GREEK - Summer 2021 (Jul-Sept) Cuisine of the Quarter

[ernie_in_berkeley]

Hi Diana. I noticed your user name here and on other forums and I thought about those honey-soaked oil cookies, but I guess they’re spelled “finikia”. Simply Greek is still there, and Troy has a couple of restaurants, but they’re mostly the souvlaki/gyro kinds of places, with the requisite-but-not-quite-Greek falafels. The Greek product store by the cathedral in San Francisco closed years ago.

And yes, the church festivals can’t be beat. The one in Oakland, always the weekend after Mothers’ Day, has been cancelled for two years now.

[Phoenikia]

It’s a transliteration, so phoenikia and finikia are both correct spellings in English for the Eastern Aegean regional word for melomakarona.

That’s my handle, named after the cookie. I’ve been using the handle since 2006, when they were my favourite cookie.

I got into a disagreement with a Peloponesian Canadian about Finikia/Phoenikia. He claimed they were different than Melomakarona. Maybe a distinct Peloponesian Finikia exists. I’ve never seen it if it does.

They’re the same thing as Melomakarona in the Aegean islands . Same recipe, potato, potatto.

[ernie_in_berkeley]

My grandmother used to make big batches of them. I made them once, in college, and an upstate NY friend who baked a lot was horrified that they called for both butter and oil.

[Phoenikia]

There’s both butter-only versions and oil-only versions, as well.

The oil-only versions are for Lent and some fast days. The olive oil-only versions are surprisingly good.

I’ve never had a version made with oil and butter.

[WireMonkey]

@Phoenikia

a basic Greek resto on Piedmont Ave […] Simply Greek

I know next to nothing about Greek food but after a thread on another food forum I realized I missed Simply Greek’s gyros. There’s a lot of shawarma in our area but not many Greek style gyros with yogurt based dressing instead of tahini.

Weirdly, the thing I liked the most at Simply Greek was the Papa Xristos: Seasoned pork, grilled onions, American cheese, sriracha served in a warm pita with tomatoes & tzatziki.

It sounds like an abomination and I’m not even sure why I tried it the first time but it actually sold me on the benefits of American cheese in some cases (which I was staunchly against before). We tried twice to visit the Pleasanton location on recent trips to the bay area but it didn’t work out each time.

[Phoenikia]

Haven’t tried American cheese in a gyro, but open to trying it!

Shawarma has become easier to find than a good souvlaki or gyro where I live, too. I like both.

There’s also the Halifax donair, made with pressed and formed gyro meat, and a sweet white sauce that contains sugar, garlic and evaporated milk, I think.
https://www.foodnetwork.ca/shows/great-canadian-cookbook/blog/the-delicious-history-of-the-halifax-donair/

East Coast Donair | Canadian Living

[WireMonkey]

@Phoenikia

Haven’t tried American cheese in a gyro, but open to trying it!

It’s super messy but it’s delicious somehow- something about the consistency of the tzatziki as a vehicle/cooling note to the sriracha and mixing with the cheese works surprisingly well. Plus I like that it’s actually chunks of meat rather than a loaf type of meat (which I also like).

@Phoenikia

There’s also the Halifax donair, made with pressed and formed gyro meat, and a sweet white sauce that contains sugar, garlic and evaporated milk, I think.

I heard about this on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives! Sorry if that’s where your link leads, it doesn’t work for me for some reason even when I google and try to reach it myself. DDD had an interesting season or two when a bunch of the episodes took place in Canada (finally). I wanted to try the donair and cod cakes from the place they featured.

[Lambchop (DeMarko)]

Just wondering if anyone has made their own pressed gyro meat? Have seen recipes, but haven’t tried making. Preference of course would be spit roasted lamb, thinly sliced…but willing to give the other a try, especially since I happily eat it at the Greek Festival, and the few local places around here. At home, it’s been seasoned ground lamb, formed into oblong patties, grilled and on flatbread (or thick flour tortillas) with accompaniments. Works…

[Phoenikia]

The Halifax donair needs to be made with the processed gyro meat IMO.

Just tomatoes, onions, processed meat and sauce

@halifax_donair

I like both the processed meat and stacked meat gyro. In my mind , it’s like being able to enjoy a fast food burger or a fancy burger.

Some relatively authentic gyros places where I live stack their own meat, and roll some fries into the pita, which is common in Greece.

@post_covid_dreams

[WireMonkey]

I want ALL of it. Every version.

[TheCookie]

Since we’re still in the voting stage of Fall COTQ I’m cheating with more Greek and Greek-ish!

The Meze…

Brother’s Fresh Baked Pita, Creamy Feta in Oil, Marinated Roasted Peppers, Tomatoes, Bad Olives

Upped my olive game. Brother’s Kalamata Olives w/Marinated Chopped Artichokes + Herbs. So good.

Labneh & Sundried Tomato Ball, OO, Farmers Market Feta, Olive Artichoke Mix, Sundried Tomato Pesto

Brother’s Lemon Herb Pita Chips

Branzino Ladolemono - Raw White Fish marinated in Greek Olive Oil, Lemon (30 minutes), finished w/Oregano, Parsley, Flaky Salt & Cracked Black Pepper

This is a riff on Sardeles Ladolemono (sardines & lemon olive oil sauce) but fresh sardines were nowhere to be found so branzino came to the rescue.

Let’s eat dinner…

Pan-fried Barramundi - Flour, Penzy’s Greek Seasoning, S&P, Garnished w/Garlic Chips, Parsley, Oregano, Pea Greens, White Onions, Drizzled w/Lemon & Olive Oil

Black Garbanzos

Groundhog Day! Yogurt & Herb Marinated BISO Chicken Thighs… Again!

This time I remembered to use tips picked up on the chicken thigh thread: Leave the bone in, but cut the flesh around it to flatten the thigh, bake on a rack & sheet pan. Juicy, tender meat, crispy skin!

Lemon, Garlic, Oregano Stuffed Whole Roasted Branzino & Crispy Patates Lemonates (lemon potatoes)

I planned to cook it on the bbq but the temperature of our oceanfront dessert unexpectedly went up to 90… In September! The counter top convection did just fine. It was easy, crispy & juicy.

Farmers Market Tomatoes w/Greek Olive Oil, White Balsamic Vinegar, Flaky Salt & Cracked Black Pepper

I can’t do Greek COTQ without a visit to an L.A. institution, Papa Cristo’s!

Lamb & Beef Gyro Plate

Hubs loved his tender marinated gyro.

Vegetarian Moussaka

I didn’t love my big, messy, vegetarian moussaka. It was overcooked vegetables and no texture.

Papa Cristo’s Provisions!

We had a fridge full of food so I didn’t go crazy but had to get a few things.

Melomakarona - Cake-like Cookies w/Honey, Spices, Orange Peel & Walnuts

TheCookie’s Vegetarian Moussaka

After having the unsatisfactory vegetarian moussaka at PC’s I put my home chef hat on and came up with a way to add texture without the meat. I used the traditional meat moussaka recipe from My Greek Dish as a guideline. Tweaked the ingredients a bit and added a layer of minced mushrooms & chopped toasted walnuts under the béchamel. This is going in the rotation!

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I had a great time with Greek COTQ and could go on. But alas it’s time to move on. Is it Slavic, Bengali?

Happy COTQ!

[TheCookie]

@tomatotomato

I like your idea. That way a cuisine of the quarter thread can have a useful life that goes beyond a calendar quarter.

Goodie! These threads have good information and I was going to ask if peeps continue to post on them after the quarter.

[shrinkrap]

@TheCookie

Black Garbanzos

Thatsalottamezze! Looks delightful.

I’ve never heard of black garbanzo. They look a lot like pigeon peas when they’re cooked. I love pigeon peas. I’m going to look for those.

[TheCookie]

LOL just the first few are Meze. But yes, I Greeked-out this summer. So many things I still want to make.

This was the second time I got chickpeas called black garbanzos in my Rancho Gordo Bean Club box. The first ones were the Desi Chanas, nicknamed black garbanzos because they turn dark when cooked. The batch on this thread are actually black garbanzos (Ceci Neri) and pitch black when dry.

[Saregama]

@shrinkrap

black garbanzo

If there’s an Indian store nearby, you can get them dried or frozen - kala channa. (Also fresh green garbanzos in the freezer…)

[shrinkrap]

Thank you!
Aren’t one of the channas or daals also made with what I call pigeon peas and use for “peas and rice” ( no, not rice and peas)?

I’m sure I got that all wrong.

Pigeon pea

Also the Mexican markets around here sell fresh garbanzos in season.

[Phoenikia]

I found Italian black garbanzos at an Italian market last year. Distinctive. If you find them, buy some Casteluccio lentils, too.

[Phoenikia]

@Barca the Handsome Greek Chef Akis’ Russian Salad aka Rosiki Salata

Russian salad

It’s often served as more of a dip in Greece, that’s served with pita bread. It’s often listed next to the tzatziki, taramasalata and other dips in the meze section, instead of being eaten with a fork.

Typical presentation in Greece.

Ρώσικη σαλάτα

I looked at a few Greek recipes, and it seems what they have, which some other Russian salads elsewhere may not have, is capers, lemon juice and /or green beans .

[Saregama]

From your wiki link looks like pigeon peas are whole tuvar/arhar dal

(There are various types of black eyed peas too that are delicious, but that’s a sidetrack… lobhia/chowla are usually white, but there’s a red variety of those, and then different sizes of both)

[Barca (Barça Alejandra)]

Enoy however, I do not eat peas or pickles … and I would not have Russian Salad with ham in it … Have never seen this in Spain in a bar. Perhaps it exists but I have never seen or heard of it.

I prefer my parents classic Spanish recipe …

And handsome, is quite subjective and I have never heard of this Chef nor seen a photograph (this can be highly deceiving) so I have no opinion to disagree or agree and have not been to Greece since 2016 and I have never had Russian Salad in Greece –

I would prefer Taramosalata, my favourite Mezze when in Greece !!!

Best wishes and have a nice day.