Greek eats

Hello, friends. And Christos Anesti to all my fellow Greeks.

Orthodox Easter came and went and all I can say is that I ate more than I could handle, but I enjoyed it immensely. During Lent it was all about shellfish and occasionally fish, but Easter was all about the meat.
Lamb,

kokoretsi (lamb's liver and lungs wrapped with lamb's intestines),

and kontosouvli (pork neck pieces on a spit).

Since we unanimously decided that we didn't have enough meat (!) on Easter day, it was all about veal steaks and pork sausages the day after.

I could have definitely used a break, but no, I had to have more. I’d missed my beloved pastourma (seasoned, air-cured beef) and soutzouki (spicy, fresh sausage made with beef meat).

My mom made pastourmadopitakia, small pies with pastourma, tomato and Greek sheep's milk Graviera cheese from Metsovo. They were so tasty I ate more than I should.

A lot of eggs were consumed. Not by me, but by everyone else.

If you know any Greeks, then you must know that we are all crazy about our cheeses. I, in particular, am nuts about Feta, and Anthotyro (soft, sheep's and/or goat's milk cheese) which I haven’t eaten in a long time.

Pites, Greek flatbreads, are an excellent accompaniment to meats of any kind.

For salad, among others, beets with their long green delicious leaves and their tender, purple stalks.

Gigantes, giant beans in a tomato sauce with anchovies prepared last week by my darling grandmother.

Dakos, barley rusks with olive oil, tomato, dried oregano and Feta. A classic Greek, fast and healthy meal. I could eat this for lunch every single day of the year.

I made and drank a lot of Greek frappé coffees. I had quit drinking this kind of coffee but fell into old habits once I came back home.

And some sweets for good measure. I made this chocolate cake, the recipe for which I have to share with you. Come to think of it, I have to share the recipes for every single thing. They are all worthy.

These cupcakes with fresh chamomile were a pleasant surprise as it was the first time I had ever added fresh chamomile to a dessert.

When I found fresh chamomile at the farmer’s market I grabbed a bunch without hesitation. I made with it the most aromatic and intensely flavored tea. You should try doing that too.

This cake with fresh cherries and almonds. Find the recipe for the cake here.

I pitted the cherries with my grandfather’s twenty-five year old cherry pitter.

When I came back from the farmers’ market the other day, with plenty of vegetables and fruits, I couldn’t resist photographing them. I will miss their flavor so much when I go back to Holland in a few days. Everything tastes better when you’re in Greece.

The strawberries were made into jam and spoon sweet.

The aubergines and courgettes into mousakas, by my mom.

The horta (vlita / wild greens) were boiled and served with olive oil and lemon and a side of fried red mullet.

The tomatoes into one more dakos for the road.

As for the rest, the possibilities are endless.


That’s all for now.

See you soon!

In Greece

The sky is bluer than you can possibly imagine; and so is the sea. The sun is shining bright on your face, arms, legs.
Walking down the streets, the smell of jasmine, honeysuckle and lemon tree blossoms penetrates your nostrils, filling you with the most intense, sweet aromas.
The birds are singing loud, chirping beautifully their harmonious melodies.
The streets are lined with trees so full, so green, glistening under the spring sun.
The evenings are cool and your sun-kissed shoulders welcome the breeze that comes in through the open windows.
The sky is filled with stars and a luminous blanket of moonlight covers the buildings, making the nights magical, making you feel like anything and everything is possible.

I’m in Greece. I’m home.
I arrived with S some days ago, after a short stay in Paris.

We were excited and couldn’t wait to get home to Athens where we will be spending the next couple of weeks, enjoying the Greek Orthodox Easter, seeing our families and friends. We love being home, with all the familiar places, faces, sounds, smells, foods.

Home; with foods that taste so different, so incredibly delicious, so vibrant. Vegetables, fruits, fish. My mom’s cooking, my grandmother’s touch. Every bite I savor I want to cherish.

Going to the bakery every morning for my horiatiki fratzola / χωριάτικη φρατζόλα (Greek peasant bread) with sesame seeds. Seeing the trays of traditional cookies makes me want to eat each and every one. Buying a tyropita, the corner piece as always, to sustain me until lunchtime.

The vegetables are in abundance this time of year. Artichokes / αγκινάρες and fasolakia/ φασολάκια (green beans), juicy tomatoes and green bell peppers.

Τo make artichokes ala Polita (Aginares ala Polita / Αγκινάρες αλα Πολίτα), stewed artichokes cooked in the Politiki cuisine style.

Fasolakia, stewed green beans cooked with olive oil, tomatoes and parsley.

Gemista, stuffed tomatoes and thin-skinned, green bell peppers with rice and herbs, cooked in the oven along with potatoes in an olive oil and tomato sauce.

Lent was broken during Palm Sunday (Kyriaki ton Vaion / Κυριακή των Βαΐων) when fish is allowed and is cooked in various ways.

Mediterranean tuna (tonaki / τονάκι) and mackerel (kolios / κολιός) fished from the Greek Aegean sea. Cooked simply with olive oil and lemon, served with fresh parsley. Heaven. on. earth.

I made spanakopita (Greek spinach pie) with homemade phyllo. Everyone loved it and I was smiling non-stop.

Strawberries, redder than I have ever seen and so delicious. A sorbet was made. Sorry, no photograph, it was eaten in a flash.

A lot more food awaits.


I hope you are all well. I’ll be back here soon.


P.S. I’m more active on instagram lately, it’s easier to post photos on the go. If you want to see what I’m up to between blog posts, this is my username @mylittleexpatkitchen

A spring tart

Every year, when the first berries of the season make their appearance at the market, I go overboard. I can’t help but buying more than S and I can eat.

I’m dazzled by their color and aroma, and enjoying them just as they are, in all their freshness, dripping with sweet juices, is the ideal for me. Getting the full flavor of each one, flavors that I have missed for so long, is a pleasurable experience and it marks the official arrival of spring.

These past couple of weeks, I made a tart with raspberries and blackberry tiny cakes. I also made my favorite blueberry muffins and then, after my last trip to the market when I came home with a bagful of berries, I decided to go all out and make a fresh berry puff pastry tart.

I thawed the homemade puff pastry I had sitting in the freezer, sprinkled it with caster sugar and baked it until it was all golden and puffed up. I whipped up some mascarpone with vanilla seeds and slathered it on top of the crispy pastry. I gathered my fruits, arranged them neatly over the cream and finally, I sprinkled the whole lot with icing sugar.

It was a delight. Buttery, fresh, indulgent yet clean, juicy and creamy all at the same time. Buttery crispiness from the puff pastry, creamy aromatic mascarpone, supple fresh fruits with textures and colors filling my mouth.

Sweet but not overly so, with the sweet and tart flavor of the fruits; strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, redcurrants. All glistening and oh so tempting.

But I didn’t stop there, I had some extra puff pastry and raspberries, and thought of making some cute little tartlets, no more than three-bites each. I topped the small puff pastry circles with mascarpone, raspberries and some finely chopped pistachios—what a combination—and that added crunchy texture of the nuts was simply wonderful.

Spring is finally here!

Fresh Berry Tart with Puff Pastry

I used homemade French puff pastry but you can certainly use store-bought, just make sure it’s made with butter. Whichever kind of puff pastry you use, make sure to thaw it properly. Remove it from the freezer and place it in the fridge 24 hours before using it.

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients
350 g homemade puff pastry or 1 sheet of ready-made puff pastry
1 small egg, lightly beaten with a fork
2 Tbsp caster sugar

for the mascarpone cream
300 g mascarpone
2 Tbsp caster sugar
1 vanilla bean, cut in half lengthwise and deseeded or 1 tsp vanilla bean paste

Strawberries, halved lengthwise
Raspberries
Blueberries
Blackberries
Redcurrants

Icing sugar, for dusting the tart

Special equipment: rolling pin (to roll out homemade puff pastry), baking paper, baking sheet, plastic wrap, pastry brush, hand-held mixer


Preparation
If you’re using homemade puff pastry, dust a clean work surface and the top of the dough with a little flour and using a rolling pin, roll it out into an approximately 25 x 30 cm rectangle with a thickness of 0.3-0.4 cm. The thickness of the puff pastry is important because it determines the baking time. Trim off the edges of the dough and prick it all over with a fork. This will prevent it from rising too much. Place the rolled out dough onto a piece of baking paper and onto your baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator.

Preheat your oven 185-190 degrees Celsius / 365-375 Fahrenheit.

Take the baking sheet out of the fridge, brush the dough with some of the beaten egg and sprinkle it with 2 Tbsp caster sugar. Place the baking sheet straight in the preheated oven, on the low rack, and bake the puff pastry for 10 minutes. Then transfer it to the middle rack and bake for 15-20 minutes, until it has puffed and taken on a golden-brown color. Be careful not to burn it.

In the meantime, in a medium-sized bowl, add the mascarpone, scraped vanilla seeds or paste and 2 Tbsp caster sugar and beat with a hand-held mixer until you have a creamy and smooth mixture.

Remove the puff pastry from the oven and allow it to cool.

Rinse the berries and dry them with paper towels.

Once the puff pastry has cooled, cover it with the vanilla mascarpone, using a small offset spatula. Cover with the berries and sprinkle with icing sugar.

Serve your tart immediately, cut into pieces.

Variation: Puff Pastry Tartlets with Raspberries and Pistachios

If you have some left-over puff pastry, mascarpone and berries, make these little tartlets.

Roll out your puff pastry to a thickness of 0.3-0.4 cm and using a round cookie cutter (7.5 cm in diameter), cut circles of dough. Prick them all over with a fork so they don’t puff up a lot during baking.

Place pastry circles onto a baking paper-lined baking sheet and bake them on the middle rack of a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius / 360 Fahrenheit for 20 minutes, rotating the baking sheet midway through to ensure even cooking, until they have taken on a golden-brown color and have puffed up.

Take the pan out of the oven and allow the puff pastry to cool.

Chop some pistachios.

Once the puff pastry circles have cooled, cover them with vanilla mascarpone cream, using a small offset spatula. Cover with 2-3 raspberries or any other berries you have on hand and add the chopped pistachios on top.

Serve your tartlets immediately.