Olives

Its Saturday morning and we have just returned from our local deli. ,where they had  out to taste black olives stuffed with almonds, made into a sweet.
I know this sounds bizarre but they are truly delicious served with a soft greek cheese such as anthotiro.
The salty , oiliness of the olives balances the sweetness perfectly. A great find to serve with pre dinner drinks.
Today Haridimos Hatzidakis is coming over with some samples of his just bottled 2010 "Santorini". I can't wait to taste it.
Will report

More oranges

waiting for my guests to arrive, the casserole is in the oven, so I thought that I would add a few more words on oranges.
The fruit bowl is burgening with seasonal oranges si I thought that i would just put this cake together. its origins are definetly mediterranean , perhaps not greek, who knows.
It is a combination or 2 oranges and one lemon ,boiled for about an hour then drained and pureed. The puree of fruit is then added to 5 eggs beaten with 2 cups of sugar, and finally you mix in 5 cups of ground almonds with a teaspoon of baking powder.
Bake at 180c until a skewer comes out clean. I then decorated it with caramelised clementines.
I have also made this using more puree 3-4 oranges less almonds and some self raising flour.Greeks wouls probably substitute some semolina
Any way it makes a really good cake when oranges are sweet and plentiful
ps remove any pips from the fruit before you puree.
It will be tonights dessert served with some plain greek yoghurt.
The maincourse is a simple casserole of beef with loads of leeks and carrots, served sprinkled with fresh parsley and plain boiled broccoli.

Dirty Ginger / Good Food & Fun

Last night we met some friends at a bar serving great food , Dirty Ginger. It is situated in the trendy , reclaimed industrial area of Athens , Gazi.
This area is buzzing with great restaurants , bars and coffee bars and full of young people.
We ate simply tasty Greek dishes all served with a modern twist.
My husband raved about the kokoretsi. A traditional dish of offal encased by intestines. It was so dainty and delicate looking rather like a boudin blanc. I stuck with a  succulent chicken kebab, marinated in a harissa dressing with a  wonderful side salad of tabouleh.
The executive chef is a very dynamic lady, Effie Giallousi, who not only runs this busy restaurant , but is the author of several popular cookery books.
To drink ,we had the new vintage (2010) Biblia Chora White a wonderful blend of Sauvignon Blanc and my favourite Assyrtiko, followed by a Xynomavro made by Kir Yianni. They both hit the spot perfectly. All in all a great evening.

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.