You can transfer it if you prefer from the stove to an oven preheated to 170ºC, and at the same time roast some potatoes, quartered lengthways and placed in a baking dish with oil, water and lemon, to serve with the stifado. Otherwise, it's traditional to serve it with pasta, orzo or hilopita. Add salt to the dish towards the end to taste.
Semolina Halva
This is a dessert that can be eaten warm or cold at any time of day, and keeps well in the fridge. Most recipes are measured in cups as that's the easiest way, and use a combination of honey and sugar.
Makes 8–12 servings
2 cups sugar
5 cups water
Peel of 1 lemon or orange
2 cinnamon sticks
3 cloves
½ cup honey
1 cup olive oil
2 cups dry semolina
⅓ cup sultanas
½ cup walnuts, crushed fine
Into a medium saucepan, add water and sugar and stir as it heats on high. Add the rind of a fresh orange or lemon, cinnamon and cloves and boil for a few minutes. Then stir in the honey until melted. Remove the rind and whole spices with a slatted spoon or fork, and move to a low heat to keep the syrup warm.
In a larger pan heat the olive oil to hot, then stir in the dry semolina little by little with a wooden spoon, keeping it moving as the oil is absorbed. Add the walnuts, then keep stirring on a lower heat as it toasts to a darker, tealike colour. Remove from the heat to add the sultanas.
Now we add the syrup slowly to the semolina mixture – very carefully, as we're adding syrup to hot oil so it's likely to whoosh and splutter a little! The syrup is absorbed as you stir to combine the two mixtures. Keep stirring it over a low heat for a few minutes to be sure all the syrup is absorbed.
Press the mixture into bowls. You can eat it warm right away, or and leave to cool then set in the fridge. Use small individual bowls, or a large bowl to make one large cake that can be cut into slices; or if you have silicone muffin cups, as I do, those are perfect for making lovely individual servings!
Sprinkle with cinnamon to serve. The sharpness of Greek yoghurt and fruit also accompanies it beautifully. In Crete, it may be served with a shot of raki.
Acknowledgements
This book is for Mum and Dad.
Thank you to all the readers who wrote to say they'd gained pleasure or inspiration from something I'd written – this is your fault for encouraging me.
Thanks to Stelios for allowing me to write about you. Thanks to everyone else who's in the book for the same reason, but especially Anna for also reading the manuscript at an early stage and helping so much. I stole quite a few good lines from you, but you were too kind to say. Thanks to others – you know who you are – for reading and suggestions and encouragement, and as always to my family for love and support.
Thanks to my brilliant agent, Caroline Hardman, and to all at Summersdale Publishers, including Abbie Headon for enthusiasm about the idea and editorial suggestions; to Madeleine Stevens for kind and often inspired editorial direction; to Chris Turton for steering the book through the publishing process and responding calmly to my moments of panic that it was all wrong; to Lizzie Curtin for publicity and the whole sales team for working so zealously to ensure people can actually find the book. I'm very grateful for the opportunity to keep writing. Thanks to Andy Bridge for a fabulous cover.
FALLING IN HONEY
Life and Love on a Greek Island
Jennifer Barclay
ISBN: 978 0 85765 857 9 (ePub), 978 0 85765 856 2 (Mobi)
'I came here looking for some kind of happiness. I think it might be the cleverest thing I have ever done.'
One heartbroken winter, Jennifer decides to act on her dream of moving to a tiny Greek island – because life is too short not to reach out for what makes us happy.
Funny, romantic and full of surprising twists, Falling in Honey is a story about relationships, tzatziki, adventures, swimming, Greek dancing, starfish… and a bumpy but beautiful journey into Mediterranean sunshine.
THE RIBBONS ARE FOR FEARLESSNESS
A Journey
Catrina Davies
ISBN: 978 1 78372 162 7 (ePub), 978 1 78372 161 0 (Mobi)
'Fearlessness has got nothing to do with being unafraid. It's about doing things anyway, getting on with it, living, whether you're afraid or not… Courage is about being who you are with your whole heart.'
Fuzzy-haired, neurotic, cello-playing Catrina is devastated when lover, Jack, leaves her to go surfing on the other side of the world. Trapped in a dead-end job and torn by his departure, Catrina dreams of running away. But how do you run away when you're flat broke? Luckily, her friend Andrew comes up with a plan: they'll get an old van, turn it into a camper and busk their way from Norway to Portugal, via the midnight sun. When Andrew is killed in a tragic accident Catrina decides to go it alone, with disastrous consequences. Until her experiences on the road gradually teach her the real meaning of love, courage and above all else, the importance of following her dreams.
A LIZARD IN MY LUGGAGE
Mayfair to Mallorca in One Easy Move
Anna Nicholas
ISBN: 978 0 85765 298 0 (ePub), 978 0 85765 296 6 (Mobi)
Anna had never liked the idea of Mallorca, thinking it was for the disco and beerswilling fraternity. That was until her sister hired an au pair from a rural part of the island who said it was the most beautiful place on earth. On a visit, Anna impulsively decided to buy a ruined farmhouse.
Despite her fear of flying, she kept a foot in both camps and commuted to Central London to manage her PR company. But she found herself drawn away from the bustle, stress and the superficial media world towards the tranquil life. She soon realised that her new existence was more enriching and fulfilling. She was learning to live life for its moments rather than race through it in the fast lane.
A Lizard in My Luggage explores Mallorca's fiestas and traditions, as well as the ups and downs of living in a rural retreat. It is about learning to appreciate the simple things and take risks in pursuit of real happiness. Most importantly, it shows that life can be lived between two places.
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An Octopus in My Ouzo Page 27