Pastéli (Greek Sesame Snaps)

TS:
I wouldn't immediately think of these "sesame snaps" when Greek food is mentioned. In fact, I associate them with Chinese food!

Remember those items I've named "Peanutty Snacks" in Taiwan?

They were showcased in this post: Dan Shui 淡水, Taiwan (including food)

So, I was a little surprised when I saw these items while perusing Culinaria Greece.

It turns out that sesame is grown in the area around Thessaloniki. According to the book, the classic pastéli originated from that area, and is simply made by baking sesame seeds with honey.



TS:
In a surprising eatingclub twist, I actually made a smaller amount than the recipe in the book! ;)



TS:
This is really simple and easy. First, I toasted some sesame seeds on the stovetop. I then started heating equal amounts in weight of honey and sugar. When the honey-sugar mixture caramelized into a nice light golden color, I dumped the toasted seeds in there and mixed.



TS:
I then turned the mixture over onto a Silpat-lined sheet pan.

See! Such a small amount! We didn't have that many sesame seeds in the house is why.

The recipe called for using a well-oiled rolling pin to spread and smooth out the sesame-honey-caramel mixture into a sheet, but I figured that with such a small amount, I can get away with using a spatula. As you can see, my spreading left something to be desired.

The recipe also called for cutting the "snaps" at this stage, but I decided to do it after the snaps had hardened.


rustic-looking pastéli

TS:
Apparently, one can't really cut the snaps well after hardening. So, I simply broke them into pieces. I call it the rustic look. ;)

Perhaps the incredibly small amount of these pastéli had something to do with it, but they were extremely popular and were gone in a jiffy!

Well, I already knew they would be popular, as my mother loves sesame snaps. In fact, since we ran out so quickly, she bought some "sesame crèpes" from the store the very next day. ("Sesame crèpes" are similar, but are slightly chewy and yielding instead of crispy).

However, she was very disappointed to find that the package she bought already had that "stale nut" aroma and flavor. So, she has put in her request for more homemade snaps.



TS:
According to Culinaria Greece, other versions of pastéli now abound, made with other nuts such as almonds, peanuts, walnuts and hazelnuts, and in various combinations of nuts and sesame seeds. I'll definitely do a mixture for my next batch!

There you go, yet another entry to this month's Regional Recipes! (More details about this blog event below.)

eatingclub vancouver Greek
"Greek" Calamari
Simple Greek Meal
Caper Salad
Greek Meatball Soup (Giouvarlakia)
Marinated Feta
Greek Shrimp with Feta
Greek Ribs with Tzatziki
Mushroom Ragu Pastitsio
Spanakorizo (Greek Spinach Rice)
Zucchini Ribbons Salad with Anchovy Dressing
Souvlaki (Pork and Chicken)
Tomato Bread Salad, Greek-style
Grilled Fish Fillet on Oregano
Pastéli (Greek Sesame Snaps)

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Recipe
Pastéli (Greek Sesame Snaps)
from Culinaria Greece: Greek Specialties

4 cups/500g sesame seeds
8 level tablespoons/250g honey
1 generous cup/250g sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spread the sesame seeds out on a baking sheet and roast in the oven until golden brown.

Heat the honey and sugar in a saucepan over a medium heat until the mixture caramelizes. Using a sugar thermometer, make sure the temperature of the mixture does not exceed 470 F (250 C). Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the toasted sesame seeds.

Grease a marble slab (or any other cool, smooth surface) with sunflower oil and tip the mixture onto it. Roll out thinly using a greased rolling pin. Cut small bars from the mixture and place on a wire tray to cool.

Wrap the bars individually in plastic wrap. They will keep for a long time in a tightly closed container.

eatingclub vancouver Regional Recipes posts
Greek Meatball Soup (Giouvarlakia)
Simmered Saba Mackerel with Daikon Radish (Saba Oroshi-ni)
Thai Fried Chicken
Roast Pork Belly with Puy Lentils
Beef "Ribbon" Kebab (Pasanda Kabab) with Cilantro Chutney
Canadian Onion Soup with Oka Cheese
Muffuletta
Börek with Beef Filling
Korean Pork Bulgogi (with Muu Namul, Kong Namul)
Lobster Congee from a Lobster Feast
Pork Jowl (Pork Cheeks) with Brown Sugar Rub
Beef Salpicao
Cuban Arroz con Salchichas (Yellow Rice with Vienna Sausages)
Cuban Pastelitos de Guayaba y Queso (Guava and Cheese Pastries)
Vietnamese Spring Roll (Cha Gio)
Grilled Fish Fillet on Oregano
Pastéli (Greek Sesame Snaps)

We're submitting this to Regional Recipes, a blogging event created by Darlene of Blazing Hot Wok that celebrates food from all over the world.

The torch has since been passed to Joanne of Eats Well with Others.

The region for this edition is Greece.

The round-up will be hosted at Regional Recipes and will be posted after July 1. Regional Recipes information

Grilled Fish Fillet on Oregano

JS:
With our recent culinary explorations into regional Chinese cuisine, it seems that other cuisines have fallen by the wayside.

It has been quite some time since we've cooked Greek, for instance, and for shame, for shame, too, because we really love the flavours of Greece.

For our entry into the Greek edition of Regional Recipes, we wanted to keep it quick and easy -- and very simple too. We wanted to have something that's quintessentially Greek.



TS:
In our pathetic garden, our oregano and marjoram plants are lush!



TS:
And remember our sage plant? Well, it has started flowering!

So, since we had so much oregano in the garden, we decided to grill some fish on a bed of oregano.



TS:
We used a grill pan because we were short on time, so waiting for the grill to heat up was not going to work. And, sorry again for using fish fillets! Of course, whole fish is the way to go, but we already had these fish fillets in the fridge and had to use them.

I simply placed several "sprigs" of oregano on the grill plan. When they were smoking, a placed my fish fillets on top.



TS:
I seasoned the fish with salt and the faintest touch of cayenne, as well as some roughly ground toasted fennel seeds.



TS:
As a final touch, I drizzled some extra virgin olive oil on top before serving.



TS:
I decided to use more fresh oregano, as well as sage because the purple flowers were so pretty, as decoration. =)


eatingclub vancouver Greek
"Greek" Calamari
Simple Greek Meal
Caper Salad
Greek Meatball Soup (Giouvarlakia)
Marinated Feta
Greek Shrimp with Feta
Greek Ribs with Tzatziki
Mushroom Ragu Pastitsio
Spanakorizo (Greek Spinach Rice)
Zucchini Ribbons Salad with Anchovy Dressing
Souvlaki (Pork and Chicken)
Tomato Bread Salad, Greek-style
Grilled Fish Fillet on Oregano
Pastéli (Greek Sesame Snaps)

Enjoyed this post? Why not subscribe to our blog? Subscribe via reader or subscribe via email. Thank you!

eatingclub vancouver Regional Recipes posts
Greek Meatball Soup (Giouvarlakia)
Simmered Saba Mackerel with Daikon Radish (Saba Oroshi-ni)
Thai Fried Chicken
Roast Pork Belly with Puy Lentils
Beef "Ribbon" Kebab (Pasanda Kabab) with Cilantro Chutney
Canadian Onion Soup with Oka Cheese
Muffuletta
Börek with Beef Filling
Korean Pork Bulgogi (with Muu Namul, Kong Namul)
Lobster Congee from a Lobster Feast
Pork Jowl (Pork Cheeks) with Brown Sugar Rub
Beef Salpicao
Cuban Arroz con Salchichas (Yellow Rice with Vienna Sausages)
Cuban Pastelitos de Guayaba y Queso (Guava and Cheese Pastries)
Vietnamese Spring Roll (Cha Gio)
Grilled Fish Fillet on Oregano
Pastéli (Greek Sesame Snaps)

We're submitting this to Regional Recipes, a blogging event created by Darlene of Blazing Hot Wok that celebrates food from all over the world.

The torch has since been passed to Joanne of Eats Well with Others.

The region for this edition is Greece.

The round-up will be hosted at Regional Recipes and will be posted after July 1. Regional Recipes information

Tomato Bread Salad, Greek-style

We are holding a LE CREUSET GIVEAWAY! Have you entered it yet? If not, enter to win now. Click here: http://www.eatingclubvancouver.com/2010/03/le-creuset-giveaway.html

[ts]
As part our of "healthier lifestyle" -- not that our lifestyle was grossly unhealthy before -- I made this salad to accompany our lean pork souvlaki and our lean chicken souvlaki.

Whole Wheat Herb Foccacia Croutons

odd bits and ends

[ts]
Don't ask how, but we had a ton of odd bits and ends of whole wheat herb foccacia bread (from Calabria Bakery, mentioned here and here). So, I simply toasted them until they were crisp.

Tomato Salad, Greek-style


[ts]
I made this "Greek-inspired" tomato salad by combining halved cherry tomatoes, red onion, orange and green bell peppers, and kalamata olives.

The dressing is almost exactly like the marinade for our souvlaki: lemon juice, olive oil, dried oregano and salt and pepper.



[ts]
To finish the bread salad, we added the bread! The toasted whole wheat herb foccacia pieces got tossed with the tomato salad.



[ts]
This tomato bread salad was very flavorful and satisfying. The toasted foccacia pieces, great by themselves, were made even better by the tomato salad juices.


Pork and Chicken Souvkali, with Tomato Bread Salad


eatingclub vancouver Greek
"Greek" Calamari
Simple Greek Meal
Caper Salad
Greek Meatball Soup (Giouvarlakia)
Marinated Feta
Greek Shrimp with Feta
Greek Ribs with Tzatziki
Mushroom Ragu Pastitsio
Spanakorizo (Greek Spinach Rice)
Zucchini Ribbons Salad with Anchovy Dressing
Souvlaki (Pork and Chicken)
Tomato Bread Salad, Greek-style
Grilled Fish Fillet on Oregano
Pastéli (Greek Sesame Snaps)

Enjoyed this post? Why not subscribe to our blog? Subscribe via reader or subscribe via email. Thank you!

Recipe
Tomato Bread Salad, Greek-style

This is more a non-recipe than a recipe.

stale bread

tomatoes, diced
red onion, diced
bell peppers, diced
kalamata olives

lemon juice
extra virgin olive oil
dried oregano
salt
pepper

Determine the quantities of each ingredient according to your personal tastes.

Tear or cut stale bread into piece. Toast stale bread pieces until crispy (like croutons). Set aside.

Combine the rest of the ingredients together and adjust according to taste. Toss tomato salad with toasted bread. Serve.

Souvlaki (Pork and Chicken)

We are holding a LE CREUSET GIVEAWAY! Have you entered it yet? If not, enter to win now. Click here: http://www.eatingclubvancouver.com/2010/03/le-creuset-giveaway.html

[js]
For the past couple of weeks, TS and I have been trying to improve our "body composition" and "fitness level" -- whatever that means. Part of the "healthier" lifestyle has been being forced to embrace and incorporate more lean meats into our diets.

Now, know that when someone mentions "lean protein" and "healthy diet," I just want to thrash my head and gnash my teeth in defiance.

Just reading about fitness and nutrition plans makes me want to go out and buy pork belly to roast and eat by the poundful.

Or stuff my face with Doritos.

Le sigh.

In any case, since we're just a couple of weeks into the program, I gritted my teeth and resigned myself. I brought home some pork tenderloin and chicken breasts as our lean protein requirement. These are cuts that I usually do not cook.

When I got home, I had to think up of a way of cooking it that would give it bang-up flavour without a whole boatload of fat.

Enter Greek food and enter the souvlaki.



[ts]
I suppose you could say that we are killing two birds with one stone here. The other bird?

Well, we've noticed that our recent posts seem to be very Latin- (Mexican or other), Chinese- or Filipino-intensive. We do have a run of Spanish recipes but they also share some kinship with Latin and Filipino food.

We need variety!

Finally, here is a dish that is not Spanish, Latin, Chinese or Filipino.



[js]
Meat on a stick always seem to fulfill a primal need and satiate the most carnivorous of appetites.


left: pork tenderloin cubes; right: chicken breast cubes

[js]
I cut up the pork tenderloin and chicken breasts into sizable chunks, then TS proceeded to marinate them in a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, sherry vinegar, dried oregano, a touch of dried mint, salt and pepper.


foreground: pork souvlaki; background: chicken souvlaki

[ts]
The next day, JS skewered the cubes with some pieces of red onion. A stint on the grill and they were done!



[ts]
With food like this, a "healthy lifestyle" doesn't seem so bad. ;)

eatingclub vancouver Greek
"Greek" Calamari
Simple Greek Meal
Caper Salad
Greek Meatball Soup (Giouvarlakia)
Marinated Feta
Greek Shrimp with Feta
Greek Ribs with Tzatziki
Mushroom Ragu Pastitsio
Spanakorizo (Greek Spinach Rice)
Zucchini Ribbons Salad with Anchovy Dressing
Souvlaki (Pork and Chicken)
Tomato Bread Salad, Greek-style
Grilled Fish Fillet on Oregano
Pastéli (Greek Sesame Snaps)

Enjoyed this post? Why not subscribe to our blog? Subscribe via reader or subscribe via email. Thank you!

Recipe
Souvlaki

3 to 4 lbs meat (chicken, pork, beef, lamb)

marinade
lemon juice
red wine vinegar
olive oil
dried oregano
dried mint (optional)
salt and pepper

Yes, the marinade doesn't have measurements, but this is a very, very forgiving recipe.

Cut meat into cubes. Set aside.

In a bowl, combine all the marinade ingredients, then taste. Adjust quantities of each ingredient to your liking. Once satisfied, add the meat to the marinade.

Marinate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Skewer cubes of meat. Grill until done. Serve with tzatziki if desired.


For a recipe with exact quantities, visit kalofagas.ca.
Kalofagas.ca: Souvlaki

Anthos (New York, NY)

[ts]
Chef Michael Psilakis has been called "the Thomas Keller of Greek cuisine."

Having heard only good things about his food, we decided to eat at Anthos Restaurant while in New York.

We were there for lunch and I must say, the lunch prix-fixe menu is very, very reasonable.

To start, some drinks.



[ts]
Well, iced tea and strawberry limeade, that is. ;)

Being us, besides ordering the prix-fixe menu each (1 appy, 1 main, 1 dessert for each of us), we also ordered an additional appetizer.

Starters

Arctic char tartare, yogurt, crouton, dehydrated cheese.


Here's a close-up of the above dish.


Calamari and mussel salad, fennel, Israeli couscous, olives.




Smoked octopus, marinated mushrooms. It tasted like Bavarian sausage! ;)

Mains

Striped sea bass, fava purée, Israeli couscous, peas, capers, currants.


Grilled Arctic char, couscous, hazelnuts, grapes, pickled cucumbers.



Desserts

Chocolate and Sesame: chocolate cake, tahini ice cream, butterscotch sauce.

[ts]
Since one of my go-to combinations of flavors for gelato is black sesame and chocolate, this dessert was right up my alley.


Chocolate pudding cake with kalamata olive ice cream.

[ts]
All in all, the flavors were spot-on and it was a very satisfying meal. The front-of-house staff was excellent; each person exuded a quiet confidence as they did their tasks.


Relaxing at the end of the meal with a pot of coffee.

Anthos: Recommended.


Want more Chef Michael Psilakis?
Peter Minakis of kalofagas.ca interviewed Chef Michael Psilakis and posted it on his blog in four parts.

(Click on Part 1; the post will have links to the rest of the series.)
Part 1: http://kalofagas.ca/2009/06/26/in-conversation-with-michael-psilakis-pt-1/


Anthos Restaurant
New York, NY
http://www.anthosnyc.com/
Visited in August 2009

We ate all the food below -- and more -- in 4 days! Insane. See how: NYC Eating Extravaganza (August 2009)

[eatingclub] vancouver in New York
Rice to Riches
Shake Shack
Grom Gelato
Bleecker Street Pizza
New York Burger Co.
Ess-a-Bagel
Artichoke Basille's Pizza
Katz's Deli
Lombardi's Pizza
Hummus Place
Max Brenner, Chocolate by the Bald Man
Anthos
Momofuku Ssäm Bar
Amy Ruth's
wd-50
Taïm Falafel and Smoothie Bar
A Tale of Two Dogs: Gray's Papaya & Papaya King

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