I fancied the other day something a little decadent, a burger but not quite a burger, something juicy, sweet and tangy and full of flavour. I went for Eleni Saltas’ Sloppy Joes, or better a Greek sloppy Tzo.
Head straight to the recipe.
Laugh all you like, but this loose meat sandwich is under the ‘exotic’ food section for my greek soul. We have embraced the burger, taken it to new heights but this American favourite has not caught on here in the UK, much less in Greece. Sausage and mash takes precedence at this cloudy part of the world and whilst fancy chippies pop out like mushrooms, the workers cafe remain faithful to beans on toast.
As for Greece the meat sandwich is lean (or not) and is wrapped in pita. Not even the mighty burger can challenge souvlaki. But let’s have make some Sloppy Joe’s, better yet: a Greek Sloppy Tzo!
Sloppy Joes, Greek Sloppy Joes
Ingredients
- 800 gr ground lamb or pork or a combination of the two
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 3 tablespoons dry oregano or more to taste
- 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon or more to taste
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 1 green pepper diced
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 pinch of red pepper flakes
- 800 gr chopped tomato tinned or fresh
- 250 ml water
- 4 tbsp ketchup
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce or Henderson’s Relish
- a handfull of pitted Kalamata olives lightly chopped
- ample crumbled feta cheese
- 8 brioche or burger buns toasted
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat and add the mixed mince meat. Break it up into chunks with a spoon and season generously with salt, pepper, cinnamon, and oregano and brown the meat.
- Add onions, green pepper and garlic and cook until onions have softened.
- Add tomato sauce, red pepper flakes, ketchup, water, and Worcestershire sauce to the pot.
- Reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes and taste for flavor. Adjust the seasoning to your liking.
- Remove from heat and stir in chopped Kalamata olives and crumbled feta.
- Serve on toasted buns.
I did enjoy this very much! Many thanks Eleni 🙂 How do you like your Sloppy Joes?
From London with love,
Eugenia
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I’m so happy you liked the recipe! It’s definitely an American classic here.. maybe you’ll start a trend in the UK!
And I always love your photos 🙂
It was delicious Eleni!! I am surprised it’s not caught on here already 😉
Oh my! Like sloppy joe’s on crack!!! Wonderful ingredients.
Thanks Mimi!It was absolutely delicious!