I came up with ‘Nacho’ macaroni & cheese and discovering that making your own cheese sauce for macaroni tasted and looked similar to the cheese sauce that one gets in a jar or served with nachos at Tex/Mex eateries. I used elbow macaroni as they are hollow and I would recommend using a similar hollow pasta so that cheezy sauce can get in the pasta too!

Macaroni & cheese is an easy dish that starts out with making a roux with butter and flour then whisking in some warm milk until it thickens then the grated cheeses are added.  I used two cheeses here: grated Parmesan and an aged white cheddar cheese. The better the cheese, the more flavour you’ll get without having to use excessive amounts of cheese.

There’s some sweet paprika, a pinch of chilli powder and dried oregano to give the dish that “nacho” flavour. Once the grated cheese melts into the béchamel stage of the sauce, your mac n’ cheese is ready. Just toss the cooked pasta, add some oregano and a pinch of chilli flakes and Nacho Macaroni & Cheese is done. For that extra Tex/Mex flavour and texture, I crush some nacho corn chips on top!

This weekend I’ll be at Harbourfront cooking on both Saturday and Sunday at 2:30 & 3:30 pm at the Lakeside Eats Cafe. There’s a skating rink out front, skate rentals and a fantastic view of Toronto’s lakefront. Drop by and see what I’ll cook next!

Nacho Macaroni & Cheese

(serves 4)

2 1/2 cups of elbow macaroni

3 Tbsp. of unsalted butter

2 heaping Tbsp. of flour

1 small onion, finely diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tsp. sweet paprika

pinch of chilli powder

2 cups of whole milk (warm)

1 cup of heavy cream

1 cup grated white cheddar cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

fresh ground pepper and sea salt to taste

pinch of chilli flakes

½  tsp. dried Greek oregano

1/2 cup crushed nacho chips

1. Place a large pot of water on your stove-top and bring to a boil. Add a good amount of salt and add pasta and cool for 8 minutes. In the meantime, add your butter to a large pot over medium heat. Once the butter had melted, add the onions, garlic, chilli powder and paprika and stir. Sweat for 5 minutes or until softened. Now add the flour and stir for a minute. Now add your milk in increments while stirring and turn the heat up to medium-high. Add the cream while stirring and continue to stir until the sauce has thickened enough to just coat a wooden spoon. Add your grated cheeses and stir in until melted. Adjust seasoning with fresh ground pepper, chilli flakes and some oregano (salt if needed).
2. Once your pasta is cooked, strain and add into your sauce along with oregano,  and chilli flakes. Gently toss with a slotted spoon or spatula and divide and plate with a topping of crushed nacho chips.

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Worth a second look: same recipe as when I first published this very popular Greek dish back in October 2007 with updated photos today, enjoy!

This is another traditional Greek dish and it’s still often made in an earthenware pot, a kind of glazed terracotta vessel and baked in the oven.

Like many Greek dishes, Giouvetsi is a one-pot meal and in the old days this would have been baked in a home’s wood burning oven. There were also many instances where a home did not have an oven but each village had at least one bakery supplying bread for the guaranteed demand of the villagers.

It was quite common for a family to lug the day’s dish over to the bakery and have dish cooked in the baker’s oven. Afterall, the day’s bread had already been baked & sold and what was the breadman to do with a still burning oven?

In the early 80′s, I was fortunate enough to witness this communal tradition of taking your meal to be cooked off at the bakery. It’s kind of backwards but I wish it still existed today.

There are many variations on Giouvetsi. It’s usually with veal, rooster, beef, rabbit, prawns and it’s accompanied by a Krithiraki (a Greek orzo).

Once again, I employ the use of a pressure cooker to speed up this simple dish. I say simple because the ingredients are quite basic but it’s one of those dishes that tastes way more complex. It’s another testament to using good ingredients.

If you don’t have a pressure cooker, one could boil/braise the meat but it will likely take about 90 minutes just to soften your meat. The pressure cooker will cut your time in half. I fill the pressure cooker with the pieces of veal shoulder, enough water to cover the meat and some salt. That’s it!

Giouvestsi With Veal (Μοσχαράκι-γιουβέτσι)

(serves 4-6)

1 1/2 lb. veal shoulder, cut into pieces
2 cups of water
1/2 cup of olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 red pepper, seeded and diced
2 cups of krithiraki or orzo
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1/2 cup of pomodoro (jarred tomato sauce)
6 cups of veal, chicken or vegetable stock
Salt and pepper to taste
freshly grated Kefalotyri or Romano cheese

1. Season your veal with salt and pepper. Pour your water into the pressure cooker and place your veal in. Secure the lid and crank the heat to high. As soon as your seal forms, you will hear the cooker whistling. Turn down your heat to half (medium) and simmer the meat for 30 minutes. Take your cooker off the heat and release the pressure according to mfgr.’s instructions (for those without a pressure cooker, simmer in a covered pot for 90 minutes).
2. In a large pot with medium high heat, add your olive oil and your onions, garlic and red pepper and sweat for 5-6 minutes or until the onions have softened.
3. Now add your krithiraki and paprika and stir to coat and toast the pasta (for about 5 minutes).
4. Add the tomato sauce, chicken stock and veal stock (from the pressure cooker) and bring to a boil while stirring. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
5. Once everything has come to a boil, add your veal, mix well and pour everything into a large casserole dish and bake in a preheated 375F oven for 45 minutes or until most of the liquid has absorbed and your top is golden brown.
6. Let stand for 10 minutes and serve in large bowls with freshly grated black pepper and Kefalotyri cheese. Serve with a Naoussa Thymiopoulos red.

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Try and pick ingredients that grow together or are in season in your part of the world. In this particular dish, I was looking for something that would be healthy, a little decadent and filling at the same time. Pasta always satisfies but no meat you say? Big rigatoni pasta has a texture that will make you feel like you’re biting into a big meal, the vegetables are distinct in flavour yet one doesn’t dominate one over the other. Broccoli always gets pushed to the sidelines as a side dish but here, it shines with it’s Autumn partner in sweet red peppers.

I’m using two Greek cheese here, unmistakable and often imitated Greek Feta cheese. Have you tried Feta made in Greece? Look for the Greek flag on the tub or ask your grocer/deli for Greek Feta. It should be made of sheep or goat\s milk or a combo of the two. Never of cow’s milk. The second cheese here is a Graviera cheese – the Greek Gruyere as it’s often referred to because of the big holes in it like a Swiss cheese. The Graviera melts nicely, getting stuck to the ridges and inside the tubular pasta and the Feta ever so slightly melts offering random tart bites.

Pasta With Broccoli, Feta & Graviera

(serves 4)

500 gr. pkge of rigatoni or penne rigate

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive

1 head of broccoli, trimmed and separated into florets

1 large onion, slice (approx 1 1/2 cups)

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 bell pepper, sliced

2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves

1 tsp. Boukovo (chilli flakes)

1 cup of diced Graviera cheese (or Gruyere)

1 cup diced smoked pork (or speck, pancetta, ham)

1 cup of coarsely crumbled Feta cheese

reserved pasta water

extra-virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

sweet paprika for garnish

1. Rinse your broccoli and cut-off the darkened black end of the stem and separate the head into florets. Place the florets in a skillet with a cup of water and cover. Steam over medium-high heat for 6 minutes then drain and set aside. Once cooled cut each floret in half and reserve.
2. Place a large pot of water on your stovetop and once it comes to a boil, add a good amount of salt and cook the pasta according to package instructions. Now place the same skillet you used to steam the broccoli on your stovetop and add the olive oil over medium heat along with the onions, garlic and sliced peppers with some salt and pepper and sweat for 5 minutes. Now add the broccoli, pork and thyme, season with some more salt and boukovo/chilli flakes to taste and cook for another minute. Pre-heat your oven to 425F
3. Once the pasta is cooked, remove with a slotted spoon and transfer into the skillet along the diced Graviera cheese and a ladel of pasta water. Toss to incorporate the pasta with the vegetables and cheese and once you see the cheese begin to melt, transfer to a shallow baking dish. Top with crumbled Feta cheese and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and place in your pre-heated oven on the upper-middle rack for 6-8 minutes or until Feta has melted.
4. Take out of the oven and sprinkle with sweet paprika and divide and serve with a Domaine Papayianni White made of Chardonnay & Malagouzia.

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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.

Alot of companies have entered the market with their own version of Greek yogurt – some are okay, some are horrible (gritty texture and thickened with the aid of gelatine) and some are fabulous: rich, think and full of flavour. I love FAGE yogurt because it comes very close to the yogurt I remember as a child and continue to eat in my adult life.

The other great think about Greek yogurt is that it can used in place of sour cream, crème fraîche or heavy cream in dishes. You get all the richness of a dish but you reduce calories. Baked potato? No more sour cream  – I drop strained Greek yogurt on it. Cheesecakes work wonderfully with Greek yogurt and although I still like cream in my coffee and it still sneaks into a cream sauce here and there – I’ve reduced the amount of heavy cream in my diet by adding a dollop (or two) of strained Greek yogurt to a dish and I get the same creamy effect.

Today’s dish uses some cream but it’s only 1/4 cup for 4 persons…1 Tbsp. per serving and evaporated milk works in a pinch and once again Greek yogurt rounds out this posh dish that’s fit for even those on a budget. The other main ingredient here is Tarama, a fish roe that’s whipped into making a taverna favourite called Taramosalata. Tarama can be salty to the taste and if that’s the case, soak the roe in just enough water to cover them for 20 minutes then strain. They should still be briny to the taste.

Greek food is very popular because it tastes great, the recipes are easy and mostly rely on quality ingredients rather than technique and with so many people traveling to Greece and coming back with wonderful food memories, it’s no wonder that Greek ingredients and Greek food has become so popular.

Greek wines and spirits have also made a resurgence and the selection today goes well beyond Retsina and Ouzo. This dish uses Tsipouro which is a spirit made from the by-product of wine with skins and stems being distilled until it becomes a potent “eau de vie”. Many Tsipouros are spiked with anise (some with Mastiha) but this one’s just straight-up Tsipouro. This spirit is not Ouzo and it’s called called Raki or Tsikoudia in Crete.

 Spaghetini With Tarama & Greek Yogurt

(serves 4)

1/4 cup o extra-virgin olive oil

6 scallions, thinly sliced

1 clove of garlic, minced

1/4 cup heavy cream or evaporated milk

1/4 cup Tsipouro/Raki (without anise) or Grappa

1/3 – 1/2 cup Tarama

1 500 gr. package of spaghettini

zest of 1 lemon

reserved 1/2 cup pasta water

1/4 Greek yogurt, room temperature

pinch of chilli flakes (Boukovo) or fresh ground pepper

extra strained Greek yogurt

extra tarama for garnish

chopped fresh chives for garnish

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a good amount of salt to water and once it returns to a boil, add the pasta and cook for about 5 minutes.
2. In the meantime, place a large skillet on the stovetop over medium heat and add your olive oil, scallions, garlic and sweat for five minutes. Now add the Tsipouro/Raki and simmer for another 2-3 minutes then add the cream and continue to simmer while stirring until the sauce just coats the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from the heat and add the Tarama and stir-in, reserve.
3. When the pasta is ready, reserve 1/2 cup pasta water and strain. Now add the pasta into the sauce along with the lemon zest and add pasta water in increments while tossing along with the Greek yogurt until creamy.
4. Divide and plate, sprinkle chilli flakes or top with fresh ground pepper, a dollop of Greek yogurt topped with some tarama and chopped fresh chives and serve.

As part of the Foodbuzz Featured Publisher program, I have been entered for the chance to win a trip to Greece courtesy of FAGE. You too can enter to win one of three trips to Greece by entering the FAGE Plain Extraordinary Greek Getaway here: http://www.fageusa.com/community/fage-greek-getaway

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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.

The first kritharotto I saw was from chef Lefteris Lazarou of Michelin-star rated Varoulko in Athens and then I was able to taste another version at Toronto’s new Estiatorio Volos with the menu developed by my friend, Diane Kochilas (esteemed cook book author and Greek cuisine authority).

Although very elegant looking and yes, there’s the lobster as the main ingredient, a kritharotto requires some prep (mise en place), good stock and some patience: add the stock one ladle at a time, stir until the kritharaki has abosrbed the liquid, continue this process until just al dente and creamy.

Lobster Kritharotto (Κριθαρότο με Αστακο)

(serves 4-6)

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic minced

500 gr. of Kritharaki (Greek orzo)

1 shot of Ouzo

1 cup of dry white wine

3-4 cups of lobster stock (or vegetable or seafood stock)

1/2 cup diced red & yellow bell peppers

1/3 cup diced zucchini

1/2 tsp. thyme leaves

1/4 cup chopped parsley

3 Tbsp. of chopped fresh tarragon ( or basil)

zest of 1 lemon

2-3 Tbsp. of unsalted butter

fresh ground pepper

the meat of 2 boiled/steamed lobsters (1 1/2 lbs. each), chopped

1. Place a skillet on your stove-top over mediu heat and add the onions, garlic, thyme and stir. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about 4-5 minutes or until the onions are translucent. Add the kritharaki and stir with a wooden spoon and cook for another 2-3 minutes to toast the pasta.
2. Now add the wine and Ouzo, stir until the kritharaki has absorbed most of the wine. Add your stock 1 ladle at a time, stirring constantly until the stock has been absorbed by the pasta. Keeping stock one-ladle at a time, stir until absorbed, repeat.
3. After about 3 cups of stock, the kritharotto is almost done and at this point, add your diced peppers continue adding the stock. When your pasta is al dente, add the lobster, zucchini, lemon zest and some fresh ground pepper and stir to incorporate and heat the lobster meat.
4. Taste and adjust seasoning, add the chopped tarragon, parsley and take off the heat. Add cold pats of butter and stir in. Divide and plate and top with any reserved lobster roe. Serve with a chilled Gentilini Robola from the island of Keffalonia.

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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.