Listen up Earth dwellers and food eaters (hopefully you’re both). Central Market’s 6th annual passport series begins April 29 and runs through May 12. This year they are featuring Greek cuisine. I don’t know much about that Mediterranean flavor, at least I didn’t until Monday’s media preview, so listen up and get your shopping bags ready.
Central Market’s Passport Series honors various cuisine-famous regions around the world by bringing in the products and flavors from the aforementioned region. This year’s celebration of Greece brings in some incredible items sourced from the Mediterranean and surrounding areas such as olive oils, Fir and Thyme honey, Vostiza currants, herbal teas, juices, and for the first time ever in Central Market stores, saffron powder. Yeah.
In addition to the amazing products for the purchase, Central Market chefs are preparing authentic Greek items that will be available throughout the store. The Manouri cheese is a perfect complement to desserts. Made from the whey of Feta, this mild, soft cheese is amazing alone or topped by the sweet kalamata relish with fig and almonds. The feta itself is seasoned with oregano and pepper and the Kefalotyri cheese is a salty, bold offering similar to a pecorino. There are dolmades, Keftedes, seasoned lamb, fasolada soup and obviously some amazing kalamata olives. The chef prepared Greek salad is simple and fresh. It’s bright, acidic balance is perfect for the warm weather to come. The chefs are also preparing skewered meats for souvlakia, a traditional Greek fast food item comprised of meat and pita. There will also be octopus and stuffed branzino. And to properly finish you off, you’ve got some dessert classics. Wrap your hands around the baklava (for those of you who need something dense and syrupy sweet), or for the more tender hearted, get a hold of my new favorite, the Bougatsa, a light, flaky, not-too-sweet little cake that’s creamy and mild and impossible to stop eating.
For the wine drinkers, which I assume is everyone, Central Market brought in the perfect offerings for summer. The white wine from Santorini has an assertive front with a dry finish and plenty of complexity to keep you on your toes. The sparkling option is fruity and chuggable. Yes, chug that wine on your favorite patio and feel good about it.
So skip on over to your local Central Market on or after April 29th. There will also be a Passport stroll on May 1 from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. where you can taste and wander through the many offerings. You need to register for this online through the Cooking School tab so the fine folks from Central Market can ensure they have enough food. Do it.
