Kataïfi (καταϊφι)

The sister dessert to Baklava has to be Kataifi. The more common and popular dessert is baklava but don't let that keep you from trying out this dessert that's easy to assemble, fabulous to look at and ever a delight to eat.

Much like Baklava, Kataifi exists in the dessert repertoire of Greek, Turkish, Middle Eastern and some Arabic nations. Kataifi is a pastry that resembles "shredded wheat" but that's where the similarity begins and ends.

Kataifi behaves like phyllo dough in that one has to work quick, be fresh and be kept moist when handling it (like phyllo). Where does one buy Kataifi? That's easy, you'll likely see packages of Kataifi pastry for sale in stores that sell phyllo pastry and quite often, they are beside each other in the freezer!

The most common filling for the Greek Kataifi is chopped walnuts but I don't think the Greek Food Taliban will fault you for making up your own nut mix. One can try pistachios, almonds, pecans or go ultra-rich with pine nuts!

During the Christmas holidays, I was in a mood for a combo of pistachios, almonds and walnuts, do I hear a "Hell Yeah"?

Having some leftover filling from my chocolate baklava, I went & got some Kataifi pastry from my Greek grocer and set out to make some Kataifi!

Sandie, this one's for you!

Kataïfi (καταϊφι)

1 package (1lb) of Kataifi pastry, thawed
1/2 lb. of melted butter

Filling
2/3 cup of walnuts, fine chop
2/3 cup of pistachios, fine chop
2/3 cup of blanched almonds, fine chop
1/2 cup of sugar
1 tsp. of ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. of ground cloves
1 egg white, lightly beaten

Syrup
3/4 cup of honey
2 cups of sugar
2 1/2 cups of water
1 cinnamon stick
rind of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lemon

some reserved nuts for topping

Pre-heated 350F oven

1. Buy your Kataifi pastry from a store that sells alot of phyllo and kataifi pastry (high turnover). This ensures you're buying a fresh product each time. Thaw in the fridge overnight and take out of the fridge about 15 minutes before working with it to come to room temperature.
2. In a food processor, pulse your nut mixture until you've achieved a crumbly nut mixture. Empty into a bowl and mix in the remaining ingredients in the filling list.
3. After you've brought your Kataifi to room temperature, open the pastry. The Kataifi I work with comes rolled up in a package. Carefully unroll it and using some scissors, cut up into 2"X5" strips. Keep your supply of Kataifi pieces covered with a damp towel as you assemble the Kataifi rolls.
4. Drizzle the surface of your Kataifi piece and place 1 Tbsp. of the nut mixture at one end of the Kataifi strip and roll it up tightly into a small cylinder. Place the the assembled rolls of Kataifi on a buttered 11"X 15" pan and sprinkle them with melted butter.
5. Bake in a preheated 350F oven (middle rack) for 1 hour. Allow to cool.
6. Prepare the syrup as follows: add all the syrup ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil, then simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes. Keep the syrup hot until your Kataifi has cooled from the oven (Katiafi must be cool - syrup hot).
7. Using a ladle, pour the hot syrup over the entire surface of your Kataifi. You may see pooling of syrup but no worries, the Kataifi will absorb the syrup up. Sprinkle the reserved nuts over the Kataifi pieces.
   
8. Allow to cool before serving. Keep stored in an airtight container (room temperature) for a week.
   

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© 2007-2009 Peter Minakis

Tagliatelle of Wild Mushrooms

One of the most wonderful ingredients in the fall has to be mushrooms. Many people's tastes change but ever since my childhood I've love mushrooms.

Here in Canada, Gordon Ramsey's the "F-Word" is now showing and although it's been viewed in the UK for a few years now, it's finally reached our shores.

The "F-Word" stands for food and clearly the intention of the show is to show the kinder, smiling and more cordial Gordon Ramsey to the public.

I'm of the belief that the personalities that appear on television as nicey-nices are usually A-holes in person and the "bad guys" on TV are really the calm, friendly and cordial ones.

I've heard from many sources that Gordon Ramsey is kind in interviews, always signs autographs for fans and even takes a moment for a little chit chat. I've heard little flattering about more "popular" food celebs.

So, the "F-Word" also shows more of Gordon Ramsey's cooking and earlier this week I was captivated by a mushroom & pasta dish he cooked up in his restaurant.

He used a mixture of fresh wild mushrooms but knowing that this could be out of reach for many, I've taken a more accessable route to reproducing this recipe.

Last night I used a combination of Cremini, Oyster and dried Porcini mushrooms. If you have access to fresh Porcini...please go ahead and enjoy them but for most of us, the dried variety are easier to find and here and one even gets some mushroom stock out of it!

This dish is easy on the sauce but large on flavour. As one diner at Gordon's restaurant attested, "you can taste each ingredient with each bite" and that's what I was going for here.

Let the ingredients come out, keep the cream to a minimum and enjoy this aromatic, flavourful and hearty pasta dish.

Note: the Oyster mushrooms are added towards the end as they are very delicate, do not take long to cook and become tough (like seafood) if overcooked.

Tagliatelle of Wild Mushrooms
(for 4)

4 Tbsp. olive oil
4 pads of butter
3 large scallions, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 ounce of dried Porcini mushrooms
1 cup of chopped Cremini mushrooms
1/2 cup Oyster mushrooms, stem removed and chopped
(rinsed if gritty)
1 tea cup of hot water
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 cups of chicken/vegetable broth
1 500gr. package of Tagliatelle
(plus reserved pasta water)
4 Tbsp. of chopped fresh parsley
4 Tbsp. chopped fresh tarragon
splash of heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
shaved Parmesan cheese

1. Place your dried Poricnis in a tea or coffee cup and fill with boiling water, Cover with a saucer and allow to steep for at least 15 minutes. In the meantime, place a large pot of water on your stovetop. When it comes to a boil, add your salt and pasta and cook to under "al dente" or about 5 minutes. Drain and reserve.
2. In a large skillet, add your olive oil and butter over medium-high heat and add your scallions, garlic and Cremini mushrooms and saute for 3 -5 minutes. Add the wine, reduce to medium-low and simmer until most of the wine has evaporated.
3. Now add your re-hydrated Porcinis, the Porcini broth and your stock and bring to a boil. Now lower to medium and simmer for another 5-7 minutes (reduced to about half).
4. Add your chopped Oyster mushrroms, half of your chopped tarragon and parsley and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Saute for a couple of minutes while stirring, remove the cloves of garlic and reserve and keep warm.
   
5. Add your pasta into the mushroom sauce along with a splash of heavy cream, the remaining chopped parsley and tarragon and toss over medium-low heat (if yor sauce is too dry, add some pasta water). Keep tossing until the sauce has thickend and is absorbed by the pasta.
6. Serve in bowls immediately and top with shaved Parmesan cheese.
   

Grilled Beef Tenderloin With Tarragon Butter

If I were living in Paris, I would still have a BBQ set up in my cramped balcony or even on the roof of the building!

A classic French dish is Chateaubriand with Bearnaise Sauce but we're on the cusp of summer. Who wants to stay indoors by the oven?

My solution was to take Chateaubriand outdoors, to the grill. The first thing I would need is some Tarragon Butter and it's real easy to make but you'll need at least a couple of hours to do it justice:

• 1 Stick of salted butter, room temperature
• 5 tbsp finely chopped fresh tarragon

1) Put your butter into a bowl and with a spatula mix in the tarragon until it's incorporated entirely.

2) Scoop it out onto the middle a good sized piece of cling wrap. Fold over the cling wrap in half, thus covering your butter entirely. Now roll the encased butter horizontally until the cling wrap is entirely around the butter.

3) Hold the ends of the cling wrap with your fingers and twist the wrap around until it's taute and you've formed a "butter sausage".

4) Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

On to the beef tenderloin.

I'm not ashamed to say that I look through the weekly specials at the supermarkets. I try to limit my trips to two but sometimes going to 1 supermarket for 1 item is worth it. I saw beef tenderloin on special and the price seemed too good to be true. Upon reading the fine print I saw that the beef that was on sale was "ungraded", which means I could be getting shoe leather or bovine manna!

I rolled the dice (kinda) and bought one whole tenderloin. I trimmed the meat of it's tough silver skin, cut the steaks and got approx. 14. I had to grill a steak PDQ to see if the goods were well...good.

What do you think??? I went back & bought 4 more beef tenderloins. ;)