ο "εσωστρεφής" κιοφτές

Ιτσλί είναι το πραγματικό του όνομα (προφέροντας το 'τσ' παχιά και χορταστικά) και είναι γνωστός τόσο για το παιχνιδιάρικο σχήμα του, όσο και για την τάση του να εσωτερικεύει τα συναισθήματά του, αντλώντας συγκινήσεις αποκλειστικά και μόνο από τον ίδιο του τον εαυτό. Και όπως μαντεύετε, ένας κιοφτές με τόσο ιδιαίτερο χαρακτήρα, δε θα μπορούσε παρά να είναι μοναδικά πεντανόστιμος.


Η καταγωγή του είναι ένα πολύπλοκο θέμα, μια και τον διεκδικούν πολλές πόλεις της Νοτιοανατολικής Τουρκίας με πρώτη και καλύτερη την Gaziantep. Ακολουθούν οι Hatay, Adana, Urfa, Mardin και η λίστα δεν τελειώνει εδώ...Ειδικά οι ουστάδες της πρώτης, που είναι και οι πιο μπριόζοι, άνετα σου κρατάνε μούτρα εφ'όρου ζωής (με πιθανή συμφιλίωση σε προχωρημένη ηλικία) αν τολμήσεις να αμφισβητήσεις την εμμονή τους ότι ο Ιτσλί κιοφτές είναι γέννημα-θρέμα της Gaziantep.


Ένας ψύχραιμος Τούρκος σεφ πάντως, θα σου πεί ότι ο κιοφτές αυτός είναι ένα γλυπτό -γιατί τέτοιες δεξιότητες πρέπει να διαθέτει όποιος επιχειρίσει να τον φτιάξει- της Αραβικής κουζίνας, η οποία, δεν είναι μυστικό, επηρεάσε βαθειά την Τούρκικη. Μάλιστα το αραβικό του όνομα είναι Kibbe και το πληγούρι είναι το πιο ενδιαφέρον συστατικό του. Ο Ιτσλί κιοφτές σε ακριβή μετάφραση θα αποδιδόταν μάλλον ως "κιοφτές με μέσα (επιρ.)", αλλά επειδή ακούγεται κάπως αλλόκοτο, σε ελεύθερη απόδοση θα του έδινα το όνομα "κιοφτές με περιεχόμενο".  Κι αυτό, γιατί κάτω από το χρυσαφένιο περίβλημά του, κρύβεται μια υπέροχη γέμιση με μοσχαρίσιο κιμά.


Αν σας γαργάλησα την περιέργεια, ακούστε κι αυτά τα καταπληκτικά: Η γέμιση του Ιτσλί, εκτός από κιμά, πολλές φορές περιέχει και καρύδι, φυστίκι αν είναι από την Gaziantep, κανέλα, μαύρο πιπέρι, σπάνια σταφίδες, σίγουρα κρεμμύδι, καμιά φορά λίγο σκορδάκι, ίσως και λίπος αρνίσιας ουράς για πιο έντονη γεύση. Και το χρυσαφί ένδυμα του είναι λεπτό πληγούρι, που έχει ενωθεί με κιμά (όχι απαραίτητα), συχνά με αλεύρι, σιμιγδάλη, τριμμένη φρυγανιά ή αλλιώς αλεύρι γαλέτας, όπως το ζητάμε εδώ στην Πόλη.


Δυστυχώς σπάνια είχα την τύχη να φάω έναν σπιτικό από ντόπια χέρια, επειδή όμως είναι ακόρεστα δημοφιλής τον βρίσκεις σχεδόν έξω ακόμα κι απ'την πόρτα σου. Κι επειδή η Πόλη είναι τεράστια με κατοίκους από όλες τις πόλεις-κηδεμόνες του κιοφτέ, μπορείς να τον βρεις σε όλες τις απίθανες εκδοχές του. Όσο για το μαγείρεμά του, είτε τον τηγανίζεις, είτε τον βράζεις, αν είσαι της υγιεινής.
Εγώ πάλι θα σας πρότεινα να δοκιμάσετε και τα δύο. Είναι θέμα γούστου, πραγματικά!

Γι' αυτό τον μάλλον γιορτινό μεζέ, που λόγω της δυσκολίας και διάρκειας παρασκευής του φτιάχνεται μόνο σε ειδικές περιστάσεις πια στα σπίτια, διάλεξα την πιο κλασική εφαρμογή του, για να την φτιάξετε κι εσείς σε μια φάση χαράς ή διαολεμένου κεφιού (όσοι θα επιθυμούσαν την συνταγή για δυνατούς παίκτες και βουδιστική υπομονή ας μου γράψουν):

υλικά για τη ζύμη
- 1/2 κιλό πολύ λεπτό πληγούρι, το λεπτότερο, που θα το μαλακώσετε για δέκα λεπτά σε καυτό νερό
- 250 γρ. δυό φορές περασμένο από τη μηχανή μοσχαρίσιο κιμά
- 1/2 ποτήρι νερού σιμιγδάλι
- 1 αυγό
- 1 κσ πάστα ντομάτας
- αλάτι, πιπέρι (με μέτρο, γιατί έχουμε και τη γέμιση)

γέμιση
- 1/2 κιλό μοσχαρίσιο κιμά (λιπαρός ή μη, ό,τι αγαπάτε)
- 3 κσ φρέσκο βούτυρο
- 2 κρεμμύδια ψιλοκομμένα
- 1 ποτήρι νερού ψίχα καρυδιού ή φυστικιού
- φρεσκοτριμμένο πιπέρι μαύρο, λίγο μπούκοβο, αλάτι
- κανέλλα, αν σας αρέσουν τα πιο γλυκά αρώματα

εκτέλεση γέμισης
 Σωτάρουμε τα κρεμμύδια στο βούτυρο και αφού χρυσίσουν προσθέτουμε και τον κιμά και τον καβουρδίζουμε μέχρι να πιει τους χυμούς που θα βγάλει. Ρίχνουμε τα καρύδια ή τα φυστίκια, νοστιμίζουμε με τα μπαχαρικά και αφού σωτάρουμε για 2-3 λεπτά ακόμα, κατεβάζουμε από τη φωτιά. Αφού κρυώσει τόσο ώστε να μην καιγόμαστε, αρχίζουμε να δουλεύουμε κιμά: τοποθετούμε στο κέντρο της παλάμης μας λίγο κιμά, στρογγυλεύουμε το μίγμα πρώτα και τέλος του δίνουμε ένα σχήμα μικροσκοπικού πεπονιού ή μπάλας ράγμπυ. Αφού πλάσουμε όλο μας το μίγμα κατ'αυτό τον τρόπο, σκεπάζουμε και βάζουμε στο ψυγείο για να στερεοποιηθεί μέχρι να φτιάξουμε τη ζύμη.

εκτέλεση ζύμης
Προσθέτουμε στο μαλακό πια πληγούρι (γιατί έχει πρωτίστως μαλακώσει και φουσκώσει σε καυτό νερό) όλα τα υπόλοιπα υλικά και τον δουλεύουμε καλά για 15 λεπτά, βρέχοντας με λίγο νερό στο ενδιάμεσο. Λαδώνετε τα χέρια σας και γεμίζετε την χούφτα σας με μίγμα ζύμης. Τη στρογγυλεύετε, όπως κάνατε και με τη γέμιση προηγουμένως. Στη συνέχεια ασκώντας πίεση απ'τα πλάγια, ανοίγετε με το δάχτυλό σας μια τρύπα στο κάτω μέρος, για να περάσετε από εκεί ΜΕΣΑ τον πλασμένο στο ίδιο σχήμα κιμά. Εδώ, θα δείτε μια τυπική οικογένεια της ανατολής, στη διαδικασία παρασκευής της ζύμης. Το γλύψιμο των δαχτύλων δεν γίνεται να το παραλείψετε, είναι μέρος της συνταγής. Αφού λοιπόν γεμίσετε τις πληγουρένιες χειροβομβίδες σας με τα κιοφτεδάκια, σφραγίζετε την τρυπούλα και τα τοποθετείτε σε ένα ταψί, αφήνοντας λίγο διάστημα ανάμεσά τους.
Σε ένα φαρδύ και βαθύ σκεύος ή φριτέζα που έχει λάδι καυτό, τηγανίστε τα Ιτσλί σας μέχρι το εξωτερικό του κιοφτέ να χρυσοκαφετίσει. Αν πάλι τον θέλετε πιο ελαφρύ, σε νερό που περιέχει ελάχιστο λαδάκι, βράστε για 3-4 λεπτά και σερβίρετε. Πολλοί τον τρώνε σκέτο, κάποιοι άλλοι "ταραγμένοι", τον συνοδεύουν με σος από λάδι, ξίδι ροδιού, μπούκοβο και ψιλοκομμένο μαϊντανό.

Την στιγμή που οι κώδικες της γεύσης του κιοφτέ σπάσουν στον ουρανίσκο, θα βρεθείτε μόνοι με τον εαυτό σας και θα οδηγηθείτε για λίγο στην εσωστρέφεια λόγω πληγουριού. Στο πρώτο του κρακ θα βρείτε μπροστά σας τον κιμά νοτισμένο από τη γλύκα του κρεμμυδιού και του βουτύρου και θα επανακτίσετε οπτική επαφή με την παρέα σας, όταν το γήινο καρύδι θα θρυματιστεί κάτω από την έκπληξή του δοντιού σας...









zucchini fries; the abstract of summer

If I try to count the times I found myself in a classic Greek tavern, I might really get tired. I can give you the picture of the usual suspescts around the table instead; mom, dad, brothers, uncles and aunts with their friends, an army of bored cousins, and short term friends; the kids of the table next to ours. And here is the protocol of the order:
- Irreplaceble Greek salad, known as country salad,
- Roasted bread slices with beautiful olive oil, thyme and salt (so that the salad juices can also be enjoyable),
- Quince style sliced potatoes fried in olive oil.
At that point, the adults of the table pause and look at each other's eyes in absolute silence before they start ordering again; "Two zucchini fries, fried aubergines, aubergine salad etc." As for me, I was literally living for those minutes, because the way the orders sounded to my ears made me feel as if I was in a trip of unknown destination.


As soon as I've become an adult myself, from a gastronomic aspect, I solved the mystery of pausing just before ordering zucchinies: Zucchini fries is the most trustable abstract that defines summer and when it is to be pronounced, we have to be confident. I'm pretty sure that if this dish participates to a beauty contest, it will definitely win the classical beauty crown, it would, however, never accept to pose naked for any magazine. For it is its taste that makes it so special, not the way it looks. 


There is no secret, only good ingredients. It's not that easy to find well brought up zucchinies, but if you do, go for it! Grate them, sqeeze them softly and let them wait in a colander after you sprinkle some salt first. For 1 kg of zucchinies, I use at least 400 gr of feta cheese. I don't use eggs anymore, I think that eggs are nothing more than gossip for this recipe, trust me. Remove from your list the baking soda as well, it ruins the casting. Dill, it is maybe the one that will get you the Oscar. I use more or less a fresh bunch of dill. Complete with grated dry onion and fresh black pepper, mix well and thicken your mixture with flour. You need not a dry and certainly not a watery result. In a hot pan with olive oil put carefully one table spoon from the mixture. And so on and so forth... Allow them to get fried well from its oily side and then turn it over with the same kindness. Put your zucchini balls (the actual name for this appetizer) in a plate that you have covered with paper towel, so it gives away the most of its oil. Escort with yogurt sauce with garlic or however you wish, and dive into it holding your zucchini ball. Can you tell me a better way to write the abstract of your summer? 

Μαν-τί: το δια-μάν-τι της Τούρκικης κουζίνας

Δε το παίζω δύσκολη με το φαγητό, αλλά το συγκεκριμένο πιάτο δύσκολα θα με γραπώσει απ'τη μέση. Θες ότι το γιαούρτι μπορεί να μην είναι στραγγιστό, ή το σκόρδο λίγο; Να έχουν παραβράσει (όπως συχνά συμβαίνει) και η μπουκιά να χυλώνει στο στόμα;  Όπως και να'χει, το μαν-τί (ξεχωριστά προφέρουμε το ν και το τ) είναι το λατρεμένο ζυμαρικό της Πόλης και βασικά της Τουρκίας ολάκερης. Και γίνεται και δικό μου αγαπημένο, όταν η τύχη σηκώνει τη φούστα της και μου αποκαλύπτει έναν καλό ουστά που ξέρει να το μαγειρεύει τέλεια!
Το γενεαλογικό δέντρο του τούρκικου ραβιολιού φτάνει μέχρι την Κίνα και η λέξη mantı έχει τις ρίζες της στον κορεατικοκινεζικό όρο mantou. Σύμφωνα λοιπόν με τους Τούρκους τσελεμεντέδες, το μαν-τί ήταν ήδη γνωστό απ'τον 13ο αι. στη Μέση Ανατολή, ενώ διακόσια χρόνια αργότερα απέκτησε περίοπτη θέση στους σουλτανικούς σοφράδες και στο μενού των χαοτικών κουζινομαγεριών στο παλάτι του Τοπ Καπί. Και για του λόγου το αληθές, ο μικροκαμωμένος σουλτάνος Φατίχ Μεχμέτ, ήθελε λέει, να βλέπει πιάτα να ξεχειλίζουν με μαντί -κρατηθείτε- στο πρωινό του, πέντε φορές την εβδομάδα! Τις υπόλοιπες δύο, έκανε διατροφή.


ο σοφράς του πολυχρονεμένου 
Βιβλία και οδηγοί μαγειρικής μας λένε ότι τουλάχιστον 36 είδη του ζυμαρικού αυτού κυκλοφορούν στις σύγχρονες κουζίνες σπιτιών και εστιατορίων, αλλά το θεοποιημένο είναι ένα: της Καισάρειας, αυτό με τη γέμιση πρόβειου κιμά...(σλουρπ). Αν αναρωτιέστε όμως πώς έφτασε από την Κίνα μέχρι τη γείτονα χώρα το ζυμαρένιο αυτό πουγκάκι, βάλτε το σκηνοθέτη μέσα σας να οργιάσει: Νευρώδη και δυνατά άλογα με Μογγόλους καβαλάρηδες κατευθύνονται δυτικά, με σκοπό να επεκτείνουν την γιγάντισσα αυτοκρατορία των Μογγόλων. Μπροστά πάει ο Τσένγκιζ Χαν, ιδρυτής και αυτοκράτορας. Μακρύς ο δρόμος, απελπιστική η κούραση. Κάποτε πρέπει και να φάνε. Οι ίδιες σκηνές επαναλαμβάνοται σχεδόν εκατό χρόνια αργότερα, με ηγέτη τον Μογγόλο Τιμούρ. Σκοπός αυτή τη φορά, να λογαριαστούν με τους ανερχόμενους Οσμανλήδες. Ναι, αλλά τι τρώνε, δε σας είπα. Μαν-τί  άλλο; Ανάβουν οι φωτιές, τοπουθετούνται τα καζάνια, βράζει το νερό και μέσα σ'αυτό τα γεμιστά ραβιόλια της Μέσης Ανατολής. "Απορώ με το Θεό, που άφησε τον κόσμο σε έναν κουτσό σαν και μένα, με έναν τυφλό σαν και του λόγου σου", είπε ο Τιμούρ σαρκαστικά, μασαμπουκιάζοντας μαν-τί, στον αιχμάλωτό Οσμανλή Γιλντιρίμ Μπέγιαζιτ, προπάππου του Φατίχ Μεχμέτ. Όσο για αυτά που έκανε ο ψυχασθενής Τιμούρ στη γυναίκα του Μπέγιαζιτ, μπροστά στα άτυχα μάτια του τελευταίου, είναι τελείως άσχετα με το πιάτο, ελπίζω μόνο να μην το έφαγε λίγο πριν, ή αμέσως μετά...


ο αιχμάλωτος Μπέγιαζιτ και ο αμείλικτος Τιμούρ των Μογγόλων
Stanislaw Chlebowski

Κι ας έρθουμε στους Οσμανλήδες του 15 αι. πια, που μπορεί να ξεφορτωθήκαν μια για πάντα τους Μογγόλους, δεν έκαναν το ίδιο όμως με το ραβιόλι τους...Στον ατμό το μαγείρευαν αρχικά κι εκτός από κιμά, τους άρεσε να προσθέτουν ρεβύθια, φασόλια και τέλοσπάντων όσπρια. Και πάντα μα πάντα, το νόστιμο ραβιόλι είχε αυτοκρατορική θέση στο ανοιξιάτικο μενού των σαραγιών της Πόλης.
Ακόμα και τώρα μαγειρεύεται στον ατμό, αλλά όχι μόνο: και το φουρνίζουν, και το τηγανίζουν! Το πιο κοπιαστικό κομμάτι της διαδικασίας όμως, είναι η ίδια η παρασκευή του...Αν θέλετε να με ακούσετε, μια μέρα που τα νεύρα σας θα είναι τσατάλια, πάρτε την εξελιγμένη σουλτανική συνταγή και ξεκινήστε:

ζύμη
- 3 ποτήρια νερού αλεύρι
- 2 όμορφα αυγά
- 1 ποτήρι νερό
- λίγο αλάτι

γέμιση
- 500 γρ. προβειο κιμά
- λίγο μαύρο πιπέρι, λίγες νιφάδες κόκκινο πιπέρι (και το μπούκοβο μας κάνει)

σος
- βούτυρο
- μπούκοβο
- προαιρετικά μισό κουταλάκι γλυκού πάστα ντομάτας

- στραγγιστό γιαούρτι που θα αραιωθεί με 3-4 κουταλιές ζωμού
- 3 σκελίδες σκόρδου λιωμένες (για όσους έχουν ψύχωση με το σκόρδο όπως εγώ, βάλτε παραπάνω)

Πάρτε το σκεύος που χρησιμοποιείτε για να φτιάξετε ζύμες και αδειάστε μέσα το αλεύρι. Με τα δάχτυλά σας κάντε μια γούρνα στο κέντρο και αφήστε τα αυγά να γλυστρίσουν μέσα εκεί. Προσθέστε και το μισό νερό και αρχίστε να ζυμώνετε. Σιγά σιγά ρίχνετε και το υπόλοιπο νερό και παιδεύετε το μείγμα μέχρι να σας μείνει στα χέρια μια ελαστική, σαν λωβός αυτιού απαλή ζύμη που δεν κολλάει στα δάχτυλα. Σκεπάστε με νωπή πετσέτα και δώστε της λίγο χρόνο να συνειδητοποιήσει τι έχει συμβεί για τουλάχιστον μισή ώρα.

Με πλάστη ανοίγετε τη ζύμη σε αλευρωμένη επιφάνεια και αφού την λεπτύνετε αρκετά, κόβετε κάθετα και οριζόντια με μαχαίρι έτσι ώστε να δημιουργηθούν ζυμαρένια τετραγωνάκια. Το μέγεθος τους το αφήνω σε σας και στην υπομονή σας, πάντως σίγουρα δεν πρέπει να είναι τεράστια. Στο μεταξύ έχετε ήδη ενώσει τα υλικά της γέμισης, και τσιμπώντας όσο θα τσιμπούσε κι ένα μέτριο πουλάκι με το ράμφος του, τόση γέμιση τοποθετείτε στο κέντρο κάθε τετραγώνου. Τέλος, ενώνετε τις άκρες τους και πιέζοντας τες ελαφρά, τις κολλάτε. Βουαλά, τα τούρκικα ραβιολόπουγκά σας.

Σε αλατισμένο ζωμό κοτόπουλου ή νερού που βράζει, εγκαταλείπετε τα μαν-τί και μόλις σταθούν για τα καλά στην επιφάνεια του νερού, σουρώνετε κρατώντας λίγο από το νερό που έβρασαν. Σε ένα ζεσταμένο τηγάνι κάψτε λίγο βούτυρο -όσο πιο φρέσκο και μυρωδάτο, τόσο το καλύτερο- και τσιγαρίστε μπούκοβο, κι αν θέλετε, και μισό κουταλάκι πάστα ντομάτας. Ανακατέψτε καλά στο τσιγάρισμα, έτσι ώστε η ένωση των υλικών να είναι απόλυτη και το μπούκοβο να βάψει με το χρώμα του το βούτυρο. Προσοχή γλυκούλια, το βούτυρο δεν πρέπει να καεί, αλλά να κάψει.

Σε ένα βαθύ πιάτο σερβίρετε τα μαντί και περιχύνετε πρώτα με 2-3 κουταλιές από το ζωμό και στη συνέχεια με το γιαούρτι, που έχει ενωθεί με το σκόρδο. Πάνω στο γιαούρτι ζωγραφίζετε με το μπουκοβένιο βούτυρο, όσο εσείς θέλετε, χωρίς ωστόσο υπερβολές. Κι αν τυχαίνει να έχετε και φρέσκο δυόσμο, ή έστω και ξερό, αυτή θα είναι η τελευταία σας πινελιά.




Καθίστε πάνω σε μαξιλάρες και φάτε σε χαμηλό τραπέζι. Για το πιάτο αυτό, ένα χορταστικό κουτάλι είναι ο άνθρωπό σας. Κρατήστε και κάποιον όμηρο για παρέα, αν και με τέτοιο μαν-τί, θα σας παραδοθούν με τεμενάδες. Αφιγιέτ ολσούν!

* οι πληροφορίες για την ιστορία του mantı ξεζουμίστηκαν από την εφημερίδα Habertürk, 29-07-12 και από το σούπερ μπλογκ φαγητού http://benimyemekkitabim.blogspot.com/


*  η φωτογραφία "ο σοφράς του πολυχρονεμένου" είναι δανεική από: http://www.yazmavakti.com/2010/08/26/sultanin-mutevazi-sofrasi/



the literature of marmalade: cherries

Have you ever thought about it? Freedom can also be found in food. More particularly, freedom of a different kind of expression that affects the mood, surprises daily routine and adds passion to the restless palate. What we experience most through it, however, is us... A recall of ourselves that sometimes might challenge even the ego.


The cherries in my fridge became marmalade and it will last for a long time... As I cooked fruit, I got a new flavour with a new appearance and smooth dynamics. I put some of it in a small, transparent cup and watched it shining under the hot summer sun that violates my window every day: I remembered that natural deep red is a rare and extremely beautiful colour.


Remove the cores from the cherries, but try not to lose juice, so do it over the pot that you will use to make the marmalade. Smash softly the cherries with your hands; be careful not to make their flesh look like pulp. The feeling on your tongue will be smooth anyway. Make a thick bed of them in the pot and sprinkle sugar according to your will and the will of the cherries of course. Cover the pot and leave it in the fridge for the whole night. The next day put it on fire and cook at low heat for 30-40 minutes. I want my marmalade to be thick but not stubborn. Still, it's up to you.


Many recipes suggest lemon juice that is added just before we remove the pot from the heat, but I avoided it. Once, I made fig marmalade and the lemon juice created shadows on the flavour, so I said NO this time. I added, though, 2 drops of vanillia extract and its aroma stood more than enough... So, you can just go with cherries and sugar if yours is a daily quest. As soon as you remove the pot from the heat, transfer your marmalade into sterilized jars and keep them safe from heat and light. And probably you know that once we open a jar, we keep it in the fridge.


I tried it with fresh baked bread and feta cheese, on yogurt and french toast, with butter or in fresh, green salads... Even with pork or beef could it be really joyful for some queer palates....
No matter how you will use it, the truth is that if you can turn something into something else, equally precious and long lasting, you can do the same thing with yourselves. It will just take a few minutes to remove the cores from your life...









omelet with fresh beans for sure!

The friedge was empty. We've just moved to a new house; chores, routine responsibilities, plus the hot summer...Dreaming of a Greek island was the only escape I could use while I had to hang the curtain of our vintage and madly orange tiled bath; but first I had to buy one, then find someone to open holes on the wall in order to place the curtain bar... Actually, because of our tensed, antsy and shattered attitude, the task appeared rather unbearable. The daily problems of western civilizations sound like fun to others...Well, the friedge was empty.




Hold on! Something green seemed to move in the last shelf of the friedge; green, fresh beans!
Pfffff, without tomatoes, what, how...? So much pain! I closed the friedge door in sorrow. I opened it again proving that I lie every time when I say I don't believe in miracles. There was a second element I didn't notice at the first place: 3 eggs! Hmmm, and there is also onion and garlic. Garlic is everywhere actually, even under my pillow. Asparagus, I now know how to survive without you...




I chopped the onion in small, equal pieces, you can add spring onion in larger pieces as well, smash as much garlic as you wish -I used 2 cloves- and I saute, with the same order I chopped them, in gorgeous Cretan olive oil. However, I cooked the beans in salty, boiling water for 50 seconds first and then put them in a bawl with cold water. This way, you boost the green colour of the beans and you allow them to stay stif and crunchy! I dried them and as soon as the onions and the garlic were ready, I send the beans to my pan. You can also add the garlic right after the beans, actually it is even better.



I whisked my 3 eggs, I added rock salt and black pepper, I whisked once more and I covered the content of my pan with the yellow gang. I lowered the heat, made sure that the eggs reached every inch of the pan, sprinkled some goat cheese on the top and cooked as long as my omlet wouldn't lose its humidity. Preserving humidity can be really crucial for the success of some dishes, as it is the safest way to reach all the cells of our palate and keep the taste alive. I served immediately without folding my precious omlet and I suggest you do the same. It is very pleasant to watch green beans in such a rare position.

To my surprise, my dear friend Boğaç told me that the people of Black Sea use to make omlet with the first string beans of the season. As they also use tomatoes, flour etc., it sounds quite different. It was a great luck to run out from tomatoes. As a Greek living in Turkey, I never had the chance to taste those beans out of the ordinary ambience. I had already the sweetness of the onion and the beauty of the garlic. Tomato would make the dish sounds blathering and apart from that, I believed in them without tomato's boosting; and beans didn't mislead me: the taste was original, fleshy and absolutely satisfying. The only issue is that this dish carries zero memories for me. Again, while I was trying to get to know it better, I suddenly felt as it was someone I used to know...

lamb and artichokes with lemon sauce

artichoke; the Elizabeth of vegetables

They have crowns instead of heads, but they pretend to be deeply modest. They are always seen in the fields resting quietly on their single leg, neglecting humans and looking at the sky into oblivion; but, they are dying for attention. Observing them from afar, someone may think that they stand side by side, almost touching each other; getting closer though, a strictly applied distance seperating them will be noticed. They seem really introverted; well, I've never met before such a narcissistic creature as artichoke.


According to ancient manuscript sources (371-287 B.C) artichoke is described as a cactus species cultivated in Sicily. Romans used to eat not only the heart, but also the hard leaves that had been marinated in salty water first; as for the Greeks, they used to consume different kinds of artichokes. However, the "domesticated" artichoke species of modern times, was cultivated and popularized by the Arabs of Andalusia. Artichoke is a vegetable that can be eaten in all her grown stages*; as a baby during winter, a teen in the spring and a woman in the early summer. And there is almost nothing that cannot do about our body.


 Due to their quiet and well behaved appearance, I never found the courage to built strong bonds with them; but their taste always made me happy. The only thing that used to bother me was the person from whom we were getting them. Every summer my aunts were excited to treat us vacation in a small village close to Nafplio, Iria; and that unpleasant 'person' was the owner of the rooms and the artichoke fields. She loved to make gossip about everyone and everything, more than this, she used to make bleak jokes about peoples' weight and bodyshape. Whenever she saw me, she welcomed me to her rental flats with the same sentence for at least 13 years "Stavriani, is it me or you gained weight this year? I heard that you eat all your food, hahahaha..." It is one of the most common jokes you can hear repeatidly in Greece, and will eternaly exist. As for me, I would just say "pfffff" and shrug my shoulders. Sometimes, vacation at Iria had been very stressful, as the possibility of meeting her by chance could turn into her shouting something about my hips. What kind or response could I possibly give to such a discriminative teasing? After all, one of the first things that we are taught as children is to respect older people; but respect is a feeling, not a privilage of any kind of status; can you imagine that because of  her, the intimacy between me and artichoke is still in progress?


Artichoke has been an inspiration for many delicate dishes and she definitely belongs to the category of the V.I.P vegetables; she is special for the Greek palate -plainly served, boiled with a light sauce of lemon and virgin olive oil, or more official, slowly cooked lamb haunch with a rousing sauce of dill, spring onions and lemon; and they are only two ways, among hundreds, to enjoy artichoke's waltz while slipping in your mouth.
Since lamb is also at its peak of flavour, I thought how badly I've missed a well cooked lamb rump with artichokes. The ingredients that you will need are: a lamp leg about two kilos cut in medium pieces with the bone, 8 whole artichokes with their stems if it's possible, one chopped onion, a bunch of small diced dill and a bunch of big diced spring onions; for the sauce that will be added at the end, the juice of two rich lemons and two eggs, orange zest and diced dill for the garnish.

Heat a comfortable pot, add some olive oil and saute the meat. After 7-8 minutes add the onion and a little bit later the spring onions. Salt and black pepper; don't show mercy on the last. As soon as the onions give in to the heat, fill the pot with water until the meat is almost covered, add a few big drops of olive oil, cover the pot and cook at a low heat for one hour. When the meat gets softer, add the artichokes and cook at the same heat for 30 minutes. Open the pot, remove from the heat and get ready for the sauce, the most heartbeating part of the dish! In a bowl whisk the egg white in a calm way. Do the same thing for the yellow part as well and then unite and continue whisking. It is very important at this level to keep sending kisses to your mixture; it is a tip -and an unexplained mystery at the same time- that helps the sauce to bodybuild. Add the lemon juice slowly and don't stop whisking; finally, add stoically 2-3 ladles of the pot stock to the lemon-egg mixture and watch the sauce becoming a foamy explosion, just like the one that is created when a wave crashes on the rocks. Add in the pot the diced dill and stir extremely gently. Apply the sauce to the pot, cover it, and move it in circles for 4-5 seconds, so the lemon reaches every inch of the stock. Serve a piece of lamb and two artichokes and feed it with the foamy sauce. Sprinkle some diced dill and orange zest.

artichokes painting by Elizabeth H tudor

 Although we did everything to make her smile, artichoke's attidude is still powerfull and distant...Even the lamb is reluctant to compete her. As a queen that she is, she appears in public only when defined by the protocol; and after serving her duties, she vails hersef again. She is there for her people, often her name is mentioned, but nobody has really the chance to be close to her; and this is how an atrichoke rules a dish.

*Marianna Kavroulaki, "The language of taste" (Gourmand Award 2012)

sea, the greatest love

Easter fast, to some Ea(s)ter torture, will meet an end at midnight. Those who went through the forty day fasting game - cheating or not- can't wait to use their forks, and experience the primitive taste of red meat, as well as feeling complete by charging their low battery spirit with overdoses of lamb protein. Am I one of them? Hmm, I don't think so. Although I love meat, fasting dishes are much more amazing for me, because of their creatively simple character.
Easter is my favourite celebration, leaving Xmas second, even third in my holiday list; it's just impossible for any Xmas tree, or New Year's city lights to overcome the epic beauty of Nature's rebirth, as I was so lucky to witness hundred of times in my village, Mani. Not to mention the divine dishes, men and women of the family used to cook and treat during the Easter fast: lobster with spaghetti, grilled shrimps, sea urchins with vinegar and olive oil, mussel risotto, octopus stew, boiled or grilled craps and the blood free food list goes on almost forever...


Days like these, after eating spaghetti with shrimps with the aunties, I  used to meet with my friends at the yard of Saint-Nicholas church and join the ceremonial in a very active way: me, reading prayers - it was fun to perform in front of many people - brothers and cousins in the sacred room, around the holy table, throwing small pieces of candles to each other and sneakily eating the Easter breads while the priest was reading the Gospel; and I could watch all these happening from the slightly open deep purple curtain that was separating the sacred from the common space of the church's interior. The most exciting part of those religious nights was for me to remain calm and serious in my performance, ignore the funny faces of the guys, and win against my impulse to laugh while the crowd was crying in front of the crucified Jesus.

I never feel away from home for the rest days of the year; it is because of Easter that I recall all these incredibly seducing memories and the only way to soften their nostalgic nature is to cook for friends. As my purpose was to revive a dinner from the fasting menu, I chose one of my favorite dishes ever, shrimps with spaghetti, quite spicy and perfumed with anise. All you need is jumbo shrimps, or whatever you like, as long as they are big. I get upset when such kind of spaghetti is served with tiny shrimps; shrimp's flesh is so delicate and shy, that if it is too small, it doesn't give you the time to chew and decode its flavor. You also need diced onions, grated garlic - I am married to both onion and garlic, so you decide about the amount - a lot of organic diced tomatoes for the sauce, a sheaf of fresh dill, two-three shots of ouzo, salt and black pepper, very few drops of tabasco. First of all, clean the shrimps but keep their heads; put them in a pot and boil them; our shrimp stock is ready. Heat a deep pan and saute the onions with olive oil; add the tomatoes, the garlic and the ouzo shots. When it gets thicker, add the cleaned shrimps and cook for ten minutes. Fill a pot with salty water - not crazy salty - and the rest of the shrimp stock; boil and add the spaghetti. Remove just before they become al dente, unite them with the shrimp sauce and cook for two more minutes. Serve immediately, but sprinkle some chopped dill first. Anise, garlic, shrimps; nobody ever flew over this gastronomical triangle without getting drowned in the spicy sauce.


Before shrimps, I cooked two different flavored mussel stew. I wanted them in their shells but it was impossible to find uncleaned mussels; fishermen at Karaköy fish market told me that I could have them whole only under request; it was quite heartbreaking as I cannot enjoy them in their coats spontaneously. Anyway...For the first dish, you need the juice of one or two lemons, one big onion , a glass of white wine, a sprinkle of salt, black pepper, olive oil, and a tablespoon of cold butter. In a comfortable pan, saute the onion with olive oil and add the sensual mussels. Now, pour the wine into the pan, cook for a few minutes, then add the lemon juice and a few plump drops of olive oil; taste and season if necessary. You're not looking for a dish without sauce, so remove the pan from heat before starts losing its water and complete with the butter, making cool, round movements as you hold it; that way you will make the sauce appear extremely confident. Do it in front of your friends, mussels will seem more glamorous than you thought. Serve in a soup plate and don't forget to sprinkle some finely chopped parsley. 


For the next dish, which I prefer as a garlic person, you need no less than four cloves - don't panic, use less if you want - two ouzo shots, one diced tomato, olive oil and fresh, chopped dill, also in generous amount, a tablespoon of butter, salt and black pepper. The first step is to grate the cloves and mix it with 30-50 ml - it's up to you - extra virgin olive oil. Heat a pan again, pour the garlicky mix and add the mussels. Go for the tomato and the ouzo shots. Cook for a few minutes in strong heat, taste and season if needed. Remove from the heat, add the butter and perform. Serve with chopped dill and fresh bread. Now, watch your friends losing themselves; trust me, it is kinky and special!

The religious welcome party to Spring is about to finish with Christ's resurrection. Today at midnight, we will kiss and wish a long and beautiful life to each other and possibly make some thoughts about the way we spent our lives and the people we share with ...The answer though is very simple: Do you love cooking for them?

PS. All the photos were taken by the super cool cell-phones of Boğaç, Angelis and Önder. The last one caused a civil war among the friends, because the first dish with the lemon mussel stew disappeared while he was taking pictures and he didn't have the chance to taste it. We are terribly sorry.

















Instead of magiritsa, turkish wedding soup? Gallantly...

One of the most important food blogs of Greece, Tastefull, made a surprize to its readers and followers; Viki Koumantou, the creator of the blog, suggested düğün çorbası (turkish wedding soup) instead of magiritsa, the all-time classic and beloved dish of Greek Easter and gave some new thoughts for food to the lovers of her cuisine. To be honest, she replaced - in a very creative way - the traditional Easter soup with a turkish dish, that not only fits perfectly to the Greek taste, but also to the spirit of the holiday itself. The secret is that both recipes share lamb as the ingredient in leading role.


What really flushed ye iç sev was Viki's invitation to cook the wedding soup together at her friendly, high-spirited kitchen. The last time I visited friends and family in Athens, I had also in mind to ask Viki to meet for a coffee downtown. So, I sent her an e-mail explaing why I love her work and for that, I would like to know her in person. As we didn't meet before, Viki asked a friend to call her in the middle of our chat to rescue her if our blind date turned to be an awkard and weird one; this charming confession of Viki was the first step for both sides to begin sharing more ...Melina's cafe at Plaka hosted our conversation that lasted for hours and although it was really a cold day, I returned home with a deeply warm wind in my heart.

Well, since Viki made düğün çorbası, Ι will cook magiritsa for you, using the recipe of the greatest cook in my family, aunt Stamatina. It's hard to imagine how a soup could be so emotional. Then, I thought "Come on, it would be a crime to break the fast without serving a dreaming spaghetti with shrimps and two different dishes of mussel stew in the middle"; and just before magiritsa soup, the queen of Easter, shows up in all her jewelery in order to close the food marathon, we will dye our eggs red and spread touching smells in the neighborhood by baking Easter breads, the most promising taste of the holiday. This beautiful procedure is not necessarily a menu for the Easter. Whenever you want to turn a common day into an unrecorded celebration, Easter menu can still stand for your mood. After all, gastronomical traditions are not supposed to put strain on us, nor are celebrations to limit the chances of our mouths' palate. As for the last, Viki made it happen!

No matter how religious is the ambience of Easter holiday, what is litteraly celebrated is the resurrection of Nature and all this sweet excitement that is brought along. Trees, mountains, rivers, and all the living bodies are the ones that come to life in order to give life back. Indeed, the sound and the scent of this show-off rebirth is so powerfull that I often need to repeat to myself : "Save yourself from the louse and the spring evenings." (Nazim Hikmet)

                                          Scented holiday to everyone!

stifado: the solemn conversation of stomach

That is why I love Greek kitchen savagely; because, She grew up with neighbors of great cuisine cultures (It must have been more fun in spite of historiography). After all, the only painless side of the Baroque times wars' was the coexistence of food habits and the birth of gastronomic miracles from their combination. One of those is stifado and it really makes me cry to talk about it.


The ingredients in leading role are the pearly shallots, melancholic bay leaf, peacemaker cinnamon, and my biggest obsession, the dominant whole allspice. And if you're mumbling, "Alright, nice story, but what stifado is? We're dying to hear!" then, I'm bringing you back to life. Just a few seconds ago, I mentioned the neighbors of Greek cuisine and at this point I welcome Italy to the stage. Dear taste nuns and monks, stifado is a way of cooking and the term comes from the Latin verb extufare*, which etymologically derives from the Greek ancient term tyfos and it means steam. In other words, stifado is the food that has been cooked in steam, as the water to be used is very, very little. At least, this is how it must have started...


Although is not a regularly served dish, it is enough to say, "I will make for stifado on Sunday" to see all your beloveds reunited around your table. It will be impossible to turn down such a call, even for the coolest friend or family. It's that simple! Because, those chic onions are so nostalgically sweet and so provoking at the same time, that only a cold blood could stay out of this (It can be cooked and used also as a harmless weapon to detect the cold bloods of your close milieu).


For such a devilish project, the first thing that you have to do is to decide about the flesh type you want to use. Well, I think that for a sophisticated stifado, rabbit or octopus are the best choices; some of you, though, might not be so adventurous and fearless to prefer them. So, I got beef for you! Eventually, you will fall apart and try those guys too. It is time that you need.


Entrecote is fine if you don't fancy boned parts. Cut the meat into generous pieces, make small cuts and stuff with garlic, season with salt and spoil with black pepper. Place the beef and the rest of the spices at the same pan and saute in olive oil until it gets brown. Now smell, smell greedily. If the burning meat, boosted by the aroma of the whole allspice, do not succeed to penetrate your emotions, I shall never eat stifado again! Suffocate the meat in red wine; dry or sweet, both will behave! And just before wine fades away, add 5-6 diced organic tomatoes, one tablespoon tomato paste for color if you want to overreact, definitely some more heavy drops of olive oil, very few boiled water and cook at a very low heat.

While the beef is being cooked, you can hang out with the shallots (If you want a strong flavor make sure that they are hard before you buy them). Heat a pan, add olive oil, season the onions with salt while you saute and find yourself in a incredible scent festival for five minutes. Remove from heat. Let them wait until beef becomes soft enough and place shallots in the pot that the meat has been cooked. Cook no longer than ten minutes, as we don't want to see the pretty onions losing their shape.

My weird aunties and grannies used to serve this dish plainly, exactly as it comes out from the pot. Indeed, stifado was already a big deal of its own. This dish always brought solemnity into our kitchen and its presence on the table used to cause a reverent silence for a few minutes. But me, I enjoy spoiling my beloveds, in the same way all these sweet women use to spoil me and my brothers. So, I arranged an escort more for stifado, rice. All in all, if it weren't for the people I love, my food would have no place to go...

* The etymological information about the origin of the term stifado, came from the forthcoming publication of the awarded food writer Marianna Kavroulaki's "Η περιπέτεια της Ελληνικής διατροφής" ( The quest for Greek nutrition) by the Εστία (Estia) publishing house.




The Emperors of the Seas and the Spaghetti with Octopus

                                           

...They will always be hanged in my memory, because this was the first image that I captured on them. Or maybe this was not the first image; but, since I always enjoy tragedy, I prefer to imagine them as they are hanged. In the antique port of my village and under the summer sun, their long legs were swinging melancholically on a rope that was not silky at all. The truth is; the image of the octopuses is a little abnormal, different, dramatic and noble, but also a little unearthly. If they were human, they would, no doubt, be the emperors of a huge and mighty kingdom; anyhow, they must already own the crowns of the deep seas. Whatsoever, it is sometimes better not to know.


The presence of octopuses had always been overwhelming for me during the summer holidays of my childhood. Whenever something touched the toes of my feet while I was swimming, I always thought that a giant octopus was trying to grab me, take me to its dark kingdom, and serve me as the main dish for the royal family. This was the moment when the cells on my back were turned into little volcanic craters and I began to swim desperately shoreward. As soon as I reached the coast, I used to sit on the sand and while the beats of my heart were turning back to normal, I was thinking “Oh dear, that was close!” Of course, nobody was aware of what I had been through!



We used to go to the antique port with friends before the sunset. Our only purpose was to fool around and act naughty. The only true smell of the port was the grilled octopuses, shrimps, and lobsters. In fact, the smell was so dazzling that the people eating in the taverns were getting high; otherwise why they would come EVERYDAY, man? Our evening adventures with my “notorious” friends used to begin with a short visit to the hangouts of the fishermen and go on with their strange sea stories. I always noticed big buckets next to them filled with different sea creatures that were negotiating with their hunters for their freedom: fish, scared to death lobsters, lazy crawfish, esteemed and pride octopuses. How calmly were they swimming without despair and cry? They were as if telling “We are going to deal with this through dialogue.” I was almost sure that at the end they would convince the fishermen to set them free in exchange of legendary treasures of a pirate ship, although the octopuses were the first to be executed. They were hanged from an ordinary rope where everybody could see.

 

Once, I remember, my middle brother came out of the sea with a baby octopus in his hands. Whoa, how I envied him! And why didn’t he mention about this crazy operation, jerk? I got angry with him; but at the same time, I was dying to feel this little prince in my own hands. God, what a feeling! The baby octopus, slipping through my fingers and giving thousands of kisses on my palms with its buttoned legs, begged to turn back to the sea and cried, “My father will die of agony!” It was me who would decide about its fortune, but I was too intoxicated by its beauty to let it free… After a while, the baby octopus was beaten on the sharp rocks, spitted out foams of anger, and finally found its place on the rope of our garden. I, the traitor, as if I hadn’t witnessed this incident, got into a deep relation with the octopus by garnishing it with olive oil, vinegar, and oregano as soon as it was taken from the grill. I would keep this secret in my stomach, forever.

 

 The octopus holds a special place in Greek cuisine. Without drying it on the rope, it won’t actually work out; still you can enjoy it by cooking it in a pot, as it is one of the most favorite dishes of the Easter fast. Let’s sauté onions with olive oil, then add the octopus, boiled and cut, throw two bay leaves, and finish with red wine or vinegar. Adding fresh tomato concasse, finally, completes this glorious combination. (Crushed tomatoes are rather sad in the winter, but I couldn’t help it.) Now, put a little water in the pot and remove it from the fire before the octopus gets too soft. In order to strengthen the red color, it is possible to add a tablespoon of tomato paste; but I didn’t, as I was too afraid of losing the elegant taste of the sea. Meanwhile, salt and pepper are dying to jump into the pot, please don’t ignore them.

 

The traditional spaghetti with octopus is made with coquillettes, but I preferred to go with spaghetti, my favorite. Watch out, here, I have a tip for you: do not throw away the water in which the octopus is boiled, but use it to cook the spaghetti for eight minutes(unless they are fresh). Once the pasta is ready, mix it with the octopus and cook for two more minutes. Oh, when you serve, spread on your dishes small pieces of feta cheese and big shredded parsley and enjoy with someone you really fancy! Escort with dry white wine, it flirts with the buttoned king in a brilliant way.

What to say, “Bon Appetite?” I really don’t know except that I am mad about this dish…

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