WHAT GREEKS ARE EATING

Wairarapa Times-Age, 9 January 1941, Page 8

WHAT GREEKS ARE EATING

TRY THESE DISHES. i The food eaten in Greece is partly ; governed by religion, as the number | of days on which no meat, eggs, and i milk are eaten total 200 per annum, j In some districts the peasants eat meat | only once or twice a week: in others, ; only a few limes a year. On feast days it is the custom to roast a whole ■■ lamb on the spit, Of the meat eaten, mutton and veal ' have precedence, then comes chicken. ; Pork is eaten only during the winter : months. Beef is hardly ever eaten I by the Greeks, us they do not dream i of killing an animal as useful as the I ox. Oxen are killed only when they i are too old for agricultural purposes. I and by that time they are very lean and tough. Pilaffs j Greek cooking for centuries has been influenced by Turkish • cooking, and the Greek pilaffs <.savoury rice» are still very similar to those of Turkey. Rice dishes are very popular, and many kinds of pilaffs are eaten. One 6f the favourite pilaffs is made by frying a cup of rice in a little butter or oil for eight minutes. Strong stock, salt, pepper, and chopped tomatoes are then gradually added to the rice, and it is simmered for about 25 minutes. When properly cooked, the rice should be just moist, and each grain should be detached. Often small pieces of mutton, previously browned, are mixed in with the rice 15 minutes before serving. Ghofaria Plaki The great national fish dish of Greece is ghofaria plaki. or baked fish. Mostly. bream or mullet is used for this dish. The filleted fish is placed in a baking dish with a little oil and water, ! two cloves of garlic, salt and pepper, | Six finely chopped onions are lightly ; fried in oil. also a few chopped toma-| toes. These are added to the fish and , baked in u moderate oven for about j 30 minutes, until the fish is quite! tender. Arni Souvla and Rebate Another favourite dish, undoubtedly of Turkish origin, is arni sotivla. or meat on skewers. Small cubes of lamb or mutton, seasoned with salt, j pepper, and bay leaves, are threaded on skewers and grilled till well browned on an open fire.

! A national dish of Arcadia is kehalo, which consists of small pieces of liver grilled on a skewer or thyme i wood. Invariably salad is eaten with these grilled meats. It is made of shredded raw cabbage, beetroot, haricot beans, black olives, and capers. A dressing made of four tablespoons of vinegar, three of oil, a little salt, pepper, and I mustard is poured over the salad. Yahoo rti i Butter is seldom used, being rcplac’cd by olive oil. which is cheap and | plentiful, Milk products, except* ! cheese, are eaten only by the wealthier: i class. Goat's mill: is most often con-! : sumed either fresh or curdled lyahourti>. The peasants eat fresh and dried { ; vegetables made into a thick soup; i cheese—mostly home-made cottagei cheese; and the roes of salted fish. ( especially from herrings and sardines.! j When .available, they eat fresh fish,. ; Breakfast consists of coffee and a: i crescent roll. like the French petit deI jeuner. and the solid meals arc eaten : i at midday and in the evening ' The Greek people arc very fond <.f sweet:-, pastries, and cakes Otte of i their favourite sweets is baclava- a i paste made of almonds, hm-.ry. and ; ; spices i C<dl'ee :s the national beverage, and ‘ m scre ed in tmy cups A glim of } water is always served with the cup j A vqhoietnono A typical Greek .„ U |> is avgh-i.lvmono, ’ i<a lemon soup It consists ( .f pood | i chicken or beef stock, thickened with: ! .1 little rice, which is cooked in the* |‘otm Just before serving, the yolk-, i of two eggs, diluted with a little of the; warm stock and the jmce <.f on, and ' a half lemons are Viri'rd .< the i ■ soup Croutons are served with, the: