Rice Porridge with Olive Oil and Bay Leaves

Tuesday December 1st, 2015Wednesday December 9th, 2015 aglaia 1 Comment

This is my variation on lapas (pronounced lah-pàhs) the traditional Greek comfort food our mothers cooked for us whenever we were sick with a stomach or tummy ache. It is a soft risotto, that is best eaten as soon as it is taken off the heat.

Rice porridge S

But I refrigerate the leftovers and reheat in the microwave, spaying with some water, since I never serve it plain. I use it much like polenta as the base for many different strongly-flavored toppings, like the Roasted Quince and Carrots –with or without eggs or chicken– or with Baked Scallion Meatballs and Avgolemono Sauce. But it is wonderful simply mixed with just crumbled feta or any other cheese.

Quince Carrot Egg1 S

Traditionally Lapas has no herbs or other flavorings, but my Georgian friends, who also prepared a similar dish, added a few bay leaves which made it wonderfully aromatic. I took their idea and now bay leaves have become part of my rice porridge. (more…)

Roasted Quince and Carrots with Garlic, Allspice and Turmeric

Tuesday December 1st, 2015Wednesday December 9th, 2015 aglaia 6 Comments

If you like, you can roast boned chicken legs together with the quince and carrots, basting them with the same combination of garlic, olive oil and spices (see variation).

chicken & quince carrots S

I know that quince is hardly a common ingredient for everybody, so I propose you roast instead a combination of cauliflower (briefly steamed first) and turnips if you have no quince. But do add a few tablespoons of lemon juice together with the olive oil and spices, since both cauliflower and turnips are sweet and lack the quince’s tartness that so well complements the roasted carrots’ flavor.

Quince cutting S

Quince Carrot Baked & UN S (more…)

Tunisian Carrot Salad

Monday November 23rd, 2015Tuesday November 10th, 2020 aglaia 1 Comment

The mashed vegetable salads of North Africa have a complex deep flavor that is surprising, considering how easy it is to make them. Spicy harissa, fresh cilantro, lemon juice and caraway seeds add extra dimension to the vegetable puree that is traditionally served as an appetizer, but can equally well be an ideal accompaniment to grilled meat, poultry or fish. Tunisian carrot salad is by far the best of those salads, but squash and zucchini are equally wonderful (see variations).

Adapted from my Mediterranean Hot and Spicy.

Carrot Salad S

PHOTO Anastasios Mentis

Serves 4

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The Greek Island way with Pumpkin!

Monday November 23rd, 2015Monday November 23rd, 2015 aglaia Leave a comment

‘This is better than baklava!” exclaimed Athanasia, my late mother in law, the first time she tasted this pie. It is quite an unusual, deep flavored pumpkin pie from Lesbos, the large island of the northeastern Aegean, so much in the news these days for quite different reasons…

Squash pie kolokythopita1S

Pumpkin-SWEET-new

Athanasia, a very eclectic cook, was usually quite stingy with her praises and she really loved baklava. So her unsolicited approval meant a lot to me, and I will never forget it. She also baked her variation of the central Greek pumpkin/squash pie which starts by blanching the squash, then draining, mashing and mixing it with plenty of sugar and walnuts or other nuts. (more…)

Kourambiedes – Toasted Almond Cookies

Friday November 20th, 2015Tuesday December 13th, 2022 aglaia Leave a comment

Traditionally prepared for Christmas, kourambiedes are supposed to be delicate melt-in-the-mouth treats. You find similar cookies in various Middle Eastern countries, often sprinkled with rose water or citrus flower water just before they are rolled in confectioner’s sugar.

Kourabie S

Kourabie zaxari S

The old island recipes called for lard, as butter was not a common ingredient, while the special lard from the belly of the freshly slaughtered pork was used for these, and other festive winter sweets .

In most recipes from the mainland and the north kourambiedes are made with the strongly-flavored sheep’s milk butter, while there are also also somre Lenten versions made with olive oil.

Today most homes and bakeries prepare the cookies exclusively with butter, or a combination of butter, often with some sheep’s milk butter. I do love this old, Cycladic version which you can try if you can get good lard.

Makes about 30 large or 40 small cookies. (more…)