Recipe update from December 2007, I’ve switched wild boar for more widely available pork shoulder…a favourite cut of mine as it’s affordable, forgiving and versatile. I’ve lost count of how many pork dishes I’ve made using pork butt.

Greeks eat alot of pork these days which wasn’t always the case. Souvlaki and Gyro are most commonly made of pork and the reasons could be that it was a cheaper meat than lamb or goat or tastier (or both). In a Greek-Orthodox calender, there’s a fast period leading up to Christmas and similar to the fasting period leading up to “Panagias” on August 15th, a feast of pork meat is indulged.

During the Christmas holidays we (Greeks) put more pork on our forks and for New Year’s Day, I wanted a big dinner that delivered on flavour without being complicated. Afterall, I was out with friends celebrating New Year’s Eve and the last thing I (or any cook) would want is to be fussing all day in the kitchen (read sofa time).

Wild boar is huge demand for the New Year’s Eve or Day’s dinner and you could certainly use that here but pork is more readily available to most and pork is fattier than boar – something that’s going to help turn this dish into a juicy piece of meat on your plate. Once again, pork butt (from the shoulder) comes to the rescue. I chose a bone-in shoulder that was sitting in a marinade of orange zest and juice, herbs, honey and vinegar and the result is feast fitting for the beginning of a new year.

Your first indication that this roast pork is going to be good is when you smell the sage, thyme and oregano coming from your kitchen. The second indication is when you uncover the meat and see that the pork shoulder has rendered, a little grey but its going to brown when you add the potoatoes and vegetables and roast uncovered until crisp and a brown colour Maillard would be proud of.  Pork butt has fat, renders and protects the meat from drying out. Delicious and tender morsels of meat enter your mouth and you smile as you’ve begun the year with a supreme Sunday dinner.

Roast Pork  With Sage, Honey & Thyme
(feeds 6)

1 pork butt, bone-in
1/3 cup olive oil
the juice of 1 orange
1/4 cup of Greek thyme honey
2 Tbsp. of red wine vinegar
3 Tbsp. of mild mustard
2 Tbsp. of fresh sage (or 1 Tbsp. dry)
5-6 springs of fresh thyme
1 tsp. of dried oregano
3 Bay leaves
3 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 Tbsp. of coarse sea salt
2 Tbsp. fresh ground pepper

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
6 potatoes, peeled and quartered
3 medium onions, peeled and quartered
1 stalk of celery, roughly chopped
1 large carrot, roughly chopped
1 green bell pepper, roughly chopped
1 red pepper, roughly chopped
1 pint of cherry tomatoes (or 3-4 ripe tomatoes, quartered)
1 dried chili pepper

5-6 sprigs of fresh thyme

2 Tbsp. of fresh chopped sage
1 1/2 cups of water

Preheated 400F oven

1. Wash then pat-dry your pork and set aside. Using a large container or zip-lock bag, pour in your orange juice, olive oil, vinegar, mustard, sage, thyme, oregano, bay leaves, salt, pepper and garlic. Mix well and and your pork. Seal and marinate for 2-3 hours before roasting.
2. Cut up your vegetables and toss in a bowl with olive oil, salt and pepper and reserve in a covered bowl.
3. After you’ve marinaded your pork, allow the meat to return to room temperature before roasting. Pour the marinating liquid over the meat and season  with salt and pepper then place the meat in a roast pan and roast covered for 90 minutes.
4. Remove the pork from the oven and uncover and place the potatoes and vegetables around the pork and pour in the hot water and return to the oven for an additional 45 minutes or until meat has browned and the potatoes are crisp. Remove from the oven and spoon some of the pan juices over the pork and allow to rest for 25 minutes before carving. Serve with a Boutari Blue Fox Red.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

© 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.

Pork belly can be brined (much like bacon) before being cooked, it can be finessed into being cooked quickly when you slice it thin and grill it or it can be braised until tender then given a blast of heat to crisp-up the skin giving pork belly the envious texture combo of both tender and crispy in one bite. Pork belly is one of those marvelous cuts of both meat and fat – not something to eat everyday but it should be eaten by everyone – in moderation.

Another summer has passed and unfortunately our quinces trees have not beared fruit as yet. Last I wasn’t able to find quinces in the markets and I had to rely on slim pickins’ given by friends of the family with their own trees. I found some quinces in early Summer at a Korean grocer stocking quinces shipped from Chile (it would have been Autumn there) and I really have no use for quinces when I’m in shorts and thinking of juicy watermelon and backyard barbecues.

ripe quinces fruit

At last, I see some more markets carrying quinces  – an extremely fragrant fruit that looks like a large lumpy pear/apple hybrid and although astringent and tough raw, it comes to life when poached, boiled or roasted – the latter use of quinces today. In Greek cooking, this Autumn fruit is often used to make jams, preserves, spoon sweets, desserts and much like in other food cultures – it’s paired with pork, the meat that’s a natural with many fruits.

My approach here was to make the dish as simple as possible, simple ingredients that would complement each other rather than confuse. The pork belly is first given a short period to absorb some sweet and savory flavours – honey and salt, fennel and garlic, rosemary and pepper. After a quick marinate, the pork belly enters the comforts of a warm oven with a homemade stock and some booze: try a bottle of beer, some hard cider or a dry white wine. It’s braised under the meat’s fork-tender then quinces join the party with some potatoes and they get roasted until just crisp and tender and finally a blast of heat is applied so the pork’s rind/skin crisps up – giving you a textural delight in your mouth that you’ll dream of long after the pork is gone. Your welcome!

Pork Belly & Quinces (Πανσετα με Κυδωνια)

(serves 4-6)

1 boneless pork belly, approx. 2 kg.

Marinade

2 Tbsp. mustard

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 Tbsp. honey

1 tsp. ground fennel

2 tsp. thyme leaves

1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary leaves

coarse sea salt and fresh ground pepper

2 cups chicken/vegetable stock

1 – 355ml can/bottle of beer or hard cider

1/4 cup mustard

3 bay leaves

2 medium onions, sliced

1/2 bulb of fennel, roughly chopped

3-4 cloves of garlic, smashed

zest of 1 lemon

handful of fresh thyme sprigs

2 quinces, peeled, cored and cut into chunks

4 large Yukon Gold or yellow potatoes, quartered (cut quinces and potatoes approx. same size)

Pre-heated 350F oven

1. In a bowl, mix the honey, mustard, rosemary, thyme, garlic and fennel and set aside. Score the fat side (rind) of your pork belly in a criss-cross fashion and rub the marinade deep into the meat then season (all sides) with coarse side and fresh ground pepper. Store in a cool place for 1 hour.
2. Turn your stovetop to medium-high heat and drizzle a little bit of olive oil in a large skillet (cut the pork belly in two if you don’t have a large skillet and sear in two batches) and sear the fat side of your pork belly until it just golden and place in a deep baking vessel (large enough to contain your pork belly, quinces and potatoes). Pre-heat your oven to 350F
3. Drain-off excess fat and in the same skillet, add the beer (or hard cider), the stock, mustard, lemon zest, bay leaves, thyme, onions, garlic, fennel and bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Adjust seasonings until the flavours are to your liking then pour the braising liquid around your pork belly in the vessel. Place in your pre-heated oven (uncovered) for 2  hours or until the pork belly is fork tender (the meat should flake-off with a fork).
4. Remove from the oven and carefully take out the pork belly, raise the heat to 450F and add the quinces and potatoes into the braising liquid and toss to coat. Adjust seasonings (you may want to add some lemon juice or mustard) and place the pork belly on top of the vegetables. Bake for another 40 minutes or until the potatoes and quince are fork-tender.
5. Remove from the oven and transfer the pork belly to a roasting pan and set the oven to broil setting. Reserve/keep your potatoes/quinces warm and place the pork belly back in the oven (middle rack) to crisp up. Remove from the oven and allow the pork to rest 4 minutes then place on a cutting board skin-side down and cut into portions. Divide the pork and quinces and place a serving of pork belly on top with some pan juices poured on top. Serve with a lager beer, hard cider or chardonnay.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

© 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.

My favourite Pierogies are filled with potato and cheese , boiled then fried with onions and bacon and served with dollops of sour cream.  Today’s pizza is inspired by Pierogies and the ingredients: dough, potatoes, cheese, onions, bacon, more cheese, more onions, sour cream ( I used Greek yogurt). I’m using my go-to pizza dough recipe and layering the flavours with a Bechamel sauce followed by a layer of thinly sliced potatoes. It’s important to thinly slice the potatoes so that they cook in the time it takes to bake the pizza.

The remaining toppings are sliced onions, bacon and when the pizza comes piping hot out of the oven the scallions and sour cream/yogurt complete this extravaganza pizza. Pierogi pizzaa won’t win any lean-cuisine awards but it tastes great! A worthy splurge.

Pierogi Pizza

(makes 1 large pizza)

1/2 of one pizza recipe

Bechamel

1 Tbsp. unsalted butter (or olive oil)

1 tsp. of all-purpose flour

1/2 cup warm milk

salt and pepper to taste

fresh grated nutmeg to taste

1/2 cup grated sharp white cheese

4 medium Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced with a mandoline

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves

1 small onion, thinly sliced

1 cup grated aged cheddar cheese

4 strips of bacon, chopped

chopped chives/scallions for garnish

sour cream or Greek yogurt for garnish

Pre-heated 500F oven, rack set to middle position

1. In a small pot, add the butter over medium heat and once melted add the flour and stir for a minute. Slowly add the warm milk while stirring and continue until the Bechamel has thickened. Add some grated nutmeg, the grated cheese and some fresh ground pepper and salt to taste. Take off the heat and reserve.
2. Pre-heat your oven with the pizza stone placed inside to pre-heat. Peel your potatoes and thinly slice with a mandoline and place in a bowl with the olive oil, minced garlic, , thyme, salt and pepper to taste.
3. Roll (or stretch your pizza dough and place on a cornmeal dusted pizza peel or pizza pan and evenly spread the cooled Bechamel on the pizza dough. Now lay the potato slices on the dough in a slightly overlapping circular scheme followed by sprinkling the sliced onions, grated cheddar and finally the bacon.
4. Slide the pizza into your pre-heated oven and reduce to 450F and bake for 10-12 minutes or when the bacon is crisp and pizza crust just browning. In the meantime chop your chives (or scallions) and place your yogurt or sour cream in a squeeze bottle with some vegetable stock to slightly dilute it (make it squeezeable). When your pizza is ready, remove from the oven and squirt the yogurt/sour cream on it and garnish with fresh chives or scallions.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

© 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.

My dad was in the kitchen cutting up potatoes, onions, peppers and it looked like he beat me to the side dish. My dad loves potatoes and he really loves this dish as it also contains peppers and it’s also on the spicy side with some hot peppers or Boukovo usually tossed in the mix. He simply adds peppers, tomatoes with potatoes and tosses in tomatoes, a little bit of carrot and some bay leaves and throws them in the oven. My Greek friends from northern Greece will recognize this dish with their family’s own “touches” but you’ll recognize it.

This roast potato dish isn’t as dry as your usual roast potatoes with some sauce still evident in the pan and ideal for dunking bread into it. This dish is reminiscent of Patates Yiahni or Bloum Patates…both stewed potato dishes cooked on the stovetop. This dish is similar to both but all the cooking is done in the oven. Patates Plaki would be a more accurate description. Plaki dishes are oven-baked dishes and pieces of boiled lamb, veal or chicken can certainly be placed on the potatoes and baked together for a complete dinner. Fish Plaki is another popular Greek dish.

A dish like this makes for a wonderful vegetarian main course or an “all in one” dinner with the addition of a protein of your choice. This is a hearty dish that’s best suited to the cooler months as there’s chiili flakes (Boukovo) in the mix but not too much to blow your head-off – just enough to warm you as the days shorten and evenings grow. Patates Plaki – my kind of comfort food.

Patates Plaki (Πατάτες πλακί)

(serves 4-6)

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

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 45-50 minutes or until potato-tops are crisp but there’s still some sauce in the dish.
3. Carefully remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving. Good crusty bread is recommended for dunking.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

© 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.

smoked pork loin

My friends in Greece could use Siglino, the smoked pork that’s a specialty from Mani, Laconia and if you’re still stuck – some smoky bacon will work well too! The preparation for this dish is complete in the time it takes to pre-heat the oven. Peel the spuds, toss in oil, lemon juice, herbs, seasoning and place in a roasting pan. Toss the pork belly portions in salt, pepper, herbs and place on top of the potatoes. A head of garlic wedged in between the pork and potatoes will become mellow, buttery and perfect smeared on the pork or potatoes (or both).

Roast Pork Belly & Potatoes (Πανσετες στο Φουρνο με Πατατεσ)

(serves 4-6)

approx. 12 Yukon Gold (or other yellow) potatoes, quartered

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup hot chicken (or other) stock

2 Tbsp. Dijon-style mustard

juice of  1 lemon

about 10 sprigs of fresh thyme

2-3 sprigs of fresh rosemary

1 head of garlic

sea salt and fresh ground pepper

1 pork belly (bone-in preferred), approx. 3.5lbs.

3-4 tsp. of coarse sea salt

fresh ground pepper

2 tsp. sweet paprika

1 tsp. dried Greek oregano

2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves

1/4 cup diced smoked pork or bacon

Pre-heated 400F oven

1. Peel and cut your potatoes (quartered) and place in a roasting pan large enough to hold them. Add the olive oil, stock, mustard, lemon juice, sprigs of thyme and rosemary and toss until well coated. Add salt and fresh ground pepper to taste, toss again.
2. If using bone-in pork belly, ask your butcher to cut in half then to chop into 3/4 inch. slabs. Place in a bowl and toss in the salt, pepper, paprika, oregano, thyme leaves and mix well with your hands.
3. Place the pork belly on top of the potatoes, sprinkle the diced smoked pork (or bacon) all over and take a head of garlic, slice-off the top and wedge it in among the pork and potatoes.
4. Place in your pre-heated oven (middle rack) for about 30 minutes or until the tops of the pork belly are nicely browned. Carefully remove from the oven and flip the pork belly slabs over, sprinkle some sea salt and pepper and place back in the oven for another 20 minutes or until the other side of the pork is nicely browned and your potatoes are fork-tender. Remove from the oven and spoon over drippings on pork.
5. Serve with sauteed mixed bell peppers with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and serve with a chilled Kir Yianni Akakies rose.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

© 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.