Grilled Soutzoukakia
One of my earliest fond food memories (1974) was noticing how Greeks (in the summer) were always eating outside. Of note were the tavernas that would come alive for the evening service: tables and chairs being arranged outside of the premise, tablecloths, plates, glassware laid out. Greeks eat dinner late (say 10ish) and menu items […]
Octopus Souvlaki
Last week, I came up with a new way to serve up octopus. Oh yes, it will be grilled but by mixing things up a bit, you get the same great charred octopus flavour with a new presentation. I braise my octopus (as usual) until tender then allow the tentacles to cool, place in the […]
Chicken Chops aka Paidakia Kotopoulo
In Greece, butchers will break down a whole chicken into pieces (leg, thigh, breast, etc) then with a heavy cleaver, cut them across the the bone into smaller pieces. They call these “kotopoulo paidakia” aka chicken chops. I like leg/thigh meat and that’s what I recommend for my recipe. The seasoning and flavouring of the […]
Grilled Zucchini Ribbons
Here in southern Ontario (Toronto specifically), the first zucchini are ready and often the bounty overwhelming! Through the summer, I will feature some creative ways to cook up all these veggies coming out of your garden. One of the easiest and tastiest ways to enjoy vegetables is by grilling them. With summer here, the last […]
Grilled Hanger Steak With Charred Scallions
I love steak and now that it’s summer, grilling them is the preferred way: the house doesn’t get hot from a running stove/oven, my gas grill heats up quickly and a steak is on my plate in 20 minutes. I recently was in a local Costco and they had a bin full of hanger steaks […]
Grilled Lobster Tails with Tarama Butter Sauce
Lobster is a splurge to enjoy, while not out of reach one still has pick and choose when to cook it. Others are intimidated by cooking whole live lobster or they can’t bother with the trouble to crack the the meat out of the shell. Enter the lobster tail, while a frozen product it is […]
How to Prepare and Grill Whole Fish
Those who have followed by writings, recipes and travels from Greece will know that I love eating whole fish and that if you were to visit Greece and order fish at a taverna, it will likely arrive whole…tail, head, eyes, etc. Greeks will to their local fish monger in search of the best fish – […]
Round-Up of Halloumi Recipes
Recently, Halloumi cheese earned it’s place in the culinary world as a PDO protect – Protected Designation of Product. This means that only Halloumi made on the island of Cyprus can be stamped with this status. A testament to the Cyprus’ unique method of making this popular cheese. Sure, there will be mock Halloumi cheese […]
Kontosouvli in Parchment
One of my favourite meat dishes is Kontosouvli.…chunks of marinated pork slow-roasted on the spit. Many grill houses in Greece offer it, it can be found offered at “panagyria” or feast day celebrations around the country. Many Greeks will make this on their home rotisseries as part of their Easter offerings (or other celebration) or […]
Chicken Souvlaki
Autumn is definitely here and winter threatened to stay earlier this week with our first snowfall. Warm temps returned, the snow melted overnight and we’ve had a bright and sunny weekend. If there’s an opportunity to grill, I embrace it. Greeks do not eat souvlaki all the time but we are known for putting practically […]
