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Sunday’s lunch by Chef Nikos Petrakis

A recipe to add to your family cookbook

We are always glad to see an old friend and keep up with his news and plans. So, we were more than happy for our meeting with Nikos Petrakis, Chef de cuisine of the Ergon Greek Deli + Cuisine in Skiathos. The amazing recipes that someone can taste at the store, are created by the executive Chef of Ergon, Dimitris Skarmoutsos, who met Nikos Petrakis nine years ago, in Crete. Nikos was inspired by the work of Dimitris, by his creativity and his respect for the purest, finest quality ingredients; soon after they met, he started working and learning near the well-known Chef.

He welcomed us inside the sunny -I want to live in that kitchen- of the Ergon store, with the hospitality that is so characteristic of the Cretans. We talked about all sorts of interesting culinary things, but we also got to try his wonderful lamb recipe. It is perfect for Sunday’s lunch; the good old-fashioned way to gather your friends and to celebrate a family reunion… Very Mediterranean, and very, very delicious.

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Stuffed leg of lamb

A recipe by Nikos Petrakis

 

Ingredients

– 1 boneless leg of lamb

– 1 espresso cup of petimezi

– 3 tablespoons of olive oil

– 3 tablespoons of Cretan staka butter

– Oregano, thyme, salt and pepper

 

For the stuffing

– 2 spring onions chopped in slices

– 1 big onion chopped in slices

– ½ a kilo of vlita (chorta) or other seasonal leafy greens – roughly chopped

– 6 zucchini flowers cut in half

– 100-200 grams (depending on your taste) of sundried tomatoes cut in half

– 3 roasted red peppers (florinis) cut in slices

– 300-400 grams of dried anthotiro cheese, cut in sticks

 

Preparation

• Wash and cut all the vegetables for the stuffing, then mix them with the cheese sticks.

• Place that mixture of raw ingredients into the lamb; tie it securely with a kitchen string. Season with the oregano, thyme, salt and pepper; and coat the lamb with the olive oil, butter and petimezi.

• Wrap the meat in waxed paper and then in aluminum foil. Make sure that it is firmly sealed. Place it in a baking tray.

• Cook in pre-heated oven at 200 o C for about 2 hours.

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Nikos Petrakis served the lamb accompanied by this simple, flavored, potatoes and different colored cherry tomatoes recipe. Here’s how to make it:

• Chose some even-sized potatoes and wash them well without removing the skin. Wrap each one of them in aluminum foil and cook them in pre-heated oven at 180 o C for about an hour. Poke them with a fork to check if they are done.

• Remove the aluminum foil from each potato and cut them in big pieces.

• Wash and cut the cherry tomatoes in pieces. Mix them with the potatoes and sprinkle with finely chopped spring onions and fresh dill. Drizzle with a mixture of olive oil and lemon.

Enjoy!

 

photography by christos drazos
words by maria alipranti
 

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