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Greek Christmas Recipe Round-Up

Peter Minakis — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 11:50:34 +0000

I decided to organize some Christmas dishes for you to consider when you’re planning your Christmas, holiday and New Year’s menus. These are some options divided simply in savory and sweet categories. Eat when you drink, drink when you eat and reach out and invite someone extra to the table. You’ll feel good!

Savory

Loin of Pork Stuffed With Prunes

Phyllo Cheese Triangles (Tyropitakia)

Baked Brie With Roasted Garlic & Cranberry-Mavrodaphne Sauce

Roasted Pork Shanks With Crackling (Crispy Skin)

Slow-Roasted Pork Belly

Slow Prime-Rib

Roasted Cornish Hens Stuffed With Goat Cheese & Figs

Roast Leg of Lamb

Whole Roast Turkey

Pork Belly & Quinces

Roast Pork Belly & Potatoes

Pork Tenderloin With Liastos Wine & Vissino Sauce

Pork Tigania

Macedonian Sausages

Pork Lado-Rigani

Grandma’s Pork & Quinces

Pork Chops Krassates

Roast Loin of Pork With Fennel Crust

Pomegranate-Glazed Chicken

Papia Portokali

Tangy Maple-Mustard Lamb

Vine-Grower’s Lamb

Lemon Verbena Rack of Lamb

Roast Lamb in Parchment

Slow-Roasted Goat

The Best Steak

Rib-Eye Steaks With Blue Cheese Sauce

Cross-Rib Pot Roast

Hunkar Begendi With Beef

Dolmadakia

Cabbage Rolls

Pastitsio

Beef Tenderloin With Port Wine Sauce

Batzos Saganaki

Mussels With Fennel & White Wine

Lobster Saganaki

Goat-Cheese Stuffed Onions

Phyllo-Wrapped Shrimp

Potato Croquettes

Crispy-Fried Shrimp

Feta & Herb Pull-Aparts

Mussels Saganaki With Mustard

Spanakopita

Tyropita

Kotopita

Oysters With Mignonette Sauce

Pomegranate Vinaigrette

Rabbit Stifado

Caesar Salad

Rocket Salad With Figs & Graviera

Potato Salad With Blood Oranges

Cabbage Salad

Salad of Rocket, Cabbage & Apple

Rocket, Pear & Feta Salad

Spinach Salad

Red Pepper & Potato Salad

Sweet

All-In-One-Pan Squares

Egg Nog Ice Cream With Salted Caramel Rum Sauce

Sublime, Sexy Walbut-Stuffed Figs

Margarites (Baklava Daisies)

Baklava Cigars

Saragli

Medley of Thessalonikeon Delights

Ekmek Kataifi

Phillipino Fruit Salad

Ultimate Cheesecake

Paximadia

Paximadia With Figs, Walnuts & Star Anise

Creme Brulee With Mastic

Hosafi – Dried Fruit Compote

Baked Quince With Mavrodaphne & Pine Nuts

Melomakarona Cheesecake

Kataifi

Chocolate Baklava

Diples

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© 2011 – 2012, 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.

Greek Mess (Ελληνικό μπάχαλο)

Peter Minakis — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 13:13:21 +0000

This dessert was inspired by Eton Mess, an easy concoction that’s usually made by whipping cream, incorporating crumbled Meringues and ripe strawberries (which are the usual fruit). The Eton Mess was traditionally served at Eton College’s annually cricket game against Winchester College. Now this is where the dessert deviates.

I’ve never been impressed with baked meringues but they do add a nice consistency in an Eton Mess. My version using some Greek ingredients like Amygdalota (almond) cookies and Mastiha from Chios to perfume the whipped cream. I chose raspberries over strawberries as I wanted to keep them whole, the ones I bought were sweet with a hint of tartness and the finished dessert simply looked better. Alternatively, mulberries and Greek yogurt would also make for a wonderful substitute here!

Time to discuss the name of this dessert – Greek Mess. The economic and political situation in Greece is not good. I was in Greece this past May and people are continuing with their lives, learning to live with less…life goes on. Greeks are very upset that there are no jobs, worried about their children and grandchildren who are burdened with paying out the nation’s debt. Senior citizens are victimized by a government that cuts their pension and those who contributed in faith to their pension plans have learned that the coffers were pillaged by bureaucrats.

The Greek economy is now at a standstill and this is magnified by a government that offers no plan for development, investment in the future or plans to strengthen areas of Greece’s economy that have an advantage (tourism). Greeks are furious that bureaucrats and politicians have siphoned-off billions from public coffers to line their own pockets while a dwindling middle-class is asked to bear the burden of paying higher taxes to appease the new overlords from Brussels and the IMF.

Greeks are irate that the current government (past governments must share blame) does little to try and bring back the billions stolen by a succession of bureaucrats and politicians who enjoy an amnesty from prosecution. Greeks are tightening their belts while the current government talks alot about sacrifice but in practice it does little. Government waste continues: one would expect a government in this dire economic situation to lead by example rather secretly pass laws that increase their perks and in the end, place even more money in their (politicians) pockets.

The shrinking Greek middle-class bears the burden of new tax measures while many wealthy families continue to avoid paying taxes and conduct themselves as if they are above the law.

Μπάχαλο! (Bahalo!) A mess! That’s the word often described by so many Greeks when asked about the current situation. Oh yeah, Greeks will open-up when prodded to opine on Greece’s situation and “bahalo” is often used to describe the stagnant economy of Greece, the confusion surrounding a bloated bureaucracy and confusion/insecurity about the future of a family, the next generation and a country.

Greek Mess (Ελληνικό μπάχαλο)

(makes 10)

2 cups whipping cream

1 cup icing sugar

1 tsp. ground mastiha

2 pints of raspberries (or other seasonal berry)

12 Amygdalota (almond cookies), crumbled with your hands

1/2 cup chopped almonds

4 Tbsp. chopped mint leaves

Whip your cream into soft peaks then add the ground mastiha and 1/2 cup of icing sugar and continue whipping until you’ve achieved stiff peaks. Set aside.
Place 3/4 of your berries in a bowl with the remaining (1/2 cup) of icing sugar and stir until the sugar is incorporated. Now coarsely mash the berries until you’ve achieved the consistency of a chunky jam.
Add the mashed berries into your whipped and fold in with a spatula. Now add half of the crumbled Amygdalota (almond cookies) into the whipped cream/berry mixture (Mess).
Divide and spoon the Mess into whiskey tumbler glasses then top with the remaining crumbled cookies. Next layer to be placed in the glasses are the reserved berries then the chopped almonds. Finish each serving with a topping of chopped fresh mint and serve immediately or cover and place in the fridge for up to a day.

“Greek Mess“

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© 2011, 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.

Aspro/Mavro (White & Black)

Peter Minakis — Wed, 04 May 2011 13:00:27 +0000

This recipe comes courtesy of a neighbor of ours in Halkidiki, where my family’s summer home is located in Greece. Halkidiki is located in northern Greece, consists of three peninsulas that are situated just east of Greece’s second-largest city, Thessaloniki. One day I went to a neighbor’s home that had some new-born puppies that another neighbor’s granddaughter wanted to see. Acting as “big uncle Pete” – off I went escorting the young girl to this home I’d never been to before.

I was greeted by strangers like I was a long-lost relative (that’s Greek hospitality for you) and the young girl immediately went to play with the puppies and I was chatting with “kuria” Theodosia and her daughter, Nana. Kura (Mrs.) Theodosia is the grandmother of the home, Nana the daughter and their pretty young granddaughter is Sissy (short form from Theodosia). While one lady kept me occupied with questions, conversation the other disappeared into the kitchen for 15 minutes – only to reemerge with coffee, cookies, water and a “glyko”, a dessert.

Nana brought out today’s dessert called Aspro/Mavro. Aspro is white and Mavro is black in Greek – a simple dessert of alternative chocolate & vanilla creams layered between Greek petit beurre cookies. In Greece, the petit beurre cookie is very popular with the children and adults will use them frequently in dessert recipes. I’ve seen petit beurre cookies used to make chocolate logs, bases for cheesecakes or for parfait – it’s a handy ingredient!

I immediately loved the look, the taste and simple name of this dessert – Aspro/Mavro. I asked kuria Theodosia for the recipe and she quickly deferred me to her daughter Nana. I was afraid I was going to get the run-around for the recipe but Nana did in fact have the recipe and she would recite it to me. I dashed back over to my home to grab my notepad and I started jotting down the recipe.

The original recipe is very easy but Nana used creams made from packets where you just have to add milk and sugar. I wanted to avoid using packets and what you have here is my all home-made version of Aspro/Mavro, made with creme patisserie…chocolate and vanilla.

Aspro/Mavro (Ασπρο/Μαυρο)

3 packages of Papadopoulo brand or any other Petit Beurre cookies

approx. 1 cup of room temp. milk (for dunking cookies in)

Chocolate Cream

4 cups whole (or 2%) milk

4 egg yolks

5 Tbsp. corn starch

3 Tbsp. cocoa powder

3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

splash of vanilla extract

11 oz. of bitter-sweet chocolate pieces (about 1 1/2 cups)

Vanilla Cream

2 cups whole (or 2%) milk

2 egg yolks

2 1/2 Tbsp. corn starch

1 1/2 Tbsp. flour

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/3 cup sugar

approx. 8″ x 13″ baking/casserole dish (deep)

approx. 8oz. block of white chocolate

To make your chocolate cream, add the egg yolks, corn starch, sugar , cocoa powder and flour into a bowl and whisk until creamed. Add the milk and vanilla into a pot and place on your stove-top over medium heat until the milk is just scalded. While whisking the creamed egg mixture, slowly add the scalded milk into the bowl then return the whole mixture back into the pot and stir over medium heat. Add the bitter-sweet chocolate in increments while stirring until the chocolate has melted and the cream has thickened (at least coat the back of a spoon). Remove from the heat, cover with plastic wrap and allow to cool to warm temp.
To make the vanilla cream, add the egg yolks, corn starch, sugar and flour into a bowl and whisk until creamed. Add the milk and vanilla into a pot and place on your stove-top over medium heat until the milk is just scalded. While whisking the creamed egg mixture, slowly add the scalded milk into a bowl and then return the whole mixture back into the pot and stir over medium heat until thick and creamy (enough to coat the back of wooden spoon). Remove from the heat and cover with plastic wrap and allow to cool to warm temp.
Dip your petit beurre cookies into some milk and layer the bottom of your baking dish with the cookies (don’t be afraid to trim some cookies to fit into the pan). Cover and evenly spread the cookies with half of your chocolate cream. An offset spatula is handy for spreading the cream evenly.
Now top with another layer of milk-dipped petit beurre cookies and now cover with all the vanilla cream and spread evenly over the cookies.
Dip the last batch of cookies into milk and arrange your final layer of petit beurre and then cover with your remaining chocolate cream and spread evenly. Allow to cool before placing in the fridge then cover with plastic wrap (ensure the plastic does not touch your top layer of chocolate cream). Place in the fridge overnight.
To make your garnish of white chocolate curls, the chocolate must soften a bit. Place your block of white chocolate in the microwave for 10-second intervals until it is just soft. Shave off the curls from the top with a vegetable peeler (with a plate underneath to catch the curls). Place your white chocolate back in the microwave if you’ve shaved off all the warmed chocolate. Repeat until you have enough chocolate curls to cover your dessert.
Take the Aspro/Mavro out of the fridge and spread your white chocolate curls over the surface of the dessert. Cut into desired portion sizes and serve cool.

“Aspro/Mavro“

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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.

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Orthodox-Christian Easter

Peter Minakis — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 12:53:27 +0000

icon of Christ lying in Epitaph

This post is being written on Good Friday of Holy Week and I thought to write a post that enlightens you of how Orthodox-Christians and more specifically Greek-Orthodox spend the next few days until the culmination of Easter Sunday. The Great Lent began March 7th (Katheri Deftera) or Ash Monday and those that adhere to the fast would have abstained from eating any meat or meat by-products up until the stroke of midnight, when Easter Sunday arrives. Shellfish, cephelopods and cod-fish (on March 25th and Palm Sunday are allowed) and consumed with vegetables, legumes, grains, nuts and fruit. It’s thought of as a spiritual and bodily cleanse and although I do not fast for the entire period of Lent, I do feel better – even after a week-long fast!

For the Orthodox-Christian, the run-up to Easter and the actual day itself are the most significant events in our religious calendar. The events leading up to Christ’s crucifixion, death and resurrection are read out and re-enacted in church serves. Megalo Pempti (Thursday) and Good Friday are the most somber days of the Orthodox calendar. The mood in the church is akin to funeral service – that of Christ’s. On Good Friday during the day, parishioners pass by the Epitaph of Christ and pay their respects and then later in the evening we gather once again for as the Epitaph is carried out on the shoulders of men who carry it around a town, village or neighborhood. The Epitaph is made of solid oak, contains an icon of Christ, it’s adorned with many-many flowers and I’ve had the honour of carrying the Epitaph on a few occasions here at our parish St. Nicholas in Scarborough.

Megalo Savato (Saturday) is a day filled with preparations for Easter Sunday: the lamb is purchased, the Tsoureki (Easter bread) is made, Easter eggs are dyed, Koulourakia (cookies), cleaning of intestines, organ meats for an array of Easter Sunday appetizers and the must-have Magheritsa soup. Megalo Savato flashes by quickly and the family gets dressed to attend church for the evening mass. Candles are held by all and just before midnight the Holy Light is passed around and lit – illuminated the church and the area surrounding the church (crowds swell on Megalo Savato) and at midnight, the resurrection has occurred – Christ Has Risen! Indeed He Has Risen!

Magheritsa soup

Families head back for home and for many, they have been fasting for some 40 days and waiting for them is the Easter Soup called Magheritsa containing organ meat, lamb meat, intestines, lots of scallions, herbs and greens and made into a creamy Avgolemono-type soup. From a dietary sense, it’s recommended to eat this soup after the midnight mass so as to not shock the body from a fasting period to a feast on Easter Sunday. Easter eggs are cracked (traditionally dyed red to represent the blood of Christ) and rest is quickly on the minds of all as Easter Sunday awaits…lots of work, lots of celebration!

Easter morning usually starts out with a breakfast centered around more eggs being cracked (and eaten), Tsoureki is consumed with coffee, tea or warm milk and preparations for the day commence. Greeks will cook a lamb (or goat) in a variety of methods, depending on the traditions (or whim) of the family’s origins in Greece. The most famous is the whole lamb on the spit (rotisserie), there’s whole leg of lamb in the oven, sometimes a leg of lamb is roasted on the spit as well. Some Greeks from the Aegean islands will stuff the cavity of a lamb or goat and slow-roast it in the oven.

There’s preparation of appetizer meats, salads, dips, breads, ensure there’s enough water and wine, table settings, etc. Family and friends arrive for Easter Sunday. The home smells of Easter, spirits are high and the anticipation of the feast ahead is great. We snack all day until the main meal of lamb (or goat) is ready and then we eat some more! Greeks always cook for more than who we expect for attendance as family and extended relatives have an open invite to drop by and as we share in this remarkable day surrounded by the most important period in the Orthodox calendar – the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Christ.

Tsourekia

Kali Anastasi & Kalo Pasxa!

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Paximadia With Figs, Star Anise & Walnuts

Peter Minakis — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 04:10:43 +0000

I came up with this recipe after having an epiphany that I must once again have and enjoy the flavour combo of walnuts and figs in a recent salad with this same glorious pairing of walnuts and figs. In that post, encouraged you to place a walnut and dried fig in your mouth to prove my point. Today, I’m encouraging you to try these Paximadia with figs, walnuts and ground star anise.

You could call these biscotti but us Greeks call them Paximadia. Paximadia or dried rusks/breads which have been around since ancient times. Cookbook author Georgia Koufinas says that Paximadia used to be called “dipyros”, which means “twice baked’. The Greek word Paximadi can be traced to a barley rusk named after a late Hellenistic Period cook named Paxamus (1st Century AD). Paximadia were the food of the poor as they were made of coarse grain flours and kept well on long journeys thereby earning it’s place in the pantries of farmers and sailors. Paximadia were the basic food of Byzantine armies and later the Venetian armies. Italians call Paximadia “biscotti”, also meaning “twice baked”.

The third flavourful ingredient for these Paximadia is star anise. Reminiscent of anise but much more complex, exotic and wonderful with figs. Star anise is not a widely used spice in Greece but that’s not to say it’s not used at all either. At a tour/visit of the Tsantali Ouzo Distillery in Halkidiki and I learned that star anise was one of the ingredients used to make their Ouzo. Ouzo is made from grapes and stems so therefore it’s only fitting than some Petimezi sneaks into the recipe. Petimezi* is a grape molasses and I’ve diluted it here with some water and brushed the tops of the Paximadia with it so that the sesame seeds adhere well.

So, naturally a shot of Ouzo also made it’s way into this easy recipe. This recipe is wonderful for the Christmas holidays and holiday entertaining it’s in full stride and the almost potpourri aromas that fills your home while baking these will set you in the mood for Christmas. These are the perfect accompaniment for coffee or tea and I look forward to dunking a paximadi into my Greek coffee.

Paximadia With Figs, Star Anise & Walnuts (Παξιμαδια με Συκα, Αστεροειδής Γλυκάνισος & Καρύδια)

1 cup olive oil

2 tsp vanilla extract

4 Tbsp. ground star anise

1 shot of Ouzo

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 cup chopped dry figs
1 cup chopped walnuts

approx. 4 cups of all-purpose flour

1 heaping tsp. baking powder

2 Tbsp. of Petimezi mixed in with 2 Tbsp. of water

sesame seeds for coating

(pre-heat your oven to 350F)

Using your hands, mix the oil, Ouzo, star anise, sugar, vanilla, and eggs (add 1 at a time) and incorporate well. In another bowl, add your baking powder and flour and mix well.
Add your dry ingredients plus the walnuts and chopped dry figs to your wet ingredients and knead with your hands for about 5 minutes. You should at this time have a soft dough, smooth and not too tacky.
Form your dough into loaves and mix the Petimezi with water in a bowl and brush the tops of your loaves with it, then press the sesame seeds into the dough by wrapping the loaves with wax (or parchment) paper. Now generously sprinkle the sesame seeds on the tops of the loaves. Place the loaves on parchment paper and leave as much empty space between each loaf as they will expand while in the oven.
Bake on the middle rack of your oven for 20 minutes or until light-gold and slightly firm to the touch. Remove the Paximadia from the oven and turn off your oven.
Slice your Paximadia widthwise (serrated knife) and lay them back out on the baking sheet. Place them back in the turned-off oven for at least an hour to dry out. The residual heat of the oven will do the rest of the work.
Store in air-tight containers for up to 3 months.

* Petimezi can be found at Greek, Turkish or Middle-Eastern stores (ask for grape molasses).

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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.