Kostas Meat Market
Seeing as how it is Holy Week for the Greek-Orthodox, most of us are fasting in some degree and we’re also juggling the duties of preparing for the big feast that awaits us this upcoming Sunday for Easter. Toronto boasts of having about 120,000 Greeks in the Toronto area, over a dozen churches and our […]
Shrimp With Mastiha
Today I will be jumping back in fasting for Greek Lent. This is the home stretch, “Megali Evdomada” or Holy Week, culminating with a feast like no other on Easter Sunday for Orthodox Christians. One I say fast, I mean I will be abstaining from any meat or meat by-products until I go to church […]
Fried Calamari
One of my first and favourite seafood dishes that I enjoyed in my earlier vacations to Greece is calamari. In particular, fried calamari. Calamari are squid. Squid belong to the cephalapod family, which include octopus and cuttlefish. If you’re squeamish about cleaning squid, be kind and ask your fishmonger to do this for you. Barring […]
Sofrito
The title of this dish means three different things in three different languages and cuisines. Sofrito in Spanish refers to a well-cooked and fragrant sauce. In Italian, Sofrito means a saute and it often refers to sauteing a “mire poix”. The Greek take on Sofrito is related to the Italian definition as veal or beef […]
Garlic Makaronia With Mostra
When I was younger, I would go to islands that were certain to have a good nightlife. A good nightlife is lots of bars and nightclubs, a nice array of women (from all around the world), interesting and friendly people from all around the world, decent food scene with sit-down and take-out available. Another “must […]
Shrimp With Capers and Dill
Doesn’t that plate of shrimp just scream Spring? Before I get on with today’s dish, allow me to do some “housekeeping”. I recently had another giveaway, this time the cookbook Greek Creative Cuisine was up for grabs. David Hall of of Book the Cook was the lucky winner, drawn randomly through a computer-generated lottery. Congratulations […]
Veal and Artichokes Avgolemono
This dish is a riff/similar dish to one I prepared for you all last year, using Spring lamb. I know there are many of you who don’t eat lamb (your loss) but this dish might appeal to you, as veal shoulder is used. What you want to remember is that there are three important aspects […]
Bakaliaros Skordalia
Today is March 25th, the celebration of Greek Independence Day and it draws inspiration from one of the holiest days for the Greeks, the Annuciation of the Theotokos. On this day, Gabriel the archangel announced to Mary that she will bear a child. The Bishop of Patra, Germanos sparked the struggle for Greek Independance from […]
Baked Feta
There’s no turning back. Spring is here and I’m excited that the days are getting longer, the sun now warms my back, birds chirping, buds on trees are forming. Although Canadians will grill even in the coldest months, we’re now upon outdoor grilling season and it won’t be too long before we’re eating outdoors. This […]
Octopus With Pasta
Last year during my vacation in Greece, I spent a couple of days in Naxos for a traditional Greek island wedding and then my plan was to visit the island of Sifnos for the first time. Oh yeah, I got to Sifnos but when one is in Greece, one should always expect a little adventure […]