Braised summer greens with corn (Χόρτα τσιγαριαστά με ξενικόστερα)

Every day during our getaway break in Paleohora, we ate at the same taverna, Χουμάς, by Grammenos Beach, near Kountoura.  Houmas serves freshly prepared, mainly seasonal delicacies on a daily basis, all cooked by one of the sons of the original owners of the taverna, who is a trained chef. It is one thing to know how to cook the local dishes of your region, which you may have watched your mother prepare on a regular basis for your family, and quite another to to cook these same dishes as a chef who is trained to standardise these meals so that they taste the same whenever they are cooked. In our house, the same dishes that I cook on a regular basis do not always come out with the same taste!

Our favorite dish at Houmas was braised summer greens, χόρτα τσιγαρισατά, in colloquial terms, which basically means what has been left over in the garden, all cooked together. Beans, vlita greens,  zucchini and corn (which are colloquially known in Crete as ξενικόστερα) go amazingly well with a tomato-based sauce flavoured with some onion or garlic and olive oil.

Braised greens is a favorite dish for many Cretans: it represents the abundance of a great variety of crops, and wealth in terms of a rich feast provided by the scraps that nature yields, even when the growing season is at its end.

You can guess what I cooked when we came back home, straight after our holiday:

Xenikostera, of course, with what was left over in our summer garden, plus the one game bird my husband caught during our holiday - a tsihla (Turdus spp.).


At Houmas taverna, a plate of braised greens cost 4.50 euro; at home, it cost us the labour and toil of a summer garden.

You can find the recipe for tsigarisata horta here.

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Kritamos - Rock samphire (Κρίταμος)

Right along the Cretan coastline, kritamos - known as rock samphire in English - continues to flourish, together with caper bushes.

Kritamos in flower

Kritamos - Critmum maritimum - is pickled in the same way as capers; all parts of the plant - stems, leaves and seed pods, except the flower - can be prepared in this way for later use as a flavouring in salads.

The leaves and the most tender stalks are the best for pickling. 

It is used in pretty much the same way as pickled peppers, pickled capers and pickled purslane. In its fresh form, it has an appealing smell, something like a mixture of fennel and peppermint. No surprise that it is also known as sea fennel. When pickled in vinegar, its aroma and taste change, but it still adds an interesting dimension to a potato or tomato salad.

Peppers, purslane, capers and kritamos in the small jar.

As with all foraged greens, you need to be a little picky about where you pick them, by ensuring that the area where you forage is not polluted or contaminated in any way. I picked the kritamos from my local beach, so I don't intend to use it in my cooking. It makes a nice addition to my other more usable pickles - it is very pretty to look at.

The chef at MAICh often uses kritamos to flavour his potato-based salads.

Kritamos is linked to ancient Greece in many ways, in the myths surrounding Prometheus, as well as in Hippocratic medicine. It is also known in Britain and has been mentioned by Shakespeare. Although the Greek islands were once the culinary province of kritamos, it is now becoming more and more well known by restauranteurs all over the world, notably urban centres running top-end Greek restaurants, whose owners get it shipped into their kitchens. No wonder foraged herbs are now in serious decline.

Bonus photo:

The rocky coastline in this photo is full of kritamos. It generally feels unpolluted, but it's probably been contaminated by animals and suntan oil. Such pollution is less visible than car fumes, but at the same time, it's very real.

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Purslane (Γλυστρίδα)

I posted this photo of purslane on my facebook page without realising it would become an instant hit. I suppose it is the serene look of this wonderful weed and the way it grows wildly and spontaneously, without any help apart from some irrigation. Purslane, Portulaca oleracea (in Greek, αντράκλα - antrakla, or γλυστρίδα - glistrida) is a common edible weed in Greece during the summer months. It has long thick juicy stems and grows around tomato and zucchini plants. For those who are familiar with it, it has a light refreshing taste, and is especially good in tomato and/or potato salads.

Purlsane is an edible weed. The tiny buds produce a small yellow flower. The seeds of the plant are tiny and black - they look like fine dust. You can see them all over the worktop. 

You can use the tenderest parts (like the ones I've cut off on the left) for salad, or you can place the whole (cleaned) plant in a jar of wine vinegar with a little salt sprinkled into it, which can be used in the same way as capers or the kritamos weed (samphire). Even if you don't use it all up by next year, it will remind yo throughout the colder months of winter of the warmer months to come. Since it is renewably annually, you don't need to keep it - you'll just pickle some again more next year.

Pickled capers and pickling purslane

Although purslane grows literally everywhere and anywhere during the summer, for the last 3-4 years, it is being sold at the market these days, a sign that it is quite popular. For me, who lives in a house with a large garden, in a village, it was quite a scary sight. It made me feel that this could possibly be a sign of how busy people seem to be these days, distancing themselves from nature despite being so close to it. Then again, they may not live near a clean source of purslane, and they find it easier to pay 50-60 cents for a cute little bunch of purslane (shipped form Athens). Let's hope, for my judgmental sake, that it is the latter; you know what Greeks say about people who eat a lot of glistrida, don't you? They talk too much.

My favorite recipes for fresh purslane are: orzo pasta salad, artichoke and purslane salad, and cucumber/zucchini and purslane salad. Pickled purslane is good in tomato and potato salad.

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Wild aromatic Cretan herbs (Άγρια αρωματικά βότανα της Κρήτης)

A friend from New York who has been holidaying in Crete this summer told me how much she was enjoying the island's aroma, so much that she would rub her skin with the wild herbs found on almost every roadside to keep their perfume on her body. Natural smells of this type are not to be found in her environment, and she simply wants to savour them for as long as she can, before she returns home, where the smells and aromas have little to do with what is growing in the soil.

The wild natural smells that surround me, which are easily encountered almost everywhere on the island, being especially pronounced away from urban spaces, are often taken for granted by the locals, because they are found in plethora. Wherever I walk, I am not far from a bristly bush of bright purple wild thyme or a wild-growing rosemary plant. Then again, everyone has something highly aromatic growing in their garden or among their potted plants. Smells chase you in Crete.

I recently proof-read a Master's thesis based on a detailed profiling of four Cretan herbs that grow in the wild:

Origanum microphyllum, 

Origanum microphyllum - mantzourana in Greek, used dried, for tea (always in combination with Sideritis syriaca/cretica). "Origanum microphyllum (benth.) Vogel, commonly called “Matziorana”, is a perennial dwarf shrub endemic to Crete (Greece), with numerous stems 20-50cm usually branched... It is used as an aromatic and medicinal plant, usually as medicinal tea by infusing leaves and/or inflorescences in boiling water."

Origanum dictamnus, 

Origanum dictamnus - diktamos (also known as erontas) in Greek, used dried, for tea (always in combination with Sideritis syriaca/cretica). "According to ancient mythology the plant was dedicated to the ancient Cretan goddess Diktynna and thus was named dittany, it is well known since Aristotle’s time for its curing abilities and is broadly used in Crete till now as a panacea for every illness. Nowadays, as in the past, dittany is used as a condiment, herbal tea plant to cure cough and sore throats, relieve stomach-ache and several pains (Kouri et al., 2007). It has also many remedial properties such as anti-hemorrhage, healing wounds and gastric ulcers, facilitating childbirth and abortion, stimulating the nervous system (Economakis et al., 2002), spleen problems, against rheumatism and gynecological disorders, diabetes and obesity. Its cutaneous uses are antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, anti-bleeding, and cicatrizing, and since it has been characterized by the U.S.A.CFR (2009) as a safe spice for consumption, it can be applied as a natural food additive, with a flavoring, antioxidant or preservative role (Liolios et al., 2010). It was also largely used in monasteries since the middle age, by the Benedictines and Trappistines monks in the famous liqueurs Benedictine and Trappistine, respectively."

Origanum vulgare,

Origanum vulgare - common oregano, rigani in Greek, the savoury herb, used dried, sometimes fresh, for flavour. "O. vulgare subsp. hirtum is widely used as spice under the name “Greek Oregano” and it is generally accepted that the Greek Oregano has the best quality; it is used in meat products, salads, soups and sauces, but it is also commonly used in traditional medicine to treat various diseases, for instance its essential oil has been recommended against rheumatism, toothache, and was used in the past for the preparation of soaps with antiseptic properties. The infusions of the leaves and flowers are used against cold, cough, and diarrhea. It has also been reported that the inhalation of the essential oils cure chronic pneumonia. These biological properties are reported to be related to the chemical composition of the plant, especially its essential oil (Skoula and Kamenopoulos, 1997)."

and Satureja thymbra.

Satureja thrymba, throumbi in Greek, a kind of savoury herb often call Pink Savoury, which is used in a similar way to Origanum vulgare (oregano - rigani). "S. thymbra has commercial importance as it is used as spice, and its essential oil is used in folk medicine as antiseptic, tonic, gastric sedative and diuretic. It also favors cicatrization of skin sores and wounds (Capone et al., 1989). The aerial parts of the plant have been widely used in traditional medicine, to treat many ailments such as muscle pains, cramps, arthritis, and infectious diseases (Marković et al., 2011). In addition, they are used in pharmaceuticals as anti-bacterials for the treatment of cold and bronchitis and in cosmetics (Gören et al., 2004)."

These herbs are all related, as they belong to the Lamiacease family; in fact, they all sound or look like the savoury herb commonly known as oregano, which they could well be, but they are all used in quite different ways in Crete. They are rich in many substances:

The main constituents for Origanum microphyllum were β-caryophyllene (20.73%), linalool (14.67%), cis-sabinene-hydrate (12.81), juniper-camphor (7.56%), sabinene (4.41 %), γ-terpinene (4.17%), and α-humulene (4.16%). The essential oil of Origanum dictamnus was dominated by carvacrol (22.77%), p-cymene (15.34%), γ-terpinene (11.57%), cis-thujone (9.53%), β-caryophyllene (7.44%), trans-thujone (6.10%), and α-copaene (4.24%). Carvacrol (58.70%), p-cymene (9.23%), γ-terpinene (7.57%), β-caryophyllene (5.67%), β-bisabolene (2.62%) and β-myrcene (2.44%) were the major constituents of Origanum vulgare. The chemical composition of Satureja thymbra was characterized by the presence of γ-terpinene (32.96%), thymol (17.13%), β-caryophyllene (16.04%), p-cymene (14.45%), α-terpinene (2.33%) and carvacrol (2.13%)... Almost all four plant species were rich in rosmarinic acid, apigenin and its derivatives and flavanones. Caffeic acid derivatives were present in O. microphyllum fractions and also in the ethyl acetate fraction of O. dictamnus. Vicenin-2 was found in O. dictamnus fractions, in the butanol fraction of O. vulgare and in S. thymbra. O. vulgare fractions contained luteolin and its derivatives, which have also been found in S. thymbra fractions. Quercetin glucoside, ferulic acid and stachydrine derivative were only present in S. thymbra, whereas yannaneic acid, p-coumaric acid derivative and maleate of homoplantagenine were found only in O. dictamnus... Comparing the results among the plant species, S. thymbra exhibited the highest antiradical activity in all cases. It should be noted that O. dictamnus has shown prooxidant activity in one of the assays. (Asma TAIR, MAICh thesis, 2013)

The further up you walk or drive, the more the aromatic wild plants growing. Some plants acclimatise well to lower ground (my uncle has successfully grown all the above plants in his coastal village garden except for Satureja thymbra, which I chanced upon on a drive through the southern coast); some are much harder to grow away from their habitat, eg Satureja thymbra and Sideritis syriaca/cretica (which my uncle harvested from a mountain side during a recent forage).

Sideritis syriaca/cretica - malotira in Greek, used dried, as a tea, usually in combination with Origanum dictamus - diktamos or erontas - or Origanum microphyllus - mantzourana; the latter two are used in much smaller quantities than malotira, which is the main herb used to make the tea (it can also be used on its own).

Generally speaking, with a little bit of care and attention, it is not hard to grow something useful for your nutrition in Crete.

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Blue and white

A middle-aged neighbour saw me using my camera this morning. I hesitate to say that he saw me taking photos of the roadside flowers, because I doubt that he realised what I was doing. I explained exactly what I was doing which was just that: photographing roadside flowers.

My favorite flowers at this season - Daucus carotta and Chicorium - growing right outside my house. The chicorium flowers close as the sun becomes stronger, so it's only feasible to take the photos early in the morning.

"Oh, those useless things! What can you possibly find fascinating about them?" 

Daucus carotta and Chicorium are both edible species - wild carrot and chicory

I knew he was going to say this. It's an automatic fear reaction to the unknown, the strange, the odd, the peculiar; it's scary watching a sole minority doing what the ramining majortiy would never do.  

Wild chicory can be quite tough and fibrous, so it's only good for eating when it is at an early growth stage

Taking pleasure in simple things was probably a favorite Greek past time in the pre-EU days, sadly replaced quite quickly once excess cash settled into the locals' pockets.

If you know your chicorium species well, you will instantly recognise this one as Chicorium spinosum, the well known Cretan horta species commonly called stamnagathi, due to its thorns that were once used to cover terracotta urns to prevent crawling creatures from entering them. This is not a wild species - it was growing on the other side of the fence, which constitutes my neighbour's garden. Although Chicorium spinaosum grows wildly, it does not do so at low altitude - this was grown from seed or transplanted from wild plants.

Some people are finding it very hard to return to valuing the simple things in life, but at least they can recall them. The problem is that their offspring were never taught to value them - so what is left for them? Life always looks greener on the other side, especially when you can't see the foliage on your own side.

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Vlita - Amaranth (Βλήτα)

A non-Greek friend of mine living in Crete recently found a bag of greens - amaranth leaves on their stalks, a Greek summertime favorite known as vlita (βλήτα - VLI-ta) - hanging off her door handle, left there by some kindly Cretan neighbour who was looking for a way to get rid of her excess harvest.



She asked me what she could do with them. Here is the advice I gave her.

• Maria's friend: Maria Verivaki........this is my kitchen sink full of vlita... I'm desperate - on the one hand, I don't want to throw away good food, on the other, I don't know what to do with them!

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  Maria Verivaki OK, the easiest thing to do with them is to boil them as a warm green salad (always served with boiled potatoes and boiled zucchini, and always dressed with olive oil, salt and lemon juice) and served with, say, a boiled egg (not usually a fried one), or some cheese or maybe some leftover meat or fried little fish (marida, sardela, gavros). They also go really well with some sivrasi over the top, or some freshly grated tomato and finely chopped garlic (both raw), as I had them recently at a local mayirio, and always with some bread on the side to mop up the olive oil
  

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  Maria Verivaki Here is something more creative: when we didn't grow enough spinach, i used to make them into 'vlita pita' - clean and chop the very lightly blanched vlita as you would spinach. Add some grated zucchini, finely chopped onion, the usual Greek herbs and spices (mint, parsley, maybe also dill, season with salt and pepper, maybe some oregano if you don't have too many herbs available), and some mizithra (Cretan soft white cheese), or crumbled feta, or blue vein cheese (I was told what a good addition this makes by a Greek village friend of mine - I have never used it myself). Because vlita can be a little bitter, you should blanch them before using (even when you boil them for a warm salad, change the water once or twice)
  

  

  about an hour ago · Like
• Maria's friend: How long does it keep when vlita is boiled, obviously not freezable...there's tons!!! And only 2 of us (I know, it's neighbours trying to get rid of their surplus...so I can't say no!). OK, I'll make spanakopita

  about an hour ago · Like
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  Maria Verivaki Cook until the stems are soft, which means about 20-30 minutes in a rolling boil. You CAN freeze them if you are really really keen to do this (I don't do this because it is futile: Crete is covered in greens most year round). My US friend who used to run a Greek restaurant in NY told me that she froze them because they weren't that easy to find there; you can partly boil them, place them in a plastic freezeable container with some water, so they are swimming in it, and freeze them. They defrost nicely in the water, and should be reheated and/or cooked longer with new water

  about an hour ago · Like
• Maria's friend: Oh, OK, will try that... as it's so hot today, I really don't want to spend it in the kitchen cooking...

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  Maria Verivaki There are also more creative ways to cook vlita (but I am not really keen on such ideas - they don't really fit in with the Greek way of doing things, if you know what I mean). Some things are just too not-Greek (reminds me of feta mousse, olive ice-cream and mastich-flavoured everything)

  about an hour ago · Like 
• Maria's friend: No, doesn't sound right... Cretans don't use basil much either, do they? 

  about an hour ago · Unlike · 1
• Maria Verivaki No, despite its abundance, and their craze for it on their windowsills, it rarely gets into their traditional food, although you see it more often in restaurant menus these days.
  Boiled vlita lasts for about 4 days without a problem, in its water, in the fridge - so if you cook them today, you can continue to eat them throughout the week (they won't go off, neither will the potaotes and zucchini, but cook each one separately, because if you cook everything together, the potatoes tend to discolour which may be off-putting)

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  • Maria Verivaki If you look at what the Chinese do with vlita, it's not far from the basic Greek recipe: they stir fry it, with onions and garlic, and they add dressings like soy sauce. It's very similar to horta vrasta (boiled greens) with the typical dressing of their region (I wonder if the Chinese would stick their stir-fry vlita over a plate of noodles???)
    
    While we're talking about the Chinese, don't forget that vlita are always cooked, never raw (don't ask me why, but that's how the Greeks and the Chinese eat them, never raw - so there must be a 'right' way to eat them)

    about an hour ago · Like

  Maria's friend: Yes, I notice that with the locals - they don't stray too far from the tried and tested

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  Maria Verivaki Some modernisms in Greek cooking take away not just the authenticity of the Greek dish, but add a dash of the 'liquorice allsorts' touch to dishes that were quite happy to be left alone just as they have been eaten for a long time. I really cannot appreciate these modernisms to this day, despite my desire to aspire to modern culinary trends - I think it's got to do with my aversion to the idea of deep frying a battered oreo biscuit...

  about an hour ago · Like
• Maria's friend:  No, keep cooking fresh and as simple as possible, as far as I'm concerned.

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  Maria Verivaki Some combinations of Greek food are very very ancient - they worked well in those days, and they continue to work well in our days. But in creative cuisine, we might mess up the tried and true combinations, to the point that if we have lost touch with the reference point (eg Cretan cooking for example), we lose out on the real taste of a particular meal, and we can only eat it if we douse it in modern food combos

  about an hour ago · Like
• Maria's friend: Very true.

  about an hour ago · Like

It is not open-minded to think of modern food combinations, where almost anything goes, as 'wrong', but it is equally narrow-minded to view more traditional culinary practices as old-fashioned or bizarre. Some things are meant to be. This is why I stick to lemon juice in my lentil stew and not grape must, I would never 'cook' my taramosalata and I certainly don't use chili in any dishes, unless I am cooking a foreign meal. It just ain't Greek, and my family knows this well.

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