Kalofagas - Greek Food & Beyond » Meat

Fried Batzos With Makalo & Kefte

Peter Minakis — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 04:05:11 +0000

I figured I better squeeze in all the fried cheese while it’s still December and we can splurge on some richer foods (and eat them too)! I have just one thick slab of Batzo cheese left in the fridge – a cheese from northern Greece that I brought back this past summer. To refresh your memories, this cheese is indigenous to central and western province of Macedonia, it’s made of sheep or goat’s milks, firm but spongy in looks with the holes evident when you slice into a slab.

I love Batzo because it’s briny but not that forward or as sharp as a Kefalotyri cheese, it’s holds up well to heat and it’s one Greece’s many cheeses ideal for frying. Saganki? OPA!!

Today I’ve pulled together three Greek dishes into one: frying cheese, a Greek meatball called a “keftede” and another northern Greek specialty – Makalo: a sauce made from drippings in a pan or fat of some sort, flour and liquid. It could be water, stock and spiked with spices or some tomato purée. The consistency of Makalo is much like a gravy and it’s great for dipping fries in it, bread or in this case…cheese and meatballs.

My dad often mixes some ground beef with onions, herbs, binder and hand-rolls some keftedes with which he then dredges in flour and then fry in a heavy-bottomed pan. The keftedes are reserved then pours off the oil and adds some more followed by some flour to make a roux then hot liquid like water or stock, some tomato paste (or juice) and while he’s stirring he’ll add some sweet paprika, a pinch of smoked paprika from his home town of Amynteo and salt to taste. Some Boukovo (chilli flakes) usually were sprinkled at the end.

The meatballs would go into the thick Makalo to heat through and the dunking of bread and nibbling keftedes would ensue. My friend Diane Kochilas shares a Vlach dish from nearby Nymfaio where they would fry-up some Batzo cheese then make a similar Makalo and add the cheese back in. Here, you get two-for-one….fried cheese and meatballs to make a fabulously rustic dish that’s as a far removed from the pretentious eateries of Kolonaki that i can think of.

It’s time for a return to “village dishes” me thinks.

Fried Batzo With Makalo & Kefte (Μπάτζος με Μακαλο και Κεφτες)

(makes 1 appetizer portion for two)

1 slab of Batzos cheese, about 1/2 inch thick (kefalotyri, kefalograviera or a firm kasseri could be used)

olive oil for frying cheese

1 Tbsp. unsalted butter or olive oil

1 heaping tsp. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. of sweet paprika

1 tsp. tomato paste

1 small clove of garlic, minced

approx. 1/3 cup hot water or stock

pinch of smoked paprika

salt and pepper to taste

This dish came about with some leftover keftedes that I added at the end of frying the cheese and making the Makalo, so use whatever leftover meatballs you have or make a batch of my family’s keftedes. Place a heavy-bottomed skillet or cast-iron pan on your stove-top over medium-high heat. Slice a slab of Batzos cheese to about 1/2 inch thick and wet it under some running tap water then dredge it all-purpose flour (shake off excess).
Add a turn of olive in the hot pan and once hot, add the cheese and fry for a couple of minutes a side or until crisp and golden. Remove from the pan and reserve. Drain off the oil, wipe the pan clean (so your sauce doesn’t become too dark) and add the butter and as soon as it’s melted, add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon for a minute. Now add the tomato and stir in then add some water, the minced garlic, paprika and stir and gradually add more water until the sauce is thick, creamy.
Adjust seasoning with salt, some chilli flakes and a pinch of smoked paprika and gently place the reserved fried Batzo and keftede and allow to warm through for a couple of minutes in the sauce (Makalo).
Carefully carry the pan to the table and serve “as is” along with some good crusty bread and a chilled Chrisohoou Petritis Rose from Naoussa.

* You can substitute Batzo with Kefalotyri, Kefalograviera, Halloumi, or a firm Kasseri.

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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.

Lahmacun – Turkish Pizza

Peter Minakis — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 13:41:13 +0000

This past summer in Greece i didn’t get a chance to go to Istanbul but memories from last year are still vivid: people everywhere, a mix of modern and traditional as Istanbul is a city over 20 million that straddles both Europe and Asia, the smells of street vendors hawking their food, the restaurants for the everyday man with ornate murals on the wall depicting Ottoman historical events and the traffic that only seems to ebb when the city finally goes to sleep in the wee hours.

Istanbul is easy for me to reach from Greece as my homebase is Thessaloniki/Halkidiki, which is about 10 hours away by road and even closer if taking a plane. I go to Istanbul (Constantinople still for Greeks) for many reasons: the city belongs to everyone and yes, Greeks are most welcome there, the people are very kind and hospitable to tourists, it’s still an affordable city, I’m in awe of large Metropolises like Istanbul and the foods, be it on the street or in restaurants never cease to amaze me.

Last year I took a ferry boat ride to Prince’s Island, just an hour away from Istanbul and spent the day roaming the idyllic streets with the well-preserved wooden homes on streets lined with weeping willows and away from the busier tourist-lined streets. That day, breakfast was a Simit from a street vendor and a coffee and after a long day of walking, hunger pangs awoke and it would be fate that I would walk in front of a busy eatery that made Lahmacun and Pide out their brick oven.

Once again, the #1 travel rule was followed here – eat where the locals eat and this joint had benches in front crammed with Turks grabbing a quick bite for lunch – either a Lahmacun or Pide. Lahmacuns and Pide are often called Turkish pizzas: both are of a thin crust, made with fresh housemade dough and baked in brick ovens. The Lahmacun can be oval or round and the topping is usually made of a mixture of ground lamb, grated tomato, a red pepper paste, garlic, onions and peppers. The Pide is canoe shaped and the creativity in fillings/toppings is much more varied and deserving of another blog post or two.

After having this delicious twist on pizza I found myself craving Lahamacun here in Toronto and when I feel like grabbing a bite when out doing errands, I head to Mr. Pide for my Lahmacun and Pide fix. Other times, I make my own dough, roll it out to make a thin base then spread on the ground lamb mixture and massage it into the dough with my fingers. Much like homemade pizza, having a pizza stone pre-heating in your oven and forming the pizza dough on a peel will reward you with best results.

You could use ground beef here but you must look for Biber salcasi (pepper paste) which can be found at Turkish grocers. The Lahmacun topping is easily concocted using a food processor and simply whizzing the ground meat, onions, garlic, chopped tomatoes, peppers and the Biber salcasi. If you can’t find the “Biber”, a roasted red pepper should do the trick.

Less is more when it comes to Lahmacun so you should resist temptation to spread lots of the topping on the dough. This dough bakes very quickly and therefore you want the topping to cook in the same amount of time. Garnishes on Lahmacun range from salad greens to chopped onions, peppers and tomatoes, sides of peppers (pickled or hot) and fresh parsley are the usual and a wedge of lemon is ever-present for those wanting a little lemon-squeezer.

Turkish Lahmacun

(will feed 4)

1/2 of pizza dough recipe

Ground Lamb Topping

1/2lb. of ground lamb (or beef)

1/2 green bell pepper

1 medium red onion

2 cloves of garlic

1 Tbsp. red pepper paste

1 medium tomato, peeled/concasse

1 tsp. sea salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. chilli flakes

1 tsp. ground allspice

1 tsp. dried oregano

1/4 cup extra- virgin olive oil

Roughly chop all your vegetables and red pepper paste – place in the food processor and pulse into a coarse paste (vegetables should still be visible. Now add the ground lamb, some salt, black pepper, allspice, oregano and some olive oil and pulse until amalgamated. Fry off a piece of the mixture to taste then adjust seasonings, reserve.
Pre-heat your oven to 450F with your pizza stone set to the middle rack. Punch your dough and squeeze out balls of dough out of your palm and place on your well-floured pizza peel. Stretch and roll out into a long oval shape and ensure the dough is thin. Carefully lift the dough up and sprinkle some cornmeal underneath so that the dough will slide off your peel and into your oven. You’ll have to bake your Lahmacuns in batches so try and fit two on your peel.
Take a small handle of the topping in your hands and spread it with your fingers, massaging it into the dough and getting as near to the edges as possible. Slide the Lahmacuns into your pre-heated oven for 7-8 minutes or until crust is just browned. Remove from the oven and serve with side garnishes of parsley, pickled hot peppers, fresh tomatoes, onions, lemon wedges (all nibbled on with Lahmacun).
Repeat making Lahmacuns and consider these other garnishes to top your Lacmacuns when they come out of the oven:

a mixture of dice red & green peppers, tomatoes & onions
top with Tzatziki or strained Greek yogurt

* Lahmacun are also made by Armenians, Lebanese and enjoyed throughout the Middle-East. My version of Lahmacun is inspired by my visits to Istanbul.

“Lahmacun“

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The Best Steak….

Peter Minakis — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 00:55:00 +0000

is at home.

Sunday’s are best enjoyed at home with family and friends and it’s a fine to either stretch your culinary wings and cook-up a sumptuous Sunday dinner or shift-down in gears and prepare a home-cooked meal that’s easy, comforting and most satisfying. I chose the latter today – I chose steak.

Go ahead, take a look in the search window of this blog and you’ll see that it’s been a long time since I’ve posted a steak recipe – that’s because it’s been awhile since I’ve had a steak. Rather than “go big or go home” I went “big and took the big steak home”. My favourite cut is the rib eye steak and if the bone is attach – even better!

This steak is comes from the rib section of the steer. The front of the cow is the head, then there’s the chuck and next up comes the “sweet spot” of the animal – the rib, where this steak comes from and also a whole Prime Rib Roast. The Prime Ribs are from the 6th to the 12th rib – a naturally tender and delicious cut.

I could have used my gas grill today but for some reason I was feeling nostalgic: wanted to use my cast iron skillet to sear the steak then finish it in the oven. No de-glazing, no cream, no wine – just a marinade and a little bit of acid (squeeze of lemon juice) and dried Greek oregano to finish the steak. I could have eaten the steak right out of the cast iron pan.

The other component of this dish was the marinade, simple flavours of olive oil, garlic, thyme and rosemary from my garden, cracked whole peppercorns, sweet paprika – all pounded into a paste with the olive wood mortar & pestle I found in Thessaloniki at an antique market this past summer. This mortar & pestle was nicely worked-in, as evidenced by how easy and how quickly the ingredients turned into a paste. The more you use your mortar & pestle the more it gets worked-in, the easier it is to use and frankly, your food will taste better.

This rib steak is seared on the stovetop (along with an onion) then placed in a pre-heated oven for about 5-6 minutes then simply finished with a squeeze of lemon juice and dried Greek oregano to finish the dish. Allow the dish to rest about 5 minutes before cutting into and don’t waste that sauce in the pan. I would even suggest mopping it up with some good homemade bread.

Best Prime Rib Steak

1 Prime Rib steaks, bone in (about 1 1/2 inches thick)

2 Tbsp. olive oil

3 cloves of garlic

6 sprigs of thyme leaves

1/2 tsp. of rosemary leaves (half if dry)

4-5 whole peppercorns

pinch of sweet paprika

coarse sea salt

1/2 small onion

squeeze of lemon juice

dried Greek oregano

Add the cloves of garlic, thyme, rosemary, peppercorns and oil into your mortar and pound with your pestle until a paste. Ad paprika and quickly mix in. Empty in a glass baking dish and place the steak in the marinade and rub it all over the steak. Cover with plastic wrap and place in your fridge for 3-4 hours. Remove from the fridge and allow about 15 minutes to return to room temperature before cooking.
Pre-heat your oven to 400F, set middle rack into position. Place your cast iron pan on your stovetop over medium-high heat and add a couple of turns of olive oil. Season both sides of your steak with course sea salt and once the oil is hot, add the steak and onion, sear for 3-4 minutes or until a deep-brown crust has formed. Now flip the steak and place in your pre-heated oven for 5-6 minutes ( as soon as you see the blood on the surface of the steak, it’s medium-rare and I would take the steak out).
Carefully take the hot pan out of the oven (with a kitchen cloth) and place on your stove and squeeze with some lemon juice and top with a sprinkle of dried Greek oregano. Allow to rest for 5 minutes before eating.
Serve with roast potatoes, your roasted onion, a Caesar salad and pair Alpha Estate Xinomavro Red.

Note: You likely will cook more than one steak so, I recommend searing the steaks one by one in your cast iron pan then tranferring to a baking sheet and finishing in the oven.

“Prime Rib Steak“

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Holy Chuck Burgers

Peter Minakis — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 14:14:35 +0000

The hamburger renaissance is large here in the Toronto area and from what I’ve been gleaning in the media, the same holds true throughout Canada and the US. Hamburger franchises are closing and new independent shops are opening up. Some of the new shops are merely new, glitzy shops offering the same ole’ processed burger then there are the few in the city that are offering their own unique take on the burger with some menus being creative and others that make you go on a scavenger hunt.

When it comes to a hamburger, I prefer my burger to be grilled, I think “less is more”, preferring a burger with minimal toppings so that I may taste the meat. I also look for good fries to go with the burger, the usual soft drink to go with the meal and if I’m feeling decadent, I’ll order a milkshake too!

I was invited by Johnny (owner) of Holy Chuck Burgers (get it…make you say Holy Chuck) to sample some of his menu at this just opened burger shop. I resisted Johnnie’s invites for awhile as his burgers are cooked on a flat-top – not grilled. My recent visit to another burger joint in the east-end that also cooks burgers on the flat-top had scarred me (burger looked grey, flavourless, soggy bun and attitude at the order counter). Johnny’s burger looked good on their site and what did I have to lose?

Holy Chuck Burgers is located on Yonge St., just south of St. Clair on the west side and as soon as you walk in, you smell a new shop mixed in with the aroma of burgers and fries. There’s an open kitchen’ concept so you are in full view of the kitchen and after a quick trip downstairs to the bathroom – I can confirm the bathrooms were just as clean as the kitchen.

I ordered their signature burger (less is more), which is the The Holy Chuck: a double bacon cheese burger with caramelized onions. Johnnie grinds the beef daily and from the mounds of beef, each portion is a good size and see that white stuff? That’s fat – a must when making a burger. The potatoes used are Yukon Golds, cut on premise and twice fried ensuring fluffy fries on the inside along with a crispy outside. The way a French fry should be.

The burgers are seasoned just as the patties hit the flat–top and your order is literally ready in minutes. This is an obvious advantage of the flaptop vs/ the grill. My burger was ready for a head-first dive and boy was it good! Juicy, very flavourful and I could taste the burger and the toppings without one muddling the other. The fries crisp, fluffy on the inside.

While I was eating my burger, a stream of customers came in to order burgers for dinner – mostly take-out but others sat down to eat with me. One dude ordered this burger called the Raging Bull with chipotles which will appear on a new menu.

Another guy ordered some chilli fries and dammit…I wanted to try those too!

On two occasions, fellas came in an ordered the “Go Chuck Yourself” burger…six patties, six cheese, triple bacon, caramelized onions stacked between 3 grilled cheese sandwiches. It’s Epic, it’s over the top and yes, people do eat such a behemoth of a burger. Are you up for the challenge – will you join the hall of fame or…shame?

Go Chuck Yourself - it's Epic!

Holy Chuck Burgers also has gravy for fries, Poutines (as requested by many customers) and killer milk shakes. I recommend the Nutella milkshake with salted caramel. I want one now!

Holy Chuck Burgers are located at 1450 Yonge St., just south of St. Clair (west side)

Vasilli & Johnny

“Holy Chuck Burgers“

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Greek Easter Recipe Round-Up

Peter Minakis — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 16:25:24 +0000

Many of you have visited my Recipe Round-Up for Lent and I hope that I’ve helped you find some interesting dishes to break-up the monotony of the usual Lenten fare. We’re fast approaching Greek Easter and preparations are already beginning in my household! Greek Easter is centered around lamb or goat and the whole day is filled with celebration, eating, cooking, dancing, celebrating some more, drinking and eating some more!

Ouzo usually makes its rounds on Easter and I recommend you buy a bottle or two. The wine should flow on Easter and if there was ever a day you should drink Greek wine, Easter Sunday is a as a good of a day to try some wines out. If you’re looking for lamb, I recommend those living in the Toronto area to visit Kostas Meat Market. Kostas’ shop is in Scarborough and he brings in only farm-raised Ontario lamb.

Below are some links to recipes that I think you may want to have as part of your family’s Easter celebration. Greeks do Easter in a BIG way and I think you pull-off your own celebration just like we do!

Tsoureki (Greek Easter Brioche)

Easter Koulourakia

Magheritsa (Easter Soup)

Melitzanosalata

Htipiti

Asparagus and Roasted Red Peppers

Beans With Roasted Garlic, Capers and Parsley

Patsavouropita

Feta & Herb Pull-Aparts

Grilled Pork Steakettes

Grilled Pork Belly & Halloumi

Lamb Souvlaki

Pork Souvlaki

Grilled Lamb Chops

Roast Lamb in Parchment

Rack of Lamb With Lemon Verbena

Spring Salad

Raw Asparagus Salad

Vine-Leaf Wrapped Lamb

Lamb Lemonato

Rotisserie Leg of Lamb

Oven-Roasted Leg of Lamb

Lamb on the Spit (Souvla)

Creme Brulee with Mastiha

Lemon Merique Pie

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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