Tyropitakia, Saganaki, Kolokythakia Tiganitas, Dakos…. Do these words sound Greek to you? They should because they are Greek, Greek dishes for that matter. I am going Greek this month! Greek food is one of my favorite next to Italian, Asian, Chinese, Middle Eastern…. If I ever wanted to go on a diet, Greek is the way to go. Why? Because they have one of the healthiest foods around! The Greeks, since ancient times, ate mainly the Mediterranean triad, bread, olive oil, and wine. Greeks also grew vegetables, especially legumes (lentils, beans, peas, chickpeas). They possibly ate more fish than most other Mediterranean people. They only eat that was hunted. Ancient Greeks believed it was wrong to kill and eat a tame, domesticated animal without sacrificing it to the gods.

As mentioned, bread, oil, and wine are the three fundamentals of Greek diet. Bread, in one form or another, is the stave of life, which is usually made of wheat or barley. Olive oil is another staple that Greeks cannot do without. Not only is it used as a food source, it is used to light the oil lamp, as soap to the Athenian athletes and bathers, and it replaces gas and petroleum. Last but not least, wine in ancient times was never drinken pure but always diluted with water. There was good reason for this plentiful use of water. In the original state Greek wines were very strong, perhaps almost as alcoholic as whisky, and the Athenians have no Scotch climate to excuse the use of such stimulants. Modern day Greek cuisine has not changed much from its ancestors. Vegetables, fish and seafood, bread, olive oil, and wine are still their main staples. For this reason I love to go on a Greek diet. To top it off, I can be happy, either fat or thin, drinking all the wine I want J.

When Greek food is mentioned, I think most of us will automatically conjure images of Gyros, Souvlakis, Mousaka, and Pastitsio as the epitome of Greek cuisine. However, like everything else, majority of these dishes were developed, or drastically revised, by professional cooks and restaurateurs moving away from the traditional dishes of Greece. Here are a few traditional Greek offerings found in Greece. Tyropitakia are actually little cheese pie triangles made of Kasseri cheese or feta. Of course there is also the more familiar Spanakopita which is little cheese triangle pies made with spinach and cheese. Saganaki is a fried cheese appetizer made with either Kefalotyri or Pecorino. The cheese is initially dunked in ice cold water, dried off, coated in flour and egg, and deep fried, yum. All mentioned are only the appetizers or serve as meze (little plates to be shared with friends). There is so much more to Greek cuisine. Check this website out for other Greek dishes: http://www.greeka.com/greece-food-wine.htm and http://www.studyabroadgreece.com/history-culture/greek-food.html

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Did You Know...

·        The first cookbook was written by the Greek food gourmet, Archestratos, in 330 B.C., which suggests that cooking has always been of importance and significance in Greek society.

·        Modern chefs owe the tradition of their tall, white chef's hat to the Greeks. In the middle ages, monastic brothers who prepared food in the Greek Orthodox monasteries wore tall white hats to distinguish them in their work from the regular monks, who wore large black hats.

·        To a large degree, vegetarian cuisine can be traced to foods and recipes which originated in Greece.

·        Many ingredients used in modern Greek cooking were unknown in the country until the middle ages. These include the potato, tomato, spinach, bananas, and others which came to Greece after the discovery of the Americas – their origin.

·        Greek food is simple and elegant, with flavors subtle to robust, textures smooth to crunchy, fresh and timeless, nutritious and healthy. Preparing and enjoying Greek food, anywhere in the world, is an adventurous journey into the cradle of civilization and the land of the Gods of Olympus. Discovering, tasting, and experiencing Greek food: truly one of the joys we can all share.

·        The art of traditional Greek cooking is taking a natural, fresh ingredient and doing the least possible to it. Refined and processed foods don't help a healthy heart. Keeping the basic structure of food is important, and sticking with foods that are recognizable in their original form is the key.

With the last paragraph in mind, I guess that is how I base my cooking philosophy, which is to take a natural fresh ingredient and making that the star of the meal and not to cover it up with fillers and too much sauce. I love to have some form of herb or sauce to compliment the ingredient but not over power it.

RECIPES

Like to try your hand at some Greek dishes? Try these recipes out. I am sure they will please your taste buds.

Melitzanes Tiganites: Batter-fried Eggplant

1 medium eggplant, trimmed, unpeeled, sliced into strips 1/8 to 3/16-inch thick

Olive oil for frying

½ tablespoon sea salt or kosher salt

For the batter

8 ounces bottled soda water

1 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt

¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Method

1. Prepare eggplant: Put slices of eggplant in a bowl with the salt and let sit for 20-25 minutes. Pour off liquid before putting in batter.
2. Make batter: Pour the soda into a bowl, stir in flour and salt slowly using a whisk or for to mix.
3. Bring oil to high heat.
4. Coat eggplant in the batter, use a fork to place pieces in oil and fry 5-6 minutes until golden brown on both sides and batter puffs up. Drain on absorbent paper toweling to remove excess oil. Serve hot.

Serves 4 as a side dish, 6-8 as an appetizer/meze.

Souvlaki

I guess I will put this recipe in as it is one of the most popular dishes recognized by most people.

1 ½ lbs boneless leg of lamb or lamb shoulder or pork loin, cut into 1-inch cubes

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, grated

1 tablespoon dried Greek oregano

2 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

1 ½ tablespoon chopped mint

Kosher salt and pepper for seasoning

Method

1. Combine olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, onion, oregano, parsley, mint, kosher salt and pepper in a bowl and mix well.
2. Add meat, toss to coat, cover and refrigerate; marinate for a minimum of 2 hours to overnight for best results.
3. Soak wooden skewers (if using) in water for at least 2 hours or overnight.
4. Preheat grill to medium high.
5. Thread meat evenly onto four skewers, making sure there is a little space in between to allow meat to cook evenly.
6. Grill skewers 4-5 minutes per side for medium, 6-7 minutes for well done.
7. Serve with Tzatziki and pita bread.

Makes 4 servings

Tzatziki

A wonderful Greek sauce which can be use as a dip with crudités. I sometimes make a batch of this dip to snack on with crudités instead of eating chips. Try to use Greek yogurt as it is thicker and has a tangier flavor than regular yogurt. If you do use Greek yogurt, you needn’t have to strain it. Just use straight from the container. You can get Greek yogurt at the Mediterranean Mart on Cliffdale road in that little shopping area next to the video store or across from Cliffdale Plaza. Tzatziki can also be used as a dip for the eggplant recipe above.

1 pint regular or low fat plain yogurt.

1 English cucumber, peeled, seeded, and grated.

3 garlic cloves, mashed to a paste

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar or white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon minced fresh dill

Pinch of sugar

Salt to taste

Method

1. If using regular yogurt, place cheesecloth or  a couple layers of paper towel over a fine strainer and pour yogurt into strainer and let it drain a few hours or overnight.
2. Lightly salt cucumber for about 5 minutes until the cucumber releases some of the liquid and squeeze between hands to remove the rest of the liquid.
3. Mix the thick curd yogurt, cucumber, garlic, and dill together in a container. Season with a little salt and pinch of sugar to taste.
4. Allow mixture to sit in the refrigerator for about two hours to reach its full potential flavor before serving.

Makes a little over one pint.

INGREDIENT OF THE MONTH

Capers…what are they? As Greece is the topic of the month, I thought I would introduce you to capers, one of the ingredients used in Greek cooking and also in Italian and French cooking. You most probably have come across eating capers without even knowing it as it is also found in tartar sauce. To further explain what capers are, I took this excerpt from the Epicurious Food Dictionary: “Capers are the flower bud of a bush native to the Mediterranean and parts of Asia. The small buds are picked, sun-dried and then pickled in a vinegar brine. Capers range in size from the petite nonpareil variety from southern France (considered the finest), to those from Italy, which can be as large as the tip of your little finger. There are also the Spanish-imported stemmed caperberries that are about the size of a cocktail olive. Capers are generally packed in brine but can also be found salted and sold in bulk. Capers should be rinsed before using to remove excess salt. The pungent flavor of capers lends piquancy to many sauces and condiments; they're also used as a garnish for meat and vegetable dishes”. For a picture or further definition on capers, check the Wikipedia website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caper.

TIME SAVING TIPS

As a personal chef, I try to find as many short cuts as possible to save me time, especially where prep work is concerned. As I always use salt and pepper in all foods, I usually mix these two together with some sugar (to balance out the flavor of salt and pepper) in a little container that I take along with me to my client’s house instead of meddling with the salt and pepper shaker. You can always make this combination along with other seasonings that you normally use together and store it in a tight lid container to be used each time you cook.

One thing that I always tell my cooking students, when they are trying to cook several dishes at one time, is to first read all the recipes to see what ingredients are needed and which recipe will require more time, whether in prep work or time in the oven. Once you learn to put your dishes in order, it will come to you automatically each time you cook. If a few dishes require garlic to be minced, I minced all the garlic at one time instead of doing it per dish; same with onions and other vegetables. Get all the cutting out of the way if possible. I usually organize my ingredients for each recipe in one big plate or little bowls for seasonings and put them according to each recipe. That way, when it is time to cook, I know which ingredient belong to which dish and I just have to grab and cook without having to hunt them down or try to figure which one goes where. Make sure you prepare the dish that takes the longest first; for example if it needs to go in the oven for an hour and the rest of the other dishes only takes 20 minutes or less to prepare, put that dish in the oven ahead of all the other dishes so that it will come out close to or at the same time the rest of the other dishes get complete.

KITCHEN TECHNIQUE

Searing. It is always thought that when one sears a piece of meat it caramelizes the surface to form a crust that seals in juices. However, this is not really true, according to food-science writer, Harold McGee, who states that the browning of meat isn’t caramelization (which occurs only when sugar is present); it’s something called the Maillard reaction, related to the combination of carbohydrate molecule and amino acids. Searing may not technically seal in juiciness, the contrast between the crust and the tender interior is wraithlike. Well it may technically not seal in juices, but my mouth tells me otherwise.

Here’s how to sear meat:

1. First, use a heavy-bottom pan such as a cast iron, which will evenly distribute heat and won’t cool down when meat is added.
2. Next warm pan over high heat and add just enough oil to coat the bottom. Use either grape-seed oil or canola (cheaper) for its high smoking point.  Heat until the oil begins to roll (making ripples when the pan is slightly shaken).
3. Make sure meat is dry and season well with salt and pepper just before searing. If salt is used earlier, it will draw out moisture and the resulting steam can inhibit browning.
4. Place steaks in the pan but do not crowd them. Make sure there is at least an inch between the meats to allow moisture to evaporate immediately.
5. Reduce heat to medium when you see that the edges of the meat touching the pan have browned (about 3 minutes). The sear is there and now we can go for the crustiness. Add extra oil if the pan is dry. Flip the steaks after 3 more minutes and sear the other side for about 3 minutes again. For more well done, transfer pan to a 350-degree oven to finish, about another 4-5 minutes. The timing on the steaks also depends on the thickness of the meat. For thicker cuts, sear a minute longer on all sides. Remove steaks from the oven and let rest for a good 5 minutes before serving. Do not cut the meat right out of the oven! This will cause the juice to drain out and you will have a dried steak. Resting the meat allows the juices to redistribute themselves back into the meat before slicing.

FOOD FESTIVALS

For those of you who are die-hard foodies, you may want to check this website out for food festivals around the state and world and maybe take a trip out to participate in one of them.  They are listed by month, state and world. http://www.foodreference.com/html/upcomingfoodevents.html.

Talking about Greece, Fayetteville Museum of Art is actually having an event on Greece. Check this website out for further information http://www.fayettevillenc2.net/pub_festcalendar1.php

Well I hope this issue inspired you to give Greek food a try. Not only is it delicious, it is very healthy with the use of fresh vegetables, fish, and olive oil. Try your hand at preparing meze (small plate) dishes and invite some friends over and have a good time with a good bottle of wine, great food and company. Ahh to the good life….

Until the next issue, eat well, stay healthy, and enjoy life to the fullest.

We should look for someone to eat and drink with before looking for something to eat and drink... ~Epicurus