154635_greekgourmetraveler_06

Foraging for Flavor Greek Herbs/Bean Cuisine /Spa Food la Grecque/ Dinner with Kazantzakis/

Greek Wines on the Global Table/Greek Summer Fruit/New Greek Salad

SUMMER 2007

O6

3 GREEKGOURMETRAVELER

ContentsISSUE 6 SUMMER 2007

Letter from the President of HEPO 4

Letter from the CEO of HEPO 5

The Greek Economy at a Glance 6

Letter from the Editor 9

Foraging For Flavor: Greek Herbs 11

By Diana Farr Louis

Bean Cuisine 19

By Georgia Kofinas

Spa Cuisine la Grecque 27

By Anthee Carassava

Kerasma Spa Cuisine Recipes 34

At the Table with Kazantzakis 38

By The Cretan Scribe

Flavors of the Aegean 47

By Diane Kochilas

Greek Wine on the Global Table 55

By Sofia Perpera

Sweet Summer Bounty: Greek Fruits 65

By Diane Shugart

Greek Salad Grows Up 73

By Dimitris Andonopoulos

Kerasma: New Greek Salad Recipes 78

Kerasma: Treat Your Taste with Great Recipes 85

for Herbs, Beans, Summer Fruits and More

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT OF HEPO

We continue our efforts to update the public on great Greek products and cuisine.

Our various activities from one end of the world to the other have been crowned

with success and warmly embraced.

The success of the last year's KERASMA conference in Athens prompted us to

organize a second international conference. This year we've chosen two of the

most magical settings, Crete and Santorini, as the venues for the 2nd KERASMA

conference.

Now we have an added goal: We want to illustrate the Greek way of living, which

is indelible linked with Greek food and wine, with the friendly atmosphere of a typi-

cal Greek table, with good company and with the sharing of exquisite food. Food is

our pretext for socializing, the vehicle we Greeks turn to in order to forget life's

hardships.

Our sound nutrition and delicious cuisine help us recharge and go on with life. They

also have much to offer the rest of the world. In times like these, when health issues

are on the forefront of the news, where the epidemic of obesity is spreading all over

the Western world, the Greek diet offers more than a few pearls of wisdom. The Greek

diet and the world renowned Cretan diet, which constitutes the core of

Mediterranean nutrition, offer the tools necessary to confront today's burning health

issues, because they combine both pleasure and usefulness. We touch upon that in

this issue of the GreekGourmetraveler, too, in an enlightened article on spa cuisine.

In the current issue, we also broach the issue of global accessibility, by presenting

the success Greek wines have enjoyed around the world. Our conference guests will

be given the opportunity to taste our wines in the striking environment of

Santorini.

We address health in this issue by offering up a gamut of articles and recipes for

beans, herbs, and seasonal fruits, all of them part of the Greek diet, culled from the

Greek earth. Those are just a few of the things you will find within the pages of our

latest issue.

Looking down the road, we want to invite you to enjoy even more healthy Greek

treats by keeping us on the calendar next October and visiting us at ANUGA. We

will be more than happy to meet you there and share with you the vast gamut of

Greek products, our best examples of KERASMA, our Greek cuisine.

Panagiotis I. Papastavrou

President

HEPO


LETTER FROM THE CEO OF HEPO

A year and a half has passed since we at HEPO initiated the Kerasma campaign

and in that time Greek food and beverage exports have increased more than 42%,

to _2.93 billion between 2004 and 2006.

The success of the Kerasma campaign is unquestionably linked to the increase in

food and beverage exports and we here at HEPO are proud.

Since it began, Kerasma has been at the heart of some of our most successful

activities in the international market. With Kerasma as our vehicle, we've forged

new business partnerships by opening up new markets and upgrading the image of

Greek products in existing markets.

Beyond such tangible achievements, though, Kerasma means something else to us

here at HEPO. Kerasma's success has shown us that our strategy is the right one,

our direction correct.

Greek exports have been on such a positive course, evinced by the biggest growth

rate in years,that now we are thinking ahead to how we'll achieve an even bigger

increase and intensify our presence abroad.

We face a few challenges: how to attract the interest of businesses and food and

wine professionals abroad, and how to broaden and systematize our interaction

with reliable distribution networks in target markets.

We here at HEPO believe that only through a continuation and strengthening of

activities that illustrate all the unique characteristics of Greek food and beverages,

will we be able to sustain and augment our successes abroad:

By identifying Greek food and beverages with Greek- Mediterranean nutrition, a

model that is now an internationally acknowledged vehicle for balance, health,

well-being, and longevity

By incorporating food with the entire Greek culture, the Greek way of living

Through original, qualitative ways of presentation and marketing

Food and beverages are indelibly linked to quality of life, which is an indisputable

ingredient in the commercial success of culinary products. With that in mind, we

have created a new communications tool-a slogan--that will support all our activi-

ties, embrace our products, and incorporate and boost the notion of offering, of

Kerasma. We have a great lifestyle, a great table, a great vineyard here in Greece,

and our new slogan relays that with immediacy and precision:

From us here at HEPO to you around the world, enjoy our Great Greek style of

Eating, Drinking, Living.

Panagiotis Drossos

CEO, HEPO


The Greek Economyat a Glance

RAPID DEFICIT REDUCTION

Deficit of the general govern-

ment has been reduced by 5.3

percentage points of GDP since

2004 - from 7.9% of GDP in 2004

to 2.6% in 2006. It is the first

time since EMU entrance that

the deficit falls below the 3%

limit.

STRONG GROWTH

Economic growth reached 3.7% in

2005 and 4.3% in 2006.

Greece enjoys one of the highest

growth rates in the European

Union and the eurozone. In

2005, the growth rate for EU

countries was 1.7% and for euro-

zone members 1.4%.

JOB CREATION AND FALLING

UNEMPLOYMENT

The unemployment rate has fall-

en from 10.5% in 2004 to 8.9% in

2006.

This is the first time that unem-

ployment falls below 9% since 1998.

INCREASING INVESTMENT

Total investment in Greece went

up by 9.5% in 2006 in comparison

with 2005.

In 2006, Foreign Direct

Investment reached_4.2bn (2% of

GDP), nine times higher than

2005.

RISING EXPORTS

Exports went up by 13.7% in 2005

and by 18.2% in 2006.

IMPROVING COMPETITIVENESS

Greece went up eight places

according to the latest ranking of

the Institute for Management

Development based in

Switzerland.

IMPROVED ECONOMIC

ENVIRONMENT

The index of economic climate

composed by the EU and the

Foundation for Economic and

Industrial Research is on a

steadily upward trend since June

2005.

The latest ratings of Fitch,

Moody's and R&I reviewed

Greece's outlook from stable to

positive.


The Prime Minister of Greece, Mr Kostas Karamanlis with the Greek

Minister of Economy and Finance, Mr George Alogoskoufis.

The Greek Minister of Economy and Finance, Mr. George

Alogoskoufis and his Chinese counterpart Mr. Jin Renqing met in

Beijing in October 2007 in the context of the largest Greek business

delegation's visit to China.

The Minister of Economy and Finance, Mr. George Alogoskoufis

addressing members of the Japanese business community on Greece:

The ideal business partner in Southeastern Europe and the prospects

of the economy after the Olympic Games, in Tokyo in May 2005.

TThe Greek Minister of Economy and Finance, Mr. George

Alogoskoufis, rings the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange

in November 2006.

The Greek Minister of Economy and Finance, Mr. George Alogoskoufis,

during the India-Greece Business Forum organized by the Hellenic

Foreign TradeBoard (HEPO) in New Delhi in February 2007.

The Greek Minister of Economy and Finance, Mr. George Alogoskoufis

speaks at the presentation of HEPOs programme for 2007.



SUMMER 2007

O6GreekGourmetravelerGreek Food, Wine & Travel MagazineEditor-in-ChiefDiane KochilasEditorial Assistant & TranslationsEvelyna Foukou Art Director & Designerk2designHEPO Liaison Anastasia GaryfallouContributorsDimitris Andonopoulos, Anthee Carassava, Georgia Kofinas, Diana Farr Louis, Sofia Perpera,The Cretan Scribe, Diane ShugartContributing Chefs Yiannis Baxevannis, Hector Botrini, NenaIsmirnoglou, Dimitris Lemonis, Miltos Karoumbas,Martin Kirchgasser Lefteris Lazarou, Jean Metayer,Stelios Parliaros, Christoforos Peskias, AthanasiosSkouras, Kostas VassalosPhotographyAthens News Agency, Benaki MuseumPhotography Archive (Nelly's, Dimitris Charisiadis,Elli Papadimitriou), Yiorgos Dracopoulos,Contantinos Pittas, Vassilis Stenos

Food StylingDawn Brown, Tina Webb

PrintingKorifi Publications SAISSN1790-5990CoverVassilis Stenos PublisherHellenic Foreign Trade Board

Legal representativePanagiotis Drossos, CEOMarinou Antipa 86-88Ilioupoli, 163 46 Athens, GreeceTel: 00 30 210 998 2100Fax: 00 30 210 996 9100http://www.hepo.grhttp://www.kerasma.com

Information and subscriptionGreekGourmetraveler, a publication of the HellenicForeign Trade Board, promotes Greek cuisine, wine,travel, and culture. The magazine is distributed freeof charge to food-, beverage-, wine-, and travel-industry professionals. If you wish to subscribe, visit our website atwww.hepo.gr or www.kerasma.com Reproduction of articles and photographs No articles, recipes, or photographs published inthe GreekGourmetraveler may be reprinted with-out permission from the publisher. All rightsreserved. GreekGourmetravelerHellenic ForeignTrade Board.


LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

From juicy watermelon to Greek salad revisited, our sixth issue of the

GreekGourmetraveler is overflowing with the delicious flavors of a sun-drenched

Greek summer.

In this issue, we visit islands and savor the cuisine and pantry of the Aegean, but

we also take you on a delicious, healthful journey to some of Greece's most extraor-

dinary travel destinations, its world-class spas, in an article written by Time mag-

azine reporter Anthee Carassava. She interviews spa chefs and nutritionists and

illustrates how our ancient Mediterranean cuisine is still relative and apt for the

healthful needs of contemporary spa cooking.

Health and flavor have always gone hand in hand in Greek cuisine. It's no wonder

that a country with over 6,000 edible plants should also have one of the most pro-

found relationships to herbs, as veteran GGT writer Diana Farr Louis reports.

Tradition abounds in every aspect of the Greek kitchen, but so does innovation, and

nowhere is it more evident than in the iconoclastic approach modern chefs have

taken to the most recognized icon of the Greek table: Village Salad. As well-known

Athenian restaurant critic Dimitris Andonopoulos writes, Greek chefs are putting a

new spin on this timeless classic.

In this issue we also pay homage to cuisine in its broader social and cultural terms,

with a visit upon one of Greece's most renowned literary figures, Nikos

Kazantzakis, whose works provide a mirror to the food lore of his native Crete.

No Greek summer table would be complete without a bite into a wedge of cool,

ripe, succulent summer fruit, from ruby-red cherries to mouthwatering watermel-

ons. Greece produces some of the most desirable fruits in Europe, as seasoned GGT

contributor Diane Shugart relays.

Arguably, though, no other product of our considerable gastronomic heritage has

surpassed ethnic boundaries as successfully as our wines have, able to pair up to a

whole new world of international foods. Oenologist Sofia Perpera pours forth a

fascinating vintage of Greek wine knowledge, offering valuable advice for how to

marry the distinct wines of Greece with the global gourmet table.

This is a strong issue, perhaps our strongest to date, filled with sunny pictures,

great, informative articles, inspired recipes and more. Enjoy it all summer long, no

matter where you are!

Kali Orexi!

Diane Kochilas

Editor-in-Chief

ForagingFor Flavor Herbs in Greek Cooking and Health

By Diana Farr Louis

Photography: Vassilis Stenos

Food Styling: Dawn Brown

If you don't have mint, you have nothing, says Litsa

Anagnostaki, a taverna owner in Chania, Crete, as she adds a

finely chopped bunch of fresh leaves to her filling for the

island's signature cheese pies. Tea made from rigani (oregano)

is good for coughs, advises a bright-eyed great-grandmother

in Rethymno but, she cautions, don't sprinkle too much on

your food because it can make you swell up.


Both women represent twin

threads in Greek botanical lore:

herbs as essential seasonings for

food and as natural aids to health.

From earliest times, Greeks had an

intimate relationship with their

plants, gathering them from fields

and mountains, devising uses for

them over millennia of trial and

error. Herbs even played a part in

rituals.

Some, like thyme and rosemary,

were burnt as incense--the former

to instill courage in warriors before

battle, the latter to banish evil spir-

its. Sweet yet pungent oregano

branches found their way into both

wedding garlands and wreaths on

tombs. Thought to have been cre-

ated by Aphrodite as a symbol of

happiness, the very word means

jewel of the mountains (ori =

mountains, ganos = jewel).

Marjoram, its milder cousin, was

also woven into wedding crowns

and funeral wreaths to bring peace

and contentment in this life and

the next.

Other herbs originated in myth,

usually as nymphs attempting to

escape a god's attention or a god-

dess's wrath. Mint (Menthe), for

example, was a comely favorite of

Pluto. His ardor inflamed

Persephone's jealousy. Long since

accustomed to spending half the

year in Hades, the queen of the

underworld started to kick and

trample the unfortunate lass, but

Pluto intervened. He transformed

her into a fragrant, resiliant shrub

that would remind him of her pres-

ence every time he touched her

leaves.

The laurel or bay tree came into

being when Apollo pursued the

lovely but chaste nymph, Daphne.

Rather than submit to him, she

turnedwith some help from her

mother, Gaeainto a tree with

strongly aromatic leaves. Although

thwarted, Apollo made the tree

(daphne in Greek) his symbol. He

wore a pliant branch as a crown to

herald his victory over the giant

serpent Python on Mt. Parnassos.

Later, the winners at the Pythian

Games at Delphi were also

crowned with laurel wreaths, while

the priestess there apparently

chewed bay leaves before mutter-

ing her ambiguous prophecies. Its

connotations of merit and distinc-

tion have come down to us in

terms like Nobel Laureate or to

rest on one's laurels.


But an infusion of bay leaves can

also soothe stomach cramps, and

their volatile oils act as a tonic for

the stomach. At the same time,

they are an indispensable flavoring

for bean and lentil soups, stews of

all kinds, marinades, baked fish,

roast chicken, and even dried figs.

HERBS THAT HEAL

Nearly every herb used in Greek

cooking possesses healing proper-

ties. Food historian Alan Davidson

defines an herb as a plant with a

stem which is not woody and

whose green parts, usually leaves,

sometimes stalks, are used to

flavour food, as well as a plant of

medical importance. This definition

would exclude bay and rosemary

and even some varieties of thyme,

sage and oregano, so we might

ignore it except as a general guide.

In fact, it is difficult to draw the line

between herbs and edible plants in

Greece, where so many species

exist and find their way into the

kitchen or medicine cabinet.

Any botanist will tell you that

because of its position between

Europe, Africa, and Asia, Greece

accounts for a prodigious wealth of

plants. At least 6,000 species have

been identified, 750 of which are

endemic. Contrast this with

Britain, which has a mere 2,300

species. Hippocrates, the father of

medicine, discovered therapeutic

uses for 237 plants in the fifth cen-

tury B.C. Two hundred or so years

later Theophrastus demystified the

so-called magical attributes of

healing plants, and in the first cen-

tury A.D. Dioscorides expanded on

his predecessors' knowledge when

prescribing cures. His Roman suc-

cessor, Pliny the Elder, managed to

analyze eight percent of the 6,000

species. His achievement is truly

exceptional if you consider that

barely five percent of the world's

600,000 species have been stud-

ied even today. Sadly, after Galen of

Asia Minor, who was physician to

Marcus Aurelius in the second cen-

tury AD, all scientific inquiry into

the nature and qualities of plants

came to a halt and was not taken

up again for another 1,400 years.

This does not mean that ordinary

people stopped using herbal reme-

dies. On the contrary, they contin-

ued to draw on long-established

practices, advising camomile for

eye problems, spearmint for colic

and vomiting, basil for migraines


and constipation, parsley for kid-

ney disorders and hypertension,

and sage for almost everything else

that ailed them, from lack of ener-

gy to colds, sore throats, and

memory loss.

In addition to basic remedies that

were common knowledge, every

village had its mendicant, a wise

man or woman with special

expertise in plant cures. To this

day, people go to the herb vendors

in urban markets and rely on their

advice for healing various ailments.

Over time, some areas became

famous for their folk healers. One

of these was the Vikos Gorge dis-

trict in Epirus. Specialists known as

komboyiannites, a composite word

perhaps deriving from herbal pack-

ets (kombi) and Yiannina, the town

nearest the gorge, used to gather

herbs from the mountains and

then travel around the Ottoman

Empire selling them and dispens-

ing their cures. Interestingly, when

spelled with one 'n,' the word also

means quack.

But there was no doubt as to the

benefit of Greek herbs and a diet

based on them--although it would

take Westerners until a few

decades ago to realize this. As

Paula Wolfert reports in her book

Mediterranean Greens and Grains at

the turn of the last century, an

Ottoman physician dispatched to

Crete complained to his superiors

in Constantinople: Everyone here

is his own doctor. The people eat

only herbs, greens, and olive oil.

They don't need me.

They were just doing what came

naturally. Linear B tablets

unearthed at Mycenae document

trade in such herbs as coriander,

cumin, mint, and fennel. Although

they were probably used in essen-

tial oils and perfumes rather than

condiments, there is strong evi-

dence from molecular analysis of

clay cooking pots that herbs found

their way into ancient stews. We

also have the recipes of Athenaeus

and later Greeks and Romans (who

always had Greek cooks) that call

for seasonings such as fennel,

aniseed, basil, oregano, rue, savory

(throumbi), sage, and thyme, to

mention just a few. The Romans


Herbs capture thevery essence ofGreece: light,warmth and rockysoil

prized dill so highly that the state

took advantage of its desirability

and levied a tax on the herb. And

everyone with a smidgen of knowl-

edge of ancient culinary habits

knows the fate of silphium--a plant

so popular it was gobbled to

extinction.

ANCIENT HERBS, MODERN PLATES

Many of these herbs are as intrinsic

to Greek cooking now as they were

in antiquity; just a few are no

longer in fashion. Aniseed and

coriander (whose odor the

ancients compared to that of bed-

bugs) rarely appear in dishes, sage

and rue practically never, although

rue in the garden is thought to

deter malicious gossip. Other

herbs are enjoying a comeback.

Take chervil, for instance. Two vari-

eties, called kafkalithres and myroni,

have recently joined the vast dis-

plays of greenery at Athens street

markets as ingredients for salads,

soups, and stews. A decade ago

you would have found them only in

certain dishes in the southern

Peloponnese.

Wild fennel (maratho) is also gain-

ing favor. With a much more pro-

nounced touch of anise than the

fennel bulb and its feathery leaves,

it traditionally turns up in the

cooking of the Aegean islands and

Crete, and combines beautifully

with octopus and cuttlefish stews,

artichokes, greens pies, and on its

own in fritters (marathokeftethes).

The name derives from the

Marathon battlefield, where it sup-

posedly grew in abundance. Its

more delicate relative, dill, appears

all over the country in lettuce sal-

ads, spinach and artichoke

casseroles, pickles and stuffings for

vegetables and vine leaves.

While you could gather almost any

herb except parsley and basil just by

wandering on a Greek hillside, most

Greeks today are too busy and too

urbanized to forage themselves.

Luckily, they don't have to. At their

weekly open-air markets, they can

choose from an array of potted

plants for their balconies, fragrant

bunches picked that morning, and

sachets or bundles of dried herbs.

The variety is overwhelming. But


Greek shoppers are notorious in

demanding only the freshest ingre-

dients and sometimes mix up to

thirty different kinds of greens and

herbs in their legendary hortopittes

(greens pies).

A visit to the herb and spice empo-

riums on Evripidou street around

the Athens Central Market high-

lights the importance of herbs to

city dwellers. One corner shop, no

bigger than a closet, boasts 300

varieties for sale, neatly stacked in

cellophane envelopes like office

files. A larger neighbor, with sack-

fuls of familiar and arcane season-

ings, never has fewer than 10 cus-

tomers standing at the counter,

contradicting the notion that

Greek cooks hesitate before experi-

menting with new tastes. Says one

shopkeeper, You can't predict

what people will buy. One day

everyone will want mountain tea,

the next it might be branches of

wild rigani.

In fact, there are signs that imagi-

native entrepreneurs are beginning

to look beyond the local market for

customers. From the covered mar-

ket in Chania to tourist shops in

Plaka and dozens of resorts, promi-

nent displays of attractively pack-

aged herbs from all over the coun-

try show that herbs are fast becom-

ing trendy souvenirs. And why not?

Tastes and memories are insepara-

ble and herbs capture the very

essence of Greece: light, warmth

and rocky soil. Oregano might well

grow in a northern climate but it

will never develop the oils that we

associate with that extra some-

thing in our village salad.

As Andrew Dalby concludes in Siren

Feasts, a history of food and gas-

tronomy in Greece, the reliance on

certain herbs since time immemo-

rial means that Europe's oldest

cuisine has never lost its original

and unique flavor.


Herbal infusions area longstanding tradi-tion as Greeks havealways thought ofherbs for their thera-peutic as well as aro-matic qualities.

BeanCuisine

Every time I ask my Greek student chefs to name a national

Greek dish, they undoubtedly mention fasolada, bean soup. This

hearty bean soup, made with plenty of onions, tomatoes, olive

oil, and aromatic vegetables like celery and carrots or herbs such

as parsley, is both frugal and nutritious. It is also a mirror of

regional culinary distinctions, spiked with hot peppers in

Macedonia, where spicy food is embraced, or perfumed with

orange zest in Crete.


By Georgia Kofinas



Beans and legumes have always

been essential to the Greek table, a

staple during fasting, a life-saving

food during wars and famine.

Today, beans and legumes are sta-

tus symbols for healthy eating.

Legumes, which include beans, are

second only to the cereal grasses in

their importance in the human

diet. They contain high percent-

ages of protein, iron, and fiber; lit-

tle to no fat; no cholesterol; and

significant amounts of other min-

erals, such as potassium, zinc, and

magnesium. They're also a rich

source of calcium, especially black-

eyed peas and chickpeas, which

contain over 200 mg. of calcium in

one cup, even more than some

cheeses.

Legumes have been part of the

human diet since the days of our

hunter-gatherer ancestors 12,000

years ago. The ancient Greeks

called legumes phaselos (hence the

Greek word for bean, phasoli),

which became the Latin Phaseolus,

a name adopted to describe the

New World bean family. Legumes

can be divided into Old World

legumes such as lentils, chickpeas,

peas, soybeans, fava beans,

lupines, and black-eyed peas, and

New World legumes, which

include limas, kidney beans, black

turtle beans, cranberry, and can-

nellini beans. Today those distinc-

tions are essentially academic,

since New World legumes have

been cultivated in the

Mediterranean for centuries.

GREEK BEAN CUISINE

While there are regions of Greece

renowned for the cultivation of

specific legumes , other parts of

the country are known for specific

bean recipes.

Santorini is known for its many

recipes for the humble yellow split

pea and Rhodes and Sifnos are

renowned for their chick pea dish-

es. In Sifnos, the local specialty is a

slow-cooked, clay-baked chick pea


soup that simmers all night in

wood-burning ovens; in Rhodes

chick-pea fritters spiced with

cumin are a local treat.

In Crete, an island with countless

bean dishes, chick peas are crushed

and fermented and used as starter

in one of Greece's most unusual

breads. They are also served forth

with fish, especially salt cod.

But by far, no legume captures the

local imagination among Cretan

cooks as much as the ancient

broad bean, which islanders savor

both fresh and dried. The former is

floured and pan-fried when young,

served raw in salads together with

wild artichokes, braised with arti-

chokes and peas and other spring

vegetables into lemony one-pot

masterpieces, and turned, like the

Santorini split pea, into a luscious

puree that is the perfect match for

preserved fish, raw onions, herbs,

and more. Dried broad beans also

find their place in the local kitchen,


Beans and legumeshave always beenessential to theGreek table.

GREEK PGI BEANS

Some of Greece's best

beans are found in the

northern central regions

of the Prespes Lakes,

Nevrokopi, Florina, and

Kastoria. The famed Greek

gigantes and elephantes,

which are varieties of the

giant white kidney bean,

have been cultivated up

here since the 1980s and

are renowned for their

excellent quality, thanks

to the region's moderate

temperatures and rainfall,

calcium-rich soil, and

good drainage of the ter-

rain.

In 1996, the European

Union acknowledged the

giant and elephant

beans of the Prespes

Lakes as products of

Protected Geographic

Indication (PGI). There

are five other PGI desig-

nations for Greek beans:

Fasolia Gigantes-

Elefantes, Kastorias;

Fasolia Gigantes-

Elefantes, Kato

Nevrokopi; Fasolia

Gigantes-Prespon

Florinas; Fasolia Koina

Mesosperma, Kato

Nevrokopi; and Fasoli

Plake Megalosperma

Prespon Florinas.

soaked in salt water and roasted

into an irresistible snack that

tastes almost like popcorn, or

stewed fragrantly with onions, bay

leaf, tomatoes, and cinnamon.

One of the oldest legumes are

black eyed peas, and in the

Peloponnese cooks have a special

affinity for them. Simply boiled,

they make an appetizing summer

salad combined with chopped

fresh onions, parsley or dill, and

capers. Southern Peloponnese

recipes for black-eyed peas com-

bine them in a stew with chervil,

celery or wild greens, or baked in a

thick tomato sauce.

Legumes and beans are a natural

match with the countless greens

and herbs that grow throughout

Greece, and many a casserole mar-

rying both can be found all over the

country. Cranberry beans cooked

with celery and pasta make for an

old Corfu dish of Jewish origin;

chick peas and spinach are a classic

of the cuisine of Epirus, as are bean

soups with country style sausages

or with cabbage, and even stewed

lamb or pork with beans.

So many bean and legume recipes

are region-specific, but bean cui-

sine is enjoyed far and wide all over

the country. Legumes are paired

with rice in nutritionally balanced,

simple dishes; fakorizo, or lentil-

rice pilaf, and chick peas with rice

are two classics. Pasta and beans

are among some of the oldest

Greek dishes, especially in places

like Rhodes, where chick peas and

noodles are a match, and in Corfu,

where cranberry beans, celery and

pasta combine to make one of the

heartiest Greek stews. Soups are

made with all manner of legumes,

but the lentil and the cannellini

reign supreme.


Dishes that marry beans and greensare found all over Greece.

OTHER REGIONAL BEANS

Greece's northern clime,

with its ample rainfall and

rich soil is conducive to bean

production, but other

regions in the country, espe-

cially some of the islands,

are known for their excellent

quality old-world varieties.

Santorini, for example, with

its dry climate, and calcium-

rich, porous soil, is particularly

conducive to the production

of yellow split peas, called fava

in Greek. Arguably, Santorini's

fava, tiny, pale yellow, and

almost chalky, as if to evince

the island's volcanic soil, is one

of the most haute of Greece's

regional legumes. This top-

quality yellow split pea melts

when boiled into a delicious,

velvety puree. Although yel-

low split pea puree is common

fare all over Greece, typically

served with raw onions and

olive oil, it has been the staple

food on the island for eons. It

is also the stuff of contempo-

rary Santorini cuisine. Chefs

turn the humble yellow split

pea into fritters, sauces, pie

There are six Greek bean varieties acknowledged by The European Union asproducts of Protected Geographic Indication.


A GIANT IN EVERY WAY

But by far, the one Greek legume

that stands above all others, as

standard fare on taverna menus, as

an ambassador of the elegant sim-

plicity of the best Greek cooking,

and as fodder for modern chefs, is

the Greek giant bean, gigantes.

Boiled then baked in a rich tomato

sauce until the skin becomes

crispy while the bean retains its

buttery softness, gigantes are one

of the all-time favorite Greek dish-

es. They are also extremely versa-

tile. Fine Greek restaurants might

serve them as an accompaniment

to charred octopus, with nothing

more than a simple dressing of

olive oil, vinegar, salt, and

oregano.

In my cooking classes we've


crusts, and luscious purees,

served forth in martini glasses

and terrines, and garnished

with everything from seafood

to capers to kiwis.

An even rarer and much less

commercial regional legume

is the tiny, delicate, pale

brown lentil cultivated in the

high altitude village of

Englovis on the Ionian island

of Lefkada, where the mild

temperatures allow for its

early harvest. Local cooks

simply boil lentils with garlic,

oregano, and olive oil and

press them against the sides

of the pot until they are

mashed, adding just enough

water to make a thick

creamy soup.

A very popular Old World bean

is the kouki, or large, green

broad bean, which Americans

typically call fava beans. Crete,

especially the island's moder-

ately wet Lasithi plateau, is

known for its broad beans,

but so are Alexandroupoli and

Halkidiki in northeastern

Greece, Ioannina in the north-

west, and Corfu.

boiled, skewered, and rolled them

in bread crumbs before frying

them in olive oil as a tasty meze,

and I have encouraged my stu-

dents to add them to the classic

Greek salad of tomatoes, cucum-

bers, onions, and feta.

Certain preparations, such as

soups and some of the heartier

stews, are seasonal, winter dishes,

but by and large most Greek bean

dishes know no season and are

delicious year-round. They may

also be served at room tempera-

ture when cooked on their own

with olive oil. Contemporary chefs

are rediscovering legumes as a way

to offer healthy menu items but

also as a way to play with the tex-

tures, colors, and flavors of these

versatile ingredients.

Spa Cuisine la Grecque Greece's culinary traditions marry perfectly with healthful spa fare

Does the thought of Spa Cuisine conjure up visions of a lone

lettuce leaf and insipid proteins? Does a detox menu beckon

a denial of pleasurable foods or an acceptance of unpalatable

ones? If so, then think again. There's no reason, say skilled

culinary experts and nutritionists across Greece, why the

notion of health and fitness can't blend smoothly with a savory,

satisfying meal, one in which the basics of the Greek-

Mediterranean diet marry perfectly.


By Anthee Carassava

Spa cuisine, says Roula Tsakalou,

head nutritionist at the Hotel

Grande Bretagne's GB Spa, is not

about dieting, fads, or weight-

reduction programs that strain the

emotional and physical balance of

the body. The emphasis, she says,

is a mindful approach toward food

that encourages healthy dietary

habits. That means high-quality

whole foods, minimally processed

and simply prepared to maximize

natural beauty, flavor, and health

benefits.

For us, says Tsakalou, who spent

months developing a spa cuisine

menu with Grande Bretagne's head

chef, spa cuisine has less to do

with calories or grams of carbohy-

drates and fats, and more with a

wholesome, healthy meal that

complements the relaxing experi-

ence offered at the spa.

Take the GB's savory tuna carpac-

cio, as an example. Drizzled with

sesame ginger dressing and often

followed with green asparagus

splashed with fresh Greek yogurt

dressing and toasted pine kernels,

the dish is just one of the scrump-

tious healthy choices offered at the

hotel's sprawling Atrium.

Other popular menu items include

a (very Greek) fricassee of sea-

soned, pan-seared chicken breast

with artichoke hearts. Sprinkled

with chopped thyme, the dish

rivals any gourmet meal offered at

the five-star Grande Bretagne. We

went to great lengths not to

deprive our meals of taste and

enjoyment, says Tsakalou.

Low calorie food dominated the

1980s, switching, a decade later, to

low-fat products. Then, came the

carb-craze era. Today, a wiser nutri-

tional approach to eating is taking

root, one in which vegetablesone

of the mainstays of the Greek diet

play center plate. Good taste, of

course, is crucial, and in the Greek

kitchen flavors are always robust.

In recent years, food researchers in

the United States have started

working on spa-inspired entrees

with lighter flavors, different ingre-

dients, and larger vegetable por-

tions. Such was the interest, that

spa cuisine and its panoply of easy-

to-prepare dishes took home-cook-


ing and connoisurs by storm. "Spa

food is very health-conscious," says

Jeff Crosland, executive chef at Red

Mountain Spa in St. George, Utah.

"Its aim is to maintain the highest

integrity of the food, both nutri-

ent- and taste-wise."

With Greek food maintaining many

salient features such as the use of

olives, olive oil, cheeses made with

goats' or sheeps' milk, and other

natural products, chefs and nutri-

tionists concede the national cui-

sine is naturally apt for spa cuisine.

Greek cuisine, they say, displays an

overwhelming capacity to absorb

and reprocess influences from

practically any direction.

Greece could be the host of spa

cuisine, says Keith-Thomas Ayoob,

a Greek-American nutritionist, tel-

evision host, and national

spokesperson for the American

Dietetic Association. Greek cuisine

is all about freshnessplenty of

fruits and vegetables, beans, lots of

fish, and, of course, the olive oil.

Despite Spa Cuisine's new-found

craze and Greek influence in the

West, spa cuisine in Greece is just

beginning to gain momentum.

Most deluxe hotels in Athens offer

menus with light, healthy meals--

mainly leafy salads, fresh juices

(made with the country's excellent

selection of seasonal fruits), and

herbal teas, another tradition in

Greece, where herbs have long

been consumed for their therapeu-

tic values.

Still, the Grande Bretagne has been

one of the initiators of spa cuisine,

nudging the lifestyle-cum-culinary

trend to a new level since inaugu-

rating its palatial, five-star spa in

the heart of the Greek capital in

2003. Since then, other hotels and

spas have followed suit.

The key to spa cuisine is fresh,

organically grown produce. Savory

rubs, brines, and marinades are

used more commonly, adding zest

without fat. Fish, also, are

smoked, cured, and poached and

complemented with fresh sauces

and garnishes of garlic, lemon, and

parsley.

At Life Gallery, a modern hotel nes-

tled in the northern outskirts of

Athens, hotel chef Dimitris


Greek cuisine, withits emphasis on fresh-ness, is naturally aptfor spa cookery.

Lemonis says he gives serious con-

sideration to the food's origin, sea-

sonality, and nutritional value as

well as the complete culinary expe-

rience. Lemonis' innovative and

appetizing menus highlight his

culinary expertise in gourmet

restaurants.

Among the tasty monthly selec-

tions offered: tender spinach leaves

with a variation of Greek nuts,

olive oil and lemon vinaigrette,

roasted salmon, and a captivating

carrot granita.

The objective is to avoid highly

processed foods and artificial addi-

tives, and to reduce the intake [of

foods ] that are high in saturated

fat or cholestorol, says Lemonis.

With this is mind, he quips, Greek

cuisine offers the best basis for spa

cuisine.

Indeed. With its high intake of

cereals, grains, vegetables, dried

beans, olive oil, fresh herbs, and

seafood, the Mediterranean diet

believed to help reduce the risk of

heart disease and increase life

expectancyoffers an easy basis

for the switch to spa cuisine.

In Aedipsos, Evia, north of Athens,

the Thermae Sylla Spa Wellness

Hotel makes use of the fertile earth

that provides the raw ingredients

for a tantalizing variety of delicious

and healthy dishes.

Greece, says chef Thomas

Constantine of Thermae Sylla, is

rich in food resources due to its cli-

mate and geographic location. We

make great use of those natural

products and produce our own

seasonal vegetables and oil in a

local garden. Local producers are

also carefully screened for their

products.

Any use of ready-made, canned or

processed foods is forbidden, he

says.

Among the dishes carefully pre-

pared at Sylla's resort spa: wild rice

with baby shrimp, grilled fillet of

pork with homemade applesauce,

and Cretan barley rusk with fresh

tomato, aromatic herbs, olive oil

and Cretan soft sheep's milk

cheese.

Feta fits in too. But instead of

using a huge slab on top of the

salad, suggests Ayoob, take about


a quarter of the portion and crum-

ble it over the salad. Dessert is also

part of spa cuisine. A pear poached

in some Mavrodaphne wine or a

fruit salad with a little sweet

Samos Muscat wine are both great

ends to a healthful meal. An other

option, says Ayoob, is some of the

low-fat strained Greek yogurt and

spoon sweets. The idea here is that

they are 'spoon' sweets not 'scoop'

sweets. That means that you have

a small spoon of your favorite one

and not the whole jar with your

yogurt.

On the island of Crete, the Six

Senses Spa offers another succu-

lent experience. Situated within

the Elounda De Luxe Resort, the

breathtaking spa provides an unri-

valled range of signature treat-

ments and treats that focus on

health, beauty, stress reduction,

and rejuvenation using pure and

natural products.

Most importantly, Elounda chefs

and managers say the menu's

emphasis is on the region's most

prided products: fish and seafood.

For us, says Jean Metayer, the

French-born chief chef of the

resort, the emphasis was working

with Greek products not Greek cui-

sine per se to produce the basis of

a healthy spa cuisine menu.

Calorie counts and diet thinking

were taken least into considera-

tion says Metayer who crafted the

menu three years ago with Jacque

Le Divellec, star chef and owner of

Frances' Michelin 2-star Le Sea

Grill.

The result? A lavish Spa Cuisine

menu available to every customer,

not just to the resort's spa-goers.

Starters include a string of light

entrees ranging from lobster

carpaccio and lemon-olive oil vinai-

grette to octopus salad with local

Cretan pligouri (cracked wheat).

The sea bass tartar with light

lemon mousse tops the menu's

main course meal, together with

crayfish and aubergine caviar, and

sole filets with Greek yogurt-herb

pesto. The menu is a star attrac-

tion for most visitors who take to

Elounda for a deluxe vacation.

Greeks have always known that

their native cuisine and sun-and-

sea-drenched raw ingredients pro-

vide the basis for one of the world's

healthiest diets; it makes perfect

sense that these timeless tradi-

tions marry perfectly with con-

temporary spa trends.


Anthee Carassava is the Athens correspondent for Time magazine.

1. Cut the sea bream into very thin

slices and marinate with the salt,

sugar, lemon juice, chili and spring

onions for about 10 minutes.

2. Place the sea bream on a plate,

sprinkle with fresh spring onions and

olive oil. Serve.


Marinated Sea Bream

Grande Bretagne, Executive Chef Martin Kirchgasser

For 4 servings

1 3/4 pounds (400 gr) seabream

100 ml lemon juice

1 scant tsp. salt

1 scant tsp. sugar

3 tsp. chopped spring onions

1 small red chili pepper

100 ml olive oil

Kerasma recipes Spa Cuisine

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Grilled Swordfish with Fennel and Eggplants

Grande Bretagne, Executive Chef Martin Kirchgasser

For 4 servings

2 pounds (800 gr) Swordfish fresh

1 3/4 pounds (200 gr.) eggplant, sliced

1 3/4 pounds (200 gr.) zucchini sliced

1 3/4 pounds (200 gr.) fennel sliced

100 ml olive oil

60 ml lemon juice

1 pound (400 gr.) potatoes sliced, cooked

1. Grill the swordfish until medium

done. Grill the sliced eggplants, zuc-

chini, fennel and potatoes and place

them on a warm plate.

2. Mix the lemon juice and the olive oil

with some salt and pepper and sprin-

kle over the swordfish. Serve.



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1. Dice the tomato and cucumber and

finely chop all the greens and scallion.

2. Whisk together the olive oil, lemon

juice, salt, and pepper. Serve the salad

in a bowl, drizzle with the dressing

and garnish with the cheese. Serve.


Tomato Salad

Life Gallery Spa, Chef Dimitris Lemonis

For 1 serving

3 oz. (100 gr.) tomato

2 oz. (60 gr.) cucumber

1 oz. (40 gr.) arugula leaves

2 Tbsp. chopped water cress

2 Tbsp. curly endive, chopped

1 scant Tbsp. chopped scallion

30 gr. light Greek Anthotyro or cottage cheese

1 Tbs. extra virgin Greek olive oil

1 scant Tbsp. lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste


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Baked Gilthead Bream with Steamed Vegetables

Life Gallery Spa, Chef Dimitris Lemonis

For 1 serving

1 whole gilthead bream (about 1 pound/400 gr.)

1 oz. (30 gr.) cauliflower

1 oz. (30 gr.) broccoli

1 oz. (30 gr.) carrots

1 oz. (30 gr.) asparagus tips

1 oz. (30 gr.) thin green beans

30 ml extra virgin Greek olive oil

Fleur de sel

Pepper to taste

1. Wash, scale, and gut the fish very

well. Cut into two fillets and pat dry.

2. Marinated the fish fillets in olive oil,

lemon juice, fleur de sel, and pepper.

3. Steam the vegetables for 5-8 min-

utes. In the meanwhile, grill the fish

on high heat for 5-6 minutes. Season

the vegetables with salt and serve all

together.



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At the Table withKazantzakis

Of all the contemporary depictions of Greece, perhaps none

has left as lasting an impression as Zorba the Greek, brainchild

of Cretan writer and Nobel candidate Nikos Kazantzakis.

Although Zorba was not a Cretan, Kazantzakis graced his pro-

tagonist with one of the most emblematic Cretan characteris-

tics: leventia, a word that combines gallantry, honor, defiance of

unjust authority, bounteousness, largesse, open-heartedness,

and panache all in one.

By the Cretan Scribe

Photography: Athens News Agency

Benaki Museum Photography Archive

Vassilis Stenos

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Kazantzakis (1883-1957), the

emblematic literary figure of Crete

par excellence, was born in

Herakleion and made the island

the backdrop for many of his

books. Through his works, we

glimpse the rich heritage of Crete,

its history, its daily life, its leventia.

We also garner much about the

ancient yet constant food ways of

the island.

In two of his works, namely Report

to Greco and Freedom or Death,

Kazantzakis includes references to

food that provide glimpses of the

islanders relationship to the table,

level more profound than that of

mere nutrition. These depictions,

though written five decades ago,

are still fitting and telling of the

island's rich food culture, which

epitomizes the generosity of the

Cretan, and Greek, spirit.

Hospitality might find itself connect-

ed with quantity and largesse. In

Freedom or Death, a novel about a rev-

olutionary commander in Ottoman-

occupied Crete, Kazantzakis writes

about centenarian grandfathers

who express the fullness of their life

by enumerating their offspring, then

tallying the enemies they had killed

in honest battle and the war

wounds they had received in the

process. Inevitably, they describe

their cellars overflowing with

wheat, barley, olive oil, wine,

honey, raisins, and dried figs, then

declare that they are ready to


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depart this life, as they have pro-

vided their descendants with free-

dom (through battles) and with

material goods (the filled cellars).

Such a reckoning is as old as man,

evident in the Homeric eidata polla

(a multitude of foodstuffs), and

the Bible:

And they took strong cities, and a fat

land, and possessed houses full of all

goods, wells digged, vineyards, and

oliveyards, and fruit trees in abun-

dance: so they did eat, and were filled,

and became fat, and delighted them-

selves in thy great goodness.

(Nehemiah 9:25)

The bounty of the land continues

to this day in Crete, a place blessed

with a varied geography and cli-

mate, with people who still live

close to the land, and with cooks

inventive enough to turn simple

vegetables into delicious, nutri-

tious farethe quintessence of the

Mediterranean diet. It is not acci-

dental that agricultural produce,

and especially cereals (the staff of

life), are called gennimata in Greek,

which means that which the earth

has given birth to.

Food, however, does not limit itself

to the notion of plentifulness, for the

simple reason that agricultural

bounty has been a phenomenon

that is no more than four decades

old. Food is also intimately tied to

the deepest of all Cretan sentiments:

hospitality, camaraderie, and pride.

In Freedom or Death, Kazantzakis


ThroughKazantzakis work,we glimpse the richheritage of Crete.

Elli

Pap

adim

itri

ou

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elly

s

Ben

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ve

Nel

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enak

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Nel

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hive

gives us Aliagas, the emaciated

and smooth-faced neighborhood

pauper, who describes eloquently

and poetically to the neighborhood

housewives the [fictitious and non-

existent] elaborate meals that he

has prepared and consumed. The

housewives all marvel at his gas-

tronomic prowess, and then exhort

and implore him to accept some of

their own homely, simple food; this

is nothing but a stratagem to offer

alms and food to the pauper in a

way that would not hurt his pride

or make him appear the beggar.

Hospitality is overriding in Crete to

the point that, even nowadays,

Cretan hosts will urge a guest to

partake of their food in ways and

with language the guest could

consider obtrusive, even brash.

This constitutes part of an ages-

long shrewd and astute game, in

which the host has to preempt the

guest's initial, polite, refusal of the

food offered.

In Report to Greco, Kazantzakis

describes a poignant incident that

shows how Cretans interpret their

duty of hospitality. In one of the

author's treks throughout Crete,

nightfall found him at an unfamil-

iar village. He knocked on the door

of the village priest, knowing that

he could spend the night at his

house. The priest welcomes him

cordially, offers him dinner and a

bed for the night. In the morning,

he prepares breakfast for him and

then bids him farewell. Minutes

later, on the street, Kazantzakis is

informed by a passerby that the

priest's only son had died the day

before and that, even as he was

being served dinner by the priest,

the bereaved female relatives were

holding a vigil to lament the son's

loss. However, it was unthinkable


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to the priest not to open the door

and offer food to a stranger.

In the middle of August, walking in

the sultry afternoon heat,

Kazantzakis meets an old lady on

the street who treats him to two of

the figs she had just collected.

Surprised, Kazantzakis asks the old

woman:

Lady, do you know me?

She looks at him as if she were

startled by the question, and

answers back:

No, child. Do I have to know you

to offer you a treat? Aren't you a

human being? I am a human being

too. Isn't that reason enough?

The word the writer uses here for

'treat' is filvo, which comes from

offer a tidbit (what the rest of

Greece calls a krasma) to a friend.

Crete has always been an agrarian

society and the close ties people

have to the land, its cycle of

growth and all it gives them are

evinced in Kazantzakis' works.

In another August incident from

Report to Greco, Kazantzakis

describes his childhood memory of

sleeping outdoors in a watermelon

patch and being alarmed by unfa-

miliar creaking and squeaking nois-

es. He sidles over to his uncle, who

was sleeping some distance away,

and asks him if he knows what

these noises are. Go back to sleep,

city boy, his peasant uncle says, irri-

tated that his sensitive nephew had

interrupted his sleep. Is it the first

time you hear that? It's just the

watermelons as they are stretch-

ing, expanding, and growing.

In yet another stroll through Cretan

villages, Kazantzakis sees a bird of a

steel-blue hue flying overhead and

whistling. Fascinated by it, he asks

a villager for its name. The villager,

ever-practical, shrugged his shoul-


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ders and responds: What are you

fretting about? That bird's not an

edible one!

In yet another passage from Report

to Greco Kazantzakis mentions a

laurel wreath awarded to him for a

university saber-fencing victory. At

that time, he was planning to trav-

el around Europe with a friend,

who suggested they should take

the laurel wreath up north with

them, as the leaves would be indis-

pensable for stifdo, a slow-

braised, spiced ragout of meat,

tomatoes, and onions. After a two-

year stint in Germany, all the laurel

leaves (and tokens of his victory)

were gone, sacrificed on the altar

of many successive stifdos.

It is not accidental that Crete is

called Megalonisos, the big island,

for its largesse extends not only to

physical size (it is the fifth largest

island in the Mediterranean) but

to its spirit and its people, who

regale you with storiesand

mealslarger than life. Even the

smallest of gestures evince that

spirit, from the impromptu offer-

ing of a shot-glass (or two) of tsik-

oudia, the fiery grape distillate

each Cretan house is amply

stocked with, to the offering of a

glyko tou koutaliou, fruit preserve,

upon visiting any Cretan at home.

Even small things will be offered

with a richness of gesture. But the

guest has a reciprocal responsibili-

ty, too. Once you have satisfied

your hunger and thirst, don't be

surprised if you hear your host

utter a variation of this Homeric

turn of phrase:

We opened our door for you, we offered

you water to clean up, and have put

plenty of food and drink before you.

Now, it's your turn to delight us by

telling us who you are, who your fami-

ly is, where you come from, and what

you saw and experienced in this jour-

ney that has led you to our table.


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Flavors of the Aegean Greece's islands are home to some of the country's most unique foods

Nothing conjures up the dreamy images of Greece better than

the Aegean, home to countless islands big and small and to

cooking traditions as old as Homer.


By Diane Kochilas



Islanders have their unique exis-

tence, defined by the deepest bond

to place and familial roots, in com-

mon with one another, regardless of

whether they come from places as

off-the-beaten track as Ikaria or as

cosmopolitan as Rhodes or

Santorini. Even the most touristed

islands, overrun by throngs of visi-

tors between April and October,

revert to their ancient selves once

the crowds go home. Agrarian

rhythms mark the days and seasons.

Beyond the strong sense of place

islands impart to their native sons

and daughters, the Aegean islands

are truly each and every one a sep-

arate universe. Their landscapes

are different from one another,

their histories individualsome

grand and indelibly linked to the

history of modern Europe; others

humbler and untrammeled still.

Even within specifically grouped

islands like the Cyclades and the

Dodecanese, each place is distinct,

often with its own dialect, its own

customs, and, without a doubt, its

own cuisine and place-specific

ingredients and dishes.

Yet, Aegean cooking may also be

seen as a whole, hewn of the pecu-

liarities of island life, the isolation,

the uncompromising arid land-

scape that characterizes most

Aegean islands, where raw ingredi-

ents were traditionally limited to a

few garden vegetables, pulses, wild

greens, fish, some meat, typically

goat or lamb. But this simple litany

of raw ingredients evolved over

time into countless delicious dish-

es, paeans to the ingenuity of sim-

ple cooks who hold one thing dear:

a respect for fine, seasonal foods.

The cooking of the Greek islands is

elemental Greek cooking. In some

places, fish plays a more important

role than in others; in some

islands, such as Sifnos, the staple

food might be the humble chick


Syros famed sweet, loukoumi.

pea, whereas in others, like

Santorini, the tiny yellow split pea

is the food of sustenance. In

Rhodes, the chick pea is also the

stuff of a national dish, in the form

of fritters seasoned with cumin, a

spice rarely found in other regional

Greek dishes and one that perhaps

evinces the island's place as a gate-

way East and South. But Aegean

cookery is nonetheless defined by

its foundations: The three pillars of

the Mediterranean, grapes, grains,

and olives, reign supreme in all the

islands in one form or another.

The pantry reflects agrarian cus-

toms, from oddities like the salt-

cured goat-meat pastourma on my

native island (it's hardly a commer-

cial product and is almost always

used to flavor bean soup) to more

elaborate charcuterie such as the

wine-soaked specialties of the

Cyclades and the unusual cured

fish that have been specialties of

Santorini, Sifnos, and other places.

In parts of the Dodecanese, certain

rare shellfish are put up in seawa-

ter brines, and to this day accom-

pany fishermen on their journeys

out to sea.

One of the grandest chapters in

the culinary annals of the Aegean

is surely its cheeses, with each

island claiming at least one special-

ty and many boasting a handful of

unique, fascinating products.

Regardless of specific products and

dishes, the cuisine of the Aegean is

marked by a pared down, no-non-

sense aesthetic, one that surely

derives from the hardships of island

life. Cooks here prefer honest,

straightforward dishes that allow

the ingredients to shine. In an effort

to share knowledge of at least some

of those raw ingredients, I have

included a brief pantry of the Aegean

as a way for distant mariners to

enjoy the simple delights of the

Aegean's mystical islands.


Island cooks preferhonest, straightfor-ward dishes thatallow the ingredientsto shine.

The Aegean Pantry(Adapted from The Glorious Foods of

Greece, William Morrow Publishers,

2001)

NORTHEASTERN AEGEAN CHEESES

Anthotyro Lesvou. Hard, blue-

rind, fez-shaped, aged whey

cheeses that are made from

sheep's milk and are a tradition on

Lesvos. Sometimes the cheese,

once air-dried, is further dehydrat-

ed in low-temperature ovens,

which helps it keep for long.

Kalathaki. The name means bas-

ket and it refers to the lovely bas-

ket-shaped, goat's milk white brine

cheese, akin to feta, that is native

to Limnos.

Ladotyri. Another cheese from

Lesvos, Ladotyri, or oil cheese, is a

hard, yellow sheep's milk cheese

that is air-dried then steeped in

olive oil to preserve.

Mastello. A relatively new cheese,

mastello is produced on Chios and

is mild and sweet. It is an excellent

cheese for frying.

Melichloro. This is a sea-washed,

sun-dried goat's milk cheese that is

made only on Limnos.

Touloumotyri. One of the most

ancient Greek cheeses, touloumo-

tyri is essentially a fermented

goat's milk cheese, extremely pun-

gent, and aged in goat skins.

OTHER NORTHEASTERN AEGEAN

PANTRY ITEMS

Mastiha. The crystal, resinous

spice hails exclusively from Chios,

where it has been produced since

antiquity. It is highly aromatic and

therapeutic; in the kitchen,

Mastiha traditionally is used in

bread-baking and pastries, but

contemporary chefs marry it with

myriad other ingredients, from

chocolate to fish.

Kalloni Sardines. The delicious,

lightly salted sardines that come

from the Bay of Kalloni in Lesvos

are considered one of the best

meze in all of Greece.

CYCLADES CHEESES

Arseniko. A hard, yellow table and

grating cheese from Naxos,

arseniko is one of the many deli-

cious, combination aged sheep's -

and - goat's - milk cheeses in the

Greek pantheon.

Chloro. The simple white goat's


Ikaria

Manoura from Sifnos (foreground) is aged in

wine dregs; Kalathaki, right, is a goats milk

cheese from Limnos.

milk cheese from Santorini, can be

eaten either fresh (and soft) or

aged, as a grating cheese (either

air-dried or brined) and is especially

delicious over island pasta.

Manoura Sifnou. One of the most

unique, pungent, delicious special-

ty cheeses in all of Greece, manouri

from Sifnos is a hard goat's milk

cheese with a pinkish hue and

dark, winy aroma thanks to the

time it spends aging in wine dregs.

Graviera. There are too many

types of graviera cheeses to list

individually, however the Cyclades

hold the distinction of being the

only place in Greece where cow's

milk graviera is produced.

Generally, graviera is a lovely,

sweet and nutty table cheese that

pairs well with everything from

pasta to sauteed vegetables to

fruit and honey.

Kopanisti. The name means

whipped or beaten, and the

cheese, soft and very peppery, is a

specialty of Mykonos, Tinos,

Andros, and other Aegean islands,

where it often ages in clay jugs

until it acquires its characteristic

pungency.

Myzithra. A soft, mild whey

cheese found all over the islands,

indeed all over Greece.

Petroti. From the Greek word for

rock (petra), this lovely disk-shaped,

cow's milk cheese is pressed

between rocks and drained. It is

mild and semi-soft.

San Mihalis. Although it is a rela-

tive newcomer to the pantheon of

Greek cheeses, San Mihalis, a hard,

cow's milk, PDO cheese from Syros,

is one of the most esteemed in

Greece.

Spilias Milou. One of the many

artisanal cheese produced in the

Greek islands; what distinguishes

this hard, yellow cheese from the

island of Milos is its aging process:

The cheese is rubbed with pressed

olive mash and aged in clay jugs for

at least six months.

Xynomyzithra. This is a cheese

whose name refers to slightly differ-

ent cheeses, all soft and peppery,

depending on where the cheese is

made. In the Cyclades it is produced

mainly on Naxos and Tinos, but is

also produced on Crete.

OTHER CYCLADES PANTRY ITEMS

Apokti. A vinegar-brined and cinna-


From left to right: graviera, kopanisti cheese,

and Santorini capers

mon-and pepper-tinged cured pork

loin that is a specialty of Santorini.

Capers. In various parts of the

Cyclades, but mainly in Santorini

and Sifnos, capers are picked wild

and used in all sorts of dishes. The

berries, buds, and leaves are all put

to good culinary use in salads,

stews, and more.

Fava. In Greek the term refers to

the yellow split pea, which is a spe-

cialty of Santorini. Thanks to the

island's chalky, volcanic soil, the

yellow split peas grown here are

delicious, with concentrated flavor

and an unrivalled ability to cook

down into the most velvety of

mashes, which is how islanders

and others generally eat them.

Louza. From the word for loin, as

in pork loin, louza is a wine-and-

spice cured meat made in Syros,

Tinos, and Andros.

Tomatinia Santorinis. These are

the nearly waterless (thanks to the

island's dry clime) small, intensely

flavored tomatoes that have been

part of Santorini's culinary lore for

almost two centuries. A vibrant

tomato canning industry still exists

on the island; the tomatoes are

even made into spoon sweets.

DODECANESE CHEESES

Krassotyri. This specialty of Kos is

a log-shaped, ribbed wine-soaked

cheese that has enjoyed some

commercial success in recent years

as large island cheese manufactur-

ers have begun to produce it and

sell it off the island. Similar wine-

soaked cheeses are also produced

in Nyssiros and Leros.

Sitaka. One of the most unusual

dairy products in Greece, sitaka is a

tart, creamy spread, not unlike

yogurt cheese, made from slightly

fermented sheep's and/or goat's

milk, which has been salted slight-

ly and reduced over low, tradition-

ally wood-burning, fire. It is a spe-

cialty of Kassos and served with a

delicious local pasta dish together

with caramelized onions.


Note: For information on Cretes Cuisine and pantry, look in the

GreekGourmetraveler, issue 3, summer 2006.

Lountza, a cured pork product

Tandoori and carpaccio are two types of food most people

wouldn't think to marry with Greek wine. But the truth is, from

the spicy Greek wines of the north to the mineral-rich wines of

Greek Wineon the GlobalTable


By Sofia Perpera

Photography: Constantinos Pittas, Vassilis Stenos

Food Styling: Dawn Brown, Tina Webb

the Aegean islands, Greek wines are surprisingly compatible

with the global table. Food-friendly and chef-friendly, they

marry impressively well with a vast range of flavors and cuisines.

I can say this now, after a decade

or so of promoting Greek wine in

the world's toughest wine market,

America. When I moved to Atlanta

from my native Athens, where, as a

trained oenologist, I had seen first-

hand the exciting transformation

of the Greek wine industry, shock

rippled across my professional life.

As I made my first forays into the

American wine scene I realized

that Greek wines were dismally

unknown and poorly distributed.

The wines didn't even exist as a

category; instead they were

thoughtlessly relegated to viticul-

tural limbo, inevitably lumped

under the banner of other wines

from around the world.

FROM ETHNIC MARKET TO

MAINSTREAM

Part of the problem was that until

the late 1990s, the Greek wine

industry had done little to promote

or distribute their exciting new

products; most producers instead

relied on longstanding relation-

ships with traditional importers

who themselves lumped Greek

wines together with other Greek

products, thereby confining most

labels to the ethnic Greek market. I

knew instinctively that the future

of Greek wines was outside the

Greek community, and so I set


Greek wines repre-sent a unique depar-ture from the stan-dard internationalvarieties.


about to establish them in the

mainstream market.

Once American consumers, open-

minded and not as price-conscious

as Europeans, tasted the new gen-

eration of Greek wines I was sure

they would be won over.

In the summer of 2003, I went

back to Greece and convinced a

group of wineries to join forces for

a promotional campaign in the

U.S. and Canada. The campaign

was called All About Greek Wine

and was financed entirely by the

producers. We started with 16

wineries the first year and by the

second we were up to twenty-five.

Today, as we enter the fourth year

of our campaign, we have seen

some remarkable changes in the

perception of Greek wine, especial-

ly within the trade.

Many people in the trade had little

or no concept of Greek wine; I saw

that as an opportunity. Our man-

date at first was simple: We wanted

to convince wine professionals that

Greek wine was good and worth

learning about. For most somme-

liers and buyers, the tastings were a

revelation; although Greek wines

have flavors that are familiar, they

represent a unique, but interesting

departure from the standard inter-

national varieties and should be

evaluated on their own merit. Greek

wines are produced from a vast

assortment of indigenous varieties

(over 300 in all). That fact alone has

helped provide Greece's marketing

advantage to compete with other

well-established winemaking

regions. Trade and consumers alike

are eager for more alternatives to

the same grape varieties that are

produced all over the world, and

Greece has many different choices

to offer. The whites display an array

of fruit and floral aromas with crisp,

clean, mineral flavors. The native

red varieties combine fruit and

earthy aromas that lend themselves

to the production of many different

styles of wine, ranging from fresh,

TASTING NOTES

Greek wines are more com-

petitive in the white wine

category, especially now that

the market is changing

towards lighter, crisp, and

aromatic wines.

WHITE WINES

MOSCHOFILERO

Moschofilero is a distinctly

aromatic variety grown in

Mantinia, in the central

Peloponnese. Its grapes have

a gray colored skin and there-

fore produce a Blanc de Gris.

Moschofilero has a firm acidi-

ty and beautiful floral aroma

of violets and roses together

with citrus flavors and hints

of spice. It produces fragrant,

light dry white wines,

sparklings, and ross.

Because of Moschofilero's

explosive aroma it some-

times leaves the erroneous

impression of sweetness

while in most cases it is bone

dry. When someone asks for a

sweet ros wine he can easily

settle for a Moschofilero.

Food PairingS

Moschofilero's acidity and

aromatic character make it a

very good match for salads,

smoked salmon or trout and

spicy foods, especially Thai

food, with its blend of spicy,

sour, salty, and bitter flavors,

as well as fresh herbs.

Sparkling Moschofilero, with a

hint of sweetness, is excellent

with oysters and fruits de mer,

as well as with salty foods

such as smoked turkey or

salmon, olives, and prosciutto.

Semi Dry Sparkling

Moschofilero is great with

lightly sweet Chinese food.

ASSYRTIKO

Assyrtiko is one Greece's

finest multi-purpose white

grape varieties. It was first

cultivated on the island of

Santorini, where it has devel-

oped a unique character. In

the last 25 years Assyrtiko

has been planted throughout

Greece where it expresses a

milder, more fruity character.

Assyrtiko can also be blend-

ed with the aromatic Aedani

grape for the production of

the unique, dessert wines

called VinSanto, well known

since the Middle Ages.

Assyrtiko has the ability to

maintain its high acidity as it

ripens with high levels of

sugar and yields bone-dry

wines with citrus aromas

and an earthy, mineral after-

taste, due to the volcanic soil

of Santorini.

pleasing, aromatic reds and ross to

extraordinarily complex, full-bodied

wines with long aging potential.

FOOD-FRIENDLY WINES

Another advantage that Greek

wines offer is their ability to pair

well with food. In Greece, food is

rarely served without wine and

wine never served without food,

and this symbiotic relationship is

reflected in the way Greek wine-

makers craft their wines. The

wines match well with a variety of

cuisines and support the new trend

away from barrel-aged, full-bodied

whites and red wines that are way

too over-extracted and suffer from


Food PairingS

Assyrtiko, stainless steel, or

barrel -aged, is the perfect

match for grilled, fried, or

roasted fish. Barrel aged

Assyrtiko and smoked salmon

are excellent together. The

wine also cuts through rich

sauces for fish without over-

powering the flavor of the

fish, but it is equally good

with fried vegetables.

Another great match is lamb

with avgolemono sauce.

We had great fun pairing

Assyrtiko with Indian food.

The numerous spices and

herbs used in Indian cooking

make a flavorful mix that

provides some exciting

match es. We particularly

enjoyed matching a barrel -

fermented and aged

Assyrtiko with tandoori

chicken and lamb. We also

enjoyed southern Indian cur-

ries with coconut milk and

barrel - aged Assyrtiko.

MALAGOUSIA

Malagousia is an up -and-

coming grape with great

potential. It originated in

Nafpaktos in Western Greece

but is cultivated primarily in

Macedonia, Attica, and the

Peloponnese. It is an aromatic

grape that produces elegant,

medium- to full-bodied wines

with medium acidity and excit-

ing aromas of exotic fruits, cit-

rus, jasmine, and mint.

Food PairingS

Malagousia is great with

seafood, especially scallops,

crab, langoustines, and lob-

ster. We loved pairing

Malagousia with lobster and

saffron as well as with pasta

with creamy white sauces.

The wine stands up well to

chicken or pork dishes and to

light but spicy Thai food.

RODITIS

Roditis is a ros-colored

grape cultivated throughout

Greece. It produces the most

elegant, light-bodied, crisp

white wines with citrus fla-

vors when cultivated with

low yields on mountainous

slopes.

Food PairingS

Roditis is the perfect match

to grilled fish and is found in

most seafood places

throughout Greece. Contrary

to the super powerful aro-

matic white wines that dom-

inate most wine lists, Roditis


excessive levels of alcohol.

One other characteristic that

makes Greek wine so food friendly,

especially the whites, is their won-

derful acidity. For a chef, acidity is a

key element in the successful mar-

riage of wine with food. Many of

the chefs I have worked with have

found it difficult at first to believe

that wines with such expressive

aromas and firm acidity are pro-

duced in one of Europe's most

southern wine-producing regions.

We seized on the capacity of Greek

wines to match well with many

styles of food and began to show-

case them at some of the wine and

food world's finest venues, demon-

delivers balance by not over-

powering but enhancing the

flavors of seafood.

The Greeks use lemon in

almost everything from

seafood to grilled meats and

this makes the citrusy

Roditis a great match. We

also found that Roditis goes

well with stir-fried Chinese

vegetables and with aromat-

ic Thai food, especially when

seasoned with kaffir lime

leaves. It is also a good

match for that most difficult

to pair food, the artichoke,

especially with avgolemono

sauce.

ATHIRI

Athiri is one of the most

ancient Greek grape vari-

eties, originally from

Santorini, which is also

known as Thira. Athiri is

found in several regions of

Greece, including Macedonia

and Rhodes, where it pro-

duces VDQS Rhodes wines.

Athiri grapes have a thin skin

and yield a sweet and citrusy

fruit. The wines are slightly

aromatic with medium body

and relatively low acidity.

Food PairingS

Athiri is a very food friendly

white wine which matches

salads, seafood, pasta with

cream sauce, and goat

cheese. When it is planted in

high altitudes and the yields

are kept low, Athiri is more

intense and can also be

matched with light but spicy

Asian dishes, especially Thai.

SAVATIANO & RETSINA

Savatiano is the most widely

planted grape in Greece and

is mainly known for the pro-

duction of Retsina. It is the

predominant grape in Attica,

where it displays excellent

resistance to the dry sum-

mers. With low yields it

makes elegant white wines

with a citrusy aroma and

medium body and acidity.

Food matches

At the beginning of our cam-

paign we wanted to keep

away from Retsina, opting to

make the statement that

Greek wines have moved far

beyond the well-known clich.

Now we realize that some

foods, such as fried vegetables,

the garlic sauce skordalia, bat-

ter-fried salt cod, and fried or

salted sardines match better

with Retsina than with any

other Greek wine.


strating in the process that there

is, indeed, a place for Greek wine in

the mainstream market.

In one of our first events, in 2004

we decided to try something dar-

ing and chose New York's Le

Bernardin to host a press lunch.

Chef Panos Karatassos, of Kyma

Restaurant in Atlanta, teamed up

with his former mentor, Le

Bernardin's Executive Chef Eric

Ripert, to create the menu. Each

chef planned two items, not neces-

sarily Greek, and together we

paired each recipe with several dif-

ferent wines. Chef Ripert's seared

white tuna with cucumber and

mango was a hit with the aromatic

Moschofilero we served, as well as

the bone-dry Assyrtiko from

Santorini. And, Chef Panos's

braised lamb shank provided a

great match for the luscious, dark-

berry flavors of Agiorghitiko as well

as the complex spicy notes of

Xinomavro. For us, the Bernardin

lunch becomes a benchmark; we

were convinced that it was only a

matter of time before Greek wines

were accepted in the mainstream.

Since then, we've taken Greek

wines on the road many times,

from Aspen to Vermont, but one of

the boldest forays was into the

heart of Las Vegas, which has

become the high-end dining capital

of the United States. Las Vegas is

home to the largest concentration

of Master Sommeliers in the world.

Pushing the limits of the wines and

moving into new terrain, we paired

Greek wines with Asian and Indian-

RED WINES

AGIORGITIKO

One of the most noble of the

Greek red grapes, Agiorgitiko

is grown primarily in the

VDQS region of Nemea in

the central Peloponnese. It

produces wines that stand

out for their deep red color

and remarkable aromatic

complexity. Agiorgitiko's vel-

vet tannins together with its

balanced acidity lead to the

production of many different

styles of wine, ranging from

fresh, pleasing aromatic reds

to extraordinary full-bodied

aged reds. Agiorgitiko is also

known for producing pleas-

ant aromatic ros wines.

Food Pairings

I am extremely fond of light

and aromatic reds with

medium tannins and good

acidity made from

Agiorgitiko. There is a big

range of foods that go well

with Agiorgitiko, from top-

quality charcuterie, to ham-

burgers and even pizza.

Equally enjoyable is a light,

slightly chilled Agiorgitiko

with tuna, red mullet, octo-

pus or light beef curries.

Fresh Agiorgitikos also goes

great with grilled meats. A

more velvet expression of the

wine is a good match for

Chinese food.

Full bodied, aged

Agiorgitiko's pairs excellently

with steaks, roast beef,

lamb, Chateaubriand, and

most hard and rich cheeses.

XINOMAVRO

Xinomavro, which means

acid-black, is the predomi-

nant noble red grape variety

of Macedonia and its wines

resemble the style of

Nebbiolo. Xinomavro wines

are known for their superb

aging potential and their rich

tannic character. Their com-

plex aroma combines red

fruits such as gooseberry

with hints of olives, spices,

and dried tomatoes. In the

Macedonian region of

Amyndeo Xinomavro is also

known for the production of

world class ross.

Food pairings

Xinomavro wines are made for

food; delicate, elegant, but

not overpowerful, Xinomavro

is a great match with egg-

plant stews, moussaka, char-

cuterie, sausages, offal, chilli

con carne, game casseroles,

poultry, roasted leg of lamb,

and hard and aged cheeses.

154635_greekgourmetraveler_06

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