Yorkshire Pudding

(makes 12)

12 Tbsp. of beef fat/drippings

6 large eggs, beaten

2 cups of milk

2 tsp. sea salt

2 cups all-purpose flour

Pre-heated 450F oven, middle rack

1. In a bowl, add the eggs and beat with a whisk then add the salt and milk and whisk until blended. Now add the flour and mix until the there are no lumps. Place in the fridge for an hour and return to room temperature before baking.
2. Place a tablespoon of the beef dripping/fat from your Prime Rib’s roasting pan and place in your pre-heated 450F oven for 5 minutes. Carefully remove the muffin tin and pour equal amounts of batter into the muffin tins and place back in the oven. Reduce the temperature to 400F and bake for about 35 minutes or until golden (do not open the oven or the Yorkies will deflate).
3. Remove from the oven and serve on or beside each serving of Prime Rib and serve “au jus” on top.

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.

Sauerkraut is a great substitute for this dish as there’s no “ksinolahano” here. This side dish is savory, little tangy and just a hint of smoky flavour from the paprika. My mom would often make this an accompaniment to roast turkey and I thought it paired well with the roast pork shanks of yesterday.

Sauerkraut Rice (Ρυζι με ξινολάχανο)

(serves 6)

1 1/2 cups of long-grain rice

1 litre jar/can of sauerkraut/choucroute, strained

1/2 stick of butter

1 small onion, diced

 1 1/2 tsp. sweet paprika

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

salt and pepper to taste

1. Pick-over your rice and rinse lightly over your tap and strain. Place about 3 cups of water and bring to a boil, add salt and your rice and simmer for 20-25 minutes and then strain.
2. In the meantime, strain your sauerkraut and taste it. If if it’s too tart for your liking, rinse in water and strain. Place a skillet on your stovetop over medium heat and add the butter and once it melts, add the diced onions and sweat for 4-5 minutes. Now add the strained sauerkraut, paprika and smoked paprika and stir in and simmer for a couple of minutes. Now add the reserved rice and stir until amalgamated and the rice has warmed-through. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and serve as a side to roast turkey or roast pork shanks.

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.

You see, both my parents are from the Florina region of Greece (90 minutes NW of Thessaloniki) and the folks here just love their peppers and yes hot peppers. I haven’t posted a dish in awhile that is intentionally hot and this is the answer to those looking for some heat. This is a meze/appetizer dish that’s easy to prepare, the ingredients won’t set you back and it’s a wonderful offering alongside some Keftedes or Bifteki or some grilled pork. Good crusty bread for dipping, swiping and dunking is a must here!

What’s really cool about this recipe is the method I’ve chosen here to stuff the peppers: I briefly blanche the peppers to soften them so that they are easy to stuff. I’ve chosen tomatoes and Feta cheese to stuff the peppers with  – a classic combo and finished with sea salt, Greek olive oil and dried Greek oregano. The Feta, the tomato, the flavour of the peppers are all concentrated as I bake this delicious meze in the oven. You could cover and simmer these on your stovetop but you won’t get the same effect.

Epiros Greek Feta - sold at Costco Canada

Choose ripe tomatoes, good Feta like Epiros (Greek of course) available at Costco in Canada, ripe hot banana peppers and extra-virgin Greek olive oil. Kali Orexi – Bon Apetit!

Tomato & Feta Stuffed Peppers (Πιπεριές Γεμιστές με Ντομάτα & Φέτα)

(appetizer for 4-6)

6-8 hot banana peppers (or sweet peppers)

3 large ripe tomatoes

approx. 10-11 sticks of Feta cheese

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

sea salt

1 tsp. dried Greek oregano

Pre-heated 400F oven

1. Place a medium pot of water on your stovetop and bring to a boil. Add some salt and when the water returns to a boil, add the peppers and simmer for 5-6 minutes then remove with a slotted spoon and run under cold water until just cooled. Your peppers are now soft and pliable and easy to fill.
2. Remove the stems from your tomatoes and cut in half then gently squeeze out the seeds and discard. Cut strips of tomato from each of the halves and set aside. Now cut some batons (sticks) of Feta cheese about 1 cm. in thickness.
3. Pat the peppers dry and place on your work surface and slice open the tops of your peppers (lengthwise) and carefully remove seeds (optional). Insert enough Feta cheese into the opening of each pepper to line the entire length of the pepper. Now slide strips of tomato along the Feta and try and enclose the filling as much as possible.
4. Place the peppers in a small baking dish that will tightly hold the peppers. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and dried oregano and cover will foil and place in your pre-heated oven for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and baking uncovered for another 5 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated.
5. Drizzle with more olive oil (optional) and serve hot with good crusty bread and Ouzo or Tsipouro.

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.

Recipe Update from May 2008

My eating diet can be summed up in two seasons: Soup season and salad season. With the exception of the cold soup, it’s salad days indeed. The only other exception I make when it comes to eating a salad ‘year ’round is a Caesar Salad.

We’ve all had Caesar Salad and surely we’ve all had a bad Caesar Salad. Your quest for the ultimate Caesar Salad ends here. I have, what I consider to be the ultimate Caesar Salad.

Another early influence on my foodie DNA has to be my Theo (uncle) Vangeli, 1st cousin to my mom. Theo Vangeli came to Canada a young man and worked the restaurant trade for all of his working life.

This man to this day is culinary gold, having worked in an age when family restaurants made EVERYTHING from scratch. Theo Vangeli was an early riser, making the morning shift his work preference. In the old’skool fashion, he’d make sauces, soups of the day, prepare daily specials like Shepherd’s Pie or a big tray of lasagna. His morning was also not complete without the preparation of a big, heaping pail of Caesar Salad dressing.

Today, I’m sharing with you, my Theo Vangeli’s Caesar Salad dressing. It’s a keeper.

An important note: this recipe uses only fresh, farm eggs so anyone sheepish about Salmonella or pregnant women might want to coddle your eggs before proceeding with this recipe.

Another aspect (s) I’d like to point out with a proper Caesar Salad is pay attention to detail:

• wash & dry your Romaine lettuce thoroughly
• make your own Croutons
• use real bacon

Caesar Salad

Dressing
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 fresh farm egg yolks
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
3 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. anchovy paste (or 2 fillets)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp. black pepper
splash of water
1/3 cup olive oil + 2/3 cup vegetable oil
salt to taste

Romaine Lettuce, thoroughly washed and dried
Homemade Croutons
Crispy bacon pieces

1. Using your food processor, add all the dressing ingredients except for the oil and the salt. Start processing on a medium speed for a couple of minutes or until you have a thick, yellowish cream.
2. Slowly pour your oil through the spout until you get a thick, creamy Caesar dressing.
3. Adjust seasoning with salt, pepper and sometimes, some more lemon juice. Keeps for up to 1 week in the fridge.
4. In a large salad bowl, add your Romaine lettuce and a dollop of dressing and toss to coat. If the salad is too dry, add some more dressing and toss to coat.
5. Grate some fresh Parmesan, a squeeze of lemon juice, a turn of fresh black pepper and top with Croutons and crispy bacon.

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.