Stuffed Zucchini (Kolokithakia Gemista) With Avgolemeno Sauce
When I travel to Greece each summer, my parents are already there as they are both retired and they do like to plant and tend to a vegetable garden. One of the vegetables they plant are zucchini (or courgettes) and in Greece, they usual kind are the light green skinned ones they are called marrow […]
Moussaka Burgers
Most of us here in the northern hemisphere and now safely into grilling season i.e. the weather is warm enough for us to cook and enjoy a meal outdoors…just like in Greece! Here in Canada we will grill all year ’round but it’s so much more civilized now that it’s summer. Imagine, us Canadians will […]
Meatless Moussaka
Ahhh Moussaka, a dish food historians can’t agree upon who it belongs to or food critics argue about who makes the best one. I can assure you Greeks love Moussaka and our version is usually made with alternating slices of eggplant, meat sauce and topped with a Bechamel sauce. Probably an equal amount of Greek […]
Cauliflower Stifado With Kale & Kalamata Olives
You’ve indulged in rich foods over the holidays, perhaps some decadence in the diet? I have too! Now that we’re into January it’s time to look to the vast, delicious and healthy vegetarian Greek dishes that we call Ladera or “oiled”. The cornerstone of Greek cookery is seasonal ingredients, quality olive oil and prepared in […]
Roast Pheasant With Mushroom Cream Sauce
Last week I had the good fortune of being given two pheasants, just hunted from southern Ontario’s wilderness. The last time I enjoyed pheasant was over 10 years ago and the pheasant was farm-raised, not wild. Farm-raised game birds, boar, venison will be easier to cook than animals from the wild as the animal’s age […]
Pork Gioulbasi Stuffed Kefalotyri & Sour Cherry Sauce
There’s a Constantinople dish from around 1900 called Gioulbasi. Traditionally, a leg of lamb is studded with garlic and stuffed with pieces of sharp, aged Greek cheese. The meat is wrapped in parchment paper and slowly roasted until the meat is fork-tender, aromatic and about to fall off the bone. In mainland Greece there are […]
Greek-Inspired Nachos
Forgive me for stating the obvious but there’s no such thing as Greek nachos but I can assure you lots of Greeks enjoy Tex-Mex flavours and that when I saw Bittman’s take on Greek-Style Nachos…I wish I thought of it first! It’s not a stretch of the imagination that one can think of using baked […]
Pan-Seared Sea Bream With Spinach, Fennel & Avgolemono Sauce
This dish comes from Greece, handed to me from my mom who tried the dish via a family friend, Kuria (Mrs.) Anna. For this dish I used sea bream (tsipoura) filets but you can use any white fish filets (preferably with skin on). I like the skin on fish – when it is crispy and […]
Makaronada With Fried Baby Eggplant
There are still lots of eggplants in the markets here and this year’s crop has been sweet with very few having the usual bitterness one finds in eggplants. Not all eggplants are the same: the usual big purple ones often have some seeds and bitterness and one sprinkles salt on the exposed flesh to draw […]
Lobster Eggs Benedict With Crispy Potato Pancakes & Bearnaise Sauce
One of the downsides (there are few) to going to Greece is that lobster prices are astronomical. If you find live lobster at the market it will go for 60 Euros a kilo and at a seafood taverna you will likely pay 80 Euros a kilo for this delicacy. Fast forward to Canada, back from […]