Sabores in Greece!

The food we eat in Greece.

We are eating very well, mostly doing our own cooking. Greek food in the southern Peloponese is rather simple. Being a hot climate, like Mexico, people here eat freshly prepared foods. Traditional Greek meals, before the advent of global markets, had a few ingredients prepared in a variety of ways. Meats were reserved for special days. I have learned how to cure and bottle Kalamata black olives from the owners of the cabin where we are staying. The owner is Maria, who speaks little English, but we have managed to communicate with her. Her grandson Giorgos, who is about 25 years old and speaks good English translates for us. The house is surrounded by olive trees and they allowed us to pick olives and then taught us how to cure and store them. There are two varieties here - the tall broad-leafed Kalamata black olives and the smaller wider trunked tree of the olives for oil production.Giorgos also said that this area is famous for balsamic vinegar, kalamata figs, (ripened on the tree), sesame pastelli and honey. The Kalamata area is also known for its aged pork meats, like Siglino in the Mani and Lukaniko me portocali. Most particular to this area is Pasto, pork that is smoked and aged in oil. You eat the meat first; the skin and fat is reserved for the time of the olive harvest in winter when you go out into the fields and need lots of carbohydrates for hard labor. As you drive around you see olive trees clinging to the steep dry hills and then you come into lush river watered valleys covered with orange trees, grape vines and growing fields.

It is now October in Kalamata and the agora's (public market's) outside stalls are full with the bounty of the fall harvest. As I walk through the stalls I hear, "Kiria this and Kiria that. This place is like a beehive with activity. I see dozens of stalls with produce that farmers have brought down from the hill towns and valleys to sell. " Patatas to Mavromati", a man yells out in a thunderous voice. There are tables and tables with grapes, apples, raw olives, potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, giant cabbages, carrots, greens of all kinds like spinach and dandelions, at least 10 vendors of botanika, or dried herbs and mieli, honey. I buy fresh pink beans from a lady that also bundles spinach leaves with a few sprigs of fresh parsley and fennel for spanakopitas and such. Inside the long market building you find chicken and meats (Hasapiko) that are hanging freshly butchered and cut right before you, as well as a whole section of sea foods.The fish mongers are the loudest, handing you little metal pans so you can grab your own fish or squid. Reminds me of Pike's Market in Seattle. Lastly or daily, we stop at the furnio or bakery. The bread is so good; they bake it in wood burning ovens. And then there are the cafenions that surround the market. Here the old men or husbands sit facing the market while sipping coffee and water and discuss who knows what, with the man in the long black robe and black chef's hat. We also sit with bags full of food for the week at our feet and sip our cafe elinikon (as in Turkish coffee-but that's another story)while in the background a musical trio composed of accordion, bouzuki and clarinet, play “Vagelio” in honor of Bill's grandfather, Dionisis Maroosis of Pakia, whose family produced olive oil.

Salata Horiatiki
"I can eat Greek salad every day." was Jelly's comment when we had our first meal in Greece. "I don't usually like tomatoes but these taste so good."She now has become our expert Greek salad (salata horiatiki) maker. It's a basic bowl of tomatoes, olives, cucumbers, red onions and Feta. We have had some variations, some tavernas add sliced pepper or we had pickled dandelions in Monemvasia added as garnish, but this is how we make it in our Kalamata home.

Greek Salad for 4:
Combine in a bowl: 2 large tomatoes peeled and cut into chunks, 1 long cucumber peeled and sliced, 1/2 small sliced red onion, some olives, a thick slice of Feta cheese
For dressing you can mix in a cup and then pour or add directly over salad: 2 spoons of olive oil, 1/2 spoon of vinegar, pinch of oregano, pinch of salt.
(We really don't measure, we just pour from the bottle, ala greca!)

Stuffed Tomatoes, Peppers and Eggplants
Bill's cousins in Pakia made this dish for us. Patti and Nikki are great cooks and spoiled us when we were visiting with lavish, mostly vegetarian dishes. Every dinner was accompanied with greek salad and sliced bread and great conversation. They worked in London and are now retired. Although, they were infants during the German occupation and civil war they have some recollections/parents memories of that era. They are also very politically informed and it's wonderful to hear their opinion of the current affairs. The stuffed tomatoes/peppers are traditionally made around this time of the year. Patti prepared the day before by doing all the shopping in the agora (food store): large tomatoes, peppers (red and green) eggplants (small size) chopped lamb, rice, chopped onions, chopped parsley. Patti and Nikki cut and prepped everything the night before over glasses of wine and conversations on everything from the state of the economy to saving seeds native to Greece. I mostly took photos, drank wine and shared my experiences in the garden and life in the U.S. in general. They washed the rice and set aside to dry. Next the tops of the tomatoes and peppers and removed the inside to form little bowls, also, cut the eggplants in half lengthwise and scooped them up. Save the tomatoes pulp and juice for the stuffing. Nikki placed the "bowls" in a large lasagna type oven pan and salted then poured a little oil in each. She then made a mixture of rice, meat, tomato sauce, parsley, slightly sauteed onions, salt and pepper. She mixed it all pretty good with her hands and then spooned it into the vegie bowls. She was having so much fun-I was jealous. Meanwhile Patti was making a hollandaise type white cheese sauce. I didn't see how she made it. Nikki spooned the sauce over the stuffing. Nikki, a chain smoker, was always with a cigarette in her mouth or in the process of lighting one up. Patti, who is younger, covered the stuffed veggies with foil and stuck them in the fridge to be cooked tomorrow. It was already tomorrow-past 12 am. The next morning she cooked them in 350 degree oven for 50 minutes or so. We took some as going away presents and ate them days later and they were still Deliciosos!

Kalamata Olives, the big black ones-The Jaractez Method
Recipe from Maria as translated by Giorgos on Oct. 27, 2011
Pick ripe black olives off the tree-forget the ones on the ground-they are bruised or insect bitten.
Take olive lengthwise and make three cuts with sharp knife.
Put in any bowl you have. Top with cool water and 1 tsp of sea salt. Set aside for 4 hours to remove the bitter juice. or so-"This is Greece, do as you like."
Then drain olives and put in a bowl (Maria showed me that she puts them then in wide-mouthed plastic jar) add 1 teaspoon salt (or so) and cover with wine vinegar over night.
Next morning drain the vinegar into bottle (to be used for salad dressing) don't wash, place in jar with some of the vinegar water (or not) and top with olive oil-must be totally covered. They are ready when they are slightly bitter. Taste in a month or so . If too bitter put in fresh water for one week. Change water frequently until right to your taste.
To prepare for the table: spoon a few olives from curing jar into serving dish, drizzle with olive oil and add a pinch of oregano or thyme (as you like).

Or (Nero and Lati) Salt and Water method: place olives in water to cover add salt and don't change the water, cover and leave as they are for one year.

The trick, whether you use the cut method or not is that when you take them out of jar, check for bitterness, if too bitter place in water and change water frequently until you like the taste. Then spoon into serving dish and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle oregano or thyme.