Food festivals and church dinners have been a casualty of the 2020 pandemic, leaving me hungry for the once-a-year foods that are cooked for a cause.
Case in point, St. Louis Greek festivals. Thankfully, the Greek community at Town and Country’s Assumption Greek Orthodox Church has conquered the challenge with its Taste of Greece Curbside Festival, Oct. 16, 17 and 18, reimagined as a grab-and-go Greekfest – an inspired event that would make Alexzander the Great proud.
Festival organizer Greg Simos, along with a dedicated crew of volunteers, have been planning and cooking for weeks, making it possible to have a taste of Greece without leaving your car.
“The event this year is certainly different. We’ve had to pivot to curbside, but we have the same great food as always,” Simos said. “It’s all still homemade in the church kitchen by our parishioners. We have a slightly skimmed-down menu this year, but the favorites are there. Our most popular menu item is the gyro. Gyros are made by cutting the meat right off the spit and placing it on freshly grilled pita bread. Then it’s topped with onions, tomatoes and tzatiki (a yogurt cucumber sauce).”
This is the first time in the church’s 70-year festival history that the event has been transformed into an exclusive curbside event. As a result, organizers are asking its hungry fans to place orders in advance through the festival’s ordering link at stlgreekfest.com. The site has the complete menu, which includes all of the traditional Greek specialties: souvlaki (shish kabob), spanakopita, Greek roasted chicken, Greek salads and desserts. Simply place your order for the day you prefer and arrive at the church between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m for curbside pickup.
“We are hoping that by having this festival it will bring a bit of normalcy to our hectic world,” Simos said.
Don’t forget to ask about Assumption Greek Orthodox Church’s fundraising cookbooks that include many of the recipes the parishioners use to fill the plates at its annual festival and famous Friday lunches. It’s a way to make a few of these extraordinary specialties at home.
Just in case the baklava is sold out before you can get to this year’s Assumption’s Taste of Greece Curbside Greekfest, I’ve shared the recipe for this decadent Greek delicacy. Give it a try. It’s easier to make than you think.
BAKLAVA
1/2 pound butter
1 package phyllo
FILLING
1 pound walnuts, finely chopped
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons almond extract
Mix filling ingredients together, set aside.
SYRUP
1/2 cup water
1 cup sugar
Zest of one lemon
2 cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon whole cloves
1 cup honey
In a two-quart saucepan, combine water, sugar, lemon zest, cinnamon and cloves in a saucepan. Heat over medium low heat, simmering for 10 minutes. Pour in honey, mix and remove from heat. Heat oven to 325 F. Brush a jelly roll pan with melted butter. Place a sheet of phyllo on the buttered pan. Lightly butter top of sheet and top with another phyllo sheet. Butter and continue until eight sheets have been used to make the bottom crust. Sprinkle about a 1/2 cup of nut mixture over top. Cover with another sheet of phyllo, buttering top of phyllo sheet. Continue until all the nut mixture is used or until there is only seven or eight sheets of phyllo remaining. Build top as the bottom – placing buttered sheets on top of final layer of nuts. Make about 1/2-inch cuts across top of pastry to create a diamond pattern on baklava. Brush with more butter. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and spoon some of the syrup over top to glaze pastry. Increase oven temperature to 350 F. Return baklava to the oven and bake until pastry is golden brown. Remove from oven. Carefully pour remaining syrup over baklava. Allow pastry to absorb all the syrup. Cool before serving.
