Classic Souvlaki

Yesterday, I was craving something from my homeland - Greece. Lately, I've been looking to other cuisines that I have neglected the fantastic flavours of Greece. My son has this thing with playing with my kitchen tools. The other day he uncovered the package of BBQ skewers I had hidden in the recesses of kitchen drawers. Usually this would get me all worked up but on this given day I was thankful because Alejandro gave me an idea on what to make for dinner. Skewers equal souvlakia. Souvlakia equal classic Greek meal along with Greek salad, rice pilaf and Tzatziki. Before making any definite plans I had to ensure that my Dad had enough propane in his BBQ tank and that my Mom would gladly take me to Highland Farms to buy quality pork for the souvlakia. Both answers were affirmative. Thus my journey back to Greek cooking commenced. The aroma of souvlaki grilling in the open air brought back memories of this little truck stop on the side of the mountain highway in between Veroia and Kozani. Everytime I would take the trip to my Dad's hometown from my Mom's hometown the bus would always stop in Kastania. Everyone would get off for a pee break and souvlaki take away. We would get 20 sticks and a bag of bread for a very low, low price. These souvlakia were loaded with oregano, garlic, lemon and salt. Mmmmm! There was nothing better. Yesterday, I recreated those souvlakia. Here's the recipe for the Classic Souvlaki.

CLASSIC SOUVLAKI

2 pork tenderloins, cubed
1 large onion, roughly chopped
juice or half a lemon
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp cumin
8 wooden skewers soaked in water

1. Soak the skewers in water for a few hours. This will prevent the sticks from burning while on the BBQ.

2. Place the pork pieces, onion slices and seasoning into a large bowl. Mix well and marinate for a few hours. If you do this the night before the souvlaki will be more tender.

3. For best results grill on a BBQ.

4. To make sure the souvlakia remain tender until you are ready to serve, squeeze another half a lemon the souvlakia and cover in a roasting pan. If you don't have a roasting pan put them in a tin container but make sure you cover well. The steam from the hot meat and the lemon juice will allow the souvlaki to stay moist.

PERFECT TZATZIKI

The secret to the perfect tzatziki is to use Greek yogurt - which is rich, strained and tart. For years my Mother would strain her own 2% Astro yogurt whenever she wanted to make tzatziki. That is a time consuming method but it was the only way that she would get the perfect consistancy for the tzatziki. It cannot be too runny or too thick. The juices from the cucumber will soften up the stiff yogurt. Sometimes she would go to Sun Valley to buy the Greek yogurt which was costly at the time. Now with the onset of all these yogurt makers producing "Greek Yogurt" making the perfect tzatziki is foolproof. Here is the Perfect Tzatziki for the Classic Souvlakia.

500g Greek yogurt - I used Oikos but you can use any brand you like
1/2 cucumber, peeled and grated
3 to 4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
salt

1. Grate the cucumber and strain the excess water by placing the cucumber in a cheesecloth.

2. Add to the mixing bowl.

3. Add the minced garlic, yogurt and olive oil. Mix well.

4. Sprinkle in salt. Make sure not to make too salty. T

Moroccan Beef Stew with Quinoa

This next dish was inspired once again from one of my cookbooks - Quinoa 365. As usual, I take the main concept from the recipes from other cooks and I find a way to make it my own. Sometimes I add or omit an ingredient or I used a different method to achieve the same outcome. In this instant I have done both. The original recipe called for me to use a Tagine. Unfortunately, I don't own one of this wonderful cooking vessels. To achieve the same outcome I made the stew in a slow cooker. I love slow cookers! They are life savers. Also, the original recipe says to toast the almonds but I put them in directly with the quinoa. OK, enough exposition on to my take on on the Moroccan Beef Stew with Quinoa.

MOROCCAN BEEF STEW WITH QUINOA

2 lbs stewing beef
2 cups of tomato juice
3 large sweet potatoes, diced
1 onion, diced
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 cinnamon stick
salt
pepper
1 cup of quinoa
2 cups of water
1 tsp garlic & onion powder combined
salt
pepper
1 tbsp canola oil
1/4 cup sliced almonds

1. Place all the ingredients for the stew in the slower cooker: stewing beef, sweet potatoes, onion, tomato juice and seasoning. Set the cooking timer to which ever setting you like. I set it for 8 hours.

2. In a medium size pot prepare the quinoa. For best results do this just before you are going to serve the stew.

3. Add the quinoa, water, oil, seasoning and almonds into the pot. Bring to a boil. Once the water starts bubbling lower the heat to low-medium. Let cook for 15 minutes with the lid closed. After 15 minutes fluff up with a fork.

To serve, put a good helping of quinoa on the bottom of a deep dish and the spoon on top the stew. If you have some nan it's even better to help you scoop up the juices.