Greece!

As a Greek, leaving Greek food off my food blog is apparently just as bad as being single after 30. This is one of my favorite easy meals to make. It is one I've been able to keep it on my menu through all the financial highs and lows and it nearly always draws compliments. 

Spanikopita! I realize that this dish is usually served as an appetizer or snack, but I find it a fun and fairly well rounded meal. I've heard that some Greek recipes call for a thicker dough, so the product looks more like a calzone than my dish. I've also recently learned that it is found in others areas by similar names. My Bosnian neighbor nearly jumped for joy when I served it to her. 

Melt (don't clarify) 1/2 -- 1 cube/stick of butter. You'll use this from start to finish during construction. 

Sautée 1/2 minced or whatever yellow onion in..... Butter. Salt lightly. 

I prefer to brown my onions heavily. Transfer finished onions to a large mixing bowl and allow them to cool a bit. While the onions cool, open 1 can of spinach (you can also use frozen spinach or fresh spinach. I'm using the recipe I came up with in grad school) and allow it to drain in a colander. Add spinach to mixing bowl along with 4-7 eggs, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 tsp pepper, and approximately 1/2 lb feta cheese. Mix with your hands. 

Construction:

Liberally butter the bottom of a 9x11 pan. Place 7-10 sheets filo, then pour all the spinach mixture, top with 7-10 additional filo sheets. Butter the top of these sheets (don't be shy) and add another 3-5 sheets. You guessed it... Butter the top of that layer!

Use a sharp knife to cut it into squares or diamonds and bake for 50 minutes at 375. You can serve it hot, cold, or at room temperature. I love it got because you get the crispy texture of the butter "fried" filo on the top and bottom. 

Many recipes call for unsalted butter. I prefer to use less butter in the actual filling and treat the butter like it's a condiment. It's a pretty cool flavor feel in the mouth to have the buttery saltiness in layers. The feta available in the average American grocery store is pretty salty on it's own which can add a lot of seasoning on it's own. You don't actually have to salt anything if you follow my college recipe. 

Enjoy!

Spin on Tunisia!

Harissa is another wide spread food found primarily in Tunisia, Morocco, and Algeria, but I grew up with something similar with my Greek background. Traditionally made with hot red peppers, I've taken a spin off the recipe and come up with a fresh, herby condiment that can be used on just about anything. Our favorite way to use it is mixing it with Israeli (pearl) couscous, but our dinner guests put it on the fish and roast veggies as well. 

In a blender place:

1 bunch cilantro

1 bunch parsley

2-3 jalapeños

1/4 c lemon juice

1 tsp coriander (I used ground, but seeds would add a nice pop of flavor)

1-2 garlic cloves

1-2 tsp salt (careful! Lemons will cover part of the salt you "feel" in your mouth)

1/2-3/4 c olive oil

Blend it all to a homogenous but not smooth consistency. We store ours in the fridge but take it out to come to room temperature before use. It should really look like a chunky herb oil and you can drizzle additional olive oil into it before serving. Maybe I'll try the traditional recipe soon!

Improv night!

My boyfriend seriously dislikes eating leftovers. This is something he didn't bother telling me until after I had force-fed him leftovers for the first few months we were dating. It's a fun challenge to come up with new and inventive ways of feeding him and tonight I feel like I really slipped on over on him. I repurposed some leftover fish. Genius!!

Seems like I always have a freezer full of fish and I hate wasting it. I used a firm white fish (halibut, cod, tilapia is fine) braised in half shoyu, half water with 4 slices of ginger. The rest was just frills!

Bring your diluted shoyu to a simmer and toss in whatever sounds great. I used some leftover ginger, kabocha squash chunks, and leftover enoki mushrooms (you can also steam these so they retain their white color). Simmer 8 minutes and add the fish. Braise for 3-4 minutes and flip. You're pretty much done after that. 

I served it over rice with a sriracha cream sauce (creme fresh with sriracha to your desired temperature), rice seasoning (furikake), and a scallion and carrot garnish. 

My boyfriend walked in the kitchen and said "that's going on your blog, babe." And proceeded to eat dinner in about 2 minutes. Success!

Japanese fare

How difficult is it to choose a dish from a culture that celebrates food as much as the Japanese! There are a number of "typical" Japanese dishes but I chose Udon for my first foray into their food culture. Udon is extremely simple-not many ingredients- and the flavor of the ingredients is subtle instead of explosive, but every ingredient is identifiable and stands alone. 

Udon actually refers to the thick, milled wheat noodle typically used in a hot soup - of which there are regional variations. I used the simplest recipe I could find and was still impressed with the complex flavors it brought. 

Instructions:

Bring 5 c water to a boil and add a 3x5 piece of dashi and 1/3 c bonito flake. (I have a tough time finding bonito flake at times in my town and have heard that you can use dried shiitake mushrooms as a substitute. They have a totally different flavor but kind of a similar flavor "level" in this soup.) After about 5 minutes, strain your broth to remove the flake and dashi. Add 2-3 Tbsp dark shoyu, 1 c chunked kabocha squash, and a nice bundle of enoki mushrooms. Simmer until squash is tender- about 10 minutes. 

In the meanwhile, prepare udon noodles according to the package instructions. Usually, bring water to a boil and add noodles. Boil 10-13 minutes and then strain and rinse under cold water. 

Place noodles in a bowl and arrange the hot ingredients. Top off with hot broth and garnish with thinly sliced scallions. 

Spanish Romesco Sauce

There are so many different variations to this recipe that changes the flavor profile subtly. The staple ingredients that characterize this sauce from the Catalonia region are red peppers and nuts. I love this sauce because it can be used on nearly everything! Fabulous on chicken or turkey, amazing on fish, vegetables, and I even caught a family member eating it straight from the jar with a spoon. The most popular time to eat Romesco in Spain is during the spring when a special type of green onion comes into season. Barbecues are organized around these little onions, that look similar to a green onion or scallion, complete with roasted spring onions,Romesco  dipping sauce, and Spanish wine- of course. 

I use the following ingredients and blend them together in a food processor. I prefer to have small chunks of nuts to give the sauce more body but it can also be blended smooth. 

3-4 roasted red peppers (can be from a jar)

1-2 garlic cloves

1/2 c slivered almonds

1/4 c tomato paste/ purée

2 tbsp fresh herbs (like parsley, sage, etc)

1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1-2 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4-1/2 c olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Blend to your satisfaction and consume with everything!! I've been giving jars of this away and keep a large jar of it in my fridge.