Vive le terroir! Family reunion dinner in Marathon, Greece

Terroir is a concept almost untranslatable, combining soil, weather, region and notions of authenticity, of genuineness and particularity — of roots, and home — in contrast to globalized products designed to taste the same everywhere. (1)

Terroir was the theme of the family reunion dinner I hosted in Marathon, Greece.

Chicago, Illinois, USA
Chicago, Illinois, USA

It is a long way from Chicago, Illinois to Marathon!

Marathon Beach, Attica, Greece
Marathon Beach, Attica, Greece

But my cousin and his family made it, and here we were, having dinner in the piazzetta of my hunting lodge.

I had some ideas about the menu, but my inner voice was telling me to take it easy and not rush to the market with a shopping list. Instead, I was going to get the best produce and ingredient I would find on the day.

What follows is the result of this process that never fails me.

Inevitably, the menu was based on the ingredients and produce of the terroir, comprising air, soil and sea.

Beetroot from Marathon, Greece
Beetroot from Marathon, Greece

To start with the vegetables, Peter likes beetroot. So I got the best from Vassilis in Marathon.

Boiled beetroot
Boiled beetroot

In addition to the bulb, which I boiled and peeled the skin off, I boiled the leaves. Both were served au naturel, with olive oil, salt, chopped garlic and lemon juice as optional dressing on the side. I particularly enjoy the beetroot with the chopped garlic, much more than with garlic dip (skordalia in Greek). It has a powerful taste, and I particularly like the contrast of the sweetness of the beetroot with the uncompromising sting of the garlic.

Boiled beetroot leaves
Boiled beetroot leaves

Vassilis is also producing zucchini, which are unbelievably tasty.

Zucchini from Marathon, Greece
Zucchini from Marathon, Greece

So, zucchini were my second choice for a summer vegetable to enjoy on the table.

I boiled the zucchini and served them au naturel, with the dressing on the side. The taste of the zucchini without anything is so delicious, that sometimes I eat a couple without dressing, and only after I Add some olive oil, salt and lemon juice.

Green peas from Livanates, Greece
Green peas from Livanates, Greece

Moving on, I got some green peas from Livanates, a small town near Thebes.

Green peas with pomodori, onions, chilli pepper, and parseley
Green peas with pomodori, onions, chilli pepper, and parseley

I cooked them with pomodori, onion, chilli pepper, and parsley.

Another one in the bag.

The next round of dishes comes from the sea.

Skate from Euboia, Greece.
Skate from Euboia, Greece.

My fishmonger is just fantastic, and one more he proved himself to be one.

Skate from Euboia, Greece
Skate from Euboia, Greece

When he saw me he pointed at a skate on the icebed and said. “This is for you”.

I do not argue with statements like this.

Boiled skate with garlic, parseley, chilli pepper, olive oil, salt and lemon juice
Boiled skate with garlic, parseley, chilli pepper, olive oil, salt and lemon juice

I just obey. For my own good.

I boiled the fish, took the flesh off the bones and mixed it in a big bowl with chopped garlic, olive oil, a touch of salt, lemon juice and a little chilli pepper.

Shrimp from Kranidi, Greece
Shrimp from Kranidi, Greece

Then came the shrimp.

Fished from a bay east of Nafplion, they looked fantastic.

Grilled shrimp
Grilled shrimp

I grilled them as they came off the sea. I add a few bay leaves on the side of the grill, for extra flavor.

Grilled shrimp
Grilled shrimp

Last but not least, I got some super fresh sardines, because I love sardines, and Mary likes them too.

My fish monger gutted them and chopped their heads off. I sprinkled coarse salt over them and grilled them.

Grilled sardines
Grilled sardines

 

I always take them off while they are juicy and soft. My new touch was that I added some mint leaves on the side, to enhance the flavor. It worked.

The sardines were sweet, juicy and delicious.

And as Ferran Adria once said “fresh sardine is better than stale lobster”.

We had a great time, the only problem as Peter said was that there was not enough food.

Next time I will get more.

It was nice to see you guys, come again!

Kaletzi, near Marathon, view south
Kaletzi, near Marathon, view south

Sources

1. Vive le Terroir By STEVEN ERLANGER Published: August 31, 2013. The New York Times.

La Graine et le Mulet (Couscous with Mullet): Food and Family Politics

Couscous with Mullet, or “The Secret of the Grain” is a movie of Tunisian born director Abdellatif Kechiche. I love this movie and this is why I am writing this article.

Let me start by introducing the characters of the movie

Slimane is a 60 year old dock worker who has been fired and is divorced from his wife Souad. He lives at the hotel of his partner, Latifa.

Souad is the ex-wife of Slimane and mother of their children. Most importantly, she is the cook of the magnificent “Couscous with Mulet”, the dish that permeates the film like a music score.

Latifa is the hotel owner and partner of Slimane, and mother of Rym. She has not come to terms with the fact that Slimane’s ex-wife and children do not accept her as a member of the family.

Rym is Latifa’s daughter and is the key person of the movie after Slimane.

The plot goes like this.

Slimane has a dream to open a couscous restaurant, serving his ex-wife’s recipe of couscous with mullet (kephalos in Greek). He buys an old tugboat and transforms it into a floating restaurant.

Rym supports Slimane in making his dream come true. She goes with him to the Bank, to the Local Authority, trying to get all the permits, the loans, and when the opening night comes, she fights (and succeeds) to convince her mother to go to the restaurant.

There is however drama in the opening night, far more serious than Latifa’s hesitation.

The couscous that Souad has cooked disappears. It is in the boot of Slimane’s son car, but never made it to the restaurant. It is still in the boot, and far away. The crowd gathered in the restaurant become edgy. They are hungry, they want their food. And at this point, Rym dances one of the most exhilarating belly dances I have ever seen. Take a look at this video clip.

While Rym is dancing her heart away, Latifa is preparing another pot of couscous to replace the one that disappeared.

What I saw in the movie

This is a movie about food and the politics of the family. It is only to be expected that food is intricately related to the politics of the family, as it is one of the fundamental elements in our lifes. Yet it is seldom that it emerges as such in cinema or other arts.

Lets start with the ex-wife and Slimane’s children. They all have a regular Sunday lunch, and Souad cooks her famous couscous with mullet. We are talking about a broken family that tries to hang together by the skin of its teeth. Disintegration and breakage is not only between father and mother. One of the sons, married to a Russian immigrant, with a baby recently born, is having an affair with another woman in a rather obvious and provocative way. In a very tense scene towards the end of the movie, the Russian wife openly accuses Souad as the supporter of her son in his amorous adventures outside his marriage.  This accusation is thrown in the face of Slimane, who appears to be the originator of the path to infidelity and break of the family. Isn’t he the one who now lives with another woman, isn’t he the one who is outside the family? Isn’t it natural for the son to copy the father’s behavior?

Over the Sunday couscous, the family would appear to be united again, even at the cost of pretending to be so. The same couscous is however the kernel of Slimane’s new life as a restaurant owner. And Slimane is not the cook, Souad is. The couscous is the material that even temporarily unites the family, it is the – potentially – only solid ground on which the family can step on. The dish exists and will continue to exist because it brings with it the memories of the motherland, and therefore the motherland itself.  The movie takes place in a small town in the south of France, with a large community of immigrants from North Africa. All the leading characters are either North African or Russian (the son’s wife).

There is another layer in the movie: who is the leading character? Is Slimane the protagonist? I am not so sure. He opens the restaurant, but the cook of the signature dish is his ex-wife, Souad. And when the crisis of the missing couscous breaks out, it is not Slimane who resolves it, but Rym and Latifa. Slimane appears to be willing but weak. The force of nature named Rym is the real protagonist of the movie, and a very charming one. She loves, she demands, she argues, she wants what she considers to be hers. And she desperately tries to support Slimane. She desperately wants a father, and a man for her mother.

I could go on, but want to stop here. I hope that I have given enough motives to those who have not seen the movie to go and see it. As for the ones who have already seen it, this is an invitation to rethink the movie, and/or see it again. Every good movie deserves to be seen at least twice.

The Awards

César 2008

As you may have already spotted on the poster, the film won 4 Cesar awards (the French equivalent to the Oscar)

  • Best Director – Meilleur réalisateur – Abdellatif Kechiche pour La graine et le mulet
  • Best film – Meilleur film – La graine et le mulet, réalisé par Abdellatif Kechiche, produit par Claude Berri
  • Most promising actress – Meilleur espoir féminin Hafsia Herzi dans La graine et le mulet
  • Most original scenario – Meilleur scénario original- Abdellatif Kechiche pour La graine et le mule

64 Mostra Internazionale d’ Arte Cinematografica di Venezia

In the 64th Film Festival of Venice, the film won two awards.

  • Silver Lion – Leone d’ Argento – Gran Premio della Giuria – Cous Cous
  • Award – Premio Marcello Mastroiani for a new actor/actress – ad un attore o attrice emergente  – Hafsia Herzi