Magheritsa

I wasn't sure if I was going to write about this traditional Greek Easter Soup but Easter would not be complete without Magheritisa.

Magheritsa is a soup make from the broth of lamb offal and any other part of the lamb (combination varies from family to family).

After a long Lenten Fast, Magheritisa is the first substantive meal most Greeks will put to their mouths...almost immediately after arriving back home after Saturday midnight mass.

Attendance of this mass is so popular that all Greek churches overflow with parishioners standing around the perimeter of the church to take part in the mass with those fortunate (or patient enough) to arrive early for a seat inside the church.

At the stroke of midnight, the Parish Priest will hold up the Holy Light and one by one, parishioners will light their candles and everyone will shout, Hristos Anesti (Christ has risen)!

The customary "cracking of the eggs" will also take place and then each family will make it's way back home to have the traditional Magheritsa.

For those families (or individuals) who are sheepish about offal, serve it separately in a bowl and allow those who enjoy it to add it back to their soups. For others such as myself, will eat it with just the lamb meat, rice and Spring herbs.

This is another Greek dish where Avgolemono rounds out the Spring flavours of lamb, dill, scallions and parsley. For the best results, start making the broth 1 day ahead of Greek Easter so as to chill and skim off any excess fat.

Magheritsa

1 kg. lamb offal (liver, heart, lungs, etc.)
1 head of a lamb
1 kg. lam shoulder
3 bunches of scallions, finely chopped 1/2 bunch of fresh parsley, finely chopped
1/2 head of romaine lettuce, finely chopped
1/2 bunch of fresh dill, finely chopped 1/2 cup Arborio rice
3 quarts of water
salt and pepper
2 Tbsp. butter
2 eggs
Juice of 1 1/2 lemons

1. Bring the offal and other lamb parts to a boil, add salt and simmer for 90 minutes or until the meat is tender enough to flake off the bone. Remember to skim off the scum as it forms on the surface.
2. Strain the stock from the meat and chill overnight. The next day you will be able to skim the excess fat from the stock. Cut the offal and lamb meat into bite-sized pieces, discard the bones and reserve.
3. In a large pot, add your butter over medium-high heat and add your scallions, lettuce, parsley and dill and simmer covered until softened (about 15 minutes).
4. Add your stock and rice and lamb pieces and bring to a boil. Simmer for another 15-20 minutes and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Take off the heat and reserve.
   
5. Prepare your Avgolemeno by beating the eggs in a separate bowl and slowly add a stream of lemon juice while beating.
6. Take a ladle of stock from the soup and add it to your Avgolemeno while beating. Now add the contents of the bowl back into your soup and stir the soup for about 5 minutes to form your Avgolemeno soup.
7. Serve hot in bowls, with a side offering of the offal pieces, wedges of lemon and freshly ground black pepper.

Kokoretsi (Κοκορέτσι)

Another usual suspect that's present at the Greek Easter table is Kokoretsi. It's a rotisserie dish made up of the organ meat from the lamb and bound by the intestines and on occasion, caul fat.

One of the reasons why I love Greek Easter is that our cuisine shines it all it's food dynamism. Greek Easter is a full-day affair...the lamb on the spit takes all day and as we all wait for it to be enjoyed, we nibble on an array of dips, dance on the fuel of Ouzo, wine and Greek spirit and sample the grilled array of meats throughout the day.

One such meat is Kokoretsi. For those that read my blog often, you'll recall that liver and I don't groove that well. As recently as a month ago, I once again tempted the memory of my taste buds with a taste of lover & onions...BLECH! But, "why does Peter like Kokoretsi" when it's full of organ meat?

For those that, like me...don't do liver or organ meat...I have a tough sales pitch but you have to believe me on this, call it the X-Factor - Kokoretsi tastes great!

Kokoretsi

2 lamb's hearts
2 lamb's spleens
1 lamb lung
intestines of 2 lambs
lamb's testicles (optional)
1 lb. of sweet breads
caul fat (optional)

Marinade
1 small Onion, grated
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 Bay leaves or 1 Tbsp. of ground bay
1 tsp. dried Greek oregano
2 Tbsp. chopped parsley
1 tsp. Salt
Fresh ground black pepper

1. It's important to wash, rinse and clean the intestines as soon as possible after purchasing. Invert the intestines and soak in a bowl with water and lemon juice for a couple of hours. Repeat 2-3 times more.
   
2. Rinse sweetbreads, place in a pan and cover with water. Add juice of 1/2 lemon. Bring to the boil, then drain.
   
3. Rinse the remaining organ meat and cut all the pieces into equal-sized pieces. Reserve.
4. In a large bowl, add the marinade ingredients and taste-test and recify seasoning.
   
5. Add the prepared meats to the marinade and mix to incorporate. Cover and leave in refrigerator to marinate for at least 2 hours. Put the intestines and caul fat in cold water and leave to soak during this time.
   
6. Drain the marinade and pat dry your meats. Season with salt and pepper and thread meats alternately on your spit/skewer.
   
7. Drain the intestines and wind them up and down and around your skewered meats and then wrap the caul fat to cover the entirety of the Kokoretsi.
8. Secure the Kokoretsi by wrapping butcher's twine around the skewered meats. Give a final touch of salt and pepper and prepare your rotisserie or BBQ pit.
9. Grill slowly over medium-hot coals and, if using a rotisserie with a BBQ, place a pan with water to prevent burning or fat flare-ups. Slow roast on your rotisserie for approx. 2 hours or until the outside is crisp and brown and firm to the touch.
10. Carefully slide the meat off the rotisserie and slice into 1 inch pieces. Squeeze some fresh lemon juice, sprinkle some dried oregano and serve as an appetizer/meze.
    

Lamb on the Spit (αρνί στη σούβλα)

Χριστός Ανέστη (Christ Has Risen)!

It's the day after Easter and it's also the Feast of St. George so my best wishes and "Hronia Polla" go out to all the George's out there.

I have to admit I'm quite today. Yesterday was a huge success. Toronto basked in a glorious and sunny 20C with little wind. Greek Easter is meant to be enjoyed outdoors with song, dance, food and drink.

I tried my best to photograph food and moments of the day but I did get caught up in the food preparation, good conversations and more wine that I perhaps should have not had.

The "main event" of Greek Easter is the lamb. Our family has been enjoying lamb on the spit for 15 years after enjoying the whole experience at a friend of the family. I was hooked ion the whole experience immediately and I set out to purchase our own "pit" for lamb on the spit.

A friend of our family sold these rotisseries that were special for lamb and Greek Easter. Below you will read how my family enjoys Greek Easter and lamb on the spit.

Lamb on the Spit (αρνί στη σούβλα)

1 whole lamb (20-25lbs)
salt
pepper
garlic powder
dried Greek oregano
vegetable oil
olive oil
fresh lemon juice
5-7 bags (18kg) charcoal briquettes butcher's twine
1 long upholstery needle

1. Ensure the spit (or rod) is cleaned, free of any rust, scoured with steel wool and rinsed of any cleaning agents. Wipe the spit with lemon juice and then treat with vegetable oil.
2. Either hang or lay your lamb and throughly rinse the the inside and outside of the lamb with water. Allow the water drain away and pat-dry the lamb (this step aids in getting rid of much of the gameyness people associate with lamb).
3. Place the spit through the lamb (rear to head) and if the head is still on your lamb, pierce the skull to help secure the spit.
4. Break the hind legs by the bending them backwards and to allow you to tie them easier to the spit. Secure the hind legs very tightly with your butcher's twine. Repeat this step with the front legs and also securely bind the neck to the spit.
5. Using your butcher's twine and the upholstelry needle, make a stitch across the length of the lamb's spine, looping around the spit. It's important that the stitch enters the meat near the spine, loops around the spit and then the needle comes back out of the body near the spine again. Loop the twine through your stitch and continue securing the spine to the spit until you've reached the shoulder.
   
6. Rub the inside of the lamb with some vegetable oil and sprinkle some sea salt, black pepper, garlic powder and dried oregano. Rub the the spices around with your hands for even distribution.
7. Using the butcher's twine and needle, stitch and close the opening to cavity.
8. Rub the exterior of your lamb with vegetable oil (olive oil tends to burn) and season your lamb well with sea salt and black pepper.
9. Get your fire pit started with some kindling wood and newspaper. When some burning embers are present, Add two bags of charcoal into the pit and allow about 30 minutes for the charcoals to get white hot.
10. Separate your hot coals into two piles: one underneath the shoulder end, the other pile under the hind leg side. The mid-section of the lamb cooks the fastest and there's enough residual heat from both piles to cook the mid-section evenly with the rest of the lamb.
11. Every hour, replenish your pit with another bag of charcoal with 2 piles at each far end of your pit. When your older charcoal starts losing heat, just push the newer charcoals over to your two main charcoal areas.
12. Your lamb should take 5-6 hours to be cooked through and during the last hour, mix a basting marinade of 1 part lemon juice, 3 parts olive oil with some salt and dried oregano to taste and baste frequently for the last hour.
13. Your lamb will show signs of being "done" when the carcass starts to crack as it revolves around on the rotisserie.
14. Transfer the lamb to a large baking tray, cut away all butcher's twine and carve it into pieces for your dinner guests.
15. To make your job easier next year, wash and clean the rod and any other grilling utensils so that the cleaning for next's year Easter becomes less of a task.
    

Silence of the Lamb

It's Saturday afternoon and I've just thoroughly washed my Ontario, milk-fed spring lamb. Watch me turn this sacrificial lamb into He-Man, outdoor, open-pit, BBQ greatness.

Tsoureki (Greek Easter Bread)

Today is "Megalo Savato" or Great Saturday in the Greek-Orthoodox calendar. Yesterday and today are filled with church services and lots of preparation for the festivities tomorrow.

I'm at ease knowing that Easter Sunday will greet us with mild, sunny temperatures...perfect for Greeks who enjoy the outdoors. Greek Easter Sunday is meant to be spent outdoors.

Before I get on to the Tsoureki, I'd like to thank all of you who left your kind words and thoughts on my previous post about the potato salad and on my getting in print in Greek media. It meant a lot!

On to the Tsoureki, every Greek household will have this Greek Easter bread as part of the table. As I've seen it described by others, it has the consistency of a Brioche or even a Challah bread but make no mistake...the similarity begins and ends with the texture. I find Tsoureki to be way more flavourful.

I've tried many a Tsoureki as it's also customary to give and receive a Tsoureki amongst family and friends. From this custom, I've tasted many Tsourekia but I like mine to be slightly sweet, aromatic from the citrus, mastic and mahlepi.

This recipe does read like an army-sized one but again, it's customary to give loaves of Tsoureki to family & friends. Easter is not complete in our household until the aroma of the Tsoureki baking in the oven permeates the whole home. Yesterday it was church incense, today was the heavenly aroma of Tsoureki, tomorrow it will be lamb on the spit!

Tsoureki (Greek Easter Bread)

1 lb. room temp. unsalted butter
4 cups of whole milk
5 cups of sugar
28 cups of all purpose sifted flour
12 eggs, very well beaten
2 Tbsp. of ground Mahlepi
1 Tbsp. of ground Mastic
zest of 1 lemon
zest and juice of 1 large orange
3 heaping Tbsp. of active dry yeast some warm water

1. In a large pot, add the butter, sugar and milk and simmer over a low heat until the 3 ingredients are incorporated. Add the zest of the lemon and orange and the orange juice. Set aside and keep warm.
2. In another bowl, add two cups of water, the sugar and yeast and allow the yeast to activate and rise.
3. In another large bowl, add the sifted flour, Mahlepi and Mastic and reserve.
4. In another bowl, beat your eggs and add them to the milk & butter mixture and then add the yeast mixture as well.
5. Now add wet to dry ingredients. Dust your work surface with flour and knead your dough into a very soft ball and place in a large bowl. Treat the top of your ball with some vegetable oil and cover with plastic wrap. Allow your dough to to double in a warm spot or a pre-heated oven.
6. Once the dough has doubled, push the dough again and allow to rise again.
7. Grab three handfuls of dough and roll them into 3 equal-lenght strips of dough, this will make one braided loaf of Tsoureki. You may choose to make a long braided loaf or a round braided loaf (as in the photo).
   
8. Create a braid with 3 strips of dough and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Allow enough spacing between each loaf that's equal to the width of the loaf (the loaf will expand again). Allow for the loaves to double in size. Repeat steps 7 & 8 to form your remaining Tsourekia.
   
9. Using an egg and milk wash, brush the tops of your Tsourekia and sprinkle sesame seeds or slivered almonds.
10. Bake in a pre-heated 350F oven for 40-45 minutes and allow to cool.
    

Olive Bread (Ελιόψωμο)

Next week is home stretch for the Greeks' Great Lent. Our family (like many other Greeks around the world) will surely fast right up until when the bells strike midnight on "Megalo Sabbato" and we crack those first Easter eggs and shout "Christos Anesti" or Christ has risen!

One of foods we will be eating is this olive bread. This recipe comes courtesy of inlaws by marriage who are natives to Halkidiki, the northern Greek summer playground.

Halkidiki is the prefecture that produces a large amount of olives. The most famous olives from Halkidiki are the large, green Gaidouria (donkey) and the black, sweeter & wrinkled Throumpes.

Another thing one will notice near the shorelines of Greece is the growth of wild rosemary. Where our summer home is, residents often have hedges of rosemary doubling as fences around their properties.

This olive bread is a celebration of the bounty of Halkidiki...olives and rosemary. The filling is of sauteed onions, fresh Spring mint and Black Throumpes. The tops of the olive bread are brushed with olive oil and finished off with rosemary. It's rich in filling, rolled up much like a streudel and served alone or as an accompaniment to a soup.

Olive Bread (Ελιόψωμο)
(makes 8 loaves)

1 heaping Tbsp. of active dry yeast
1 tsp. sugar
3 Tbsp. salt
6 cups of warm water
1 cup olive oil
8 cups of whole wheat flour
4 cups of all-purpose white flour

Filling
24 medium onions, diced
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
4 cups of black Throumpes, pitted and chopped

1. Add 1/2 cup olive oil into a large pot and over medium heat add your onions and then saute on medium-low heat for about 30 minutes while stirring and until the onions are translucent and there's little water left. Add your chopped mint and olives and stir in. Allow to cool before add mixture to the dough.
2. In a large bowl, add all the dry ingredients (except sugar) and reserve. In another large bowl, add your warm water, sugar and yeast and allow some moments for the yeast to activate. Now add your olive oil to the yeast starter and then add your wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
   
3. Knead your dough for about 5 minutes until you get a soft dough. Roll into a large ball and place your dough back into the large bowl. Cover your dough with some olive oil and some plastic cling-wrap. Allow the dough to rise in a warm part of the kitchen for approx. 45 minutes.
4. Knead your dough for another 5 minutes and then form into smaller dough balls (which will become your loaves.
5. Roll each dough ball out into the size of a large pizza. Spread a layer of the filling across the area of the dough and then roll it up and place on baking tray (seam side down) that's been treated with cooking spray. Repeat until your dough and filling have been used up to make a total of 8 loaves.
6. Brush the tops with olive oil and sprinkle with fresh or dry rosemary. Bake in a pre-heated oven (middle rack for 45 - 60 minutes or until light brown.
7. Place your baked olive bread on a counter to cool with a tablecloth covering. Allow to rest for 30 minutes before slicing.