Mushroom Stew, Stifatho inspired

This is not exactly a fast dish, but one well worth the effort. I found a number of Greek stifatho recipes that use meat, beef, rabbit, hare, etc, but the suggestions to use mushrooms came from a cookery book with Middle Eastern vegetarian dishes although that version was not quite as daring on the spices front, leaving them out except for salt and pepper and substituting sugar for honey. In some recipes there is also the suggestion to use orange zest (to be removed before serving). Sadly, I didn’t have any oranges, but my sense of imagined taste tells me that it would seem well worth the effort. Like all stews it tastes just as good or even better warmed up, so it is a good bet for guests as you can do it in advance.   

What you need

• 500 gr mushrooms of various kinds (I used button mushrooms and chanterelles) cut into mouth-sized pieces (smaller if mouth sizes are big…)
• 500 gr shallots or small onions peeled
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 5-8 cloves of garlic
• 5-7 cm cinnamon stick
• 6 tbsp good vinegar
• 150 ml red wine (we didn’t because of our Afghan guest and friend)
• 1-2 tsp coriander powder
• 1-2 tsp cumin powder
• 5 cloves or a 1 tsp of clove powder
• 400 g diced tomatoes, passata or tinned (not pictured)
• 1-2 good tbsp. tomato purée
• 1 medium tbsp honey
• dried oregano
• salt and pepper to taste

What you do

1. Fry the mushrooms in olive oil till they take colour, season with part of the garlic crushed, salt and pepper.
2. Add the pepper and continue to sauté until the desired level of tenderness in the pepper is reached. Put aside for adding to the stew later unless you don’t mind limp mushrooms and pepper.
3. Sauté the shallots/onions in generous olive oil until they begin to brown, then add the remaining cloves of garlic, whole or halfed.(about 10 mins).
4. Add the spices and stir until they begin to brown as well. (Sorry about the picture quality)
   At this point you can stir in the mushrooms and the pepper. (alternatively see last point)
5. Pour in the vinegar and wine, if using, otherwise add a little water and the honey.
6. Add the tomato and the tomato paste, the oregano and the honey and leave to simmer for as long "as you can" (an hour is actually a good start) The mixture should just about cover the bits already in the pan.
7. Mix in the mushrooms and peppers about 5 minutes before serving (unless you go for the option of adding them to the onions) and leave to simmer until everything is heated through.

 

I serve this with roast rosemary potatoes, potatoes cut into wedges, roasting in a baking tin with plenty of olive oil and some sprigs of rosemary, seasoned with sea salt and more crushed garlic, turned occasionally. Easy and really rather tasty.

Greek-style Cracked Baby Potatoes

I had this when I was in Greece and loved it. It is utterly delicious with small new potatoes, which have a lot of surface area for the cooking “juices”; needless to say, you can also do it with slightly bigger ones. I cannot guarantee that this is like the traditional Greek recipe but I prefer taste to authenticity.

What you need

½ - 1 kg of small new potatoes

4-5 tbsp balsamico vinegar

olive oil for frying

1-2 tbsp coriander seeds

1 tsp fenugreek or fennel seeds

1 tsp black pepper corns

sea salt to taste

fresh herbs, finely chopped (Greek basil, oregano, marjoram, flat-leaved parsley, coriander leaves, etc.)

zest of 1 lemon

2 cloves garlic, pressed

optionally: capers and/or dried olives, finely chopped

What you do

1. Crack the washed, unpealed potatoes with a kitchen hammer or under the flat blade of a large knife which you smack with your fist; the potatoes must only be cracked, not broken up!
2. Heat the oil in a heavy pan with a lid and add the potatoes in a single layer. Sauté with the lid on until they are a golden.
3. In the meantime grind the spice seeds and the salt with mortar and pestle. 
4. Add the balsamic vinegar and the spice mix and shake thoroughly. Add the capers and/or dried olives, if using.
5. Cook with the lid on for about 15 min. until they are softened but still firm.
6. Stir in the herbs, lemon zest and the garlic, warm once more briefly and serve with Tsatsiki and a Greek or other salad for a delicious, light meal. 

A Greek(ish) Quick Dinner: Spanakopita and Tsatsiki

Summer is also a great time for cucumbers in a variety of forms, and of course for fresh herbs. Here are two quick recipes that can be done in neat succession, the spanakopita, a type of Greek pasty with spinach and feta,  first, and, while the pasties are baking, you do the Tsatsiki. I am, of course, aware that this is my take on these dishes and that real Greeks will have their own recipes and possibly consider my approach barbaric. But then in the original (Greek) sense of the word, that's what I am...

Spinach Pasties (Spanakopita)

What you need

• 500 g cooked  leafy spinach (if pressed for time use the frozen stuff), well drained
• 3-5 cloves of garlic
• 2 smallish spring onions
• 1 chilli pepper
• olive oil for frying the filling
• 1 tablespoon of herbs, ideally dried rigani (Greek oregano)
• salt and pepper

• Puff pastry (filo pastry, if you can get it)
• 150-200 gr feta cheese
• a bit of egg or milk to glaze the pasties

 

 

What you do

1. Chop the string onions with at least some of the green, the onion part a bit more finely.
2. Cut the chilli into small pieces (into thin lengthwise strips, then dice those finely); discard the seeds if you want to avoid making the things too spicy.
3. Heat olive oil in the pan (about a tablespoon) and add the onions and the chilli.
4. Mash the garlic and add it, making sure none of the ingredients take colour.
5. Add the spinach and mix the ingredients, then add the rigani.
6. Season to taste with salt and pepper and simmer for a few minutes. Make sure the stuff is reasonably dry (for the next step), otherwise pour off excess liquid.
7. Roll out the puff pastry to about 2mm and cut it into 4 rectangles. (If you place them on baking paper, the next step is easier.)
8. Place the filling on one half of the rectangle, leaving about a centimetre around the edges.
   Add the feta cut into small cubes or rectangles and distribute over the filling.
9. Then fold the other half over and press the dough together with the tines of a fork.
10. Brush with a bit of egg and bake for about 20 minutes or until golden in the oven at 175-200°.

 

 

 

 

Cucumber and Yoghurt Salad (Tsatsiki)

What you need

• 1 cucumber, roughly peeled and grated
• Salt
• 300 ml Greek yoghurt drained (substitute a portion of this for crème fraîche if you can’t get the really creamy yoghurt)
• 1 sprig peppermint and flat-leaved parsley
• 1 pinch or rigani (Greek oregano)
• 1 tblsp lemon juice or apple vinegar (balsamico if you can get it)
• 2 tblsp olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, mashed (I use more as I prefer it punchier)
• sea or herb salt to drain the juice of the cucumber

 

What you do

1. Peel the cucumber (I peel it lengthwise but usually leave narrow strips of peel on for colour and a bit of substance).
2. Grate it into a sieve and salt.
3. Leave for about 5 to 10 minutes for the juice to drain.
4. In the meantime, pour the yoghurt (and the crème fraîche if you want a bit of extra creaminess) into a bowl.
5. Squeeze the juice out of the cucumber (to prevent the tsatsiki from getting too watery and the cucumber from being too salty).
6. Add the chopped herbs.
7. Add the lemon juice (traditional) or the apple vinegat (tastier in my opinion) and the olive oil. 
8. Mix well and leave to sit until the cucumber is dejuiced.