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the olive tree taverna - greek cuisine  { part 1 }

Jan

5

GREEK CUISINE { PART 1 }

Welcome to my food blog,

We use wide variation of vegetables usually when they are at their best { seasonal }, also we love our pulses especially

in the winter months, Fakes soupa, Fasolada and revythada, meaning lentl soup, bean soup or chick pea soup are on

every Greek table once or more times weekly.

Every Monday and then again midweek normally in the winter months, one of those soups are part of our eating habit and culture going back hundreds of years.

Also Olive oil, we use it on every single cooked dish, raw in salads, marinades and even sweets. Grains, fish all kinds of meat, herbs, honey and wine are also very popular.

The most commonly used grain is wheat and barley. Common dessert ingredients include nuts, honey, fruits and yoghurt.

Other very important ingredients of the Greek couisine are pasta { hylopites } is the most popular kind of pasta similar to the Italian Tagliatelle, olives, bread, rice and cheese.

Greek cousine goes back as 4000 years and tastes and flavours change with the region and also the season, the Greek triad in the Ancient cousine was olive oil, wine and wheat, now in our times i will say is olive oil, garlic and lemon.

We can’t fire the bbq without a bowl of ladolemono { olive oil and lemon juice } combined together with salt, black pepper and the fancied herb for the occasion, normaly oregano, thyme, rosemary or mint.

Other common herbs and spices are , dill, parsley, selino, basil,cinammon, cumin,  paprica, nutmeg, allspice and cloves, i love nutmeg and allspice

In Corfu the most traditional and festive dish is Pastitsada and for this dish we make a mixture of spices call Spetseriko, in a small glass bowl mix one teaspoon of ground, cinammon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, sweet paprica, kayenne pepper and black pepper, mix them all with a spoon and place in a glass jar, it keeps for a couple of months in a dark and dry place.

Pastitsada is made with rooster or beef, both meats are delicious in this recipe, i prefer rooster especially if is a free range one, the sauce is just amazing. You can find the recipe on my book { The Olive Tree Kitchen }.

If you can”t find rooster use a good quality free range chicken and if use beef,  brisket or shin are the best cuts for a great Pastitsada.

Kali orexi

Lakis

The Olive Tree TavernaThe Olive Tree TavernaThe Olive Tree Taverna

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