Μήνας: Ιανουάριος 2010

Greek Pitta Bread with Grilled Octopus, Onion, Tomato and Parsley

After all the meat eating of the festive days, it is essential to taste something lighter but tasty! Out of this need I came up with this simple but delicious dish that requires a large fresh fleshy octopus.

I boil the octopus in very low heat (45 minutes per 1  kilo). I let it rest and then cut the tentacles that I will use and grill them until they get the crispy surface on the outside, while they remain juicy inside. I then slice them and dress them in olive oil with a touch o lemon.

The other essential ingredient is a mix of chopped onions, tomatoes and parsley.

I make my own pitta bread in a rather sneaky way. I prepare a mix with flour, yeast, salt and vinegar, but leave it on the watery side. After it has rested for one hour I prepare the bread as if it were crepes, in other words I “fry” the mix in a non-stick pan.

After 3 minutes I take it out and place it on a baking tray in the oven for another 10 minutes.

The final step is the most satisfying and has to be done with your hands only. Lay onions, tomatoes and parsley on the bread and then octopus on top of it. Roll it tightly and slice in four parts.

Sprinkle with olive oil, a bit of salt and lemon and enjoy one of the freshest and most tasty simple dishes!

Bon appetit!

Cucina Povera (or why Synthesis is more than the addition of the parts)

This is an original recipe that was conceived and executed in Munich during my last visit to Manolis and Marion in November 2009.

Marion (Manolis’ wife for the uninitiated) who is an accomplished cook, had prepared among other dishes salt cod in a tomato sauce, and cheek peas in the oven. She had also bought a wonderful delicious sausage from Spain, the one with whole chunks of fat in it. They are very delicious, but require a robust stomach.

As we were discussing about food and tastes, it became apparent to me that the next day we will have a lot of leftovers, a little bit of each dish and a few pieces of the sausage (chorizo). One of the themes of the conversation was the combination of pork products with seafood in Catalonia and the Basque country.

I therefore thought of combining the pieces of sausage left with the cod, and add some cheek peas to the lot. The container of all of these would be a mix of eggs and thinly sliced peppers. I even created a drawing of the dish.

Please disregard the rather dramatic “Teufels Dreieck” which means “Devil’s Traingle” in German. It was the tentative name for the dish, but it was dropped after Athina commented that it was rather unsuitable for such a nice tasting dish.

The dish remains without name to date, but as it is a classical example of “cucina povera”, or “cooking with leftovers”, I decided to name the article accordingly.

Take a deep round baking dish and put the slices of the sausage in a way that they form a triangle.Put in a very hot over (250 Celsius) and let the sausage fat to soften for 10 minutes.

Add thinly sliced peppers, the more colors the better, and then the cod flakes and the cheek peas.

Whisk 6 eggs and pour them over the triangle. Bake in 200 Celsius for 20 minutes and serve piping hot.

The result was more than rewarding. The mix of the sausage and the salted cod worked beautifully, the fish standing up to the ferocious attack of the strong animal. The cheek peas acted like the buffer zone between the two war camps, while the eggs and the peppers softened the impact of the competing tastes. What a dish!

Therefore, in food as in life, we can safely conclude that synthsesis is more than adding things together. This is a good example of the case.

Greek Folk Songs of Love – Διστιχα της Αγαπης

Μια και το πιο σπουδαιο, το πιο υπεροχο, το πιο δυσκολο στη ζωη ειναι η Αγαπη, ξεκινω το 2010 με διστιχα της Αγαπης, απο τη Συλλογη Ελληνικων Δημοτικων Τραγουδιων του Φοριελ (Πανεπιστημιακες Εκδοσεις Κρητης 1999). Καλη Χρονια και με Αγαπη!

Ω, Παναγια μου Δεσποινα, βαρια που ειν’η αγαπη!

Μηδε ο τοπος με χωρει, μηδ’ ολο το σοκακι.

Για μαυρα ματια χανομαι, για μπιρμπιλια πεθαινω,

γι’ αυτα τα καταγαλανα σκαπτω την γην και μπαινω.

Τις ειδεν ψαρι στο βουνον, την θαλασααν σπαρμενην;

Τις ειδεν εις τετοιον καιρον αγαπη εμπιστευμενην;

Τι αδικια εις εμε, ματακια μου και φως μου

ολοι αγαπουνε την ζωην, κι εγω τον θανατον μου.

Μαυρα μαλλια στην κεφαλη, στες πλατες ξαπλωμενα,

αγγελοι τα κτενιζουνε, με διαμαντενια κτενια.

Να χαμηλωναν τα βουνα, να’ βλεπα το Μισιρι,

να’ βλεπα το πουλακι μου, με ποιονα τρωει και πινει.

Ας ητο τροπος ματια μου το χερι σου να κρατουν,

κι ευθυς ας με περεχυνε ο ιδρως του θανατου.

Απο τα γλυκα σου ματια, τρεχει αθανατο νερο,

και σε γυρεψα λιγακι, και δεν μοδωσες να πιω.

Μια ψυχη χωρις το σωμα, πια να ζησει δεν μπορει,

και πως εζησα ως τωρα, το θαυμαζω κι απορω.

Τηρα με πως εγινηκα, μαυρος σαν τον αραπη,

δεν ειμ’ απο την Αραπια, μον’ ειμ’ απ’ την αγαπη.