Going Greek for February's Food'N'Flix

Deb, the blogger behind Kahakai Kitchen, is the hostess of this month's Food'N'Flix. Food'N'Flix was started by one of my favorite foodie bloggers Heather of girlichef.com: "We are just a bunch of FOODIES who like to watch movies that make our belly rumble and our mouth water and then head into the kitchen to cook or bake something inspired by what we watched."


Deb's pick for February: "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." Opa! Click here for her invitation to participate. 

• Toula Portokalos: Ma, Dad is so stubborn. What he says goes. "Ah, the man is the head of the house!"
• Maria Portokalos: Let me tell you something, Toula. The man is the head, but the woman is the neck. And she can turn the head any way she wants.

So true! Though I really don't need to watch the movie again - I think I have it completely memorized - I will pop it in the DVD and sip on some ouzo. And what a great excuse to cook some Greek food. There seems to be endless versions of these recipes; I adapted and used what I had in my cupboards. Here's what Dylan, my little kitchen elf, and I made...



Melitzanosalata - click name for recipe -  (Greek Eggplant Dip)

Bouyourdi (Baked Feta Appetizer)

Both of the dishes above were served as our first course with freshly baked pita rounds.

For our main dish I made...

Fish with Skordalia (Potato-Garlic Sauce) and Root Vegetables
Traditionally this dish is served with Greek cod (Bakaliaros) and just beets; I used two filets of fresh tuna that I had in my fridge and used a mixture of beets and carrots, simply roasted, peeled, and served with a sprinkling of salt and a drizzle of olive oil.

For the Skordalia

2 T minced garlic

2 red potatoes, cubed and boiled with the peels on

2  T freshly squeezed lemon juice
olive oil

water from the boiled potatoes

Boil the potatoes in salted water. When they are cooked through, remove them but reserve the cooking water. In a large mixing bowl, mash the potatoes with the garlic. Add the lemon juice and enough olive oil to make a thick sauce. Add the cooking water till the sauce is the consistency you want.


For the Fish
fish filets
ground almonds
flour
salt and pepper
dried oregano


Mix all of the ingredients, except for the fish in a large bowl, press the coating into the fish until it is completely covered. Melt butter in a large flat-bottomed pan with a splash of olive oil. Quickly brown all side of the fish. Pour in a glass of white wine, bring the liquid to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook until the fish is firm to the touch. Serve with fish with the sauce scooped on top.


What fun this was! I will definitely be participating again in the future. "Big Night" is coming up in April. Oh, yes...I see timbale in my future! Enjoy. ~Camilla