Oranges, Oranges

Now is the time in Greece when oranges are at their very best. In my view the very best variety is a navel orange they call "Merlin."
It is so tasty and sweet unlike anything you buy in the UK
You find them piled up in the market, unwaxed ,of course having arrived straight from the producers. This is the time to indulge in freshly squeezed orange juice at every opportunity.
Make marmalade ,use them in salads and bake with them. Of course the Greeks love them the very best way, to round off a good meal, peeled and eaten at the table.

Spinach & Cheese Pie for Rodney

Back in tune after all the Christmas Festivities.
Spent Christmas in England and whilst I was there , Rodney asked me to post this recipe.

Spinach pie
1 packet filo pastry
Olive oil
750 grms Spinach
250 grms Feta cheese
bunch of spring onions cleaned
half cup chopped parsley
half a cup chopped dill
3 eggs
One third cup milk
salt ,pepper, nutmeg
Heat oven to 180 c

Wilt the spinach, and then place in a colinder and drain out all excess liquid by pressing on top with a plate.
Chop the spring onions and sweat in olive oil. until soft.
Then add the drained spinach chopped herbs salt , pepper and about one third of a nutmeg grated, mix together well and cook for a couple of minutes on a low heat. You may like to add a little extra olive oil to help the proceedings.
Then remove from heat.
In a large bowl beat eggs add the milk and feta , squash the feta into small pieces with a fork, season and add a little extra grated nutmeg.
Then add the spinach and mix eggs and greens thoroughly.
Put some olive in a cup (about half a cup is enough ) and brush a rectangular baking dish  (approx 30cmx20cm)with a little oil.
Now its a question of assembling the pie
Layer up a little les than half the filo, brushing oil on each layer as you go.
Make sure there is plenty of pastry overlapping the sides.
Then add the filling
Take the overlapping filo and enclose the mixture and then add the extra layers on top, brushing with oil as you go.
The idea is that the filling will not escape
Finally brush the top with oil and gently divide the very top layer into portion sizes. This makes it easier to serve when its ready.
Sprinkle a little cold water on the top just before you pop it in the oven for about 40-45 mins
It will rise up as the eggs cook and turn a lovely golden brown.
Serve warm
I would drink a simple Nemea with this or perhaps Moraitis Sillogi Red which is a blend of Cabernet and Red Aidani or even Sillogi White , Assyrtiko/Malagousia

Its Nearly Christmas

I have been so busy coming up to Christmas , that my blog has been neglected.Of course there has been a great deal of eating and drinking goiong on it is the "Feative Season " after all.
Some friends asked us to dinner last week and we ate the best sea bass that I have had for a long time. It was not farmed so the fish was very large. Our hostess had cut it into thick meaty steaks ans griddled it with herbs and lemons.On the side we had a salad of chopped tomatoes parsley and capers dressed in olive oil and vinegar. A real treat!!!
I took along the wine , which was a Viognier made by Skouras, very lightly oaked , so that you still got loads of tropical fruit on the palate.
Very few winemakers grow Viognier in Greecce, but both Skouras and Gerovassiliou make excellent wines from this fashionable grape variety.
On to Christmas day. The usual Turkey with all the trimmings and of course an English Christmas pudd. The dessert will be accompanied by Samos "Anthemis" made from the muscat petit grain indigenous grape , fortified and aged in oak for 5 years.This is liquid Christmas pudding, raisony and figgy.
With the turkey we will crack open a few bottles of Hatzidakis "Cuvee 15", his organic Assyrtiko, a real foody wine with great acidity and structure.
Just off to make a healthy veggie supper before the real festivities begin, probably a soup from the abundance of vegetables in the fridge, or maybe lentils.

Market Day Already

This week has flown by , and its market day already and the sun is shining. I have just returned  and will unpack my purchases in a minute . I bought a sweet white cabbage and some carrots in order to make the classic Greek winter salad of grated cabbage and carrot dressed in lemon juice and olive oil. The leftovers will
be used for a veggy soup over the weekend as the forecast is that the weather is going to turn much colder.
I also purchased a few baby white turnips shaded with purple that will probably be roasted around tonights chicken.
I visited my favourite herb man , who likes to practise his english with me and bought parsley , coriander , watercress, fennel, rucola and beautiful organic Kos lettuces.
I feel a watercress , fennel and orange salad coming on for this evening with a little coriander added.

Moraitis Malagousia 2010

As I mentioned on my last post we were going to taste the new vintage of Moraitis Malagousia 2010. We did, and it was delicious!!!. Citrus slightly mango on the nose and beautifully soft, round and fruity on the palate.
Malagousia is one of Greece's indigenous grape varieties that has made a come back in recent years .
The Moraitis winery is on the beautiful cycladic island of Paros, well worth a visit as it is situated on the outskirts of one of the prettiest and most picturesque fishing villages in Greece, Nouassa. It quite honestly could be a film set , its so perfect.
The weather the last few days have been lovely, about 25 c whilst northern europe is freezing.
Warm enough for lunch outside , which is just what we did today . I had a meeting in central Athens , so we had lunch , greek salad, in a restaurant in the park that is adjacent to the houses of parliament.

Gazi Athens

It seems that I have spent a lot of time talking about food at home.
Last night we paid a visit to the area in Athens called Gazi. so called as the dominating building is the old gas works, which has been restored and now is a very edgy exibition space. At night is flood lit  and the old chimneys are bathed in a  beautiful warm red glow.
The whole area around the suare has become a foody paradise, masses of different restaurants , wine and coffeee bars, most of which have great views of the Acropolis.
We chose a small retaurant called "Sardelas" to eat. As the name suggests this is a fish restaurant. It only serves small plates of mezze so you have a chance to taste lots of things. We had sardines cooked in the oven, a salad of black eye beans and tuna, fried baby squid, cod with garlic dip and a greek salad, all helped along with lovely crusty bread.
For wine, we chose Hazidakis Santorini 2009 made from 90% Assyrtiko, 5% Aidani and 5% Athiri  delicious. the natural acidity of the assyrtiko cut through the oily sardines perfectly.

Yesterday Theo Moraitis ( Moraitis Winery , Paros) sent me samples of his 2010 whites. We plan to taste some of them later today so will post results.

Quince Jam

               

Quince Jam

Photos are the before and after
I love the way quinces metamorphosize from golden yellow to deep red, when cooked

Method
5-6 quinces
1 lemon
water
just under 2 kilos of preserving sugar
A few toasted skinned almonds , optional

Wash the quinces and place in a large pan and cover with water and juice of one lemon.
Bring to boil and simmer for 30 minutes.
Cover with a clean tea towel and leave to cool over night.
Next morning  take the fruit from the liquid  and remove core and pips, peel and then cut into smallish pieces . Save the liquid and measures 2&1/2 litres and save, if need be top up with a little water to have enough liquid.
Place liquid , fruit and sugar into a heavy based pan, bring to the boil and let it simmer away until setting point is reached , approx 2 hours. The mixture will now be a beautiful deep colour. I then added a few toasted almonds.
Cool a little and place in sterilized jars.
This recipe is in essence a recipe I discovered in Tessa Kiros's wonderful book "Apples for Jam"