Grandma’s meatballs with a twist

Tradition meets… something new

Serves: 5 Preparation time: 35m Cooking time: 25m Ready in: 60m


Ingredients
For the meatballs
200g. sausage (pork)
500g. minced beef
1 onion, finely chopped
1½ cup parsley, chopped
80g. Greek graviera cheese from Crete, grated
200g. fresh bread crumbs, ground in a blender
1 egg
salt, freshly ground pepper
For the tomato sauce
1 small cup of olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 cans chopped tomatoes or 900g. fresh tomatoes, grated on grater
1 tsp. tablespoons tomato paste
75ml red wine
1 tsp. tablespoons sugar
1 cup chopped parsley
1 handful fresh basil leaves

Preparation method
step 1
Making the meatballs: Open the casing from sausage and remove the flesh into a large bowl.
step 2
Add the minced meat, onion, parsley, cheese, bread crumbs, egg and plenty of spice. Knead with your hands until you get a homogeneous mixture.
step 3
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees in the air. Shape the minced meat mixture into about 25 balls and bake in oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
step 4
Making the sauce: Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and sauté the garlic for 1 minute. Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, wine, sugar, parsley and spice. Simmer the sauce for 20 minutes or until thickened. Then add a few leaves of basil, add the already cooked meatballs and stir gently. Serve the meatballs with pasta of your choice sprinkled with Greek graviera cheese from Crete.
Instead of pasta you can use rice or fried or boiled  potatoes etc.

Source: Olive Magazine
Chef: Ioanna Stamoulou

Plakias Suites: #1 of 45 Specialty Lodging in Plakias, Rethymno Crete!!

Plakias Suites (5.0 of 5 stars) Ranked 1 of 45 Specialty Lodging in Plakias according the popular travel site TripAdvisor 

Having already received the prize Certificate of Excellence with 84 Reviews!!

Two Greek beaches, Elafonisi and Balos in Crete, among the best in the world!!

 Summer is just around the corner and travelers from all over the world have already started to daydream about beautiful beaches, golden sands and azure waters.
In response to the growing demand for content that highlights amazing summer destinations, the travel website travelversed.com recently presented the top 20 most beautiful beaches in the world.
Two Greek beaches, namely Elafonisi and Balos in Crete, have made the top ten of the popular website. See below the full list:

1. Phra Nang Beach, Thailand
 
2. Elafonisi Beach, Greece
 
3. White Beach, Boracay, Philippines
 
4. Saline Beach, St. Bart’s
 
5. Mudhdhoo Island, the Maldives
 
6. Black Sand Beach, Maui, Hawaii
 
7. Rabbit Beach, Lampedusa, Italy
 
8. Wineglass Bay, Tasmania
 
9. Balos Beach, Greece
 
10. Cavendish Beach, Prince Edward Island, Canada
 

Greece Wins Triple for Cultural Heritage at 2015 EU/Europa Nostra Awards

2015 EU Prize for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Awards for Greece

Greece is one of the 28 award winners of the 2015 European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Awards. 

The winners of the award, considered Europe’s most prestigious prize in the heritage field, were announced on Tuesday by the European Commission and Europa Nostra.
The 28 award winners, selected from 263 applications submitted by organizations and individuals from 29 countries, are honored for outstanding achievements in four categories: 1) Conservation, 2) Research and Digitization, 3) Dedicated Service to Heritage, and 4) Education, Training and Awareness-raising.

Greece scored three awards in the categories of “Conservation” and “Research and Digitization”.
“This year’s winners are powerful examples of creativity and innovation at work for Europe’s cultural heritage”, said Plácido Domingo, President of Europa Nostra.
“They also demonstrate that heritage matters to Europe and its citizens. We trust that, under the leadership of President Juncker and Commissioner Navracsics, the European Union’s strategy for an integrated approach to cultural heritage will be further developed and implemented.”
(source:gtp)

Rethymno, 3th most beautiful town in Greece, where you want to stay for a lifetime!!

The Spanish magazine Hola,makes a tribute to Greece and selects the 10 most beautiful villages and islands located in the country and are able to enchant the visitor and make him want to stay there forever.

See below the list of the top 10 most beautiful villages in Greece, according to Hola magazine.
1. Oia, Santorini
2. Chora, Mykonos
3. Rethymno, Crete
4. Hydra in the Saronic Gulf
5. Parga, Preveza
6. Thira or Fira, Santorini.7. Rhodes
8. Parikia, Paros
9. Spetses, Saronic Gulf10. Firostefani, Santorini
source: The Spanish magazine Hola

Eggplant balls (Melitzanokeftedes)

 These crunchy eggplant balls can be served as an appetizer, in a sandwich or even as a main meal with yoghurt and salad...

Serves: 4 Preparation time: 15 mins Cooking time: 10 mins  Ready in: 25 mins

Ingredients
4 large eggplants
2 slices of old bread
1 finely chopped onion
1 finely chopped garlic clove
1 egg
1 finely chopped parsley
1 tsp dried oregano
5 spns of grated parmesan cheese
olive oil for frying
salt, pepper
Preparation method
Step 1
Cut the eggplant into cubes, salt the cubes, spread with olive oil and bake in oven at 180°C for 30 mins.
Step 2
Knead together the eggplant cubes with the bread after it has been soaked in water and fully drained. Add the finely chopped onion, garlic cloves, egg, cheese, salt, pepper, oregano and parsley. Leave in the fridge for half an hour.
Step 3
Shape round balls. Once these are molded, add beaten egg and then cover in breadcrumbs before frying in hot oil. Drain on kitchen paper and serve.
Tip
Serve with tomato salad or yoghurt flavored with mint. They go well with a yoghurt dip to which melted garlic, salt, olive oil and finely chopped mint have been added.
OPTIONAL ALTERNATIVE: You can boil the eggplants and drain these or cook them with the skin on a gas stove or in the oven and then drain them of their juices.
Source: Olive Magazine
Chef: Eleni Psychouli

Visitors to museums and archaeological sites up in 2014.

Visitors to Greek museums in December 2014 increased by 19.3%, and revenues from entrance tickets rose by 30.2% compared to the same month last year.

According to an announcement released by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) on Thursday, visitors to Greek museums in December 2014 increased by 19.3%, and revenues from entrance tickets rose by 30.2% compared to the same month last year.
ELSTAT also said today that in the period January-December 2014, there were 22.5% more visitors in museums and revenues rose by 27.9%, compared to the same period last year.
Specifically with regard to archaeological sites, ELSTAT said that the number of visitors rose by 33.8% in December 2014 while revenues increased by 35% in comparison with the same month last year.
In the period of January-December 2014, the number of visitors in archaeological sites rose by 21.9% and revenues increased by 13.5%.
(source:protothema)