my pumpkin soup (in a pumpkin) on this Thanksgiving

Happy turkey day, friends and foes.

My lovely pumpkin recipe for today.

Pulp from 1 big and gorgeous pumpkin that you roast in the oven for 45 minutes in oven at 200 °C (drizzle some olive oil), add it to a big pot with a big knob of butter and swirl of olive oil, pump in there 3 garlic cloves (roughly chopped), 2 white onions (roughly chopped), 2 sage leaves, and one sweet potato (roughly chopped). Sauté for 3-4 minutes. Top off with vegetable broth just to cover the vegetables. Season away with salt, pepper, and cook this beauty off for about 15 minutes over medium heat. Give it a good blitz (purée), let it simmer for another 5 minutes. 

I tend to serve it with a spoonful of Greek yogurt or mascarpone folks.

Give thanks. And smile.

Guardian features Greek food

As a Guardian reader, I have noticed a pleasant trend in the past few months. Greek food is being featured more heavily by our friends in London.

Recent post highlights a food venture called Mazi Mas. Recipes seem to be all kosher (although the tzatziki one does not call for dill when it should). I will get my hands on my mother's melomakarona recipe (that Greek traditional Christmas cookie), tweek it for non-Greeks to make it more versatile, and share with you all.

Slightly crazy that we are starting to talk about Christmas.

Photo credit: Elena Heatherwick for the Guardian

get this blogging started

Looking back at 2008, and 2009, my passion for posting here was much more evident.

Colleague at WHO has just requested a cupcake recipe. Let me think.

apologies

But the Instagram and twitter accounts, and our Facebook page are in full swing.

Greece has been in turmoil. And I have failed to provide continent here for our loving readers.

This will change.

Countdown to the island

Καλό μήνα, φίλες και φίλοι! Ας υποδεχτούμε το καλοκαιράκι με Μυκονιάτικες εικόνες!

WHO: World No Tobacco Day 2015 - Stop illicit trade of tobacco products

I ate lamb's brain at the finest restaurant in Greece

Orange explosion (source: www.funkygourmet.com)

We may be a country in the midst austerity, but Greece's capital still boasts a range of fine dining options. Three weeks ago, I had the pleasure of being exposed to the taste menu at Funky Gourmet, the culinary hot spot in Athens. Nestled in a quiet side street in the Keramikos neighborhood in the city centre, Funky Gourmet proudly harbors two Michelin stars. Yes, folks. Not one, but two big bad-ass stars. In a city riddled with tavernas, Funky is an outlier. And a good outlier. The chefs, Georgianna Hiliadaki and Nick Roussos, are young, hip, and have had training in Manhattan. They also happen to co-own the restaurant with another partner.

The restaurant itself  is housed within a beautifully charming neoclassical building, whose interior is minimalist black and grey. I tend to be critical of lighting in most restaurants, and the . I loved the design, despite the steep staircase where by the end of the evening, I almost lost my footing. Too much lovely wine courtesy of Domaine Gerovasiliou.

The dishes are whimsical, delicious, playful, with careful thought given to taste, texture, presentation, and the use of Greek elements. I keep forgetting we actually have truffles, and very good ones mind you, from the Greek mainland.

The menu procession as follows:

"Salsify in the soil". Greek bottarga with white chocolate, a crispy taco...

"Pastitsio", which felt in fact like a little cannelloni, but was beautifully flavourful and evoked memories of my childhood.

A "picnic", where they set up a red plaid napkin, followed by a BLT sandwich, the most moist meatball I ever tasted, some nuts, and a boiled egg.

Coulouri bread and cretan buttermilk, paired with Fresh Chios Beer

Topinambour ‘a la polita’

"Kakavia" fish soup Shabu, which was splendid.

Langoustine (it's a mini-lobster of sorts for those who are not familiar, which are very common in Greek cuisine) from the island of Chios.

A green risotto of snails entitled "earthy aromas". Brilliant, original, and delicious.

To clean the palate, one imagines some sorbet of lemon and ginger. Not here. We were presented with a sorbet ball of 'xoriatiki' (which translates to 'Greek salad'). The immediate taste was cucumber, followed by tomato, and a residual aftertaste of oregano. A very creative twist.

The Silence of the Lamb. A beautiful piece of lamb. The brain to be precise. Last time I had brain was in Mykonos during the feast of 'hirosfagia' in November of last year, but that was from a 100kg pig. It was

The feta cheese that wished to be a beetroot. It was a truffle of sorts, a ball of feta encapsulated by a gel of beetroot. Earthy and sweet in flavour. Lovely, just lovely.

Some dish I can't recall. I was starting to get light-headed by the copious amount of wine.

Chocolate soup. Enough said.

Orange explosion. This was the final display of culinary drama for the evening, with a bowl filled with real orange leaves, some chocolate truffles Waiters proceeded to fill the bowl with dry ice, after which we were allowed to actually have a hold of the chocolate delights. The sensation of a cold truffle exploding with the wondrous flavour of orange chocolate in one's mouth shall not be forgotten. Never. Ever.

*******

In closing, when you are next in Athens, try to pay a visit if you don't happen to be on a strict budget.


Address: 13 Paramythias St and Salaminos, Keramikos 104 35 Αθηνα / Athína
Phone: +302105242727
Website: www.funkygourmet.com

why Greek women live so long

Women in Greece up until now had longer telomeres than men and therefore outlived them, according to this Harvard University study. Take note of the over-representation of women in this vintage family photo (my great-grandmother sitting in centre, front-row).

My grandmother was a legend when it came to her cooking prowess. Her food was influenced by her upbringing in Asia Minor.

the laughing boy

Today is a sobering day. It marks the anniversary of the coup d'état of 21 April, 1974, the start of the Greek dictatorship which lasted a total of seven years. That regime was supported by the U.S. government and remains a dark chapter in Modern Greek history.

Maria Farantouri sang a memorable performance of a song at the first concert given by legendary composer Mikis Theodorakis in Greece after the fall of the dictatorship in 1974. The song is the popular song "To gelasto paidi" ("The laughing boy"), whose composition actually has its origins in Ireland.

The song is a call for the spirit of democracy, which should never be taken for granted.

Have a good evening folks.

#therealmykonos: Easter in the Aegean

Christos Anesti, to all. For those not familiar with that expression, it translates to 'Christ has risen', which all Greeks along the cascade of faith (from academic atheists to devout Greek Orthodox Christian grandmothers) say from midnight on Holy Saturday and onward for forty days. It is one week since I had the pleasure of spending Easter Sunday feasting in Mykonos. A massive thank you to Vicky Kousathana, my dear friend, who hosted me at the fabulous boutique establishment Terra Maria Hotel. My lovely room was conveniently situated over her uncle's bakery. Nothing like waking up in the morning with the beautiful fragrant smell of masticha.

My top-secret food project brought me to the island, and I will be sharing in the coming months some of the recipes and knowledge on my quest to discover a bit of old Mykonos on a plate. I have coined the hashtag #therealmykonos to underscore that there is much more to the island than sushi in the summer, and Moet champagne along the shores of Super Paradise Beach. Not to dispute the sheer fun associated with summer on the island, but there are layers of tradition which Mykonians value, and perhaps that is no more evident than around Easter. Hence, my visit.

Preparing glorious kouloures (the Easter bread-coils, a specialty in Mykonos) by Yannis Vamvakouris in his bakery during Holy Week 

My friend Thanassis' mom prepared a legendary feast on Sunday along with her husband and children. This was the centerpiece at the table.

The patriarch. Mr. Panagiotis Kousathanas. The man is a legend when it comes to meat. Responsible for the lamb, kokoretsi, giaxni, and kodosouvli.

The group of friends.

Afternoon in Gialos.

Kodoslouvi.

Until next time, my friends.

happy independence, Motherland

In the spirit of freedom and history, wanted to extend a happy Greek Independence Day to all our friends, and neighbours. I am a patriot, not a nationalist, of note.

Traditionally, we eat our version of fish and chips in Greece on March 25th, although instead of chips, we munch on a flavourful thick garlic sauce called skordalia which complements the fish itself. Oh, and the fish tends to be cod. Check out a recipe from The Cooking Odyssey here.

Work entitled PARIS-ATHÈNES: Didier Martin

my darn good banana bread recipe (inspired by Susan Jane White)

Mylittlebaklava should be rebranded mylazyblogger. Anyway, I felt like sharing on this mildly cold Geneva Sunday a recipe for a very moist banana bread I baked yesterday in my lazy weekend boredom. The inspiration for this came from my dear Irish friend and critically acclaimed cookbook author and nutritional cook Susan Jane White (The Extra Virgin Kitchen). Susan Jane's recipe is a twist on the traditional banana bread using rye.

As noted, my version was an inspiration, but as I have no gluten allergies, the only thing our recipes share are the banana itself. And the cinnamon. And the coconut edge. I was frankly too lazy to schlep myself over to get the ingredients needed (e.g. rye, dates, and colleagues). Susan also makes her very own Nutella to top of her wonder bread. I used the commercial jar. She is the real deal. And I am the diva.

In essence, what was in the cupboard, I grabbed and did my magic.

WHAT YOU NEED:

1.5 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1 stick of butter
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon salt
4 small bananas mashed with a fork (they were super ripe), save a few slices for topping
1/4 cup Greek yogurt (I add it to everything)
1/2 cup granola (I used a mix with hazelnuts that was a Swiss brand, which gives extra layer of flavour and texture)
small handful of shredded coconut (I had some from an Indian food brand)

HOW YOU DO IT:

Preheat oven (fan) at 165 C, folks.
1. Mix dry ingredients first. In a medium size bowl, sift flour, and add baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Set this to the side.
2. Break out your electric mixer, and cream butter with sugar in a separate (and larger) bowl. Do this for 5 minutes at medium-to-high speed. Then add brown sugar. And two eggs. Mix for one more minute at medium speed. (if you don't have an electric mixer, go vintage and mix by hand like our grandmothers did).
3. Slowly add flour, again mixing at medium speed so you don't have an explosion of flour in your kitchen (or face).
4. Finish off by adding rest of the ingredients, mix for one more minute. You are looking for a nice batter that is not too loose, nor too thick. Middle way, like the Buddha says.
5. Pour batter into a rectangular bread tin that has been buttered up (I had a smaller tin). Add 4-5 slices of banana you have reserved as a topic. Makes for a nice effect when done, as you get this lovely caramelized texture of the banana.
6. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour. Check after 40 minutes with a long souvlaki stick (or thin kebab skewer) to check if it is done. As I used a smaller tin, and my batter by virtue went up to the top of the tin, the bread took about an hour to be baked to perfection.
7. When done, remove from oven, and rest on cooling rack. Remove from tin when cool, and indulge with some Nutella toping.