The Foods of the Greek Islands by Aglaia Kremezi

Author:Aglaia Kremezi
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Published: 2015-01-29T12:00:00+00:00

On Saturday evenings, women on Sifnos and other Cycladic islands come to the bakery, bringing their specially marked clay casseroles filled with soaked chickpeas that have been doused in fruity olive oil and seasoned with bay leaves and oregano. Covered and sealed with a piece of dough, the casseroles are set in the communal wood-burning oven, where they cook slowly all night. On Sunday morning, as the women return to their homes from church, they collect their pots of the tender, fragrant chickpeas and serve them for lunch, accompanied by crusty bread to soak up the delicious juices. Beans—legumes of all kinds, in fact—and grains are the staple foods of Greek islanders, cooked by themselves or combined with seasonal vegetables, and sometimes small amounts of meat.

Dried favas were the traditional legume of the Mediterranean. When the more refined white beans came to Europe from the New World, they replaced dried favas, which take longer to cook. Fresh favas, which have now been rediscovered by creative chefs all over the world, have always been among the spring dishes on the islands. Like green beans, the small, tender, velvety whole fava pods are eaten in the spring and early summer, stewed with lemon juice and wild fennel. Fresh favas are also served raw as a meze, especially on Crete, where they are brought to the tables with raki, the unscented strong local drink.

Lentils are thought of as the most nourishing and digestible of all legumes, fed to children from an early age. Yellow split peas—dried yellow peas that are peeled and split—cook easily and need no soaking. They are made into a versatile puree that is served flavored with various herbs and sauces.

Besides giving sustenance, legumes provide organic fertilization for the poor island soil, restoring the nitrogen that was absorbed by cereal grains and garden vegetables. For that reason, they are often planted every second year, alternating with wheat, barley and other cereals.

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