.png)
The November Itinerary - The Greek Islands
I’m very excited to take you on a journey through the Greek islands in November. As I mentioned in my announcement of next month’s book, during my recent culinary trip to Greece, I was fascinated to learn a little about the differences in culture and cuisine from one island to another. But I barely scratched the surface. A few days on the island of Tinos showed me just how much there was to learn.
Of course, nothing can come close to a visit to this beautiful part of the world, but over the next four weeks, I hope we can learn at least a little about what makes each group of islands so incredible and unique.
Before each month starts, I’m going to lay out the structure of my content, so that if you want to cook through the same recipes, you can begin to gather your supplies. I’ll also call out any unique ingredients it might be helpful to seek out. Of course, these are just some of the recipes I’m excited about. I encourage you to pick your favorites from the book if these don’t appeal. Sharing what you made, what worked, and what you’d change will hopefully inspire our ongoing investigation of this cookbook.
The November Itinerary:
Week 1: Lychnarakia [Cheesecakes with cinnamon], from Crete (p. 27)
Week 2: Lachanodolmades [Stuffed cabbage rolls with an egg and lemon sauce], from Syros and Tinos (p. 90)
Week 3: Psito Calamari [Grilled squid with herby rice], from Hydra (p. 68)
Week 4: Svinghi [Puffy Pastry Balls], from Patmos and Symi (p. 192)
I am going to attempt one dish from each group of islands over the course of the month, so here are a few others that I may add in if time allows:
Astakomakaronada [Lobster spaghetti with tomato sauce] from Skyros (p. 62)
Saniotiko giouvetsi [Oven-baked orzo with ground beef] from Samos (p. 83)
Pastitsada [Beef in spicy tomato sauce] from Corfu (p. 80)
Helpful ingredients to have on hand:
The ingredients in this book are, generally speaking, very accessible at your local grocery store. When you do come across something that isn’t as available outside of Greece, Carolina provides alternatives or lists the ingredients as optional. I am doing my best to stick as closely to the recipes as possible, so I’m sourcing the harder-to-find ingredients ahead of time.
Caper leaves: You’re probably familiar with caper berries, but I hadn’t tried the leaves before my trip to Greece. These caper leaves, marinated in olive oil, are layered into the Psito Calamari. Getting these online isn’t cheap, so don’t sweat it if you leave them out. Carolina lists them as optional. You can find them here.
Mastiha: This was something I hadn’t heard about before I visited Greece. Mastic trees grow in southern Greece, and their sap is used in food and drink. It is sweet and botanical, and it can be ground to use as a sweetener in desserts (as we’ll see this month) or distilled into a popular aperitif. You can purchase it in granules and grind it yourself (Carolina provides instructions), or you can purchase it already ground, which is what I did. You can find it here.
Squid: I didn’t want to repeat my mistake with the pork shoulder from last month, so I’m preparing better this time. My local Whole Foods doesn’t generally carry whole squid, though they do have tubes and tentacles, which come in frozen and I think would work fine for this recipe. I’ll be sure to let you know if they don’t! The staff member I spoke to also recommended checking out our local Asian grocery store, though he said it can be hit-or-miss on the whole squid. That may work for you guys!
Generally, I’ll reserve this space for ingredients, but during my trip, we enjoyed several delicious aperitifs: ouzo, mastiha, and tsipouro. If you can get your hands on any of these, it could be a fun addition to your dinners.
Throughout the month, share what you’re cooking with the group by tagging @theedibleitinerary on the social platform of your choice or using the hashtag #theedibleitinerary!
Have you visited the Greek islands? I'd love to hear about your favorite dishes!
Comments