Marinate it, bake it, and out comes chicken with loads of flavour. This incredibly simple dish requires minimal effort and only a few ingredients, yet it’s always relished and a treasure for the busy cook. You could use chicken pieces, as in a braai pack, but thighs are the best for succulence, and they’ll all cook through at the same time. Serve hot with a platter of roasted vegetables and yoghurt, or at room temperature with a Greek salad for a patio picnic.
8 chicken thighs (about 1 kg), trimmed of excess fat
60 ml (¼ cup) olive oil
3–4 cloves garlic, crushed
15 ml (1 Tbsp) dried oregano
60 ml (¼ cup) dry white wine
1 ml (¼ tsp) ground cinnamon
10 ml (2 tsp) runny honey
sea salt and milled black pepper
Make two slashes on the skin side of each thigh. Mix together the remaining ingredients, except the salt and pepper, in a shallow baking dish; add the chicken, skin side down, and refrigerate for 2–3 hours, turning once. Place the thighs on the oiled rack of a grill pan, skin side up, pour the marinade over, and then season each piece. Add a little hot water to the grill pan to prevent scorching and to keep the chicken moist, then bake at 180 °C for 50–60 minutes, or until well browned and cooked through, adding extra hot water to the pan whenever necessary. It is important to keep the liquid topped up, in order to provide succulent juices to pour over the cooked thighs. Arrange on a warmed serving platter, pour pan juices over, and serve. Serves 4–6.
CHICKEN WITH RED WINE, FIGS AND WALNUTS
The gorgeous depth of colour and explosion of spicy flavours make this chicken dish quite different from any other. It really is most unusual, and deeply delicious served with a Greek salad without the feta, and a grain, or orzo (small barley-shaped pasta).
8 large chicken thighs (about 1.2 kg)
30 ml (2 Tbsp) flour
7 ml (1½ tsp) dried oregano
5 ml (1 tsp) sea salt
30 ml (2 Tbsp) olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
5 ml (1 tsp) each ground cinnamon and coriander
1 ml (¼ tsp) ground allspice (pimento)
300 ml (11/5 cups) seasoned chicken stock
125 ml (½ cup) red wine (a mature claret is a good choice)
2 bay leaves
6–8 (about 130 g) ready-to-eat, soft dried figs, quartered
coarsely grated rind of 1 lemon (use a zester if possible)
coarsely chopped walnuts and chopped parsley for topping
Remove the skin from the thighs – just pull, it’s quick, and easier than finding skinless thighs in a supermarket. Once skinned, weigh – you should have 1 kg. Mix the flour, oregano and salt. Make 2–3 slashes on the skinned side of each thigh, and rub with the flour mixture (do the reverse side as well, although it’s too bony to slash). Heat the oil in a large frying pan and brown the thighs lightly on both sides – do this in batches and then arrange in a baking dish, skinned side down, and quite closely together, but with space for the generous sauce. Add the onion to the frying pan and, if necessary, a dash more oil. Add the spices. Toss over a low heat and, when fabulously aromatic, add the stock, wine and bay leaves. Bring to the boil, pour over the chicken, cover securely with a sheet of greaseproof (not waxed) paper, and then a lid or foil. Bake at 160 °C for 1 hour. Turn the pieces, mix in the figs and lemon rind, and bake, uncovered, for a further 30 minutes; the sauce should be dark and fairly thick, the chicken tender and succulent. Check the seasoning – it may need salt and perhaps a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Sprinkle with the topping, return to the oven for just 5 minutes, then serve. Serves 6–8.
CHICKEN AND AUBERGINE CASSEROLE WITH HERBS
If you love Greek-style ingredients, this one is for you – a dish of saucy chicken and vegetables, with a topping of fresh herbs and pine nuts. You need only a smattering, but even then they are expensive, and feta cheese can be substituted very successfully. Once assembled, the dish is oven-baked, where it all comes together with little further attention from the cook.
olive oil
1 kg chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat
1 large onion, finely chopped
400 g aubergines (brinjals), washed, cubed, dégorged and patted dry
4 cloves garlic, chopped
400 g tomatoes, skinned and chopped
45 ml (3 Tbsp) flour
375 ml (1½ cups) hot chicken stock
15–30 ml (1–2 Tbsp) honey
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
30 ml (2 Tbsp) brandy
a little sea salt
125 ml (½ cup) chopped mixed herbs*
a scattering of lightly toasted pine nuts, or 100 g feta cheese, crumbled
Brush a frying pan with a little olive oil. Add the chicken, skin side down, and brown well, then turn and lightly brown the other side. Remove to a baking dish, large and deep enough to take the chunky sauce, arranging the chicken skin side down. Add the onion, aubergines, garlic and tomatoes to the pan, adding a splash of water if the drippings have disappeared. Stir over low heat until just softening, then sprinkle in the flour and, when absorbed, stir in the stock, honey, rosemary, brandy and salt. Pour over the chicken – it will disappear completely under the sauce – then cover with a lid, or a sheet of greaseproof paper and then a sheet of foil. Bake at 180 °C for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 160 °C and bake for a further 45 minutes. Turn the thighs right-side up and bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes more until tender, and the sauce is bright, thick and bubbly. Sprinkle with the herbs and then with the nuts or feta, and return to the oven, still uncovered, for 10 minutes. Serves 6.
* Use a mixture of chopped parsley, mint and oregano in the ratio of half parsley and quarter each mint and oregano.
SAUCY LAMB KNUCKLES WITH BUTTERNUT AND CHICKPEAS
These are the tenderest knuckles, slow-baked in a sauce plumped with unusual ingredients and spicy flavours. The dish is quite different from a bredie, and makes the most of a modest amount of lamb. A side dish of braised brinjals and peppers would round it off nicely, or simply a good spinach salad and brown rice, or baby potatoes. A dollop of Greek yoghurt on the side is an indulgent but super option.
950 g–1 kg free-range Karoo lamb knuckles, sliced
oil
sea salt to taste
2 medium onions, finely chopped
3–4 cloves garlic, crushed
10 ml (2 tsp) each ground cumin and coriander
30 ml (2 Tbsp) flour
250 ml (1 cup) hot, seasoned beef stock
125 ml (½ cup) red wine
1 x 410 g can chopped, peeled tomatoes (as opposed to whole peeled tomatoes, if possible)
15 ml (1 Tbsp) tomato paste
1 medium butternut, peeled and diced (400 g prepared weight)
15 ml (1 Tbsp) honey
2 fat sticks cinnamon
4 bay leaves
1 x 410 g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
coriander leaves for topping
Heat a little oil in a large frying pan and brown the lamb well on both sides. Remove to a large, deep baking dish – the knuckles should not be crowded as the sauce is bulky – a 30 x 24 x 6 cm dish is dead right. Season the knuckles. Add the onions, garlic and spices to the pan drippings, toss for 1–2 minutes (if dry, add a dash of water rather than more oil), then add the flour, stir until absorbed, then slowly stir in the stock, wine and tomatoes. When thickening, add the remaining ingredients, except the chickpeas. Bring to the boil, then mix into the lamb. Push the bay leaves and cinnamon right in. Cover with a lid, or greaseproof paper and then foil, and bake at 160 °C for 1¼ hours. Remove the bay leaves and cinnamon. Add the chickpeas, cover again and bake for a further 30 minutes, by which time the lamb should be softly tender and the sauce thick and plentiful. Sprinkle with coriander leaves. Serves 5–6.
LEG OF LAMB, SLOW-BAKED WITH HERBS
Greek-style lamb: very well-done, very tender, robustly flavoured, richly browned – and baked uncovered. This m
ethod of cooking combines roasting and braising. The lamb nestles in fragrant, gently simmering juices, the house is filled with the aroma of herbs and wine, and although it’s not quick, it’s not tricky either.
1 x 2 kg leg free-range lamb, trimmed of any blobs of fat
vinegar
4 cloves garlic, slivered
100 ml (2/5 cup) fresh lemon juice
60 ml (¼ cup) olive oil
12.5 ml (2½ tsp) dried oregano
a few grinds of black pepper
a small pinch of ground cinnamon
3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
1 medium onion, sliced into thin rings
2 bay leaves sea salt
250 ml (1 cup) hot water
125 ml (½ cup) red wine
Using a sharp knife, remove the outer membrane from the lamb, wipe with vinegar, and push the garlic into slits all over. Mix the lemon juice, oil, oregano, pepper and cinnamon in a baking dish a little larger than the leg, and deep enough to take the liquid later on. Use a baking dish not a roaster, which could react with the lemon and wine. Roll the lamb over and over in this mixture until well coated, then marinate overnight in the refrigerator, turning in the morning. Before starting to cook, return the lamb to room temperature and turn best side up. Slip the rosemary, onion and bay leaves underneath, and roast at 200 °C for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven. Salt the top lightly, pour in first the hot water and then the wine. Reduce oven heat to 160 °C and leave the lamb in it for 2 hours. Turn, salt this side very lightly, and bake for a further 1½ hours. The juices should only just shiver and pop throughout, and if your dish is the right size you should not have to add any liquid, but baste occasionally. When the time’s up, the leg burnished, and the ‘gravy’ a deep brown, remove to an ovenproof serving dish. Use a paper towel to skim the fat from the juices, strain, and spoon some over the lamb. Turn the oven down to 110 °C and let it rest there (loosely covered, with damp greaseproof paper) for 15 minutes before carving. Serve remaining gravy separately. Serves 6.
VEGETABLE AND CHICKPEA STEW WITH OLIVE BREAD
A favourite vegetarian dish of slow-simmered vegetables in a sauce spiked with cinnamon and topped with cheese – so easy, anyone can make it, and the bread is not complicated either – plump and studded with black olives, it looks fabulous, and adds great personality to the homespun stew.
60 ml (¼ cup) olive oil
1 large onion, halved and sliced into crescents
2 x 200 g aubergines (brinjals), cut into chunks and dégorged
2 sticks table celery, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
500 g ripe tomatoes (not canned), skinned and chopped
2 ml (½ tsp) ground cinnamon
1 fat stick cinnamon
10 ml (2 tsp) tomato paste
10 ml (2 tsp) honey
250 ml (1 cup) vegetable stock or water
1 x 410 g can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
a little sea salt to taste
lots of crumbled feta cheese for topping
Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and, when soft and golden, add the aubergines. Toss around to coat the chunks with the oil, then add the celery, garlic, tomatoes, cinnamon, tomato paste, honey and stock. Mix, then cover and simmer very gently for 30 minutes, stirring now and then to mash up the tomatoes. Add the chickpeas and a little extra stock or water if you think it necessary, then continue simmering for a further 15–20 minutes, until the vegetables are softly mingled, and the sauce thickened. Check the seasoning, remove the cinnamon stick, sprinkle with feta and serve when heated through – or serve as is, and pass the feta separately. Serves 4, and is easily doubled.
Olive bread with pine nuts and garlic
This super, savoury bread is really easy to make – mixed in minutes, the batter is plopped into a cake tin, smoothed out, left to rise, then baked – and out comes a plump round bread, studded with black olives and aromatic things. As it’s a no-knead bread the texture will be dense and holey, but it nevertheless slices easily, right across, into long thin slabs, or it can simply be broken into chunks. Serve fresh and warm – or reheat for about 10 minutes in a moderate oven.
4 x 250 ml (4 cups) white bread flour
7 ml (1½ tsp) sea salt
15 ml (1 Tbsp) honey
15 ml (1 Tbsp) instant dry yeast
4 fat cloves garlic, crushed
a small handful of chopped curly or flat-leaf parsley
2 pickling onions, coarsely grated
100 g calamata olives (drained weight), rinsed, pitted and halved
30 ml (2 Tbsp) olive oil
45–60 ml (3–4 Tbsp) pine nuts
about 375 ml (1½ cups) very warm but not hot-hot water
2 fresh sprigs of rosemary and a few pine nuts for topping
Mix all the ingredients, except the water, in a large mixing bowl. Slowly add 250 ml (1 cup) of the water and mix in. The batter will still be a little dry. Add the rest of the water and, stirring briskly with a wooden spoon, mix to a soft and sticky batter, rather like chewing gum. You might need an extra 5–10 ml (1–2 tsp) of water to make it sloppy enough without being wet. Have ready a round cake tin*, 22 x 7 cm, first lightly oiled and then lined, base and sides, with baking paper. Scoop the batter into the tin and spread it out, repeatedly, with the back of a dampened spoon – stroke it right out to the sides, as evenly as possible. Press the rosemary and pine nuts lightly into the top, cover with a cloth and leave to rise for about 1 hour, until the batter has risen almost to the top of the tin. (Instant yeast is usually very quick, but this batter is heavy due to the olives, and therefore takes longer than usual.) When puffed up and ready, bake on the middle shelf of the oven at 200 °C for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 180 °C and bake for 20 minutes more – it should be nicely browned. Stand for about 10 minutes, run a spatula round the sides, then turn out onto a rack, remove paper, and tap the bottom – if it sounds hollow, you can be sure your bread is done.
* If using a springform tin, put a tray underneath in case of oil drips.
CHILLED SPANSPEK IN SYRUP
A long bath in a syrup of orange juice, honey, cinnamon and brandy works magic with melon, and creates the perfect dessert after a hearty meal. In Greece, eating fresh fruit at the end of a meal is the regular thing; sweets and pastries are enjoyed at other times, with coffee. Admittedly, this spanspek is not absolutely fresh and pure, but it’s refreshing, truly delicious, and incorporates Greek-style ingredients. Make it up to 24 hours in advance and preferably serve it neat, without Greek yoghurt or ice cream, unless pushed.
1 large, ripe spanspek (sweet melon)
250 ml (1 cup) fresh orange juice
2 ml (½ tsp) ground cinnamon*
45 ml (3 Tbsp) pale honey, e.g. fynbos or veldflower
30 ml (2 Tbsp) brandy
Halve the spanspek vertically, cut into quarters, peel and seed, then weigh the flesh – you will need about 650 g. Slice each quarter into sickle-shaped segments, and halve each segment again so that you have a pile of neat, almost new-moon shapes. This is much better than dicing or balling the flesh, as there’s no wastage, and it’s quicker and neater. Pack the slices tightly together in a fairly large, deep dish. Mix the remaining ingredients in a small saucepan and heat gently, stirring, until the honey has dissolved – just lukewarm, really. Pour this syrup over the slices and refrigerate, covered, for at least 6 hours, but preferably overnight. Spoon the syrup over each serving. Serves 5–6.
* This will not ‘melt’ – the tiny specks will float around in the syrup and it matters not. It’s the flavour that is important.
RICE PUDDING
The Greeks love rice pudding and so do millions of others, except possibly children at boarding school. Because it is not oven-baked (which is probably the nostalgic rice pud most people remember), but prepared on the stove (which is a quicker method for their Rizógalo), it does require a session of stirring. It also requires a very deep saucepan because boiling milk froths
up like a plume – but it takes only about 30 minutes to produce four creamy, golden, sweet endings to a meal. Concerning the rice – long-grain is sometimes used, but it just isn’t the same as short, plump pudding rice – which is difficult to find in this country and so I have taken a liberty and substituted arborio (or risotto rice). It works like a dream.
125 ml (½ cup) water
80 ml (1/3 cup) arborio rice
a large pinch of sea salt
800 ml (31/5 cups) full-cream milk
60 ml (¼ cup) castor sugar
1 large free-range egg
7 ml (1½ tsp) cornflour
extra 60 ml (¼ cup) milk
2 ml (½ tsp) vanilla essence
ground cinnamon for topping
Rub the base and right around the rim of a deep, heavy-based saucepan with soft butter – this will help prevent sticking and stop the milk from boiling over. Bring the water to the boil. Add the rice, give it a stir and, when the water is absorbed, add the salt and, slowly, the milk and sugar, stirring all the time. When it comes to the boil, reduce the heat immediately and simmer gently for about 30 minutes, or until the rice is very soft. Bear in mind that once the milk has calmed down and the mixture is just bubbling softly, there is no need to keep stirring; however, do not go away, as it does need occasional stirring throughout the cooking period, to prevent sticking. Beat the egg, cornflour and extra milk together, pour in a little of the hot milk mixture, stir to mix, then return to the saucepan and stir over low heat for about 5 minutes until thick, yellow and creamy and the egg is cooked, like custard. Stir in the vanilla essence, then pour or spoon into four heatproof bowls or glasses, sprinkle with cinnamon, and leave to cool. Best served at room temperature, otherwise refrigerate once cooled. Serves 4.
SYLVIA
Behind the gate of Number Two stood a square house with blue walls, yellow shutters and a pink front door. On either side of the front steps, two large, green-painted paraffin tins spilled over with ferns and trailing geraniums, and the path leading down to the gate was a cobbled meander of grey river stones, tufted with thyme and flanked with nasturtiums. It was altogether an unusually bright little place, and Big Joe and his son Jolly kept it as neat as a pin. Every morning, Jolly shook out the bedding and swept the front path, and every evening before leaving for work, Big Joe drew the lace curtains and placed lighted candles in the two windows.
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