«I buy a Greek extra virgin olive oil in bulk because bulk Italian olive oil is often not Italian and in some cases not even olive oil,» wrote acclaimed chef Sarah Jenkins, owner of the very popular Porchetta and the newPorcena restaurant in New York’s East Village. Her statement is critical in view of a bizarre new EU regulation that directly threatens unsuspecting consumers all over the world. Hard-working Greek and Mediterranean producers learned that “Brussels authorizes deodorised olive oils,” as an urgent Slow Food alert informed us.

“You do not protect quality by damaging honest extra-virgin olive oil producers, a category already facing a difficult situation. The presence of deodorised oils must at least be indicated on the label in order to guarantee the protection of the consumers’ right to information and health,” writes Carlo Petrini, Slow Food’s founder. (more…)

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My mother often came to spend the holidays with us in Kea. After all, on the island we usually enjoyed better weather than in her suburban home in Kifisia, north of Athens, the first place in the city’s outskirts to experience snow and frost. Once, she and my sister’s family were stranded here for five days, as the whole region around Athens was under snow, the airport closed, and only the main roads cleared, while we enjoyed marvelous winter sun!

No matter that for the past fifteen years I was officially the cooking expert of our family; my mother always came with heavy bags brimming with all sorts of seasonal food and sweets. She had spent days overseeing her companion and the lady who cleaned her house as they prepared, under her detailed instructions, melomakarona–the traditional orange, honey and spice cookies; a big pot filled with her stuffed cabbage dolmades; pastitzio, macaroni and meat casserole;  and, of course, her vassilopita, the new-year’s cake we all loved. (more…)

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To try the recipe for a SWEET, ORANGE-SCENTED CORNBREAD, click here, or click here for an ITALIAN CORNBREAD WITH CHEESE AND HOT PEPPERS.

For elderly Greeks, cornbread is an inferior staple. When asked, they will tell you about the dense and crumbly breads they consumed during World War II’s German occupation. Fighting the terrible famine of 1941 that claimed many lives in Athens, some families living in the outskirts of the city managed to cultivate some corn, and painstakingly ground the grains in hand coffee grinders to make hard yellow bread.

My father and my uncles—my mother’s brothers—invented and operated an ingenious contraption using an old bicycle. They took turns and laboriously pedaled to rotate the heavy millstones they had somehow managed to get. To this day older Athenians dismiss cornbread with contempt, much like as mother refused to taste my Italian-inspired pumpkin risotto because it brought to mind the weeks and months her whole family ate pumpkins from the garden—usually without even olive oil, let alone cheese. (more…)

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Selene restaurant, that The New York Times once included on its list of the ten most spectacular in the world, has now turned a new page.

I met Giorgos Hatziyannakis, Selene’s proporietor, in the early ‘90s when we planned the first ever Oldways Mediterranean food conference with Greg Drescher and the late Dun Gifford. It was held in Chalkidiki, Greece’s northern resort, a place of bewildering beauty where verdant surroundings edge into the crystal waters.  But our luxurious, obtrusively large hotel, which was practically in the middle of nowhere, was totally incongruous with the incredible local flora and fauna – fittingly, it has since turned to a casino. Giorgos was an invaluable help to me as I struggled to bring the atmosphere and flavors of the various Greek regions into the concrete, impersonal hotel halls and verandas. Journalists and food writers from the US and other parts of the world who came to taste authentic Greek food still remember Hatziyannakis’s stand where he fried marides — tiny Aegean fish — and served tomatokeftedes – the traditional Santorini tomato fritters — and other meze from the Cycladic islands.

Giorgos Hatziyannakis, Selene’s creator and soul.

The young, creative chef Constantina Faclari cooks with the products of the island.

Pastry chef Thodoris Moisidis, ready to make tomato preserves.

View of the sea and the vineyards from Selene’s terrace.

Another stunning view of the volcanic rocks.

Santorini is always stunning, as you see the volcanic rocks from the sea.

Delicious and small vegetables grow in the volcanic, arid soil of Santorini.

Hard barley rusks used to be an island staple.

Caper leaves flavor the trademark Selene salad.

Capers dried in the sun retain a unique flavor.

Caper berries complement fish and other dishes at Selene.

They used to be peeled in stone hand mills (recreation from the museum).

The yellow split peas grown on the island.

A modern creation: Mashed yellow split peas scented with mastic are served with pickled mackerel.

A private cooking class and tasting at Selene.

Tiny tomatoes, crunchy local cucumber, caper leaves, and spicy island cheese in Selene’s trademark salad.

Gourmet tomato paste is again produced on the island.

Traditional cookies stuffed with honey and walnuts.

Goat’s cheese which ages in wine dredges.

Depiction of an old Santorini kitchen from the museum.

In the museum one can see the basket-like pruning of the vines that protect the grapes from the fierce island winds.

Wine aging in barrels in the museum caves.

  Slide Show: In Santorini, a restaurant brings the past to life

At a time when most upscale Athenian restaurants served bad imitations of French and Italian dishes, Selene dared to experiment in the vernacular with mashed yellow split peas — the Greek fava, a traditional Santorini product. Hatziyannakis insisted that the restaurant’s menu showcase the tiny and densely flavored tomatoes of the island, the bulbous capers and their leaves, hard barley rusks, and sweet white eggplants — all ingredients indigenous to Santorini. He is a pioneer who inspired many younger restaurateurs, and helped promote not just the food but also the wines of Santorini, which are now among the most popular of Greece’s vineyard exports. When, about 15 years ago, The New York Times included Selene in its list of the ten most spectacular restaurants in the world, it was no small accomplishment if you consider that our country has practically no gourmet restaurant tradition. (more…)

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