Change of Season : Change of Cuisine

 I love it when summer segues into autumn - and we’ve had a languorous, elongated mellow autumn this year. What I enjoy most is the change of seasonal produce and so, accordingly, the change of food fare. We are also very fortunate to have green-fingered, generous neighbours who regularly send over home-grown supplies. Lettuce is, of course, for us an autumn/winter veggie so it features in our ‘ecological produce box’ with the peppers, spring onions, and parsley. The bell peppers were incorporated into that day’s menu of chicken and pepper souvlaki, roasted on the grill pan, while the conical, green flask peppers graced the tomato salad along with the onion, while the parsley garnished the rice.

                                                  

  

I began including tahini, a paste made from sesame seeds, in recipes when catering for the non-salt dietary needs of a visiting cousin. I regularly make our own version of pesto using our ground, salted almonds (instead of the traditional pine-nuts) and basil leaves, to which are added cherry tomatoes, parmesan cheese and olive oil. This is a lovely fresh sauce with pasta of your choice. For our cousin, I felt the omission of cheese would mean something was missing from both the flavor and texture of the pesto, so to compensate I added some tahini, which has since become a regular ingredient in many dishes.

With eggs,cream, tahini, cheese, peppers and mushrooms, I made a savoury bake -  rather like a quiche filling - delicious accompanied with roasted red peppers as a salad.                                              

 

Another vegetable that our neighbours grow is Swiss chard or seskoula.  This boils up very quickly and can be served with oil, lemon and salt The sweet red peppers, here called florines as they are widely grown in the northern Florina area, are dry-roasted in the oven, stripped of their skins, then salt and a little vinegar are added to their own delicious oils.

                                                             

Below you can see grilled chicken breast with caramelized onions, kritheraki – a rice-like pasta type – cooked with leeks and a healthy swig of lemon juice, served with fried pepper and Swiss chard salads. Savouring with that a nice, chilled Macedonian wine - what more can you ask for?                                                      

   Below, with the leeks, you see the lotus fruit which I’ve made mention of before. I got tired of only making cookies with them and cast around for other options. This first one is a recipe I adapted: was for apple, now makes lotus muffins.

                                  

                           

 

Fate seemed to conspire to have me acquainted with pasta flora, aka pasta frola. Two years ago, when in Aegina with Angeliki, a neighbour presented us with her home-baked version which was delicious- as was the version our cousin served up when we visited her last year. Then during our stay at Amanita Guest House in Pelion, for breakfast Marianna served us a cherry-filled one which was memorable. Since then it’s been my quest to produce the beautiful base which is not short-crust pastry as some recipes would have it, nor is it a base of  sponge, the texture of which I’ve strangely got an aversion to. It falls somewhere in between the two.    

My first attempt, below, with lotus fruit filling, was too thick, making the tart a bit heavy. My second attempt, playing with lotus and raspberry jam fillings, had a base that was thinner but needed just a touch more baking time.

 I’m very fortunate that our neighbours are happy to be culinary guinea-pigs and also give me useful post-delivery feedback! My dream would be that some kind Argentinian can provide me with an authentic fail-safe recipe. In the meantime, both Z and neighbours may continue to be on the receiving end of further variations while I strive for pasta flora perfection!

                                                

Greek Tourism: the Good, the Bad and ..... Amanita Guesthouse.

For students it always seems the summer has to ‘earned’ by being examined beforehand. My picture here testifies to the other side of the assessment desk not being much fun either! Anyway, for assessment purposes we went, not too long ago, to Volos, a town about half-way between Thessaloniki and Athens.       

            

                                                     

So there we were, enjoying a sea-side ouzo-meze ... till the bill came. Yes, that scrappy piece of paper was presented to me as my 'receipt'! The authentic document was grudgingly brought on request. Now the establishment had made had no declaration, as legally required to do, that they did not accept bank cards for payment. Guess what? Their POS system had broken down ....that very day.....hmm!                                            

                                  

This is the unacceptable face of Greek tourism. Tax evasion continues to be rife, so our salaries and pensions continue to be cut to make up for revenue deficit. 





If this should happen to you, let's try to do something about it: name and shame, my dears, name and shame - I have already done so on Facebook!

From Volos, we moved off for few days of relaxation in the nearby area of Pelion. Visiting parts of Pelion is for the more intrepid tourist, perhaps having to drive, as we did, through mist and cloud, round vertiginous corners, while marvelling at the beautiful buildings clinging to the rock-face.

                       

 But we knew it was worth it as we arrived in Tsangkarada at the award-winning Amanita Guesthouse, run by Filaretos and Marianna Psimmenos.

 

 

 Our room was lovely and the fresh flowers being placed inside during our absence was a lovely touch. Set in lush surroundings, the buildings look onto herb and vegetable patches along with a variety of fruit trees.      

     

                     

Top of Form

 Bottom of Form

But the best part of our stay had to be the breakfasts. I could go into a huge list of what we wolfed down with great pleasure but that would be a spoiler for those of you who go – the element of surprise is part of the experience. Suffice it to say that the breads (black poppy-seed, white with Chios gum and aniseed, soda bread with oats), pies and jams (orange curd, white peach with ginger, and bramble)  were exquisite - all homegrown, home-made and if not, as in the case of the cheese, then provenance was provided! I have to mention, however, the Greek ‘muesli‘, an inspired, tasty twist on the traditional  ‘kollyva’ dish, and what was described as a fruit pie turned out to be a rich cherry  sauce atop  the most magnificent pasta flora base. Marianna, may I have your recipe please?!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Gourmet is a term often associated with pretentiousness and paltry portions. This was cooking that was informed, inspired and imaginative, and which Filaretos generously served up with unbridled relish. He had us – Germans, Greeks, French, Scots – all trying to guess what the jam he served with the cheese and ham was - delicious but ….not telling !                                              

 When Greek ‘meraki’, or passion, is brought into the hospitality recipe, the outcome is superb.

 Thank you, both, for making our stay such an unforgettable one!