Food Go Greek with traditional Cretan specialities

Traditional dishes from the magical island of Crete

Cretan summer salad with fresh cheese and traditional rusks

Serves: 4-6 as a sharing plate

3 medium, ripe red tomatoes, cut into

bite-sized pieces

1 crisp cucumber, peeled, cut in half lengthways then sliced into thin half-moon pieces

1 green pepper, halved and sliced 1 small red onion, halved then cut into

thin wedges

A handful of good-quality olives with stones (we use black wrinkly Greek olives)

1 tbsp capers

1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley 1 handful of purslane, if available,

or rocket leaves, chopped

1 tsp dried oregano

4 small Cretan barley rusks (paksimadia) or 2 large ones broken into bite-sized pieces. (Finding Cretan barley rusks may not be the easiest thing, unless you live close to a Greek deli. However, there are many alternatives available on the market. Swedish crispbreads are a good option and can be easily found, but thickly sliced sourdough drizzled with olive oil and dried out in a preheated oven at 160ºc/325ºf/gas 3 would be my choice.)

60ml (2½fl oz) extra-virgin olive oil 3 tbsps good-quality, aged red-wine

vinegar

Sea salt, to taste

150g (5½oz) Cretan mizithra or feta,

crumbled

● Put all the salad ingredients, apart from the cheese, in a bowl and mix gently.

● Let the mixture sit for a few minutes then add the cheese.

● Mix once more and serve.

Lamb kofte with parsley salad

Serves: 4-6 as a sharing plate For the lamb kofte:

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

150g (51/2oz) lambs’ hearts, chopped extremely finely and seasoned with salt

100g (31/2oz) coarse bulgur wheat 450g (1lb) lamb, minced

1 tbsp walnuts, very finely chopped 150g (51/2oz) tomatoes, finely

chopped

2 long green Turkish chillies, or other

chillies you like, chopped finely

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp dried chilli flakes

11/2 tsps ground fenugreek

1 handful each of parsley, mint leaves

and dill, all finely chopped 300ml (10fl oz) vegetable oil, for frying For the parsley salad:

1 bunch of parsley, chopped 100g (31/2oz) tomatoes chopped 1 small green pepper, deseeded

and chopped

1 green chilli, deseeded and chopped 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon

Sea salt and freshly ground black

pepper, to taste

● Heat a pan over a medium heat, add the oil and lambs’ hearts and fry briefly for a couple of minutes. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool a little.

● Tip the bulgur wheat into a bowl, cover with boiling water and let it sit a few minutes until it softens a little.

● Put all the kofte ingredients, except the vegetable oil, in a large bowl and mix very well. Season with salt and form into round balls about the size of walnuts.

● Heat the vegetable oil in a deep saucepan until hot (it should bubble as soon as you lower the kofte into it).

● Fry the lamb kofte in the oil until golden and crispy. Remove from the pan and drain on kitchen paper.

● Chop the salad ingredients as finely as possible. Put the parsley, tomatoes, pepper and chilli on a cutting board. Go over them again and again with a big knife until you have something that looks a bit like a salsa. It’s a bit messy but totally worth it.

● Transfer to a bowl and season with the oil, lemon, salt and pepper.

● Serve the salad with the kofte and some nice bread.

1 garlic clove, crushed to a paste with

a bit of salt

50ml (2fl oz) carob molasses (grape or

date molasses will also work well) 2 tbsps good-quality red-wine vinegar 2 tbsps olive oil

Sea salt, to taste

100g (31/2fl oz) Greek strained yoghurt

● Boil the beetroot in a pan of water until soft. Drain, allow the beetroot to cool, then peel and slice into thin wedges.

● Put the beetroot in a serving bowl together with the herbs and almonds.

● Make the dressing by shaking the crushed garlic, molasses, vinegar and olive oil in a jar. Pour over the beetroot and mix.

● Season with salt.

● Add the yoghurt to the salad and mix slightly. The colour of this is amazing if you don’t fully mix in the yoghurt.

Fried anchovies with potatoes, chopped herbs and lemon mayonnaise

Serves: 4-6 as a sharing plate

For the cooked lemon mayonnaise:

2 whole unwaxed lemons

150g (51/2oz) sugar

1 tbsp sea salt

2 tbsps mayonnaise

For the anchovies and potatoes:

500g (1lb 2oz) Cyprus potatoes, washed, peeled

and cut into halves

1 small bunch each of parsley, mint and dill,

finely chopped

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper,

to taste

300ml (10fl oz) extra-virgin olive oil

Juice of 2 lemons

500g (1lb 2oz) fresh anchovies, cleaned and

kept whole

Zest of 1 unwaxed lemon

Zest of 1 unwaxed orange

Plain flour, for dusting the fish

● For the mayonnaise, place the lemons in a small pan with the sugar and salt and cover them with water. Cook on a medium heat for about 40 minutes or until the lemons are soft. Remove from the pan, reserving the liquid, cut them in half and discard the pips.

● Put the lemons, with a touch of the liquid, in a food processor and blitz until very smooth. It should look similar to a curd. You won’t need all of this for this dish, but I always make more than I need as it keeps forever in the fridge.

● Put the potatoes in a pan of salted water. Cook over a medium heat until soft but not falling apart. Drain.

● When cool enough to handle, cut the potatoes into discs and place in a bowl.

● Season the herbs with salt and toss them in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Place a pan over a high heat and when it’s hot, but not smoking, add the herbs and wilt them for a minute or two.

● Remove the herbs from the pan and add to the potatoes. Drizzle with olive oil and the lemon juice, then season with salt and pepper.

● Meanwhile, heat 200ml (7fl oz) of olive oil in a pan. Put the anchovies in a bowl and season generously with sea salt.

● Add the lemon and orange zest to the anchovies and dust them in flour.

● Don’t shake them too much – you want a nice thick coating of flour. When the oil is hot, place the anchovies carefully in the pan and fry until golden.

● Remove the anchovies from the pan, using a slotted spoon, and transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper to absorb any excess oil.

● Mix the mayonnaise with 1 tablespoon of the cooked lemon purée and serve alongside the fish and potato salad. If you prefer, you can mix it into the salad to make it richer.