I often make this salad buying two small cauliflowers and using the stems from both, plus a few florets to make my Cauliflower gratin. I steam most of the tender florets and serve them dressed with my fragrant rosemary-scented vinaigrette. In Greece traditionally we used to boil cauliflower and broccoli in plenty of water –the old-fashioned large ones needed considerably more cooking– but these small tender ones taste better steamed, I think.
Serves 3-4 (more…)
We are addicted to this comforting winter dish that uses all parts of the cauliflower, not just the florets, so I included it in my Mediterranean Vegetarian Feasts. The first time I made it with anchovies to spice-up the cauliflower’s sweetness (see variation). I liked it a lot, but Costas definitely prefers the vegetarian, Feta version, so I begin there.
My recipe is loosely based on a broccoli and potato gratin from Provence, described by Guy Gedda in his classic book La Table d’un Provençal.
VEGETARIAN
Serves 4-5 (I use a clay 9-by-8 inch (23X20 cm) baking pan; a square, oval or round roughly 9 or 10-inch (23 or 20 cm) baking pan works just as well)
On Chios, quinces are paired with free-range chicken; on Crete, with lamb; and on Lesbos, with veal. With quince from our trees on Kea I make a stew with the delicious local veal shank, but I also cook pork with quince. I give any meat extra flavor by tying the cores of the fruit in cheesecloth and adding them to the cooking broth. This recipe is a somewhat faster version variation of my Veal Stew with Quince.
Serves 6 (more…)
Inspired by the traditional zucchini and potato Haniotiko Boureki (boureki from Chanea, Crete) the renowned Boston chef created and demonstrated this lighter, brilliant version during our glorious Oldways trip to Crete, two years ago.
Serves 6-8 (more…)
Using up the surplus of figs, the over-ripe fruit is mashed and mixed with nuts, spices and liqueur or sweet wine, then shaped as a thin flat cake and dried in the sun, as it was done since antiquity. Now you can dry it in a low oven or in a food dehydrator.
Wrapped in fig leaves and stored in a dry, cool place it keeps well for months; not in our house, though, as it has become Costas’ beloved snack, along our lightly toasted almonds. Traditionally it is cut into small pieces and enjoyed in the winter accompanied by sweet wine and/or paximadia (twice-baked, savory biscotti).
Similar fig ‘pies’ are made in Cyprus, in southern Italy, Spain, Malta, and all around the Mediterranean with variations in the spicing and the various favorite liqueurs.
For a 30 cm (12-inch) about 2.5 cm (1 inch) ‘pie’ (more…)
