Serves 4 as a main course, 8 as a meze

One glorious day a few years ago, we visited the winemaker Vangelis Gerovassiliou, in Epanomi. His mother, kyria (Mrs.) Marianthi, made this delicious local specialty for us. “Food needs olive oil, sweets sugar, and savory pies butter,” she said matter-of-factly when I remarked on the copious amount of olive oil in the dish below. She also explained that she bakes the dish to prevent the eggplant from disintegrating. Contrary to my own inclinations, she also boils the octopus, like my Italian friends, in plenty of water.

1 medium octopus, about 3 pounds/1.35 kg
1/2 cup/120 ml light red wine vinegar
5 to 8 allspice berries
6 bay leaves
1 cup/240 ml extra-virgin Greek olive oil
3 long eggplants, washed, trimmed and cut into 3/4-inch/1.8-cm cylinders
4 large fresh tomatoes, seeded and grated
Salt and pepper

Soak the octopus for a few minutes in warm water and the vinegar. Rinse well. Using a sharp knife, cut the octopus just below the eyes to remove the hood. Squeeze or cut out the mouthpiece and cartilage on the other side of the mouthpiece. Rinse and drain the octopus.

Place the octopus in a large pot with enough water to cover. Add the allspice and 3 bay leaves. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 40 to 50 minutes, until somewhat tender but still firm to the touch. Remove, reserve cooking liquid, cool slightly, and cut into 8 pieces along the tentacles. Preheat the oven to 350˚F/180˚C.

While the octopus is simmering, heat 1 cup of the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet and sauté the eggplants for a few minutes, until al dente. Remove the eggplants from the skillet with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the grated tomatoes to the skillet and cook over medium heat until most of their liquid has cooked off and the tomatoes are thick. Remove from heat. Toss the eggplant, octopus, and tomato mixture together in a baking pan. Season to taste with salt and pepper, add 1/2 cup of reserved octopus cooking liquid. Drizzle with olive oil and bake uncovered for about 25 minutes.

For 4 servings

4 pita pocket breads, 6 inches / 15 cm in diameter
2 medium, firm, ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced
8 slices of pasturma*, trimmed of the spice paste and chopped
1 1/4 cups coarsely grated kasseri cheese
2 tbsp. butter

Using a small knife, cut open the pocket in the pita.

Combine the diced tomatoes, pasturma and kasseri in a mixing bowl. DIvide the filling into four equal portions and stuff each pita with the mixture.

In a nonstick skillet over low heat, melt 1/2 tbsp. butter. Place the first pita in the skillet, cover and cook until the cheese is melted and the pita buttery and soft, about 5 minutes. Using a spatula, flip on the other side, to cook and brown lightly. Remove, set aside and keep warm and repeat with remaining pitas. Serve whole, halved, or cut into quarters.

Baklava Muffins with Greek Yogurt and Honey

Makes 12

For the filling:

2/3 cup chopped walnuts

2/3 chopped pistachios

1/2  cup brown sugar

1 ½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ground cloves

A pinch of pepper

A pinch of nutmeg

1 tsp grated orange

2 tbsp. melted butter

For the muffins:

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

2/3 cup Greek yogurt

75 ml milk

12-muffin baking tray

For the topping:

125 ml Greek honey

Preheat the oven to 400°F/ 200°C.

Mix all the filling ingredients together in a small bowl.

To make the muffins:

In a large bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and sugar.

In a second bowl whisk the egg, olive oil, yogurt and milk. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add the egg-yogurt-milk mixture and stir gently with a rubber spatula.

Fill the muffin tray one-third full, add a scant tablespoon of filling, and then cover with more muffin mixture until two-thirds full. Sprinkle any remaining filling on top of the muffins.

Bake for 15 minutes or until the muffins are set and golden-brown.

Remove from tray and place the muffins on a rack to cool. Just before serving, drizzle with honey.

Haloumi-Tomato Puff Pastry Tart

Makes 4 to 6 servings

12 garlic cloves, with skins

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

20 cherry tomatoes, cut in half

Salt and pepper

1 sheet of puff pastry

7 oz. / 200g haloumi cheese, coarsely grated

1 tablespoon fresh oregano

2 teaspoons fresh thyme

Preheat the oven to 370°F/180°C.

Place the garlic in a small piece of tin foil and pour 1 teaspoon olive oil over it. Fold up the edges of the foil to form a parcel. Set aside.

Toss the tomatoes with the rest of the olive oil, salt and pepper. Place cut side up in a shallow dish. Place the garlic parcel in the middle, between the tomatoes. Roast for 20 – 25 minutes until the tomatoes are soft but not disintegrating. The garlic should be soft. Remove the tomatoes and turn up the heat to 400°F /200°C.

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. the oven’s Lightly flour a work surface. Remove the puff pastry from the package and place on the floured work surface. Roll open gently with a rolling pin to get a piece about the size of the pan. Trim the edges.

Transfer the fresh pastry to the baking sheet. Using a fork create tiny holes on the pastry surface. Place the pastry in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Sprinkle the haloumi on the pastry surface, leaving a ¾-inch / 2cm space around the border. Place the tomatoes, cut side up, in rows, over the cheese. Place the softened garlic cloves between the cheese. Sprinkle the herbs over the surface of the pie and bake until the pastry is puffed and lightly golden, about 20-25 minutes. Remove, cool slightly and serve.

Serve hot or at room temperature.

Rock or Sea Samphire, one of the great treats of a Greek spring.

There are a few food-related chores left to do here on Ikaria before taking off for Athens again, among them collecting and pickling kritama (pl.), or rock samphire, one of the most delicious edible plants on the island.

Its colloquial Greek name, kritamo, comes from the ancient Greek word for barley, krithmon, because the seeds of both plants resemble one another.

Rock samphire isn’t unique to Greece. Indeed, it grows wild along the coasts of the entire Mediterranean as well as in Britain and Ireland. Its English name comes from  ”sampiere”, from the French “Saint Pierre” (Saint Peter), the patron saint of fishermen. The plant likes the sea and flourishes in rocky, salt-sprayed cliffs and along beaches. It is sometimes called sea asparagus, sea fennel, or sea pickle. The English have liked many varieties of samphire for eons.  Typically, they pickle them – so do the Greeks.  Samphire is mentioned  by Shakespeare in King Lear: Half-way down Hangs one that gathers samphire; dreadful trade! (Act IV, Scene VI). In the UK it is a dangerous business to collect this delicious plant.

In Greece, it isn’t so dangerous! On Ikaria, it grows along the rocky backdrop on the main beach, Messakti, as well as all along the coast, indeed, sometimes in treacherous locales.

Samphire is one of the healthiest greens. Its therapeutic values have been known since antiquity. Both Dioscorides, the father of pharmacology, and Pliny, renowned botanist, wrote about its properties. Hippocrates recommended it for its diuretic and detoxifying abilities. It is chock full of antioxidants and has use as such in cosmetics, too. It is said to brighten age spots and to lend a healthy glow to skin.

It is rich in iodine and is packed with phytochemicals that protect the liver, heart and cellular DNA. It is also rich in vitamins A, C, B2, B15, amino acids, and minerals, such as iron, calcium and magnesium phosphorus, calcium, silica, zinc, manganese and vitamin D.

There are several ways to “cure” samphire and many ways to enjoy it.  I typically blanch it in generously salted water for a few minutes, drain and then steep in vinegar and salt for 24 hours. Then, I drain the leaves and preserve them in extra virgin olive oil. Kritama make for one of the best ouzo mezedes. I love to serve them with grilled fish, too.

To make pickled samphire/kritama:

Collect 1 pound / half a kilo of the leaves. You want to collect only the tenderest leaves and buds. The time to do this is in May and early June in Greece.

Wash them very well.

Bring a large pot of generously salted water (6 tablespoons to 1 ½ quarts/liters water) to a boil and blanch the samphire for 3-5 minutes, just to soften. The leaves will still be bright green and crunchy.

Rinse and cool.

Pack the leaves tightly in jars then add 2 teaspoons salt and fill the jars with vinegar. Close the lid, turn over a few times, then let stand for 24 hours. Drain, place back in the jars, and cover with olive oil.

Fava beans and sweet peas from the garden

Cretan Fava Bean Dip

Cretan Mashed Broad Bean Skordalia

Spring is fava bean season in the Greek countryside. Thick leathery pods containing one of the season’s great legumes and one of the Mediterranean’s most ancient foods dangle from low-lying plants in gardens all over the country. I picked favas, called koukia in Greek, from my neighbor’s garden on Ikaria just yesterday and am readying a few dishes. One of my favorites is a dip, kind of a springtime skordalia, with plenty of extra virgin Greek olive oil and garlic. I love them in salads, blanched for a few seconds til tender but still bright green. I love them tossed with pasta, goat’s cheese and fresh dill or fennel. One of the classics of the Greek kitchen is a lemony artichoke – fava bean duo called anginarokoukia.

Nowhere else in Greece, though, are favas more popular than in Crete. There, they are a kind of national dish, grown in the highlands of Lasithi. There are dozens of island recipes for fresh and dried fava beans, even a few that call for grilling them like popcorn on a hot metal plate or potbelly stove. Mashed broad beans are typically served with salted fish, such as sardines and anchovies, and are a great meze for the island’s local fire water, raki, or for a cool, milky glass of ouzo, too. I also love this dip with smoked salmon. Just spread a little on some toasted bread, add a strip or two of smoked salmon, garnish with dill and a thin slice of lemon and enjoy!

4-6 servings2 cups fresh broad beans, shelled

¼ cup lemon juice

3-4 Tbsp. water

2 garlic cloves, minced

Salt and pepper

¼ – ½ cup extra-virgin Greek olive oil

1.         Using a sharp paring knife remove the shells and “eye” from the fava beans. Blanch for 5 minutes is salted water. Drain and transfer into a blender.

2.         Purée the beans with lemon juice, water, garlic, salt, and pepper in the blender until a thick mass is formed.

3.         Gradually add the olive oil, beating all the while until smooth and velvety. Taste for salt and pepper. Serve immediately or place in the fridge to set slightly and serve cold.