Kakavia (Κακαβια)

Kakavia is also known as "Psarosoupa" or a fish soup. Kakavia also gets it's name from the pot in which it's cooked in, the "kakavi". By all accounts, Kakavia is the pre-cursor to the modern-day bouillabaisse. It made its way from Greece to Marseilles (Massalia) around 600 B.C.

The Greeks cooked this in the "kakavi", the French in the "bouillet". Which pot do think came first? Good.

There are many renditions of Kakavia, this one having some tomatoes, others made in a Avgolemono Sauce and both are absolutely delicious. The two versions (any many in between) are made with a combination of fish and shellfish, filled with vegetables and herbs and it makes for an excellent pairing with some crusty bread and a dry glass of white wine.

Some of the older recipes for Kakavia even call for the use of sea water in the soup but we'll steer away from that. Kakavia is traditionally made from the day's catch to feed the crew so, don't fret if you don't have the same array of seafood I've used. The best fish and seafood is the freshest fish and seafood.

There are three components to a Kakavia, the first being the base of vegetables and herbs. The second component is the whole fish that's gives the soup mid-range seafood flavours. Without the whole fish, this would just be a vegetable soup with some shellfish thrown in the end. The third and final component is the actual fish and seafood that get added just near the end of the cooking process. The meat of the dish, if you will.

Preparation or "mise en place" is always important when cooking but I'd recommend you get organized when making Kakavia. It's not a difficult soup to make, there are just some steps one has to be organized about when tackling this dish.

Bouquet garnis are required for the whole fish that get poached in the soup and, for the bundle of herbs and spices that will add depth of falvour. Leeks are best for soups but onions work fine too. A rough dice of all the vegetables is all that is required. The goal is to have chunks that fit well on the soup spoon. A gulp of potato, a slurp of carrot and clam, a bite if shrimp and celery.

Kakavia is also a liberal recipe in that there's no set rules as to what fish and seafood one should use. My only caution to you is to avoid adding salmon here...the salmon will dominate the entire flavour of the soup.

So, pay a visit to your fishmonger, ask him (or her) to find you a good whole fish for stock, say a red snapper or 2-3 red mullets. In Greece, the Scorpion fish does the fish stock duties but I've yet to see such species on this side of the Atlantic. A medley of shellfish are the jewels of the soup. Grab some clams, mussels, the shrimp and some fillets of white fish (like bass, cod, whiting or grouper).

An important procedure with Kakavia is to wrap the whole fish well in a cheesecloth. The wholefish will be poached in the broth and the body can come apart rather easily. The cheesecloth does a very good job of preventing pin bones from remaining in your soup.

Finally, do accompany this soup with some good crusty bread. On this occasion, I toasted some homemade Artisan bread, wizzed up some roasted garlic with olive oil and scallions and smeared the spread over the crusty warm bread. The combination of dipping this old-school garlic bread into this chunky fish soup will remain a memory for awhile.

Kakavia (Κακαβια)

(serves 6)

1/2 cup olive oil

2 large leeks, rinsed well & rough dice

3 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 ribs of celery, chopped

3 large potatoes, diced

4 cloves of garlic, smashed

3 bay leaves

4-5 allspice berries

6-7 peppercorns

1 bunch of fresh thyme

pinch of saffron threads

1 heaping Tbsp. tomato paste

1/2 cup tomato puree

1 cup dry white wine

2 red mullets (or 1 whole red snapper or Scorpion fish)

1 lb. clams

1lb. mussels

1 lb. shrimp, peeled & deveined

(shells reserved)

1 lb. white fish fillets (bass, haddock, halibut, whiting),

cut into bite-sized pieces

8-9 cups of water

salt and pepper to taste

some cheesecloth

crusty garlic bread

chopped fresh parsley

wedges of lemon

1. Have your "mise en place" in order. Clean, peel & chop up your vegetables, wash, scrub, peel, clean, trim your fish and seafood and keep in the fridge until ready to cook. Have some cheesecloth handy to make a bouquet garni of your herbs and spices and to wrap your whole fish.
2. Place a large pot on your stovetop over medium-high heat and add your leeks, carrots and celery and saute. You may also add the bouquet garni of bay, thyme, allspice, peppercorns along with the saffron threads and another bouquet garni of reserved shrimp shells (lots of flavour in those). Lower to medium and cover and allow to sweat and soften for about 10 minutes.
3. Add your potatoes, tomato paste and tomato puree and stir in for a minute or two. Now add the wine and water and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce to medium and simmer for another 30 minutes. Add some salt and pepper to taste.
4. Add your whole fish (wrapped & tied in cheesecloth) and simmer for another 15 minutes. Carefully remove the fish, continue simmering the soup. Carefully remove the meat of the fish and reserve. You may discard the fish bones.
5. Clams take longer than all the remaining seafood to cook. Drop the clams into the pot and bring back to a boil. As soon as your soup is boiling, turn the heat off and add the mussels, shrimp and pieces of white fish and cooked red mullet meat. Cover and allow the residual heat of the soup to cook the seafood for about 10 minutes. Remove both bouquet garnis and discard.
   
6. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Divide the soup in large bowls and serve with some crusty garlic bread, sprinkle some chopped fresh parsley and serve with a wedge of lemon.
7. I recommend drinking a Pavlou Xinomavro-Riesling. It's a "blanc de noir", meaning it's a made primarly of crushed red grapes and the skins are removed to preserve it's "white wine" appearence. The Xinomavro-Riesling is an 80/20 mix and it has intense acidity (that's good), berry tones with a lemon finish.

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 at truenorth67 AT gmail DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author.
© 2007-2009 Peter Minakis

Spaghetti With Brown Butter and Feta (Μακαρόνια με βούτυρο και φέτα)

Last weekend was a busy one. I had a full social calendar, things to do around the house, work on a revamped "Kalofagas" website and attend a Superbowl party on a Sunday evening that's usually spent quietly at home.

Oh yeah...I was also in the thick of baking, enjoying and sharing artisan bread in five minutes! As a reminder, you have until this upcoming Friday (by noon) to leave a comment and be elligible for a draw to win this fabulous bread making cookbook.

As if bread weren't enough carbs, I had a craving for pasta but something stripped down, focusing on good ingredients and what the Hell, I was feeling nostalgic.

One of my favourite dishes my mom would serve is a plain spaghetti (Makaronia) that was tossed in butter until slightly browned, then the pasta was drained and tossed in the brown butter with crumbled Feta cheese and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil to cap the dish.

Brown butter is a sauce unto itself and in my opinion, under-rated. The next time you're feeling for pasta yet you want something light, try a spaghetti with brown butter and Feta. Whip up a salad and call it a nice, light dinner where you'll get to eat Makaronia the way momma made it.

In case you're wondering, that's plain white pasta in the photos, the brown butter has given the dish a warm nut-brown colour.

Spaghetti With Brown Butter and Feta (Μακαρόνια με βούτυρο και φέτα)
(per serving)

2 Tbsp. of butter
1 clove of garlic, smashed
handful of dry spaghetti (Misko brand)
extra-virgin olive oil
grated Kefalotyri or Romano cheese
crumbled Feta cheese
salt and pepper to taste

1. Get a pot of water boiling on your stovetop. When aboil, add a good amount of salt, add your spaghetti and cook according to packet's instructions.
2. In a small pot, add your butter, a little olive oil and the smashed clove of garlic over medium heat. Keep your eye on the melting butter and soon you will see the milk solids begin to foam and quickly dissappear...THIS is where you have to watch carefully.
3. Your butter will turn from a golden yellow to a chestnut brown very rapidly. Your goal is to get a nut-brown colour to your butter. Once you have that nut-brown butter, take off the heat, take the clove of garlic out and keep cover to keep warm until your pasta is done.
4. When your pasta is cooked to an "al dente", strain and place in the pot with your brown butter. Toss the pasta to coat and if the spaghetti appears a bit dry, add some olive oil into the mix. Add some grated Kefalotyri cheese and continue to toss until the cheese has blended in with the butter.
5. Take off the heat, add some crumbled Feta, a turn of fresh-cracked black pepper and top with some more crumbled Feta and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil

The richer, creamier cousin to this dish can be found here.


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 at truenorth67 AT gmail DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author.
© 2007-2009 Peter Minakis

Ragu of Braised Lamb

This past Friday I drank & supped with some old and new friends and discovered a new eatery that's operated in Toronto for years.

I supped at none other than Gio Rana's Really Really Nice Restaurant. Upon pulling up in front of what used to be a bank, you wonder if you're at the right address but as soon as you enter the premise, catch the buzz of the crowd, the positive vibe of the staff and ultimately taste the food. You'll realize why this joint has been satisfying Torontonians with Italian food for years.

If you're in Toronto and you feel like Italian, a fun crowd and at affordable prices, go to Geo's! I started off with the Frito Misto and finished off with a grilled whole Branzino (Lavraki) stuffed with tarragon and lemon. I also ordered a side of rapini but the dish that stood out in my mind enough to replicate it the next day was the Lamb Ragu.

Geo's served me an aromatic, slow-braised lamb that was served on a bed of homemade Pappardelle pasta. It was a small "secondi" so every twirl of pasta in my fork was savoured. The dish left me wanting more and based on my taste memory and a quick scan of the internet, I was able to successfully recreate a wonderful dish that will make a lover of lamb out of anyone....sheepish (pun intended)!

Jamie Oliver has a game ragu recipe which makes for a good starting point but if you want something more concrete, take a look at Claudia's ragu at Cook Eat Fret.

Both Jamie and Claudia reinforced my taste memory of Gio's ragu and convinced myself that I would go in the right direction with my own take.

Ragu is Italian for meat sauce (not that awful jarred tomato sauce) and although the sauce comes together after a couple of hours, it's quite easy, ideal for that lazy Saturday or Sunday afternoon where you can turn up some tunes, open some wine and gracefully cook, drink and entertain at the same time.

On this occasion I also had the opportunity to once again put my new pasta machine to use and make some homemade Pappardelle (thicker than fettucine). There are tons of "how to" references on making homemade pasta so I'll only emphazise that the general rule is about 1 cup flour plus 1 egg for each pasta serving. Most recipes include olive oil, salt and some water in the mix.

Pasta dough is very forgiving and once you know you're way around your pasta machine, you'll be cranking out enough pasta to guraantee you a spot in carbohydrate heaven!



Ragu of Braised Lamb
(serves 6)
1 1/2 lbs. of lamb shoulder (bone in)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
2 carrots, fine dice
2 stalks of celery, fine dice
1 tsp. dry rosemary
1 bunch of thyme
3 bay leaves
4-5 allspice berries
2 cups of good tomato puree (passata)
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
3 sun-dried tomatoes, minced
1 1/2 cups of red wine
1 cup of beef, veal or lamb stock
1/2 cup cream grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
homemade Pappardelle (or pasta of your choice)

1. Trim your lamb meat of excess fat but still leave some on. Season with salt & pepper and pre-heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown your lamb meat in batches and set aside and reserve.
2. Now lower your heat to medium and add your onions, carrots, celery, parsely and garlic and saute for about 1o minutes or until softened. Make a bouquet garni by rolling your bay leaves, thyme springs, rosemary and allspice berries in a tied cheesecloth ( I forgot to but YOU should) and add into the skillet.
3. Add your tomato paste and sundried tomatoes and stir in and cook for a couple of minutes. Now add your wine and simmer for another five minutes. Add your tomato puree (passata), pieces of lamb and stock and bring to a boil. Add some salt and pepper to taste and cover. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for about an hour. Remove the lid and simmer for another 30 minutes.
4. You lamb meat should fall off the bone and be fork-tender. Remove the meat from the sauce and continue to simmer the sauce until you've achieved your desired consistency (I chose thick, for another 30 minutes.
5. Get a large pot of water boiling and get your pasta cooking. Separate the lamb meat from the bones and tear the meat into bite-sized pieces. When the sauce has thickened to your liking, the meat, cream and some grated cheese. Remove the bouquet garni and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
6. Add a good amount of salt to your water and boil dry pasta according to package's instructions or about 3-4 minutes for fresh pasta. Strain pasta and divide among the 6 bowls. Serve a heaping ladle of lamb ragu over the pasta and grate some Romano or Parmesan and a few turns of fresh ground pepper.
   

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 at truenorth67 AT gmail DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author. © 2007-2009 Peter Minakis

Grouper en Papillote (ροφός στο χαρτί)

I am enjoying this January from an eating perspective. It's been refreshing to look and enjoy meals that are on the lighter side without sacrificing taste or neglecting your hungry stomach.

Last week's Fish a la Spetsiota was warmly embraced by you my readers and it appears it's caught the attention of some at Food Network Canada!

Today, I'm going to feature another fish, the grouper. My fish monger seems to always have a decent and fair supply of these fish. They likely come from the waters of Florida and the fish can be the size of a salmon to half the size of a human.

I would characterize grouper as a semi-firm fleshed fish, not as dense as shark or swordfish but something a little firmer than salmon. It's flavour is mild in flavour and holds up well to the recipe I'm about to show you.

I do enjoy baked fish (almost as much as grilled) and this grouper "en papillote" (in paper) is easy to prepare, easily accessible ingredients and healthy to boot!

Healthy you say? Remember it's still January, I have my eye towards healthy dishes and this one is a good serving of grouper, some vegetables, olive oil and your one component of decadence...a big, crusty roll of bread who's only purpose on Earth was to give you the honours of mopping up this lovely, aromatic sauce.

Grouper en Papillote (ροφός στο χαρτί)
(for 4)

1 medium red onion, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 pints of cherry tomatoes (pre-roasted on high heat in your oven)
1 Tbsp. of minced garlic
1/4 dry white wine
1-2 unpeeled zucchini, sliced
4 (7-8oz.) Grouper fillets
1/4 cup of fresh basil leaves
(or 1/2 tsp. dry basil)
1 tsp. dry Greek oregano
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. fresh cracked black pepper parchment paper
butcher's twine
extra-virgin olive oil

Pre-heated 400F oven

1. Rinse and pat dry your fillets and season lightly with some salt and pepper, set aside. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the olive oil reduce to medium and saute your onions and peppers on for about 6 minutes or until softened and tender. Add the tomatoes, garlic and wine and simmer for another minute. Stir in zucchini and add salt and pepper according to taste and set aside.
2. Cut four pieces of parchment paper (about three times the size of each fillet) and layout on your kitchen's work surface. Set each fillet in the middle and spoon some sauce mixture over each fillet. Top with a few basil leaves and some dried Oregano and fold the sides up towards the middle, fold the two pieces to form a seal in the middle and twist the ends of the paper with your hands. Now secure each end by tying each end with butcher's twine.
3. Place your paper parcels of fish on a large baking sheet and place on the middle rack of your pre-heated oven for 25-30 minutes.
4. Carefully transfer to each plate and cut open the packets at your dinner table. Drizzle extra-virgin olive oil over each fish and serve with a seasonal salad, some crusty bread and a dry white wine.
   

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 at truenorth67 AT gmail DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author. © 2007-2009 Peter Minakis

If I Owned a Steakhouse in Greece

I would serve up something like this.

Steaks aren't really part of the traditional Greek diet. There isn't much by way of aged steaks like we know here North America. Beef and veal are most used for braising, stews and mince.

There are some butchers who have know-how to butcher cows with an eye towards steak cuts and they even have their own aging and hanging rooms for the beef. These butchers cater to the steak houses in Athens, Thessaloniki and some of the jet-set Greek islands.


Having spoken to butchers about how they butcher cattle differently from their North American colleagues, the consistent reply I get is that although they (Greek butchers) know how to butcher for steak cuts, there is little demand for it in the Greek market.

Another thing one should know is that many (perhaps most) Greeks like their meats well-done. There's a generational gap between myself, cousins and our parents as us younger folks like our meat medium to rare and our parents like their beef well-done. It's a cultural thing, no right or wrong - that's just how it is.

On to the dinner. The flavours and ingredients used for this dish are used in Greek cooking but none of the dish can be really characterized as "Greek food". Greek-inspired, yes. Greek recipe - NO. I can't say that anything here is derived from recipes of our forefathers or even from a Greek cookbook per se.

The steak is inspired by my dad's treatment of a steak....coarse salt, black pepper, garlic powder and dried Greek oregano.

The mashed potatoes utilize Yukon Gold potatoes, roasted garlic, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, scallions and crumbled Feta.

The beans are simple...a quick saute of sliced mushrooms with some roasted garlic and olive oil and blanched green beans get tossed in at the end to warm through. This pairing was inspired by a recent beans and mushrooms recipe posted over at my dear friend's Kalyn's Kitchen.

Put the steak, mashed potatoes and green beans with 'shrooms and you have a wonderful steak dinner with "an eye towards Greece".

Pull up a chair, let me fetch a bottle (or two) and please do, have a seat. You're having steak at my place tonight. Let's sip some wine, talk food, think about summer vacation plans and enjoy a wonderful steak dinner!

Pan-seared Steak With Roasted Garlic and Oregano
(for 4)

4 New York Strip steaks, 3/4 - 1 in. thick
olive oil
unsalted butter
coarse sea salt
fresh cracked black pepper
garlic powder
dried Greek oregano

Mashed Potatoes with Roasted Garlic, Sun-dried Tomatoes and Feta
4 large Yukon Gold Potatoes
1 bulb of garlic
4 sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped
the green tops of 2 scallions, chopped
1/4 cup of unsalted butter
approx. 1 cup of milk
crumbled Feta cheese to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Mushrooms and green beans
4 handfuls of green beans, trimmed
1 cup of Cremini or button mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
2-3 cloves of roasted garlic
salt and pepper to taste

Pre-heated 375F oven

1. Peel and cut your potatoes into quarters. Place inside a pot and cover with water and reserve. Preheat your oven to 375F. Cut the top off your head of garlic and place in some tin foil. Drizzle with olive oil and wrap up, place in a oven-proof vessel and roast for about 40 minutes. Allow to cool. You may also use this time to boil your beans in salted water (until al dente) and then shock by placing in a icy water bath. Drain and reserve.
   
2. Bring your steaks to room temperature for cooking. Drizzle some olive oil on both sides of the steaks and season with coarse salt, fresh ground black pepper, garlic powder and dried Greek oregano. Start your pot of potatoes by boiling them in salted water and cook until fork tender.
3. Place your skillet on the stove-top over high heat and add a couple of pads of butter and some olive oil. sear your steaks in batches until both sides are a deep brown colour and reserve on a baking tray (reduce heat to medium-high).
4. When the steaks are all seared-off, place the baking tray in pre-heated oven for 10 minutes (for medium), remove from the oven, place on a plate and tent with foil. Allow to rest about 5 minutes before serving.
5. In the meantime, your potatoes should be ready to make your mashed potatoes. Strain the water from the potatoes, add butter and all but 2-3 cloves of the roasted garlic (for the beans and mushrooms). Add the milk, sun-dried tomatoes, and mash up some more. Now using a wooden spoon, mix in the crumbled Feta and scallions and then taste and adjust seasoning with salt & pepper. Reserve & keep warm.
6. In a skillet, add a few turns of love oil and add your sliced mushrooms over medium-high heat. Stir to coat the mushrooms with oil and season with some salt and pepper. Cover, reduce the heat to medium and cook off for another 5 minutes. Take the lid off and add the beans and the remaining 2-3 roasted cloves of garlic. Toss to mix and and taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and keep warm.
7. Divide the mashed potatoes by spooning a big scoop onto the middle of each plate, place a steak on top of half the steak and place a mound of beans and mushrooms on the side.
   

PLEASE NOTE: You may certainly grill the steaks on your outdoor if it's warm enough in your part of the world.


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 at truenorth67 AT gmail DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author. © 2007-2009 Peter Minakis

Fish à la Spetsiota (Ψάρι α λα σπετσιώτα)

Many, many years ago...1990 to be exact, I was working for a Canadian bank in my first "adult" job and being at the bottom of the ladder, I was given a mere ten days for vacation and that vacation could only be taken after the summer holidays (when those with seniority and children came back from vacation). The only window of opportunity for me to visit Greece with some decent swimming weather was September.

I actually booked and stayed in Greece for 2 weeks! Some of you might be thinking, "I'd take two weeks to Greece" but let me put things in perspective for you. Two weeks for a Greek who's accustomed to spend an entire summer in Greece is almost a tease of a vacation.

Regardless, I went to Greece for two weeks but it was one of the funnest and action-packed trips to Greece. Not one day wasted, every hour savoured, every moment with friends and family precious.

Some friends of mine set up to meet me in Athens upon my arrival and we were spend a night in Athens then take a short ferry boat ride to two islands in the Saronic Gulf, Hydra and Spetses.

These islands are very popular with Athenians as they are only a short distance away by car and ferry or just a ferry from Athens. Both islands picturesque, transporting you far away from the hustle & bustle of Athens and offering the city folk a slower pace, a sip of the good life and a breath of warm sea air. Today, we'll dine in Spetses.

I remember a pretty town lined with old mansions, horse drawn carriage rides and many roads finished with mosaic patterns. Days were spent taking leisurely strolls or taking a short ferry to the mainland for a nice swim at Kosta beach.

The evenings? What else but to dine in one of the many quaint and affordable eateries that cater to foreign and Greek tourists alike.

This baked fish dish comes from Spetses and it's basically a baked fish (Plaki) with whole or fish fillets, tomatoes, parsley and breadcrumbs. There are obviously many slight variations to this dish but here, you get simplicity, you get a healthy dinner option, a viable weeknight meal that will transport you to one of Spetses' many tavernas.

Fish à la Spetsiota is also in keeping with my goal to eat lighter and healthier during the month of January. I have cracked a bit and I will share some of the richer meals real soon.

But in the meantime, go to the market and see what the catch of the day is. It's Friday and I'm sure your fish monger is brimming with some fresh fish. Fancy a whole fish on the bone? Or would you like the "no fuss - no muss" of a fillet?

Either way, this dish can accomodate you. Sole, tilapia or snapper fillets will work fine here and on the instance I made this dish, I used sea bass filllets.

The dinner was accompanied but a simple yet delicious salad of Romaine lettuce, scallions, dill, extra-virgin olive oil, wine vinegar, sea salt, pepper and some Feta cheese.

Greeks enjoy rice with fish and I've paired the Spetsiota dish with baked rice and a side of blanched green beans.

Try Fish à la Spetsiota with the rice and green beans. The rice is your obvious starch but the beans and fish pairing really work here. Place the fish fillet on top of a bed of beans and allow some of the tomato sauce to get on the beans. The two work beautifully together!

If using fresh tomatoes, a little tomato paste will help bring the sauce together but here I used a good quality canned plum tomatoes. Finally, don't even think about using that store bought crap they label as breadcrumbs. It's more akin to sawdust than anything else.

Grab some old bread and pulse it in your processor or even take some good bread, cut in cubes, bake it in low heat (300F) for 30 minutes and turn the heat off and allow the bread cubes to cool and dry out for another hour so. Place in your processor and you have the tastiest breadcrumbs ever!

Fish à la Spetsiota (Ψάρι α λα σπετσιώτα)
(serves 4)
adapted from The Food and Wine of Greece, Diane Kochilas

4 fish fillets
1 1/2 cups of plum tomatoes
3-4 cloves of garlic
1/3 cup fresh parsley
1/2 cup dry white wine
sea salt and fresh ground pepper
1 cup cup fresh breadcrumbs
1/4 cup olive oil
extra-virgin olive oil for finishing

Pre-heated 375F oven

1. Rinse your fish fillets and pat dry. Lightly season your fillets with salt and pepper and stand for about 30 minutes.
   
2. In a food processor, add the plum tomatoes, parsley, garlic and wine and pulse until the mixture is blended but some pieces of tomato remain. Allow the mixture to marry for 30 minutes. Pre-heat your oven.
3. Season the fish with a little more salt and pepper and place in a lightly treated baking tray with olive oil. Pour some of the sauce on the tray then lay your fillets down. Pour the tomato sauce over the fillets and sprinkle with your homemade breadcrumbs.
4. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and bake until the sauce has firmed up and the breadcrumb topping has formed a crisp, light-brown crust (approx. 30 minutes).
   
5. Serve warm with some baked white rice, a bed of boiled & blanched green beans and a green salad. Drizzle each fish with some extra-virgin olive oil.
   

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 at truenorth67 AT gmail DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author. © 2007-2009 Peter Minakis

Kampanoules With Peppers and Basil (καμπανούλες με πιπεριές και βασιλικό)

It's been awhile since I've posted a pasta dish. It's not that I haven't been eating pasta (I have) but I'm also not going to bore you with another Bolognese recipe or any other standard pasta dish that most of us regularly enjoy.

Instead, it's time to showcase another rustic dish, filling yet light on the pocket and the palate. Last year Misko of Greece sent me some samples of their Greek pasta and one of the more unique shapes were their "kampanoules" (καμπανούλες) or in English - "little bells".

The package reads that they are indigenous to the province of Thessalia, which sits between Macedonia and and Attica. The shape of this pasta also mimics the shape of the little bell-shaped flowers that grow wild on the mountainsides.

Enough with flowers, pasta tastes better, no?

This recipe comes from the side of the package of Kampanpoules. This is a simple dish, using only vegetables, herbs, olive oil and the pasta itself. I've made this dish a few times and it always satisfies me with it's fresh flavours and I never feel bad about eating a big bowl.

Another Greek cheese that's grated on top of pasta dishes is the aged, dry Myzithra. Myzithra comes fresh and aged and it's made like ricotta cheese (from the leftover whey).

Dry Myzithra comes in large, grapefruit sized balls, it's a hard and salty cheese. When grated it has the characteristics of a mild Romano.

Kampanoules With Peppers and Basil (καμπανούλες με πιπεριές και βασιλικό)
(for 4)

2 cups or 500gr. of "καμπανούλες"
1 cup of diced tomatoes (fresh or canned)
1/3 cup olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small red onion, diced
1 cup of fresh button mushrooms, sliced
1 green pepper (banana or cubanelle), sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
1/3 cup pitted black olives, rough chop
1 cup of fresh basil, chiffonade
Grated dry Myzithra cheese

1. Place a large pot of water on your stovetop and bring to a boil. Add a good amount of salt and cook your pasta (kampanoules) for 10-13 minutes.
2. In a large skillet, add your olive oil over medium heat and add the onions and garlic and saute for a couple of minutes. Now add your mushrooms, tomatoes and peppers and simmer for about 8-10 minutes over medium-low heat. Add the chopped olives and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Set aside and keep warm.
3. When your pasta is cooked, drain it and add to the sauce along with your basil and toss to coat all the pasta with the sauce.
4. Divide pasta into four plates and grate the dry Myzithra over each serving.
   

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

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

Chicken & Halloumi Souvlaki

We're about a week into January and I'm still eating leaner dishes, avoiding butter (mostly) and trying to be a good boy this January.

Tonight's dish is another way to kick-up the sometimes boring chicken breast. Cut it up, marinate it, grill it and pair it with something else delicious. In this case, chicken and Halloumi cheese are the elevated to "dymanic-duo" status.

Most souvlaki shacks in Greece and abroad now offer a chicken version of this skewered meat and although I often choose pork or lamb, the chicken option is great when I'm in the mood for lighter fare.

When you add Halloumi cheese into the mix, chicken souvlaki's stock immediately rises in the foodie's Bourse. For those unfamilar with Halloumi, is a firm cheese that is made in Cyprus, Lebanon and enjoyed throughout the Middle East.

It's made from a goat & sheep's milk blend and when it's chewed, it often squeaks against your teeth (which I find neat) and it's best trait, it's delicious.

The reason I've chosen Halloumi cheese here is that it's a cheese that holds up well over heat. Be it fried or grilled, Halloumi holds together and for the purpose of this take on souvlaki, it's your best bet.

This dish can be completed on your outdoor grill or one of those grilling pans you place on your stovetop. Being quite aware that there are Northern and Southern hemisphere readers of this blog, again this dish works for both!

This Chicken & Halloumi souvlaki was eaten in the context of a meze, an appetizer or part of a succession of Greek bites between sips of Tsipouro, a winter green salad tossed in a light vinaigrette, some warmed pita bread and some fruit for dessert.

The chicken breasts are cut into pieces that are the same size as your Halloumi pieces (so that they cook in the same amount of time) and the chicken is marinated for a couple of hours in flavours native to Greece, such as thyme, bay leaves, honey and red wine vinegar.

Chicken & Halloumi Souvlaki
(makes meze for 8 or 4 light main servings)

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts,
cut into cubes

Marinade
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
4 Tbsp. olive oil
8 bay leaves
1 scallion, finely chopped
2 sprigs of lemon thyme
1 Tbsp. of honey
1 shot of Ouzo
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp sea salt

salt and pepper
approx. 500 gr. of Halloumi cheese,
cut into cubes
(same size as chicken pieces)
warm pita bread
wedges of lemon
wooden skewers

1. Rinse and pat dry your chicken breasts and then cut them lenghtwise in half. Now cut them across into cube-sized pieces and set aside.
2. In a zip-lock bag, all of the marinade ingredients and stir to blend. Taste and adjust seasoning and then add your pieces of chicken into the bag. Seal and squish the contents to coat all of the chicken pieces. Marinade in the fridge for 2 hours and then bring back to room temperature before grilling.
3. Cut your pieces of Halloumi cheese into pieces that are the same size as the the chicken. Strain the marinade (and discard) from your chicken pieces and alternately skewer a piece of chicken and Halloumi onto each skewer.
4. Pre-heat your outdoor grill (or indoor stove-top grill) to a medium-high heat and ensure the grill surface is free of residue and lubricated with a vegatable oil before grilling. Season your skewers with salt and pepper.
   
5. Grill your chicken and Halloumi skewers for about 2 minutes a side and serve on plates with beds of warm pita bread and wedges of lemon.

NOTE: The wooden skewers do not need to be soaked in water prior to grilling as they are not apt to burn while on the grill for such little time.


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

Swordfish With Skordalia (Ξιφίας Με σκορδαλιά)

For the month of January, I'm trying to keep with some fit, clean, easy to prepare and healthy dishes. The month of December saw most of us indulging in food and alcohol, saying yes to another serving, another helping of dessert and perhaps one extra beverage.

My neighbors were over last week for coffee and an array of Christmas treats and it turns out they consumed FORTY POUNDS OF BUTTER. That's alot of sweet and savory foods. Upon closer inspection of our grocery bills, we consumed a mere 25 pounds of butter...PHEW!

I'll do my best to showcase some lighter fare for the month but I do still have a backlog of treats to post about but I can assure you that NO TOFU will appear on this blog for January or any other month.

Today's subject is swordfish. It's a fish that can convert the hardest of pescio-haters out there. Consider it the chicken breast of the sea, if you will. It usually comes in a fillet, very neutral in flavour, forgiving to cook and moderate in cost.

If you do find yourself enjoying swordfish, try & limit the consumption to once a month. Sadly, our oceans are also becoming a sewers and larger fish have higher levels of mercury in them. The higher the fish is in the food chain, the higher the mercury levels.

On to the fish dish. This recipe comes courtesy of The Australian Women's Weekly Cookbooks and this dish comes from the Seafood installment. There must be dozens of these magazine-formatted magazines that offer quick, delicious recipes with photos for you folks that still like and read "pop-up" books like me!

So...there are three components to this dish: swordfish, skordalia and baby spinach. The sword fish, we've already discussed. The Skordalia, well it's a puree of boiled potatoes that are mixed with pulverized garlic in a mortar & pestle. Skordalia is traditionally paired with fried codfish but the paring with the swordfish works wonderfully.

Some of you might be tempted to try and make this skordalia in your food processor - resist temptation unless you want a garlic paste fit for applying wall paper or having the mixture split on you.

The third and final component is baby spinach that's wilted in some olive oil with a little bit of minced shallot, some mint and a bit of salt. Lay a bed of Skordalia on your plate, set your swordfish on top then crown everything with a mound of baby spinach and another dollop of skordalia.

Finally, the swordfish can be done on an outdoor grill or on one of those stovetop grilling pans. In either case, ensure the grilling surface is clean, lubricated with a vegetable oil (prevent sticking) and grilled over high heat.

Swordfish With Skordalia (Ξιφίας Με σκορδαλιά)
(serves 4)

4 swordfish steaks
sea salt
ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. olive oil
10 handfuls of baby spinach, rinsed
1 tsp. of fresh mint leaves
1 shallot, minced

Skordalia
3-4 large potatoes, boiled with skins on
4-5 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup olive oil
splash of wine vinegar or lemon juice
salt to taste

1. Prepare your mise en place (organize all your ingredients). Boil your potatoes with the skins on in salted water (retain nutrients), rinse and dry your baby spinach and have your shallots and garlic peeled and ready for use. Ensure your swordfish fillets are brought back to room temperature before cooking.
2. As soon as your potatoes are fork-tender, remove them from the boiling water and replace with cold water to bring the heat down to a safe handling temperature. Use the dull side of a knife to peel off the skins and set aside. Now add a little coarse salt and your garlic cloves and pound into a mash with your mortar and pestle. Now add the potatoes and a splash of vinegar and pound into a mash until the garlic and potatoes are incorporated. While stirring the mash, slowly add your olive oil into the potato mixture. Add in small stages until the warm potatoes have absorbed the oil. Continue until about 1/2 cup olive oil has been absorbed by the potatoes. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt.
3. Grill your fish either on your pre-heated outdoor grill or indoor grilling pan. In both cases, high heat is required and your grilling surface should be clean. Rub some olive oil on your fillets and season with salt and pepper. Grill your sword fish fillets for about 2-3 minutes a side and keep warm.
4. In a large skillet, add the olive oil and shallots and saute over medium heat for a minute. Add half of your spinach leaves and toss to coat with oil and to wilt for a couple of minutes. Turn the heat off and add the remaining spinach leaves and mint and continue to wilt the leaves for another couple of minutes. Season with some salt, toss and reserve.
   
5. Divide the Skordalia evenly on each plate (reserve 4 Tbsp. to top each plate), place a fillet on top, followed by a mound of wilted spinach, then a small dollop of Skordalia over the spinach. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and serve.
   

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

Seared & Braised Breasts of Chicken

This following post is actually about a non-visit during my recent stay in New York. Despite my having a full week to sight-see, explore, eat & drink and meet folks along the way - there just wasn't enough time to patronize all the Greek restaurants of note.

Upon my return from New York, I've even received invites to "check out" some other noted Greek eateries in the NYC scene. Is New York City in my 2009 plans? We'll see.

Some of you might recall that I visited New York's famous The Strand bookstore and I was able to buy some rare and cheap cookbooks there. One such book was The Periyali Cookbook.

Periyali is a Greek restaurant in the Grammercy/Flatiron district of Manhattan and it's been around since 1988...a veteran by any restaurant's standards!

The next best thing to visiting a restaurant is buying the book, no? With over 300 pages and tons of recipes in between, the cookbook offers up an array of Greek dishes that touch upon all the food categories and it makes Greek food approachable for even some you just discovering what a wonderful cuisine we have.

Today's dish is one of those "I want a classy meal, it's a weeknight, I'm tired from work and I want that restaurant-type of dish served to me" kind of meal.

The cookbook's title for this dish is "Seared & Braised Breast of Chicken With Leeks and Lemon Cream Sauce". I had no leeks and even if I did, the leeks would be out of proportion with the chicken breasts.

I opted to sear some scallions but in hindsight, spears of asparagus would also work very well here and I'll be on the lookout for some the next time this dish is on my mind.

Another sub I made was to omit the lemon juice and use some of my flourishing lemon thyme in my indoor herb garden. The recipe has no herbage and although tarragon would have worked well here, thyme is a Greek herb and the lemon thyme gave the dish that fresh citrus flavour and the bottom-end woodsy falvour that only thyme can give.

Finally, I halved the wine, stock & cream amounts and my hunch was right...there was just enough sauce for 4 plates.

Seared & Braised Breasts of Chicken
(serves 4)

4 bunches of scallions, greens trimmed and reserved
1 cup of chicken/vegetable broth
2 Tbsp. of lemon thyme
(may sub. some lemon juice w/ thyme)
1 bay leaf
4 chicken breasts, pounded into paillards
flour for dredging
1/4 cup olive oil for frying
1/ 2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
thyme for garnish

1. Either pound out your chicken breasts into thin paillards or if you have 2 thick chicken breasts, carefully cut the breast into 2 thin chicken breasts (making 4). Rinse and pat-dry your chicken breasts and season with salt and pepper and dredge in all-purpose flour.
   
2. In a large non-stick skillet orver medium heat, add the white part of the scallions and sear on both sides until a nut-brown colour has formed. Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve on a plate with absorbant paper.
   
3. Now sear and brown your chicken breasts in the same oil until golden brown (1 1/2 -2 mins.) on both sides and reserve.
4. Discard the oil and place your skillet back on medium heat and add the wine and and simmer for 1-2 minutes while scraping up the brown bits.. Now add your cream, stock, bay leaf and lemon thyme and and gently bring to a boil. Carefully add your chicken breasts back into the skillet and simmer uncovered for about 15-20 minutes or until your sauce has thickenend enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Add the reserved green parts of the scallions and mix into the sauce. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and discard the bay leaf.
5. Spoon some cream sauce onto the bottom of each plate and then lay a row of scallions on top, followed by the crowning chicken breast. Garnish with some lemon thyme and freshly ground black pepper.
6. Serve with some rice pilaf.
   

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. © 2007-2008 Peter Minakis