Today's theme is Cooking Grandma's Recipes.
Before we headed to our cooking class, we went to a nearby pebbly beach that overlooks Naxos to the east. There were, as usual, oleander trees dotting the beach, and I realized that I had started to take them for granted. When I saw this little oleander flower petal resting on the pebbles, I needed to remind myself that I only rarely get to have this view in my life. Small bits of beauty in an everyday life here.
This post is mostly for my benefit. I am posting the photos and details that will help me remember this super fun, and delicious, evening.
Maria, our teacher, was probably in her 60s and a real pro. She said the recipes we'd be making all came from as far back as 1935. They were from her grandmother, her great grandmother, and her great aunt.
Maria's pacing of the class was perfect; she kept us all busy and entertained. Right off the bat, she gave us homemade bread and tzatziki dip to stave off hunger, and had carafes of water, white wine, and rose wine for those who wanted that. The carafes were filled whenever they were empty.
This was a big class held in a protected outdoor kitchen overlooking a pool. The twenty students came from the US, Canada, Chile, and New Zealand. There were two honeymooning couples, six young women celebrating their med school graduations, and five couples.
The dishes we were going to make:
Spinach pies (which looked like dumplings) and a cheese version, too
Potato salad
Stuffed grape leaves
Fish croquettes
Stewed aubergine and tomatoes
Moussaka
Baklava
I did not get photos of making each dish because sometimes my hands were too dirty from cooking to get my phone out. And we were kept busy. I would do my part, go wash my hands quick, snap a photo or two of others doing what I'd just done, and then move on to the next step. Lather, rinse, repeat.
After we each had to do our sous chef duties (either cutting tomatoes, parsley, dill, scallions, peeling potatoes, etc.), we mixed up (by hand, literally) the stuffing for the grape leaves.
Next we mixed the ingredients, by hand, for the spinach pie dough.
Rolling out the spinach pie dough.
Cutting the shapes for the spinach pies.
For the baklava we used phyllo dough spread with olive oil rather than the usual butter because that's the way they do (and did) it on Paros. Also, they add some bread crumbs to help absorb that oil. The result is a slightly lighter tasting, crispier baklava.
They had a special gadget that cut the baklava into equal pieces. It reminded me of those cup holders that accordion in and out, but with sharp rolling cutting blades at the bottom. That pan and another larger pan of baklava went into the oven for us to enjpy later.
The bowl on the right has eggplant (aubergine), white onion, and diced, unpeeled tomatoes. Some fresh herbs will get added to it. After it's baked, it all melds together into a really rich, complex tasting dish with a stew-like consistency. One of fave dishes this evening.
Now on to the mousakka. The dish on the left (above), has browned hamburger and some other stuff that I don't know because it was prepped by the staff while we were all doing some of the other dishes.
The browned hamburger went atop the eggplants in the dish below.
On top of the hamburger went the bechamel sauce (below) that Nick and Maria alone made. Then it was topped with a cheese very similar to Parmesan and baked in a hot oven.
Our table for eating was long and empty for now because we were all busy cheffing! (I swear that's a legit form of the word. 😊)
Now it's on to the fish croquettes and I confess that I did not help one iota making these. Instead, I took photos.
Here they are forming the croquettes, which would be fried by the staff because it was now time to dance!
Yes, we were quickly taught and then danced to Greek music, displaying our best and wicked awesome dance moves. It was a hoot!
And then we all sat down to eat each of the courses we helped prepare. I have no photos to share because I was so enraptured by the food that it didn't occur to me to grab my phone.
But then the baklava came out so I snapped a photo of one of the staff serving it.
Dinner is over but we lingered to continue talking with this very fun group.
After we got back to our apartment about 10 pm, we'd received an email from Maria with a file of about 70 recipes, seven of which we'd made tonight. I can't wait to try some of the other recipes when we get home.
Bonus: the chick pea dish that I had the other day for which I was willing to go to jail for the recipe is included in the file! Maria promised me she'd send it, and she delivered. It's called
Revythia. I have been spared from jail.
In conclusion my favorite dish was the potato salad. It was so quickly prepared I didn't get a chance to take a photo. I remember that it had "potatoes from Naxos because they are the best potatoes." All I know is that the potatoes didn't have red skins.
Here's the recipe, as written by Maria. You'll have to use your best judgement with some of the amounts.
POTATO SALAD
5 large potatoes boiled with their skins on and then peeled and broken up by hand or cut into bite size pieces
5 large scallions, sliced small
1 wine glass capers
A few olives
Fresh oregano to taste
3/4 wine glass olive oil (EVOO)
salt and pepper to taste
3 large spoons wine vinegar
Mix all ingredients together in a large salad bowl. Feeds 4-6 people.
Carol
Anezina Village Cooking Class, 5:30 - 9:30 pm, €79 per person
