I first discovered Ergon’s existence during my visit to the Sani Gourmet Festival in Kassandra, Halkidiki, where they have just opened a second shop. Myself and my food blogging friends were treated to an afternoon of noshing on some of Ergon’s fine products (with the help of some Ouzo & Tsipouro). I met Thomas Douzis and his staff and quickly found out that Ergon’s flagship store was located in Thessaloniki and that I should pay them a visit. No arm-twisting needed.

Ergon sells only Greek-made products from Crete to Macedonia, Epirus to Rhodes, Thrace to Messinia….the four corners of Greece! Ergon’s goal is to feature and carry products made by small artisans and they receive tips from their local clientele on the newest discovery. Ergon keeps very busy just checking out these new products and from chatting with Thomas, his enthusiasm for Greek artisan food products makes me believe he’ll stock each and every one of them!

Upon entering Ergon, you’ll get a whiff of the pastourma that hangs in the back of the store over the deli counter. Located deep in the store like a bank vault you will find deli meats like prosciutto, pastourma, pastrami, salami and sausages…..all made in Greece. Beside the deli meats are the precious cheeses that come from all over Greece: Cretan Graviera, Batsos from Macedonia, barrel-aged Feta, smoked Metsovone from Epirus and even an aged Manouri….all Greek!

Ergon is a “pantopoleon” – selling practically every pantry item for the Greek household. An array of legumes like chickpeas. beans and lentils are supplied by small producers and Ergon has many of its own labeled products, carefully vetted before appearing on their shelves.

What would a Greek general store be without olives? How about an array of olive oil, including a local olive oil from Halkidki? Ergon even sells cookbooks, there’s grape leaves, a small selections of wines, Ouzo and tsipouro.

Shopping at Ergon, one can buy goods for all three meals of the day: how about some organic eggs, or Greek yougurt made from goat or sheep’s milk? An array of marmalades, rusks like Cretan Dakos, and Greek gold…honey!

For lunch, try some of the legumes and make baked gigantes beans or a pot of Fakkes soup or Fassoulada? Don’t forget Ergon has a wide array of herbs and spices to complement your pantry.

Ergon is the type of store where one can make an impressive meze table featuring the “best of Greece”…truffles in oil from Grevena, aged cheeses from distant islands in the Cyclades, wild boar sausages, smoked Apaki (pork) from Crete or spreads made with Feta, taramosalata, roasted red peppers, smoky eggplant or a fig spread?

One of the products I went loopy over were these lasagna chips that had the texture of corn chips but were flavored with onions, spinach, oregano and they were ideal for dunking into an array of sauces. Ask about their mustards….some of the best I’ve had in years. The red pepper and tomato sauces are great on their own or to complement one of your dishes.

Ergon’s flagship store is centrally located just off Tsimiski in Thessaloniki’s shopping district. It’s located on Gregory Palama, a small street just west of Diagonios and it’s within eye’s view from Tsimiski. Ergon’s second store is located at the Sani Resort, in the marina. You’ll find in beside the Tomato restaurant and they carry almost all the goods found in Thessaloniki.

Ergon’s Sani Resort location also just opened a small Ouzeri that includes a menu developed by Master Chef Dimitris Skarmoutsos. I can’t wait to go back and try out more of the products on Ergon’s shelves, chat with the guys and talk about food, food, food while nibbling on some cheese and slices of deli meats and what the Hell…pour some tsipouro!

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Pork butt (from the shoulder)

Odds & ends and fat would be used to make Kavourma – a dish of preserved meat that’s marinated, slow cooked then preserved in its own fat to hold for the winter.  Ever used Crisco, buy shortenings from the supermarket? Before those products existed, animal fat was used. Nothing got wasted and although many of these labour-intensive traditions have waned over time, the ritual of sausage making still exists and our family enjoys sausages, making them, giving some way and ultimately eating them.

My parents come from towns in the region of Florina, about a 90 minute drive west of Thessaloniki. This region is colder than much of Greece in the winter yet thet still enjoy hot & dry summers like much of Greece. There are both mountains and farm-worthy valleys in this area and my parents’ area of Amynteo produces excellent red wine, sparkling rose wines with the indigenous Xinomavro grape.

Travel west to both Florina and beyond to Kastoria and one will find Macedonian (Makedonika) sausages (loukanika) in many homes and most tavernas in the area. The Macedonian sausage is a contrast to the southern sausage of Laconia, with its pronounced flavourings of savory and orange peel. Our sausage (Macedonian) is spicy with the use of Boukovo, a dried and slow-roasted hot red pepper that takes on slight smoky flavour from the wood. The Boukovo is ground into what you and I know as chilli flakes and used in cooking.

The second prominent ingredient in Macedonian sausages are leeks…an oft’ used winter ingredient throughout Europe and they seem to lift any dish that includes them. Macedonian sausages…Boukovo (chilli flakes) and leeks. The ingredients in between are seasonings and spices and up to interpretation from family to family, town to town. I’ve rounded out the flavours with garlic, paprika, dried Greek oregano, ground allspice and salt & pepper.

After the sausage filling is mixed, taste-tested before actually being made into sausage, the flavours are allowed to marry overnight and after the sausages are made, a period of air-drying occurs. The sausages would hang outside in the cool, breezy air or an airy cellar or shed. The sausage colour transforms from a grey to a warm brown colour during this drying stage, with the casings developing into a skin.

The sausages are now in their prime, ready to be cooked on a grill, over the fireplace, on your stove-top or in the oven. Have you made sausages before? These are the sausages from my family and you’ll have a taste of northern Greece if you make these.

For those that haven’t made sausages before, you’ll need a meat grinder, a sausage maker, seek out the right cuts of pork and use the correct ratio of lean meat and fat. Every good sausage contains a percentage of fat, these Macedonian sausages contain 25% fat with the remainder being made-up of the “leaner” pork (the butt) and the leeks.

Macedonian Sausages (Μακεδονικα Λουκανικα)

(recipe updated from January 2008)

15 lbs. pork butt, coarse grind
(from pork shoulder)

5lbs. pork fat, ground
5 lbs. of leeks, cleaned, chopped and blanched
1/4 cup black pepper
1/3 cup Boukovo (red chilli flakes)
1/2 coarse sea salt
2 Tbsp. ground allspice
1/4 cup dried oregano
1/4 cup garlic powder
1/4 cup sweet paprika
2 little tubs of hog casings

1. Mix all the above ingredients in a large Rubbermaid container and mix well with your hands.
2. Take a handful and fry it off on your stove to taste test. Adjust seasoning. Cover and place the container with sausage filling in a cool place (our garage is as  cold as a fridge). over night to allow the ingredients to marry.
3. The next day, soak the hog casings in warm water for 30 minutes and then rinse. Replenish the cold water and leave them in a bowl of water. Take a hog casing and place it on the nozzle where your sausage mix will come out.
4. Place the sausage mix on the top entry point of the sausage maker and start pumping out sausages (I have an electric sausage maker). Plunge the meat down and with your other hand, ensure the sausage filling is fully filling the casing as the sausages are being formed. Twist the sausages into links of your desired size.
5. Replenish hog casings on the nozzle of the sausage maker as they run out. Repeat until all of your sausage mix has been made into links.
6. Hang your sausages for a 3 to 5 days (until the casings have slightly hardened to a skin) in a cool, dry place like a cellar, garage or if you have a spare fridge.
7. Freeze the sausages in zip lock bags and take and take out and defrost for cooking as desired (grill, fry, bake). They are good for one year (beyond that you’re tempting freezer burn). Serve as a meze or main protein along with an Alpha Estate Xinomavro .

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© 2010, Peter Minakis. All rights reserved. If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://kalofagas.ca 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.

Pastourma is enjoyed by Greeks, Turks, many Arab nations and probably the best stuff is made by Armenians. Pastourma is often laid-out as an appetizer (meze) or it can appear in an egg omelet or the main ingredient of a savory pie (Pita Kaisarias).

Today I’m going to share a quick, exotic and delicious meze (appetizer) that you make the next time you have friends over (Christmas season and cocktail parties are coming up).

Pitakia Kaisarias are individual phyllo-wrapped versions of the Pita Kaisarias. Phyllo sheets get wrap a filling of bechamel sauce, Kasseri cheese, ribbons of Pastourma, roasted red peppers and diced tomatoes.

Your biggest challenge in making these pillows of exotic tastes is finding Pastourma. You can always make your own or seek some at your nearest Greek, Turkish, Armenian or Mid-Eastern store. Here in Toronto, my friends at Greek House on the Danforth sell Pastourma.

I first had Pitakia Kaisarias at the Kourdisto Gourouni (Wind-up Pig) in Thessaloniki and more recently at Pylos in the Alphabet City area of Manhattan.

The origin of these savory pies comes from the area of Kaisarias (now Turkey) that was home to many Greeks and Armenians. Many of these peoples came to Greece after a mass exodus from Turkey in the 1920′s.

These people could bring little but what remained was their memories which included recipes, recipes and recipes…including Pita Kaisarias. Today, the neighborhoods of Nea Smyrni (Athens) and Kalamaria (Thessaloniki) still contain a large population of the descendants of these Asia Minor Greeks.

I’m offering you two ways you can make Pitakia Kaisarias…one being on the stove-top (fried) and other baked in the oven. Both approaches yield delicious results and I’m still torn as to which method I like.

The baked version allows me to sprinkle sesame seeds yet the friend version gives me instant gratification with fried dough. I’ll have to make some more and try and decide!

Pitakia Kaisarias (Πιτάκια-Καισαρείας)

10-12 sheets of phyllo (cut into 7″x7″ squares)

1 roasted bell pepper (peeled, seeded and cut into ribbons)

1 tomato, juice and seeds removed and diced

20 slices of Kasseri cheese (or a firm white Gruyere or cheddar)

Approx. 12 slices of Pastourma, sliced into ribbons

(3 ribbons per serving)

black and white sesame seeds

melted butter (clarified) or olive oil for brushing

Bechamel Sauce

1 Tbsp. of butter

2 Tbsp. of all-purpose flour

1 cup of warm milk

1/2 cup of grated Kasseri cheese

salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp. of paprika

Pre-heated 350F oven

1. The night before, place your frozen package of phyllo in the fridge to thaw overnight. Take the phyllo out of the fridge to come to room temperature 15 minutes before assembling your Pitakia.
2. In a small pot, add your butter over medium heat and then add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until the the flour becomes  a paste. Add your warm milk and turn the heat up to high. Constantly stir with your wooden spoon until the Bechamel has thickened. Remove from the heat and add your grated Kasseri cheese and stir in until it’s amalgamated into the sauce. Take off the heat, add your paprika and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Cover and reserve.
3. Take out your phyllo (bring to room temperature) and prepare your ingredients needed for the filling (pastourma, cheese slices, roasted peppers and tomato + melted butter or olive oil for brushing).
4. Grease a baking tray and lay out your phyllo on your work surface. Cut the phyllo into approx. 7″X7″ squares. Lightly brush the perimeter and place a Tbsp. of Bechamel on the bottom middle-part of the phyllo sheet, 1 inch from center. Now top with 3 ribbons of Pastourma, about a tsp. of roasted red peppers, tsp. of diced tomato and top with your slice of Kasseri.
5. Fold the bottom 1-ich space of phyllo over towards the top to cover your filling. Now fold over the sides to form the next part of your envelope and finally, roll up your bundle towards the top-end of your phyllo. Place your phyllo bundle on your baking tray and brush the top with oil or butter. Repeat this process with your remaining phyllo sheets.
6. If you choose to bake your Pitakia Kaisarias, top with a sprinkling of black and white sesame seeds and if frying, omit.
7. Place your tray of Pitakia in your pre-heated oven for 20-30 minutes (middle rack) or until golden brown.
8. If frying, add enough vegetable oil to just cover the surface of your non-stick skillet and fry over medium-heat for about 2 minutes/side or until golden brown. Fry in batches (add more oil if needed), blot on paper towels and reserve/keep warm in your oven until serving.
9. Serve warm with a bowl of strained Greek yogurt for dipping.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at  http://kalofagas.ca 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

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© 2009 – 2010, Peter Minakis. All rights reserved. If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://kalofagas.ca 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.

Being a Greek who lives abroad (Diaspora), I feel lucky that my parents chose Canada as the country of choice to start a new life and family. I feel particularly fortunate to live in the vibrant, culturally diverse and tolerant city of Toronto. This is the first installment of a regular series I will tag as “Talk Toronto”. Join me as I introduce this fair city to you, it’s people and the food that feeds this city.

Toronto is just 90 minutes from Niagara Falls and the Canada/US border. It’s located on Lake Ontario and it’s geographically located in a strategic area for commerce. Commerce equals work, work equals opportunity, opportunity equals population expolosion and population explosion equals diversity. Toronto has one of the most diverse populations in the world, everyone getting along pretty well.

Within this multicultural mosaic, peoples from different lands brought and shared the foods from their homeland. Every ethnicity has pitched in to offer it’s citizens an international pantry that rivals the larger “foodie” cities.

My goal is to also share and show you what a remarkable city Toronto is and in particular, show you where I shop for my ingredients, attain some of my cooking inspiration and showcase the people and shops that cater to the diverse and sometimes fickle tastes of this international city.

First stop, The Cheese Boutique. Don’t let the store’s name deceive you, there’s more to the Cheese Boutique than just cheese. A walkabout around the store will take you through the produce section, you’ll gawk at the display of cakes and desserts, peruse the hundreds of varieties of cheeses, become intoxicated with the aroma of cheeses aging in their very own aging room, salivate at the meats that hang and dry-age in their exclusive aging room, sip an espresso and contemplate which olive oil to try, which balsamic vinegar to pair it with, choose from an array of quality pastas, sauces and pestos, travel the world with coffees and teas, be tantalized with the row upon row of charcuterie and finally, pick up some artisan bread just as your about to say “farewell” until your next visit.

Almost 40 years ago, the Cheese Boutique began from the humble beginnings of a ma & pa corner store (Beckers) and as time marched on, this corner store quickly became a family business that included the involvement of three generations of the Pristine family. The Cheese Boutique is currently located in the South Kingsway area of Toronto (west end) and despite my living in the northest end of the city, the quality, attention to the customer and a passion for their products still makes it an easy “foodie” destination for me.

As a Greek, I’m delighted that the Cheese Boutique sells barrel-aged Dodoni Feta, Manouri, Kasseri and Kefalograviera cheeses. Greek olive oils,olives coffee, vinegars, honey and oregano are all “must haves” in the Greek pantry.

Enough with all the chit-chat, let’s explore the store together…one gets the feeling that you’re walking through a playground built especially for foodies. Take your time, chat up the staff, ask to sample a cheese before you buy it, try out the olives, check out the every nook and crannie of the Cheese Boutique.

Each time I go back, I discover something new…hope you will too!

When you first enter the Cheese Boutique, you’ll be met by the finest produce the markets have to offer.

Fancy some cakes and dessrts from the patisserie?

I know I always need olive oil in my cooking, do you have Greek extra-virgin olive oil?

Fancy some Serrano ham from Espana? I sure do!

Be sure to ask where the aging room for the cheeses are…the smell is intoxicating!

Only the staff may enter the aging room for the beef but here’s some of their “choice cuts”.

Here’s a birds-eye view of the main service island.

Sampling of the array of olives is actually encouraged!

A large display featuring many of the deli meats from around the world.

Some more charcuterie.

I don’t think the store would be complete without some prosciutto di Parma

Some earthernware and other cooking vessels are available for purchase.

Quality homemade sausages for all tastes, be it mild or spicy.

What would the Cheese Boutique be without cheese?

Bread should always be present at the family table.

An assortment of balsamic vinegars, for all budgets.

Those cheese wheels are real…they sell that much cheese!

Protect the store, staff and patrons from the “evil eye”.

A young gent behind the counter was brushing the truffles…this one weighed in at $370!

It’s never a “slow time” at the Cheese Boutique.

The province of Quebec produces some of Canada’s best cheeses.

The Cheese Boutique is located at 45 Ripley Ave., near the South Kingsway, in the southwest end of Toronto.

You may visit the Cheese Boutique’s site here.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at  http://kalofagas.ca 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

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© 2009, Peter Minakis. All rights reserved. If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://kalofagas.ca 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.

On many occasions I’ve referred to the Greek eating experience as being centered around many sample plates of foods that are shared over drinks, conversation among family and friends. Greek cuisine has alot of appetizers, usually simply prepared but the array is great and the diversity even more so.

One facet of Greek appetizers or “the meze” is the use of delicatessen meats. I remember when I was young and my mom would prepare for an entire week to prepare mezedes for the onslaught of family and friends who would drop by our house on the occasion of my father’s nameday, St. Nicholas.

It’s very common to see salami and other cold cuts on offer at a buffet table or as part of an array of appetizers like cheeses, bread, toursi (pickled vegetables) and the usual dips (like Tzatziki).

I’ve always liked deli meats be it Greek or non-Greek but today and in the future, I’m going to showcase some of Greece’s deli and cured meats.

There’s Kavourma from northern Greece, the Cretan delicacy of Apaki, Louza from the Cycladic Islands, Siglino from down south Mani way and today’s feature, Pastourma.

From my readings, Pastourma comes from Armenian cuisine but it’s widely enjoyed by Turks, some Arab countries and of course, Greece.

Pastourma made it’s way to Greece through the migration of Greeks who once resided in Constantinople and Asia Minor. Some of the best Pastourma I had was when I visited Istanbul (Constantinople) a couple of years ago.

The Greeks of Asia Minor have left a permanent stamp on Greek cuisine and as many would agree, our cuisine is richer for it.

What’s Pastourma? It’s the grand-daddy of Pastrami. It used to be cured by frontier horsemen who would carry a type of Pastourma in their saddles during their long treks away from home. In essence, it’s a beef jerky but now will get into the nitty-gritty.

Pastourma, it is said was once made of camel meat but that could be either urban legend or a fact of days of yore. Today’s Pastourma is mostly made from different cuts of beef. For this recipe, I used an inside round cut of beef…lean, no silverskin and ideal size for some who wants to enjoy it with family and friends.

Pastourma takes about a month to salt cure and dry age to perfection. From my research, there are some quick-cure recipes out there but it appears the slow method garners the best results.

Pastourma is not for everybody. The crust is known as “tsimeni” or “trigonela” and it’s a paste that contains garlic and spices, the predominant one being fenugreek.

Personally, I love the aroma, the taste of Pastourma. For those not in the know, fenugreek is a spice used heavily in Orient and it’s derived from Methi leaves, which my Indian friends will attest to using in their dishes quite often.

Pastourma is best when it’s sliced thinly, it has that texture of prosciutto or bresaola, very tender and buttery kind of experience. In it’s rawest presentation, it’s served thinly sliced on a plate with some bread and cheese and washed back with an Ouzo or Tsipouro aperitif. I’ve also found dry Greek reds to pair well with Pastourma.

Pastourma also makes for a wonderful omelet, which often is served as a dinner option for those late night Greek meals.

The most famous use of Pastourma has to be Caesaria Pie, which contains a filling of pastourma slices, Kasseri chese and often tomato.

Pastourma can be found at Middle Eastern markets, some Greek food marts sell it, Armenian and Turkish patronized stores will also certainly carry it. If you’re in a city or town that is nowhere near any of these stores, no worries….the home version is here.

Once again, my core belief in food is sharing and I’ve held no recipe back and nor will I ever. I present to you Pastourma, the home-cured version…enjoy!

Pastourma (παστουρμά)
(recipe adapted from Mark Marcarian)
33 days preparation

1 piece of inside round beef (about 2 lbs)
approx. 1/4 cup sea salt (granulated)

Tsimeni
3 Tbsp. of ground fenugreek
1/2 tsp. red pepper (cayenne)
1/2 tsp. of salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 Tbsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
3-4 cloves of minced garlic
approx. 1 cup of water
cheesecloth

1. Ask your butcher for an inside round cut of beef, lean and no silverskin. Rinse and pat-dry your meat and place in a container that will fit in your fridge. Using an upholstery needle, thread some butcher’s twine through one end of the meat and tie a knot so that you may later hang the meat for curing.
2. Cover the the entire area of meat with sea salt and place in your vessel. Cover with plastic wrap and use either a brick or 2-3 cans of tomatoes to weigh/press down on the meat. Place in the fridge for 3 days and turn once each day.
3. Upon completion of day 3, rinse the meat of the salt in cold water and allow it to then soak in cold water for an hour. Allow the water to drain off the meat (30 minutes) and press between some cloth towels to remove any remaining moisture.
4. Wrap the meat with one layer of cheesecloth and hang in a cool, airy place to dry for 2 weeks. My Pastourma was hung to dry in a cool, dry cellar that was 15-18C and humidity of about 60-65%. Check on your Pastourma from time to time, you might get a slight foul smell but that’s okay…change the cheesecloth ( I did 3 times).
5. After 2 weeks, remove the cheesecloth and rinse and pat dry. Now mix all the ingredients (except the water) for the Tsimeni in a large bowl. Slowly add the water a bit at a time while you mix the ingredients until a thick, gloopy paste has formed. You’ll use anywhere between 1/2 to almost 1 cup of water (the Tsimeni should be thick so that it adheres to the meat).
6. Put on some gloves and slather the meat with your Tsimeni mixture. Take your Tsimeni-coated meat back to where you hung the meat and allow to cure for another 2 weeks. If you like (optional) the wet finish to Pastourma, you can make some extra Tsimeni and rub it all over the outside.
7. After a total of approx. 33 days, your Pastourma is ready to be eaten. Cut the Pastourma in half and slice thinly against the grain from the inside towards the outer, tapering end of the meat. You may also refrigerate or freeze your Pastourma for future use. Wrap well in plastic wrap and that for 5 minutes to soften and go on and slice what you need before placing back in the freezer.
8. Serve thin slices at room temperature as part of an appetizer plate with some cheese, some bread and an aperitif like Ouzo or a dry Greek red 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

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© 2009 – 2010, Peter Minakis. All rights reserved. If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://kalofagas.ca 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.