Grilled Sesame Scallops

It's playtime by the grill again kiddies. We've been having some hot, dry days that are followed by cool, great for sleep evenings and there's no sign of rain for days. At last, summer as I know it is here.

This means that the cooking theater known as the patio is back in action. Everything tastes good on the grill: meat, chicken, vegetables and in this case, seafood.

Up for grilling today are some sea scallops. This appetizer is Asian inspired and it's very simple, the ingredients aren't hard to locate and it's a nice change from your usual bacon-wrapped scallop.

What we have at play here are scallops, ginger, lime zest, black pepper and toasted sesame oil....wanna taste?

Grilled Sesame Scallops

12 sea scallops, rinsed and patted dry
12 Cremini mushroom caps
12 wooden skewers
3 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil
zest of 1 lime
juice of 1/2 lime
1 Tbsp. grated ginger
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. coarse sea salt
sesame seeds for garnish

1. Fill a container with some water and place your wooden skewers in and allow to soak for a couple of hours.
2. In a large bowl, add your sesame oil, lime zest, ginger, garlic, chives and black pepper and whisk to mix. Adjust according to your tastes and set aside some of the marinade to pour over your grilled scallops.
3. Add your scallops to the bowl and marinade for 1 hour (room temp.) or a couple of hours in the fridge. When you're ready to grill, Add the juice of 1/2 lime into the marinade and toss the mixture and place your scallops and mushroom cap alternately on the soaked skewers.
4. Season your skewers with coarse sea salt and grill on high heat for 2-3 minutes a side.
5. Pour over the reserved marinade as a finishing sauce and and serve immediately.
   

Greek Garden Pesto

I don't think I've shown you the herbs that are grown in my garden and in the end, used in the dishes I make.

Photographed and currently growing are Genoa basil, flat-leaf parsley, rosemary, mint, Greek oregano, thyme, sage, chives, Greek basil, French tarragon and lemon thyme.

The Genoa basil was produced by using the seeds of last year's plants, the parsley was purchased and planted from a gardening center, the rosemary is a carry-over from last year, the mint is a perennial that pops-up each & every year, the thyme is new purchase, as is the sage, the chives are another perennial and the French tarragon and lemon thyme are also new additions.

I have had some decent success with bringing some herbs indoors during the colder and winter months. My herbs are in the backyard, facing north and I will bring the basil, thyme, rosemary and some parsley indoors.

Around mid-October, I will move these plants into a shaded and protected area to accustomize the plants to an indoor existence and protect it from an early frost. After about a week, they will then move indoors, this time facing South and in direct sunlight in the front of the home.

Come Spring time, around the third week of May (and surely beyond any late frosts), the herbs come out again....first into the shaded outdoors (again just under the roof) and about a week later, back into the full exposure to the elements.

This method is not without it's fatalities but I've once had a rosemary tree for five years, basil for three years and some thyme for four years. Even with this track record, an attempt to bring your garden's herbs indoors for winter use is worthy of a try.

I don't have access to bunches of herbs through this method but I can have fresh thyme in a pinch, some basil leaves for pasta if needed and garnishes for many dishes.

In the meantime, I have lots of fresh herbs at my disposal and earlier this week I made a Mint Pesto.

I'm not going to try and pass this off as anything Greek as Pesto IS ultimately Italian but the three herbs in this pesto are commonly found in a Greek garden, hence the name of the dish, Greek Garden Pesto.

Greek Garden Pesto

1 cup of fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup of fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley
2 cloves of garlic, smashed
Approx. 1/2 cup Greek feta
1/3 cup toasted almonds
1/2 extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. black pepper

1. Wash and pat-dry your herbs, then throw into your food processor along with the garlic, feta and black pepper.
2. Process on high until you get a good, green paste and scrape the sides with spatula and process again until everything is smooth.
3. Now pour a slow and steady stream of olive oil until you've reached your desired consistency. Taste and adjust for seasoning.
4. Add your almonds and pulse until you get your nut consistency.
5. Boil some water, add salt and cook according to the package's instructions.
6. Drain the pasta and add as much (or as little pesto) as you wish to your pasta and toss to coat.
7. Serve immediately.
   

Strawberry Salad

After experiencing a longer and colder winter than usual, it comes as no surprise that Ontario's seasonal produce is appearing later on the shelves.

Local field strawberries are appearing in the markets and one bite into them reminds me that local is always best.

No need to steep these in sugar or any other flavour enhancer - a simple bowl of strawberries after dinner is fine by me.

Or I also like strawberries as part of my salad. The sweet and tart flavours of a strawberry play well against savory in a salad.

Here, I pretty much winged this salad, used what was on hand and I think I came up with a harmonious mix of ingredients, seasonal fare and as always, delicious.

When you're ready to eat this salad, hunch your back over, turn away from the others and protect yourself and the salad...the last time I made this, someone else's fork just dived into my salad and stole a forkful!

Strawberry Salad
(for 4)

4 large handfuls of Spring Mesclun Mix
1/2 pint of strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh tarragon

Vinaigrette
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 small clove of garlic, minced
4 Tbsp. raspberry balsamic vinegar 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

1. Wash & rinse your salad greens and ensure most of the water has been removed from the leaves and reserve.
2. In a large bowl, add the mustard, garlic and vinegar and start whisking the ingredients until a paste has formed. Now continue whisking while adding a slow and steady stream of olive oil until you get a creamy, emulsified mixture. Taste and adjust seasoning and add salt and pepper according to taste.
3. Add your salad greens, strawberries and tarragon into the bowl and gently toss to coat all your salad leaves.
4. Divide your salad and top with the walnuts and crumbled blue cheese.

Ladenia (Λαδένια)

Doesn't this look an awful lot like a pizza? This is the specialty that comes from the Greek island of Kimolos.

Each Greek island can boast of a specialty dish (and I'm going to enjoy trying each & every one of them) but for now, let's focus on Ladenia from Kimolos.

It's a pizza crust that's allowed to rise, then treated with olive oil, followed by a topping of sliced onions and very ripe tomatoes. The finishing touches are coarse sea salt, black pepper and the fabulously pungent dry Greek oregano.

Laurie of Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska is the lady responsible for bringing Ladenia to my attention and from a brief search on the internet - to several others.

I'm not going to toy much with this recipe - I'm sticking to the pizza dough, oil, onions, seasonings and herb combo. Simple is best here. Your choosing of quality ingredients will shine through when you taste the finished product.

Some key factors in making a good Ladenia:

• Allow the dough to rise at least a half hour to thicken up. I'm a thin-crust pizza kinda' guy but thick works best here. The olive oil and juices from the onions and tomatoes will provide ample flavour.
• Choose ripe, not too watery tomatoes. No matter how long you bake (roast) them, a shit tomato will still taste like well, "skata".
• Use regular olive oil when covering the dough and then drizzle the primo, good extra-virgin olive oil just as the Ladenia comes out of the oven.
• Top off with dried Greek oregano. Again, it's the one herb that's superior dried (rather than fresh).

Eat this as a lighter lunch, make a large Ladenia for a party as offer as an appetizer or snack but do make it. This was a big hit throughout the household - I know it will be in yours too!

Ladenia (Λαδένια)

For the Dough
1 cup warm water
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/8 cup olive oil
1 heaping tsp. active dry yeast
1/2 tsp. salt
Approx. 3 - 3 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour

Topping
1/4 cup olive oil
2 large onions, sliced
2 large tomatoes, cut in half then cut into half-moon slices
coarse sea salt
ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. dry Greek oregano
extra-virgin olive oil (for finishing)

Pre-heated 400F oven

1. In a large bowl, add your yeast, sugar, and warm water and allow about 7-10 minutes to activate (as evidenced with the bubbling). Now add your salt and olive oil add about 2 cups of flour into the mixture. Keep on adding flour while kneading on a floured work surface until your dough is pliable and no longer sticks to your hands. NOTE: (flour amounts vary from 3 to 3 1/4 cups flour, depending on the weather you are experiencing and how the flour and yeast react.
2. Spread some olive oil on your round baking pan and sprinkle some fine semolina flour. Roll out your pizza dough to the approx. circumference of your pan and allow the dough to rise for about 30 minutes in a warm spot in the home. You may now preheat your oven.
   
3. Pour and evenly spread the olive oil over your dough, followed by spreading out the sliced onions all over area of the Ladenia. Now top with your tomato slices, coarse sea salt, black pepper and dry Greek oregano.
4. Bake on the middle rack of your oven for 40 45 minutes until the edges have just browned and the top has a light brown colour.
5. Serve hot or cold, as a meal or a snack.