I like this method best as it’s the classic way and it can be applied to beef tenderloin, pork loins or in this case here, tying up a flattened, stuffed and rolled chicken breast. If you want to practice this method, try it on a rolled up bath towel.

On to the dish. Again, you can make this dish as quick or as long as you want it to be. The importance in executing any dish is “mise en place” or as “zee French” say, everything in its place. Have your ingredients ready and you should be able to bang this dish out even on a weeknight. Still too little time after work? Prepare the stuffing, tie-up the chicken and place in the fridge overnight and cook’er up the next evening.

Looking at the ingredient aspect of the dish, these ingredients are on hand for most Greeks and perhaps most you. What used to be an ethnic ingredient is now mainstream.

Roasted peppers. I roast bushels of red peppers in September and freeze them in zip-lock bags. I thaw, peel the charred skins whenever I need roasted red peppers. You may char them on your gas/charcoal grill or over a natural gas stove-top.

Further on down the list we have Feta cheese, pistachios, smoked paprika and for the sauce, a reduction of white wine, some stock and finished-off with a fresh splash of Skinos Mastic liqueur and strained Greek yogurt.

Most people can now buy strained Greek yogurt but why pay extra for something you can do yourself? Dump the tub of plain, whole milk yogurt into a fine metal sieve and strain for 24 hours. The volume will reduce by half but you will end up with authentic, strained Greek yogurt.

The next time a dish or a sauce calls for heavy cream, try adding a dollop of strained Greek yogurt instead. It’s rich, creamy, lighter in calories and it won’t curdle on you. I also like the slight tang it offers.

Finally, the splash of Skinos Mastic Liqueur might not be available in your market place but you can buy Mastic resin (teardrops) or even mastic essence. My good friends at Mastiha Shop in New York City cater an array of products that are made with mastic and Artemis (owner) tells me they gladly will also ship to Canada! Just select “contact us” and they will place your special order.

Why should you make this dish? First, it looks damn good, you’ve now mastered tying up a roast, you have all the ingredients on hand, it’s pretty easy to cook and it’s certainly delicious.

Seasoned chicken breast, roasted red peppers and their hint of smoke, creamy Feta cheese blended with pistachios, an aromatic sauce with some sweetness from the Skinos liqueur.

The dish really jumps off the plate with the bedding of saffron rice. The region of Kozani (northern Greece) produces some the world’s best saffron and it’s always a delight to include it in a dish.

Enough touting – lets get cooking!

Chicken Breast Stuffed With Roasted Red Peppers, Feta and Pistachios

(serves 4)

2 large chicken breasts, butterflied and pounded thin

4-6 roasted peppers, peeled of charred skins and seeded

2 tsp. smoked paprika

sea salt and fresh ground pepper

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1/2 cup coarsely ground pistachios (shelled and unsalted)

olive oil for searing

Feta and Mastiha Sauce

2 large cloves of garlic, smashed

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock

1/4 cup strained Greek yogurt

1/4 cup crumbled Feta, mashed with a fork

1 tsp. of lemon zest

1 tsp. of fresh thyme leaves

1 shot of Skinos mastic liqueur (or 1 tear drop of Mastic, crushed OR a drop of Mastic essence)

salt and pepper to taste

Pre-heated 375F oven

Saffron Rice

2 1/2 cups of vegetable or chicken stock

a pinch of saffron

1/4 cup olive oil

1 cup of long-grain rice

1. Rinse your rice and place it in a medium-sized baking vessel. Take a pinch of saffron and place in a bowl. Pour some hot stock (1/2 cup) over it and give the saffron about 5 minutes to bloom (liquid will turn a bright yellow. Pour the saffron-infused stock along with the remaining 2 cups of stock, olive oil and rice into your baking vessel and stir. Adjust seasoning (if any salt is needed) and place in your pre-heated oven 400F for approx. 45 minutes or until all the liquid has been absorbed by the rice. Remove from the oven, fluff with a fork, cover and keep warm. Reduce your oven to 375F.
2. Rinse your chicken breasts and pat-dry. Butterfly your chicken breasts and then place between some plastic wrap and pound out until thin and even in thickness. Peel the charred skins of your roasted red peppers and seed them. Shell your unsalted pistachios and place in a food processor and pulse until course. Add the crumbled Feta and olive oil and process until blended.
3. Sprinkle the smoked paprika on the insides of your chicken breasts Now lay out your roasted red peppers to cover most of the chicken’s surface (allow a border of about 1/2 inch so that the filling isn’t exposed when rolling). Now smear the Feta and pistachio filling over the peppers and spread it out evenly with a spatula or your hands.
4. Tightly roll up your chicken breast and tie them up as per the video clip I’ve included above. Rub a good amount of olive oil over the chicken breasts and season with salt and fresh ground pepper. Place a large skillet on your stove-top over medium-high heat. Place your chicken breasts on the skillet and sear on all sides until golden. Add some more oil if needed.
5. Remove the chicken breasts from your skillet and transfer to a baking tray. Place a meat thermometer into the centre of the breast and place in your pre-heated 375F oven. Roast your chicken breasts for about 30 minutes or until the thermometer reads 180F or until the juices run clear. Take your chicken breasts out , reserve/keep warm (allow to rest at least for 5 minutes before slicing).
6. Using the same skillet that your seared the chicken in, over medium high heat, add the wine, stock, smashed garlic and and bring to a boil. Reduce to medium, scrape up the brown bits with a wooden spoon  and simmer until the liquid has reduced by half.
7. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and add your lemon zest, fresh thyme and strained Greek yogurt. Gently stir in the yogurt and add the splash of Mastic liqueur. Simmer for a couple of minutes while stirring, take off the heat and reserve until chicken is ready to be serve.
8. Snip off the butcher’s twine from the chicken and carefully slice the into rounds. Divide the portions and serve on a bed of saffron rice. Spoon over some Feta and Mastiha sauce over the chicken along with come finely chopped pistachios for garnish.

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.

© 2007-2009 Peter Minakis

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It’s a pizza crust that’s allowed to rise, then treated with olive oil, followed by a topping of sliced onions and very ripe tomatoes. The finishing touches are coarse sea salt, black pepper and the fabulously pungent dry Greek oregano.

Laurie of Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska is the lady responsible for bringing Ladenia to my attention and from a brief search on the internet – to several others.

I’m not going to toy much with this recipe – I’m sticking to the pizza dough, oil, onions, seasonings and herb combo. Simple is best here. Your choosing of quality ingredients will shine through when you taste the finished product.

Some key factors in making a good Ladenia:

• Allow the dough to rise at least a half hour to thicken up. I’m a thin-crust pizza kinda’ guy but thick works best here. The olive oil and juices from the onions and tomatoes will provide ample flavour.
• Choose ripe, not too watery tomatoes. No matter how long you bake (roast) them, a shit tomato will still taste like well, “skata”.
• Use regular olive oil when covering the dough and then drizzle the primo, good extra-virgin olive oil just as the Ladenia comes out of the oven.
• Top off with dried Greek oregano. Again, it’s the one herb that’s superior dried (rather than fresh).

Eat this as a lighter lunch, make a large Ladenia for a party as offer as an appetizer or snack but do make it. This was a big hit throughout the household – I know it will be in yours too!

Ladenia (Λαδένια)

For the Dough
1 cup warm water
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/8 cup olive oil
1 heaping tsp. active dry yeast
1/2 tsp. salt
Approx. 3 – 3 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour

Topping
1/4 cup olive oil
2 large onions, sliced
2 large tomatoes, cut in half then cut into half-moon slices
coarse sea salt
ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. dry Greek oregano
extra-virgin olive oil (for finishing)

Pre-heated 400F oven

1. In a large bowl, add your yeast, sugar, and warm water and allow about 7-10 minutes to activate (as evidenced with the bubbling). Now add your salt and olive oil add about 2 cups of flour into the mixture. Keep on adding flour while kneading on a floured work surface until your dough is pliable and no longer sticks to your hands. NOTE: (flour amounts vary from 3 to 3 1/4 cups flour, depending on the weather you are experiencing and how the flour and yeast react.
2. Spread some olive oil on your round baking pan and sprinkle some fine semolina flour. Roll out your pizza dough to the approx. circumference of your pan and allow the dough to rise for about 30 minutes in a warm spot in the home. You may now preheat your oven.
3. Pour and evenly spread the olive oil over your dough, followed by spreading out the sliced onions all over area of the Ladenia. Now top with your tomato slices, coarse sea salt, black pepper and dry Greek oregano.
4. Bake on the middle rack of your oven for 40 45 minutes until the edges have just browned and the top has a light brown colour.
5. Serve hot or cold, as a meal or a snack.

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Today (July 27th) is my nameday. I was named after the patron saint Agios (Saint) Panteleimon.

I was given the name of my father’s uncle who took over as the family’s “father figure” as my dad’s family was left orphaned when his father died at an early age.

My dad’s uncle also took on the title of “Papou” (grandfather) Panteli, as he and his wife Paschalina did not have any children and therefore I was given his name in his honour.

For Greeks, the celebration of one’s nameday is much more significant and feted to a larger extent than one’s birthday. It’s my nameday and I get to eat what I want!

On one’s nameday, it’s tradition that the celebrant treat friends, relatives, guests and today I’m sharing with you one of my favourite Greek mezedes.

So, I feel like Garides (Shrimp) Saganaki. Saganaki is a cooking term that’s used to described many a Greek dish. It goes well beyond just the flaming the cheese dish you see served at Greek restaurants with the usual “OPA” being shouted by the well-scripted waiter.

A “saganaki” is the cooking vessel with two handles, like the one you see my photos. So, there are many saganakis out there with different ingredients and many regional twists on flavours and preferences.

You might also see this dish described as Garides (shrimp) Giouvetsi, where a similar dish of shrimp, tomato base and feta are baked in earthenware vessels. Similar dishes with subtle differences.

Today, you get shrimp saganaki….one of the most beloved of the Greek appetizers (mezedes). Being from northern Greece, we like to some some heat and in Macedonia this dish is usually spicy.

I’ve added mushrooms into the mix. I’ve had Shrimp Saganaki at Toronto’s Pantheon and I really like how well mushrooms and seafood complement each other.

When you take a bite of this meze, you get the sweetness of the shrimp and tomatoes, some heat from the hot peppers, a slight tartness from the Feta.

What you have hear is a shrimp bake with a sweet and chunky tomato sauce, some peppers, oregano, Greek feta and the result is an aromatic, eye pleasing appetizer that was made for bread-dunking, Ouzo sipping and a total disregard for time.

Invite some friends over, prepare an array of small mezedes, break out the Ouzo, the crusty bread and catch up with old friends or make some new ones.

Shrimp Saganaki
(for one appetizer portion)

6 large whole shrimp
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 small red onion, sliced
1/4 green bell pepper, sliced
1/4 yellow bell pepper, sliced
some diced hot banana pepper
(depending how spicy you like your dish)
1 medium ripe tomato, diced
1/2 cup button mushrooms, sliced
half cup Greek feta, coarsely crumbled
1 tsp. dried Greek oregano
splash of Ouzo
Grated Mozzarella (or other white cheese)
salt to taste

1. In a saucepan, add your olive oil over medium-high heat and add your mushrooms and saute for 2-3 minutes or until they have browned. Now add your onions, peppers and tomatoes and simmer for another 5-7 minutes or until you end up with a nice thick sauce.
2. Take off the heat and add your crumbled feta, oregano and Ouzo and stir in. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt (if any required) and additional heat (if desired).
3. Pour the mixture into an oven-safe baking vessel (like the saganaki) and arrange the shrimp on top. Grate some Mozzarella on top and place under the broiler for about 5 minutes or until the shrimp have turned pink and the cheese becomes a golden brown.
4. Serve with crusty bread, Greek ouzo and with good company.

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I’ve rarely been satisfied with the taste or texture of the chicken souvlaki. Bland & dry are the usual descriptives (not appetizing) and again…the pork souvlaki is just too good to resist…until now.

This recipe is an amalgam of different applications I’ve seen done with chicken and the chicken souvlaki. I use Greek ingredients as a marinade for this Greek favourite.

There’s strained Greek yogurt, there’s oregano, lemon juice, paprika, garlic, grated onion and bay.

To really test this recipe out, I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts and I cut them into strips and skewered the meat like a stitch (over & under). What I got here was a moist, juicy and very flavourful chicken souvlaki that I served family style (or as part of an array of Greek appetizers).

The key to a good souvlaki marinade here is the strained Greek yogurt. The enzymes in the yogurt help tenderize the meat the the remaining ingredients pack it with flavour.

Another departure I take from the usual souvlaki with Tzatziki sauce is to pair the chicken with a Greek-inspired Relish. Diane Kochilas shares this sauce in her book  “Meze” and it turned out to be a wonderful accompaniment to the meat.

Diane’s relish has some heat by I skipped that as my chicken souvlaki already has the heat. Tzatziki is also skipped here as yogurt is part of the chicken’s marianade. Let me clear one thing up here though…don’t think you’re missing out on any of that powerful garlic breath one gets from eating souvlaki with Tzatziki.

You have minced garlic in the chicken’s flavour profile and garlic is prominebt in the tomato-pepper relish.

What you have here is juicy and delicious chicken souvlaki, a touch of heat and enough garlic to make you please to your friends and guests…KISS ME I’M GREEK!

Piquant Chicken Souvlaki (Πικάντικη Κοτόπουλο Σουβλάκι)

(makes 1 appetizer/meze platter or serves 4)

4 chicken breasts, boneless & skinless

1/3 cup strained Greek yogurt

1/4 cup olive oil

juice of 1/2 lemon

couple of bay leaves (or 1 tsp. ground bay)

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 medium onion, grated

1 Tbsp. good mustard (Dijon)

1-2 dry chillis, crushed

1 Tbsp. smoked paprika

2 tsp. dry Greek oregano

salt and pepper to taste

Tomato-Pepper Relish

2 ripe plum tomatoes, seeded & diced

1/2 green bell pepper, diced

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

1 medium red onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 Tbsp. of tomato paste

1 tsp. paprika

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

wooden skewers, soaked in water overnight.

1. Chop all your relish ingredients and stir in a bowl. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and allow the flavours to marry for at least a couple of hours in the fridge. Bring back to room temperature before serving.
2. Prepare the souvlaki by first rinsing and patting dry the chicken. Cut the breasts lengthwise into long, thin strips. Set aside and wash your hands.
3. Into a zip lock bag, grate the onion and mince the garlic, add the remaining marinade ingredients (except salt, pepper and chicken). Squish the contents to blend and taste and adjust flavouring. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add your chicken strips into the bag and squish the contents so that all the meat is coated by the marinade. Place in the fridge and marinate for at least 3 hours. Return to room temperature before grilling.
4. Take your chicken strips out of the bag and discard it, plus the marinade. As if your were stitching with the skewer, Secure the strips of meat in a over and under fashion. Repeat until all your strips are on skewers.
5. Preheat your gas grill or stovetop grill pan. Lubricate the grill surface with a vegetable oil and over medium-high heat, grill your chicken souvlaki for about 4-5 minutes per side. Serve with some warm pita bread, grilled sweet lemons, sprinkle some sea salt and dry Greek oregano Serve with a dollop of Relish and serve as part of an array of greek mezedes or as a meal with some rice pilaf and a salad.

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Kakavia is also known as “Psarosoupa” or a fish soup. Kakavia also gets it’s name from the pot in which it’s cooked in, the “kakavi”. By all accounts, Kakavia is the pre-cursor to the modern-day bouillabaisse. It made its way from Greece to Marseilles (Massalia) around 600 B.C.

The Greeks cooked this in the “kakavi”, the French in the “bouillet”. Which pot do think came first? Good.

There are many renditions of Kakavia, this one having some tomatoes, others made in a Avgolemono Sauce and both are absolutely delicious. The two versions (any many in between) are made with a combination of fish and shellfish, filled with vegetables and herbs and it makes for an excellent pairing with some crusty bread and a dry glass of white wine.

Some of the older recipes for Kakavia even call for the use of sea water in the soup but we’ll steer away from that. Kakavia is traditionally made from the day’s catch to feed the crew so, don’t fret if you don’t have the same array of seafood I’ve used. The best fish and seafood is the freshest fish and seafood.

There are three components to a Kakavia, the first being the base of vegetables and herbs. The second component is the whole fish that’s gives the soup mid-range seafood flavours. Without the whole fish, this would just be a vegetable soup with some shellfish thrown in the end. The third and final component is the actual fish and seafood that get added just near the end of the cooking process. The meat of the dish, if you will.

Preparation or “mise en place” is always important when cooking but I’d recommend you get organized when making Kakavia. It’s not a difficult soup to make, there are just some steps one has to be organized about when tackling this dish.

Bouquet garnis are required for the whole fish that get poached in the soup and, for the bundle of herbs and spices that will add depth of falvour. Leeks are best for soups but onions work fine too. A rough dice of all the vegetables is all that is required. The goal is to have chunks that fit well on the soup spoon. A gulp of potato, a slurp of carrot and clam, a bite if shrimp and celery.

Kakavia is also a liberal recipe in that there’s no set rules as to what fish and seafood one should use. My only caution to you is to avoid adding salmon here…the salmon will dominate the entire flavour of the soup.

So, pay a visit to your fishmonger, ask him (or her) to find you a good whole fish for stock, say a red snapper or 2-3 red mullets. In Greece, the Scorpion fish does the fish stock duties but I’ve yet to see such species on this side of the Atlantic. A medley of shellfish are the jewels of the soup. Grab some clams, mussels, the shrimp and some fillets of white fish (like bass, cod, whiting or grouper).

An important procedure with Kakavia is to wrap the whole fish well in a cheesecloth. The wholefish will be poached in the broth and the body can come apart rather easily. The cheesecloth does a very good job of preventing pin bones from remaining in your soup.

Finally, do accompany this soup with some good crusty bread. On this occasion, I toasted some homemade Artisan bread, wizzed up some roasted garlic with olive oil and scallions and smeared the spread over the crusty warm bread. The combination of dipping this old-school garlic bread into this chunky fish soup will remain a memory for awhile.

Kakavia (Κακαβια)

(serves 6)

1/2 cup olive oil

2 large leeks, rinsed well & rough dice

3 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 ribs of celery, chopped

3 large potatoes, diced

4 cloves of garlic, smashed

3 bay leaves

4-5 allspice berries

6-7 peppercorns

1 bunch of fresh thyme

pinch of saffron threads

1 heaping Tbsp. tomato paste

1/2 cup tomato puree

1 cup dry white wine

2 red mullets (or 1 whole red snapper or Scorpion fish)

1 lb. clams

1lb. mussels

1 lb. shrimp, peeled & deveined

(shells reserved)

1 lb. white fish fillets (bass, haddock, halibut, whiting),

cut into bite-sized pieces

8-9 cups of water

salt and pepper to taste

some cheesecloth

crusty garlic bread

chopped fresh parsley

wedges of lemon

1. Have your “mise en place” in order. Clean, peel & chop up your vegetables, wash, scrub, peel, clean, trim your fish and seafood and keep in the fridge until ready to cook. Have some cheesecloth handy to make a bouquet garni of your herbs and spices and to wrap your whole fish.
2. Place a large pot on your stovetop over medium-high heat and add your leeks, carrots and celery and saute. You may also add the bouquet garni of bay, thyme, allspice, peppercorns along with the saffron threads and another bouquet garni of reserved shrimp shells (lots of flavour in those). Lower to medium and cover and allow to sweat and soften for about 10 minutes.
3. Add your potatoes, tomato paste and tomato puree and stir in for a minute or two. Now add the wine and water and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce to medium and simmer for another 30 minutes. Add some salt and pepper to taste.
4. Add your whole fish (wrapped & tied in cheesecloth) and simmer for another 15 minutes. Carefully remove the fish, continue simmering the soup. Carefully remove the meat of the fish and reserve. You may discard the fish bones.
5. Clams take longer than all the remaining seafood to cook. Drop the clams into the pot and bring back to a boil. As soon as your soup is boiling, turn the heat off and add the mussels, shrimp and pieces of white fish and cooked red mullet meat. Cover and allow the residual heat of the soup to cook the seafood for about 10 minutes. Remove both bouquet garnis and discard.
6. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Divide the soup in large bowls and serve with some crusty garlic bread, sprinkle some chopped fresh parsley and serve with a wedge of lemon.
7. I recommend drinking a Pavlou Xinomavro-Riesling. It’s a “blanc de noir”, meaning it’s a made primarly of crushed red grapes and the skins are removed to preserve it’s “white wine” appearence. The Xinomavro-Riesling is an 80/20 mix and it has intense acidity (that’s good), berry tones with a lemon finish.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://kalofagas.blogspot.com 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.
© 2007-2009 Peter Minakis

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© 2009 – 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.