Fish School : Fire and Salt: The Grecian Formula
Greeks like to give their creatures from the sea a good grilling. Whether octopus, snapper, bream, grouper, bass or mullet--whether caught on a spear or in a net or even bought frozen--fish usually ends the day seared over hot coals, with a wedge of lemon and a bit of salt as its only embellishments.
From the seaside coves of the north to the Peloponnesian Peninsula to the hundreds of islands strung from the Aegean to the Ionian seas, fish grilled whole on the bone makes for one of the country’s simplest, yet most prized, meals. The barbecue--sometimes a cavity permanently carved into a garden wall, sometimes nothing more than an inverted trash can, and sometimes even, as tourist postcards depict, a bonfire on the beach guarded by a glistening bather--symbolizes the Greek approach to fish cookery: fresh, simple and informal.
But barbecuing isn’t everything. There is also a world of regional soups and stews characterized by the flavor of local herbs and vegetables.
Shellfish is characteristic of Salonika, which culls most of its seafood from the ample coves and inlets around the Khalkidiki Peninsula. The mussel owes its esteemed status here to the large numbers of shellfish-loving Greeks who emigrated to the region seven decades ago from Turkey. In the local tavernas , mussels may be stuffed with rice and pine nuts or simmered in a small shallow pan, called a saganaki , with tomato, feta and wine or ouzo.
Greeks from Pontos (the Black Sea), who settled in both Salonika and Macedonia, brought their penchant for the sardine, which they bake either with leeks or wrapped in grape leaves. Another Pontic dish, distinctly Balkan in its flavorings, is fish baked whole on a bed of sauerkraut.
In the inland province of Macedonia, Greeks rely on freshwater fish such as trout or carp from mountain lakes and rivers. Perhaps because these fish are blander than those from the sea, heady flavorings are common. A typical dish in far northern towns such as Kastoria and Serres is lake fish baked with tomatoes, onions, currants, both black and red pepper and sometimes walnuts.
Walnuts and exotic seasonings appear in the fish cookery of other northern Greeks too. Salonikans, for example, serve a sauce of walnuts, vinegar and lemon juice over carp, fillet of sole and, even, croquettes made from various local fish. In “The Cookbook of the Jews of Greece” (Lycabettus Press: Athens, 1986), Nikos Stavroulakis offers two interesting Salonikan recipes: carp or bass baked with greengage plums and fish fillets baked with white wine and prunes.
Outside of northern Greece, regional fish dishes are not so highly seasoned. In the Aegean islands, where people have traditionally subsisted on fresh fish and their own garden vegetables, preparation is usually simple. A summer treat on almost every island with a rocky coastline is the sea urchin, plucked with care and eaten raw, unseasoned save for a squirt of lemon juice.
Combinations of seafood (especially snapper, bass and bream) and vegetables such as okra, zucchini and spinach are common in the islands. On Lesvos (otherwise known as Mitilini), known since antiquity for the abundance of seafood in its coastal waters, they make an interesting Sunday meal of cabbage leaves stuffed with fish and rice.
In Crete, wild fennel and green olives are added to a pot of simmering octopus, squid and cuttlefish. Cretans also like the combination of oranges and tomatoes in a luscious octopus stew.
A peculiar sight to us on islands large and small is seafood drying in the sun, like some leathery wash on the line. A purple-black octopus, stretched taut with clothes pins outside a seafood taverna , could stand as the symbol of Evvia (Euboea), the elongated island that parallels the coastline from Attica to Thessaly. Another specialty of Evvia is butterflied sardines, boned and stuffed with garlic, parsley, lemon and sometimes cheese.
On the island of Paros, in the Cyclades, gavros (anchovy) is sun-dried, then grilled--a meze made for ouzo. In Syros, it’s not the fish that’s dried under the hot Greek sun but the capers that are cooked with it, in an oven-baked stew made with mackerel, tomatoes and onions.
Western Greece still feels the influence of Venice, which long dominated the Ionian Sea. On the islands of Korkira (Corfu), Kephalonia and Zakynthos (Zante), fish dishes often have distinctly Italian names. The two best-known Ionian fish dishes are the bourtheto of Corfu, a peppery stew resembling the Italian brodetto , and bianko , a white stew flavored heavily with garlic.
But on the whole, the Greek way with seafood is simple. Many recipes are made in much the same way all over the country and are easy to find in the tavernas : octopus marinated in olive oil and vinegar, or simmered with tomato and pearl onions; cuttlefish-and-spinach stew; fried small fish such as whitebait and picarel. And of course, whole fish, grilled to perfection on a barbecue.
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The predominant flavor here is pepper, lots of it. The recipe is made either as a stew or with fish baked whole on the bone.
CORFIOT BOURTHETO (Greek Fish Stew) 4 fish, preferably mullet or snapper, about 1 pound each, gutted and scaled Juice 1 lemon Salt Freshly ground pepper 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 2 large red onions, halved and thinly sliced 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 3/4 cup dry white wine 1/4 cup water 2 bay leaves Cayenne 1 teaspoon thyme leaves 1 bunch Italian parsley, leaves finely chopped, discard stems
Pat fish dry with paper towels. Season inside and out to taste with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Place in shallow bowl, drizzle with 1/4 cup olive oil and set aside, covered, 1 hour.
Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in large skillet and cook onions over low heat until tender, about 12 minutes. Add garlic and stir once or twice. Pour in wine and water. Bring mixture to boil. Reduce heat, add bay leaves, 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, thyme and half of parsley. Simmer 5 minutes.
Pour sauce over fish. Add remaining 1/4 cup olive oil and bake, covered, at 350 degrees 20 to 30 minutes, until fish is flaky. Serve hot, sprinkled with cayenne to taste and remaining parsley. Makes 4 servings
Each serving contains about: 645 calories; 316 mg sodium; 134 mg cholesterol; 32 grams fat; 4 grams carbohydrates; 75 grams protein; 0.40 gram fiber.
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This recipe makes a delicious stew, but in testing it, we found we liked it even better the next day, served cold. The bright, vinegar-olive flavor makes it a fine cold appetizer.
CRETE-STYLE OCTOPUS STEW WITH FENNEL AND GREEN OLIVES 1 (3-pound) octopus 1/2 cup olive oil 6 to 8 green onions, thinly sliced into rounds 1 clove garlic, minced 1 bunch wild fennel (if available), coarsely chopped, or 1 large fennel bulb, halved and thinly sliced with 4-6 green onions, thinly sliced 1 cup dry white wine Freshly ground pepper 2/3 cup cracked green olives, rinsed and pitted Salt
Cut away head from octopus with sharp knife. Squeeze out mouthpiece and discard. Place octopus in medium-sized stewing or soup pot. Cover and cook over lowest possible heat until octopus turns bright-pink and softens, 30 to 40 minutes. Octopus should exude enough liquid to keep from drying out, but add salted water to pot if necessary to keep octopus from burning.
Remove octopus with juices and set aside few minutes to cool slightly. Heat olive oil in same pot and add green onions, stirring few minutes until translucent.
Meanwhile, cut tentacles into 2- to 3-inch pieces and cut octopus center into similarly sized chunks. Add garlic to pot, then octopus and fennel pieces. (If using fennel bulb, cook together with green onions.) Pour in wine and season to taste with pepper. Cover and simmer over very low heat about 1 hour, adding wine or more water if necessary. Octopus is done when very tender. Add olives last 5 minutes of cooking. Season to taste with salt. Makes 8 servings.
Each serving contains about: 247 calories; 358 mg sodium; 52 mg cholesterol; 15 grams fat; 4 grams carbohydrates; 17 grams protein; 0.06 gram fiber.
ISLAND BREAM BAKED WITH OKRA 1 1/2 pounds okra 1 1/4 cups red wine vinegar 1 (2- to 3-pound) sea bream, or rockfish, gutted and scaled Juice 1 lemon Salt Freshly ground pepper 1/3 cup olive oil 2 medium onions, quartered and thinly sliced 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 8 to 10 plum tomatoes, peeled, cored and coarsely chopped 1/2 cup dry white wine 1 bunch dill, stems discarded and leaves chopped
Using sharp paring knife, cut around top of okra to remove tough upper rim and bit of stem. Rinse okra and place in large bowl. Toss with 1 cup vinegar and set aside, about 30 minutes. Strain.
Pat fish dry with paper towels. Place fish in shallow pan and season inside and out to taste with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Cover and let stand 1 hour.
In pot large enough to hold all okra, heat olive oil. Add onions and cook over medium heat until translucent. Add garlic and stir once or twice, then add okra, stirring gently to combine. Pour in tomatoes and wine. Cover pot and simmer over medium-low heat 35 to 40 minutes, until okra is almost cooked. Okra should be firm but not tough. Add dill and season to taste with salt and pepper.
In baking pan large enough to hold okra and fish, spread half okra evenly on bottom. Place fish over. Spread remaining okra around and over fish. Bake, covered, at 350 degrees until fish is flaky, about 25 minutes. Serve hot. Makes 2 servings.
Each serving contains about: 953 calories; 428 mg sodium; 127 mg cholesterol; 43 grams fat; 60 grams carbohydrates; 79 grams protein; 5.55 grams fiber.
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Adapted from “The Cookbook of the Jews of Greece” (Lycabettus Press: Athens, 1986.)
FISH FILLETS IN WALNUT SAUCE, SALONIKA 1 1/2 cups matzoh meal Salt, pepper 6 large fish fillets, preferably carp, about 1/2 pound each 2 eggs, beaten 1/4 cup olive oil 1/2 cup vinegar 1/2 cup water 1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
Season half matzoh meal to taste with salt and pepper and spread on plate. Dip each fillet into beaten eggs, then dredge in matzoh meal. In large heavy skillet, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil and brown fillets. Remove and drain on paper towels.
Add vinegar, water, remaining matzoh meal and olive oil to skillet. Simmer over low heat about 10 minutes, until light sauce has formed. Place fillets in sauce. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. When done, arrange fillets on serving platter. Pour sauce over and sprinkle liberally with chopped walnuts. Makes 6 servings
Each serving contains about: 594 calories; 161 mg sodium; 191 mg cholesterol; 34 grams fat; 50 grams carbohydrates; 41 grams protein; 1.04 grams fiber.
SALONIKA MYTHIA SAGANAKI (Mussels Simmered With Tomatoes and Feta) 2 to 3 pounds mussels 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 green peppers, seeded and chopped 1 green chile, seeded and chopped 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 8 to 10 plum tomatoes, peeled, cored and chopped with juice 1 teaspoon ground oregano 2 tablespoons ouzo 1/2 pound Greek feta, cut into half-inch cubes 2 tablespoons butter
Soak mussels in cold water. Discard all open mussels that refuse to close when touched. Using knife, cut away “beard” on each mussel and scrub shells. Soak again in cold water and rinse. Place mussels and 2 inches of water in large pot. Cover and steam mussels until open, about 5 to 7 minutes. Cool slightly and remove mussels from shells.
Heat olive oil in large non-stick skillet. Saute green peppers and chile. Add garlic, tomatoes and oregano. Lower heat and simmer 5 minutes. Add mussels and ouzo. Simmer another 3 to 4 minutes. Add feta. Cover and simmer over medium heat until feta begins to melt. Feta should not disintegrate completely. Just before removing from heat, swirl in butter and serve. Makes 4 appetizer servings.
Each serving contains about: 447 calories; 1205 mg sodium; 116 mg cholesterol; 29 grams fat; 13 grams carbohydrates; 30 grams protein; 0.39 gram fiber.