Category Archives: Food
Chef John Minas adds Armenian Flair to Florida Fare as New Executive Chef at the Governor’s Mansion
Chef John Minas adds Armenian Flair to Florida Fare as New Executive Chef at the Governor’s Mansion
By Doug Kalajian
FLArmenians Cuisine Contributor
Ask anyone with a glimmer of culinary consciousness about Florida cuisine and you’ll most likely hear a tale of Caribbean-Latin fusion that sizzles like the sands of South Beach.
Then ask Chef John Minas.
For one of his first dinners as Executive Chef at the Florida governor’s mansion, Minas served notice that there’s a new culinary accent in the Sunshine State: Armenian.
“I made grape leaves,” he said proudly.
Executive Chef John Minas
Minas, who grew up in the deep-rooted Armenian community of Watertown, Mass., inherited a love of food from his Armenian and Assyrian family. He credits his paternal grandfather, Bashir Minas, with inspiring him.
“Every Sunday, we’d go to my grandfather’s house,” he said. “He cooked the best Armenian and Middle Eastern food I ever tasted. Dolmas, sarmas. And his fasoulia — oh my gosh! He made it all and he made it amazing. He wasn’t a trained chef, but he was a great cook.”
On weekdays, young Minas rushed home from high school to watch the back-to-back shows of Food Network pioneers Emeril Lagasse and Mario Batali. “Those guys were all about the food and the technique,” he said.
The idea took hold that he could meld the elegance and discipline of Western fine dining with the flavors and ingredients he grew up with.
After training at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, Minas worked at several restaurants in the Northeast and was planning to open his own when he heard about the unique opportunity in far-off Tallahassee, Florida. He sent a resume and got a quick invitation for an interview on April 11, his 26th birthday.
The interview turned out to be an audition.
“All of a sudden I was cooking breakfast at the mansion,” he said. “That was followed by lunch and then dinner.” While he was at it, Minas volunteered an afternoon snack, “a real mezze platter” including feta cheese and pita bread.
Nearly every dish in his day-long cooking marathon reflected Minas’ cultural connection.
“My dinner entree was a watercress tabbouleh with Chilean sea bass and grilled asparagus,” he said. “It was a French take on Middle Eastern. I’m very big on that.”
The fourth of six candidates to try out, Minas was barely back in Boston when he received news that he’d been hired. He started his new job in May and launched straight into an exciting yet demanding routine. Minas supervises all planning and preparation for a whirlwind of state dinners and charity events as well as daily meals for Gov. Rick Scott and First Lady Ann Scott.
Minas said he’s excited about Florida’s rich variety of fresh seafood and produce, but the job has kept him so busy that he’s had limited opportunity to travel around the state. “I’m really looking forward not only to getting to know the state, but to meet the Armenians here,” he said. “I want to get to Boca Raton and all the other Armenian communities.”
So far, Minas has brought not only Armenian touches to the mansion menu but other Middle Eastern favorites.
“I take our cuisine and try to make it relevant for a new generation,” he said. “I make a very refined hummus, with several variations on a plate. For example, a kalamata hummus served with traditional pita chips and a basil-pesto hummus with tomato pita chips. It’s no better than my mother’s hummus, but it’s my version.”
Gov. Scott has become such a fan that he appointed Minas and his sous chef, Carin Butler, to represent the state in the 2011 Great American Seafood Cook-Off in New Orleans. “John is a talented chef and cooks up some of the best food I’ve ever tasted,” the governor announced. “He’s going to give those other chefs a run for their money.”
Minas presented a Florida black grouper with avocado crème fraiche and spicy shrimp toast that he said “tastes like the state of Florida on a plate.” He didn’t win, but he wasn’t discouraged.
“I’m just getting started,” he said. “The job and the people here are wonderful. I plan to be in Tallahassee for a long time. Then, who knows?”
Doug Kalajian is a retired journalist in Palm Beach County and Sous Chef at http://www.TheArmenianKitchen.com.
The Florida Pomegranate
The Florida Pomegranate?
By Robyn and Doug Kalajian
FLArmenians Cuisine Contributors
Published: August 18, 2011
Everyone associates Florida with citrus groves – the state’s oranges and grapefruit are famous nationwide, maybe even world-wide.
Our license plates read “Sunshine State” and depict the ever-famous orange. But pomegranates?
According to the July 2011 issue of “Florida Agriculture” magazine, William Castle, professor emeritus at University of Florida and whose specialty is horticulture science, is studying the possibility of pomegranate production in the Sunshine State as an alternative to citrus.
Pomegranate trees are a common sight in California. The small trees produce an apple-sized, red fruit with juicy, ruby-like arils with a tart-sweet taste. TheArmenianKitchen.com has praised the health aspects of the pomegranate – full of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, and shared some recipes using this fruit’s arils and tasty juice. (See our recipes for homemade pomegranate jelly, and shish kebab marinade, too!)
Castle began his study two years ago with Jim Baldwin, a senior biologist at the Citrus Research and Education Center. Together they are examining every aspect associated with pomegranate-growing with the help of over 30 growers around the state.
The Florida Pomegranate
If the study proves positive, there could be numerous small-scale pomegranate groves popping up in Central Florida. Castle is convinced that pomegranate groves are a real possibility, and interest among growers is on the rise.
Pomegranates are used as a fruit, for their juice, and can be used as an ‘edible ornament for home and business landscapes’.
Castle said that if pomegranate production takes off, consumers will see Florida-grown pomegranates next to California pomegranates in our stores – plus locally produced pomegranate juice and juice blends.
Watch out POM Wonderful!
Robyn Kalajian is a retired culinary teacher in Florida and Chief Cook at http://www.TheArmenianKitchen.com. Douglas Kalajian is a retired editor/journalist and Sous Chef at http://www.TheArmenianKitchen.com.
SOURCE: http://www.thearmeniankitchen.com/2011/08/florida-pomegranate.html
A New Fusion Cuisine is Born: Flormenian Cuisine (Floridian-Armenian)
A New Fusion Cuisine is Born: Flormenian Cuisine (Floridian-Armenian)
By Robyn and Douglas Kalajian
FLArmenians Cuisine Contributors
The best part of mango season here in Florida is the end, when the ripe fruit tumbles from the trees and spreads across lawns and backyards.
Friends beg you to take home a bag or two. Some people actually leave piles of them by the curb, inviting passers-by to scoop them up.
Mangos
We came home with a surprise armload of free mangoes the other day and decided to try something a little different instead of the usual mango desserts. We had lamb on the brain, as usual, so we settled on a lamb-mango stew.
Mango isn’t part of the Armenian kitchen tradition, but apricots and other fruits are. We wondered, could our local bounty be a tasty substitute? The short answer is: Yes!
We knew mango and lamb would work because it’s done in India, although the recipes we found were variations on curry. We wanted a more traditional Armenian taste, and we also wanted to keep it simple.
We have a habit of freezing lamb tidbits — the pieces that don’t quite work as kebab — so we started by defrosting a container full. We also cooked up some fresh neck bones and picked the meat off them. (You know the drill: You just boil and boil, and then boil some more.)
We wound up with about two cups of well-trimmed lamb meat, and about three cups of broth. Basically, we added about two cups of sliced mangoes, seasoned the mix and kept on cooking.
The main seasonings: sumac, coriander, onions and garlic. If you’re not familiar with sumac, you should cozy up as soon as you have the chance. It’s a tart berry, almost lemony but with a unique flavor.
We infused the broth by placing two tablespoons of the whole, dried sumac berries in a tea strainer and letting it simmer for about 10 minutes.
The sumac balanced the sweetness of the mango perfectly. We also added a little heat with some fresh, diced ginger and a heaping tablespoon of Aleppo red pepper.
The result tasted something like an Armenian chutney: sweet, but not too sweet.
Overall, we were really happy (and a little surprised) at how nicely it all came together. One thing we’d change: I put all the mango in the broth with the lamb and let it all cook together for almost an hour. As a result, the mango pretty much melted. I should have reserved half the mango for the last 10 or 15 minutes for more fruity chunks.
Armenian Lamb Mango Stew
Armenian Lamb Mango Stew (serves 4)
2 cups cooked, trimmed lamb meat
3 cups lamb broth (or chicken broth)
2 cups sliced, fresh mango
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon finely diced fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
2 tablespoons whole sumac, or 1 teaspoon ground sumac
salt and black pepper to taste
1 cup fresh yogurt
a few springs of fresh mint
Directions:
1. Start with broth in a stew pot, reserving the lamb. Bring to a simmer.
2. Place the sumac in a tea strainer and lower into the broth. Leave it there about 10 minutes, until the broth is flavored. If you don’t have a strainer, or whole sumac, you can just add ground sumac when you add the other seasonings. If you don’t have either, use a tablespoon of lemon juice.
3. Sauté the onion, garlic and ginger in olive oil until just soft but not brown, then add to the broth.
4. Add 1 cup of the sliced mango, reserving the other.
5. Add the lamb.
6. Add the red pepper and coriander, plus salt and black pepper to taste.
7. Cook it all for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mango is blended and the lamb is tender.
8. Add the rest of the mango and cook another 10-15 minutes.
Serve over white rice or pilaf if you like. Garnish each serving with a dollop of cold yogurt and a sprig of fresh mint. And don’t forget to eat the mint!
Robyn Kalajian is a retired culinary teacher in Florida and Chief Cook at http://www.TheArmenianKitchen.com. Douglas Kalajian is a retired editor/journalist (Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post) and Sous Chef at http://www.TheArmenianKitchen.com.
Florida Armenians 