Month: February 2017

spaghetti with bottarga

Spaghetti with Bottarga

Bottarga either you like or you don’t. As for us, we think it’s unique. The greek version (avgotaraho) is cured grey mullet roe and is produced in the lagoon of Messologi (and nearby Aitoliko) in western Greece, where the romantic poet Lord Byron caught a cold and died in 1824. The most renowned greek producer is Zafeiris Trikalinos, a man with a vision.  The family business started in 1856, when stories about Lord Byron were probably still told by people who witnessed them first hand. Mr. Trikalinos likes to stress the nutritional benefits of his product, as if anyone needs to be convinced to consume it! Avgotaraho is not cheep, nevertheless in the following recipe we advocate that more is better! Serves 4 500g spaghetti 8 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil 200g leeks, white and tender green parts, finely chopped 3 spring onions, finely chopped 1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped 2 Tbsp parsley, finely chopped sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 2 Tbsp lemon juice bottarga, 32 very thin slices zest of one lemon Mix the bottarga slices with …

lahmajoun

Lahmajoun

Before food globalisation lahmajoun existed on the fringes of food choices in Greece. You could find it mostly in Armenian restaurants and did not even feature in culinary choices of the part of my family that arrived from Asia Minor. Nowadays it is very much in vogue, and some of the best street food in Athens. This healthy pizza alternative (without the chilli flakes) is a great dinner idea for kids. For the dough 620g all purpose flour 2 tsp sea salt 300g milk 45g olive oil 9g dried yeast dissolved in 3 Tbsp lukewarm water 1 tsp caster sugar For the topping 580g minced beef (or lamb or a mixture of both) 140g onion 80g red bell pepper 2 plum tomatoes, deseeded (you can use canned tomatoes) 1 clove of garlic (optional) 20g parsley leaves 40g olive oil 2 Tbsp tomato paste 2tsp sweet paprika 2tsp ground cumin 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper 1 tsp dried chilli flakes (optional) 1 tsp sea salt Start with the dough. Add the sugar to the dissolved yeast and stir. Set …