Yiayia
By Anastasia Miari
Yiayia Poly's giouvarlakia (meatballs in tomato sauce) from Athens
Not Too Tricky
serves 6
About the recipe
Traditionally in Greece, soul-soothing giouvarlakia are paired with an avgolemono (egg and lemon) sauce, but Yiayia Poly is not a purist so she makes a tomato sauce to sit her meatballs in instead. An Athenian yiayia with a modern sensibility and cutting humour that’s as sharp as her nose, Poly takes an inventive approach to cooking, looking out beyond Greece for many of her favourite dishes. It takes us a while to land on a classic Greek dish when discussing what her contribution to this book will be, but there’s absolutely no way I’m missing Poly out. She lives in a typical polykatoikia (apartment block) in Athens’ well-heeled Kolonaki neighbourhood and is representative of the elegant and refined yiayiades that make up a good portion of the city’s population. We settle on giouvarlakia to make together, Poly instructing me to do the jobs she least enjoys (like grating the onion) and pointedly ordering her grandson, Karolos, around, all the while amusing us with her sarcasm and wry wit. She’s a force to be dealt with but her warming giouvarlakia in this sweet tomato sauce reveal the care and love that she obviously has for her grandchildren. A true yiayia in every sense. Yiayia Poly serves her giouvarlakia with a small tipple of beer (she drinks one small glass every day), crusty bread and hunks of feta.
Recipe From
Ingredients
FOR THE SAUCE
680g (1lb 8oz) passata (sieved tomatoes)
1 vegetable stock cube dissolved in
680ml (23 fl oz/2¾ cups) water
180ml (6fl oz/¾ cup) extra virgin olive oil
1¼ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
FOR THE GIOUVARLAKIA
2 red onions, grated
1kg (2lb 4oz) minced (ground) beef
1 large egg
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
½ bunch of parsley, leaves finely chopped
3 tablespoons long-grain rice
plain (all-purpose) flour, for dusting
Method
- In a large saucepan, combine the passata, stock, olive oil, pepper and sugar, then bring to the boil. Cover, reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 15–20 minutes while you prepare the meatballs.
- Drain any excess liquid from the grated onions using a piece of muslin (cheesecloth) or a sieve, then transfer to a bowl. Add the beef, egg, salt, pepper, parsley and rice and use your hands to combine.
- Pour a little flour onto a plate, ready to coat your meatballs.
- Roll the meat mixture into golf-ball-sized-spheres, dipping each meatball into the plate of flour so that it is lightly dusted all over before setting aside on a large plate or tray.
- Once you’ve rolled all the meat into balls, add them to the pot of sauce and ensure they are entirely covered by the liquid. If you need to you can add a dash of water so that the liquid just covers the meatballs. Cover and simmer over a medium heat for 20–30 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened. If it’s still on the watery side, simmer uncovered for a little longer.
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