So Long Blogger

Kalofagas has relocated to


www.kalofagas.ca



Hello friends,

The time has come for what I thought was going to be a simple outlet for cooking my food, sharing it and having an outlet for my constant food thoughts, to move on.

This food blog "Kalofagas" has led me to meet some fantastic new people in my life, learn new things about food, cooking and the kitchen and renew my passion for good food and drink.

Blogger, you were good to me but the time has come to move on.

You may all continue to follow my food thoughts, delicious foods and photos from the kitchens I cook in, the restaurants I dine and drink in and the places I visit.

Please update your readers, bookmarks, front pages to reflect my new site address in www.kalofagas.ca and we'll continue to cook, eat, drink and be merry.


If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://kalofagas.blogspot.com OR at http://kalofagas.ca then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at truenorth67 AT gmail DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author.
© 2007-2009 Peter Minakis

Pragmatic Pastitsio and a Food Event

Late last year, my friend Tony from Olive Juice contacted me and told that he is hosting a food event called "Taste of the Mediterranean". It's a food blogging event sponsored by igourmet.com and each month, a journey and celebration of each dish takes place, focusing on a popular dish from that from each of the regions of the Mediterranean.

Tony asked me if I would be a part of the panel for judging the dishes each month and I immediately said yes. It's always been my goal to promote Greek food and this just the event to do it!

Last month it was "focus France", and February it's fabulous Greece. You can visit Tony's site here to read the itinerary of this culinary tour around the Mediterranean basin. Having said that, do you fancy a trip around the Mediterranean? This month join us in Greece where we showcase the very popular dish called Pastitsio.

Pastitsio is Greece's answer to lasagna where the traditional recipe is assembled using tubular pasta known as Makaronia #2 (bucatini), ground mince and a topping of Bechamel sauce.

There are many takes on Pastitsio around Greece, nutmeg being the prevalent spice in the Bechamel and any one or a or a combination of bay, clove, allspice and cinnamon are employed (in the mince) to kick up this favourite.

Be it Greek or non-Greek, eaten at a Greek restaurant or at your Greek friend's home, one will find a slab of Pastitsio being served by your most hospitable Greek host or hostess.

Part of being Greek is being tolerant, pragmatic, inclusive. Melina Mercouri once described Athens like a mother, ever stretching her arms to embrace yet another child.

THAT's the way of Greeks, our spirit...our love of people, family and friends and being the most gracious host(esses) to our guests.

There are many approaches you can take to Pastitsio. Tony has just offered up his take here. I too have posted a Pastitsio recipe and you have have a peek at my version here.

The Pastitsio canvass is wide open. Do you have a desire for the classic Pastitsio with ground meat, pasta and Bechamel? Perhaps you want to make a vegetarian Pastitsio? Are you in the mood for a Seafood Pastitsio? A Lenten Pastitsio or one with legumes?

There's more...ever thought of a Dessert Pastitsio? The possibilities are endless. Celebrate Greek food and try your hand at Pastitsio. Be imaginative with the ingredients, the spices, the construction. I only ask that you have fun in the kitchen, enter the event with verve and celebrate Greek food and all Mediterranean food this month and in the coming months.

Each month, a winner will be selected by way of a vote from our distinguished panel. Your dish's entry earns you a chance to win a $50 gift certificate from igourmet.com. What are you waiting for? Get in the kitchen and get cookin'!

Simply cook up your version of Pastitsio, take photos, relate the thought-process to your dish and blog it by February 28th. Link back to Tony's Taste of Mediterranean page and you can even use the logo!

P.S. I encourage my readers from Greece (and abroad) to participate as well. Feel free to offer up a dish in Greek or any other language you are most comfortable in communicating.


If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://kalofagas.blogspot.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at truenorth67 AT gmail DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author.
© 2007-2009 Peter Minakis

Kakavia (Κακαβια)

Kakavia is also known as "Psarosoupa" or a fish soup. Kakavia also gets it's name from the pot in which it's cooked in, the "kakavi". By all accounts, Kakavia is the pre-cursor to the modern-day bouillabaisse. It made its way from Greece to Marseilles (Massalia) around 600 B.C.

The Greeks cooked this in the "kakavi", the French in the "bouillet". Which pot do think came first? Good.

There are many renditions of Kakavia, this one having some tomatoes, others made in a Avgolemono Sauce and both are absolutely delicious. The two versions (any many in between) are made with a combination of fish and shellfish, filled with vegetables and herbs and it makes for an excellent pairing with some crusty bread and a dry glass of white wine.

Some of the older recipes for Kakavia even call for the use of sea water in the soup but we'll steer away from that. Kakavia is traditionally made from the day's catch to feed the crew so, don't fret if you don't have the same array of seafood I've used. The best fish and seafood is the freshest fish and seafood.

There are three components to a Kakavia, the first being the base of vegetables and herbs. The second component is the whole fish that's gives the soup mid-range seafood flavours. Without the whole fish, this would just be a vegetable soup with some shellfish thrown in the end. The third and final component is the actual fish and seafood that get added just near the end of the cooking process. The meat of the dish, if you will.

Preparation or "mise en place" is always important when cooking but I'd recommend you get organized when making Kakavia. It's not a difficult soup to make, there are just some steps one has to be organized about when tackling this dish.

Bouquet garnis are required for the whole fish that get poached in the soup and, for the bundle of herbs and spices that will add depth of falvour. Leeks are best for soups but onions work fine too. A rough dice of all the vegetables is all that is required. The goal is to have chunks that fit well on the soup spoon. A gulp of potato, a slurp of carrot and clam, a bite if shrimp and celery.

Kakavia is also a liberal recipe in that there's no set rules as to what fish and seafood one should use. My only caution to you is to avoid adding salmon here...the salmon will dominate the entire flavour of the soup.

So, pay a visit to your fishmonger, ask him (or her) to find you a good whole fish for stock, say a red snapper or 2-3 red mullets. In Greece, the Scorpion fish does the fish stock duties but I've yet to see such species on this side of the Atlantic. A medley of shellfish are the jewels of the soup. Grab some clams, mussels, the shrimp and some fillets of white fish (like bass, cod, whiting or grouper).

An important procedure with Kakavia is to wrap the whole fish well in a cheesecloth. The wholefish will be poached in the broth and the body can come apart rather easily. The cheesecloth does a very good job of preventing pin bones from remaining in your soup.

Finally, do accompany this soup with some good crusty bread. On this occasion, I toasted some homemade Artisan bread, wizzed up some roasted garlic with olive oil and scallions and smeared the spread over the crusty warm bread. The combination of dipping this old-school garlic bread into this chunky fish soup will remain a memory for awhile.

Kakavia (Κακαβια)

(serves 6)

1/2 cup olive oil

2 large leeks, rinsed well & rough dice

3 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 ribs of celery, chopped

3 large potatoes, diced

4 cloves of garlic, smashed

3 bay leaves

4-5 allspice berries

6-7 peppercorns

1 bunch of fresh thyme

pinch of saffron threads

1 heaping Tbsp. tomato paste

1/2 cup tomato puree

1 cup dry white wine

2 red mullets (or 1 whole red snapper or Scorpion fish)

1 lb. clams

1lb. mussels

1 lb. shrimp, peeled & deveined

(shells reserved)

1 lb. white fish fillets (bass, haddock, halibut, whiting),

cut into bite-sized pieces

8-9 cups of water

salt and pepper to taste

some cheesecloth

crusty garlic bread

chopped fresh parsley

wedges of lemon

1. Have your "mise en place" in order. Clean, peel & chop up your vegetables, wash, scrub, peel, clean, trim your fish and seafood and keep in the fridge until ready to cook. Have some cheesecloth handy to make a bouquet garni of your herbs and spices and to wrap your whole fish.
2. Place a large pot on your stovetop over medium-high heat and add your leeks, carrots and celery and saute. You may also add the bouquet garni of bay, thyme, allspice, peppercorns along with the saffron threads and another bouquet garni of reserved shrimp shells (lots of flavour in those). Lower to medium and cover and allow to sweat and soften for about 10 minutes.
3. Add your potatoes, tomato paste and tomato puree and stir in for a minute or two. Now add the wine and water and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce to medium and simmer for another 30 minutes. Add some salt and pepper to taste.
4. Add your whole fish (wrapped & tied in cheesecloth) and simmer for another 15 minutes. Carefully remove the fish, continue simmering the soup. Carefully remove the meat of the fish and reserve. You may discard the fish bones.
5. Clams take longer than all the remaining seafood to cook. Drop the clams into the pot and bring back to a boil. As soon as your soup is boiling, turn the heat off and add the mussels, shrimp and pieces of white fish and cooked red mullet meat. Cover and allow the residual heat of the soup to cook the seafood for about 10 minutes. Remove both bouquet garnis and discard.
   
6. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Divide the soup in large bowls and serve with some crusty garlic bread, sprinkle some chopped fresh parsley and serve with a wedge of lemon.
7. I recommend drinking a Pavlou Xinomavro-Riesling. It's a "blanc de noir", meaning it's a made primarly of crushed red grapes and the skins are removed to preserve it's "white wine" appearence. The Xinomavro-Riesling is an 80/20 mix and it has intense acidity (that's good), berry tones with a lemon finish.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://kalofagas.blogspot.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at truenorth67 AT gmail DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author.
© 2007-2009 Peter Minakis

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes Book Winners

It's Friday, I'm in a good mood and I'm awed by the overwhelming response to this book giveaway.

I'm going to give away two books, as chosen by a computerized random number generator.

The first winner is #11, comment left by Elsee;

The second winner is #109, comment left by Dimitra.

Congratulations ladies and welcome to a whole new world of baking bread. Please email me at truenorth67 @ gmail DOT COM and provide me with your full name and mailing address.

Thank you again to everyone who left a comment...I think I'll do more giveaways...this is fun!

Finally, see you all soon at my new blog's address....stay posted!

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://kalofagas.blogspot.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at truenorth67 AT gmail DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author.
© 2007-2009 Peter Minakis