Fish

I love fish. I could eat fish every day of the week and not get tired of it one bit. And cooking it is so easy, so fast, it’s a shame not too many people choose to eat fish more often.

Especially in the summer when temperatures flare up, you want to cook something requiring minimal effort. Something that can benefit just from a bit of good olive oil, lemon juice, fresh aromatics and seasoning.

That is fish for you, and if you are fortunate enough to have a good fishmonger, sometimes you don’t even need to cook it at all. Salmon/mackerel/sea bass tartare anyone?

Next to salads and the occasional barbecue, fish makes the best summertime dinner for me. I particularly enjoy baked or grilled whole bream, fried red mullet and mackerel; here in the Netherlands it’s the North Sea mackerel, when I’m in Greece it’s of course the Mediterranean mackerel (kolios / κολιός).

The fish pictured in this post were cooked by my mom when I was in Greece in May. Small Mediterranean mackerel and tuna.

Both types of fish are nutritious, healthy, chock-full of omega 3 fatty acids—the good fat—and flavorful beyond description. Not particularly subtle, their flavor is not mellow but rather pungent, oily, fresh, fatty, almost meaty. They are unique and utterly scrumptious.

I always cook mackerel simple like this, seasoned with salt and pepper, a good drizzle of olive oil, some fresh parsley and lemon, and the tuna served with ladolemono (λαδολέμονο)—the famous Greek olive oil and lemon sauce for fish—and they never, ever fail to satisfy my appetite.

Greek Baked Mackerel (Kolios) with Olive Oil, Lemon and Parsley

This is Mediterranean mackerel (kolios in Greek) but feel free to use any other kind of mackerel.
You can also grill the mackerel (on a stove-top grill or in an outdoor barbecue) and they’ll be equally flavorsome.
You can ask your fishmonger to clean and gut the fish for you.
The best accompaniments to this type of fish are a Greek horiatiki salad, lots of crusty bread and some ouzo.

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients
12 fresh whole mackerel, cleaned, gutted and rinsed
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1-2 lemons, sliced
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, coarsely chopped

Special equipment: large baking tray, baking paper


Preparation
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius / 350 Fahrenheit.

Take your rinsed mackerel and if they are big, score them with a knife in the middle on both sides (as you see in the photos) so they cook more uniformly.

Line your baking tray with baking paper and place mackerel on top in one layer. Drizzle the fish (inside and out) with the olive oil and using your hands, cover the whole fish with it.
Season the fish with salt and black pepper inside and out (don’t add too much salt) and add the lemon slices to the tray. You can place the slices between the fish, cut them in half and place them inside the fish or position them under the fish.
Add the chopped parsley and place the baking tray on the middle rack of the preheated oven.
Cook mackerel for 20-25 minutes depending on their size. Be careful not to overcook otherwise they’ll become dry.

When ready, transfer them to a serving platter and serve them immediately.

Greek Baked Whole Tuna with Ladolemono (Greek Olive Oil and Lemon Sauce)

This is a type of Mediterranean tuna fished in the Aegean Sea in Greece. If you can’t find whole tuna, use tuna steaks or swordfish to serve with your ladolemono sauce.
The best accompaniments to this type of fish again are a Greek horiatiki salad, lots of crusty bread and some ouzo.

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients
1 whole tuna about 1.5 kg, cleaned, gutted and rinsed
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 lemon, sliced

for the ladolemono sauce
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup lemon juice
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Special equipment: large baking tray, baking paper


Preparation
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius / 350 Fahrenheit.

Take your rinsed tuna and score it down the middle (as in the photos) on both sides so it cooks evenly.

Line your baking tray with baking paper and place the tuna on top. Drizzle the fish (inside and out) with the olive oil and using your hands, cover the whole fish with it.
Season with salt and black pepper inside and out (don’t add too much salt) and put the lemon slices in the cavity of its belly.
Place the baking tray on the middle rack of the preheated oven and bake tuna for about 45 minutes, depending on its size and how you prefer to eat your tuna. Midway through, turn the tuna around carefully using a large metal spatula so it cooks evenly on both sides. Be careful not to overcook it otherwise it will become tough and dry.

While the tuna is baking, prepare the ladolemono sauce. In a small bowl, add the lemon juice that you have freshly squeezed and while whisking with a small whisk, drizzle in the olive oil little-by-little. Whisk continuously until you have added all the oil and the sauce has emulsified. Add a little salt and black pepper to taste and set aside.

Note: Not all lemons have the same strong taste so check to see if your sauce needs a little more olive oil or lemon juice and adjust accordingly. The sauce mustn't be too oily or too pungent with lemon flavor.

Once ready, remove the fish from the oven and transfer to a platter to serve. Alternatively, you can first fillet it and then serve it on a platter. The tuna skin is not pleasant to eat so remember to remove it when filleting the tuna.

Serve tuna with the ladolemono sauce, drizzling it on top of each piece of fish.

Small discoveries

Rhubarb has been a recent discovery for me. It isn’t grown in Greece so I haven’t had the chance to taste it before moving to the Netherlands, in fact, I had no idea what it was when I first saw it at the local markets. I thought it was some kind of celery variety and never paid much attention to it.

After a while, I started noticing recipes involving rhubarb on different blogs and magazines and thought I should try it. It took me a while, the idea of it being too tart seemed to put me off, but eventually I did. What kind of food blogger would I be if I resisted a novel ingredient?

For those of you who are as unfamiliar to rhubarb as I was, rhubarb is a springtime-early summer vegetable that is generally treated as a fruit. Originating from China, where it is prized for its medicinal qualities for centuries, it is an edible plant. Beware of its leaves though, they are toxic and poisonous. The part of it that’s suitable for consumption is its crimson, red, pink, green or whitish depending on the variety, stalks.

There are two types of rhubarb: forced or hothouse rhubarb that is grown under pots in the dark and that arrives in the winter, and the field-grown variety which appears in early spring. Springtime rhubarb has a deeper red color and a more intense and tart flavor than forced rhubarb.

Being extremely sharp and sour, making it almost impossible to eat without sugar or other sweeteners, rhubarb has been dubbed as the “pie plant” because it is predominantly used as a filling for sweet pies. It pairs well with strawberries and ginger, and it is marvelous turned into jam, but it is also an excellent accompaniment to savory dishes, most harmoniously paired with oily fish, duck and lamb, with flavor profiles that can stand well against the tartness and subtle sweetness of the plant.

Making these small discoveries is so exciting to me. Like with the variety of wild asparagus I found in Holland, rhubarb was a pleasant surprise. I made a polenta cake with rhubarb which was very tasty, but I especially enjoyed it in this ice cream of rhubarb and ginger crumble.

The rhubarb is first roasted in the oven with sugar, releasing all of its juices, becoming meltingly soft and ready to be pureéd. Cream is added and the mixture is poured into the ice cream machine for churning. As soon as it’s ready, all creamy and fluffy, in goes the golden baked crumble that has been broken up into little pieces and then to the freezer to set for a few hours.

It is the most incredible ice cream I’ve tasted in a long time. Creamy and smooth, reminiscent of parfait, with the crumble adding texture and sweetness to counterbalance the sharp acidic flavor of the rhubarb, it was a true delight.

I had spoonful after spoonful and my palate was yearning for more. I’m sad that the rhubarb season is almost at its last days. I could have eaten this all summer long.

P.S As my official tester, S told me, “I’m not convinced by rhubarb”. What can I say? We can't agree on everything.

Rhubarb and Ginger-Crumble Ice Cream
Barely adapted from Delia’s Summer Collection

This ice cream is not too sweet so feel free to serve it with a topping like a chocolate sauce.
If you don't have an ice cream maker, don't fret. Below, I'm including instructions on how to make the ice cream without it.

Yield: about 700 g of ice cream

Ingredients

for the ice cream
450 g fresh rhubarb
230 g caster sugar
1 Tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
430 ml cream, full-fat (35%)

for the ginger crumble
75 g all-purpose flour
50 g unsalted butter
50 g soft light brown sugar
½ tsp ground ginger

Special equipment: 1 shallow large baking pan, 1 medium-sized baking pan, food processor, measuring jug (optional), ice cream machine (optional)


Preparation
Preheat your oven to 190 degrees Celsius / 375 Fahrenheit.

Trim both ends of the rhubarb and cut it into 1 cm pieces. Place it in a large baking pan and add the sugar and lemon juice on top. Place on the low rack of your preheated oven and bake undisturbed for 15-20 minutes until the rhubarb is completely tender.

In the meantime, prepare the crumble. In a medium-sized bowl, add all the ingredients for the crumble and using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour, so that the mixture resembles very coarse breadcrumbs. Sprinkle the mixture evenly in a medium-sized baking pan, place it on the middle rack of the oven (while the rhubarb is also baking), and bake for about 10 minutes or until the crumble has taken on a golden brown color. Be careful not to burn it. Once ready, remove the pan from the oven and allow the crumble to cool completely in the pan. Once cool, break it up into small pieces with your hands until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs.

When the rhubarb is ready, remove the pan from the oven and allow rhubarb to cool slightly. Transfer the rhubarb and all of the juices accumulated in the pan inside the bowl of your food processor and process until smooth.

Pour the pureé into a measuring jug (or bowl with pouring lip), cover with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge so it gets really cold. Once chilled, add the cream to the rhubarb pureé and mix well with a whisk to combine. Pour the mixture into your ice cream machine and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions until the mixture has the consistency of softly whipped cream. Immediately empty the ice cream into a container suitable for the freezer, add the ginger crumble and using a spatula, stir it in the ice cream. Place in the freezer for a couple of hours or until the ice cream is firm enough to serve.

Alternatively, if you don't have an ice cream machine, empty the ice cream mixture into a container suitable for the freezer. Place the mixture in the freezer, take it out after 40 minutes and whisk it very well. You can also use a blender, or even a stick blender.
Continue doing the same thing every half hour, until it's too thick and frozen to beat or whisk. The whole process will take 2 to 3 hours, depending on how strong your freezer is.

You can keep the ice cream in your freezer for a week.

Pastourmadopitakia

Pastourmadopitakia means small pies made with pastourma (seasoned, air-cured beef) and they have been part of my family’s Sunday or celebratory feasts ever since I can remember. Either in the form of individual pies or the more traditional large rectangular pie that’s cut into square pieces for everyone to savor, baked or fried, made with traditional phyllo or sfoliata (puff pastry), pastourmadopitakia are part of my culinary heritage.

My mom made these while I was in Greece this May and that’s when I took these photographs. She always makes them for me whenever I visit home, she knows how much I crave and love them.

I made pastourmadopitakia the other day, just the way she makes them and they disappeared in a matter of minutes.

I hope you like them as much as we do.

On a different note: Google Reader is shutting down on July 1st which is only a few days away, and I'm really bummed about it cause I’m kind of attached to it. For those of you who follow this blog through RSS feed on Google Reader please make sure to transfer your feeds to another reader. I have been trying out a few and I found that the best ones are feedly and The Old Reader. Bloglovin’ is also easy to use and has been around for quite a while but it’s not my favorite. Make your choice soon; you don’t want miss the updates from all your favorite blogs.

See you again soon!

Pastourmadopitakia / Pites Kesarias (Greek Individual Pies with Pastourma)

This is one of the easiest recipes for Greek individual pies. If you can’t find pastourma where you live, well, use any other type of spicy cured beef you like. If you can’t find Greek Graviera cheese, use Gruyère.

Yield: 8 individual pies

Ingredients
1 sheet homemade puff pastry or ready-made puff pastry
8 slices of pastourma
1-2 vine-ripened tomatoes, finely sliced
100-150 g Greek Graviera cheese, coarsely grated
1 egg, lightly beaten, for glazing pies

Special equipment: box grater, pastry brush, baking sheet, baking paper


Preparation
Preheat your oven to 190 degrees Celsius / 375 Fahrenheit.

Line a large baking sheet with baking paper.

Lay the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface so that the widest edge is facing you and cut the pastry into 4 long rectangles. Cut each rectangle into two shorter ones so that you end up with 8 pieces of dough.

Near the bottom edge of each piece of dough, add 1 folded slice of pastourma, 1 slice of tomato and some grated cheese. Fold the dough on top to create a pocket and crimp the edges with your fingers. Place the pie on the prepared baking sheet and continue making the rest.

Brush the tops of the pies with the beaten egg and place the baking sheet on the middle rack of the preheated oven. Bake the pies for about 25 minutes or until the pastry has puffed up and has taken on a golden color.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven, allow the pies to cool slightly and serve.

Where the wild things are

It’s such a revelatory experience for me to savor something new; not so much a product of some novel culinary technique but rather new foods, new raw flavors like a vegetable or a fruit.

I’m constantly amazed when I realize how many vegetables and fruits are out there for me to savor. I feel my taste buds come alive with the prospect and I become intensely aware of all that nature so generously offers to us.

I wasn’t looking to find these when they appeared in front of me at the market, pale green and slender. The wild green asparagus. Looking much thinner and longer than their regular green counterparts.

I couldn’t help but picking up a bunch. Where would I find them again? Their season is nearing its end.

Their taste is close to the green asparagus but fresher and grassier, reminiscent of mellow spring onions or chives with a mild heat and slight bitterness.

I decided the best way to use them would be in an omelette. I’d bought some fresh pea shoots and I had some ricotta in the fridge so I went for it.

Butter, together with a little olive oil to keep it from burning, eggs with a splash of cream to make them even more luscious and the thinner-than-thin spears of the fresh green wild asparagus cut into thirds.

After only a few minutes, lunch was served. S and I dug in and ate it straight from the pan. It was marvelous. With some fresh bread and a glass of white wine, we almost forgot that it was raining outside and that I had a cold…

Wild Green Asparagus Omelette with Ricotta and Pea Shoots

I understand that not all of you will be able to find wild asparagus (different kinds can be found in different countries) but regular green asparagus will work as well. Blanched green beans or sautéed spring onions or even young leeks make good alternatives.

I use a wide skillet to make my omelettes because I enjoy them thin—I hate thick omelettes—but, you know, it’s up to you.

Yield: lunch for 2 hungry people

Ingredients
3-4 Tbsp (50 g) unsalted butter
1½ Tbsp olive oil
100 g wild green asparagus spears (40-50 spears), rinsed, dried and cut into thirds
6 large eggs
1-2 Tbsp cream, full-fat
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
100 g fresh ricotta cheese
A handful of pea shoots

Special equipment: a wide, round-sided skillet or frying pan


Preparation
Add butter and olive oil in a wide, round-sided skillet or frying pan and set over a medium-high heat. Once the butter melts and starts to foam and sizzle, add the asparagus. Sauté them for about 3 minutes, until they soften a bit and add a little salt and pepper.

In the meantime, in a medium-sized bowl add the eggs, cream, a little salt and pepper and whisk until slightly frothy.

Pour the eggs over the asparagus and using a wooden spoon, stir the eggs around a bit and then leave to cook over medium-low heat. It will take 6-7 minutes for the eggs to cook, for a slightly runny top. Cook more or less time depending on how you like your eggs. Be careful not to burn the bottom of the omelette.

One minute before the eggs are cooked, dot the omelette with ricotta. Once ready, either slide and fold the omelette onto a platter or, like us, eat it straight from the pan. Sprinkle with some ground black pepper and add the fresh pea shoots on top.

Enjoy!