Pantheon Restaurant, Toronto

I've been sitting on this post forever...mainly out of fear. When I was in Toronto back in January, my Greek friend, K, who used to live in Toronto, gave me a list of recommended restaurants to try out. Almost all of his recommendations were bang on, except one. It's not that I didn't like it, I just didn't love it like he did. He felt that Pantheon served the best Greek food in Toronto. I questioned that statement. He was absolutely insulted that I felt that way, and I've been afraid to post since then.

Well, I've had 7 months to get over my fear. Anddd, because K has not lived in Toronto for quite a while, it turns out that Pantheon had switched owners since. I like to think that we were both right in our opinions.

Pantheon has a very extensive menu and like all Greek food, it is best when you have a big group of people to maximize the number of share plates. Unfortunately, it was only CK and I. We had a good meal nonetheless.

We started with a hot pepper appetizer. I expected the hot peppers to be hot, but they were quite mild. The hot peppers were drizzled with oil, and topped with fresh capers.

Hot Peppers

Next came the spanakotiropita. These were humongous and delicious! The phyllo was crispy, and the filling was plentiful. Very very nice! Anyone by any chance know the difference between spanakotiropita and spanakopita? Is there even a difference?

Spanakotiropita

My main was under the light piato section: charcoal octopus with Greek salad. I thought that this would be grilled octopus with a side of Greek salad, but it turned out that it was a salad mixed with pieces of octopus. The octopus was tender, but I was slightly disappointed because my meal wasn't what I expected. I guess that was partly my fault.

Grilled Octopus Salad

What CK ordered was what I really wanted. I had major food envy. He ordered the grilled calamari dinner. This was seasoned whole calamari served with veggies. The calamari was good but was tougher than what I normally like.

Grilled Calamari

CK ordered a Greek salad on the side. The Greek salad here isn't quite the traditional 'no lettuce' Greek salad. Again, it wasn't what I expected, so I wasn't a fan of their Greek salad.

Greek Salad

After our dinner, we were handed a complimentary piece of honey cake topped with chocolate sauce. The cake was moist and had just the right amount of sweetness. Ironically, one of my favorite parts of the meal was free.

Honey Cake

Pantheon Restaurant407 Danforth Avenue
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Telephone: 416-778-1929

Menu

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Spinach and Artichoke Dip

I was seriously craving spanakopitas and was set to make them until CK reminded me that phyllo probably isn't the healthiest thing, if I was planning on eating it in large quantities. I thought about it, whined a little, but agreed with him in the end. Now, phyllo itself is not all that bad for you. It is made of flour, water, and a little bit of oil...harmless right? But, most of the recipes I saw required me to butter the phyllo pastry before filling it with spinach and feta. That, I guess, is the unhealthy part.

After sleeping on the idea, I woke up with a revelation. I was going to make the spanakopitas in dip form! The phyllo pastry simply got replaced with whole wheat baguette, and I added artichokes and other herbs into the dip for more flavor. It turned out awesome, and my family thoroughly enjoyed the dip.

This recipe yields 4 cups.

Spinach and Artichoke Dip
- 312g (11 oz.) baby spinach, roughly chopped
- 1 (398 ml) can of artichoke hearts, roughly chopped
- 6 scallions, finely chopped
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 1/2 lb (0.23kg) of light feta, crumbled
- 4 Tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped
- 3 Tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped
- 5 Tbsp of low fat plain yogurt
- 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste

Method
1. Pre-heat the oven to 350F/175C.

2. Make sure the vegetables and herbs are dry before chopping them. This is to avoid the dip being too watery. In a lightly oiled pan, sautee the garlic for about 30 seconds. Add in the spinach, dill, scallions and mint, and sautee for approx 3-5 minutes or until the veggies have wilted. Remove from pan and drain any excess liquid.

3. In a large bowl, mix together the wilted vegetables, crumbled feta, and artichokes. Add in salt and pepper to taste. Mix well. Transfer the spinach and artichoke mixture into a baking dish, and bake uncovered for 30-35 minutes.

4. Right before serving, stir in the yogourt and lemon juice. Mix well and serve.

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Greek Orzo Salad

My favorite thing to make is a good healthy salad. The thing I love about salads is that they are so simple to make yet can be so complicated in taste. I put tons of stuff in my salads, creating layers and layers of taste.

This Greek orzo salad is a great example, and I find the nuttiness of the toasted pine nuts really complements the taste of the melted feta cheese. I had this salad at BB's house a few weekends ago, and adjusted the recipe to my taste.
This recipe makes 4-6 servings.

Greek Orzo Salad
- 2 cups of uncooked orzo pasta
- 1/2 cup of red onion, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup of sliced kalamata olives
- 2 cups of Italian parsley, loosely packed and finely chopped
- 2 Lebanese cucumbers, chopped
- 3 hot house tomatoes, chopped
- 200g light feta
- 2 Tbsp mint, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup of pine nuts, toasted
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- extra virgin olive oil to drizzle
- salt and pepper to taste

Method
1. Cook the pasta until al dente, and drain.

2. Crumble the feta into a large bowl. Add the pasta, and mix until cheese has melted into the pasta. Drizzle in the olive oil to prevent the pasta mixture from drying out too much. Set aside and let it cool.

3. When the pasta mixture has cooled, add in the tomatoes, onions, olives, cucumbers, parsley, and mint. Add in the toasted pine nuts, lemon juice, and salt + pepper to taste. Mix well and serve.
I may be travelling in San Diego, but I scheduled this post so you wouldn't get lonely ;-)

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