Gourmet Dips platter by Maria at Aristotle's restaurant, Sydney

By Maria & team at Aristotle's restaurant

 cooking with 

There is no Greek feast complete without an array of delicious dips to enjoy whilst sipping beautiful Greek wine, and the team at Aristotle's has given us their secret recipes for us to make at home and live it up a little like a shipping magnate Onassis and Jackie O'!

Sydney's North Shore's best restaurant of 2019 offers the finest modern Greek cuisine with gourmet creations that will please even the most discerning foodies! Maria and her team cooked and shared five different dips for the Greek Easter Feast using our flavoured olive oils, which you can try making them at home, but if cooking isn't your forte, then they are just a call away or online at www.aristotles.com.au!

MELITZANOSALATA

INGREDIENTS

1 large eggplant, cut into 1 cm rounds (skin on)
2 cups onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
Salt and ground pepper, to taste
Sakellaropoulos Organic flavoured Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Oleastron with Fennel & Rosemary to serve 

METHOD

Sprinkle your eggplant with salt on both sides and place in a colander in the sink to drain excess water. After 10 minutes, lightly rinse with water and then press dry between two towels.

Preheat oven to high broil (or medium if you have the option) and position a rack at the top of the oven.

Arrange eggplant rounds on a baking sheet drizzle with olive oil and a pinch of sea salt. Roast for 5-7 minutes, turning once or twice until eggplant is softened and golden brown. Remove from pan and let cool to the touch.

While eggplant is roasting, heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 2-3 tablespoons olive oil. Add onion and stir often until caramelized – turn heat to low if browning too quickly. Add crushed garlic in the last few minutes so it doesn’t burn. Set aside.

Peel away the skin of the eggplant (if a little is left that’s OK) and add flesh to a mixing bowl. It should be soft and tender. Add onion-garlic mixture and mash with a fork. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Spread melitzanosalata onto serving dish. Top melatzanosalata with parsley fronds and drizzle of Oleastron flavoured extra virgin olive oil.

TARAMOSALATA 

INGREDIENTS

4 slices white bread, crusts removed

300ml dry white wine to cover

40g golden eschalots, roughly chopped

100g salted white cod roe paste

50ml lemon juice

550ml olive oil

Salmon roe, to serve

Sakellaropoulos Organic flavoured Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Syllektikon, Lemon & Thyme to serve

METHOD

The method in this recipe should be followed exactly otherwise the end result will not be the same.

Cover bread with water and soak overnight.

Blend onion in a food processor/blender until smooth. Drop in fish roe and continue to blend. Squeeze moisture from bread and add to a food processor, blending. Slowly drizzle in olive oil and lemon juice alternatively to create an emulsion, as you would for a mayonnaise until it is thick and smooth. Add 80ml of warm/hot water and process again to make the dip light and fluffy.

Spread taramosalata into a serving bowl. Top with salmon roe and drizzle of Syllektikon Extra Virgin olive oil. 

HUMMUS WITH SPICED PINE NUTS

INGREDIENTS

1 x 400g can chickpeas

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ cup lemon juice

1 large garlic clove, peeled

½cup tahini

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground cumin

2-4 tablespoons ice-cold water

Sakellaropoulos Organic flavoured Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Enigma, Walnut, Apple & Cinnamon to serve

Spiced Pinenuts:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon melted butter

200g pine nuts

½ teaspoon ground cumin

Salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

1 handful of flat-leaf parsley leaves

METHOD

Place the chickpeas in a medium saucepan and add the baking soda. Cover the chickpeas by several centimetres of water, then bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Continue boiling over a medium heat, for about 20 minutes, or until the chickpeas are soft. In a fine-mesh strainer, drain the chickpeas and run cool water over them for about 30 seconds. Set aside.

Meanwhile, in a food processor combine the lemon juice, garlic and salt. Process until the garlic is very finely chopped, then let the mixture rest. Add the tahini to the food processor and blend until the mixture is thick and creamy, stopping to scrape down any tahini stuck to the sides and bottom of the processor as necessary. While running the food processor, drizzle in 2 tablespoons ice water. Scrape down the food processor, and blend until the mixture is smooth, pale and creamy. (If your tahini was thick to begin with, you might need to add 1 to 2 tablespoons more ice water. Add the cumin and the drained chickpeas to the food processor. While blending, drizzle in the olive oil. Blend until the mixture is smooth for about 2 minutes. Add more ice water by the tablespoon if necessary to achieve a creamy texture.  Add extra salt and lemon juice to taste if required. 

Spread hummus into a serving bowl or platter. Top with spiced pine nuts.

Spiced Pine nuts:

Heat oil & butter in medium frying pan, add pine nuts and cook over medium heat until golden. Tip out of the pan into a medium bowl, scatter over the cumin, season and toss to coat.

Top hummus with spiced pine nuts and drizzle of Sakellaropoulos Enigma Extra Virgin olive oil. 

TIROKAFTERI 

INGREDIENTS

500g of good quality feta

1/2 cup of ricotta

4 red capsicum

2 long chillies with the seeds

1/2 cup of olive oil

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

1/4 tsp freshly ground white pepper

salt

chilli flakes or chilli powder

Sakellaropoulos Organic flavoured Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Syllektikon, Lemon & Thyme to serve

METHOD

Preheat griller and grill the capsicums and the chillies until they blister. Peel them, and drain to remove excess liquid. Once drained, place them on paper towels.
Place the feta & ricotta with half the capsicum, chillies and pepper into the food processor. Gradually add all the olive oil and vinegar until it's nice and smooth.
Add salt to taste.
Spread tirokafteri onto serving dish, sprinkle the remaining capsicum/chilli mixture, and drizzle of Syllektikon Extra Virgin olive oil.

This dip is intended to be spicy, so if the chillies are not hot enough, add a few chilli flakes or a pinch of chilli powder.

TZATZIKI 

INGREDIENTS

1 cucumber, peeled, deseeded, grated

400g thick Greek yogurt

3 cloves garlic, roasted and pureed

30ml red wine vinegar

40ml extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon dill, shredded

¼teaspoon dried mint

Salt, to taste

Sakellaropoulos Organic flavoured Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Syllektikon, Lemon & Thyme to serve

METHOD

Sprinkle cucumber with ½teaspoon salt. Leave grated cucumber overnight in colander to extract excess juices. Place yogurt, garlic, vinegar, extra virgin olive oil and herbs into a large bowl. Season with salt to taste.  Squeeze excess liquid from cucumber and add to yogurt. Mix well and add salt to taste.

Spread tzatziki onto serving dish. Top tzatziki with finely chopped cucumber, sprigs of dill and drizzle of Syllektikon Extra Virgin olive. 

Aristotle's can be found at 1/24 Young St, Neutral Bay NSW 2089 and now offers Pick Up and Home Delivery.