Greece will be hoping to avoid another World Cup tragedy tonight when they face Japan in their second match, after suffering a heavy 3-0 defeat to Columbia in their opening game.
Despite having strong domestic club sides, and actually winning Euro 2004 in Portugal, Greece have a woeful record at the World Cup, qualifying for only the third time in the competition’s history in 2014, and have only managed 2 goals at the finals.
Tonight’s World Cup Dinner is a simple, but tasty one- Greek Koftas with pittas, hummus, tzatziki and olives
INGREDIENTS
250 g lamb mince
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 lime, juiced
1 red chilli, chopped
2 tbsp freshly chopped coriander
salt and pepper to taste
3 tsp olive oil, for frying
Flatbreads, hummus, tzatziki, olives, wedge of lemon to serve.
Also required- wooden kebab skewers. ( I got mine from Lakeland in Buchanan Galleries)
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Mix the mince with the other ingredients, other than the oil, in a bowl.
2. Form the mix into balls (about golf ball sized), and then roll into kofta ‘sausages’. Slide onto skewers.I had some vine tomatoes left over from last night so I ‘kebabed’ them too.
3. Fry the Koftas over a medium heat in a griddle pan with olive oil, turning regularly. They should take around 8 minutes.
4. Serve the cooked koftas with the hummous, tzatziki, and olives.
I bought in the accompaniments ready made, but there’s a great hummus recipe from Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall here.
World Cup Dinners 