From Phassolada to Feta (Greek Food)

Member Name: Praskipark

Product:	Greek Food
Date:	08/01/09 (195 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A tasty, colourful and filling cuisine

Disadvantages: Possibly high in calories

Greek Food. You probably wonder why I am writing an article on Greek food when I am living in Poland. Well the reason is is that my poor husband doesn't really like to eat Polish cuisine - it just doesn't float his boat but he does love Greek food. No, he isn't Greek - he was born in Manchester but at a very early age moved to Harringay where he went to school there. In fact he was the only English kid in the class. Most of his friends at that time were either Greek, Cypriot or Turkish and he used to spend most of his early evenings playing football at his friends houses where he was usually fed by their mothers. His father worked in the rag trade for the famous (well they are only famous to us) Nicolaus brothers who were as you might have guessed, Greek too. So gradually this wonderful, rich cuisine became part of my husband's everyday diet and now many years after leaving London he still prefers Greek food more than any other food which is very difficult at times trying to find the correct ingredients here in downtown Warsaw.

Most of you will have been to some part of Greece on holiday at sometime and I am sure you will all agree that a Greek street market is a fascinating scene, full of colour and bustle. Greek vegetables have an inviting irregularity about them: uneven colourings, knobbly skins and unsymmetrical shapes are a sure indication that the flesh inside will be full of flavour, far superior to the mass-produced, artificially grown produce of colder climates. The dishes you can cook with them are a joy to make and eat.

The ordinary Greek national dish is phassolada, a thick bean-tomato-and-carrot soup (a meal in itself, particularly when supplemented by smoked herring), while on Sundays and festive occasions roast baby lamb or kid with potatoes baked in its gravy, is first choice.

Though each region has its own specialities (succulent dishes of meat cooked with various nuts and dried fruit, pies with original fillings among layers of wafer-thin homemade pastry, and colourful stuffed vegetables) the general tendency for an everyday meal is to make casseroles or stews. Most food is cooked with translucent, pale gold-green oilive oil or oil-derived margarine, which with the addition of ripe tomatoes, makes it swim in a bright scarlet sauce, ready to be eagerly scooped up with pieces of bread. 'White' dishes as we like to call them are usually flavoured with the tang of fresh lemons or finished with a creamy egg and lemon sauce.

Soups can be light and refreshing like Avgolemono (the name means egg and lemon) or substantial enough, when eaten with bread, to make a nourishing meal, such as my favourite, green lentil soup. We often have cold soup and they are usually yogurt based, mixed with cucumber and garlic, and spiked with mint.

Since meat is scarcer than fish in Greece because of the arid land and lack of grazing opportunities, the traditional recipes are designed to make a little go a long way, as in the classic Greek moussaka, for which minced lamb is layered with aubergines, then topped with cheese sauce and in lamb pilau, where rice gives substance to the dish. Spices, nuts and dried fruits are often mixed with the meat to make delicious fillings for little parcels of filo, such as chicken and apricot filo pie.

The Greek's choice of 'good' meat is generally slaughtered young animals such as veal, lamb, kid, suckling pig, spring chicken. My own personal choice is kid cooked slowly in the oven in a thick tomato and onion sauce served with small roasted potatoes. I loved this dish when I lived in Portugal also, as kid (or cabrito in Portuguese) was very easy to buy in the markets there. Unfortunately I am unable to buy kid here in Warsaw but I am able to buy most other meats. I will leave that dish until Spring when hopefully, fingers crossed, touch wood and all that superstitious nonsense, I will be going to Greece for a holiday.

The silver and gold of Mediterranean fish - sea bream, gilt -headed bream, sea bass and red mullet, sardine, white bait and many others - form the basis of many delicately flavoured dishes, quite different from their Atlantic cold water cousins, smaller and tastier. Crustaceans, cephalopods and shellfish - fried, grilled or raw - make mouth watering appetisers or even main dishes. It is very difficult to buy fresh fish here in Poland although we do have some specialist shops but it isn't the same as standing on the quayside watching the catch coming in and choosing your own fish to make Plaki. Cod, grey mullet and bass are the best fish to use in this dish. The juices from the onions and tomatoes blended with fresh herbs and lemon juice is wonderful. Another favourite dish that I cook regulary is baked fish with tahini sauce -a simple blend of tahini with olive oil and lemon juice - it's a classic. Squid and octopus both play an important role in Greek cookery but I am not too mad about these little critters. My husband likes the smallest squid seared in olive oil with garlic and herbs.

Vegetables - all knds of fresh beans, aubergines, okra, courgettes, artichokes, potatoes, peppers, beetroot, brocolli etc are cooked as main dishes (as part of a meat casserole or by themselves) and rarely eaten as garnishes. The climate of Greece has ensured that salads and cold cooked vegetable dishes have always been popular, as they are in our house. I often add cheese and yogurt to salads and my two favourite salads are Greek salad with feta cheese and olives, halloumi and grape salad where the cheese is fried before being added. Stuffed vegetables are another popular dish in Greece. Tomatoes, aubergines, peppers, courgettes and onions are all used as receptacles for all sorts of delicious fillings. I also use large leaves like vine, spinach and cabbage, stuffed with aromatic ingredients, packed in a pan and gently cooked until all the flavours are deliciously mingled.

Large quantities and varieties of grains and pulses are grown in Greece and chick peas are probably the most popular and form the basis of creamy pastes such as the much loved hummus bi tahini. I make this with tinned chick peas as it works out cheaper because you don't have to soak the peas overnight or cook them for an hour the next day. Rice is commonly used in Greek cooking and either served plain boiled or heavily spiced and mixed with numerous herbs, dried fruit, nuts and vegetables, such as Pilaff with saffron and pickled walnuts.

Wheat, the most ancient cereal, predominates and wheat flour is also used to make the highly popular filo pastries. It is skilfully shaped and stretched to form a transparent sheet that is then brushed with olive oil or melted butter and folded into layers. When cooked it resembles a very light and crisp puff pastry. A popular dish is chicken and apricot pie which is served in Greece and throughout the Middle East and is a classic dish and absolutely scrumptious. Bread is popular and produced in many different varieties and on special occasions festive breads are always in demand. The most elaborate being the braided Greek Easter Bread, flavoured with nuts and fruit and adorned with hard boiled eggs that are dyed red. According to legend. so my husband tells me, the eggs will keep those who eat them safe from harm.

I think it is safe to say that most Greeks have a sweet tooth , so the variety of sweets and pastries they produce is endless. They make sweet preserves and jams from all fruits (including rose petals, orange blossoms, water melon rinds and small aubergines); they bake hundreds of traditional Greek breads, cakes and biscuits, and use abundant chopped nuts and spices. Desserts take full advantage of the marvellous fresh fruit and nuts of Greece, while honey, which is also abundantly produced, is the preferred sweetener. A favourite of mine is honey and pine nut tart - it is very sweet but delicious. My husband has a very sweet tooth although he isn't at all fat. In fact he is as thin as a rake but I don't know how because he is always eating sweet pastries with his cofee and he loves nut halva which is a light version of a syrup-steeped cake. I suppose the sweetness is a good contrast to the bitterness of the coffee he drinks. He has always drank coffee the Greek way which is black, served in a tiny cup, in one of numerous variations concerning the proportion of coffee and sugar to water. He doesn't think it is a real cup unless it has a creamy brown foam on top and a quarter of an inch muddy, grainy residue at the bottom. He drinks it scalding hot, in small sips - the first followed by a profound sigh of satisfaction.


Having introduced you to some Greek foods I will briefly give you a run down of my favourite ingredients which I use most of the time to cook Greek food for the man of the house but to be fair he actually does most of the cooking himself.

Aubergines
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Although aubergines originated from Asia, they feature in dishes from Greece. There are many different varieties, including green, white and yellow, but the plump purple variety is the most common. I always look out for firm, taut, shiny-skinned specimens with green stalks. I always salt and drain them before cooking as this helps to extract bitter juices and makes them absorb less oil during cooking.


Cheese
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The Greek cheeses I can buy here are Feta and halloumi. Feta is made from goat's milk and is a popular ingredient in all my salads. Halloumi is generally made from ewe's milk and is often fried, then served with lemon juice and pepper.

Chick Peas
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This pulse looks like a pale golden hazelnut and is sold either dried or ready cooked. Chick peas have a nutty flavour and are widely used in stews from North Africa to Spain. In Greece and Turkey they are pureed with olive oil to produce hummus, a delicious dip. If I soak the peas I usually leave them for about 4 hours, depending on how old they are, in order to tenderise them. However, my advice is to use canned as it is much easier and cheaper.

Cumin Seeds
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These dark, spindly-shaped seeds are often added with coriander when making spicy dishes. They are also ground to make tahini and I use these in rice dishes also.

Fresh Herbs
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I love fresh herbs and grow these in pots on my balcony in Spring and Summer. I love the warm, pungent aroma which arises at the merest touch. The leaves impart a distinctive flavour to soups, stews, sauces and spicy dishes when added towards the end of cooking. I aslo use them sparingly in salads and yogurt dishes. I tend to use mint in many recipes as well as a garnish. I find it's fresh taste adds zest to creamy dishes and pulses. Parsley, oregano and basil also play an important part in my cooking and in Greek cooking.

Olive oil
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I don't think my husband would be able to survive without olive oil. Together with its healthy qualities olive oil is indispensable to Greek cooking for its fine, nutty flavour. The richest oil comes from the first cold pressing of the olives, producing a golden green "virgin oil".

Olives
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The fruit of one of the earliest known trees to the Mediterranean. There are hundreds of varieties, difffering widely in size, quality and taste. Colour depends purely on ripeness - the fruit changes from yellow to green, violet, purple, brown and finally black when fully ripened. Fresh olives are picked at the desired stage of ripeness, then soaked in water, brusied and immersed in brine to produce the familiar- tasting result. they can be bought whole or pitted, sometimes stuffed with peppers, anchovies or nuts, or bottled with flavourings such as garlic, coriander, chilli and herbs.

Peppers
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In Greece peppers are served stuffed, filled with couscous, rice, herbs, spices, dried fruits, nuts, cheese and sometimes meat. My favourite way of making the most of the flavour is to grill them until the skins are charred, then rub off and discard the skin, and marinate the peppers in olive oil.

Pine Nuts
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These little nuts are used in both sweet and savoury dishes. I often serve them with marinated vegetables and use them as an ingredient in sweet pastries.

Sea Bass
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This is a favourite fish of mine. It is expensive and usually sold and cooked whole. The flesh is soft and delicate and needs careful attention when cooking. It can be poached, steamed, grilled or baked. Baking is generally my preference.

Squid
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Squid vary in size, from the tiny specimens that can be eaten whole, to the larger varieties, which are good for stuffing, grilling or stewing. The flesh is sweet and tender when either cooked briefly over a fierce heat or given a long cooking over a low heat.

Tuna
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A large oily fish belonging to the same family as mackerel. The flesh, which is sold in steaks or large pieces, is dark red and very dense, and has a tendency to dry out when cooked. Marinating before cooking helps to keep the flesh moist, as does basting frequently when cooking. Tuna can be baked, fried, grilled or stewed. Fresh tuna has a very strong taste compared with tinned and not to everyone's liking.

Figs
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This fruit is associated with Greece and other Mediterranean countries. Different varieties vary in colour, from dark purple to green to a golden yellow, but all are made up of hundreds of tiny seeds, surrounded by soft pink flesh that is perfectly edible. My advice is to choose firm unblemished figs, which just yield to the touch.

Summary
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Well, I hope that has given you an insight into Greek food and given you an appetite. Perhaps it will get you into the mood to think about where you are going for your holidays this year and what wonderful cuisines you can try out whilst sitting in the shade of a taverna, sipping a cold beer or a glass of crisp white wine. I am just about to go and cook a moussaka now for tea whilst drinking a beer as I cook. So I will say farewell and Kali orexi (Enjoy your meal).

Summary: A cuisine using the best fresh ingredients of the Mediterranean