My of my favourite wintertime Greek dishes are tiganies (plural for tigania). Tigania comes from the word tigani, a skillet that is used to brown and simmer the meat until fork tender. The usual meat for tigania is pork but I’ve seen variations with chicken, beef, lamb and even versions with mixed meats.

Once again I am using versatile boneless pork butt to make this tigania this version I tasted in my mom’s village of Agios Panteleimon (Florina). The meat was fork-tender, barely any need for a fork and there were some mushrooms in the mix with a delicious sauce ideal for dunking good crusty bread in.

To round out this meze I made a katsamaki or, a cornmeal mash if you will. Most people are familiar with Polenta from northern italy, us northern Greeks have Katsamaki. For introduced this regional dish back in October where I paired stuffed peppers on a bed of Katsamaki. Homemade stock and fresh grated cheese elevates the dish and I’m getting hungry once again thinking about swiping some Katsamaki on some bread then placing a forkful of pork tigania and washing it down with some bold Xinomavro wine.

Complements of the season!

Pork & Mushroom Tigania With Katsamaki

(meze for 4)

1 kg. of pork butt, trimmed of excess fat and cut into fork-sized cubes

2 cups of cremini mushrooms, halved.

1 large onion, diced

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 Tbsp. AP flour

1 355 ml can of lager beer

equal amount of hot water or vegetable/chicken stock

5-6 sprigs of thyme

2 bay leaves

1 small sprig of rosemary leaves

salt and pepper to taste

juice of 1/2 lemon

heavy cream to taste

fresh thyme leaves for garnish

Katsamaki

2 1/2 cups of chicken or vegetable stock

1 cup corn meal

grated Kefalotyri cheese (sharp Greek sheep’s milk cheese)

fresh ground pepper

1. Season pork with salt and pepper and place in medium-high heated heavy skillet and lightly brown on all sides. Remove the met then add onions, garlic and sweat for 5 minutes before stirring. Add meat back in, mushrooms, flour and stir for a minute.
2. Add beer, stock, bay, thyme, rosemary and bring up to a boil then cover and reduce to simmer and cook for another 35 minutes. Once thick, add lemon juice and stir in, then cream (optional) and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper
3. For katsamaki, pour your stock into  medium sized pot and heat to the point of almost boiling. Now add a steady stream of cornmeal while whisking. Continue to stir with the whisk to remove any lumps and until you’ve reached a consistency of porridge.
4. Take off the heat and add grated cheese to taste and fresh ground pepper.  Spread a ladle on  plate and top with pork and mushroom tigania. Serve with good crusty bread and pair with a Vaeni Naoussa Xinomavro Grand Reserve.

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© 2012 – 2013, 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.

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photo by Craig Geleff

My bones are a little achy today but I’m beaming (still) after last night’s Supper Club with a focus on the cuisine of Florina. Being that this region is where my parents are from, I went into this dinner very confident but also still worried because I knew some folks would be there who shared the same ancestry (from towns in/around Florina). Would the food be as good as Yiayia’s? I think so.

The sold out event was a mixture of friends who have attended prior dinners of mine, some new and curious attendees, Greeks and non-Greeks (lovers of our cuisine) and of course, wine lovers who know Greek wines are “where it’s at”. The menu was paired almost exclusively with Kir Yanni wines (Boutari) from Naoussa and Amynteon. Many thanks to Steve Kriaris of Kolonaki Group who chose the wines of the evening and even brought a surprise offering of Kir Yanni Ramnista for all guests to try out!

Three appetizers were rolled out: Taltsenes from Florina and made with fire roasted eggplant, red peppers and tomatoes, Kebapia and housemade Prassopita, a leek and Feta pie made with hand-opened phyllo.

One of the indispensible ingredients of Greek cuisine is olive oil and I delighted when chef, TV personality, Christine Cushing offered to supply her signature oils for cooking and for liberal bread-dunking at each table with my homemade Floriniotiko Lagana topped with sesame seeds.

Christine also has two roasted red pepper sauces, one mild and the other spicy for the heat freaks out there. The jars with opened up, dipped in, swooshed and smeared on bread. Thank you again, Christine!

Great olive oil turns simple dishes into manna from the Gods and my rice and herb stuffed peppers soared with a liberal use of Christine Cushing’s olive oil. The dish was heightened even more with the incorporation of Katsamaki – another Florina recipe using cornmeal, beef stock and grated Kefalograviera cheese.

The second dish that got a few good shakes of the olive oil was the roast potatoes with onions, carrots, sweet and hot peppers, smoked Greek paprika and some Boukovo. A little more olive oil and some dried Greek oregano and all this dish needs is some high heat roasting in the oven.

The main course was some braised beef short ribs, slow-cooked for 4 hours in homemade beef stock and Xinomavro red from Kir Yanni. The aromas of bay, thyme and allspice perfumed the studio kitchen space where I hosted the dinner. A big thanks to Vanessa of Aphrodite Cooks!

The dinner just kept on getting better and better. One should always leave room for dessert and the evening’s final course was Touloumbes on a bed of strained Greek yogurt with lots of lemon zest and Attiki honey from Greece.

After three appetizers, a soup, stuffed peppers, braised beef and roast potatoes, Touloumbes for dessert and lots of wine in between and during each course, the evening came to a close. One last offering  of Greek coffee and new friends and old experienced some New Greek cusine. New in that this was regional Greek cooking…looking beyond the well-known taverna faves, the often praised Cretan and Aegean island dishes. There’s more to Greek food than the Athenian estiatorio or the taverna of Thessaloniki.

It was my pleasure to feature my family’s regional cooking (Florina) and soon I will feature your family’s regional cooking. Pencil-in November 18th for my next dinner.

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© 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.

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The weather has gotten cooler and although here in Canada we don’t stop grilling (yes we grill in the middle of winter) there are those who have shifted to using the oven again or some who do not have a grill. It’s your lucky day!

You get a pan of roasted potatoes with a delicious, spicy sauce perfumed with bay, peppers, paprika and oregano. There’s a spike of some heat from the Boukovo (chilli flakes) but nothing to cause alarm. For those that frequent this blog you know I like to accent with heat, not overpower a dish.

The Kebapia are added near the end of the dish, just enough time for them to roast and get some colour and allow the juices to meld with the rest of the party happening down below with the potatoes. More northern Greek comfort from my kitchen to yours!

Kebapia With Roast Potatoes (Κεμπαπια με Πατατες στο Φουρνο)

(serves 4-6)

For the Potatoes

6 large Yukon Gold (or other yellow potatoes, peeled and quartered)

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2-3 cloves of garlic, smashed

1 medium onion, roughly chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, sliced

1/2 green bell pepper, sliced

1/2 carrot, halved lengthwise then sliced

1 large ripe tomato, passed through a box grater (or 3/4 cup vegetable cocktail)

1 tsp. sweet paprika

1 tsp. Boukovo (chilli flakes)

2 bay leaves

1 cup hot chicken or vegetable stock

1-2 tsp. coarse sea salt

1 tsp. fresh ground pepper

1 tsp. dried Greek oregano

Pre-heated 425F oven

For the Kebapia

1/2 lb. ground beef

1/2 lb. ground pork

1 medium onion, finely grated

1 clove of garlic, minced

2 slices of stale bread, soaked in milk then squeezed dry

1 egg

approx. 2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground pepper

1/2 – 1 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 – 1 tsp. ground allspice

1/2 tsp. dried mint

2 tsp. dried Greek oregano

1. Pre-heat your oven and set the rack to the middle position. In medium-sized deep baking dish add the potatoes, garlic, onions, peppers, carrot, grated tomato, paprika, bay leaves, ground pepper, Boukovo, oregano and toss to coat. Add the hot stock, mix well and taste and add salt to taste and more ground pepper and stir-in.
2. Drizzle with olive oil (be generous) and place in your pre-heated oven for 30 minutes.
3. In the meantime, mix all your Kebapia ingredients with your hands in a bowl and fry-off a small piece of meat and taste and adjust seasoning to taste. Form into palm-sized rissoles and after the 30 minute mark, place the kebapia on time of the potatoes and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until potato-tops are crisp, the kebapia are browned all over (you may rotate them after 10 minutes and there’s still some sauce in the dish. Good crusty bread is a must here.
4. Serve with a Kir Yanni Dyo Elies Syrah/Merlot/Xinomavro blend.

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© 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.

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Agios Panteleimon, Florina

This is one way that people used to preserve summer’s goodness was by drying peppers in the sunny breeze and then simply reconstituting them in hot water. They can then be used for stuffing and other dishes during the winter.

Another way of preserving peppers is to roast them and bag them in zip lock bags and store in the freezer for future use. This is a more modern technique but today we’re going to show you another olden way, pickling the peppers.

I tried this peppers at my uncle’s when we sat together together and enjoyed some meze and Tsipouro (Greek grappa with anise). One of the meze were these pickled peppers stuffed with shredded cabbage, carrots, more red peppers, minced garlic and long thin European celery that we call ‘selino’.

They are seasoned with salt and fresh ground pepper and some sugar to help with the curing process of the filling. Red shepherd’s peppers are in season, you still have a chance to make this meze and in three weeks you will be able to taste Florina on your table.

Stuffed & Pickled Red Shepherd’s Peppers

(makes 8 large Mason jars)

approx. 32 red shepherd’s peppers, rinsed

2 heads of cabbage, shredded

6 carrots, shredded

4 cups of chopped selino (European celery)

6 shepherd’s peppers, shredded

12 cloves of garlic, minced

approx. 1/2 cup sugar (to taste)

approx. 1/2 cup coarse sea salt (to taste)

lots of fresh ground pepper

Pickling brine

5 cups of white wine vinegar
3/4 cup of pickling salt
15 cups of water
1/4 cup of vegetable oil

1. Ensure your jars are very clean/sterilized. This page has lots of straight-forward info for you. Into a large pot, add all of your brine ingredients and bring up to a boil.
2. In the meantime, all your vegetables and trim/remove the stems from the peppers. Cut around the stem of each pepper but leave a “hinge” in tact so that you may cover the stuffing later. In a large bowl, add the 6 peppers, shredded carrots, celery, garlic, ground pepper, sugar, salt and toss with your hands and allow to steep.
3. Once your water has come to a boil, drop some peppers in batches and once the water returns to a boil, count 4 minutes and then remove them with a slotted spoon (this step allows the peppers to gain flexibility/easier to stuff and jar). Repeat until all peppers have been blanched.
4. Reduce the heat of your brine to a simmer and cover while stuffing the peppers. Use your fingers to stuff the peppers and close with the pepper’s cap. Place the pepper into the jar and repeat (I set my jars on the counter horizontally so it’s easier to stuff).
5. Repeat stuffing all the peppers and fit as many peppers as you can into the jar (I was able to fill four to a jar).
6. Slip a thin stalk of selino into each jar and bring your brine back up to a boil. Now add the hot brine into each jar (not more than an inch from the mouth) and with a paper towel, wipe clean the mouth of each jar. Place the seals on each jar and tighten the metal screw bands. screw-caps on each jar.
7. Within about half-hour you should hear a pop and that’s the sound of your jars correctly sealing. If a jar doesn’t seal, remove the lid and place in a pot of boiling water (the jar should be mostly covered in water) and boil for 5 minutes. Wipe around the mouth of the jar with paper towel and place a new seal on the jar and repeat.
8. Store in a cool, dark spot (cellar) for at least three weeks before opening. Serve as part of a meze offering, as a side with Fakkes or Fassoulada soup.

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© 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.

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Greek cuisine is based on quality ingredients, taking advantage of what’s in season and therefore the dish shines and the quality ingredients sing. Another aspect of Greek cuisine is that it is going through some change – some good and some bad, some old and some modern, some wholesome and some lazyness. The part of Greek cuisine that I want to share is the food eaten in our (Greeks) homes, the food eaten at tavernas, cafes, estiatoria, the food some of Greece’s contemporary chefs and some of the dishes few know about.

This appetizer/dip comes from my family’s part of Greece, Florina – located about 90 minutes northwest of Thessaloniki in northern Greece. I’ve known of this dip for ages but fell in love with it this past summer as my cousin Lia set a plate of in front of me alongside with some good crusty bread. This dish is called Taltsenes, taken from the local idiom and meaning “stoumbismenes”, a reference to pounding or mashing with a mortar and pestle.

This dip is ideal for this time of year, plenty of ripe, sweet eggplants, Florina peppers (an appellation product of Greece) are in season, ripe tomatoes make it into the mix and pungent, raw garlic and the very best Greek extra-virgin olive oil. This dish is a little Melitzanosalata, it’s a little roasted red pepper dip. It’s best when the eggplants, peppers and tomato are fire roasted on a charcoal or gas grill.

This past summer in Greece I spent several days in my parents’ hometowns and Taltsenes were at the dinner table and even on offer at tavernas! I’m delighted to share this dish and I’m sure you’re gonna love it with some good crusty bread and some Feta cheese on the side.

Taltsenes (Ταλτσένες: Στουμπισμένες πιπεριές με μελιτζάνα)

(makes about 4 meze plates)

4 Tsakonian eggplants (or Japanese) or 2 medium-sized Italian eggplants

2 red shepherd peppers

1 ripe medium tomato

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

coarse sea salt

splash of wine vinegar

3/4 to 1  cup extra-virgin olive oil

1. Pre-heat your gas or charcoal grill, poke the eggplant a few times with a fork (prevents the eggplant from bursting) and place them plus the pepper on the grill and char them until the skins of the eggplant are blackened, the pepper’s skins blistered. You may want to wrap the tomato in foil and place on the grill (keep all the juices). Roasting the eggplants, pepper and tomato shouldn’t take more than 20-25 minutes.
2. Remove from the heat, place the eggplants and tomato on a plate and the red pepper goes in a bowl covered with plastic wrap. Allow the vegetables to cool (and the pepper to sweat) for about 15 minutes (ideal if vegetables are still warm).
3. In the meantime, press your hand down on the garlic and remove the skins and place in a mortar along with some coarse salt and pound into a mash with the pestle. Now slice your eggplants open (lengthwise) and scoop the flesh out with a spoon and place in the mortar along with a splash of wine vinegar (the vinegar keeps the eggplant from darkening). Lightly blend the garlic and eggplant with the pestle.
4. Now peel the skin of the red peppers and remove the stem and seeds (do not rinse with water) and roughly chop and add into the mortar. Peel the skin from the tomato and add into the mortar. Mix with the pestle, blending while keeping some texture in the ingredients.
5. While stirring with the pestle, add a slow stream of extra-virgin olive oil according to taste. Adjust seasoning with salt, maybe some extra garlic or maybe wine vinegar.
6. Serve warm or room temperature with good crusty bread, some Feta cheese and store the rest in a Tupperware for up to a week.

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© 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.

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