Ginger Leek Potato Croquettes with a Fennel Pear Honey Mustard

Kalo mina! That's Greek for "Have a good month," a wish customarily shared amongst Greeks on the first of every month. Speaking of which, today (the first of December) is the deadline for this month's Royal Foodie Joust, a friendly blogger competition hosted by Jenn of The Leftover Queen, and I am running short on time considering I have until noon (it's 10:33 a.m. as I write this) to post this on the RFJ forum.



So, the ingredients for this month's joust were fennel, pear and ginger. Three lovely ingredients indeed and so many dishes they can star in ... but I've got to keep this short. I got some inspiration for this dish from a snippet in the December 2009 issue of Food & Wine highlighting a fennel mustard by Thomas Keller (this master chef's version is just fennel cooked in white vinegar then pureed with mustard powder). I, on the other hand, cooked down some roughly chopped fennel and pear with a pinch of ground ginger in some white vinegar, then pureed it with dry mustard powder and thyme honey. Can you say Mmmmmmmm?

Now, one of my favorite things to eat with mustard is a good potato knish. A knish, if I am not mistaken, is Yiddish for a fried turnover/dumpling filled with potato more often than not although there are a number of varieties that also include ground meat, spinach and other fillings. My favorite is the potato, slathered with lots of whole grain mustard. So after making this homemade mustard of sorts, I had to try it with something potato-y ... hence these Ginger Leek Potato Croquettes that fit beautifully in with the Royal Foodie Joust, paired amazingly well with the Fennel Pear Honey Mustard and, even more importantly, took care of my sudden craving for a knish ... which come to think about it I haven't had in years.

And just so you can understand how delicious these are: my son upon popping two in his mouth jumped up and exclaimed, "Mmmm, Mama! These are yummy in my tummy!" What can I say? The kid's got a distinguished palate ... and he's only three!

Ginger Leek Potato Croquettes with a Fennel Pear Honey Mustard


For 1 1/2 cups of mustard:

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 fennel bulbs, cleaned, trimmed and roughly chopped
2 pears, peeled and diced
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
Pinch of ground ginger
1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
1 teaspoon thyme honey
Salt, to taste


In a skillet, heat the olive oil and cook the fennel and pear over low heat until tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Add the vinegar and ground ginger and cook for 10 to 15 minutes more. Once done, place the contents of the skillet into the bowl of a food processor, add the mustard powder and honey and blend until pureed. Spoon the mustard into a bowl, let cool, then season with salt and store tightly covered in the refrigerator. The mustard is best made at least one day ahead, if not more.


For the Ginger Leek Potato Croquettes:

2 large potatoes, scrubbed, peeled and quartered
1 large leek, washed, trimmed and roughly chopped
Pinch of grated ginger
1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 eggs (one for mixture, one for coating before frying)
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Olive oil for frying


In a medium saucepan, place leeks and potatoes in enough water to cover and boil until the potatoes are fork tender. Drain the cooking water then place saucepan with the leeks and potatoes briefly back over the heat to evaporate any excess water.

Transfer the potatoes and leeks to the bowl of a food processor along with the ginger, salt and pepper. Pulse until pureed then spoon the potato mixture into a large bowl. Stir in the breadcrumbs and one egg, adding more breadcrumbs as necessary to more easily form the mixture into croquettes. If you have the time, place the mixture in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes for better handling. Beat the remaining egg in a small bowl and set aside. Heat about an inch of olive oil in a large skillet or dutch oven. Wet your hands slightly and begin forming the potato mixture into croquettes, about one inch in diameter. Coat the croquettes in the egg and fry until golden on each side. Drain briefly on a plate lined with paper towel.

Serve hot or warm alongside the Fennel Pear Honey Mustard.

Kolokythopita (Squash Pie) Two Ways

Winter squash is rich in vitamin A, vitamin C, potassium and carotene

Although I cherish the traditional Greek recipes of my mother, grandmothers and aunts and incorporate them daily into my family’s diet, I enjoy reading up on recipes from different islands and areas of Greece as dishes can change dramatically from city to city, island to island. One of my favorite sources for island recipes is Aglaia Kremezi’s The Foods of the Greek Islands – Cooking and Culture at the Crossroads of the Mediterranean. For the last seven years, I thumb through the pages every now and then to get a fresh perspective on traditional dishes from the islands of the Dodecanese, the Ionian, the Cyclades, Crete and Cyprus. Kremezi, a photojournalist and food columnist, includes great recipes for appetizers, pies, vegetables, breads, meat, poultry, seafood and dessert and complements each with anecdotes of her trips to the islands to obtain the recipes and info on the origin of each dish.

When I saw Ivy’s Savory Pies event over at Kopiaste I decided to take the traditional route and put together a kolokythopita, one of my favorite of all the Greek “pites.” Of course, a kolokythopita can take on many forms and flavors – I’ve always made it savory using summer squash (like zucchini) or any winter squash (usually butternut or acorn) combined with feta, onion, eggs and different herbs. In her book, Kremezi features one such kolokythopita in which she uses pumpkin, fennel, onion, bulgur and feta highlighting that this is a typical dish found across the island of Chios. I tweaked the recipe here using short grain rice as opposed to bulgur and Carnival squash as opposed to pumpkin. It turned out to be a hearty pie and with a side of salad or a bowl of soup, could be turned into a meal in and of itself.

But one pie this week just wasn’t enough … Kremezi also discusses a variation of the kolokythopita made in certain villages on Chios that uses cinnamon and sugar to complement the pumpkin. I set out to replicate this sweeter version of the kolokythopita as I find cinnamon and sugar to go amazingly well with winter squash. You'll find my recipe below.

Kali Orexi!

Kolokythopita with Fennel
Adapted from The Foods of the Greek Islands

1 Carnival Squash (or any other winter squash), peeled and diced
1/3 cup olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 fennel bulb, trimmed and finely chopped
1/3 cup short grain rice
½ cup chopped fennel fronds, or dill
1 ½ cups crumbled feta
2/3 cup grated pecorino Romano
Salt and pepper to taste
1 recipe Cretan Phyllo (recipe to follow)

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and sauté the onions until soft. Add the squash and fennel and increase the heat to high and cook until squash is softened. Throw in the rice, salt and pepper and cook for a couple of minutes. Remove from the heat and add the chopped fennel fronds or dill, cover and let stand for 15 minutes or so.
Stir the feta and pecorino Romano into the filling mixture.
Roll out the phyllo to overhang a well oiled 13x9 inch rectangular baking pan and carefully layer it into the bottom. Add the filling. Roll out remaining phyllo and fit to the top of the filling, trimming the sides as necessary and pinching it closed with the bottom layer. Brush the top of the pie with milk or sprinkle with water and bake in a 350F degree oven until golden.

Cretan Phyllo
From The Foods of the Greek Islands

3 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
½ cup vodka
½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
¼ cup olive oil
About 2/3 cup water

Place the flour and salt in a food processor and pulse until combined. With the motor running add the vodka, lemon juice, and oil. Then add just enough water to make a soft dough. Let rest in processor for 15 minutes. Process for a minute longer or until it seems elastic. Let rest again in the food processor for 20 minutes or so.
On a lightly floured surface knead the dough briefly until it is smooth. Divide the dough according to your recipe (cover remaining dough with plastic wrap while rolling out the other).
**This dough is also great when used to fry individual pies (bourekia) as it takes on the texture of a rustic puff pastry.



Glykia Kolokythopita

1 Acorn squash, peeled and grated
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
½ cup short grain rice
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup grated Myzithra cheese
2 teaspoons cinnamon
6 sheets ready-made phyllo

Combine grated squash, sugars, rice, oil, cheese and cinnamon. Oil a 9-inch pie dish.
Lay out phyllo and layer first sheet into pie dish so that nearly half over hangs one side. Brush phyllo with oil and layer next sheet overhanging the opposite side of the pie dish and brushing with oil before continuing with the remaining 4 sheets (alternating which sides of the pie dish the phyllo overhang). Fill phyllo with squash filling and begin turning down the layers that overhang the dish, oiling each layer as you go.
Bake in a 350 degree oven until golden.