Eggs, eggs, eggs

Today was the second day of Easter and my fridge was full of eggs. I had no idea what to do with them.






I'm not a fan of eggs. They're not my favorite food in the world, to say the least. Especially hard-boiled eggs.






The only way I can bring myself to eat a hard-boiled egg is if I camouflage it. Take the egg yolk out of the egg white, mix it with a number of delicious ingredients and then spoon it back in. Now, that I can handle.






I know, I'm difficult. But this is not. These deviled eggs with avocado, crème fraîche and salmon roe are simply delicious.
I was a happy little picky eater today.






So, dear reader, if you have some Easter (or other) eggs on hand, give this a try.

See you very soon!






P.S. I think I ate too many of these. I should've known better.
Be warned. They're addictive.










Deviled Eggs with Avocado, Crème Fraîche and Salmon Roe

The combination of the egg yolk, the avocado and the crème fraîche is extremely pleasing to the palate, and the gentle saltiness of the salmon roe on top works really well against the dull richness of the egg.

Needless to say, these eggs are perfect for a dinner party, served as an appetizer or amuse bouche. There, I said it.

Make these just prior to serving because once you cut the avocado, it tends to darken after a while. If you want to make these ahead, see note at the end of the recipe.

You can use herring roe in place of the salmon roe but the latter has a superior flavor.






Yield: 14 deviled eggs

Ingredients
7 medium-sized, hard-boiled eggs
1 small, ripe avocado (about 200 g), flesh scooped out and roughly chopped
3 ½ Tbsp crème fraîche
1 Tbsp lemon or lime juice, freshly squeezed
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1-1 ½ Tbsp salmon roe

Preparation
Peel the eggs and cut them in half lengthwise using a sharp knife (not serrated). Remove the egg yolks gently with the help of a teaspoon and place them into a medium-sized bowl. Add the roughly chopped avocado and mash together with a fork. Don't mash them completely but leave some bits of yolk and avocado to add texture to the dish.
Add the lemon or lime juice and a little sea salt and pepper to taste and mix well with the fork. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.


Take each egg white half and, using a teaspoon (or even a piping bag if you're comfortable using it), fill them with the egg yolk mixture. Top each egg half with the salmon roe and arrange the deviled eggs on a platter.

Serve immediately.

Note: If you want to make these ahead, prepare the egg yolk mixture without adding the avocado and place it in the fridge, covered with plastic wrap. Keep the egg white halves refrigerated and covered with plastic wrap as well. Just before serving, mash the avocado, add it to the egg yolk mixture and mix everything together with a fork.

The tsoureki

For us Greeks, Pascha (Easter) will be this Sunday. Lent is finally in its last days and come the end of the week, the whole country will be roasting lamb on a spit or in the oven and eating kokoretsi. After Easter lunch, the tsoureki will make its appearance.






I have been meaning to post about tsoureki the past couple of years but I never got around to it. Thankfully, this year I prepared it just in time and I can share it with all of you. Tsoureki is a sweet, braided, Greek Easter yeast bread that is traditionally made on Holy Thursday (along with the dyeing of the Easter eggs) and eaten on Easter Sunday. It is made with eggs and sugar and it is flavored with mastiha (a mastic-tree resin from the Greek island of Chios) and mahlepi, a highly aromatic spice made from the seeds of wild cherry trees.






Every family in Greece has their own recipe for tsoureki and of course my family has its own. Our version is called Politiko tsoureki (Politiko refers to the type of Greek cuisine I grew up with, of which you can read all about here) and it is one of two types of Greek tsoureki. The second type, called simply tsoureki, bears a strong similarity to brioche, having a very soft and stringy texture and is customarily sprinkled with blanched slivers of almond before baking.






The Politiko tsoureki is by far the best of the two in my opinion; but of course I'm biased. This is the tsoureki I grew up with; this is the tsoureki my grandmother taught me to make; this is the only tsoureki for me. No, this is not a wannabe brioche bread, it is the authentic Politiko tsoureki. There mustn't be confusion between the two.






Politiko tsoureki is a slightly dense and chewy sweet bread with a beautiful brown semi-soft crust. It's not overly sweet, it has a rich and full flavor of mahlepi and mastiha, and just before baking, it is glazed with a mixture of egg and milk and sprinkled with lots of sesame seeds. When you put it in the oven, the intense aroma of all the sweet spices permeates the house and disappears only after the last piece of tsoureki has been consumed. That characteristic smell always makes me miss my home and family.






This is for all of you out there who long for this type of tsoureki and of course for those of you who have yet to discover its wonderful flavor. Have fun making it!






Kalo Pascha (Happy Easter) to all my fellow Greeks and to everyone who will be celebrating Easter this Sunday!










Politiko Tsoureki - Greek Easter Sweet Bread

This tsoureki will last at least 3-4 days in top shape, without getting hard or stale or dry. The flavor will actually improve and it will be even more delicious as days pass.

Some useful tips about tsoureki baking:
1. Don't buy pre-ground mahlepi. The taste and smell can't be compared to that of freshly ground mahlepi which is by far superior.
2. The same goes for mastiha.
3. Use hard-wheat bread flour. This type of flour has a higher protein content 12-14% and more gluten, which helps the tsoureki rise and hold its shape and elasticity.
4. Use fresh yeast; don't be afraid of it. It will give more flavor to the tsoureki and a better rise.
5. If you have a stand mixer, don't waste your time kneading the dough by hand. The dough for the Politiko tsoureki is a stiff dough that needs a lot of muscle to handle. If you need the workout then go for it.
6. The dough should not be wet; it should not be sticking to your hands. It must be firm, pliable with a shiny and smooth texture.
7. Allow the dough to rise properly. Don't rush it. Leave it in a warm place but not in, near, in front, or on top of your oven or radiator. Wait patiently for it to rise. It may take 3 to 4 hours.
8. Make sure you leave the dough to rise in a draft-free place.
9. When you start shaping the ropes for the braided tsoureki, the dough shouldn't be sticking at all to your hands. If by any chance it does, sprinkle a little flour on your work surface and try to shape the ropes again. Sprinkle a little flour at a time, just enough to be able to shape the dough into ropes.
10. Don't braid the ropes too tightly because they need space to rise during the second proofing of the dough.




11. Braid the ropes of the tsoureki on a large piece of baking paper. It will be easier for you to transport your tsoureki to the baking sheet.
12. It's best if your baking sheet or tray doesn't have a dark color. Dark-colored trays retain more heat which may cause the bottom of your tsoureki to catch or burn.
13. If you apply two layers of glaze before baking the tsoureki, it will have a darker, richer color. If you want your tsoureki to have a lighter-colored crust, glaze it only once.
14. Once baked and cooled, keep the tsoureki covered with a clean kitchen towel. This way it will keep a nice and moist texture. Don't cover it with aluminum foil or keep it in a plastic bag.
15. Finally, I would like to point out something that I never enjoy saying but that's extremely important to keep in mind. Not all ingredients are or behave the same. We all use different brands of flour, sugar, butter, milk that do make a difference in the end product. What you need to do is follow the recipe but also trust yourself and your instincts when you're baking a tsoureki. Use your sight and touch to tell if there's something wrong with the dough. For example, if you feel that the dough is too dry, add a little more melted butter, or if the dough is sticking too much to your hands, add a little flour and knead it again. Whatever you do, don't panic and don't do anything rash. If you add extra flour to the dough, add a little at a time, knead it and judge if it needs more. Remember, you can add ingredients but you can't take them out.

- In Greek, the sponge (wet batter that has yeast added to it) is called prozymi (pronounced proh-zee-me)
-Tsoureki (singular) - Tsourekia (plural)




Makes 2 large tsourekia, about 1.2 kg each

Ingredients
1.150 g white strong bread flour
84 g fresh yeast (or 22 g dried yeast)
250 ml fresh, whole milk, lukewarm
400 g caster sugar
9 g sea salt
6 g mastic, freshly ground
8 g mahlepi, freshly ground
5 medium-sized eggs
230 g unsalted butter, melted

1 egg yolk for glazing the tsourekia
1 ½ Tbsp fresh, whole milk for glazing the tsourekia

Sesame seeds for sprinkling over the tsourekia

Special equipment: mortar and pestle or spice grinder, stand mixer (optional), baking paper, two large baking sheets or trays, soft pastry brush


Preparation
Before you start making the tsoureki, read the recipe through carefully. Then weigh your ingredients, heat the milk, melt the butter, grind the mahlepi and the mastic.
If you grind the mastic with a mortar and pestle, add a tsp of the sugar. It will be easier to grind and it won't stick to the pestle.

make the prozymi (sponge)
In a large bowl, add the fresh yeast and crumble it with your hands. Add 2 Tbsp of the sugar, 2 Tbsp of the flour and 200 ml of the lukewarm milk. Mix with your hands, dissolving the yeast in the milk.
Cover with a clean kitchen towel and leave the bowl in a warm place, away from drafts. If your kitchen is too cold, find the warmest place in your house and keep the bowl there.
Allow the dough to triple in volume. This will take about half an hour.


make the dough
In the meantime, in the bowl of your stand mixer, or in a very big bowl if you're going to knead by hand, add the flour, the sugar, the salt, the ground mahlepi and ground mastic. Stir the ingredients with a spatula to mix and make a well in the middle. Add the eggs, the rest of the lukewarm milk, half of the melted butter (it should be warm and not hot) and the proofed prozymi. Attach the dough hook to your mixer, or if you're going to knead by hand, prepare your hands for the workout.


If you're using a stand mixer, start the machine on the lowest setting (very low speed) until the ingredients mix and come together as a dough. Add the rest of the melted butter little by little and then switch to the next setting (low speed). Keep mixing at low speed for 8-9 minutes. If you're kneading by hand, you'll need to knead the dough for approximately 15 minutes. You should end up with a dough that is not sticking to your hands or the bowl, a dough that is firm yet pliable and elastic, smooth and shiny.


Cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel and leave in a warm place to proof and double in volume. This will take 3-4 hours. The tsoureki dough is very heavy, that's why it needs so many hours to proof.


Once proofed, empty the dough onto a clean working surface and knead with your hands for 1-2 minutes. Divide the dough into 2 pieces. It is preferable that you weigh the dough and divide it by weight. Take each piece of dough and divide it in 3 equal pieces.

shaping the ropes and braiding the tsoureki
Take the first set of dough and one-by-one, shape each of the 3 pieces into a 45cm-long rope, 5-6 cm in diameter (check note No9). Place the 3 ropes on the baking paper, connect the 3 ropes on one end and braid them, making sure not to braid too tight otherwise they will not have room to rise. Tuck the ends underneath. If desired, place one red-colored egg at one end of the braid.
Take the second set of dough and do as above.


Transfer the two braided tsourekia on two different baking sheets or trays and cover them with clean kitchen towels. Leave them at a warm place for 1-1 ½ hours, until the rise by 1/3 (not doubled).

In the meantime, preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

glaze the tsourekia
In a small bowl, add the egg yolk and the 1 ½ Tbsp of milk and mix well with a fork.
Once the braids have proofed, using a soft brush, apply the glaze over the braids carefully as to not deflate the dough. See note No13.
Sprinkle with lots of sesame seeds.


bake the tsourekia
Place the baking sheets on the low rack of the oven and bake the tsourekia for 25 minutes. Then transfer the sheets on the middle rack of the oven, cover the tsourekia with a piece of aluminum foil so they don't catch on top and bake for 20 minutes more. They should have a golden-brown color.
If you have a small oven, like myself, then bake the tsourekia one by one.


Remove the baking sheets from the oven and allow to cool slightly in the sheets. Then move the tsourekia on wire racks to cool completely. Move them carefully so they don't brake apart. They will be a bit soft at this point. They will firm up as they cool.
Once they cool completely, cover them with a clean, thin kitchen towel.

If you try the tsoureki hot or warm from the oven, it will taste unsweetened to you. Don't worry about that, it's natural. As it cools down and especially the second day, its true flavor will come out and it will be perfect.

You can keep it for five days to a week. On the fourth day it will begin to harden a bit and it will be great with some butter and jam (especially strawberry). Also, you can toast it or bake it with a custard and cinnamon, use it to make French toast, make a strawberry and currant tsoureki bread and butter pudding, or simply dip it into your morning coffee.

A red granita

I said this again about two weeks ago, I'm not giving up on citrus fruit yet.
When I went to my greengrocer's the other day, I found the most amazing blood oranges looking up at me from one of the stalls, begging me to take them home. It was futile trying to resist them. Of course I ended up with a bagful of them.






On my way home, I was daydreaming of juicing them into ruby-red liquid nectar but then the image switched to that of a luscious green salad dressed with scarlet-colored orange segments. What I actually ended up making, was something totally different and unexpected. A blood orange granita with juniper berries and Dutch jenever.






The recipe I followed called for gin, but living in the country that gave birth to gin or more accurately, jenever, which was later taken by the English and turned into gin, I couldn't use anything less than the original and iconic alcoholic spirit.






Jenever (pronounced jeh-nay-fer) is by far better than its English counterpart and even though I'm by no means an expert in alcoholic drinks, a single try was enough to convince me of its superiority. There are two types of jenever, oude (old) and jonge (young), yet this distinction has nothing to do with the age of the spirit but rather the process of its distillation.






Jonge jenever is the mildest-tasting of the two. It has a dry, neutral flavor, reminiscent of vodka or the Greek tsipouro, and it's clear-colored, much like gin, whereas oude jenever is caramel-colored and more aromatic. It has a robust, malty, sweet and full flavor, and taste-wise, bears a similarity to whiskey. Both these types of jenever are made with the addition of juniper berries, which give it its unique flavor, and actually jenever means juniper in Dutch.






I'm not very much accustomed to using juniper berries in my cooking as they're not common in Greek cuisine but ever since I came to Holland, I discovered their unique qualities and they swiftly became a staple in my spice rack. I have used them with venison and in marinades for pork and beef—their pungent and piney aroma and taste complement game and red meat well—, but this was the first time I was using them in a dessert, and a granita at that.






The blue-black dried berries manage to give such an earthy quality to the zingy citrus-based granita, that it is quite remarkable. The blood orange, with its bright color and even brighter flavor, the gently spiced sugar syrup and the addition of jenever, make this granita refreshing, rejuvenating, slightly boozy and not too sweet. The ideal palate cleanser after all the meat consumed at the Easter table, don't you think?










Blood Orange Granita with Juniper Berries and Dutch Jenever
Adapted from The Wall Street Journal

The original recipe calls for gin but I opted for jonge jenever. Don't use oude jenever because it has a different taste.

In Greece, you can buy dried juniper berries at spice stores. In Holland, you can find them in every super-market.

To make this suitable for kids, omit the jenever/gin from the recipe.






Yield: 6-8 servings

Ingredients
1 tsp dried juniper berries (15-17 berries)
230 ml water
115 g caster sugar
470 ml blood orange juice, freshly squeezed
45 ml Dutch jonge jenever (or gin)

Special equipment: mortar and pestle or rolling pin, sieve, shallow baking tray or dish 33 x 24 cm in size (approximately)


Preparation
Crush the juniper berries in a mortar and pestle or with a rolling pin. Place them in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan along with the water and caster sugar. Set saucepan over medium-high heat and stir the sugar until it dissolves. Bring to the boil, turn heat down to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let juniper berries steep until the syrup has cooled completely.


In the meantime, squeeze the blood oranges and pour the juice into a medium-sized bowl. Pass the cool syrup through a sieve and into the blood orange juice. Discard the juniper berries.
Add the jenever or gin and stir well with a spatula.


Pour the mixture into a large, shallow baking dish or tray, large enough that the liquid isn't more than 3-4 cm deep. I used a 33 x 24 cm tray and it worked well. If you use a smaller tray, the granita will take a very long time to freeze, which is not good.
Place the tray in the freezer for 1 hour, until the liquid turns slushy. Take it out of the freezer and scrape the granita with a fork, breaking up the ice, and put it again in the freezer. Repeat the same process every hour, until the granita is completely frozen. This will take about 4 hours, depending on how strong your freezer is.


Scrape the frozen granita with one or two forks and scoop it into bowls or glasses, chilled if you want. Serve immediately.

The granita will keep in the freezer for many days, as long as it is covered well with cling film. Naturally, the first few days, it's at its best.






Happy Easter to everyone who is celebrating today! For us Greeks, Easter Week starts tomorrow and Easter is next Sunday!

The Cheese Saganaki

When someone is kind enough (thanks mom) to send you a huge piece of Kefalotyri cheese from home, along with some orzo and Greek thyme honey and numerous other foodstuff you've been craving for months, then the decent and obvious thing to do is, well, eat them right on the day they've arrived. And yes, reader, that's exactly what I did.






When the box of goodies from Greece arrived at my doorstep last month, I couldn't wait to get upstairs and into my kitchen. I cooked up a mean giouvetsi (traditional Greek orzo dish) with chicken, which is not the typical meat you'd use for giouvetsi but I've made the conscious effort to eat red meat as infrequently as possible, and let's not forget, Greek Easter Sunday is only two weeks away when copious amounts of lamb will be consumed by yours truly, plus I'm pretending to be fasting and in my mind, chicken is Lent appropriate.






The honey has been used in various desserts and morning rituals of bread slathered with butter and said honey, and the Kefalotyri has been enjoyed grated on top of aforementioned giouvetsi, nibbled with some freshly baked sourdough bread and good white wine and of course, used in one of my favorite mezes, the saganaki.






I've talked to you about saganaki before (what it is, what the name means, etc) when I made one with soutzouki, tomato and eggs, but I've held off sharing with you my true saganaki love; the cheese saganaki. So here it is.






You take a big slab of Kefalotyri cheese, you dredge it in flour and then you drop it into the sizzling olive oil. You watch it as it turns from pale, creamy white and smooth-textured, to yellow, golden brown and crispy all around.






You carefully take it out of the saganaki pan, you squeeze some lemon juice over the top and you dig in. Salty, fried, zingy goodness straight into the mouth. Along with a glass of white wine or ouzo and some good company, it's really all you need to be happy.
Okay, maybe some extra mezes wouldn't hurt.











Greek Kefalotyri Cheese Saganaki (Fried Kefalotyri Cheese)

The cheese that's suitable for saganaki is a hard cheese because it needs to keep its shape during frying and not melt. Here, I used a Kefalotyri from Kastoria, a beautiful city in northern Greece, which is not too salty and is very firm. When the cheese is fried, its salty flavor is intensified so avoid using overly salty cheese.
A good substitute for Kefalotyri is Pecorino Romano or Pecorino Sardo.

Cheese saganaki can also be made with numerous other Greek cheeses like Graviera or Kefalograviera (similar to Gruyère), Kaseri (similar to Kashkaval or Caciocavallo), Metsovone (similar to Provolone), hard Feta, or Halloumi.

This Kefalotyri saganaki will definitely be making an appearance at my Easter Sunday table as it pairs excellently with lamb.






Yield: enough for 2 people

Ingredients
A large piece of Kefalotyri cheese (12 x 9 cm with 2.5 cm thickness), around 140 g, rind removed
2-3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
Olive oil (or sunflower oil), enough to come up 1-1 ½ cm up the sides of the pan

A lemon wedge

Special equipment: saganaki (small, round frying pan with two handles) or small frying pan


Preparation
Take the Kefalotyri cheese piece and place it under running water for a couple of seconds, enough to moisten it.
Place the flour on a plate and dredge the Kefalotyri in the flour on all sides, making sure you coat it well. Gently tap the excess flour off.


Pour the oil in your saganaki or small frying pan and heat over medium-high heat. When the oil starts to shimmer and it has gotten really hot, add the Kefalotyri.
Fry the cheese for about 2 minutes on one side, then turn it on the other side and fry it for another 2 minutes, or until it has taken on a golden-brown color.


Turn the heat off and take the cheese out of the pan using a spatula. Place the cheese saganaki on a plate covered with paper towels in order to absorb the excess oil and then onto a serving plate.

Serve with a lemon wedge. Squeeze the juice over the top and enjoy!

If you want to serve the fried cheese in the saganaki pan, then pour out the oil and serve.