SEPHARDIC LEEK FRITTERS WITH MEAT (KUFTE de PRASSA KEFTES de PRASSA)

Keftes in Greek means meat patty, and prasso-keftes is a meat patty into which leeks have been incorporated. The recipe I am using here makes a crunchy and juicy leek fritter, let me tell you! DELECTABLE!!! It's found in the book Sephardic Flavors - Jewish Cooking of the Mediterranean.

The book is an exploration of Jewish culinary history in the Mediterranean region. Joyce Goldstein, the author, discusses how Sephardic Jews, who left Spain in the fifteenth century CE, adapted to the cuisines of their new homelands. the book includes Jewish recipes from Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Italy, and Greece. Myself being Greek, I focused mostly on the Greek recipes, and particularly on the one for leek fritters. These delectable meatballs are a favourite of the Sephardim, who make them in both vegetarian and meat versions.

The Jews of Greece are Sephardim, descendants of those who in 1942 were forced out of Spain as a result of the Spanish Inquisition. The word “Sephardim” is derived from "Sepharad," the Hebrew word for Spain. After 1492, a large number of Sephardim found refuge in the Greek city of Thessaloniki (colloquially known as Salonika), where they established a thriving community. Its immediate pre-World War II population numbered approximately 56,000, making Thessaloniki the largest Sephardic centre in the world. Unfortunately, the Thessaloniki Sephardim suffered greatly during the Holocaust. From fifty-six thousand souls, only an approximate two thousand survived Auschwitz-Birkenau to return home. How were they able to rebuild their lives after so much suffering? It was an immense and continual struggle for each of them to pick up one by one the pieces of their lives and attempt to become whole.

My family, who are Thessaloniki natives, had developed friendships in the Sephardic community. One gentleman who was a close friend gave us one of his favourite recipes, leek fritters with meat, and we made it for him often. We too also loved those leek fritters! I remember them sitting on the kitchen counter, freshly cooked and aromatic. "Don't touch," my mother would say to me.  I had to wait my turn. Adults got served first, then children. I kept counting them as they were being plated, wondering how many would be left for me. 

How to make leek fritters with meat:

Ingredients:

3 pounds leeks

3/4 pound ground beef

3 slices rustic bread, crusts removed, soaked in water, and squeezed dry. (The recipe allows substituting 2 mashed potatoes for the bread. I tried this, but to me, the fritters taste better with the bread)
2 eggs separated

3 tablespoons walnuts, ground up well in a food processor

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 clove garlic, chopped well

2 shallots, chopped well

salt and pepper to taste

all-purpose flour for dredging

vegetable oil for frying

lemon wedges

Directions:

• Clean the leeks well! Cut off the root end and most of the green part. Slice them lengthwise and then crosswise into 1/2 inch pieces. Soak them in water to remove any leftover dirt, then drain them. 
• Place them in a pot with salted water to cover, and simmer until the leeks are soft, about 25 minutes. Drain well.
• In a bowl combine the leeks, ground beef, bread, egg yolks, walnuts, parsley, garlic and shallots. Season with salt and pepper and knead until the mixture holds together well.
• Form them into balls about 2 inches in diameter, and then flatten them a bit.
• Pour canola oil to a depth of 1 inch into a medium saucepan and heat the oil.
• Meanwhile spread some flour on a plate, and in a bowl beat the egg whites until they get frothy (but not stiff).
• When the oil is hot, dip the meatballs in the flour and then in the egg whites. Add them to the oil in batches and fry them until golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon transfer the fritters to paper towels and allow to drain.
• Arrange on a platter and serve with lemon wedges.
• Leftover fritters can be reheated in tomato sauce. Also, the bread crumbs and flour listed in the recipe can be substituted with matzoh meal.

GREEK STYLE GREEN BEANS BRAISED IN TOMATO SAUCE. FASOLAKIA YIAHNI, A TADITIONAL RECIPE AND IT'S VEGAN, TOO!!!

It's around 11:30 pm, on Thanksgiving Eve and I am taking some time off from cooking. Just enough time to begin writing down my recipe for fasolakia. You see, I decided that there should be very little cooking left to do tomorrow, Thanksgiving day. This way I can mingle with family, and as most of the cooking will have already been done, Thanksgiving Day will unfold smoother and less hurried for us all. I'm going for simple and delicious this year. Uncomplicated recipes, easy to make, tasty to eat. Okay, now I have to trot into the kitchen, do one final thing (finish cooking the fasolakia), and then I'll be ready for tomorrow. Be right back.

Fosolakia is a popular Greek recipe, very easy to make and most often enjoyed in summer when green beans come fresh from the farm. Our Thanksgiving dinner is comprised of all the traditional fare, but it also contains this recipe as a remembrance of our roots. I make it with flat Italian green beans, which taste great and are similar to the varieties found in Greece. This time of year I buy the frozen kind because these green beans are not available fresh in November.

The dried oregano and parsley are a must in this recipe, and a touch of thyme and rosemary are popular add-ons. While cooking, I hum the amazing Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme, by Simon and Garfunkel. The formal title of the song is Scarborough Fair. How I love Art Garfunkel's voice!!! And I love Paul Simon's counterpoint as he sings the ant-war Canticle. 

Simon & Garfunkel - Scarborough Fair/Canticle

It's good company, this song. 

 

Ingredients:

5 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup chopped onions

2 or 3 cloves of garlic, chopped

2 pounds flat Italian green beans, frozen

1 can (28-ounces/800gr) San Marzano whole tomatoes

salt to taste 

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
some sage

a sprig of rosemary
a few sprigs of thyme

1 cup vegetable broth or water (plus more as needed)

Directions:

• Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the onions and sauté until soft. Halfway through cooking the onions add the garlic and mix.
• Add all of the other ingredients and mix well. 
• The liquid should almost cover the green beans. Bring to a boil, turn the heat to low, cover and cook for about one hour, until the green beans are soft and fork-tender.
• If the liquid evaporates before cooking is finished, you will need to add just a little bit more to the pan. You can use vegetable broth or water. The end result should have the green beans look juicy but not floating in liquid. Serve them with the pan juices, and enjoy them. 
• This recipe can be used as a side dish and makes enough to feed a crowd but it can be cut in half and served as a main meal for about four people.

I didn't make it back to my computer on Thanksgiving Eve. Too tired! This entry was left to be finished and posted today, late at night, long after Thanksgiving was over. What can I say? The green beans came out really tasty. However, I can't write that all went well on Thanksgiving Day. 

My father, 87 years old and suffering from dementia, was having a difficult time of it and that sent the whole house into an uproar. So much for a smooth and unhurried Thanksgiving. It turned out to be very stressful. 

Over and over in my mind, I think of the famous words the poet Robert Burns set down in 1785. How true they still ring today, in 2010:

"The best laid schemes of mice and men

Go often askew,
And leave us nothing but grief and pain,
For promised joy!
Still you are blest, compared with me!

The present only touches you:
But oh! I backward cast my eye,
On prospects dreary!
And forward, though I cannot see,
I guess and fear!"

(excerpt from "To a Mouse," by Robert Burns, Standard English Translation)

TUNA SALAD SANDWICH

The very first time I had a tuna sandwich I was hooked. It became my favourite lunch, favourite sandwich, favourite snack! I loved it! I was in my teens, and I quickly learned how to make it: Mix a can of tuna fish with mayonnaise, chopped celery, and chopped onions, throw it between two slices of white bread and you're in business. 

Being Greek, I soon started adding lemon juice, an ingredient Greeks try their best to use in each and every recipe from appetizers to desserts. I experimented with different types of bread, I added garlic powder (don't try it), I added herbs, and finally, I settled on the version posted here! For me, it's the best ever tuna salad! 

To make this or any tuna salad, I always buy tuna packed in water. I drain the water and add a bit of good olive oil to help all the salad ingredients fuse together. If you make this tuna salad, have it on a sandwich with lettuce and tomatoes, or even eat it on a bed of lettuce without the bread. However, if you do choose to turn it into a sandwich, use a hearty, solid kind of bread. And please, enjoy it. It is really good!  

Ingredients:

2 cans (7 ounces each), of tuna fish, packed in water

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 shallot, chopped finely
3 celery stalks, chopped finely
1 tablespoon of capers, rinsed well and chopped
Juice of one lemon
zest of half a lemon
1 tablespoon minced fresh dill
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
lettuce and sliced tomatoes, optional
sliced bread, your favourite, lightly toasted

Directions:

Drain the tuna fish and mix all of the ingredients. Serve on toast, with lettuce and or tomatoes. 

If you would rather forgo some or all of the bread, you can have it as an open-faced sandwich, or in lettuce cups. 

Whole Fish Stuffed in Grape Leaves

Fish wrapped in grape leaves is a popular summer dish in Greece, where it's grilled over a fire. It tastes good. Trust me. What happens during grilling is that the grape leaves and the skin of the fish char together to form a distinctive, crunchy and delicious outer layer. In addition, the grape leaves keep the fish nice and moist.
I used trout to make this recipe just because it looked good at the fish store. It was fresh, well cleaned, and it was on sale. Many other types of fish can be used. Try it with any fish that grills nicely. Especially delicious when using this method are small fish such as red mullet or mackerel. If using small fish, it's not necessary to stuff them. If you still want to stuff the smaller fish, you can use the recipe included here, but omit the rice.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds of trout (two fish), cleaned of fish guts and bones
• about 16 preserved grape leaves (you may need more-it depends both on the size of the leaves and the size of the fish), drained and rinsed.
• 1 cup cooked rice
• Juice and zest of one lemon
• salt and pepper to taste
• olive oil
• 1 shallot chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, chopped
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 1 tablespoon dill, chopped
• some fennel fronds

Directions:

• Rinse the fish inside and out and pat dry with paper towels.
• Cook the rice according to package directions, but do not overcook.
• Saute the scallion, green onions and garlic in some olive oil and add to the rice. Add the lemon zest and parsley, season with salt and pepper and mix well.
• Sprinkle some olive oil and lemon juice in the cavity of the fish. Season with salt and pepper.
• Spoon the rice mixture into the cavity of each fish. You'll probably have some rice left over, and that's always good because you can snack on that later.
• Fold the fish closed and sprinkle it again with olive oil and lemon.
• Use about 8 grape leaves per fish. Make sure they are nice and dry from being rinsed, then lay them on your work surface, slightly overlapping. Set one of the trout on top and wrap the leaves up and over the fish. Lay another leaf or two on top of the trout to fully encase it. 
• Tie a few pieces of kitchen string around the fish to secure it. Repeat with the other fish.
• Brush the grill with oil and cook the fish until its flesh appears opaque (make a small slit through the leaves to check), about 6 minutes on each side.
• I chose to serve the trout on a bed of fennel fronds; it looked good plus it gave off a nice anise aroma!

Grape Leaves Stuffed with Rice

Grape leaves cooked with some type of stuffing have been around since antiquity. I guess you could say they were the first sandwich that was invented. I have been eating them and loving them since I was a child, and the recipe here is my maternal grandmother's.

In Greek homes, grape leaves with rice are served cold, usually as a first course or as part of an appetizer menu.

It's always nice to have fresh grape leaves on hand, but they are a luxury item here in the USA because they are not readily available. The solution is to get grape leaves in a jar. These are preserved in a brine solution and need to be thoroughly rinsed in order to remove excess salt. Rinse them several times. When I buy preserved grape leaves I always have my fingers crossed. Sometimes they'll be too tough with lots of veins, sometimes too small, sometimes torn. Of course, sometimes I am lucky and they are just right. 

Ideally, grape leaves should melt in one's mouth as they are being eaten. If they don't, that means they were too tough prior to cooking. One solution for softening them is to cook them in boiling water for about  30 to 40 minutes before stuffing them. If you like making stuffed grape leaves and don't have the fresh ones at hand, experiment with different store bought brands until you find the one that works for you. Even so, boiling the brined variety prior to cooking is recommended. Happy cooking!

Ingredients:

1 jar preserved grape leaves, drained

1 cup olive oil

2 large onions, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 bunch green onions, chopped
Pepper to taste, and a little salt to taste
2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup long grain rice
Juice of 2 lemons
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons dill, chopped

1 teaspoon mint, chopped
2-3 tablespoons currants
1 cup pine nuts

1 cup of water

Directions:

• Carefully separate the grape leaves. To remove excess salt, place them in a large bowl and pour boiling water over them to cover. Let the leaves soak for about two hours and change the water a few times. Drain and rinse one last time. To soften them, boil them in water for about 30 to 40 minutes. Cut off the stems and allow the leaves to dry.  
• In a large saucepan, heat 1/2 cup of the olive oil, add the onions, garlic and pepper, and cook over medium heat for about ten minutes or until the onions are translucent. 
• Stir in the rice and saute for about two minutes. Keep mixing so that the rice doesn't burn. Add the green onions and one cup of the vegetable broth  
• Cover, reduce the heat to low and cook the rice until the broth is absorbed, about 10 minutes or so. The rice will not cook all the way but will finish cooking inside the grape leaves. By following this method the end product will not have a mushy filling. Additionally, as the rice finishes cooking inside the grape leaf it expands, thus creating a firmer and well filled little bundle. 
• Transfer the rice to a large bowl and mix in the juice of one lemon, parsley, dill, mint, currants, pine nuts, and salt and pepper to taste. Don't use too much salt because the grape leaves are already salty.
• Place one leaf on a flat surface, vein side up, shiny side down. Place a rounded teaspoon of filling in the centre of the leaf, near the stem edge. Fold the stem end over the filling, then fold both sides toward the middle, and then roll the leaf with the stuffing to form a nice bundle. You should now have a stuffed grape leaf. Repeat with the remaining leaves and filling.
• Line the bottom of a heavy saucepan with leftover or torn grape leaves. You can also add any stems that are left over from the herbs used in the recipe. Arrange the bundles seam side down, packing them close together. Layer more bundles on top, keeping the same layering pattern so that the cooking liquid is able to surround them all. 
• Combine the remaining 1/2 cup olive oil, the rest of the broth and the lemon juice. Pour over the stuffed grape leaves. The liquid should just about cover them. Have a cup of water handy to use if more liquid is needed before the cooking time is up. You don't want your bundles to dry up, but you also don't want them swimming in liquid.
• To keep the bundles from floating around in the liquid add a piece of parchment paper on top and weigh them down with a heatproof plate. 
• Cover the pan and simmer over "low and slow" heat for about one hour, or until the leaves are tender and most of the liquid is absorbed.
• Allow the leaves to cool until they can be handled. Remove them to a container and allow them to chill. In other words, don't let them sit in liquid because the stuffing will become mushy. Some people love grape leaves cooked with extra lemon flavour. I'd advise that you use lemon juice rather than lemon wedges. Don't allow the grape leaves to sit in liquid which has lemon slices added to it because they will absorb the bitter taste which is derived from the pith of the lemon. 
• Grape leaves stuffed with rice are served cold. 

GOUGÈRES? When you need an accompaniment for Champagne, try these Gougères!!!

I told myself to have one gougère in order to celebrate. Celebrate what? Everything! Excuse me, it's time for gougère number two. Delicious! Try these with Champagne!!! 

Gougères are savoury cheese puffs made from choux dough. They are associated with the Burgundy region of France and are served cold for wine tasting or piping hot if they're to be appetizers. And by the way, yes, these little guys make tremendously wonderful appetizers!   

In making them, I used the obligatory Gruyère cheese but also added some Parmesan for extra zing. 

It's important to beat the mixture very well in order to introduce air into it. The air (which will help to make steam), is the reason the puffs will rise while baking. Therefore, without vigorous beating, the cheese puffs will remain flat.

This recipe makes about forty cheese puffs. 


Ingredients:

1/2 cup whole milk

1/2 cup water
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

5 large eggs, at room temperature

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese 

1 1/2 cups grated Gruyère cheese

1   1 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground

EGG WASH
beat together the following:
1 egg
one tablespoon milk


Gently brush on the gougères prior to baking.

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 375° F / 180° C. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In a medium saucepan, over high heat, bring the milk, water, butter, and salt and pepper to a rapid boil. 
• Add the flour all at once, adjust the heat to low and quickly start stirring energetically with a wooden spoon. The dough will come together, and a light crust will form on the bottom of the pan. With all your vim and vigour keep stirring for another 2 to 3 minutes. Your objective is to make a dry, soft dough that pulls away from the sides of the saucepan. 
• Place the dough into the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the eggs one by one and beat, beat, beat until the dough is thick and shiny. Don't be concerned if the dough falls apart - by the time most of the eggs are added, the dough will start to come together.
• Beat in the grated cheeses and black pepper but reserve some gruyere to use on the top of the puffs. Once the dough is ready, it should be used immediately.
• Use about 1 tablespoon of dough for each gougère: drop the dough from a spoon onto the lined baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches of space between each piece of dough.
• Gently and quickly brush with the egg wash. Top each puff with a pinch of grated gruyere cheese. 
• Slide the baking sheets into the oven, bake for 15 minutes, and then rotate the sheets. Continue baking until the puffs are golden and firm, another 10 to 15 minutes. Serve hot, as soon as they come out of the oven.

Storing: You can shape the gougères and freeze them for up to 2 months before you bake them. There's no need to defrost the frozen puffs, just bake them a couple of minutes longer.