Laiik Makes Greek Food: Bifteki Gemista
Bifteki, pronounced beef-tek-ki, is a Greek-style burger, bun-less and perfect for the summer. It's spiced and sometimes includes Feta - which, of course, we did do for our kalo mina recipe. You can grill them on the barbecue or broil them in the oven, which is the more traditional option. Grab your Greek sandals, head to the market for fresh ingredients and come make Greek food with us.
Prep time: 20 minutes
Assembly time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients: 1 pound beef; 1 pound pork; 1 medium onion grated; 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs; 3/4 cup of whole milk; Two cloves chopped garlic; 1 tbsp oregano; 2 lemons; 1 egg; 1 tsp salt; 1 tsp ground pepper; 1/2 tsp dried mint; 1.5 tbsp olive oil; 1 medium tomato grated ; 1 cup of Feta cheese, crumbled; 1.5 pounds of new potatoes.
Note: Traditionally, if you're making the bifteki with Feta, you wrap the meat around the Feta so it's stuffed. In this recipe, we crumbled the Feta and spread it throughout the mixture.
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Soak the breadcrumbs in the milk, until they’ve completely soaked up all the milk.
In a very big bowl, combine the beef, pork, grated onions, garlic, half the oregano, egg, salt, ground pepper, dried mint, grated tomato (optional) as well as the crumbled Feta and half the amount of olive oil. Add in the soaked breadcrumbs, and then mix together with your hands. Don’t over-knead, but make sure all the ingredients are melded well.
Wash and scrub your potatoes well, and then halve them. In a separate bowl, put in your potatoes, along with the juice of the two lemons as well as the rest of the olive oil and oregano and salt.
Form the meat mixture into oblong/oval patties - 2-3 inches long and 1-2 inches wide. Or however you prefer, but they should be longer and wider than regular meatballs.
Take a large baking sheet or pan, line it with a bit of olive oil, place your biftekia on the pan and then place your potatoes around and between each of the biftekia.
Place in the oven and cook for an hour. Make sure the potatoes are cooked through. And if not put them back in for another 10 minutes.
