Trahanas me Ntomata kai Feta--Trahanas with Tomato and Feta

The other day my husband came home with a package--well, a few packages. Our latest shipment of olive oil, which my father-in-law and mother-in-law send us straight from Agrinio every few months, was in and my hubby drove to Astoria to pick it all up from one of the many Greek shipping companies based there.

In the past, my in-laws have managed to send along a couple of large containers of olive oil as well as a small container of Kalamata olives or some Feta cheese preserved in salt water. With this shipment, however, we not only received our oil and olives but a fourth container filled to the brim with smaller vessels of my beloved thyme honey, homemade hilopites and lots of trahana. We thoroughly appreciate my in-laws' generosity and their willingness to send a little bit of Greece to us every chance they get.

And now onto what all these goodies will become ...

So the heat wave we enjoyed just over a week ago has now subsided and given way to some wet and dreary weather. But I'm not complaining; it is Spring after all ... and all these showers bring all our beautiful flowers. Not to mention that this rainy weather is accompanied perfectly by a good bowl of Trahanosoupa (soup made with trahanas) ... and there's nothing like curling up with a warm bowl of soup while the rain pitter patters across every window around the house.

Trahanosoupa is a simple soup made with sour trahana (which you can read more on here) and either water, chicken broth, beef broth or vegetable broth. Some like to add in a bit of milk but I opt to add some chopped tomato and top it off with some crumbled Feta once done. If you haven't tried trahana yet, I urge you to soon. Beyond soup, trahana makes for a distinct side dish to meats and poultry, a versatile filling for vegetables and a great alternative to bread crumbs.

Try it, you won't be disappointed.

Trahanas me Ntomata kai Feta--Trahanas with Tomato and Feta

1 cup sour trahana

3 cups water

2 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1 small to medium tomato, diced

6 ounces Feta, crumbled

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Finely chopped parsley (to garnish)

In a saucepan combine the trahana, water, broth and tomato and bring to a boil. Stir well, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes stirring often.

Season with salt and pepper and ladle into serving bowls. Top with crumbled Feta and chopped parsley and serve immediately.

Biftekia Gemista--Stuffed Beef Burgers

The last week has been a hectic one for a couple of reasons and as such has called for some quick, no-frills, family meals. Having made more than my fair share of saucy tomato-based dishes the last month (many of which I have yet to post), the night before found me wanting to use the ground beef I'd defrosted to make a fresh, simple and flavorful dish without employing even a tinge of chopped tomatoes, strained tomatoes, tomato paste or the like. After mentioning my ground beef "dilemma" to Peter of Kalofagas that evening, he quickly started sounding off some ideas--all of which were tempting, some with tomato (ugh!) and some without. And then he said, "What about biftekia gemista?" And I thought, "Why not?"

So here's my take on biftekia gemista (Oh, sorry! That would be Greek for "stuffed burgers" or beef patties, if you will). I often make biftekia simply using lots of fresh parsley, oregano, eggs, breadcrumbs and onion in the ground beef mixture; forming it into patties; and baking those in the oven surrounded with some thinly sliced potatoes tossed in olive oil and oregano. But having some fresh cilantro on hand, I omitted the oregano; and instead of the usual breadcrumbs or plain bread soaked in milk, I added some trahanas to give these moist biftekia an entirely new dimension of flavor. In addition, I didn't use an egg in the mixture as it was moist enough--just stuffed small cubes of two Greek cheeses (feta and kasseri) into the center of each patty and gave the burgers a good sear in a hot grill pan before placing them in the oven to finish off the cooking.

I served these biftekia with some sauteed spinach and a warm potato salad (as opposed to oven roasted potatoes or fries) and we had a fresh tasting, quick and healthy meal on our table in just minutes.

Biftekia Gemista--Stuffed Beef "Burgers"
Makes 12 patties

1.5 pounds ground beef

1 scallion, finely chopped

2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro

1/2 a small-medium onion, grated

1 large garlic clove, minced

1/3 cup trahanas

4 tablespoons milk

3 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Feta, roughly "cubed"

Kasseri, also cut into small cubes

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Add the trahanas to a small bowl and pour the milk over (use a bit more milk if all the trahanas isn't moistened by the 4 tablespoons). Set aside.

Combine the beef with the scallions, onion, parsley, cilantro, garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil and the trahanas soaked in milk. Mix briefly with hands to incorporate and place in the refrigerator until your grill pan is heated through.

Heat a stovetop grill pan, or a large skillet, over high heat. Begin forming the beef mixture into patties. Holding a patty flat in the palm of your hand, press a small cube of feta and kasseri down into the center, then begin to pinch the beef up around the cheese to seal it in. Pat the beef to even it out and place in the heated grill pan to brown each side well (about 3 to 5 minutes per side). Once the biftekia are well browned, place the grill pan in the heated oven and cook the biftekia another 10 minutes.

Serve hot with a warm potato salad and some sauteed spinach.

Warm Potato Salad

6 medium-sized potatoes, washed, peeled, quartered and boiled until tender

1 lime, juiced

1/2 lemon, juiced

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1/3 cup olive oil

3 scallions, chopped

Whisk together the lime juice, lemon juice, salt and pepper and slowly add the oil in a steady stream. While the potatoes are still warm, pour the dressing over and let stand for a few minutes. Sprinkle with the scallions and some finely chopped parsley or cilantro and serve still warm or at room temperature.

Chicken Stuffed with Trahanas

So, I picked up some trahanas from one of the many Greek specialty shops here in New York last week and decided that aside from the traditional soup I often make, I wanted to do something more with these tasty, tangy tidbits.

I should note that there are two types of trahanas, sour and sweet, and to be honest I have only ever had the sour type. I don't believe the sweet version is used differently and am pretty sure, although labeled as "sweet," it is just not as sour as the other variety.

In case you are wondering, which some of you probably are by now, trahanas is a pasta of sorts made of ground whole wheat grains that are cooked or soaked in sour milk or a mixture of milk and yogurt, then dried in the sun and coarsely ground until about the size of large breadcrumbs. Used primarily in soups, trahanas occasionally makes an appearance in Greek stews or even stuffings, which is the route I took here.

After bringing the trahanas home, I recalled reading--and being thoroughly intrigued by--a recipe for eggplant slices stuffed with trahanas on Food Junkie not junk food. I'd never used trahanas as such and decided my first foray into the world of stuffing with trahanas would include the thinly sliced chicken cutlets I'd purchased the day before, rather than the scrumptious in-season eggplant slices Johanna used a few months ago.

I made a pretty basic tomato sauce, much of which I had a good amount of left over and got to use in another pasta dish. Make sure your cutlets are quite thin and if necessary pound them until they are. Serve alongside some steamed asparagus, green beans, or even just with a salad, and you're good to go. Kali Orexi!

Chicken Stuffed with Trahanas

Serves 4 to 6

8 thin-sliced chicken cutlets, seasoned with salt and pepper on both sides

1/4 cup, plus 3 tablespoons, plus 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 large onion, finely chopped (1/4 cup divided)

1/2 cup white wine
1 1/2 cups trahanas
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1/2 cup crumbled feta
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried Greek oregano
Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
1 26.5 oz. box of chopped tomatoes
Pinch of sugar

1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup grated parmesan
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Toothpicks


In a large saucepan begin making the tomato sauce by heating the 1/4 cup olive oil over medium-high heat. Add all but the 1/4 cup of onion set aside and saute until soft. Stir in the garlic, oregano and the red pepper flakes. Add the chopped tomatoes and bring to a boil. Stir in the sugar, reduce heat to low and simmer until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes. Add half the parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste.

In a separate saucepan, heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium high-heat and stir in the reserved 1/4 cup of chopped onion. Saute until softened then add the white wine and allow to boil for a few seconds. Stir in the trahanas and begin adding the stock; stirring constantly until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Add half the crumbled feta and the parsley and remove from the heat.

Place a heaping tablespoon of trahanas filling towards the end of one chicken cutlet and roll the cutlet up, securing with a toothpick as necessary.

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. In an ovenproof skillet, heat the last two tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat and brown the rolled chicken on all sides. Spoon some tomato sauce over, sprinkle with the remaining feta and the grated parmesan and bake for about 10 minutes.