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.