I am now selling Spanakopita (spinach and cheese), Tyropita (cheese) pitas, all made with hand-made, opened/stretched phyllo. The Spanakopita’s filling is made of spinach, Feta and ricotta cheeses, eggs, salt, pepper, scallions and fresh dill.

The Tyropita contains Feta and ricotta cheeses, eggs, salt and pepper and it is available in both rectangular and round trays. The round Tyropita is what us northern Greeks call a Boureki and it’s also called a Strifti pita. In English i is known as a spiral pie.

I am also offering a sweet Bougatsa…a Greek breakfast and snack offering. Adults and kids will indulge in Bougatsa in the morning be it in the store where it’s made or taken “paketo” with them. My Bougatsa is made just like in Greece with hand-made phyllo, semolina cream filling and baked until golden and flaky. All you have to is cut it into fork-sized pieces, sprinkle with icing sugar and cinnamon and enjoy with a Greek coffee, frappe or chocolate milk!

The large pies are 16″ X 11″ and sell for $30.00 and the small pies are 11″ X 8″ and sell for $15.00. The Spiral pies come in large and small sizes and again, $30 and $15 respectively. They are made and frozen in foil pans and you may either that overnight in the fridge before baking or bake from frozen (takes longer to bake).

These phyllo pies are great for entertaining, serve as part of a light lunch or dinner with a salad or soup and they always go over well at parties (they are the first to go).

Orders may be placed my emailing me at truenorth67 AT gmail.com, pick-up only (for now). Cash and paypal are accepted (firm).

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© 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.

What’s sets these apart from other “stuffed figs” is the outer layer, made from water, sugar, ground star anise, cocoa powder, semolina flour, tea biscuits and ground walnuts. This mixture is thick, a little sticky but it’s the “somethin-somethin” that makes these sublime. Aristotle wrote, “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts” and this was true when making these.

Walnuts are good for you, a healthy snack and sure…taste good. Figs are even tastier, fresh or dried and yes…perhaps even an aphrodisiac. The semolina, tea biscuit, ground star anise and walnut mixture tasted okay and while I was chilling it to firm-up, I was concerned this recipe would be mediocre. That all changed when I assembled the stuffed figs, froze them and carefully sliced them in half to reveal the pretty cross-section of the walnut, fig and biscuit/walnut mixture.

Although the figs are the star of this recipe, walnuts are found in three stages: once stuffed inside the fig, a second time ground in the paste with the semolina and tea biscuits and one more time as the balls of stuffed figs are rolled in (you guessed it) ground walnuts before being complete. Other than placing these in the freezer to set overnight, this is an easy recipe and once you’re going to make over and over. I know I will!

Sublime, Sexy Walnut-Stuffed Figs (Σύκα Γεμιστά με Καρύδια)

approx. 20 dried Greek figs

20 walnut halves

1 cup water

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp. ground star anise (using Ouzo or anise flavoured alcohol will soften the mixture, making it harder to handle)

1/3 cup fine semolina flour

2 Tbsp. cocoa powder

1/3 cup ground Petit Beurre tea biscuits

1 1/4 cup ground walnuts

approx. 3/4- 1 cup of ground walnuts for coating

1. Place a medium-sized pot on your stovetop with the water and sugar and bring to a boil then add the ground star anise and semolina and take off the heat and stir for for a minute then add the ground tea biscuits and walnuts and stir-in. Allow the mixture to cool and place in the fridge for two hours.
2. In the meantime, snip the stems off your figs (discard) and gently open the top of each fig with your finger and then squeeze a wlabut half in each fig.
3. When the ground walnut/bicsuit mixture has cooled (hardened), grease one hand with vegetable oil and place a heaping tablespoon of the mixture (yes it is a little sticky) in one hand and flatten it then place a fig in your palm and enclose it with the mixture in the form of a ball. Now roll each ball in the reserved ground walnuts and place on a large plate/platter.
4. Cover and place in the freezer overnight or until ready to serve. To serve, remove from the freezer and carefully slice each stuffed fig in half and place in decorative paper cups and serve.

* You may cover and refreeze any leftover stuffed figs but I doubt they will last long.

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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.

Much like a carrot cake or zucchini bread the beets are grated and mix into the batter raw – NOT boiled or cooked in any other way. There’s plenty of time for the beets to cook in the batter and did I mention the inside of the bread looks fantastic with the red beats speckles? (Yeah I did)

The most important steps to making Beet & Walnut muffins (yes they are sweet) or cake is tossing both the walnuts and grated beets in some flour. The is process is important because you’ll help your walnuts from sinking to the bottom of the loaf while baking and the beets will not bleed to the point of making your cake turn all red. Bottom line: mix your grated beets with some flour and mix into the batter just before pouring the batter into a muffin tin or loaf pan.

I opted to make muffins this time as I gave these to the hostess who had me over for a luncheon/tea this afternoon and there was no way I was going to give her a cake that was missing a slice or risk giving someone an insipid cake. Muffins it was, I tasted a couple, took some quick snaps and I have wonderful, quirky and sneaky way to have your kids eat vegetables…in cake or muffin form. Oh, beets are in season…enjoy!

Beet & Walnut Muffins

(makes 12 muffins or 1 loaf)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 level Tbsp. of baking powder

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup milk

1/4 cup olive oil

2 cups grated beets (raw)

3/4 cup chopped walnuts

extra flour for dredging beets and walnuts

pre-heated 375F oven

1. In one bowl, add your dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, cinnamon and mix with a fork. In another bowl, lightly beat your eggs, milk and oil and set aside. Pre-heat your oven to 375F, middle rack.
2. Chop your walnuts and add enough flour (approx. 1 Tbsp.) to coat the nuts, toss well. Peel your raw beet and pass through the side of your box grater with large holes. You should have approx. 2 cups loosely filled. Add flour while mixing with a fork until the grated beets appear a light pink (almost dry) in colour. Set aside.
3. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix quickly with a spoon. Add add the walnuts and mix in. Finally, add the grated beets into the dough mixture.
4. Grease your muffin tins or place the paper muffin cups into the pan and spoon in or use an ice cream scooper to insert the dough into each muffin mold. Place in your pre-heated oven for 20 minutes (stick a toothpick into a muffin to check for doneness  – no dough should stick to it).
5. Remove the muffins from the oven and carefully remove them from the tin and allow to slightly cool on a rack. Serve warm or room temperature.

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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.

A festival in Greece may go from one day to a week and since there’s such a large gathering of people, the by-product of a flea market, farmer’s market, rows and rows of stalls with people selling their wares and where there are people – there’s food. Lots of food! Food trucks set up at the Panigyria, restauranteurs rent kiosks and stalls to sell souvlaki, Gyro or whole lamb or pig on the spit, sandwiches, snacks and many types of desserts, sweets and confectionery are offered to lure the adult and child alike.

Halvas Farsalon from a Panigyri

my Halvas Farsalon

One of the treats offered at festivals is called Halvas Farsalon (not to be mixe-up with the other better know halvas). Many of you are familar with the semolina halva and there’s also the “Makedonikos Halvas”, a name given to the halva made traditionally with sesame paste and honey. Halva Farsalon comes from central Greece and originally from the town of Farsala…and this halva is the hallmark of this town. Halvas Farsalon is unique in that it’s made with corn starch (not semolina) and the consistency is of a jelly with a buttery caramel flavour.

Halvas Farsalon is made as such: sugar is added into large rounded pots (with heavy bottoms) over moderate heat with the purpose of forming a deep copper-coloured caramel. Waiting in the wings is a mixture of more sugar, corn starch and water that’s added into the pot as soon as the caramel has formed in the pot. Constant stirring then ensues and slowly the caramel melts away into the corn starch then the liquid begins to thicken and that caramel that you watched over with patience has come back to life and a dense, transparent caramel jelly has formed. At this point toasted almonds are added along with melted clarified butter (in increments) while stirring some more.

As soon as the butter has been absorbed and the halva no longer sticks to the sides, the treat is almost complete. The halva is left in the pot for a few moments to allow a crust to form on the bottom. Then, the halva is flipped/inverted so that the caramel-crusted bottom is on top and now the Halvas Farsalon is emptied onto a large round tray and allowed to cool. A sprinkle of cinnamon tops the Halvas Farsalon and it ready to be eaten – room temperature or chilled in the fridge.

This is very easy to dish to prepare at home until you get to the stage of creating that crust on top. One needs one of the large pots as shown in the above video and some practice flipping this large portion of Halva. At home, you have options: simply skip making the crust or be creative and use another method to make the crust. For me, the crust is a ‘must”. Once the Halva has cooled completely, you can sprinkle some sugar on top and either torch or brulee the top or place under your broiler in the oven until just brown on top. There’s another method to create that caramel top and you’ll find my suggestion at the end of this recipe!

Halvas Farsalon (Χαλβάς Φαρσάλων)

an 11-inch round metal pan (2 inched deep)

3 cups sugar

2 cups corn starch

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2/3 cup melted clarified butter (unsalted)

1/2 cup blanched almonds, halved and lightly toasted

ground cinnamon for finishing

Caramel Crust

1/2 cup sugar

1/8 tsp. cream of tartar

2-3 Tbsp. water

1. Mix 2 cups of sugar with cornstarch and vanilla and pour in 5 cups of water and mix until blended.
2. Add remaining 1 cup sugar into heavy-bottomed pot and stir continuously until a dark gold/copper colour is attained. Remove from the heat and pour the corn starch/sugar/water slurry into the pan.
3. Return to stovetop and stir over medium heat until mixture is thick and comes away from sides of pan.
4. Add almonds and some of the butter and stir and then add the rest of the butter (stirring) until once again absorbed. Empty the Halvas into the pan and level the top with wooden spoon. Allow to cool completely.
5. Once  the Halva has cooled completely, place a small pot on your stovetop with the sugar, cream of tartar and water and melt the sugar over medium heat. Watch the sugar turn into caramel and as soon as you’ve acheived a deep copper colour, pour it all over your cooled Halva and quickly tilt it around to even distribute the caramel over the entire top. Allow to cool and serve room temperature or chilled. Halvas Farsalon lasts covered in your fridge for up to 3-4 days.

*The town of Farsala is located in central Greece, in the southern part of the province of Thessaly. This mainly agrarian area is concentrated around cotton and livestock farming with some textile industry. The origins of Halvas Farsalon are from the  Near East (Turks) who settled in the mid-1400′s. Although Halvas Farsalon originates from Farsala, once can find this treat at Panigyria (festivals) throughout Greece. Efforts are currently being made to make Halvas Farsalon a PDO product.

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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.

After sitting down for a coffee and getting settled into our seats, I noticed one of the gals behind the counter piping some creme patisserie onto layers of puff pastry. As it turns out, she’s also been to Toronto and stayed at her uncle’s place. Her uncle is someone I know in Toronto. BINGO! Another connection in Thessaloniki.

Thessaloniki is littered with cafe’s and shops where one can stop in for a brief drink, snack or both or simply grab something to take with you on the go. Yesterday I had the good fortune to enjoy a coffee at the Paradosiako deli in Thessaloniki’s shopping district, just south of Tsimiski. In Greek “Paradosiako” means traditional and although the shop(s) are new there’s an eye towards tradition and making things from scratch like their coffees, sandwiches, tarts and other desserts. Next time I’m going to try out their Mille Feuille and their yummy croissants are some of the best I’ve seen in the city!

This central location of Paradosiako is great for people watching, friendly and attentive service and in case you’re not in the center of the city, there are a few other Paradosiako stores out there.

enjoy this slide show I’ve prepared for you and i’m sure this will give you yet one more reason to visit Thessaloniki!

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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.