Classic Spinach Salad
I used to order a spinach salad from a lunch counter and it was usually filling enough to be a meal. Iron-rich spinach, protein-packed eggs, immune boosting mushrooms, crispy bacon (needs no touting). Wrap all that in a tangy/sweet dressing and you have a salad that serves well as a main or good starter. Classic […]
Seared Scallops With Cretan Pilaf
One of the simple pleasures of Greek cuisine is a dish called “gamopilafo” aka wedding rice. It comes from Crete and traditionally served at weddings. Nowadays, many tavernas in Crete have it on their menus. Goat, lamb or rooster are boiled until tender and to give you a richly flavoured stock for cooking your rice. […]
Ouzo Shrimp With Spinach Rice
I like taking two Greek dishes and putting them together to make a new dish. In one pan, sauteed shrimp with Ouzo and cream sauce. In another pan, a simple spinach rice inspired by traditional Spanakorizo. Put them together and you have a delicious pairing that will be a hit with family or next time […]
Baked Oysters Onassis
This is my Greek take on Oysters Rockefeller, a dish so rich that it was named after the wealthy Rockefeller family in the US. This dish originated in New Orleans and up to the 80’s it appeared on many steak and seafood restaurant menus. My Greek take on this classic includes use of a Bechamel, […]
Spinach and Feta Flutes Made With Sliced Bread
Growing up in the west (Canada), many of us took for granted the convenience product known as sliced bread. The rest of the world does not necessarily have sliced bread. In Greece, it was introduced to the market when the country was opened up to European Union products on its supermarket shelves. Today, sliced bread […]
Curley Calamari on Spanakorizo
I’ve been given the privilege to write/share recipes and food ideas on Inside Toronto’s web portal. I first shared this dish a couple of months ago at my Lenten Greek Supper Club. Basically you have fancy Spanakorizo molded on a plate then topped with a quick sauté of curly calamari. Click here to read the […]
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 […]
Olive Oil Poached Cod With Spanakorizo
I love fish and seafood and when I am in Greece I probably eat it in some form every day. Despite living in Canada where we have a very good supply of fish and seafood, there’s a lack in Mediterranean seafood and that’s okay. Eat local, right? This past summer I did a cooking gig […]
Stuffed Flank Steak With Paprika Potatoes
Today you have a whole meal in one post…your lucky day! Let’s start with the main, flank steak which is located at the bottom of the animal or belly. Unlike pork belly this cut is lean, lots of muscle tissue and ideally marinated and cooked to rare to medium rare. For my readers from Greece, […]
Spinach & Feta “Gratin”
My visit to Greece this past May consisted of two parts: the first part was spent attending the Sani Gourmet Festival and the second was with family and friends in Thessaloniki. I stayed at my uncle’s house in Elaiones, a suburb that sits overlooking Thessaloniki on one side and nearby Panorama – still lording high […]
