Mensam Mundum – World Table: Sunny, delicious Greece
- Esther Oertel
- Posted On
We dine at a common table, beneficiaries of the nourishment that our planet provides. May the whole of our human family become closer to us as we explore the world together through food, the tie that deliciously binds, whether it’s grown nearby or enjoyed many miles from our door.
It’s sunny in Lake County as I write this. The skies are vacant of clouds, wildflowers explosively bloom, and a chorus of birdsong fills the air.
Our beautiful spring has arrived.
However, not so long ago, wet, gray days were strung together like pearls on a necklace, and my soul longed for a place where the sun was impossibly bright.
With its whitewashed houses perched cliffside and the sun-sparkled seas that embrace it, Greece seemed like such a spot. It called to me when overcast skies threatened to overwhelm my mood.
Thoughts of Greece fill my heart even now, and not just because of its warm beauty.
The food also calls, as Greece entices me with one of my most beloved world cuisines.
Greek culinary tradition is more than 4,000 years old and is key to the culture and history of the country. Names of foods, ingredients, and cooking methods haven’t changed much with the passing of millennia.
Greece is thrust like a hand into water at the end of the Balkan Peninsula. Thusly perched at the edge of the Mediterranean Sea, its climate is characterized by wet winters and hot, dry summers, not dissimilar to ours.
These are perfect conditions for the “Mediterranean triad” of wheat, olive oil, and wine on which Greek cookery is based.
The cuisine epitomizes what has come to be known as the Mediterranean diet.
Olive oil, which gives Greek cuisine one of its most characteristic flavors, is produced from the plethora of olive trees in the area, some more than 2,000 years old, and is partly responsible for the health benefits said to come from adopting a diet common to the Mediterranean region.
Citrus trees also thrive in Greece’s toasty temperatures, and lively lemon juice adds a beautiful tang to many dishes. This bright, tongue-rousing flavor is one of my favorite reasons to enjoy Greek food.
With the longest coastline in Europe (and the 11th longest in the world), Greece is surrounded on three sides by four different seas (the Mediterranean and Cretan Seas to the south, the Aegean Sea to the east, and the Ionian Sea to the west). No more than 90 miles separates any part of the Greek mainland from the sea.
In addition, there are an astounding 6,000 plus Greek islands (of which only 227 are inhabited), so it’s no surprise that fish and seafood are an important staple of Greek cookery.
Eighty percent of Greece is mountainous, making it a land of small farms, by and large organic, and of mostly diminutive livestock.
Lamb and kid goats are popular holiday food, and using sweet spices such as cinnamon, allspice, and cloves with meat dishes is a trait of Greek cooking.
Greeks have crafted sumptuous cheeses since ancient times and they’re consumed with gusto. There are far more varieties produced in Greece than the feta prevalent in supermarkets here.
Honey is widely used in desserts, including in baklava, thin layers of phyllo dough stuffed with crushed walnuts and smothered with the honey which gives it its characteristic sweetness.
The generous use of oregano, mint, garlic, dill, bay laurel, fennel, basil, and thyme are lively on the palate, and the bright, fresh flavors that these add to the food make me feel energized when I partake of it.
Dining out is common in Greece, and small dishes known as meze include a variety of foods, among them dolmades (rice, currants, pine kernels wrapped in grape leaves), grilled octopus, lentils, olives, small fish, and feta cheese. This is popular fare in local restaurants.
Some Greek foods, such as gyros, hummus and pita bread, originated in other Mediterranean areas and spread throughout the region, including to Greece.
Gyros (pronounced YEE-ros) is meat in a cone-like shape cooked slowly on a spit, shaved while still skewered for sandwiches. It’s similar to shawarma, which is served throughout the Middle East, with both versions having roots in the Turkish doner kebab.
Interestingly, gyros is the Greek word for “turn” and shawarma means “turning” in Arabic, references to the way they’re cooked.
Based on historical information from the 13th century, hummus likely originated in ancient Egypt. Chickpeas were then, and still are, abundant in the Middle East; in fact, the word hummus means chickpea in Arabic.
Flat, pocketed pita bread may have originated with the Bedouins (the Amorites are the other contenders) and its popularity spread through Bedouin trade and travel routes.
Other dishes currently eaten in Greece can be traced back thousands of years. Skordalia (a potato and garlic spread), pastili (a dessert made with honey), and lentil soup are among those that hail from ancient times.
Retsina, a white or rose wine sealed with pine resin, is also from this era.
With good reason, Greece is considered the cradle of Western civilization. It’s the birthplace of democracy, Western philosophy, trial by jury, and equality under the law.
We also owe the ancient Greeks gratitude for important literary, scientific, and mathematical contributions, and we can thank them for another first – fusion cuisine going back to 350 BCE.
Their geographical position as a crossroads between Europe, Africa, and Asia contributes to much of this, but so does their history. Alexander the Greek extended the Greek Empire from Europe to India, bringing in eastern and northern culinary influences.
When Greece fell to the Romans in 146 BCE and when the Ottoman Empire fell to the Turks in 1453 CE, those cultures influenced its cuisine. (Many Greek dishes, such as tzatziki and dolmades, are still known by their Turkish names.)
Greece can boast another culinary first. Greek gourmet Archestrados wrote the first known cookbook in 330 BCE, suggesting that food has been an important part of Greek culture for quite some time.
Being welcoming to strangers is deeply rooted in Greek culture, and the country is consistently rated as being among the most hospitable to visit.
The Greek principle of hospitality, extant since ancient times, is known as philoxenia. A sacred relationship exists between host and guest, elevating the guest (even if a stranger) to a position equal to the host. The goal is to make them feel protected and taken care of.
It is said that even today if one knocks on a stranger’s door in Crete, they will be received as an honored guest.
Below are two dishes well-loved in Greece, tzatziki, a cooling cucumber-yogurt salad (also used as a dip), and hummus, the chickpea spread mentioned previously. Both are perfect fare for hot days when we just don’t want to cook.
And finally, here’s a standard Greek toast and a wish for good health: Yia Mas!
Tzatziki salad
This cool, refreshing salad is best when made with traditional Greek yogurt. I created this version for a culinary class I taught on Greek cuisine. For a variation in flavor, add chopped fresh mint or thyme rather than dill.
Tzatziki is often used as a condiment, and to create a smoother sauce for this purpose, use a food processor to make a rough cucumber puree. If this method is used, the peeled, sliced cucumber should be salted and placed in a colander to drain for 30 minutes before pureeing. Otherwise, the dip will be watery.
Ingredients:
2 medium cucumbers, peeled, seeded and thinly sliced
2 cups plain Greek yogurt
2 cloves garlic, smashed, peeled, then finely diced
Juice of half a lemon
Fresh dill (or mint or thyme) to taste
Freshly ground black pepper & salt to taste
Combine the yogurt, garlic and lemon juice in a bowl. Add cucumber to yogurt mixture. Add the fresh herb of choice to taste. (If using dill, kitchen scissors may be used to cut small pieces of the leaves into the bowl; alternatively, finely chop the dill ahead of time.) Mix and enjoy!
Hummus spread
This is my go-to hummus recipe. It’s made often in our home because it reminds me of my first taste of hummus in a San Francisco deli in the 1980s. The recipe is from The Silver Palate Cookbook, which continues to be a favorite of mine, despite the fact that it’s decades old.
Ingredients
4 cups (about 2-1/2 cans) chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
½ cup tahini (sesame spread)
1/3 cup warm water
1/3 cup best-quality olive oil
Juice of 2 or 3 lemons, to taste
4 or more garlic cloves, to taste
1-1/2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
2 teaspoons ground cumin
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Combine the chickpeas, tahini, warm water, olive oil, and juice of 1 lemon in the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth and creamy, pausing once or twice to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Add the garlic, salt, cumin, and pepper, and process to blend. Taste and correct the seasoning if necessary. Add more lemon juice to taste. Scrape into a storage container, cover, and refrigerate until ready to use. Makes 1 quart.
Esther Oertel is a writer and passionate home cook from a family of chefs. She grew up in a restaurant, where she began creating recipes from a young age. She’s taught culinary classes in a variety of venues in Lake County and previously wrote “The Veggie Girl” column for Lake County News. Most recently she’s taught culinary classes at Sur La Table in Santa Rosa, Calif. She lives in Middletown, Calif.