Grandma's Pork & Quince (Χοιρινό & Κυδώνια της Γιαγιάς)

My relatives can be divided into two camps: the father's side of the family and the mother's side. The two camps are also geographically divided with all of my dad's side of the family residing here in Canada and save for two of my mom's first cousins here in Canada, the rest of her family reside in Greece.

Many friends have asked why I go to Greece so often, is their not a whole other world out there to explore and enjoy? My obvious answer is "yes" BUT...I always remind them that I have aunts and uncles, dozens of cousins, friends and friends of the family and for a long time, maternal grandparents. It's important for me to stay connected with them.

My mom's parents have both since passed on but memories of them are triggered each time I go to Greece and I always visit the cemetary to light a candle for them.

My maternal grandmother's(yiayia) name was Agape, translated litterally as "love". What woman would marry at a young age, bear five children, embrace grandparents in the household, be the CEO of a household that had nine hungry mouths and manage sneak away some food to some less fortunate and starving relatives?

Only a lady with the name of Agape.

Having found a good and reliable source of quince this past autumn, my mom recalled a dish her mother (my yiayia Agape) would make during the winter months. My parents both also recall the annual slaughtering of the pigs for the winter and pork (like in much of the word) would get paired with fruits.

This dish comes from mom's memories as a child and this dish of pork & quince is one of those food memories. Basically you have paillards of pork meat that rolled around good slices of quince and placed over a bed of potatoes and quince and tossed in olive oil plus the zest and juice of one orange.

I was skeptical as to how tasty the resulting dish would taste like but that eroded to expose a roast that was aromatic, easy on the eye and absolutely delicious.

If you can still find some quince in your neck of the woods, give this bake a try...it's easy, it's old school Greek and it tastes delicious.

This dish brought back many fond memories of my yiayia Agape and for me, food and aromas transports me, triggers memories. I hope this dish does the same for you.

Grandma's Pork & Quinces (Χοιρινό & Κυδώνια της Γιαγιάς)
(serves 6)

1 1/2 of lean bonless pork (loin, or leg)
12 medium to large Russet or other baking potatoes
1/3 cup of olive oil
4 quinces
zest and juice of 1 orange
salt and pepper to taste
toothpicks

Pre-heated 450F oven

1. To slice your pork thinly, place the piece of meat in the freezer for about 30 minutes to harden. Cut thin slices of pork, say about 3-4 per person and place each piece between plastic wrap and pound out into paillards (cutlets). Reserve.
   
2. Peel and cut your potatoes into uniform sizes and place in the roasting pan. Peel and core your quinces. Two quinces should be cut up into chunks that are the size of the potatoes and the other two quince should be cut up into 1/2cm slices that can fit and rolled into the pork paillards (cutlets).
3. Pour the olive oil over the potatoes and quince, add the zest and juice of one orange and preheat your oven. Season with salt and pepper and toss to evenly coat the potatoes and quince. Taste the oil in the pan to check and adjust seasoning accordingly.
   
4. Assemble your pork and quince rolls by laying out a pork cutlet, lightly season the inside with salt and pepper and place a slice of quince at one of the cutlet. Roll the pork around the quince (snugly) and afix with a toothpick. Continue assembling your pork and quick rolls until all the pork has been rolled. If there's any pieces of quince left, toss them in the roasting pan with the potatoes and quince.
5. Lightly season the outside of your pork and quince roll-ups and place on the bed of potatoes and quince. Place in your pre-heated oven for 30 minutes and then take out the baking dish and flip the pork-rolls so that the underside also cooks to a nice deep-brown colour. Reduce the oven's temperature to 400f and continue to roast for another 15-20 minutes or until the the potatoes are fork-tender.
6. Serve each plate with a pile of potatoes and quince, drizzle some extra-virgin olive oil and serve with a winter green salad.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://kalofagas.blogspot.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author. © 2007-2009 Peter Minakis

Pomegranate Vinaigrette

This is my first post for 2009 and I would like to wish you all a Happy & Healthy New Year!

My New Year's Eve was spent at one of favourite eateries in Toronto and I dined, laughed and drank with eleven good friends...right into the wee hours of January 1st.

The dinner was delicious, the company provided laughs (as always) and the memories....priceless. The next day (New Year's Day) could have been a really rough day but I stuck with a menu that I'm very comfortable with and as always, tested out a few new recipes prior to going "live" with the dishes.

One dish which is symbolic of New Year's for Greeks, seasonal and of course delicious, was this salad I made of mixed greens with a vinaigrette made of pomegranates.

Pomegranates are a part of Greek New Year's traditions as many families will smash a pomegranate in front of the home and hopefully disperse alot of seeds over a wide area. The more seeds are dispersed, the better the fortunes for the home.

I first tried this salad for our Christmas Day dinner and although it was delicious, the mere presence of just pomegranate juice leaves the dressing a little runny. I fine tuned the vinaigrette by adding some pomegranate molasses into the mix.

Pomegranate molasses can be found at a Greek or Middle Eastern market and if neither of those shops are near you, one could reduce the pomegranate juice into a thicker syrup.

Everyone at the table loved the simplicity of the dish, it's easy on the eyes and the contrast of crumbled Feta and pomegranate seeds bejeweling the salad made each forkful of salad a delight.

I don't have any specific measurements here but I can tell you now that my preferred method of making salad dressings is with a squeeze bottle that looks like those you find at a diner with ketchup or mustard in them. The one I use is opaque so I can easily eyeball the measurements of the vinaigrette ingredients.

Mixed Greens With Feta & Pomegranate Vinaigrette

seasonal mixed greens, washed and pat-dry (salad spinner)
juice of 1 pomegranate
seeds of 1 pomegranate (for garnish)
approx. 2 Tbsp. pomegranate molasses
approx. 1/2 cup olive oil
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 small clove of garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste

1. Cut your pomegranate in half and using a wooden spoon, smack the skin side of each half and place a bowl underneath to catch the falling seeds. Ensure none of the bitter pith falls into the bowl. Place your pomegranate seeds into a blender or food processor and whiz into a liquid. Pass through a strainer and discard the seeds.
2. In a squeeze bottle or jar, add the pomegranate juice, the garlic and eyeball how much olive oil you should add. Basic vinaigrette rule is 3 parts oil to 1 part acid (your pomegranate juice is the acid in this instance).
3. Add some salt, pepper and the Dijon mustard and shake to emulsify. If the vinaigrette is too runny for your liking, add some pomegranate molasses, shake and again taste and adjust seasoning.
4. Place your salad in a large bowl and squirt some pomegranate vinaigrette into the bowl and gently toss the salad until fully coated.
5. Divide among the plates, squirt some more vinaigrette, sprinkle some crumbled Feta and some pomegranate seeds for garnish.

PS. Lydia of the Perfect Pantry just wrote a wonderful article on Pomegranate Molasses, pomegranates and some background. There's even a recipe to make your own!

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://kalofagas.blogspot.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author. © 2007-2009 Peter Minakis

Doing the Big Apple

I'm going to New York City! Yes...it's been quite a few years and I'll be visiting the Big Apple next week and I'll be spending one glorious week there.

For those that haven't been to New York, bump your travel itinerary up to include a visit to one of the world's best (if not best) cities in the world.

New York is multi-cultural, it's hospitable, quite safe for a city of it's size, culturally vibrant, beautiful, a food lovers paradise and full of energy.

I'll never forget the first time I landed in New York: it was night and I never before had seen a city lit up so brightly by lights. Maybe it's just me but my body is constantly a'rush from adrenalin, being in the action, amid so many people and feeling the pulse of this great city.

While in New York, I'm going to further explore the city and many of it's storied neighborhoods, check out the Greektown in Astoria, the exciting restaurants that are part of the "new wave" of Greek cuisine and with some good fortune, meet some fellow food bloggers who live in the New York City area.

If you're in the area, contact me via email and I'd love to meet you ...this would be a highlight of my trip!

Since we're on the topic of the Big Apple, I made a elegant dessert using quince. Us Greeks call quince "Kydonia" and the French call them Pommes de Cydon.

Quince look like an rugged apple and the flesh is quite firm - not edible raw. Quince are used in sweet and savory cooking and it's often paired with pork or made into a preserve or this case, poached.

The first attraction one has to quince is it's aroma. One only needs to walk past a tree of ripe quince or pass a fruit stand to know that some quince are nearby.

Plutarch reports that a Greek bride would nibble a quince to perfume her kiss before entering the bridal chamber, "in order that the first greeting may not be disagreeable nor unpleasant" (Roman Questions 3.65).

Inspration for this dish came from Angela's Food Love. About a month ago she shared a poached pear dish that immediately made me perk up and bookmark this dish. Angela usually posts one dish per week and each and everytime I get notice of her dish, I'm never disappointed, often delighted. I encourage you to visit Angela's blog...tell her "Kalofagas" sent ya!

Taking inspiration from Angela's dish, I applied some Greek ingredients (including quince) and poached it an aromatic bath of Greek red wine, spices and I made a mixture of strained Greek yogurt, Manouri cheese and honey and piped it into the center.

The photo is self-explanatory...the dessert was a hit!

Poached Quince With Manouri
(serves 4)

1 bottle of good Greek red wine
4 quince, peeled and cored
1 cinnamon stick
4-5 whole cloves
1/2 cup Petimezi
1/2 cup honey
splash of vanilla extract


Manouri Filling
8 oz. of room temperature Manouri cheese
1 cup strained Greek yogurt
3 Tbsp. of Greek honey
1 shot of Ouzo

1. Into a pot large enough to hold your quince, add all the ingredients of your poaching liquid and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and gently drop your quince and poach your quince for about 20-30 minutes or until fork tender (you may have to flip your quince to poach both halves).
2. Carefully remove the quince from the poaching liquid, strain the the liquid to remove the spices and return to your pot. Reduce over medium heat until you have a thick syrup. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
3. In a small bowl, add the Manouri cheese, strained Greek yogurt, Ouzo and honey and mix well with a spatula or a hand mixer. Spoon the contents into a piping bag or make your own with a disposable plastic bag and snip a small hole in one of the bottom corners.
4. Assemble your dessert by spooning the wine syrup onto the plate's bottom and then set the quince on top. Now pipe the Manouri filling into each hole in the middle of the quince and serve.

NOTE:

Petimezi is a syrup boiled down from the grape must during the wine harvest. Italians have a product called Saba and similar products can be found in Mid-Eastern stores called "grape syrup".

Manouri cheese is made from the whey leftover from the cheese making process. It's a young cheese that's cross between a firm ricotta and mild but still tangy cream cheese. It works wonderful for savory and sweer dishes.

Bougatsa (Μπουγάτσα)

Before I get on with showing you the dessert offering of Bougatsa for my Greek Thanksgiving, I should give you some background on this much-loved Greek breakfast treat.

Bougatsa is a pastry that consists of phyllo and it can contain a filling of cheese, spinach, spinach & cheese, ground meat or in this case, custard.

You can find Bougatsa all over Greece but Thessaloniki (second largest city in Greece) is the reputed Bougatsa capital of Greece.

There's the Bougatsa made in Crete and it's usually made with the use of Mizithra and you'll find shops offering up Bougatsa across Greece.

I first had Bougatsa as a child when my uncle, "Theo Mitso" brought me a small bag with an aromatic parcel and a chocolate milk for me.

My breakfasts in Greece were never the same after one first taste of Bougatsa.

When one goes to buy Bougatsa in Thessaloniki, finding a shop that sells them is real easy: look for the rush of people coming & coming in & out of the shop and usually one can smell the combo of baked pastry, Greek coffee and cinnamon in the air.

Bougatsa shops do most of their business in the mornings as that's when most of their Bougatsa is sold. There are two camps of Bougatsa fans: the savory lover and like myself, the sweet lover.

Know your order when in the shop. Simply ordering a "Bougatsa" will assure you of a question from the person behind the counter:

"You want Bougatsa with cheese, spinach, spinach & cheese, meat or cream"?

I always order "Bougatsa me krema"!

Upon hearing your order, the person will weigh your portion, place in some paper wrap and cut it into bite-sized squares. The Bougatsa is finished off with a generous shake of cinnamon and icing sugar.

Most take it "se paketo" or to-go but since I'm on holidays, I like to take a seat, enjoy my order of Bougatsa and people watch. The usual drink with Bougatsa is chocolate milk, frappe (ice coffee) or a Greek coffee.

That, my friends, is the inspiration to my dessert offering of Bougatsa for my Greek Thanksgiving dinner. I decided to make individual serving of Bougatsa and include some seasonal Greek ingredients in it...quince and almonds.

If you know your way around phyllo, this dessert is a cinch and it can be pre-made and frozen. For those not familiar with phyllo, buy it from a store that sells alot it...ensuring you get a fresh package that will allow you to work easily with it and save you from those phyllo nightmares.


Bougatsa With Quince and Almonds (Μπουγάτσα με κυδώνια και αμύγδαλα)
makes 12

2-3 quince, peeled, cored and sliced 2/3 cup sugar
1 cinnamon stick
2 whole cloves
3 cups of water

2 sticks of melted unsalted butter
3/4 cup fine semolina
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 Tbsp. orange zest
1 tsp. vanilla extract
couple of drops of vanilla extract
2 cups of whole milk
3/4 cup apple juice
24 sheets of phyllo dough
icing sugar
ground cinnamon

Pre-heated 350F oven

1. In a medium-sized pot, add your water, sugar cinnamon stick and cloves and heat over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Add the quinces. cover and simmer for 3o-40 minutes or until the slices are fork tender. Strain the quince, allow to cool and discard poaching liquid.
2. In a deep pot over medium heat, heat 2 Tbsp. of melted butter and then add the semolina, sugar, zest, vanilla and a couple of drops of vanilla extract. Cook, stirring for a couple of minutes until the butter's absorbed and the semolina is golden but not browned.
3. While whisking, add the milk and apple juice in a steady stream until all the liquid is absorbed. Cook while stirring for 3-4 minutes, until the custard has the texture of loose cream of wheat. Transfer toa bowl and allow to cool.
4. Lay out your phyllo beside your work surface and cover it with a damp towel. Take a phyllo sheet and place it on your work surface. Drizzle the phyllo sheet with melted butter and now place another sheet on top and again, drizzle with melted butter.
5. Place a couple of heaping tablespoons of custard in the middle top third of your buttered phyllo sheets, about 2 inches from the top edge. Place some quince slices on top and press to flatten the custard a bit.
6. Fold over the top flap, then fold over the sides flaps. Now fold the phyllo package downwards towards you. Lightly brush both sides of the pie with melted butter and place on a baking sheet. Place some sliced almonds on the top middle of each pie. Repeat with remaining phyllo, custard and quince until you've made 12 pies.
7. If making ahead of time, cover the baking tray with a large bag (garbage bag) and place in the oven until you're going to bake the Bougatsa. You may bake from frozen into a pre-heated 350F oven and bake for approx 30 minutes or until golden OR
   if baking immediately, place in a pre-heated 350F oven and bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden.
8. Allow to cool a bit, plate and sprinkle a generous amount to icing sugar and ground cinnamon on top. Serve with a Greek coffee.

Papia Portokali (παπια πορτοκαλί)

Greece's cuisine also has a good roster of wild game recipes and one of the more universally enjoyed meats has to be duck.

A couple of weeks ago I seared some breasts that I carved from a whole duck. I was left with a carcass, wings, duck fat and duck legs.

When one has duck legs, it's confit time. Confit comes from the French word (to preserve) and this method of immersing a food in a substance for both flavour and preservation has ended up being a favoured method of enjoying duck legs.

To confit duck legs traditionally, one must brine or marinate the duck legs overnight, then slowly poach the duck legs in reserved duck fat.

I was prepared to go through the whole process but Jerry's (Cooking by the Seat of my Pants) quick and successful approach to confit saves time and offers instant food gratification.

Jerry's approach is simple: season your duck legs with salt, pepper and herbs of your choice (I used springs of thyme and rosemary), drizzle with olive and add a splash of stock and roast in low-heat oven for an 60-80 minutes (mine took 80), then increase the heat to 350F and roast until your duck legs are golden brown.

Jerry made a confit of chicken on a bed of spaghetti and I urge you have a look at his recipe and even delve further into the blog for more food inspiration.

Back to my duck legs. The title of this dish is Papia Portokali...or Duck a l'Orange. The French are well known for this classic but the Greeks have their own version that's true to our indigenous ingredients.

Papia Portokali shouldn't intimidate you. It's sounds elegant, has that rustic/chic look and above all, tastes fantastic.

Here are the steps needed to bring this fabulous fall/winter dish together:

• prepare your duck confit
• mise en place (organize and prep your ingredients)
• braise the accompanying lentils
• steep the raisins in orange juice mixture
• saute and reduce onions and orange sauce
• finish duck & orange sauce in the oven

Let's make some Papia Portokaki!


Papia Portokali (παπια πορτοκαλί)
(serves 4)

4 legs of duck confit (see Jerry's method here)
6 oranges
1 cup of chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 cup orange liqueur
2 medium onions, diced
1/2 cup raisins
3 Tbsp. Balsamic vinegar
4-5 allspice berries
3 Tbsp. olive oil + 1/4 cup to saute onions
2 sprigs of thyme
1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Braised Lentils
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
½ cup chopped celery
3 cloves of minced garlic
1½ cups of lentils
1 bay leaf
3 1/2 cups of vegetable or chicken stock
1/2 cup vegetable cocktail (V8)
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Pre-heated 375F oven

1. Place oil in a pot over medium heat. Add onion, celery and garlic. Sauté until softened, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add lentils and sauté for 1 minute. Add bay leaf and stock. Bring to boil, cover and simmer until lentils are cooked, about 35 to 40 minutes. Uncover pot for last 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain off any excess liquid. Remove bay leaf, stir in organo and balsamic viengar and adjust seasoning. Reserve lentils.
2. Into a bowl, squeeze the juice of 2 oranges and add the 3 Tbsp. of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, allspice berries and raisins and allow to steep for at least 20 minutes.
3. With the remaining oranges, trim the peel off and cut into horizontal slices and reserve.
4. In a large oven-proof skillet, add the olive oil over medium-low heat and saute your onions for about 10 minutes. Now add your mixture of orange juice and raisins in along with the stock, liqueur(pour from a cup - NOT bottle) and bring up to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and add your thyme sprigs and rosemary. Reduce the liquid by half or until it's thickened.
   
5. Arrange your orange slices to one side of the skillet and place the duck legs on the other. Place into your preheated oven for 15-20 minutes.
6. Spoon a bed of braised lentils onto each plate and lay a duck leg on top with some orange slices to the side. Spoon some orange sauce over each duck leg, garnish with fresh chopped parsley and serve immediately.

Succulent Poached Salmon With a Fennel & Orange Relish

It's Royal Foodie Joust time and this my first entry since I won back in July for my Apricot and Pistachio Cake.

The "Joust" was created by Jenn The Leftover Queen and the premise is simple...a friendly competition where a dish has to be presented using three chosen ingredients. The winner of each Joust chooses the select ingredients for the ensuing competition.

Everything is friendly & all but from seeing the dishes of late, I can tell you that many step up their cooking talents and although there can be only one winner each month, we are all well rewarded with a pageant of innovative and fabulous looking dishes.

The ingredients for this month were chosen by last month's victor, Peter from Souvlaki For the Soul who won with his elegant and eye-catching Halvas.

Today, I present thee to you, Succulent Poached Salmon With a Fennel & Orange Relish. This is a dish from Bobby Flay's book, "Grilling for Life" and once again,the dude amazes me with his creations.

The salmon becomes "succulent" as it's poached. Not just any old poached but poached in olive oil! The salmon is poached gently in the oil, so there's no fear of supping on a oil-soaked fish or fear of the olive oil breaking down at a high temperature.

The result is a moist, delicate tasting salmon, poached to perfection in a quivering poach from the olive oil. This is decadent as it uses alot of olive oil but no fear, the oil can be re-used (if you wish) in the future. I'll use it for frying and sauteing, no doubt.

The salmon gets crowned with an orange and fennel relish, which contain all three of this month's Joust ingredients: dairy, fennel and parsley.

The plate gets rounded out with a warm potato salad that I've eaten before but never warm...it takes on a whole new flavour!

The verdict? I think the last photograph says it all!

Succulent Poached Salmon With a Fennel & Orange Relish
(for 4)

Olive Oil Poached Salmon
3 salmon fillets
enough olive oil to just cover the salmon
salt and pepper

1. Season salmon on both sides with salt and pepper. Place in a large high-sided sauté pan and cover with olive oil.
   
2. Turn the flame to medium and let the salmon gently poach in the oil until just cooked through, 15-20 minutes (watch over your salmon to ensure that the oil just "quivers" and adjust your heat accordingly).
   
3. Remove the salmon from the oil and drain on paper towels. Serve in a large shallow bowl and top with the fennel-orange relish with potato salad on the side.

Orange and Fennel Relish
Pinch of saffron
1 head fennel, outer layer removed, halved and thinly sliced
3 Tbsp. of melted butter
Salt and pepper
1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 oranges, segmented
2 Tbsp. pomegranate molasses
1 Tbsp. honey
Juice of 1 lemon
3 Tbsp. chopped parsley
3 Tbsp. fennel fronds

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place saffron in a small bowl and cover with a few tablespoons of hot water, let sit 5 minutes to bloom.
   
2. Combine the fennel, 3 Tbsp. of melted butter and the saffron, along with the soaking liquid in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a roasting pan and roast until just soft, stirring occasionally, about 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly then transfer to a large bowl.
   
3. Stir in the red onion, oranges, pomegranate molasses, honey, lemon, parsley and fennel frond and season with salt and pepper.

Warm Potato Salad
2 lbs. potatoes, scrubbed and boiled until just cooked through
3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp. capers, drained
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
Salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Cut each potato into quarters, lengthwise. Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the potatoes and stir to coat with the oil.
2. Let the potatoes cook until just warmed through. Add the mustard and cook for 30 seconds.
3. Remove from the heat and add the capers and dill and season with salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Plum Tarte Tatin With Cinnamon Ice Cream

Tarte tatins are most commonly made with apples but other fruits get the spotlight every now & then. Up to bat are plums - another fruit that is at it's peak in the late part of summer/early fall.

The tarte tatin is French in origin and legend has it was created by accident when one of two sisters who ran the....Hotel Tatin was baking an apple pie and after having screwed up the recipe, she tried to make a save by placing the pastry base on top of the apples. Hence, the tarte tatin was born.

This is the first time I've ever made this tart and from scanning the many recipes out there, either puff pastry or a pie crust is usually placed on top of the fruit.

The approach I took was to use a recipe for a tart crust that contains ground almonds. I didn't have any puff pastry, I was craving a dessert and the almond pie crust recipe seemed easy enough.

With great delight, the plum tarte tatin was easy to prepare and the presentation is rustic yet pretty.

Don't forget to make the cinnamon ice cream! I don't have an ice cream maker (yet) but I improvised by mashing some ground cinnamon into some good French Vanilla ice cream, then forming a round scoop and placed back in the freezer to set.

The pairing is awesome!

It's a forgiving dessert where one doesns't have to fuss too much about the appearance of the tart crust as it gets flipped upside down.

It's now autumn, lots of ripe fruits at hand, try a tarte tatin.

Plum Tarte Tatin With Cinnamon Ice Cream

9 in. diameter skillet
1 kg. sweet firm red plums, halved & pitted
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
splash of vanilla extract
2/3 cup sugar + 2 Tbsp.
3/4 stick unsalted butter

Tart Crust
1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup almonds, toasted & finely ground
1/2 cup sugar
8 Tbsp. melted butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
pinch of salt

Pre-heated 400F oven

1. Mix the flour, almonds and sugar in a medium bowl. Add the butter and mix with a fork until little pebbles form. Add the egg and salt and mix well.
2. On a floured work surface, knead the dough into a firm ball ball. Roll out into a flat disc and place in the fridge for 20-30 minutes.
3. Mix plums, 2 Tbsp. sugar, nutmeg and vanilla in a large bowl and let stand for about 30 minutes.
4. Melt the butter in a heavy oven-proof skilletover medium heat and add the 2/3 cup sugar over the melted butter. Keep stirring until the the sugar melts and has turned to a caramel colour. Now remove the skillet from the heat.
5. Tightly arrange plums, cut side up, working from the outside of the skillet to the center and pour over any remaining juices in the bowl.
6. Take your tart crust out of the fridge and roll it out to the size of your skillet. Lift the tart crust with your rolling pin and place it on top of the plums in the skillet. Press crust around the edges of skillet and poke some holes to allow steam to escape.
7. Place in the oven bake until top crust is golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving. Place your serving plate over the skillet and carefully invert it. Your tarte tatin should now be flipped with the crust on the bottom and plums on top.
   
8. Serve alongside with a scoop of cinnamon ice cream.

It's Duck Season!

One of the new avenues I've chosen to connect with friends and fellow food bloggers is through a program called Twitter. Here you can read up on what your friends and favourite bloggers are doing. If you're on Twitter, look me up under "Kalofagas".

One such friend is Heather from Gild the Voodoolily and we've been having a "tete a tete" a la Bugs Bunny vs. Daffy Duck. I'm sure many of you remember this famous exchange between Bugs and Daffy, don't you? To do this day, the Warner Bros. cartoons are the most entertaining of any animation out there.

I've proclaimed it "DUCK SEASON", Heather insists it's "Wabbit Season". You can take a look at her take on rabbit with a comforting, sexy rabbit ravioli.

I've had duck on my mind for awhile. This summer's been a wash-out with so much rain that some of my herbs look sick from too much rain.

I come back from Greece and the north-east has been getting pounded by the remnants of hurricanes from down South.

There's a saying about rain..."nice weather if you're a duck"! Fitting that I dispatch a duck, non?

I was left with a conundrum...duck confit or breast? After reading up on how to save money buying duck (buy the whole thing and cut it up yourself) at Eating Club Vancouver, I knew I was closer to "DUCK SEASON".

I've never cut up a whole duck before but other than the legs being a jointed a little tighter to the breasts, the task was quite easy and I saved some coin.

So, on to mission duck. I've chosen seasonal ingredients, added some Greek flavours to the dish and made what I feel is a fall classic...seared duck breast with roasted plum sauce, grilled polenta with mint and medley of wild mushrooms.

The duck breast was marinated in a blend that I will try with other meats. When I opened the zip-block and smelled the marinated duck, I though to myself this duck would taste great with just the flavours of the marinade.

Next on the plate is a side I saw Greek chef Dina Nikolaou present with her own duck. It's polenta with fresh mint and Greek yogurt in it. Make this side ahead of time as you need to allow it to cool before grilling. I simply used Tupperware as a mould then I cut the polenta into the desired shapes and grilled/seared them "a la minute". This side was a pleasant surprise and it has me gravitating towards eating polenta more!

Finally, what fall dish would be complete without a saute of mushrooms? I'm not going to lay down a recipe for mushrooms here as I simply sauteed my mushrooms in butter and olive oil with some garlic, salt and pepper and only some oregano and fresh sage to round out their earthy flavours.

Here you have it folks...DUCK SEASON and I've laid all out for your down below. Enjoy!

Seared Duck Breast with Grilled Polenta and Wild Mushrooms
( for 2)
3 duck breasts
1/4 cup olive oil
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tsp. of mixed cracked peppercorns
1 tsp. of cracked coriander seeds
1 Tbsp. of minced ginger (or a inch piece)
small handful of fresh parsley
coarse sea salt
3 very ripe, sweet plums (juicy)

Sauce
1/4 cup shallots, finely diced
1 cup chicken stock
1/3 cup of Mavrodaphne (or other fortified wine)
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
sugar to taste
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
salt and pepper to taste

Grilled Polenta With Yogurt and Mint
2 cups of instant polenta
5 cups of stock (or water)
4 Tbsp. olive oil
half a bunch of fresh mint, chiffonade
1 cup of strained Greek yogurt
salt and pepper to taste

1. Trim any excess fat off the duck breasr and then score in 1 inch intervals. To a food processor, add the olive oil, garlic, thyme, parsley, ginger, coriander seeds and peppercorns and process to a coarse paste. Now place the marinade into a zip-lock bag with the duck breasts and massage the contents so that the marinade adheres to all of the meat. Seal and refrigerate for up to 12 hours.
2. Bring back to room temperature and pre-heat your oven to 400F. Season your duck breasts with some coarse sea salt and a little black pepper. Place a skillet (large enough for the three breasts) on to medium heatt and sear the breasts (fat side down) for five minutes (draining fat as it acccumulates).
3. Flip over the breasts and add your halved plums to the side. Now place the skillet in the oven and roast for another 5-7 minutes for a medium-rare duck breast. Carefully remove your skillet (hot handle) and remove your breasts and tent with foil while preparing the sauce.
4. In the same skillet (the plums stay), add your shallots and saute for a minute. Now add the stock, wine, vinegar and reduce until the sauce becomes half and thick. Adjust seasoning with some sugar and take off the heat and add your cold butter to thicken the sauce. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
   
5. By now your duck breasts have rested and you may now cut them into slices. Pour some sauce on the plate and fan the slices over top with some plum halves. Serve with a side of grilled polenta and sauteed mushrooms.
   

Grilled Polenta With Yogurt and Mint

1. Add your stock into a pot and bring to a boil. While stirring with a wooden spoon, slowly pour in your polenta and keep stirring to prevent burning or from lumps forming.
2. As soon as the polenta mixture starts to come away from the sides, remove from the heat.
3. Now you may add your olive oil, chopped mint and strained yogurt and mix in until blended. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
4. Place in a container (mould) and allow to cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate into a solid.
5. To grill or sear, brush some oil on your polenta pieces and grill on high heat just to form grill marks and to warm through.
   

Greece 2008 Comes to a Close

I'm back and in a bitter-sweet way. It's good to be back in Canada after another wonderful, memorable and fantastic time vacationing in Greece.

Although I wish I could still be in Greece, all things must come to an end and I don't want to get sick of Greece and I always leave unfinished business (an excuse to go back to Greece each year).

Most of the goals I had set out to accomplish on my vacation were met. I met up with friends, caught up with family, made some new friends and took in some winery tours and did a taping for a "Kalofagas" promo.

Throughout my entire vacation, good food & drink was shared and I'm delighted to bring back more fresh & exciting Greek food ideas for you.

Each year that I go back to Greece I learn more about the best cuisine out there (Okay, I'm biased) with the help of the food wisdom from friends and relatives.

To me, the resumption of blogging just after my return from Greece is like a "a new season" for Kalofagas! There will be plenty of days and posts to share my vacation with you (so please be patient).

Let me start off with a quick and easy dessert or breakfast option for you.

In Halkidiki, Greece from August 15th until early September, tree-ripened figs can be had and if you lucky like me, you're surrounded by countless fig trees where one cannot pick or eat all of nature's bounty.

This yogurt parfait is inspired by a product I ate made by Activia, who offers a fruit bottom yogurt with figs.

The concept is quite simple...instead of serving honey with strained Greek yogurt, my not substitute with marmalade-like center of the ripened fig?

Yes, that's right...a tree-ripened fig is that sweet...like marmalade.

Simply spoon in some dollops of strained yogurt into a bowl (or go a little fancy with a tall glass) and layer the meat of the figs with the yogurt.

The tangy Greek yogurt plays off really well against the very sweet insides of the figs.

If you haven't eaten a tree-ripened fig, you must make it a personal foodie goal...you'll never buy a basket of those bland excuses for figs you find at the market for a $1 a piece.

Enjoy!

A Reprise of Greek Appetizers

Ask a bunch of Greeks over for dinner and drinks and it's expected that your spread's going to have some dips for noshing on .

In continuing with my replay of my Birthday dinner, today I'm offering up three Greek dips, Cretan Dakos and to help stave off palate fatigue, a simple and delicious fruit salad.

To greet my hungry guests...I surprised them with a platter of dressed Cretan Dakos. These double-baked rusks get drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil, some grated ripe tomatoes and finished off with crumbled Greek feta and pungent Greek oregano.

I then presented a trio of dips...first up was Tzatziki. Strained Greek yogurt that's flavoured with minced garlic and fresh dill and spiked with a shot of Ouzo. The Tzatziki vanished by the time the souvlaki was served.

Next is a specialty of Thessalonki called Htipiti or Tyrokafteri. It's a dip of mashed hot banana pepper, Greek feta and Myzithra cheeses and finished off with some good extra-virgin olive oil.

The last dip and one of my favourites is Melitzanosalata. It's a dip of roasted eggplant, garlic, olive oil and balanced with some chopped fresh parsley. To truly make this dip a head turner, the eggplants have to be roasted over open coals or at the very least, on a gas grill.

Finally, I've been reading alot about palate fatigue and I wanted to offer a course that would "cleanse" my guests palates.

Palate fatigue occurs when one is presented with multiple rich savory courses in a row. This fruit salad gave my guests a break as there were more delicious food to be had through the course of the night.

Taken from the latest issue of Canadian Living Magazine, this Mango Melon Salad was the perfect cleanser - offering a palate a break from the rich flavours, even thought we were only into the appetizers.

It's quick, it's summer and mangos are easily available now through much of the world. In fact, the mango has out-shined the banana as the most popular fruit!

Mango Melon Salad

3 Tbsp. each lime and liquid honey
2 cups of cubed mango
2 cups of cubed cantaloupe
2 cups of cubed watermelon
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh mint

1. In a microwave, zap your mint juice and honey for 30 seconds and then whisk to combine. Let cool.
2. Add mango, watermelon and cantaloupe, lime juice, honey and mint in a bowl and toss gently to combine. Serve slightly chilled.

Strawberry Salad

After experiencing a longer and colder winter than usual, it comes as no surprise that Ontario's seasonal produce is appearing later on the shelves.

Local field strawberries are appearing in the markets and one bite into them reminds me that local is always best.

No need to steep these in sugar or any other flavour enhancer - a simple bowl of strawberries after dinner is fine by me.

Or I also like strawberries as part of my salad. The sweet and tart flavours of a strawberry play well against savory in a salad.

Here, I pretty much winged this salad, used what was on hand and I think I came up with a harmonious mix of ingredients, seasonal fare and as always, delicious.

When you're ready to eat this salad, hunch your back over, turn away from the others and protect yourself and the salad...the last time I made this, someone else's fork just dived into my salad and stole a forkful!

Strawberry Salad
(for 4)

4 large handfuls of Spring Mesclun Mix
1/2 pint of strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh tarragon

Vinaigrette
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 small clove of garlic, minced
4 Tbsp. raspberry balsamic vinegar 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

1. Wash & rinse your salad greens and ensure most of the water has been removed from the leaves and reserve.
2. In a large bowl, add the mustard, garlic and vinegar and start whisking the ingredients until a paste has formed. Now continue whisking while adding a slow and steady stream of olive oil until you get a creamy, emulsified mixture. Taste and adjust seasoning and add salt and pepper according to taste.
3. Add your salad greens, strawberries and tarragon into the bowl and gently toss to coat all your salad leaves.
4. Divide your salad and top with the walnuts and crumbled blue cheese.

Apricot and Pistachio Cake (Κέικ με φιστίκια και βερίκοκα)

I have a pleasant surprise here for you all. I'm presenting you with a Greek dessert that's not in my family's recipe book, I've never personally heard of nor tried this cake...until now.

I'm also excited to present this cake for this month's Royal Foodie Joust, hosted by Jenn the Leftover Queen. Think of it as our own Iron Chef but the twist here is that your dish must contain three ingredients, as chosen by the victor from the previous month.

For those interested, you have a few days yet in June to get your entry in.

This month's challenge was to prepare a dish that contained butter, apricots and ginger.Check!

This recipe comes from a Greek cookbook I have called "Food of the World - Greece" and this cake uses some of Greece's favourite ingredients and satisfies the criteria for this month's Joust and most importantly, it tastes great!

There are three components to this easy cake: the cake itself, the syrup and the topping. Before I go on with the recipe I would like to add that I surprised my toughest food critic - my mom!

Her reaction after trying this cake? "Where did you get this recipe and write it down for me"!

Apricot and Pistachio Cake (Κέικ με φιστίκια και βερίκοκα)

1/2 cup dried apricots
zest and juice of 1 large orange
1 stick of unsalted butter (room temp.)
3/4 cup icing sugar
4 eggs, separated
1 2/3 cups fine semolina flour
1 Tbsp. ground ginger
1 cup ground almonds

For the Syrup
3/4 cup Greek honey
1/3 cup orange juice
2 tsp. lemon juice

For the Topping
1 1/2 cups Greek Yogurt
2 Tbsp. icing sugar
couple of drops of almond extract
2/3 cup shelled, unsalted pistachio nuts, chopped

1. The evening before you want to bake this cake, put the apricots, zest and orange in a bowl and allow to soak for at least 12 hours (in the fridge). It's also good to place your yogurt in a mesh strainer(with a pot underneath to catch the water) and place that in the fridge overnight to strain.
2. The next morning, pre-heat your oven to 35oF and grease and line a round, 9 inch(23 cm) loose-bottomed cake pan. Transfer the apricots and juice to a food processor and blend until smooth.
   
3. Add the butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat together until light & fluffy. Add the egg yolk, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the semolina and ground almonds and mix well together and now add the semolina and ground almonds and mix well together. Fold in apricot puree.
4. Whisk the egg whites until stiff then fold into the batter mixture. Turn the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 45 minutes, or until the top is a light, golden brown.
5. In the meantime, make the syrup by adding the orange juice, honey and lemon juice into a small saucepan and bring to a boil, then simmer for 2-3 minutes. Keep the syrup just hot.
   
6. When has baked, let it stand in the pan for about 5 minutes before removing, then remove from the pan and place on a wire rack (with a plate underneath). Prick the top of the cake all over with a skewer and then spoon over the the hot syrup over the warm cake and leave on the wire rack to cool.
7. When the cake has cooled and all the syrup has been absorbed, place in the fridge until ready to serve. When you're ready to serve the cake, bring to room temperature and mix the icing sugar and almond extract with the strained yogurt.
   
8. Spread the yogurt over the cake and top with the chopped pistachio nuts.