Greek cuisine Archives - Good Food St. Louis

Kota Kabama (Greek)

An easy, but splendid Greek dish. Don't leave out the cinnamon. It really is better the second day, so consider making it ahead.

Course Chicken

Cuisine Mediterranean

Ingredients

1 chicken 2 ½ – 3 pounds, 8 serving pieces, freshly cut
1 tsp. cinnamon ground
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. black pepper freshly ground
5 garlic cloves
2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
4 cups yellow onions coarsely chopped
½ cup dry white wine
2 cups water
½ cup Mizithra cheese grated, or kasseri, mascarpone, ricotta salata, or grated Romano.
1 6- oz can tomato paste

Instructions

Pat chicken pieces dry with paper towels. Mix cinnamon, salt, and pepper in small bowl and rub chicken w/mixture. Mince 3 of the garlic cloves and set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a large, deep, non-aluminum skillet over high heat. A 12-inch skillet with sides about 3 inches high will allow you to brown all the chicken pieces at once. If you don’t have a skillet large enough, brown the chicken in 2 batches, using 1 tablespoon of oil for each batch. Don’t crowd the pieces in the pan or the chicken will steam rather than brown.
Add the chicken to the skillet and brown for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, shifting the pieces with a metal spatula so the chicken doesn’t stick to the skillet. When the pieces are browned on all sides, remove from the pan and set aside.
Reduce the heat to medium-high and add the onions and minced garlic. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until the onions have softened and are a rich golden brown. Add the wine and scrape the bottom of the pan with a spatula or spoon to deglaze, loosening any browned bits.
When the wine has evaporated, add the water, tomato paste, and remaining 2 whole garlic cloves. Return the chicken to the pan. The liquid should cover about three-quarters of the chicken. Reduce the heat to low, cover the skillet with a lid, and simmer for about 1 hour, or until the chicken is tender and thoroughly cooked. (If the sauce becomes too thick, thin it with a little more water.) Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Serve over buttered noodles, rice, orzo, or macaroni. Sprinkle the grated cheese.

Lamb-Beef Gyro. . . and, yes, it’s as good as it looks!

A Greek Oasis in Downtown Clayton

If you can’t take a Mediterranean cruise this winter, at least give your taste buds a Grecian holiday. If you live or work in Clayton, you have a splendid new place in which to indulge you fantasy vacation. The city now has its one and only Greek restaurant—Katerina’s located on Bonhomme.

It’s easy to find. If you remember where Copia was and Morton’s before that, you will recognize the space. The new downtown taverna is the culmination of more than 40 years in the restaurant business for Crist Dubis (Stouffers, Mayfair, maitre’d at Al Baker’s, onetime co-owner of Missouri Bar & Grille).

A Family Venture

Today Crist is joined by an array of family members, including his wife, Tracy, son, sister-and mother-in-law . One person sadly missing, is memorialized in the restaurant’s name, their daughter, Katherine. The 23-year-old was struck by a car four years ago when leaving a Blues game. The memorial on the entry wall pays tribute to her life.

The memorial wall in honor of their daughter, Katherine.

More family: Crist Dubis and our server Gabrielle. Interestingly, Tracy Dubis, who holds forth in the kitchen is Irish, while Crist is the Greek member of the family.

Cyndy and I stopped in Katerina’s for lunch recently and two days later, Russ and I grabbed a bite. Both times I had the lamb-beef gyro. I try not to be boring with my menu selections, but it was so doggone good. The pita bread is especially light and you don’t always find that in a gyro.

But wait there’s more. There’s 40-some items on the menu, including appetizers, dips, gyros, wraps, salads, sandwiches, meats and seafood. Below is just a sampling of the Dubis family delights.

Sliced Fried Zucchini with Tzatziki Sauce

Village Salad

The dolmas—rice filled grape leaves—are as good as I’ve found anywhere.

Katerina’s checks a lot of gastronomic boxes: pleasant atmosphere, comfortable seating, friendly servers, and excellent food quickly served. Parking was less of a problem than you might expect at that time of day. Come warm weather, there’s a nicely covered and walled outdoor seating area.

Until then, you can eat indoors and listen to the 21st century version of the old jukebox or play a game of Jenga with wooden blocks. That’s all okay, but frankly, I don’t want anything to take my mind off the pure joy of Katerina’s food.

Pita and hummus

Don’t miss these light, addictive Greek donuts called Loukoumades. Only made by Ya-Ya on Friday and Saturday and cooked to order.

Katerina’s Greek. 7822 Bonhomme in Clayton. Open: Mon-Thu 11a-9p; Fri 11a-10p; Sat 4p-10p. Closed Sunday. Happy Hour: 4p-7p. Owners: Tracy and Crist Dubis.