How to Roast a Lamb_ New Greek Classic Cooking - Michael Psilakis [30]
When we were old enough, we were enlisted to help, and my mother lectured us, so we were careful to keep the cherry intact.
“Only one hole,” she would remind us.
But we knew. My mother wanted the cherries to stay round and full, and if we made two holes, one at the top and one at the bottom, the cherry would collapse in on itself, lose its integrity, and lose some of its flavor—and it would look ugly—when she put it into the syrup in which she would preserve it. If we made only one hole, the cherries would be plump and round and fill up with syrup and, when they were extracted from the syrup weeks or months later, they would look as if they just came off the tree.
The attention to detail my mother paid to these spoon fruit cherries was exhibited in everything she did, especially in her kitchen. And when we sat down to her table, night after night and year after year, she was giving us not only the gift of a sumptuous meal, but the gift of her time, her passion, and her love for and commitment to our family.
These are the recipes my mother made for our family table on a regular basis. I hope you’ll use some of them to join your family and friends together too.
Christmas dinner, 1985
STEAK WITH BONE MARROW HTIPITI
BRIZOLA ME HTIPITI APO MEDOULI
SERVES 4
Here’s something steak houses don’t tell you: at most of them, there is a pot of rendered beef fat (all the trimmings and fat from the dry-aged beef). The cooks dip a steak into this fat before it’s cooked at superhigh heat, and then again afterward. Mmmmm. If you want to go the extra mile, render down some fat trimmings over really low heat, then cool and mix into my tremendously rich and tasty take on htipiti, here. (Htipiti is usually made with feta cheese and roasted pepper, herbs, and garlic.) For a true Greek steak house plate, serve with Tomato and String Bean Salad (page 104) and Greek Creamed Spinach, as here. Of course, dry-aged steaks will make the menu even more of a standout.
FOR THE STEAK
3 (2- to 3-inch) marrow bones, very cold, soaked in water to cover, overnight
½ cup (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 shallot, roughly chopped
2 teaspoons dry Greek oregano
3 small, picked sprigs thyme, finely chopped
Spine from 1 small sprig rosemary, finely chopped
6 cloves Garlic Confit (page 264) or 1½ tablespoons Garlic Purée (page 264)
About 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper
2 (10- to 11-ounce) sirloin steaks, about 2 inches thick, preferably dry-aged, at room temperature
Extra-virgin olive oil
½ lemon
Sea salt
FOR THE GREEK CREAMED SPINACH
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons very finely chopped shallot
4 whole scallions, sliced ½ inch thick on a diagonal
8 ounces baby spinach leaves, roughly chopped
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper
1 cup Greek Béchamel Sauce Without Eggs (page 276)
3 tablespoons roughly chopped dill
For the steak, preheat the oven to 400°F. In a small roasting pan, roast the marrow bones for about 10 minutes, until the marrow is softened but not melted. When cool enough to handle, scoop the marrow out into a food processor and add any pan drippings. Add the butter, shallot, 1 teaspoon of the oregano, the thyme, rosemary, Garlic Confit, lemon zest, 2 teaspoons kosher salt, and a generous grinding of pepper. Pulse until smooth and scoopable.
Brush the steak on both sides with olive oil, then season aggressively on both sides with kosher salt and pepper—if you think there’s too much salt, add more.
Preheat a charcoal or gas grill, or ridged cast-iron grill pan, until hot. Grill