ORLANDO, Fla. — If you’re looking for authentic Mediterranean or Greek cuisine, there’s a new kid on the block in east Orlando.

David Lalis is one of the owners of Zorba’s Kitchen. He comes from a Greek father and an Italian mom, but David was born in France.

He even had a Zorba’s in Nice, France. The Orlando location is his eighth restaurant.

We asked David to demo two of his favorite dishes. He chose the Greek meatballs and Greek lasagna.

Let’s cook! These recipes are for a large group.

Recipe for meatballs

Ingredients

  • 4 pounds of ground beef
  • 5 eggs
  • 11.2 ounces of salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 4.8 ounces parsley
  • 6.4 ounces Greek oregano
  • 6.4 ounces chopped garlic
  • 1.92 ounces Greek olive oil
  • 8.8 ounces breadcrumbs
  • 4 ounces parmesan
  • 1.6 ounces basil paste
  • 3.2 ounces cumin powder
  • 8 ounces of whole milk

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, add ground beef.
  2. Make a hole in the middle of the meat, and add the whole eggs; start massaging the meat really well.
  3. Add the salt, black pepper, parsley, Greek oregano, chopped garlic, Greek olive oil, breadcrumbs, parmesan, basil paste, cumin powder and whole milk.
  4. Massage the mixture for about 10 minutes to be nice and smooth.
  5. Weigh 80 ounces of meat, and roll them with your hands to form meatballs. Place them in a large pan, and bake at 450 degrees for 10-15 minutes until they are golden brown.

Recipe for Pastitsio (Greek Lasagna)

Ingredients for the meat sauce

  • 1 chopped onion
  • 3.84 ounces of Greek olive oil
  • 2.5 pounds of ground beef
  • 3.2 ounces crushed tomatoes
  • 5.6 ounces chopped garlic
  • 2.24 ounces salt
  • 4 ounces basil paste
  • 8 ounces cinnamon powder
  • 2 whole pieces of cinnamon sticks
  • 4.8 ounces nutmeg
  • 6.4 ounces water
  • 8 ounces milk
  • 2 pounds of Greek thick spaghetti

Ingredients for Béchamel sauce

  • 8 ounces butter
  • 11.2 ounces flour
  • Half-gallon milk
  • 6.4 ounces salt
  • 6.4 ounces nutmeg
  • Black pepper
  • 3 eggs
  • 9.6 ounces Parmesan cheese
  • 3.2 ounces feta cheese
  • 6.4 ounces Parmesan cheese (for a later step)

Instructions

  1. In a large pot, add the chopped onion, Greek olive oil, and ground beef.
  2. Sauté it for about 10 minutes, until the beef turns brown.
  3. Add the crushed tomatoes, chopped garlic, salt, basil paste, cinnamon powder, cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, and water.
  4. Cook it in medium heat for about 25-30 minutes.
  5. After it’s done, add milk and stir it.
  6. Now, in another large pot, boil the Greek thick spaghetti made specially for pastitsio for about 10 minutes.
  7. Then, use a colander for the pasta. Don’t separate them so that when you put them in the pan, they‘re kind of solid together.

For the Béchamel sauce

  1. In a large pot and medium heat, add butter. When it melts, add flour and start whisking the mixture until it becomes a nice paste.
  2. Then, start slowly, adding about a half-gallon of milk, but add little by little. Whisk so you don’t get balls of flour in your Béchamel.
  3. Start adding salt, nutmeg and black pepper. Put it on high heat until it starts boiling.
  4. Pull it out from the stove.
  5. Add eggs and 6.4 ounces of Parmesan cheese, and your Béchamel is ready.

Lasagna assembly

  1. In a large pan, start putting the Greek pasta in the bottom. Set it nicely. On top, sprinkle the feta, then add the meat sauce, and make a nice layer. On top, add the Béchamel, and sprinkle the Parmesan cheese.
  2. Bake at 450 degrees for about 20-30 minutes, or until the Béchamel on top is nice and golden brown.