Kalofagas - Greek Food & Beyond

Spinach-Stuffed Flounder on Braised Lentils

Peter Minakis — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 12:37:10 +0000

I’ve been very busy of late with a lot of my time in the kitchen being devoted to making phyllo pastry by hand and selling these creations to many here in Toronto. Often times I’ve found myself without an iota of an idea about what to have for dinner and that has to change. I don’t like to eat on the fly and you can be sure some thought will be taken for some quality menu planning.

This past week I took some of the chopped spinach that was left from making a Spanakopita filling and reserved it for dinner. Dinner was going to be flounder fillets stuffed and roll with spinach. Frozen spinach is a wonderful convenience product, it’s affordable, comes in small packages and easy to handle: thaw, squeeze excess water and chop (if necessary). I sweated some scallions and added some chopped fresh fennel fronds – this mild anise flavour goes well with fish.

The braised lentils were an inspiration from Chef Emily Watkins who served seared duck breast with them. I’ve done braised lentils before and mine are a little different but Watkins did give me the nudge. Fish and spinach with herbs, baked and served on a bed of braised lentils? Healthy, healthy, delicious, delicious!

Spinach-Stuffed Flounder on Braised Lentils

(serves 4)

4 flounder fillets (or other white fish)

1 lb. pkge. of frozen chopped spinach, thawed

3-4 scallions, sliced

2-3 Tbsp. of chopped fennel fronds (or tarragon)

extra-virgin olive oil

zest of 1 lemon

1 tsp. sweet paprika

fine sea salt & fresh ground pepper

Garnish

chopped fresh parsley, lemon zest and wedges of lemon

Pre-heated 400F oven

Braised Lentils

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup of dried green lentils, well rinsed

1/4 cup finely diced red onion

1/4 cup finely diced carrot

1/4 cup finely diced celery

2 bay leaves

5-6 sprigs of fresh thyme

salt and pepper to taste

approx. 2-3 cups of vegetable or chicken stock

red wine vinegar to taste

Place a medium pot on your stove-top over medium heat and add the olive oil, onions, carrots, celery, bay and thyme and sweat while occasionally stirring for about 5 minutes. Now add the lentils, some salt and pepper and stir for a couple of minutes or until the liquid has been absorbed. Now add enough stock to just cover the lentils and simmer uncovered and stir occasionally. Add more stock as needed and continue to simmer while stirring until the lentils are just soft. Remove from the heat, adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and add red wine vinegar to taste (remove thyme sprigs and bay).
Pre-heat your oven to 400F, middle rack. In a small skillet, add some olive oil and the scallions and sweat for about 3-4 minutes then take off the heat and allow to cool. Mix the scallions with your thawed chopped spinach and add the chopped fennel fronds and salt and pepper to taste.
Rinse your fillets and pat-dry. Drizzle both sides of the fillets with olive oil and sprinkle lemon zest on both sides of the fish, season with salt and pepper and sprinkle the sweet paprika. To ensure your fish fillets do not unravel when baking, you’re going to place the stuffing on top part of the fillet (the side where the skin would have been, its smooth). Place the spinach on each fillet and roll up starting from the widest end and your roll will end-up at the tail. Use a toothpick to secure each roll and place in a baking tray.
Drizzle with some olive oil and place in your pre-heated oven for 15-20 minutes. Carefully remove from the oven and place a ladle of lentils on to each plate and using a spatula, carefully lift and place a fish portion on top. Mix the lemon zest and chopped parsley and sprinkle on top of each fish, spoon some pan juices along with some drops of olive oil and a wedge of lemon. Serve with a Domaine Tselepos Mantinia, 100% Moschofilero.

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© 2012, Peter Minakis. All rights reserved. If you are not reading this post in a feed reader 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.

Greek Food Gazette 27/01/2012

Peter Minakis — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:45:26 +0000

Chinese vegetables, Vardari, Thessaloniki

If flying to/from Athens, take some time to review the two photo exhibits on display
Diane Kochilas has compiled a glossary of edible wild greens, think outside the Vlita
Acropolis Museum (Athens) hosts Manos Hatzidakis soirees in Februrary
Diane Farr-Louis shares this ground-level report: At dinner with the homeless in Athens
Diane Kochilas just returned from Yale as guest Chef, serving 5000 Greek dishes to all 12 colleges

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The Kingham Plough’s Breast of Duck With Evesham Lentils

Peter Minakis — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:05:29 +0000

Last week the mighty Stratford Chef’s School brought an entourage of teachers, directors and students to Toronto for a day of instruction in the kitchen by Chef Emily Watkins. With not even 24 hours in Canada and just coffee and innate passion for food did this young chef based in Oxfordshire (an hour outside of London) did she lead three teams of culinary students in preparing today’s lunch.

I was invited to watch, photograph, engage and ultimately try out this lunch prepared by students of Danforth Tech and some Stratford students under the guidance of Chef Emily Watkins. At 20 years of age, she left an office job in favour of moving to Italy to follow her passion and learn to cook. She worked without pay, no knowledge of Italian – armed only with a determination to learn the skills that would make her a worthy chef. After her three years in Florence she honed her craft under Heston Blumenthal at the Fat Duck and also worked as a private chef in London.

Today, Watkins is one of the UK’s fastest rising chefs and she is now free to express her own ideas as Chef at The Kingham Plough in Oxfordshire, England. This country pub serves up English country fare and as Chef Watkins relates, “the approach is simple, seasonal and earthy”. The menu changes daily and 85% of her suppliers are within a 10 mile radius of the pub.

Most of my morning was spent watching the Chef orchestrate the culinary students deliver a lunch that would begin with poached eggs, followed by a seared duck breast and finished with a warm chocolate mousse. Watching the entire meal be prepared from start to finish and then to be able to actually taste the meal for yourself was both entertaining and educational (yes I am still learning).

The first course was the crisp hen egg with spinach purée, crispy bacon, watercress. The highlight was the crispy bacon and the poached egg that was then dredged in flour, egg and Panko then fried until golden. Gonna have to make this meself!

The main course was seared duck breast. The students were instructed on how to score the the duck fat in a cross-hatch pattern then properly sear the meat for colour, crisped fat and to a medium doneness (pink). The base of the of the dish would be braised lentils that were cooked much like a risotto would: mire poix, herbs and then gradual amounts of stock were added until they were cooked. Another neat side was the caramelized endive that was both savory and sweet.

Dessert was a light, very well-whipped chocolate mousse that had a delicious topping of candied orange peel wonderful orange cookies good for a sweep in the mousse or with a coffee or tea! Until the next post, here’s the recipe for the seared duck breast and the braised lentils, enjoy!

Duck Breasts With Eversham Lentils

(serves 4)

4 duck breasts

coarse salt & fresh pepper

fried sage for garnish

Evesham Lentils

1 cup of green lentils

1/4 cup butter

2 Tbsp. olive oil

extra-virgin olive oil

4 shallots, diced (1/3 cup)

1 carrot, diced

approx. 1 litre of chicken stock

2-3 Tbsp. chopped fresh sage

Rinse the lentils well. In a pot add your butter, oil, shallots, carrots, and sweat until softened then add the sage. Now add the lentils, some salt and pepper and stir. Add the stock one ladle at a time and stir-in and continue to add stock until the lentils are just tender. Remove from the heat and reserve.
Take your duck out the fridge and pat-dry. Score the fat in a cross-hatch pattern with a sharp knife and allow your duck to come to room temperature. Season the breasts with salt and pepper and place a skillet on your stove-top over medium-high heat and place the breasts fat-side down and sear for 3urn over and sear the other side for a minute then turn over again and sear the fat side again for another minute. Repeat the process twice more then remove the breasts from the pan and allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

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Greek Food Gazette 23/01/2012

Peter Minakis — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 23:13:07 +0000

A strong return to Greek brands is seen in Greece and abroad
Greek cheeses win awards in many categories at recent international cheese competition
Molyvos in midtown Manhattan has re-opened after a renovation
Healthy and delicious Greek yogurt is being labeled the next superfood
Oikos Greek Yogurt will air TV ads for Superbowl

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Salad of Smoked Eggplant Dressing With Graviera Croutons & Roasted Peppers

Peter Minakis — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:23:41 +0000

I love eggplant and it especially excels when its given a smoky flavour. The best way to do that is by blackening or charring it – ideally over a charcoal grill but a gas grill or stove-top works pretty good too. Broiling eggplant in the oven doesn’t do the job, save your time. When charring eggplants, I always prick them with a fork or a knife because often (but not always) they burst if you do not pierce them. Tough this cooking business, huh?

Since the eggplant is charred I also blackened some red peppers because I love them with crusty bread and Feta cheese and in this instance, they are going to join the smoky eggplant doing double-duty in this hearty salad that becomes creamy with the use of eggs or mayo. Eggplant is like a sponge and in this case they are absorbing garlic, chives, extra-virgin olive oil and good red wine vinegar.

This salad is rounded-out with some ground walnuts and topped with some fried Graviera cheese, the Gruyere of Greece. A firm Kasseri, Kefalograviera or Halloumi cheese would also work in a pinch! I’m using a slender Japanese eggplant because it is sweet and rarely any bitterness. Japanese eggplants are similar to the DOP Tsakonian eggplants from Leonidio, Arcadia.

Salad of Smoked Eggplant Dressing With Graviera Croutons & Roasted Peppers

serves 4-6

1 Tsakonian or slender Japanese eggplant

1 clove of garlic, minced

approx. 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2-3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

1/4 finely chopped chives (or scallions)

1 cup of cubed Graviera cheese

water

all-purpose flour

1 cup of bitter greens (arugula), rinsed & pat-dried

1 head of Romaine lettuce, hand-torn, rinsed & pat-dried

1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

2 roasted red peppers

fine sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Pre-heat your gas or charcoal grill (or gas stove-top) and poke the eggplant a few times and char/blacken the entire surface of the eggplant. Simultaneously char/blacken the red peppers in the same fashion (you do not have to pierce the peppers). Place the peppers in a bowl and cover with plastic and place the charred eggplant on a plate to cool.
Once the eggplant has cooled, slice it open with a knife and remove the smoky meat with a spoon and roughly chop and place in a bowl. Add the minced garlic, chives, pinch of salt and the olive oil and vinegar in stages while stirring. Adjust with salt and pepper and set aside.
Remove the cooled peppers from the bowl and peel the charred skins and discard along with the stems and seeds. Slice and toss in some sea salt and olive oil and reserve.
Dip your cubes of Graviera cheese in a bowl of water then dredge in all-purpose flour and then place some oil in a pan and fry the cheese for a bout a minute a side or until golden. Fry in batches and reserve on paper-lined platter.
To assemble your salad, add about 1/4 cup of the dressing to the greens and toss until incorporated. Add more dressing to taste, some ground walnuts and toss and divide and serve or present in a large bowl or platter. Arrange the ribbons of red peppers on top along with the fried Graviera cheese and serve. Serve with a chiiled Boutari Moschofilero.

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