Je Mange la Ville » Greek

Greek Millet Saganaki with Grilled Ono and Ouzo

mlb — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 05:46:26 +0000

I am officially a huge fan of millet. This is the 2nd really great recipe I’ve made with this grain and it was delicious. I suppose if you don’t have millet, you could use orzo or pearl couscous, but really, get some millet!

This is made in a few different steps, the millet is cooked separately, then stirred into the tomato and pepper mixture and then the fish is cooked in a different pan and added to the top.

The original recipe used shrimp, which would be great of course, but I had some frozen Ono* that I used (defrosted). Halibut or cod would also probably be delicious! Oh and I always thought saganaki was just the flaming cheese — apparently it refers to the actual frying pan that you maybe flame the cheese or say, cook tomatoes, peppers, olives and millet. Who knew? well, I guess I do now. Okay, carry on with the recipe.

Greek Millet Saganaki with Grilled Ono and Ouzo
Adapted from a recipe in Ancient Grains for Modern Meals by Maria Speck — a cookbook that is quickly becoming one of my favorites!
3 Tbsp olive oil (divided)
1 1/4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
3/4 cup millet
1 bay leaf
Pinch of salt
1 cup finely chopped yellow onion
2 cloves garlic, peeled and slightly crushed
1-2 bell peppers (I used a half a red, yellow and an orange one — about 1.5 total), cored and diced
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, crushed in a bowl
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup green pimiento-stuffed olives, halved if large
4 oz coarsely crumbled Greek feta cheese (about 1 cup)
1/2 lb firm white fish (I used Ono but halibut, cod, etc…would work)
Salt and Pepper
1/3 cup ouzo, or other anise-flavored liqueur
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (I used cilantro)

To prepare the millet, add 1 tbsp of olive oil to a pot over medium heat. Add the millet and toast for 4-5 minutes. Add the broth, bay leaf, and salt and bring to a boil. Decrease the heat to maintain a simmer, cover, and cook until the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit, covered, for 5 to 10 minutes. Uncover, remove the bay leaf, and set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, make the saganaki. Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large Dutch oven or large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat until it shimmers. Add the onion, garlic, belle pepper, and salt; cook, stirring frequently, until the onion softens and turns light golden, about 5 minutes.

Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until it darkens, about 1 minute. Add the pepper flakes (if using), tomatoes with their juices and the black pepper; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Decrease the heat to maintain a light boil and cook, uncovered, for 3 minutes.

Stir in the millet and green olives. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust (keeping in mind that olives and feta cheese can be quite salty).

Remove the pot from the heat, sprinkle with the feta, and cover to allow the cheese to soften.

To prepare the fish, season with salt and pepper and heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a 12-inch skillet or grill pan, over high heat until it shimmers. Add the fish. Cook about 3-4 minutes per side (depending on thickness and size of fish pieces). Add the ouzo and cook until syrupy, about 30 seconds.

Using a spatula, briskly remove the fish from the pan and arrange on top of the millet. Pour any syrupy ouzo from the pan on top. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve at once.

* I’ve been getting this at Trader Joe’s recently and I’ve become quite find of it. It’s a very mild, nice white fish from Hawaii (also known as Wahoo).

A New Bread Experiment: Feta and Spinach Stuffed Buns

mlb — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 19:17:55 +0000

Ever since I first got brave enough to try making yeast bread, I’ve loved perusing the King Arthur Flour website and finding recipes I wanted to try. I won’t say too much in the intro, because the recipe is pretty long, but, mmmm, these are delicious! Go make some right now!

Feta and Spinach Stuffed Buns
Adapted from a recipe by King Arthur Flour
3 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/3 cup dried potato flakes
1/2 cup Rye Flour
1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (9 ounces) water
1 large egg
2 Tbsp olive oil
10-oz package frozen chopped spinach
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup diced onion
2-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup (4 ounces) feta cheese
1/2 cup (2 ounces) chopped pitted black olives
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded or cubed mozzarella cheese

Start the bread: Whisk together, in a large bowl or the bowl of a mixer, all of the dry dough ingredients. It’s important to whisk the potato flour or flakes so they won’t clump when the liquid is added. Add the water, egg and olive oil, then mix until a shaggy dough forms.

Let the dough rest for 30 minutes, if you have the time; this resting period allows the flour to absorb the liquid fully, making it easier to knead. Knead the dough with the dough hook for about 10 minutes; it should feel firm and smooth.

Put it into a greased bowl, turning to coat, cover the bowl, and let the dough rise until it’s almost double in bulk, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. (The amount of time this takes will depend on the temperature of your kitchen.)

While the dough is rising, make the filling: Thaw and squeeze dry the frozen spinach. Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan. Add the onion and garlic and saute for about 1 minute. Add the spinach and stir well.

Heat through, about 3 to 4 minutes. Reserve the feta cheese and olives to layer onto the dough when filling, and the mozzarella to sprinkle atop the shaped rolls. I just realized I did this wrong — I added the mozzarella in with the feta and sprinkled about a tablespoon of Parmesan on top of the rolls.

To assemble: Turn the risen dough out onto a lightly greased work surface. Fold it over once or twice to gently deflate it. Roll the dough into a rectangle of about 16 x 18 inches. First sprinkle the dough with the cheese and olives, then top with the spinach.Starting with the opposite long edge, roll the dough into a log, sealing the edge and ends. Use a bench knife or serrated knife to cut the log into 1 to 1 1/4-inch slices.

Grease or line a baking pan with parchment paper. Lay the buns on the pan, leaving about 1 inch between them.

Sprinkle them with a little Parmesan or mozzarella cheese. Cover them lightly with greased plastic wrap or a dough cover, and let them rise for 1 to 2 hours, or until they’re puffy.

Baking: Bake the buns in a preheated 350°F oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until their tops and bottoms are lightly browned.

Check the buns after 20 minutes and tent with aluminum foil if they’re browning too quickly on the edges. Yield: about 12-18 buns, depending on how thick you slice them.

Greek Macaroni and Cheese

mlb — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 18:21:13 +0000

Okay, wow, so first off, this is the first recipe that I have ever made with LESS cheese than the original recipe called for. Well played, Saveur Magazine. I have never been out-cheesed on a recipe before! You, sirs and madams, are magnificent cheese bastards.

The recipe called for 12 oz. — 4 cups grated cheese (I ended up using about 9 oz, or 3.25 cups) and I decreased the feta from 1 3/4 cup to about 1/2 cup. And it was plenty cheesy and rich, believe you me. Aside from all that, I’d like to comment that the dill here is delicious! In fact, I think this is my favorite mac and cheese recipe ever…jwa agrees and called it his favorite too.

Now typically, when I make macaroni and cheese, I use low-fat milk for the béchamel sauce. My thought is that it’s already going to be super rich from the cheese and butter, I can save some fat and calories by using 2%, if not 1% milk. Yay me. That maneuver worked well here.

On the side, we had a giant Greek salad with tomatoes, cucumber, roasted red and orange bell peppers, red onion, kalamata olives, green bell pepper and feta cheese. Dressing was olive oil, red wine vinegar, dried oregano, a clove of minced garlic and some lemon zest. There is a shot of that delicious salad below. The acid in the dressing worked really well to cut and compliment the richness of the macaroni and cheese.

This was a great dinner, lunch, and a meal’s worth of leftovers in the freezer for 2 people.

Greek Mac & Cheese
Adapted from a recipe from Saveur Magazine
3 slices crustless white bread, torn into small pieces
9 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted (this will be used in two different places, so you may want to divide into 3 tbsp and 6 tbsp)
Kosher salt
8 oz. hollow pasta, preferably elbow macaroni
1/4 cup AP flour
3 cups milk (I used 2 cups fat free + 1 cup 1%)
3 cups grated graviera or kefalotyri cheese (about 9 oz.) — I used Graviera, which I found at Barbur World Foods
1/4 cup grated Pecorino cheese
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup diced red onion (or you could use 6-8 shallots, I just had a red onion)
6 oz baby spinach, roughly chopped (or chopped finely in a food processor)
8 scallions cut into 1/4″-thick rounds
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup roughly chopped fresh dill
1/2 cup crumbled feta (about 2-3 oz.)

Put bread into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Put bread crumbs and 3 tablespoons melted butter into a small bowl and combine; set aside. Bring a 6-qt. pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until mostly cooked, about 5-6 minutes. Drain pasta, drizzle with a little olive oil and set aside.

Heat remaining butter in a saucepan over medium heat. When melted, add flour and cook, whisking constantly, for 1 minute. Still whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in milk and cook until sauce has thickened and coats the back of a spoon, 5-10 minutes. Remove pan from heat.

Stir in graviera, pecorino, cinnamon, and nutmeg and season with salt and pepper to taste; set béchamel sauce aside.

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat oil in a pot over medium heat (I reused my pasta pot here). Add red onion and cook, stirring often, until soft, 3–4 minutes.

Add spinach, garlic and scallions and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until the spinach is wilted, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in the béchamel sauce, the dill, and the pasta and transfer mixture to a baking dish.

Sprinkle evenly with bread crumbs and the feta. Bake until golden brown and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving. It will be a very long 10 minutes…

Here’s a shot of that awesome Greek Salad that we had on the side.

I’ve been on a Mediterranean/Greek/Middle Eastern food kick lately so expect more recipes in that genre coming up soon!

Two Completely Unrelated Sauce-Type Things

mlb — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 20:28:53 +0000

Here are two accompaniments that I made recently (for different meals), that I really liked but they seemed really short for single posts. So, I bundled them up in one super-unrelated post!

The enchilada sauce I made for, uh, tostadas, which you can see in the title image. Does this make it tostada sauce? Anyway, it was very good. I thought it was a little spicy/harsh after the initial 15 minutes simmering time, so I added a pinch of sugar. I think that helped round it out. I also made the sauce about 5 hours before I needed it, which I think made the sauce perfect by the time I was ready to use it. I recommend doing that, or even making it overnight. It’s really great after the flavors have a chance to meld and stuff.

#1 Easy Enchilada Sauce
Adapted from a recipe by Emeril Lagasse
3 tbsp vegetable or olive oil
1 tbsp AP flour
1/4 cup chili powder
2 cups chicken stock or broth
10 ounces tomato paste
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
Pinch of sugar

In a medium saucepan heat oil, add flour, smoothing and stirring with a wooden spoon. Cook for 1 minute.

Add chili powder and cook for 30 seconds. Add stock, tomato paste, oregano, and cumin. Stir to combine.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes. The sauce will thicken and smooth out. Adjust the seasonings, add the pinch of sugar. Use with your favorite Mexican concoction.

—

Now, this was originally meant to go on corn on the cob, which I am sure is wonderful, but I made it to go on some grilled salmon (also wonderful). I made a half recipe from what is listed below, mainly because there are just two of us and it seemed more sensible to do that. But really, you can store it in the fridge for a few days, so making the recipe as written is probably the way to go. Sensible-schmensible.

It’s really fragrant and delicious on grilled things! Or hey, probably crackers or bread too…

#2 Feta Mint Butter
Adapted from a recipe in Gourmet Magazine
4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
7 ounces feta, finely crumbled (1 1/2 cups)
2 tbsp chopped mint
1/2 tsp salt

In a food processor, combine the butter, feta, mint, and salt.

Scoop out and roll up in plastic wrap and chill. Slice to top fish, chicken, lamb or grilled veggies.

Okay, the next post will definitely be pictures from our dinner at Laurelhurst Market!

Middle Eastern Lamb Burgers

mlb — Tue, 26 May 2009 02:51:26 +0000

Memorial Day Weekend. Portland. Sunny. 70+ degrees. No rain. Really, no rain. What to do? Make lamb burgers!

Wow, these were good. Juicy and flavorful. The recipe is very easy to halve and make just two burgers (what I did). I found some kalamata ciabatta rolls at New Seasons which worked perfectly with these burgers.

Middle Eastern Lamb Burgers
Adapted from a recipe in Everyday with Rachael Ray
1 1/2 pounds ground lamb
1/4 cup chopped cilantro (you could sub flat-leaf parsley)
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp turmeric
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup low fat, plain yogurt, mixed with 1 clove crushed garlic and 1/2 a grated English cucumber
4 crusty kalamata olive rolls, split
spinach leaves
1/2 cup feta cheese
1 tomato, sliced

In a large bowl, combine the lamb, cilantro, coriander, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Form into 4 patties.

In a grill pan, set over medium-high heat, toast the rolls, set aside. In the same pan, heat 1 teaspoon olive oil and brush it onto the pan’s surface.

Add the burgers and cook, turning once, for 5 minutes each side for medium-rare.

After the first side cooks, add some feta to each burger top. Slather each roll top with the yogurt and stack some spinach leaves and tomato slices on the other side of the roll.

When the burgers are done, place each on top of the tomato slices, place the top roll in place and nom-nom-nom!

On the side we had a salad with 1 cup cooked lima beans, some halved cherry tomatoes, diced red onion, kalamata olives, fresh oregano leaves and crumbled feta. The dressing was some red wine vinegar, lemon zest, crushed garlic and olive oil. Delicious!