Kefta Kebobs -Ground Meat Kebobs

Kefta Kebab
Ground-Meat Kebabs

by Paul Delios

Ingredients:

1 pound ground lean beef or lamb
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 medium onion, grated
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
Salt to taste

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well and refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight to blend flavors. Preheat the gas grill for 10 to 15 minutes or prepare hot wood coals on barbecue grill.

Using about 1/4 cup mixture for each kebab, mold into a sausage shape tapering the ends around flat metal skewers. This will help to prevent the meat from slipping off skewers during cooking. Moistening your hands with water will help mold the meat mixture onto skewers.

Place skewers on the grill rack 4 inches from heat source. Turn every two minutes in order to brown evenly, 10 to 12 minutes.

Fish Gyros

FISH “GYROS”

by Paul Delios

Marinade

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons white vinegar

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons lemon zest

1 1/2 teaspoons honey

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce, or to taste

1 1/2 pounds fish fillets, cut into chunks, Swordfish, Stripe bass, Mahi-mahi, Red snapper, or Grouper.

Dressing

1 cup Greek yoghurt

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons lemon zest

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup adobo sauce from chipotle peppers

Or

1/2 cup roasted peppers and a teaspoon of smoked paprika

Toppings

3 ripe tomatoes, seeded and 1/4 inch dice

1 cup cilantro, roughly chopped

1/2 red onion thinly sliced

1 small head cabbage, cored and thinly shredded

2 lemons cut into wedges

1 package fresh pita bread (I prefer pocket less)

Or if the pita is not fresh baked, and then simply heat it in a frying skillet for

30 seconds to a minute on each side, before assembly.

DIRECTIONS

To make the marinade, whisk the first 12 ingredients together in a bowl.

Place the fish in a plastic zip lock bag, and pour the marinade over the fish. Squeeze out the excess air from the bag and seal the bag, then refrigerate 6 to 8 hours.

To make the dressing, combine the yoghurt and adobo sauce in a bowl. Stir in the lemon juice, zest, cumin, chili powder, oregano. Add salt, and pepper to taste. Cover, and refrigerate.

Remove fish from marinade, drain off any excess and discard marinade.

For grilling outdoors preheat a grill for 10 minutes and lightly oil the grate, then place the fish on the grill and cook for 4 minutes per side.

Or

Turn the broiler on in the oven to high and cook the fish until it begins to flake with a fork, 8 - 10 minutes.

Assemble gyros by placing fish pieces in the center of pita with desired amounts of tomatoes, cilantro, and cabbage; drizzle with dressing. To serve, roll up the pitas around fillings, and garnish with lemon wedges.

Lamb Ravioli

Lamb Ravioli

by Paul Delios

Ingredients

Lamb Filling:

Mix together

1/2 cup grated mizithra cheese or Pecorino

1/2 cup bread crumbs

The shredded meat from 2 braised lamb shanks and

1 cup of strained cooked sauce (see recipe).

Ravioli Dough:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons salt

3 eggs

1 tablespoon olive oil

Dough:

Place the flour in the bowl of a food processor (using the dough blade) add salt and mix to combine then add the eggs, pulsing, till the dough begins to form, remove it from the processor and work it with your hands. Kneed dough until it is smooth. Let dough rest for about 10 minutes and then roll it out to the second thinnest setting on a pasta machine.

Lay the pasta out flat and spoon a small amount of filling down the center of the pasta, about 1 inch apart. Lay another piece of pasta on top and press down to seal in the filling. Cut into individual ravioli and press the edges with a fork to seal.

Bring a large pot of boiling, salted water to a boil. Boil the ravioli until they float, about 3 minutes. Drain the ravioli well.

Ladle some of the sauce on the bottom of each plate or serving platter and then place the ravioli on the plates and top with more sauce.

Red Wine and Roasted mushroom Sauce

Ingredients

6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter

3 tablespoons mince shallots

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon of fresh cracked black pepper

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 cup lamb or chicken stock

2 cups Full Bodied Red wine

1 cups heavy cream

1/4 cup Greek Thyme scented honey

Directions

Begin by melting 2 tablespoons of butter in a heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and salt cook for about minute stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Whisk in the wine, cream, honey, and black pepper. Simmer until the sauce reduces by two-thirds, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from the heat and strain the liquid before adding the last 4 tablespoons of butter.

.

Whisk the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter into sauce a tablespoon at a time, taste the sauce, and re-season, with salt and pepper, if needed.

Toss 2 lbs of mix sliced mushrooms in olive oil, salt and pepper, then roast in a shallow baking pan at 450F degrees until crispy remove from the oven and add to the sauce.

Note: If demi-glace is available use it in place of the stoc

Cooking With Wine

Cooking with Wine

by Fotios Stamos

Make room in your food pantry or your spice rack for a variety of white, red, and sweet wine. This ingredient is becoming more commonly used in recipes today. Another past time approach in cooking that has resurfaced in almost every kitchen across the globe. To some, it seems as a nice touch and to other’s it’s a necessity in enhancing flavors of a dish. Today, wine can be used right in the recipe while cooking or it can be reduced into a sauce for topping off a dish.

The reasoning behind using wine is that it’s a liquid composition of flavors. The key to bringing out the flavors in wine is to actually heat it in a pan to evaporate the alcohol leaving just the flavor characteristics in the liquid. When you use wine right in the recipe while its cooking, the flavors of the wine blend in with the other ingredients creating an array of aromas and results. At the same token, wine will also react as a tenderizer as your cooking certain meats in a pan, while it’s flavoring it. The acidity of the wine will break down fat and moisten the meat as it cooks. Red wines made from the Xynomavro, Mandilaria, Kotsifali, and Agiorgitiko would be preferred in cooking with red sauces and red meats, but can also be used for spicey past dishes. White wines, such as Assyrtiko, Roditis, and Moschofilero would be ideal for cooking with shellfish, poultry, and white sauce pasta dishes. Don’t hesitate to use a wine that is good in quality for your cooking instead of very cheap and inexpensive selections. The cheaper the wine is, the less flavor you’ll most likely get out of it. Depending on the purpose of your dish and how much flavor enhancement you’d like to achieve, use a graduating scale. The less flavor enhancement you’d like, the less expensive your wine should be and purchase and move on from there. A good price range for your ‘cooking’ wine should be $10 a bottle (15 euros).

Another interesting use for wine in cooking is to prepare a reduction sauce out of it to top off your dishes for a delightful finish. At this point, we will use either a red or sweet wine for the sauce. The sugar levels in both are relatively much higher and create a thicker sauce in the pan. The method here would be to pour your red or sweet wine in a heated sauce-pan and while the wine is cooking add a some corn starch to thicken it. Once you see that it has become a thick liquid it is now ready to pour over your sizzling filet or sirloin. I highly recommend using Mandilaria, which is a dry red wine from Crete that has very rich flavor components or for your sweeter selections, Mavrodaphne and Muscat from Samos.

Once you begin experimenting with wine in your recipes, you’ll be intrigued by the results. There are many publications out there that specifically focus on wine as your cooking ingredient, such as ‘Oinomageriki’ by Niki Mitarea and also the ‘Olive & The Caper” by Susanna Hoffman. Stin Ygeas Sas kai Kali Oreksi.

Green Apple & Fennel Salad

Green apple and fennel salad

by Paul Delios

This is a simple but refreshing salad and once you have tried it I am sure it will become a favorite. This goes great with fish, meat or chicken.
I love the use of fennel with fruit it screams of summer!!!!!

Dressing
Blend the following
Juice and zest of 1 lemon (2 ounces)
Orange juice 4 ounces
2 tablespoons Greek wild thyme scented honey
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

Salad
1 Fennel bulb thinly sliced
1/2 cup of the fennel greens rough chopped
2 Green apples thinly sliced
Use a mandoline if available

Toss with the dressing make sure to coat each piece of apple, this will stop the fruit from turning brown.
Refrigerate for 15 minutes and serve right away.

Sips For Easter Feast!!!

Sips for Easter Feast

by Fotios Stamos

Considered one of the most sacred holidays in the Greek Orthodox faith, Easter is the day we prepare the biggest and most memorable feast with our family and friends. Every household takes special care and attention to the offerings that will be served and featured that day. At the same token, I will prepare you with the wine offerings for our special Easter feast.

As we depart from church after the acknowledgment that “Christ has risen” on Saturday night (the night before Easter), we make our way home to officially kick off our Easter feast with the customary Easter lamb soup also known as mageiritsa, which translates to small cooking. As noted in the cookbook, “The Olive & The Caper”, mageiritsa is a soup that is only prepared for Easter that is made with small morsels of lamb combined with an egg-lemon froth. The soup is hearty but light enough to restore energy to the faithful worshippers that are weak from lent. The choice of wine that best suits this flavorful soup is non-other than the traditional selection of retsina. Yes, retsina, a light and crisp wine with tints of aromatic pine, pairs well with the combination of the silky structure and lemon accents from the soup. The choice to select is from the winery Malamatina that is based in Thessaloniki. Malamatina retsina has the been producing retsina for over a century and has become the staple wine of Northern Greece. Malamantina is a very pleasant white wine, with a fading presence of resin to give it that perfect balance for a retsina.

As we wake up Easter morning, feeling refreshed and restored from last night’s commencement, we greet each other with a red-dyed egg in hand and hit each other’s point to point while saying, “Christ is risen”. As this beautiful day progresses, family members crowd in the kitchen and are preparing all of the special offerings for the feast.

All sorts of mezedakia are being made ranging from cold to hot ones for the introduction to the flavorful lamb that is being roasted on the spit by the men of the family. Traditionally as the lamb is being slowly roasted on the spit, which could take up to six hours, typically it’s a time for the men to socialize over good tsipouro or tsikoudia as they also nibble at sections of the lamb to test its readiness. Tsipouro, which is a spirit distilled from left over grape skins, grape seeds, and/or stems is very smooth and aromatic. The Lazaridis winery in Drama makes an excellent tsipouro called ‘Idoniko’ that would be the right fit for that social moment. ‘Idoniko’ is also produced with a touch of fennel or ‘glykaniso’. Tsikoudia is similar to tsipouro, but originates from the island of Crete and is also produced from distilled grapes. The aromas of grapes are more present in tsikoudia. A selection that I would highly recommend would be from the Varvaki Distillery.

The grand table that will host the feast is decorated with Greek Easter bread or tsoureki. Tsoureki is a sweet bread that is baked and decorated with red-dyed eggs, which symbolizes the blood of Christ. Mezedakia are prepared and ready ahead of time to keep everyone going until the lamb is ready. Specialty dishes such as a variety of different cheeses, such as kefalotyri, kefalogaviera, lathotiri, kopanisti, and many others are accompanied by a plethora of olives to be sipped with a refreshing white wine from the varietal roditis. The wine of my choice would be the production from the Gaia Estates winery called ‘Notios’. This young white wine is full of life and very vibrant.

It’s a great sipping wine that will pair nicely with our cheese and olives.

You will also find a variety of different salad dishes and pitas that every household will have depending on the region of Greece they are from. Some of these favorites, are eggplant and yogurt with red onion and olives, roasted sweet pepper salad, taramasalata, and many others. Along with the salads, there are also platters of grilled meats, such as lamb bites, homemade sausages, and even liver. The wine offering with these choices will be a fruitful rose wine from Palivos Estates called Vissinokipos. This rose wine is made from Agiorghitiko and Syrah grape and has a strawberry and jam aroma on the nose with great structure of softness and crispness to signify we are sipping a light but flavorful rose.

The anticipation grows immensely for our traditional Easter lamb that has been long awaited. The day has been full of joy and happiness as we rekindle with family and friends over one of the most appealing cuisines along with some of the finest selections of wine. Finally, the main feature is pulled off the spit and prepared on an enormous platter that makes it way to the grand table. As the stuffed lamb is settled a the center of the table it is surrounded by dishes of rice prepared with ground beef, roasted vegetables, roasted potatoes, and all of the over mezedakia that were mentioned earlier. At the table for the feast I will suggest two red wines to be offered that compliment all of the selections. Since there will be typically more people at the table, we need to make sure we a couple of offerings to satisfy the different taste buds and also the different dishes. The first red selection will be a lighter style, produced from the Xynomavro grape, Greece’s version of a Pinot Noir. I am going to suggest the selection from the Kir-Yianni Estates winery, called ‘Raminsta’. This wine is a very soft and light bodied red wine that has great fruit flavors with a touch of tannins, that will be very suitable for our guests that prefer a light red wine. The second selection that I highly recommend is a Rhone-style red from the Manousakis Winery in Crete called ‘Nostos”. This full-bodied red selection has great big fruit and is robust with dark cherries in every sip. This wine is the prize selection to have with our trophy lamb that brings together great flavors for an ultimate dining experience. Nostos is produced from all estate grown Syrah, Grenache, Mouverde, and Roussane. It has great balance and a long finish.

Once again, there is plenty of great food and great wine throughout this wonderful day. We finish off the evening with a room full of sweet offerings and desserts that range from cookies, pies, cakes, and Greek sweet wine from Samos.

“Hristos Anesti”.