Pickled Octopus
Sometimes I have some leftover octopus or there’s always the octopus heads. Every bit as delicious as the tentacles but not as nice of presentation. No worries, you can use those leftover heads to make this classic Greek meze – pickled octopus. This meze keeps for awhile in the fridge and if surprise guests arise, […]
Tapas Night at Uxbridge’s Urban Pantry
North-east of the city, in Durham region is the quaint old town of Uxbridge, proud to remain a traditional town that’s close to Toronto yet far away. Smack in the middle of town is Urban Pantry, a relatively new restaurant owned and operated by restaurateur and friend, Niki Pagidas. Urban Pantry prides itself on sourcing […]
Greek Salad on a Stick
I recently had the pleasure of catering an evening of Greek & Mediterranean nibbles on the occasion of a client’s 50 birthday. I was instructed to make appetizers, perfect for people who want to stand and mingle or sit and chat. The challenge with a small bite menu is that there are usually twice the […]
Cuttlefish Lemonato
Cuttlefish Lemonato (serves 4 as a meze plate) 1 kg. of baby cuttlefish, gutted and cleaned, patted dry 1 medium onion, sliced the tops of 2 scallions, chopped 3 cloves of garlic, minced 1/3 cup olive oil water salt and pepper to taste dried Greek oregano juice of half a lemon Place your skillet over […]
Bulghur Salad With Nuts, Honey, Cheese, Pomegranate
I made this salad this past Sunday for guests who attended my Ancient Greek Food & Wine dinner. The main ingredient here is bulghur wheat, an ancient ingredient made of cracked durum wheat, parboiled and then dried. It gets sifted and then separated according to the size of the kernels. It’s a whole grain, super-healthy […]
Pastourmadopita
I’ve made this pita a few times last month and I am now sharing this festive recipe for a pita containing Pastourma, an air-cured beef with its origins in Caesaria (Cappadocia), Turkey. Greeks have a long history in this area and St. Basil the Great was born here. Yesterday was St. Basil’s day and many […]
Tsigarides – Fried Pork Chunks
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with family, friends and loved ones. Yesterday was one of the most memorable…for the company and of course, the food. Christmas for the Greeks goes beyond Christmas day and the tree at this household does not come down until after Epiphany. One of the mezedes I made […]
Feta & Leek Croquettes
A city in Europe that always caught my interest was Amsterdam. I liked that the Dutch had a historical tie to Canada from WWII, that the Dutch were tolerant and a diverse society, many spoke English and the sheer green beauty of the countryside and the gorgeous canals and steepled buildings of its cities, like […]
Feta Cheese in Phyllo With Honey & Sesame
When in Greece you’ll likely dine at one of the tavernas that dot the entire country. These eateries are more informal, great meeting/gathering places for family and friends and usually the prices are affordable. I love taverna fare as you often get a combo of classics and some of the chef/owner’s creativity in the menu […]
Greek-Inspired Nachos
Forgive me for stating the obvious but there’s no such thing as Greek nachos but I can assure you lots of Greeks enjoy Tex-Mex flavours and that when I saw Bittman’s take on Greek-Style Nachos…I wish I thought of it first! It’s not a stretch of the imagination that one can think of using baked […]