Celebrate Pascha With Lamb

[Kollyvas]

http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/14384181.htm

Celebrate Orthodox Easter with lambLast week's Easter celebration has passed, but Greek Orthodox Easter will be celebrated on Sunday.

The traditional Greek Easter feast has roast lamb as its centerpiece. We asked Estia restaurant, 1405 Locust St., to share the version that will be served there on Sunday. Chefs also included a recipe for a traditional Greek Easter cookie.

GREEK EASTER

ROAST LAMB

One 8-pound leg of lamb

4 cloves garlic, sliced

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 tablespoon dried oregano

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

2 large carrots, quartered

2 ribs celery, quartered

1 large onion, unpeeled, cut in

wedges

Two 28-ounce cans Italian

tomatoes, with liquid, cut up

1 tablespoon sugar

Juice of 2 lemons

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Use a sharp knife to cut ½-deep slits over fatty surface of lamb. Stuff garlic slices into slits. Rub meat with 1 tablespoon of oil. Sprinkle with oregano, salt and pepper.

Heat a large roasting pan over medium heat on the stovetop. Add the remaining three tablespoons of olive oil, and brown the lamb on all sides. Remove the meat to a platter. Place carrots, celery and onion in the bottom of the roasting pan (they will serve as a rack). Place the browned lamb on top of vegetables and roast in the oven for 45 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and tomato liquid, sugar and lemon juice. Continue roasting for 20 to 25 minutes per pound, basting frequently with pan juices, until the internal temperature reads 135 degrees for medium rare.

Remove roast to warm platter and let stand 15 to 20 minutes before carving. (The roast will continue to cook while resting out of the oven.)

Meanwhile, return the roasting pan to the stovetop over medium heat and cook pan juices and vegetables until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally. Strain sauce, pressing down on vegetables to squeeze out all the juices. Discard solids and serve sauce with lamb separately.

MELOMAKARONA

For the cookies:

1 ½ cups sunflower oil

1 cup sugar

cup fresh orange juice

¼ cup cognac (or 1 teaspoon

cognac flavoring)

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup fine-ground semolina

1 teaspoon baking soda

Grated peel of 1 orange

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon grated cloves

(or ground cloves)

For the syrup and topping:

2 cups water

2 cups sugar

2 cups honey

1 stick cinnamon

3 to 4 whole cloves

2 cups finely chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (320 degrees with a convection oven).

Dissolve the baking soda in the orange juice and set aside.

Put all the dry ingredients (flour, semolina, sugar, cinnamon, grated orange peel, cloves) in a bowl and blend with a whisk.

Create a well in the middle and add the liquid ingredients (oil, cognac or flavoring, orange juice mixture). Knead the dough until it sticks to your hands.

To shape the cookies, take a tablespoon of dough and roll it into a ball. Gently press the ball in the palm of your hand to make an oval shape. The cookie shape will widen out to the sides but still have some height (don't flatten). The cookies can be rounded, oval or small log shapes.

Arrange the cookies on a greased baking sheet (or on parchment paper-lined sheet), place on the middle rack in the oven and bake until browned, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on baking racks.

The cooled cookies will be dipped in the hot syrup, so don't start the syrup until the cookies have cooled.

Put the water, honey, sugar, cinnamon stick and cloves in a wide pot (such as a deep frying pan) and bring to a boil over medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes.

As soon as it starts to boil, a foam rises to the top - scoop this off and throw it out. Turn the heat down to low. Remove the cinnamon stick and cloves.

Put cookies (as many as will fit on the bottom of the frying pan) into the hot syrup and use a spatula to hold them down for 45 seconds to a minute, depending on how syrupy you want them to be.

Once the cookies have been soaked, remove them with a slotted spoon, letting some of the syrup drip off.

Arrange cookies on a large serving plate in layers, sprinkling each layer liberally with the finely chopped walnuts before adding another layer.

[尼古拉前执事]

Roasted Rack of Colorado lamb
with Wild Mushroom and Blue Cheese
Bread Pudding

Ingredients:

2 ea 8 bone Colorado lamb racks
(use only domestic lamb, it is the best in the world)

2 cups assorted wild mushrooms

1 cup onion, small diced

2 teaspoons minced garlic

2 cups Andouille sausage, medium diced

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

8 large eggs

1 quart heavy cream

1 cup blue cheese crumbles

white bread or focaccia, cut into cubes, use enough to absorb egg mixture

Salt and Pepper to taste

Individual aluminum cups or ramekins

Procedure:

To Prepare the lamb for cooking:

Peel the fat cap off the back of the lab rack, be sure to leave some fat, just pull off the large cap. Using a sharp boning knife cut about 1/2 inch down between the bones of the lamb and remove the fat.

To cook the lamb:

Season generously with salt and pepper and in a large sauté pan over medium heat place the lamb racks fat side down, slowly render away much of the fat and cook till a nice golden brown, flip the lamb and place in a 350 degree oven for about 12-15 minutes for medium rare. Remove the lamb from the pan and place on a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes. This allows the lamb ample time to rest and cook evenly.

Bread Pudding:

Sauté the mushrooms, onions, garlic, sausage in oil until the onions start to get transparent. Beat the eggs and cream together until mixed. add the bread and the blue cheese to the egg mixture. Add the warm mushroom mixture and mix thoroughly till blue cheese melts slightly and becomes incorporated. add salt and pepper. Allow the mixture about 20 minutes to soak before cooking. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease your individual aluminum cups with pan spray. Add the Bread Mixture to the cups going slightly above the top of the cup. Put in a larger casserole dish and then add water to the dish about half way up the cups. Bake at for 25-30 minutes. When finished the tops should be golden brown and bread pudding will be firm but not hard. Pop out of cups and serve. Makes 10-12 servings.

[尼古拉前执事]

We have a whole thread on the slavic Pascha basket tradition, so with these posts on having Lamb for Pascha, Greek style, I thought I would share some Greek Pascha recipes.

[尼古拉前执事]

Pascha Soup
(Mageritsa)

2 lamb hearts
1 lb. lamb liver
1 lb. calf liver
Lemons
1 celery branch
1 onion, chopped
Salt and pepper
1 lb. tripe
1 whole cloves
1 cup finely chopped celery
2 bunches scallions, chopped
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
1 Tablespoon dill weed
1/4 lb. butter
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup rice
6 eggs, separated

Wash the hearts and liver well, place them in a kettle with the juice of 1 lemon, the celery branch, onion, some salt and pepper and 2 cups of water. Bring this to a boil, remove the scum and simmer for 15-20 min. Then strain, reserving the broth. Then set the livers and heart aside.

Next wash the tripe thoroughly in several changes of water, place the tripe in a pot with cloves and enough water to cover it, bring this to a boil and then simmer for 1/2 hour then strain, reserving the broth. Next chop the livers, hearts and the tripe very finely, sauté them in butter until brown and then add the scallions, celery, parsley and dill, sauté for a few minutes longer. Add the broth in which the heart, livers and tripe were cooked. Add the chicken stock, and 1-2 cups of water, simmer, covered for 1 hour. Add rice, cover and simmer another 20 min. Beat and add separated eggs and the juice of 3 lemons.

[尼古拉前执事]

Lamb on a Spit (Greek-style)

Cooking time about 3 hours

1 lamb, about 8-9 kilos
Butter, oil
2-3 lemons
Salt and Pepper

Remove the intestines from the lamb. Wash it well and drain. Salt and pepper the inside of the lamb. Pass the spit through it so that the backbone is parallel to it. Tie it to the spit with thin wire or thick string so that is does not stir while you are roasting it. Tie the legs securely to the spit, sewing up the stomach cavity with some thick threads so that it will not open during the roasting time. Baste the lamb with butter and lemon juice and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.

Heat the charcoal and allow the fire to settle. Place the spit in position. Have close at hand a bowl of lemon juice and some olive oil and a basting brush and once the rotation has begun, start to baste the lamb often with the lemon juice and olive oil. You must rotate the lamb fast at first and then slow down as the meat starts to cook. Baste till the lamb is done and the skin is crisp.

[尼古拉前执事]

Title: Kalitsounia Me Kanella (Cretan Cheese-cinnamon Pastries)
Categories: Greek, Cookies, Desserts
Yield: 20 servings

1 1/2 c Fresh mizithra or ricotta
2 tb Grated hard ricotta
2 Eggs; separated
1/2 c Granulated sugar
2 tb Butter; melted
4 tb Milk (or more)
2 c All-purpose flour
1 pn Salt
1 ts Vanilla extract
Confectioners' sugar

For the filling, combine the cheeses, lightly beaten egg yolks,
sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and melted butter in a bowl. The
mixture should be thick enough to mound, but not stiff; add 1
tablespoon milk, if necessary. Set aside while you make the dough.

Sift the flour and salt into a bowl, then cut in the butter and mix by
rubbing between your fingers. Mix in the vanilla, egg whites, and
enough milk to make a soft dough. Knead until smooth and elastic,
then break off small pieces and roll as thin of a dime. (The dough
will be elastic and can be rolled easily.) Cut into circles 4-inches
in diameter (teacup size), then on each circle place a teaspoon of
the cheese filling. Wet the circle edge with water or milk and fold
over to form a half-moon, then seal with the tines of a fork or
pastry wheel. Arrange the Kaltisounia on buttered cookie sheets and
bake in a moderate oven (350 F) for 25 minutes, or until the pastry
puffs up and turns a light chestnut color. Remove from the oven, and
place on racks, and dust with confectioners' sugar and cinnamon.
Serve hot or cold.

From: "The Food of Greece" by Vilma Liacouras Chantiles. Avenel
Books, New York.

[尼古拉前执事]

GREECE's Pascha Bread (Tsoureki)

This bread is only baked on Good Friday. It is the traditional Greek Easter Bread. A red egg is place in the center of the bread, it represents the blood of Christ.

This will make one large round loaf and several smaller loaves.

4 to 5 lbs. flour, sifted
1 tablespoon salt
4 yeast cakes, dissolved in 1 cup of warm water
10 eggs, beaten with 2-1/2 cups sugar
2 cubes, butter, melted in 1-1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon allspice
1-1/2 teaspoons anise
3 eggs yolks
1/3 cup sesame seed
5 hard-boiled eggs, dyed red

Boil the allspice and anise in 1 cup of water and strain well, reserving the water. Place 4 lbs. of sifted flour and salt in a large bowl, and make a well in the middle of the flour. Add the yeast with water and the eggs with the sugar and milk. Do not knead at this time. Add the melted butter and milk and the reserved liquid from the allspice and anise. Mix this with your hands to blend the ingredients. Add more flour if it is needed. Then knead until the dough is smooth.

Place the dough on a floured board and knead until firm, smooth and not sticky. Brush the dough with some melted butter, cover and set in a warm place to rise until double in size. Knead again, brush with butter and allow this to rise until it is double in size. Repeat this one more time.

The traditional Greek Easter bread is baked in a large round pan, about 12-inches in diameter and 2 inches deep. You can make smaller loafs as Easter gifts.

Place about 2/3 of the dough in a greased pan, and divide the rest of the dough for smaller pans. You can press one red Easter egg in the center of the dough and the other four around the edge. Cover the pan and let rise for several hours. When risen, brush the dough with egg yolks. Sprinkle the top of the bread with sesame seeds, and place one Easter egg in each of the smaller loafs, brush them with the egg yolks and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Bake about 45 min., according to the size of your pans, until the bread is brown and the dough inside does not stick to a knife. Bake in a 350 degrees F oven.