'Eat Like a Greek’ Recipes

20 September 2007

Pastitio, Cracked Potatoes with Coriander and Honey Sweet Baklava for Mediterranean health

Pastitio:

A layered dish with bechamel and meat sauce covering bread crumbs or pasta dating back at least to 1200BC. It is said the night Odysseus thought up the Trojan horse he supped on pastitio. Serve with a green salad.

8 oz bucatini or ziti (Spaghetti, macaroni or tube) pasta
3 tblsp melted butter
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/3 cup milk
1 egg beaten
1lb ground beef
½ cup chopped onion
1 230gms (8oz) can tomato sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried mint
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp pepper
4 tblsp butter
4 tblsp all purpose flour
¼ tsp salt
2 cups milk
1 egg beaten
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

METHOD
To prepare pasta:
Cook pasta; drain, and return to pan.
Stir in the melted butter, 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, 1/3 cup milk, and the egg; set aside.

To prepare meat:
In a skillet or large saucepan, cook ground beef and onion until meat loses its pinkness and onion is soft; drain excess fat.
Stir in tomato sauce, 1 tsp salt, mint flakes, cinnamon, nutmeg and pepper; set aside.

To prepare cheese sauce:
In a saucepan, melt 4 tblsp butter, mix in flour and 1/4 tsp salt.
Slowly stir in 2 cups milk, stirring well after each addition so that no lumps form.
Cook and stir on medium high until cream sauce starts to thicken; stir for one minute more, then remove from heat.

Beat egg in a small bowl, then pour into cream sauce, stirring briskly.
Blend in 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese.

Layer half the pasta mixture in 28 x 18cm (11 x 7" or 2 quart) baking dish.
Spoon the meat mixture evenly on top, then the remaining pasta.
Pour cream sauce over top, to cover completely.

Bake, uncovered at 180°C (350°F) for about 40 mins, or until hot and lightly browned.

Let stand for 10 mins.
Serves 6

Roasted ‘Cracked’ Potatoes with Coriander and Red Wine

The potatoes are cracked open with a mallet to allow the flavors to penetrate.

2 tblsp coriander seeds
2 lbs. small white potatoes (about 28), rinsed, dried
½ cup olive oil
1½ cups dry red wine

METHOD
Preheat oven to 220°C (425° F). Line a shallow roasting pan with baking sheet and place in oven to warm. Place coriander in small pan over medium-high heat. Shake pan until coriander is fragrant and slightly darker, about 5 minutes. Cool. Transfer coriander to re-sealable plastic bag. Using mallet mash coarsely. Transfer coriander to large bowl.

Using mallet, pound each potato until cracked but still whole. Transfer to bowl with coriander; add oil. Sprinkle potatoes with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Transfer potatoes with oil to lined roasting pan in oven. Roast until tender when pierced with skewer, stirring occasionally, about 30 mins.

Meanwhile, boil wine in heavy medium saucepan for 5 mins. Place potatoes in large serving bowl. Add wine; toss to coat. Serve, spooning some of wine mixture along with potatoes.

Serves 6
Recipe from Bon Appétit, September 2001.

Honey Sweet Baklava

Delicate pastries soaked in flavoured honey syrups are a traditional specialty of many Middle Eastern cuisines. But Greek baklava is perhaps the best known, with good reason – layers of rich nuts and crackling-thin golden pastry make it irresistible, says Stephanie Rosenbaum in her delightful book Honey from flower to table (Chronicle Books). Frozen filo pastry can easily be found in the baked goods sections of most supermarkets – look for it next to puff and flaky pastry. Let it defrost overnight in the refrigerator, as frozen filo is brittle and more apt to crumble. While assembling you baklava, always keep a damp cloth over the bulk of the sheets to keep them from drying out.

½ cup butter, melted (don’t use substitutes)
2 cups walnuts, chopped blanched almonds, or pistachios, or a mixture of all three
½ lb filo dough sheets (buy frozen ready made)
2 tblsp sugar
2 tblsp honey
Pinch of salt

One of the following flavorings: 1 tsp of grated orange and ½ tsp of ground cardamom; 1 tsp of cinnamon and a pinch of ground cloves; 1 tsp of rosewater ; 1 tsp orange flower water

For the honey syrup:
1¼ cups honey
¾ cup water
¾ cup sugar
1 tblsp lemon juice
One of the following flavorings: 1 tblsp grated orange rind; 1 stick of cinnaom or 1 tsp of ground cinnamon; 1 tblesp rosewater.

METHOD
Preheat oven to 165°C (325°F) Lightly grease an 20 x 20 cm (8 x 8“) pan. Unfold the filo pastry and cut into 20 x 20cm squares. Cover sheets with a damp cloth. In a small bowl, mix nuts, sugar, honey, salt, and your choice of flavouring.

Spread a filo sheet over the bottom of the baking pan. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush sheet with melted butter. Repeat with 5 more sheets, lightly buttering each sheet before adding the next. Spread approximately 2/3 cup of nut mixture over sixth filo sheet. Layer 4 sheets (buttering each one) on top of the nuts. Spread another 2/3 cup of the nut mixture eon the top sheet and top with another 4 sheets (buttering between each one). Spread the last 2/3 cup of nut mixture. Top with 6 sheets buttering each one and finishing with a final layer of butter.
Using a sharp knife make four vertical cuts (about 4cm – 1½” apart) across these strips to form 18 diamond shapes (there will be a few triangular pieces left over along the edges – perfect for the cook to snack on before serving!) Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until pastry is crisp and pale golden.

While the baklava is baking, make the syrup. In a heavy bottomed pan, heat sugar, honey, lemon juice and water to boiling. Keep a close eye on it, as the syrup will froth and foam up. Add orange rind, cinnamon stick, or ground cinnamon if using. Over medium-low heat, simmer for 10 mins until syrup has thickened slightly. If using rosewater, add now. Remove from heat and pour into a pitcher. Let cool.

Pour cooled syrup over hot pastry. (Alternately let pastry cool to room temperature before cutting. Reheat syrup to almost boiling then pour hot syrup over cool pastry; (see note.) You may not need all of the syrup. Following the previously made cuts, cut pastry all the way through into diamonds and let syrup soak for at least 3 hours before serving.

(Makes 16 pieces)
Note: The trick to ensuring a crunchy sticky pastry is to pour cool syrup over hot pastry, or hot syrup over cool pastry. As long as the pastry and syrup are opposite in temperature when they come together, you won’t end up with soggy baklava.

Find out more about Stephanie Rosenbaum’s beautiful honey book.

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