Avgolemeno Soup

As I've written previously, Avgolemeno (eggs & lemon) are one of the most used bases and flavours for Greek cooking.

Here, we see Agvolemeno being used in it's most rudimentary yet most satisfying and comforting way, as a chicken soup.

Avgolemeno soup is the Greek's answer to chicken noodle soup. I swear, this soup will cure the common cold, warm you on a cold, winter night, or satisfy you for lunch with a sandwich.

The key to any good soup starts with good stock. Avgolemeno requires good chicken or turkey stock. If you don't have any (nor the patience), then use some good quality (low sodium) commercial stock.

Greeks will enjoy this soup with or without the chicken meat inside. This time around is just soup and noodles.

Another variance is Avgolemeno can be served with rice in it. I could eat it with rice or with noodles, but I prefer the family favourite, noodles.

Greeks will often use φιδές (fee-thess) or Vermicelli nests as the noodle of choice. One of my biggest pet peeves as a kid was trying to negotiate those long, awkward noodles found in Campbell's chicken noodle soup...φιδές solves that problem!

Avgolemeno Soup

10 cups of Chicken or Turkey Stock
6 nests of φιδές or Vermicelli (fine) nests
salt to taste

Avgolemeno

2 eggs
1 tsp. flour
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/2 cup cold water

1. Bring your stock to a boil. Once it's boiling, break up the φιδές with you hand and drop into the boiling stock. Boil for 10 minutes and turn off the heat.
2. Start making your Avgolemeno by adding your aeggs and flour in a big bowl and whisk them together with a fork.
3. While still beating, whisk in your lemon juice until incorporated and then whisk in the cold water.
   
4. Take the pot of soup off the element.
5. While whisking, add one ladle at a time of the soup to the Avgolemeno mixture (to a total of 4 ladles) to temper the heat of the Agvolemeno).
6. Add the contents of of the bowl back into the soup and stir in. Let the soup rest for about 5 minutes.
7. Adjust seasoning with salt and serve with cracked black pepper, chives, crackers or bread.

Figs In Mavrodaphne With Manouri (Συκα και Μαυροδαφνη με μανουρι)

Last year I found many recipes for this Greek dessert on the internet. I've patiently waited for the winter to come so that I may finally try this recipe.

This post is a long time coming. I haven't had a sweet fig since I got back from Greece in September of last year.

I love figs. A lot! I love figs so much because they are some of the sweetest fruit one will ever taste. To those that have tasted tree-ripened figs, you'll know that they are sweet as jam.

To everyone else who hasn't had the pleasure, I hope you get to taste a fresh, ripe fig. Not one that's been transported cross-country from California to the eastern seaboard or from the Mediterranean to north and western Europe.

I compare the taste of a fresh fig to the pleasure of a biting into a vine-ripe tomato, a just ripe grape or a perfectly orange, ripe and aromatic mango.

Last summer, I tried looking for recipes that used fresh figs and there aren't many. I tried a few that would highlight and complement the fig's natural taste. It's winter, and those recipes will have to wait until later this summer.

In the meantime, let's play with dried figs. Here's an ingredient that captures the epitome of summer. A fig that's picked at just the right time, dried by the same sun that gave it life, flavour, beauty. To be enjoyed anew during the long winter months until Summer teases us again for just a few months.

I love figs. Greece has lots of figs - free figs! Greece has fig trees the way Canada has maple trees. Neighbors encourage to you pick-off their fig trees before they over-ripen and attract bees and such.

This recipe is said to be offered in many popular tavernas in Athens. Here I have figs poached in a Greek fortified wine (Mavrodaphne) and spices familiar to Greek cuisine and a bed of fresh, mildly savory Manouri cheese.

Figs In Mavrodaphne With Manouri (Συκα και Μαυροδαφνη με μανουρι)

12 dried Calimyrna (Greek) figs
2/3 cup Mavrodaphne wine (or any other fortified, red wine)
1 cinnamon stick
4 whole cloves
1/2 cup Greek thyme honey
1 Tbsp cold water
1 tsp. corn starch
mint for garnish
some slices of Manouri cheese
boiling water

1. In a bowl, place the figs inside and pour enough boiling water to cover the figs. Cover the bowl and allow the figs to soften for an hour.
2. Discard the water and add the softened figs to a pot along with the wine, cinnamon, cloves and honey.
3. Bring to a boil and then reduce and simmer for 30-45 until the figs are plump and tender and the sauce has reduced to half.
4. Mix your cold water with the corn starch and stir it in to the sauce. You should now have a a sweet, thick, dark syrup. If you need to sweeten it a bit, add another splash of Mavrodaphne.
   
5. Arrange your slices of Manouri cheese on a plate and carefully place the figs on top and spoon over some of the syrup over the figs.
6. Garnish with mint and serve warm.
   

Chillies & Cheese Snack (Σνακ με κεφαλογραβιερα και Mπoukobo)

I recently made a post of a poached pears recipe and a good discussion on Greek words ensued in the comments section.

It was revealed that the Greeks have a word for everything. I once witnessed a lecture conducted in English but he exclusively used Greek-routed words. Awesome!

If the Greeks have a word for everything, then why is there no word in Greek for Snack (Σνακ)?

I came across this recipe from the November issue of Gastrononos, found in Greece's broadsheet, Kathemerini.

They titled the recipe as " Σνακ με κεφαλογραβιερα και Mπoukobo" or a Snack With Kefalograviera With Boukovo.

Today was my first time making this snack and to my surprise, the family loved it! I'm in awe because my toughest critics are my family. We have full-blown arguments about how to cook things, proper seasoning, correct ingredients, method of cooking, sources of food, blah, blah, blah.

We take our food seriously and that's a double-edged sword. I've witnessed arguments about feta, tzatziki, oregano, olive oil, honey, salt, vinegar, ouzo, retsina and wine and the list goes on!

Before today, I've never had this Greek snack. It's a pan-cooked snack that contains flour, cheese and Boukovo.

Boukovo is a Greek red chili flake. What makes it unique is that Boukovo is oven dried or better yet, the red chili gets dried over smoky, burning embers. Think smoky red chili flakes.

I'm presenting Boukovo to you and to Weekend Herb Blogging, this week being hosted by Rinku of Cooking in Westchester.

The other Greek ingredient in this snack is Kefalograviera. It's an aged white sheep's milk hard cheese with a light brown rind. It's salt content can be described as being somewhere in the middle between Romano and Parmesan.

For this snack, you'll need a non stick pan and a lid. They make a great snack, an appetizer or a nibble with some wine.




Chillies & Cheese Snack (Σνακ με κεφαλογραβιερα και Mπoukobo)

1 cup all purpose white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 heaping Tbsp. of baking powder
2 eggs
6 Tbsp. of plain Greek yogurt
6 Tbsp. of olive oil
1/2 cup grated Kefalograviera
1 Tbsp. of Boukovo (red chili flakes)
salt & pepper to taste

1. Add all your ingredients into one big bowl and mix until thoroughly incorporated. The dough should be wet but firm (add some more yogurt and oil if too dry, more flour if too wet).
2. Turn on your stovetop to a medium-low, place the non-stick pan on the burner with the cover on and allow the pan the warm up for about 5-7 minutes.
3. Without pouring any oil into the pan, use a teaspoon to scoop and place pieces of dough in the pan. Cover with the lid and cook for 6-7 minutes and flip and cook another 6-7 minutes.
   
4. Repeat step#3 for the second batch. This recipe makes about 30 pieces. Serve warm or room temperature.
   

Cooking With.........A Stapler?

You know what this blog needs? Is more brown paper bags! I've enjoyed baking fish in a brown paper bag and I'm satisfied that there are no health risks to using them for cooking purposes.

Let me assure you that brown paper lunch bags are not made of recycled paper, the cooking time (2.5 minutes) will do nothing to the paper and the use of one staple is not dangerous, it will not spark in your microwave and no damage will be done to you or your appliance.

I also recently tripped upon Alton Brown's method of "make your own microwave popcorn" and I'm very pleased to say that the method works, kinda. I found his recipe when I was concerned about the recent news of commercial microwave popcorn being not that good for you (albeit still tasty).

I first tried his recipe with fine sea salt and olive oil but sadly it didn't taste that good as the olive oil was too heavy and the sea salt fell to the bottom of the bag (rather than adhere to the kernels).

My second attempt was marginally better with the use of more sea salt and corn oil.

My third, final and most successful attempt was achieved when I finally found popcorn salt at my local bulk food store.

Alton is right (again), this fine popcorn salt adheres better to the popcorn and it tasted as good as any other microwave popcorn that's out there. You may also add a dash of any of the popcorn flavourings that are out there. So long Orville Redenbacher!



Microwave Popcorn at Home

1/4 cup good popping corn
2 tsp. of corn oil
1/2 tsp. of popcorn salt
paper lunch bag
stapler

1. In a bowl, toss the popcorn with the oil and salt. Slide the contents into a brown paper lunch bag.
2. Fold the top of the bag and staple once.
3. Microwave on "High" for 2.2 minutes (no burnt popcorn).
4. Carefully take the bag out of the microwave, pour into a bowl and add any other flavouring you desire.