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Inspiration from Anthe

A recipe for Pumpkin Walnut Baklava

Baklava is one of the hallmark dishes of Cretan heritage.

Originating in Ionian kitchens, it was adopted in every region of Ottoman rule and incorporated into each culture’s national cuisine because of its heavenly flavors and flaky, yet juicy, textures.  

I cannot recall any family gathering without Yia Yia’s, Anthe (Stratigakis) Vutetakis, deliciously sweet and delectable baklava. She crafted her recipe while growing up in the village of Plakoures in western Crete and passed it onto her children and grandchildren. My aunt Irene Laggeris inherited her mother’s culinary aptitude and, as most talented cooks will do, added her own memorable touches to the original recipe. 

My recipe takes inspiration from the original while using local ingredients and seasonal tastes. The authenticity is rooted in Greek tradition while paying homage to how so much in America is built upon, or influenced by, Greek foundations. 

This dessert was first introduced to the public in 1997 when I was chef and owner of Inn Season Cafe in Royal Oak, Michigan. It quickly became a favorite, especially in the Autumn when Michiganders share a collective passion for all desserts crafted with pumpkin, sweet spices and maple syrup. 

Recipe for Pumpkin Walnut Baklava takes inspiration from the original while using local ingredients and seasonal tastes.
KPHTH magazine, October 2018
  • Anthe in her garden, September 1960
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Sweet Tomato Chutney

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The art of making chutney is a passion in India.  Cooks developed local reputations for their intense combinations of sweet, salty and hot.  Over the years I have heard a number of people mention the East Indian saying “too sweet to resist and too hot to eat.”  This recipe follows that model and is ideal for the end-of-summer plethora of ripe tomatoes.  Not only is it an excellent condiment for an Indian meal, but it can work as a ketchup, as a dip for crudites or a base for sweet and sour dishes.  

Serves 4

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon black mustard seeds

2 tablespoons finger hot green chiles, minced

1/4 cup sweet onion, minced

1/4 teaspoon garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon ginger root, minced

1 1/2 cups tomatoes, diced

1 tablespoon molasses

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 cup water

In a medium saucepan in medium-high heat, cook canola oil, mustard seeds and green chiles.  When the mustard seeds pop, add onions, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, molasses, cane juice, sea salt and water.  Turn down to a simmer and cook 10 minutes or until tomatoes are well cooked and thickened.  Serve room temperature or hot.  

 

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Pepita and Fire Roasted Poblano Pesto

My first experience with a pesto-style dish was in my Greek grandmother’s house.  Yia Yia prepared every family member’s favorite dish and my father’s was skordalia, the traditional Greek garlic sauce.  As a child in Crete, where almonds are plentiful and full of flavor, her mother taught her the art of the dish; she learned to prepare the skordalia by pounding garlic, almonds and olive oil with a mortar and pestle.  We always knew when we walked into her home that she had prepared the skordalia because of the heavy garlic smell in the air. It seemed to stay in our mouths for days and even crept out of our pores as garlic-tinged sweat.  Over the years, my dad was the only one adventurous enough to indulge, which he would do on a Friday so he could return to work on Monday with minimal effect.

The Italian word pesto is often used to describe a combination of ground garlic, basil and pine nuts, although the preparation method of grinding ingredients into a paste is universal and cross-cultural.  Ever since man discovered how to grind and pound food products with stone and wood, this method has been employed in traditional cuisines around the world to create sauces, condiments, bases and pastes which enhance flavor profiles. Every culture put their stamp on the method with the common denominator being a mortar and pestle or grinding stone and it is a superb way to add a savory and flavorful edge to a dish without frying or grilling.

A Sicilian version is pesto rosso which substitutes almonds for pine nuts and adds tomatoes with less basil.  In Mediterranean France, a cold sauce made from garlic, basil and olive oil is the base for the much-acclaimed pistou soup in Provence.

In India, I watched cooks deftly handle a flat grindstone with a rectangular pestle to create intensely flavored mint chutneys, robust masala pastes and pesto-like fillings for a variety of breads and savories.  The grinding stones would absorb the right amount of moisture and unique flavors would be developed by the grinding action.  I was so enamored by the amazing quality of these preparations that I carried two of these heavy stones home on a flight.

Central and South American cuisines have a long history of grinding spices, pastes and mole bases using a metate or mealing stone. Chimichurri sauce is one of the well known sauces to use this method.  One can imagine my pesto recipe being made on a metate grindstone in an adobe kitchen a hundred years ago.  Nutty toasted pepitas with crushed garlic, freshly squeezed lime juice, brightly flavored cilantro and smokey fire-roasted poblano chiles provocatively meld together to create an explosion of flavor in any dish that it is served with.  I particularly like it as a foil to corn dishes and often pair it with Quinoa-Corn Arepas and Chocolate Cherry Salsa from my cookbook Vegetarian Traditions.  The bright flavor of the pesto is the perfect companion to the natural sweetness of the corn and deep, dark anti-oxidant-rich salsa.

Today, I often make pesto with a food processor, which is a compromise for the sake of modern efficiency.  However, if you have a metate, or mortar & pestle and a little extra time, I encourage you to use it–not just for the earthly connection and romance of hand-working one’s food, but also for the flavor.

This easy-to-prepare recipe works well in sandwiches, as a mezzes-style dip, a quesadilla filling or a layer in a tortilla casserole.

Pepita & Fire Roasted Poblano Pesto

1/2 cup pepitas, toasted
1 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 poblano chile, fire roasted, stemmed and seeded

In a food processor, grind pepitas to a meal, add all pesto ingredients and pulse to a coarse consistency.  Store in an air-tight container and keep refrigerated.

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Roasted Spring Onions

 

After the winter freeze, one of the first signs of  life in the Midwest Farmers Markets are spring onions which are full flavor, extra sweet young shoots that only vaguely resemble a mature onion.  At this stage, even the sharpest tasting onion will easily compete with sweet varieties such as Vidalia, Maui and Walla Walla.  At this time of year I use them generously, raw in salads and roasted, as in this recipe.  This is an excellent easy to make side dish cum condiment that adds zest to a variety of dishes.  Make it ahead and use it as an impromptu garnish or a sandwich ingredient as well.  Enjoy!

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Serves 6

6 spring onion shoots cut in half lengthwise and trimmed to four inches long

½ cup seedless raisins

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon olive oil

¼ cup diced Roma tomatoes

½ teaspoon coriander seeds

½ teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

3 whole cloves

½ teaspoon whole peppercorns

½ teaspoon sea salt

Bake in a covered dish at 400º F  for 1 hour.  Serve as a side or garnish.

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Tofu Joe

 

 

A different version of Sloppy Joe which uses easily aquired ingredients.  Simple to create and ideal for making ahead, it is a good stand by when time is short.

 

Tofu Joe

Base
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 cup yellow onion, diced

1 cup celery, diced

¾ cup red bell pepper, diced

1 small clove garlic, minced

1 bay leaf

¼ cup cider vinegar

1 ½ cups tomatoes, diced

1 cup tomato salsa

½ cup organic ketchup

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon basil

In a saute pan at medium heat, cook the oil, onion, celery and red pepper until the onion starts to become clear around the edges.  Add remaining ingredients and simmer until tomatoes are cooked.  Transfer and reserve.

Tofu
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons fresh ground fennel seed

1 heaping teaspoon smoked paprika

½ teaspoon chipotle powder

¼ cup tamari

1 block firm tofu, mashed

½ teaspoon sea salt

Rinse the saute pan and reuse.  Heat with olive oil at medium heat.  Add the fennel seed, paprika, chipotle and tamari.  Mix together and add the tofu right away.  Let simmer until the liquid is gone, add 1 cup of the base with the sea salt and simmer for 5 minutes.  Add remaining base and cook again for another 10 minutes on a low simmer.  Serve over toasted buns, or bread.

 

 

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About Making Scents

 

 

 

jasmine-and-buddha

 

“Smell is a potent wizard that transports you across thousands of miles and all the years you have lived”

Helen Keller

 

Aromas enchant us, molding images into the cerebral cortex which can be recalled at any moment with a familiar whiff.  With food, an attractive scent can trigger the desire to eat and cause a singular drive to eat something right away. 

The sense of smell is seventy percent of taste.  While taste buds receive input from salty, sweet, bitter and pungent receptors, olfactory input can recognize up to 10,000 different aromas.  This input is immediate and can bypass the normal processing to trigger memory in the cerebral cortex.  Imagine having a barbecue without the intensely sensuous aroma not wafting by.  A world without aroma is a sanitized and bland proposition.  Studies have confirmed that the olfactory sense triggers memories more than the other senses.  Mental imagery with the natural romanticized versions, adds immensely to the ‘theater of dining.’ 

Just as the chemical combination of food ingredients are medicine, food is also integral in aromatherapy.  To exemplify this, think of the scents that floated out of the kitchen as a child, baking cookies or a cake, baking bread, or the almost acrid aroma of food cooking over an open fire.  There is a sound reason for fast food restaurants to exhaust fumes onto the street.  Over the years, it was very common for passersby to eat at Inn Season Café after walking by and smelling the great cooking scents outside our building. 

It has been well documented that specific aromas encourage the body to function in different ways.  There are scents which cleanse nasal passages, a few aid digestion and some inspire passion, while others work with the psyche.  Scent is very much part of the ‘feng shui’ of food and old cultures have this built in to the cuisine.  

Setting a stage with scents

Scent is also very subjective.  What we like has direct correlation to our life experience and conditioning.  For one person the scent of a wonderfully aged cheese is mouth watering, to another it is revolting.  The audience is important when planning a meal.  Sometimes, we need to help educate a palate, so scents are orchestrated to enhance each other, framing the so called offensive aroma with more accessible and universally appealing scents.  When entertaining, it is good to plan an aromatic environment along with the rest of the menu.  Many times the aromas around the food have a profound effect on the flavors inside the preparations.  

Importance of smells in cooking

Without tasting, the scent of food becomes prominent as a tool for perfection.   In Vedic cooking, enjoying the smells of the food for oneself while cooking is the same as tasting it.  The cooking aroma can be enjoyed as part of the process of cooking for others and certainly may be used as a tool for creating culinary wonders. 

Manipulation of aromas during eating

Timing the drifting scents emanating from food and organizing them in a almost symphonic way can be as important as combining spices.  Complimentary aromas play off each other, dancing in the imagination, toying with our memories.  

The after dinner scents

After a fulfilling dinner, scent plays an important role in comfort and good digestion.  Some of the unpleasant things restaurants do which we can avoid in our personal lives are spraying tables with window cleaners to sanitize while customers are nearby; using heavy bleach  solutions to sanitize equipment and counters; have strong smelling food being served with delicate flavors; and allowing smoking nearby, or even at all.  

Fortunately in our own homes, we may create environments without these olfactory pitfalls.  To focus on the positive, candles create warm, cozy scents that are nice when extinguished too.  A flaming dessert or steamy hot fudge sauce can fill the air with deep sensual undertones.  Also removing the food from the table is a must before dessert and after the entire dinner when conversation may be heightened. 

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Learning How to Eat

Mainstream America does not emphasize food as a key to a quality life and source of longevity.  Food is mostly used as a sensual sideshow and necessary evil.  One the big challenges we face, especially in dire times, is to reconnect with the earth’s culinary heritage. Not only the exclusive diets of the privileged, but those of common people.  These are diets that nourish body and soul, which utilize the senses instead of merely placating them.  Such foods help define who we are and keep us in touch with the ever present  organic cycles of the earth.

cretan-coastline

I first discovered the significance of food as a young child from my Greek grandmother, who tirelessly went out of her way to both nourish and nurture her family through the medium of lovingly prepared traditional dishes.  Memories in my Yia Yia and Papou’s house invariably are associated the times when our family gathered around the dining table, situated just outside of Yia Yia’s kitchen.  There I sampled exquisite hand made, tender dolamdakia, irresistible spanikopita, perfectly balanced moussaka and pastitsio to die for.  The memories were augmented with intense and creamy skordalia, almost sinfully sweet baklava and the melt-in-the mouth amigdalota cookies made from almonds and orange blossom water.  The food sparked conversation and familial bonding.

mihalis-and-figs

Eating this way, we knew what it was to be Greek.  The food was historically intertwined with cultural identity.  What, how and when it was (or is) consumed was a major portion of the Hellenic psyche.  Greece is a land that has witnessed the ravages of changing civilizations, occupations and political turmoil.  Often it was recognized as the center of the civilized world and the source of our modern political structures.  The unique and flavorful cuisine has been a consistent reminder of the greatness that Greece was…and still is.  Much of this glory was achieved over millennia at tables in homes and villages with foodstuffs foraged in the mountains, harvested from the land and caught in the sea.  The plant based food was so significant that the famous Greek Key pattern, found over millennia as a theme on temples, homes, fabrics and ornaments, was derived from the field plowing pattern used by farmers.  Ancient Greeks would also pour a small libation of wine on the earth before drinking, much in the way we toast today.  The Greeks have learned to live with the earth in a respectful partnership, where harmonizing with the energies of the cosmos became a goal in life.  Anyone who has spent time in Greece can still feel this incredible energy integrated into every aspect.  Often this translates into the Greek spirit of life.  Along with the Mediterranean sunshine, the sea breezes and the stark raw beauty of the land, it is unique and unlike any other place on earth.  No wonder so many Greeks return to their mother land.

hydra-port

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Maple Carrot Halava

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Outside of carrot cake and muffins, carrots are rarely used for desserts here in North America. Traditional Indian carrot halava is prepared using two different methods. The first is to cook the carrots in clarified butter (ghee) and sugar until only the sweetness of the carrot remains and the sugar slightly caramelizes. The second is to reduce the carrots with milk to a light burfi or fudge consistency. Our method combined the two because maple syrup starts as a liquid and becomes solid with cooking, giving a similar texture to the candied sugar in the first variation. This recipe also retains the richness that ghee or milk would add without the fats and is a very satisfying dessert. Brightened with cardamom, it can be made 3 to 4 days ahead of time if kept refrigerated. It also freezes well.

Maple Carrot Halava
Serves: 8 Preparation Time: 30 minutes

6 cups carrots, peeled and grated
1 teaspoon decorticated or ground cardamom
1 cup whole cashew nuts (optional)
2 cups maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons ground cardamom garnish

In a large skillet on medium low, while stirring frequently, slowly cook the oil, carrots, cardamom and cashews until the carrots start to break down. Add the maple syrup and vanilla, turn the heat up to medium and cook until the maple syrup is absorbed and starts to caramelize. Serve warm or cool in a fruit compote dish with a dusting of cardamom.

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In Food We Trust

“Trust,” as it pertains to the food system, has become an increasing concern for all of us.  As part of the ongoing research and planning for the James Beard Foundation’s annual conference over the last few years, a series of regional salons were conducted around the country on the subject of Trust.  A small group of diverse stakeholders in the local food system—including chefs, farmers, food producers, distributors, policy makers, urban planners, academics, and others—attended a salon at Color’s Restaurant in Detroit.  It was exciting for me to be a part of this and inspired me to revisit some principles I hold near and dear.

-Healthy food is the primary source of nourishment and a primary nurturer–the ultimate in holistic health and the key to longevity and quality of life.

-Creating and presenting food is an art form which can inspire us and awaken all our senses in the creative process.

-Food is a language.  Our personal tastes defining which dialect we speak.  It is  an important method of expression and reciprocal exchange between people.

-We feel better about ourselves when we’re cognizant of what we eat.  Whenever possible, eat plant based whole foods which are organic, unadulterated and unprocessed.

-Food connects us with others and cultivates natural satisfaction.

-Know where your food comes from and support local farmers.

-Discover local sources and how the food we eat is a direct connection to the earth we walk on.

-Be honest with your food

Trust is an expansive subject and individually intimate at the same time.  As a plant-based chef, every aspect of the ingredients I use are as important as the final dish.  Each one is chosen for its culinary contribution as well as healthful properties. The following recipe is one you can trust!

For this recipe, I used fresh cranberry beans at Food Field Farm’s stall in Detroit’s Eastern Market. Similar to pintos, they cook to a tender creamy texture.  This recipe is a simple medley of vegetables and beans.  If you can’t find fresh beans, cooked from dry or canned may be substituted.

Cranberry Bean Ragout

 

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/4 cup red onions, diced

1/2 cup Jimmy Nardello sweet peppers, diced (or red bell peppers)

1 cup yellow squash, large dice

1 1/2 cups cooked fresh podded cranberry beans* (dry beans**)

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon ancho chile powder

1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon cumin powder

1/2 teaspoon mild chile powder

In a twelve inch skillet on medium-high heat, cook oil, garlic and crushed red pepper until it begins to sizzle.  Add onions, sweet peppers and yellow squash.  Cook until the edges of the vegetables are seared.  Add cranberry beans and all remaining ingredients.  Turn down, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.  Serve hot.

Serve with rice or quinoa.

*To cook 1 ½ cups fresh cranberry beans, simmer for 30 minutes in 4 cups of water in a covered saucepan.

**With dry beans, soak in 4 cups water for 4 to 6 hours. Rinse well.  Simmer for 30 minutes in 4 cups of water in a covered saucepan.