cool, strain thoroughly. Now squeeze the excess water with your hands and roughly chop.
2. In a large bowl, add your ground beef and pork, the egg, the crumbled and saoked slice(s) of bread, the chopped spinach and salt and pepper, oregano. Mix well with your hands until well incorporated. If the mixture is too wet, add some breadcrumbs or if too dry, a little olive oil should do the trick. Roll a small meatball in your hands and fry it off. Have a taste and adjust seasonings according to taste. Roll the meat mixture with your hands into patties and set aside.
3. If grilling, pre-heat your gas or charcoal grill. Brush the grill surface well and wipe the surface with a towel treated with vegetable oil. If frying in your stove-top, lightly dredge each pattie in all-purpose flour and add about a 1/2 inch of olive or vegtable oil into a large skillet. Once the oil is hot, fry your patties for about 2-3 minutes a side. Once  your grill is ready, place the patties on the grill and cook over medium-heat for 3-4 minutes a side.
4. Just before your patties are cooked on both sides, add a slice of Kasseri cheese on top and cook until the cheese has melted (you may place a lid or cover to help melt the cheese).
5. Serve with some Fries, a Greek salad and an ice-cold Greek beer.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at  https://kalofagas.ca then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at truenorth67 AT gmail DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author.

© 2007-2010 Peter Minakis