Thyme Scented Mushrooms (Αρωματικά μανιτάρια με θυμάρι)

Greeks take pride in serving up quality appetizers/mezedes for their friends and relatives. Like most of you, we are in full festive season gear with friends dropping by and dropping in on friends.

One thing you'll notice about the hospitality of the Greeks is that one never gets the sense of being rushed.

In good mood? Pull up a seat, let me whip up a couple of appetizers and let's have a few drinks...let's share your infectious good mood.

In the dumps? What better than to vent, discuss, analyze what's got you down, what's pissing you off.

Regardless of the situation..."mi casa, sou casa"...make yourself at home and never feel (or act) like a stranger in a Greek's home.

Greeks love to talk. Greeks love to eat and often some kind of fuel is required. That is to say some alcohol! Greek wine is now thoroughly enjoyed at the Greek table but the Anise-flavoured Ouzo still gets fair use and regional homebrews of Raki, Tsipouro and Tsikoudia or in Cyprus, Zivania also fill up our glasses (and egos)!

I think many of us are over-thinking appetizers - making them too complicated. There's nothing wrong with hosting a more formal dinner but let's not get carried away and start prepping the type of appetizers one would find in a hotel.

Conversely, I cringe at the sight and taste of those processed, frozen & baked, "I'm too lazy to whip up a few appetizers for my guests" -type of commercial appetizer.

Instructions:
"Keep frozen until use, place on a baking sheet and pre-heat oven and bake for 15 minutes"

OR

"Set your microwave to high and cook for 5 minutes"

YIKES!

Here's a simple rule to follow when making appetizers...offer a few, make'em simple, make them well.

Today we're going to nibble on mushrooms. Mushrooms are a food item I've enjoyed since a child...always liked them - always will.

I recently ordered a new Greek cookbook from Dimitra Vergou titled "Mushrooms - From the Forest to the Kitchen.

Dimitra is from the northern Prefecture of Grevena and although mushrooms can be found all over Greece, Grevena is considered the "capital" of Greece's mushroom industry.

As far as I know, this book is only available in Greek but if it sells well, perhaps an English edition will be published.

In the meantime, I patiently await the arrival of my new cookbook but in the meantime, allow me to share a simple, deliciois side dise and meze of mushrooms.

Remember...keep them simple but do it well!

Thyme Scented Mushrooms (Αρωματικά μανιτάρια με θυμάρι)

4 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp. fresh ground pepper
3 bay leaves
1 Tbsp. good red wine vinegar
12 oz. of button mushrooms, halved
3 sprigs of fresh thyme
coarse sea salt to taste
1 Tbsp. of water (optional)

1. In a small, heavy saucepan, combine half the olive oil, the ground pepper, bayleaves and half the vinegar and warm over very low heat.
2. Now add the mushrooms, some salt and 2 sprigs of thyme and holding lid in place, shake the pan to swirl and coat all the mushrooms. Continue simmering the mushrooms in their own juices for about 10 minutes or until they just start changing colour.
3. Stir occasionally and if too try, add some water into the mix.
4. Add the remaining vinegar and olive oil and and set aside for another hour. Adjust seasoning with sea salt and serve with a sprig of thyme as a garnish and serve with some bread and a glass of Greek wine or my current fave...Tsipouro.
   

Fillet of Sole With a Tomato and Olive Sauce (Φιλέτο γλώσσας με σάλτσα ντομάτας και ελιάς)

Sometimes the easiest, most straightforward dishes can provide you with the biggest culinary surprise.

Such was the case recently when I was flipping through one of the cookbooks I brought back from Greece. I had some fillets of sole but I just couldn't decide how to prepare them...until I saw "the recipe."

Here's the humble recipe:

Fillet of Sole With a Tomato and Olive Sauce (Φιλέτο γλώσσας με σάλτσα ντομάτας και ελιάς)
(serves 4)

4 fillets of sole
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cups of vegetable cocktail juice (V8)
1 Tbsp. of tomato paste
12 pitted black olives, halved
1 medium onion, grated
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tsp. dried Greek oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Pre-heated 375F oven

1. Brush some vegetable oil on your fish fillets and season both sides with salt and pepper and carefully roll each fillet and secure with a toothpick. Place on an oiled baking dish and place in the oven for 20-30 minutes.
2. In a large skillet, add your olive oil, grated onion, tomato paste and garlic and saute on medium-low heat for 5 minutes or until the onions have softened.
3. Add the tomato juice, bring to a boil and simmer until it's reduced to a thick sauce. Take off the heat, add the oregano and olives and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Reserve and keep warm.
4. When your fish is cooked, spoon the tomato and olive sauce onto each plate, place the rolled fillet on top and serve a spoonful of sauce on top of each roll.
5. Serve immediately with a mashed potato nest filled with your favourite array of vegetables.

Now read the recipe again and look at the dish. I still find it hard to believe that this rudimentary (albeit delicious) recipe is the same one photographed here.

The bottom line, re-examine your usual dishes and think of a way to change up the presentation.
Usually, I'd serve this fish fillet flat out on the plate, potatoes at 2 O'clock and veggies at 6 O'clock.

A little imagination can go a long way. I don't know where my mind was at on this day but I pulled a rabbit out of the hat.

I adore how this dish looks, it tasted fabulous and it was ready in 40 minutes after a busy day of meetings.

Enjoy!

Soutzoukakia Smyrneika With Olives

Homebase for me when in Greece is the fishing and tourist town of Nea Kallikratia in Halkidiki. It's situated about 30 minutes south of Greece's second largest city, Thessaloniki.

It's home away from home and I'm welcomed by family and friends. The people who have summer homes here are mostly from Thessaloniki and the rest are tourists and Greeks from the Diaspora who have bought summer homes (like our family).

Thessaloniki has "dopia" Greeks from Macedonia (my family), Pontions, Vlachs and Greeks who fled Asia Minor from Constantinople (Istanbul) and Smyrni (now Izmir).

If one ever gets into the middle of a Greek chat on food, references to the rich cooking legacy brought back from Constantinople and Smyrni arise almost every time.

"This lady from Constantinople works magic in the kitchen" or "that lady from Smyrni turns the simplest foods into gold". Ya get my drift?

Our family is lucky to have "Effie from Smyrni" amongst our close family friends. My mom swims out to sea with her gal pals and the ladies will discuss the days issues...kids, grandchildren, Greece's rising costs, the weather and...food. These ladies wade in the warm blue waters and discuss recipes, exchange ideas.

I often do the same with my walks along the beach. I get restless just sitting on my beach chair but do still want a tan and I do enjoy socializing.

I do my walkabout, pace the beach, greet family & friends, ask what's going for the evening, extend or accept invites for "kafe" and I ask the ladies "what's cookin'"?

Effie from Smyrni brings leftovers to the beach and feeds her grandchildren (sometimes me). On one such day she brought Soutzoukakia Smyrneika With Olives.

This is a departure on the classic Soutzoukakia Smyrneika which are a sausage-like meatball simmered in an aromatic sauce - a favourite for many Greeks.

This version is slightly different but surprisingly refreshing and wonderful in taste and aroma. When the meatballs were simmering in the sauce, I was thinking, "this dish screams Greece meets East"!

The olives used here are green olives from Halkidiki and they provide the unique flavour and aroma to this dish.

When making the meatball mixture, avoid the temptation to overseason the meat. The flavour will balance out when the olives simmer in the aromatic sauce.

I loved this dish for it's simplicity, the aroma made me wait in anticipation and the flavours of the meal rewarded my patience when I finally plated the meal.

Soutzoukakia Smyrneika With Olives
(serves 6)

1lb. lean ground beef
1/lb. lean ground lamb
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup of breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp. cumin
4 Tbsp. red wine
1 tsp. of salt
1 tsp. of black pepper
3 Tbsp. olive oil

Sauce
2 large, ripe tomatoes, passed through a grater
1 large onion passed through a grater
1 tsp. tomato paste, diluted in 1 cup of water
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 cup of green olives
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a bowl, combine all the ingredients of the meatballs and knead with your hands until mixed. Fry off a small meatball and taste-test. Adjust seasoning accordingly.
2. Shape the meat mixture into sausage shaped meatballs and reserve on a plate.
3. Place a large skillet on medium heat and add your olive oil and grated onion and simmer for about 3-5 minutes. Now add your tomatoes and tomato paste mixture and bring to a bowl. reduce to a simmer and cook down for about 10 minutes or until the sauce has thickened.
4. Now gently lay the meatballs into the simmering sauce along with the olives and simmer slightly covered for another 10 minutes. If the sauce is too runny, carefully remove the meatballs and simmer the sauce until you've achieved the desired thickness. Place the meatballs back in the sauce to heat through.
5. Serve hot with rice pilaf or fried potatoes.

Greeks, Beer and Bavarians

One of summer's biggest pleasures is quaffing on an ice cold beer. My earliest memory of drinking (enjoying) beer was during my visit to Greece in 1980. I was under 16 but that would not stop my uncles from serving me beer (or other spirits) with a meal.

Greece is more renowned for it's wines and Ouzo but to dismiss Greece a brewing wannabe would also be a falsehood.

Beer was first introduced to the Greeks by the Egyptians in 332 BC but it failed to capture the imagination of the masses.

Fast forward to the 19th century, following the Greek War of Independence from the Ottomans and it's here that one can really mark the start of Greek brewing.

In 1832, King Otto, a German Prince from Bavaria, was installed by the English and Germans as the "ruler" of Greece. Otto's 30 year reign was a disaster but one of the few positives was his decision to appoint an official brewmaster.

In steps a Bavarian fellow named Johan Fix. Although he got "canned" when George I took hold of power,Fix decided to stay in Greece and he started his own brewery. Although it took awhile for the Greek masses to appreciate beer, Fix beer stood alone for years as "the beer" to drink.

As I recall, back in that Greek vacation in 1980, if you asked for a beer one usually was given an nice, cold bottle of Fix. There were a couple of other large European players in Greece at the time but Fix's market share was secure.

The late 8o's changed the Greek market scene forever. In the old days, one simply ordered a beer and as long as it was cold, no one really trifled over the matter of choice. Then, in the 1990's, the international brewers were firmly in place in Greece's market and a Greek (or tourist) could finally choose to drink their preferred beer.

Recent attempts at revitalizing the Fix brand have also occurred and the beer you see in this photograph is from a Canadian brewery, Lakes of Muskoka. The Fix brand as Greeks knew it is long gone but other players in the Greek brewing world have sprouted.

The next time you're in Greece, you'll notice all the big name European beers there but do ask your server if they have anything Greek. You'll be surprised as how good ice cold, Greek beer can be in 40C hot, dry weather.

One of the few places where barley thrives ahead of grapes is in the northeast province of Thrace. The Thracian God, Dionysus, may well be more revered as the Greek God of wine, the sun and agriculture, but a lot of people don't know that Dionysus also love his beer!

In typical Dionysus fashion, Greeks eat when drinking - drink when eating. I leave you with a lovely, simple meze that contains beer in the recipe and it's a wonderful appetizer with an ice cold beer. The appetizer was adapted from a recipe on one of Greece's cooking shows, the Nistiko Arkoudi.

(notes kindly taken from an article titled, "Greece on Tap" by Ben McFarland)

Stuffed Green Olives

1 cup stuffed green olives
1 cup flour
1 glass beer
2 egg whites zest of
1 lemon
4 Tbsp. coarse bread crumbs vegetable oil
salt to taste

Preheat your vegetable oil (until approx. 375F).

Beat the egg whites with a hand mixer in one bowl and then add all the other ingredients (flour, beer, lemon peel, bread crumbs) in another bowl.

Fold the egg whites into the other batter ingredients until it's thick and smooth.

Dip the olives in the batter one at a time and fry them. When they have browned, place them on paper towel to blot the excess oil. Season (if necessary) with salt and serve immediately with some ice cold beer.

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.

Got My Freak On For Feta

For most people, a block of feta cheese this size would last awhile. In a Greek home, this "piece" wouldn't see the end of the week.

Here's a little tidbit for those of you who buy "crumbled feta" at the supermarket: see the piece of feta missing from the front corner of this brick?

That and other bits like that get saved, and sold to you, the feta novice who thinks they are buying the convenience of "crumbled feta". Buy feta from a store that sells feta in bricks, slabs or large tins. A Greek market or deli is a good start.

Feta cheese is for more than just Greek salad. We like it with toast, to make a kind of Greek Bruschetta, in Spanakopita, Saganaki, with spaghetti and brown butter or alongside some fruit like watermelon.

Today I'm showing you feta in a whole new way...in a potato gratin. Everything about this dish is Greek...the use of potatoes, rosemary, sun-dried cured olives (Throumpes) and everyone's favourite Greek cheese, feta.

The inspiration for this dish comes from a book called The Complete Book of Greek Cooking and it's Potatoes With Feta and Olives bit me like a Tse-Tse fly. I've been itching to try this dish for a few weeks now.

Their dish looked great but I was convinced their approach would have ended up with a dry baked potato dish with some burnt feta on top. However, they had a good idea.

My approach is simple, make a scalloped potato dish that would be baked with a creamy Bechamel Sauce and feta as the base cheese.

This is going to be one of my favourite Greek side dishes. The Bechamel mellows the feta, potatoes and rosemary pair with each other well and the bits of black olives round out the dish like a finishing touch of salt.

This dish is easy to prepare, feta is available everywhere these days and who doesn't like potatoes?

Potatoes and Feta au Gratin
(for 4)

4 large potatoes
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 large onion, sliced
1 bay leaf
2 cloves of garlic, smashed
1/4 cup flour
2 cups of milk
1 sprig of rosemary
2 cups of crumbled feta
1/2 cup sun-dried black olives (Throumpes)
(pitted and roughly chopped)
salt and pepper to taste

Pre-heated 400F oven

1. Bring a pot of water to boil. Add a good amount of salt and boil for 15 minutes. Bring the temperature of the potatoes down by placing in an ice bath until they are safe to handle.
2. Peel the skins and discard. Slice the potatoes into thin slices and reserve.
3. In a medium saucepan, add your butter over medium-high heat and then add your onions, garlic, bay leaf, half of your rosemary sprig and saute for 5 minutes until your onions have softened.
4. Add your flour and stir to cook the flour for a couple of minutes. Add the milk over medium heat and stir until the Bechamel has thickened. Remove your bay leaf, rosemary, garlic and add half (1 cup) of your crumbled feta. Stir until incorporated, adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Keep warm and reserve.
5. Grease an approx. 8" X 14" baking dish and line the bottom with a coat of Bechamel.
6. Lay your potato slices in a row, overlapping each other. Make rows of overlapping potatoes until the dish has been covered by your potatoes.
7. Spread the rest of the Bechamel over the potatoes, scatter the remaining crumbled feta on top, followed by the chopped olives and remaining rosemary.
   
8. Crack some fresh black pepper over the top and bake in the middle rack of your oven for 30-40 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
   

Beets (παντζάρια )

It's winter time and yes, the beet dishes are all over the internet, in your markets, in your grocery bags and on your table.

I can remember beets beyond a part of my family's cuisine since I was a young, Greek "palikari".

I'm going to show you beets done 2 ways: the first is the simple, Greek family style beet salad and the second is also a beet salad with Greek ingredients, from the luvable southern belle, Paula Deen.

Beet Salad (παντζάρια σαλάτα)

1 bunch of beets (with greens)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 clove of garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste

1. Cut the bulbs of the beets from the greens and rinse. Wrap the beets together in aluminum foil and roast in the oven for 40 minutes at 400F. Allow to cool before handling.
2. In the meantime, fill your sink with cold water and soak the beet greens to remove sand and grit. You may have to repeat this process one or two more times to remove the dirt.
3. Get a pot of water to boil and and salt. When the water boils, chop your greens and throw them in the water and count 5 minutes from when the water returns to a boil to know they have been cooked.
   
4. Strain the beet greens and blanche them in a strainer with cold running water. Allow the water to drain.
5. Open the foil around the beet bulbs and peel away and discard the skins (you want to use gloves as the beet juices are also a strong dye).
6. Cut the red beets into wedges and place in your salad bowl along with the beet greens.
7. Add your olive oil, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper and toss to coat.
   
8. Adjust seasoning and serve cool or room temperature.

Next up, we have a Roasted Beet Salad from Paula Dean. Even though I haven't tried many of her recipes, I love her like an aunt and I'd love to have her over for dinner...she'd be a riot, Y'ALL!

I was so impressed with the ingredients in this salad...beets, garlic, pitted olives, olive oil, vinegar, dill - all topped up by a piece of feta cheese! This dish screams of Greek influences. My bet is the southern belle (Paula) must have knicked this recipe from a Greek friend.

Today, I'm taking it back!

Greco Linguine

I'm naughty. Not naughty in the "twirling neighborhood cats by their tail" way or not naughty in the "star of my own XXX-rated home movies", but naughty. I'll let Greek bureaucrats (Zaxopoulos) corner the home DVD market!

I was recently at the dentist's and while waiting for the "as usual late dentist"out to attend to me, I was perusing the orphaned, often out-dated magazines that get donated to doctors' offices all the time.

These magazines can be a great source of recipes. I help rid the world of back issues of magazines. Sometimes I see a good recipe, I rip out the page. Sometimes I see a few good recipes, I nick the whole magazine. Mea culpa.

I recently "liberated" the latest issue of Chalelaine magazine and a gorgeous, easy and delicious recipe for a linguine dish jumped right out at me.

I followed the recipe quite closely but I used roasted cherry tomatoes, rather that the canned tomatoes they called for. This dish was a hit with the natives (Greeks).

I was a little concerned with this dish being too salty from the olives and feta but the flavour was just right.

In this instance, I don't think Kalamata olives work. I used "Throumpes" olives which are cured and aged in salt, thus giving them their wrinkled look. I soaked them in water to rid them of their saltyness.

Another important aspect of this dish is using quality feta. Cheap, grocery store feta is usually of cow's milk, crumbled, in a plastic bag or small container and offensively salty. Also, there are many pretenders to feta and in Europe, only this style of cheese made in Greece can be called Feta.

The bottom line, this is a an easy dish with some remarkably simple flavours: starch from the linguine, sweet shrimp, salty feta, smoky roasted tomato and savoury olive. Use quality ingredients and this siple dish will shine.

Greco Linguine
(for four)

1/4 cup olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 pint of cherry tomatoes, oven roasted with their juices
1/2 cup pitted black olives (Throumpes), halved 1 Tbsp. dried Greek oregano
splash of balsamic vinegar
1 green zucchini, halved & cut into semi-circle pieces
24 medium-sized shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 cup of crumbled feta
1 cup of chopped fresh parsley
Extra-virgin olive oil for finishing
1lb. of linguine
some pasta water

1. In a large pot, get some water to a boil. Add a good amount of salt when the water comes to a boil and cook your linguine according to the package's instructions.
2. In a large skillet, add your olive oil and bring up to a medium high heat. Add your garlic and cook for a minute. Now add your cherry tomatoes, oregano, olives and simmer for 1o-12 minutes.
   
3. Add a splash of balsamic vinegar, your zucchini and shrimp and stir in. Leave the skillet on the burner but turn off the heat.
4. When your linguine is cooked, strain the pasta and then add it immediately to the sauce along with the feta and parsley. Toss to coat the pasta well for about 5 minutes. The residual heat from the hot pasta should finish cooking your shrimp.
5. Drizzle some good extra-virgin olive oil on top.
   

Marinated Olives

If you're a fan of Greek cuisine, you'll notice that we don't include olives in many of our dishes. Rather, we like to have olives included at our table, to be included with the meal or as part of an array of Mezedes (appetizers).

Olives are almost always present on the Greek table. The variety of olives are infinite and a Greek can endlessly argue as to which kind are the best, the tastiest.

I've been called a "food snob" (I don't know why) but I'm not too fussy when it comes to olives...as long as they aren't too salty, I luv'em!

Here, I'm showing you one way to dress your olives, that is by marinating them. I found this recipe in a booklet that showcased some Spanish dishes. These olives would, no doubt, appear at a table in Spain or Greece.

Use this method as a base to marinate your own olives with your favourite flavours. Try lemon peel, coriander seeds, rosemary or any other combiantions of herbs and spices. This method works best with olives that have been simply jarred in a brine.

Olive is a fruit. It is native to the whole region surrounding the Mediterranean. Olives and it's derivative are heart healthy as they are concentrated in monosaturated fats and they are a good source of vitamin E.

I'm offering this post as my entry for Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted this week by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen.

Marinated Olives

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
4 bay leaves
1 clove of garlic, thinly
wide strip of orange rind
1/2 tsp finely chopped red chilli
a few whole peppercorns
2 cups of green olives

1. Combine oil, vinegar, bay leaves and garlic in a small saucepan and place over low heat until just warm. Remove from heat, add orange rind, chilli, peppercorns and then combine with olives in a bowl.
2. Stand olives for at least 3 hours before serving at room temperature.
3. Olives will keep airtight in a container/jar for up to a week.