Let's Go Greek!

[frigilux]

I have friends who have never had Greek food, so tonight we're having pastitsio and spanakopita. I haven't cooked in the week since my unfortunate ENCOUNTER WITH THE COMMERCIAL SLICER, so I'm taking things very, very slowly and being meticulously careful.

So let's go Greek, beginning with the pastitsio.

 

[frigilux]

I've double-bagged the hand (one latex glove, one deli glove) for everyone's protection---especially mine! I was careful, but still managed to tap the side of my thumb on pans/bowls a couple of times, which almost sent me through the roof. Overall, it wasn't too bad. Just very, very slow and tedious.

 

[frigilux]

I bought Kefolatiri cheese (similar to parmesan, but made with, in this case, sheep's milk) and special, hollow, pastitsio noodles at my favorite little Greek grocery in Minneapolis. Laying the noodles out is time-consuming, but it looks great on the plate, so it's worth the effort.

 

[frigilux]

A layer of rich cream sauce is followed by a layer of meat/tomatoes.

 

[frigilux]

After another layer of carefully placed noodles, it's more cream sauce. To top it off, there's a layer of very thick cream sauce with grated Kefolatiri. It will provide a souffle-like top layer when it's baked.

 

[frigilux]

With two cream sauces, sauteed meat and pasta, there are a lot of pans to wash! The LG's SOAK cycle with STEAM option will fill the bill. The big question is this: Will everything fit in one load?

 

[frigilux]

The utensil rack has it easy with this load; not much up there.

 

[frigilux]

Upper rack.

 

[frigilux]

And finally, the lower rack. The pots/pans are heavily crusted and I didn't even scrape out the excess food before loading. The LG's filter is going to be put through a tough test. And I'm not going to choose the EXTRA RINSE option, either! We'll see how things turn out...

 

[frigilux]

SOAK cycle with STEAM option. (It automatically chooses a 160-degree final rinse and maximum spray force with that cycle.) The water is going to be extremely turbid, so it may just take the full 3+ hours, today. I'll find out.

 

[mattl]

I love Greek food too! Not any good Greek restaurants around here, but we did make our annual (35th and counting...) trek to the Detroit Auto Show and always stop in Greektown for our favorite meal. Please pardon the spelling, but we always have the combination Greek Salad, Avgolemono soup, skordalia, and one of the many main courses, usually stuffed grape leaves with lemon sauce.

I can make a good Avagolemono soup, but have yet to find a good recipe for skordalia. I only have gotten it without beets but the waiter always asks if I want it with beets.

Just had it last Sunday but now I'm ready for more!

 

[frigilux]

It's a couple of hours later and time to make the spanokopita. It makes use of phyllo dough, the paper-thin sheets of dough which make for a crackly, buttery casing for the dish. Here's the recipe:

 

[frigilux]

Here is a package of phyllo unrolled, ready to lay into the baking dish. One generally brushes each leaf with melted butter to make the 'crust' flaky and, of course, tasty!

 

[frigilux]

I've put about six sheets of the dough into my baking pan. They are overlapped, and the edges are allowed to hang over the sides of the pan, to be folded in at the end of the process.

 

[frigilux]

The bowl on the left contains the feta/Parmesan/egg mixture; the one on the right holds spinach, mushrooms, onions and garlic. They will be combined and poured into the dish.

 

[frigilux]

Here's what it looks like before the final 10 (or so) sheets of phyllo are stacked on top.

 

[frigilux]

It's ready for the oven. I usually reserve one phyllo sheet to lay over the top to make the presentation a little neater; I forgot!

The overhanging edges of the phyllo sheets have been folded over onto the top and brushed with butter.

And there's our Greek food for the dinner. What Greek delicacy did I make for dessert, you may wonder? I'll tell you: Southern-style Banana Pudding, with vanilla wafers, of course!

I know, I know...but after asking my guests to try two new, unfamiliar foods---one with spinach, no less---I decided to make something comforting and familiar for dessert.

My last tasks are to make a French-style loaf of kalamata olive bread and some homemade croutons for the green salad. Dinner at 6:00, everyone!

 

[frigilux]

Matt-- I've never had skordalia. In fact, I had to Google it to find out what it was. I haven't been to a Greek restaurant in years, and when I did go, I generally stuck to the 'staples'---Moussaka, Spanokopita, Pastitsio, various salads. I'll look in my Greek cookbook to see if there's a recipe for skordalia in it.

 

[autowasherfreak]

Looks Delicious!

I've never had Greek food before but those two dishes you made look absolutely delicious!

I have an idea, why not make a AW.org cook book?

 

[nurdlinger]

trek to the Detroit Auto Show and always stop in Greektown

When I was a pre-school child in the early 50s my dad worked delivering meat for a business on Monroe St. (what everyone calls Greektown) I would go with him once in a while and spend the day. This place had enormous walk-in refrigerators to contain the meat, and a windowed store front on Monroe. If you remember the scene from Godfather II where the landlord comes to talk to Vito after discovering who Vito was, it looked just like that except there was sawdust all over the floor. I'd ride around in the meat truck with my dad, or stay in the store. The guys who owned the shop were related to my mom, so they doted on me as well. I inherited the Polish skin coloration instead of the Greek, and I was a chubby kid, so I didn't look like everyone else, and I was always remembered. I knew all the storekeepers up and down the street, Athens Grocery, Stemma Confectionary, Laikon Restaurant, etc. I watched them making phyllo dough one day in Stemma, without knowing what they were doing. To my kid's eyes, it looked like they were piling up bedsheets on a table. Athens market had a glass-front counter with meat and cheese I guess, and in front of it on the floor small casks filled with salted fish and other stuff. Really gross looking and smelly. I will never forget the aroma there. They always gave me a handful of pistachio nuts, back in the days when the shells were dyed red. This is one of my favorite childhood memories.

 

[johnny]

oooo

Frigilux..
I think that your making beter pastitsio that me!!!
I put the spagetti mixed in the plate

If you want any information about Greek food and greek recipes just mail me

 

[mattl]

skordalia

When I was Googleing to find the spelling I came across a couple of recipes that look quite a bit like the style we like. Looks to be very simple to make, lots of garlic, potatoes and vinegar and oil. We are all garlic lovers so I may try and make some for the next get together.

 

[toggleswitch2]

Why are you walking funny?

Let's go Greek tonight!

YUMMY!

There is actually a pasta shape made for pastitsio. Makes the noodles easier to lay out.

Ever make TARAMOSALATA. (Caviar dip)?

http://www.amazon.com/Misko-2-Pastichio-Macaroni/dp/B0002AZWXS

 

[toggleswitch2]

Caviar dip recipe

http://recipes.epicurean.com/recipe/1872/taramosalata.html

 

[toggleswitch2]

I was just telling the Gadget that I am in the mood to do a Spanakopita fresh with homemade dough and fresh spinach......

I'ts a specialty of the north where my grandmother is from.

Split the dough in half.

With one half make two balls. Flatten. roll out and put together with butter in between. There you have a bottom.

With the other half make six to eight balls, flatten, buttter put together and continue to roll out until thin. There you have a top. The layers will separate and falke opne when cooked.

And with a good top and a good bottom you can make memories.

 

[toggleswitch2]

1 tablespoon = 15ml. / 1 cup = 230ml.

ORZO
(rice-shaped pasta)

Saute an onion in a 1/4 cup (or less) of olive oil
Add two tablespoons of tomato paste.
Add one or two bouillion cubes.
Saute a minute or so.
Add two cups of orzo.
stir.
add FIVE cups water.
(OPTIONAL) Add some cinnamon, for authenticity
Simmer gently over LOW heat until pasta is done (10 to 12+/- minutes).

It will continue to thicken /drink the water as it cools. NO NEED TO STRAIN. YOU MUST STIR THE DISH AND SCRAPE THE BOTTOM WITH A WOODEN SPOON OR IT WILL BURN!

For true decadence add a tablespoon of butter in the first step.

As a leftover main-course dish add diced roasted meats, serve with grated cheese.

 

[toggleswitch2]

Eugene:

For the pastitsio my white sauce is a traditional BECHAMEL sause.

It has 1 stick butter (8 Tablesppons), 8 Tablespoons of flour and a quart (4 cups)of milk. Use whole milk for best results.

I heat the milk in a separate sauce pan. Meanwhile. I melt the butter and add the flour slowly. Once that is done and cooked through, I add the milk. heating while stirring until it thickens. Add the four beaten cold eggs after the mixture cools.

To top the patitsio, I add grated cheese over breadcrumbs. It avoids look of "browned custard" on top

I have also learned that adding about a third of the white sauce to the noodles (before spreading/allocating them) helps bind them in the dish so that the pastitsio maintains its integrity on the plate.

KALI OREKSI - buon apetito!

 

[frigilux]

Thanks for the tips, Togs! I was hoping you'd meander over to this thread. You (and Johnny from Greece) are certainly AW's maven for all things Greek.

Have you ever seen Pastitsio topped with a bunch of sheets of phyllo? I used to eat at several Greek restaurants in Minneapolis/St. Paul, and one of them served pastitsio with phyllo on over the sauce. I've made it that way a number of times, but didn't have enough phyllo to do that this time.

One of the other aforementioned restaurants used the same type of noodles I do for their pastitsio, and I thought it looked cool, so I started buying them. What is the shape of the noodles you use?

What type of dough are you referencing for spanokopita? I've only seen it with phyllo, but I'd like to try it your way.

Here's the Greek cookbook I get my recipes from. I suppose I should trawl the internet for more recipes. I've had this cookbook for close to 20 years.

 

[toggleswitch2]

I have the same cookbook.

Your nooldes look like my noodles. I usually go for the ziti or the mezzani or any tubular hollow pasta. From the pic I mistakely assumed that was regular, but thick spaghetti. OOPSIE!

Eugene, I see instruction #7 talks aobut scoring the pita.
My understanding is that the pita should be scored into pieces/portions, before cooking. (Larger as a main course, smaller as an appetizer). Then poke a hole with a knife in the middle of each piece and in the crust. This allows the steam to escape.

Again forgive me if I am stating the obvious:
One of the main tricks to working with phyllo (literally: leaf or sheet-- referring to "thinness") is to have on-hand a clean damp kitchen towel [WRING it out WELL!!!] Tradition keeps it as white (free of dye)as possible. It is to be rested on the (as yet unused) pile of phyllo as one works with the pita. Aalos important is to thoroughly butter any phyllo that is to be folded over to make the crust. If not it will dry-out, crust and flake and be impossible to fold.

I have never seen garlic or mushrooms in the the filling of a pita. I have seen leeks and/or scallions in there, however.

The beauty of the pita is that it can be filled with so many thigs. (in place of the spinach and feta chese filling)

LAXANO-PITA (lahano-pita; cabbage pie). Use bagged sauerkraut. Rinse off salt. Combine with 3? to 4? eggs. I believe me aunt cooks this stove-top first. Stuff between the phyllo.

KREATO-PITA Meat pie.
Throw a meaty bolognese sauce in there.

HAM AND CHEESE pita.

Chicken pita. Make a "Chicken-salad" but use a bechamel sauce instead of mayonnaise. Throw between the phylllo.

PRASSO-PITA
Mostly leeks and maybe some scallions with some onions.

BE CREATIVE!

 

[toggleswitch2]

Home made phyllo dough.

Vinegar and lemon juice?
If they say so...........
Why, are we d**ching and bleacing our hair?

I seem to remember my yiayia (granny) using [only]two handfulls of flour. Must ask my mother. measure? HA HA HA HA!

BTW if you want your spanakopita to be less flakey, add a small amount of olive oil to the butter.

http://greekfood.about.com/od/greekbreadspitas/r/phyllo.htm