In the winter when we have plenty of greens, both cultivated and foraged, I often bake green bread or crunchy paximadia that are quite striking, delicious and healthy!
In my kitchen I have always large cookie jars filled with different colored savory biscotti: yellow, green, or darkbarley Paximadia. The word paximadi (plural paximadia) includes all kinds of twice-baked breads—what Italians call ‘biscotti.’ But while Italian biscotti are usually sweet, paximadia are the savory slices, rings or pencil-shaped crunchy delicacies. They are an almost guilt-free snack while Costas likes them with his coffee in the morning or after lunch; I usually serve them with spreads and salads as part of the meze, as they complement ideally the spread I make with Smoked Herring or Tarama.
Of course we have plenty of traditional Greek sweet paximadakia (small paximadia)– the most popular being the ones scented with cinnamon—but prefer to bake the savory kind. I make my green paximadia from bread dough enriched with olive oil, yogurt and safflower seeds–or you can substitute any nuts you like; instead of water I use a watery pulp of blanched greens that I mash in the blender. They add color but also delicious and healthy substance to my savory biscotti.
I also make yellow paximadia with squash or carrot pulp, and in the summer I turn my tomato salad breadinto savory biscotti. After baking, the baguettes need to be sliced and baked again in a low oven to dry. I am sure you will love these biscotti and agree that they are well worth the extra effort.
See the Recipe: Green Savory Biscotti with Olive Oil, Yogurt and Nuts
