Simplicity is Key to Timeless Greek Food

By Unknown Writer #2

This time I want to take you to Greece. Greek food and wine are linked to a way of life that is at once indigenous and timeless.

The sea of olive trees that extends below Delphi to the Gulf of Corinth is said to have belonged to the god Apollo. Olive oil, wild herbs, honey, nuts, and wine are the basis of this cooking style with roots several thousand years old. Vineyards here were already famous for their wine as early as the ninth century B.C.

Greek meals are never rushed. One is led effortlessly into them. The feast of orektika (appetizers) that always precedes the meal serves as much to set the pace of an evening as to nourish. An hour, two hours, even longer can be spent nibbling olives, nuts, taramesalata, hummus, tzatziki, cold stuffed dolmathes, bits of fried fish, wild onions or salted sardines.

This country is at once rocky and sparse, lush and warm. While the Turks were still cooking by placing a slab of meat between their saddle and the horse, then riding like the devil, the ancient Greeks developed a simple, practical cuisine using the full-flavored ingredients and produce available. When the Turks conquered the Balkan Peninsula, Greek dishes acquired Turkish names, but survived intact to modern times.

The charcoal fire, so elemental, fills the night air with irresistible perfume. Sappy, fresh retsina wine, tasting of pine, not grape, whets the appetite in anticipation of the simple, special meal that follows--as constant as the Aegean conversation, company and warmth, the essence of Greek hospitality.

So let's make some Greek food!

Tirontomata

6 tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 cucumber, cut into chunks
1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 green peppers, sliced into rings
6 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp wine vinegar
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
250 g (1/2lb) feta cheese
2 dozen black olives
Oregano

Put all the vegetables in a large salad bowl. Mix together olive oil, wine vinegar, salt and pepper and pour over the salad. Toss well. Cut cheese into small chunks, and lay on top of the salad. Add olives, and dust with oregano.

Styphatho

2 lbs lean chuck steak, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2/3 cup red wine
4 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 bay leaf
1 tsp rosemary
6 black peppercorns
1 tsp allspice
3 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp honey
2 lbs small white onions, peeled
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
Freshly chopped parsley

In a heavy-bottomed casserole, brown meat in olive oil. Season well. Add wine, vinegar, seasonings, tomato paste and honey. Add enough water to cover meat comfortably. Bring to the boil, cover, and simmer until meat is just tender (about 1 hour).

Meanwhile, saute onions and garlic in olive oil until a light golden color. Add to the pot, and continue to simmer until onions are tender but not over-cooked.

Serve garnished with parsley.

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