Spicy Pickled Octopus

Pickled octopus is one of the most common Greek mezze, served with ouzo in taverns all over the country.

To serve the pickled octopus, drain 1-2 tentacles, slice them and dress with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkling with fresh or dried savory or oregano. You can also add it to potato salad, as we did during the Clean Monday Lunch at the Oxford Symposium, a few years back. 

 

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In the souks of Tunisia dried octopuses are sold, along with small dried fish, like smelts and tiny shrimps. All these dried sea creatures are soaked in water and added to the fish couscous and other dishes.

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Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes and Paspalas, the Kea ‘pork confit’

The name of the dish, as well as the bits of pork that are simmered until tender and then fried in their fat are called ‘papspalas’ in the local dialect of the island.

READ more about it. 

 

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Because I make these scrumptious scrambled eggs mostly in the winter, I roast the pale, greenhouse tomatoes to give them more flavor. In the summer, diced fresh, vine-ripened tomatoes are perfect for this, as for any other dish. You just need to cook them a bit longer in olive oil until their juices become syrupy. See also Bonnie S. Benwick’s version at the Washington Post

 

Serves 2-3 as a main course, 5-6 as part of a meze spread

 

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