The large and rich-flavored goose eggs are just an extra bonus! 

Our neighbor’s coop was repeatedly attacked by martens, the small European wild predators that seem to thrive on the island. Twice in the winter they have nested inside the engine of our pickup truck and we had to shower them with the hose because we couldn’t otherwise scare them enough to make them leave. They somehow manage to get into the coops, even if they are well-fenced with strong wire on all sides, and kill the chicken severing their heads. (more…)

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The last of the broccoli braised with potatoes and plenty of garlic, just before we uprooted the flowering plants.

Although slugs and snails feasted on our broccoli, we had quite an abundant crop this year; certainly more than we could possibly eat. I froze a couple of bags, gave to friends throughout the winter, and now that the time has come to free the space to plant zucchini and the first tomatoes, I decided to make a quick lunch with these very last sprigs. Even Costas enjoyed this extremely simple dish, although he told me he is fed up–he was never a broccoli enthusiast, anyway. (more…)

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To follow the Greek tradition I cook bacala –salt cod– on March 25 (Annunciation day). But instead of the usual cod fritters that most people prepare, I decided to roll chard leaves around a multi-colored stuffing of fish and vegetables.

Salt cod was called ‘mountain fish,’ or ‘poor people’s fish,’ in Greece because in the old days it was cheap and affordable all over the Mediterranean, even in the remotest villages. Imported from Norway or Iceland it has now become a kind of delicacy, especially the best pieces. In Barcelona’s spectacular Boqueria market there are many different kinds of salted cod, sold already soaked and boned. In Genoa, in the maze of the old Medieval neighborhood I came across this spectacular shop where salted cod was soaking in marble basins! (more…)

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Waste not, want not, and most Mediterranean dishes adhere to this maxim. In fact, many are conceived to make use of any combination of abundant seasonal vegetables, greens and herbs, and they often combine them with eggs or simply bind them with cornmeal to create a substantive, satisfying, and nourishing family dish.

 

One of the most glorious spring dishes is the dark green kuku sabzi (kookoo-ye sabzi or kukuye sabsi), the traditional Iranian New Year’s Day dish. Nowruz –as the Persian New Year is called — marks the Equinox, the first day of spring that we just passed, that unique time of year when day and night are equally split. In her unsurpassed New Book of Middle Eastern Food, Claudia Roden writes that “its greenness is believed to be a symbol of fruitfulness in the coming year, bringing prosperity and happiness.” Kuku sabzi consists of just scallions or tender leeks and herbs – any combination of parsley, dill, mint, coriander, etc. – often with the addition of a few spinach leaves. Ground walnuts and turmeric, or the aromatic Persian spice blend advieh may flavor the dish. Since I am not an expert in old or modern Persian/Iranian dishes I leave the brilliant Samin Nosrat who is certainly much more qualified much more qualified to provide her recipe for kuku sabzi.

 

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