Taste of Greece to go in east Bradenton

For Palmetto’s Popi Ameres, making Greek food in large batches is second nature.

Ameres has been cooking since she was 12 years old, developing her own recipes and feeding people throughout Sarasota, Manatee and Hillsborough counties at her restaurants, Popi’s Place. 

An award-winning cook and member of the St. Barbara Greek Orthodox Church, Ameres will use her experience to feed people who come to the church’s Greek Fest To-Go on March 5-7.

Food has been a large draw for people who attend the church’s annual Greek Glendi, but due to the pandemic, the church decided to replace this year’s Greek Glendi with Greek Fest To-Go.

Marilyn Blazakis, the president of the St. Barbara Philoptochos, said volunteers will miss the thousands of people who come to the church to see dance demonstrations, listen to live music, tour the church and enjoy Greek food.

Although this year will be different, Blazakis said volunteers look forward to the challenge of adjusting to a drive-thru event.

People can pre-order classic Greek foods including lamb shanks, moussaka, pastitsio, gyro sandwiches, spanakopita, Greek salad and a variety of Greek pastries. Some of the pastries include baklava and koulourakia.

Here is a look at some of the staples of the festival:

PASTITSIO

Pastitsio, or as many church members describe it “Greek lasagna,” is a traditional meal for such holidays as Christmas and Easter.

As Ameres made a tray of pastitsio at the church Feb. 25, she mixed noodles, meat sauce, cinnamon, nutmeg, Parmesan cheese and bechamel sauce in a bowl.

She grabbed the mixture by a few handfuls and placed it in a tray. Then came more meat sauce with dashes of cinnamon and nutmeg followed by more noodles.

Nothing was measured because there was no need.

“I can tell if it doesn’t taste good just by looking at it,” Ameres said.

She grabbed a few more handfuls of noodles and put them on top of the two previous layers.

Afterward, she grabbed a big bowl of bechamel sauce, scooped it onto the noodles and used a spatula to spread it across the top.

To top it all off, Ameres sprinkled on Parmesan cheese.

Ameres popped the pastitsio into the oven to bake for 20 to 30 minutes.

LAMB SHANKS

Denise Chimbo, the chair of Greek Fest To-Go, said lamb is more traditional in Greece than beef and will be on many families’ tables for Easter dinner. 

“They’re to die for,” Chimbo said.

Ameres said there are multiple ways to cook lamb, whether it’s on a spit, in the oven with potatoes or on skewers.

For Greek Fest To-Go, Ameres plans to serve lamb shanks with rice and green beans.

In the kitchen Feb. 25, Ameres cut celery, onions and carrots and put them in a large pot. She drizzled olive oil on the vegetables before adding salt and pepper to the pot.

She added lamb stock to the pot as well as garlic, oregano and tomato puree.

She brought all the ingredients to a boil before pouring them on top of the lamb shanks sitting in a tray. Ameres covered the tray in plastic wrap and aluminum foil and placed it in the oven at 275 degrees to slow cook for three and a half hours.