In much the same way as last year, November has found us in Athens again. After a few days of dappled, grey skies, the weather has reverted to type – the sky the deep azure of the Aegean, with a warmth reminiscent of late spring rather than early winter. Feeling blessed by this winter…
Tag: Greece
Dipping into Autumn – Kolokithosaláta and Pantzarosaláta – Two unusual mezé dips.
So that’s it… it’s officially autumn. It seems to have come around really quickly, and I suppose that’s the result of a disappointing summer season in England. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not complaining – but it is that lack of a good blast of bone-searing heat, that makes the onset of autumn…
Times they are a-changing for tea drinking in Greece
Time was in Greece, that having a cup of tea was a definite signal that your health was in decline. The standard response when asking for tea was, invariably, “What’s the matter with you ?” Tea was solely a beverage for the sick. There was no choice when buying black tea – it was almost…
Friendship and Flowers – Stuffed Courgette Flowers – Anthoús
Yesterday I cooked stuffed courgette flowers – anthóus. Not an easy dish to make in England. It is hard to come by the perfect, golden, courgette blooms – unless you grow your own, or maybe have a tame allotment owner, ready to relieve their prize vegetables of the flowers. The other day, though I…
5th July 2015 – Simple food for complex times…
You will have to excuse me for having been a bit quiet of late. To be honest, I have been uncomfortable prattling on about lovely Greek food when the country is going through such a difficult time. I have really felt that it would be totally frivolous and flippant. I am not going to…
Benaki Museum Eats – Black Eye Beans with Chard
It is probably true to say that eating in museum or gallery cafés is, on the whole, a disappointment. At best, it can be glorified canteen food and at worst, it can be really bad canteen food. Things have improved in recent years, but it is hard to produce fresh, interesting food on that kind…
Seeking Perfection – Keftédes
It is probably impossible to find a tavérna in Greece that doesn’t have a serving of keftédes on the menu. Variations of these tasty, little balls are common across the Balkans, the Middle East and parts of Asia. Wether it’s called a kofta in India, küfte in Azerbaijan or köfte in Turkey, the result is…
Double Dips and Feasts and Festivals
One of the many bonuses of having two cultural backgrounds, is that you have the chance to have ‘double dips’ when it comes to celebrations. So, in our house at Christmas, we have mince pies and melomakárona, and when it comes to stuffing the seasonal fowl, sage and onion gives way to the traditional rice…
A Greek Isle in London – ‘Isle of Olive’
Time was, that trying to cook Greek food in Britain was a bit of a challenge. Obviously a lot of vegetables were available at greengrocers and supermarkets but things like fresh dill were almost impossible to find and flat-leaf parsley, believe it or not, was positively exotic.Tracking down feta, filo pastry and the more unusual…
A Spoonful of Sugar – Preserving Goodness Spoon Sweets
There was a time, probably not so common now, that ‘visits’ (επισκέψεις) to a Greek home followed a series of conventions that, in some ways, were almost rituals. The visitors would be entertained in the ‘salóni’ – a room a bit like the British ‘front room’ -a place that the family rarely set foot…
kouzina 