We test recipes from Philoxenia
Recently we tested a selection of recipes from Philoxenia: A Seat at My Table, a new cookbook from Kon Karapanagiotidis, founder of the ASRC, and his mother, Sia.
We were of course thrilled to then have Kon and Sia themselves stop by to taste test our attempts and judge the best replication.
Joe Rubbo made Spanikopita
I made the Spanikopita. Although I cheated by not making the phyllo pastry, using store bought instead. This shortcoming was spotted immediately by judges Sia and Kon. The filling was pretty straightforward to prepare, although I was somewhat rushed and could have done a better job squeezing all the excess water from the spinach and silverbeet. This shortcoming was also quickly picked up by the judges, as the phyllo had gone a little soggy. All in all though, I thought the filling was delicious – salty feta, nourishing greens and beautifuly fragrant herbs. After chatting to Kon about the benefits of homemade phyllo I am determined to make my own next time. No shortcuts!
Judges' comments: Nice filling, good flavour and balance between the greens and feta, though could have squeezed the spinach a bit more. Overall very nice and good first attempt, but the phyllo pastry was shop made so we are excluding that.
Chris Gordon made Galaktoboureko
Cooking this custard pie took me close to two hours, one kilogram of butter, three saucepans, two bowls, wooden spoons, a sharp knife and a chopping board. During the making of the pie, I drank one large glass of wine, ate some lovely cheese and read the recipe approximately 12 times over. Why is it that we read recipes on repeat? I stirred the milk, grated the lemon, checked the recipe, stirred the milk, added vanilla, checked the recipe ... and then took a gulp of wine while I read the recipe. Once the pie was in the oven and the syrup was made, I had a little lie down on the couch and just checked the recipe one more time to be sure I was on the right track. An important note – the syrup must be cold before pouring over the hot pie. I had the syrup in the freezer at one stage.
I enjoyed making this enormous delicious pie, but next time I would make it on a weekend when I was less tired. I do not recommend the making of this to commence on a Wednesday eve post-work.
Judges' comments: Flavour is good, but it isn't cooked enough.
Jennifer Varela made Feta Saganaki
I cooked Feta Saganaki, it is such a beautiful and colourful dish. As a person who does not cook, I found this recipe to be easy to follow; the recipe uses only one frying pan and involves adding each additional veggie one by one until the dish comes together, then perfectly placing the feta on top to create a harmonious dish that complemented the fresh sliced bread and lemon. Highly recommend this dish if you want to impress your family and friends but have little cooking skills like me.
Judges' comments: Presentation very good, but not cooked enough. Needed 20-30 minutes more with the lid on.
Natasha Theoharous made Horta salad with potatoes and zucchini, Gigantes and Baklava
Horta salad with potatoes and zucchini: Leading up to the day of the cook-off, we had some notable drop outs (see: Lucie’s saga below). With that, I felt the need to whip up multiple dishes, lest the office go hungry and I inadvertantly bring dishonour on my family by not upholding the values of the book’s title (both my great-grandmother and my mum are named Xenia, so: high stakes). I selected a bunch of vegan (or veganisable) recipes from the book that also made the most of the veg box I got delivered the morning before the cook-off.
A big bunch of spinach arrived smacked on top of a pile of potatoes and giant zuccs in the veg box, as if the spinach had gained sentience, flipped the book open to the horta salad page and said ‘cook me’. It’s a deceptively simple recipe where you boil the ingredients, wring out any excess water and dress them while still warm, so the flavours absorb. Spinach is more delicate than typical ‘horta’ greens (robust players like chicory, silverbeet et al) so I cooked those for a shorter time than the recipe asks. The dish’s lemony goodness shone through but I didn’t quite cook me to mati (with the eye, going with how things smell or taste) as my oregano had lost a bit of its zing after dwelling in my pantry for a year.
Judges' comments: Soft and fresh, good lemon, oil. Good homemade comfort dish. Very good just a bit over cooked and could use more oregano.
Gigantes: Gigantes are one of my fave dishes, so I made a double batch and stashed half for the next few nights of dinner. The dish came together easily: kilo of lima beans simmering away in a giant stockpot while I prepped the vegetables, sauce coming together quickly after that and then into the oven. Where I did go wrong was my dogged pursuit for some crispy baked beans on the top which led me to overbake the dish, evaporating too much of the zoumi (sauce you sop up with crusty bread).
Judges' comments: Nice good salt, beautiful taste just a bit over cooked so lost its sauce.
Baklava: Going vegan on this, I subbed the butter for oil and didn’t add honey to the syrup. Thanks to my smaller-than-a-phyllo-sheet baking tins, I also deviated from the method slightly (I swear, this is not going to read like one of the reviews you’d find on r/ididnthaveeggs). Instead of building the baklava layers in the pan, I went with the method my yiayia taught me: you stack five leaves of phyllo together, oiling each sheet as you go, sprinkle the nut and spice mixture on the phyllo wad and then roll it into a log so you have a whorl of dough and nuts. This mystic spiral doesn’t have the wicking properties that a traditional baklava stack does (now I know why my yiayia’s recipe adds caster sugar to the nut mix) so there was definitely syrup to spare!
Judges' comments: Nice combination of nuts and flavour, but the syrup hadn't absorbed so a bit dry.
Lucie Dess made pizza dough and proceeded to spend the night at the emergency vet
I had planned on making the Greek pizzas and had purchased all the delicious toppings including vegan feta. I made the dough and left it to rise on my kitchen counter while I headed off to work an event. I returned home just before 9pm, ready to finish off the pizzas. As I opened the door, I was greeted by my greyhound, Dorian, who didn't quite seem his normal self. Then I noticed the bowl, once containing my rising pizza dough, laying on the floor, empty. My greedy, naughty boy had eaten it ALL. My first response was anger and frustration. My second response was to check if it was okay for dogs to eat raw pizza dough. Turns out it's not ... so we went straight to the animal hospital! They forced Dorian to ... return the pizza dough ... and then kept him overnight on an IV drip. (Don't worry, he's completely recovered and back to his normal, naughty self.)
I showed up to the office the next day, exhausted and empty-handed (and my bank account empty too from the vet bill).
The final verdict?
Joint winners: The Spanakopita & Horta salad with potatoes and zucchini.
