Here in the Peloponnese, along with the all time classic melomacarona and kourampiedes cookies, we also make diples (δίπλες) for the Christmas and New Year season. Diples, a word which means ‘’folded’’ in Greek, are made of thin sheet-like dough rolled into long, thin strips, folded, then fried in hot oil, and dipped in syrup. Folding the dough in hot oil demands a little experience; but you can make diples in all sorts of simple shapes, - the most common are bow ties and free form geometric.
Diples are served drizzled with honey, chopped walnuts and cinnamon.
In Crete the tradition is to make dairy and egg free diples, mostly for weddings. These are called xerotigana (ξεροτήγανα) and are made with really long thin zigzag strips of dough formed into spirals and of course served with honey and chopped walnuts . These last two ingredients symbolize prosperity, fertility, and joy in Greek tradition.
Tsatziki may be an all time classic for Greeks but, when we had guests at home, my mother always thought it was too garlicky for everyone’s taste. Of course you can use less garlic but then it wouldn’t be a tsatziki!
Beetroot salad (patzarosaláta, παντζάροσαλάτα) is a wonderful alternative side dish. With just an idea of garlic and an impressive light purple color when mixed, it is ideal for any occasion. It compliments both vegetable and meat stews, as well as barbecued and oven baked dishes.
Greek yogurt with its thick consistency holds the ingredients in the salad together, giving a silky texture to the final dish. You can use low fat yogurt but since this dish is very healthy and balanced, why not use full fat yogurt to contribute to a rich taste? Walnuts match really well with the other ingredients and provide a light nutty flavor.
These treats have always been our family’s way to celebrate the new walnut (Greek-καρύδια) crop. I remember my grandmother preparing them for the celebration of the Archangels Gabriel and Michael on the 8th of November. Their tiny chapel is in a village next to ours and, on the day, everyone would bring homemade cakes, treats, or hot coffee and tea to be shared in the chapel’s yard after the service. As a kid it was the only time I really looked forward to going to church because I could sample so many sweets in one morning. At the end of spring, before they could spoil and became tangy from the summer heat, my grandmother would use the remaining walnuts to make a final batch.
I thought I’d try a healthier version of this treat using honey and oats instead of the sugar and grated wheat rusks the original recipe called for, and I’m happy it really worked.
Vanilla cream is one of those archetypical and international recipes people have followed since they discovered that by combining milk with egg and flour; you can make a very nutritious and hearty food. In international pastry circles, this cream is called a ‘’pudding’’ and it is also used as a filling for pastries; when in Greece we call it ’krema” and, dusted with cinnamon, it can be found both in super markets and traditional milk shops.
Vanilla cream reminds me of my childhood probably because I ate so many bowls of it back then. It’s been a long time since I last had some, and now that the weather is a bit chilly, I thought it would be a good idea to revive these post-school afternoon vanilla creams.
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The French term fricassee refers to meat cooked by a method somewhere between a sauté and a stew and served with a white sauce. It is a mystery how this term came to define a totally different thing in Greek cuisine. We Greeks call fricassee (φρικασέ) any meat or even fish, that is cooked with greens and thickened with avgolémono (egg and lemon) sauce. The most popular Greek fricassee calls for lamb with wild greens and herbs. In Greece we love wild greens which are collected in the country side, from September to May, and most often cooked in plenty of water and served as a salad seasoned with olive oil and lemon juice. Of course all kinds of greens such as kale, chicory or even lettuce can be used in a fricassee.
