Balkan cuisine

The Times report to a reported study that found that Greek students sell their bodies for tyropita (a type of layered cheese puff pastry) went wild on social media even after professor Gregory Lazos denied the article.

Greeks viewed the erroneous reportage with good humor and without underestimating the value of the mouth-watering humble tyropita.

– Hi, I’d like a #tyropita.

Greek moussaka
The wonderful Akis Petretzikis has a fantastic moussaka recipe using baked vegetables instead of fried to make it that little bit lighter. Delicious layers of potato, aubergine, courgette and beef, all topped off with a creamy béchamel sauce and a handful of parmesan.

"Como te ves me vi
 Como me ves te versa" 

Baking börek is not rocket science. Any idiot can do it. It is a trap for girls. Have you ever seen a man say he will learn how to make börek so his marriage can last? Börek is a Turkish pastry. We even have a song for it: ?Börekler açar?m sana,? (I will make böreks for you) by Nazan Öncel. I was going to give the link to the song but I listened to it and decided not to.

Deep purple is its color. It is often likened to dark velvet. Not that it is fuzzy. On the contrary, with a satin smooth surface, it is as shiny as polished marble. It must be the deepness of its color that makes one think of velvet. I'm talking about aubergines. In Turkish, in many cases the term "aubergine purple" is used to stress the intensity of the color purple.

Bulgarian Tourism Minister Nikolina Angelkova has opened a three-day tourist fair in the French capital Paris. The official slogan of the event is ''Bulgaria - Culture and Traditions''.

Istanbul has been has the hub of three imperial haute cuisines, making use of not only lo-cal but imported foodstuffs ranging from caviar from the north coast of the Black Sea to spices from India. But one special import ingredient has defined its royal cuisine right from the start. Here Mary I??n explains:

It doesn’t get more Greek than a plate of Moussaka though Turks may beg to differ. In Arabic countries the dish is served cold whereas the Balkan Moussaka is nice and warm.

What differentiates the Greek version is the layers that are separately cooked before being combined in the final baking. The modern Greek version was probably formulated by chef Tselementes in the Twenties…

Souvlaki (meat on a stick), the hamburger of Greece has made a comeback since the recession began, however despite the resurrection there are some places that never went away.  And what better day than Wednesday, May 6, International No Diet day to try one!

Army Park at Goudi has been transformed into a huge picnic site with tables, open-air spits and volunteers present to feed socially weak groups and ensure that these people can enjoy an Easter meal. The event, organized by the Ministry of Defense, offers 1,500 goats, 200 lambs, 100 kokoretsi (skewered intestines) to vulnerable groups who wouldn't otherwise be able to afford the Easter meal.