As it is with Chinese, Vietnamese and certainly Moroccan or Turkish, most of us tend to enjoy more exotic cuisines at restaurants or with takeout, forgoing cooking them at home.
Thatap certainly the case with Greek cooking. I don’t know any non-Greek-Americans who whip up saganaki on their weekends. Maybe we’re all just hesitant to throw that flaming cheese plate into a fireplace that no longer works.
Joanne Meras, a Greek-American and Denver Post reader, readily acknowledges the several challenges posed by cooking Greek at home. “Forget the octopus,” she writes, and “Rolling dolmathes is a chore, and ready-made ones are so accessible.” But she also encourages by prompting cooks to consider “exploring the uses of filo dough.”
“It is so versatile,” she says, both for savory and sweet dishes.
My advice as a cooking teacher is to take baby steps in the kitchen with Greek cooking and begin with some terrifically flavorful basics. That should goad even the most reluctant into at least considering putting together an avgolemono (pronounced av-yo-LEM-oh-no), the Greek version of chicken soup enriched with eggs and lemon juice. Once you taste avgolemono, you never go pho.
Or head out to Denver’s annual Greek Festival, this weekend as always at the community’s mother church near Glendale. Deets below. So many foods will be offered. The list itself is a menu: saganaki, souvlakia, gyros, lamb sandwich, chicken oreganato, tiropites, spanakopita, keftedes, dolmathes, pastitsio, Greek salad, and several desserts.
Or try these simple recipes from the preeminent recipe writer and teacher of Greek cooking, Vefa Alexiadou, and her “bible” of Greek recipes, “Greece: The Cookbook” (Phaidon, 2017).
Roast Potatoes with Lemon
8-10 servings
From “Greece: The Cookbook,” Vefa Alexiadou ()
You’ve had roast potatoes before, but never like this. Potatoes are marinated in lemon juice and garlic before getting roasted to a golden ideal. They’re the perfect accompaniment for a whole roast leg of lamb. Pro tip: Pour some drippings over the potatoes before serving.
Ingredients
4 1⁄2 pounds Yukon Gold and red-skinned potatoes, cut into wedges
5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Pinch dried oregano
1 garlic clove, minced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
5 tablespoons olive oil
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
Directions
In a large bowl, toss the potatoes with the lemon juice, oregano, garlic, salt and pepper. Let sit for 1 hour, covered with plastic wrap, at room temperature. Preheat the oven to 350. Transfer the potatoes to a roasting pan, then drizzle with olive oil and dot with butter. Cover with foil and roast for 1 hour.
Remove the foil and continue to roast the potatoes for 25 minutes until lightly brown. Then turn on the broiler and cook until crisp and golden, 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a platter and serve.
Greek Village Salad
Serves 4
From “Vefa’s Kitchen,” by Vefa Alexiadou (Phaidon 2009)
Ingredients
2 large tomatoes
1 cucumber, peeled and sliced
1 red onion, thinly sliced into rings
10 Kalamata olives
4 ounces feta cheese, diced
Pinch of dried oregano
Oil-vinegar dressing (recipe below)
2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced or quartered (optional)
Chopped fresh parsley, watercress, or arugula to garnish (optional)
Directions
Cut each tomato into 6 wedges. Combine the tomatoes, cucumber, onion rings, olives, and feta in a large bowl. Sprinkle with a little oregano and pour the oil-vinegar dressing to taste over it. Toss and serve garnished with the eggs, parsley, watercress, or arugula (if using).
Oil-Vinegar Dressing
2 parts olive oil
1 part red wine vinegar
Pinch of dried oregano or mustard powder (optional)
Salt and pepper
Put the ingredients into a screw-top jar, fasten the lid, and shake vigorously until thoroughly blended.
IF YOU GO
Denver Greek Festival, June 15-17
4610 E. Alameda Ave., Denver (at the Assumption Cathedral of Theotokos)
Reach Bill St John at bsjpost@gmail.com