Archive for July, 2007
There’s something strange about the value and quality of a mountan refuge, 2000 metres above sea level and unreachable by car, exceeding that of a youth hostel in a capital city. But like in Norway, when we pushed open the small wooden gate of Refuge A on Mount Olympus we were greeted by a charming wooden chalet, reception desk, and restaurant. After a Mythos beer on the outside terrace overlooking the ocean, plains and wooded valleys of lower Olympus, we adjourned to the dining room.
Refuge A has a fully staffed kitchen with a simple, but satisfying a la carte menu. We ordered the filling fava bean soup…
vegetable soup with noodles…
and a bowl of tzatzki with bread, but there was also a vegetarian pasta for those looking for a more subtantial option on the eve of the big climb. Breakfast the next morning included yoghurt with honey, and bread with jam, and there was also a range of energy food (chocolate, nuts, fruit) available to buy from the reception to sustain climbers you on the approach to the summit. If you’re looking for Dutch courage, the refuge offers a selection of wines and beers, along with non-alcholic drinks. I’m fast becoming an admirer of the European trekking hut system - my only worry is that I’ll find it hard to go back to tents and camping food in Australia. Vegetarian in Greece: More posts on Greek veggie food
Litohoro is a pretty town at the foot of Mount Olympus. It’s the base camp for climbers and a ski resort in winter. In the 38 degree Greek summer, it combines the air of an alpine sanatarium with the attitude of a lazy beach resort.
We stopped off in the central square (plaka) for some carbohydrate loading before starting our trek up Mount Olympus. Our restaurant was situated diagonally across from the village church, with plenty of shaded outdoor tables. Andy instinctively chose the restaurant because its tables were filled, although the special ‘vegetarian’ section on its menu was an added bonus. His gut was right - we ordered two hot mezedes and a Greek salad and they were all hits. Stuffed vegetables (usually eggplant, tomato or capsicum) are a common feature of Greek menus in summer. This was our first taste of eggplant stuffed with tomato and cooked in the oven. It was superb.
The eggplant flesh was saturated with flavour, and soft enough to melt on contact with our mouths. The rich tomato filling gave some bite to the dish, and the combination was enough for Andy to declare this some of the best eggplant he’s ever had. The fava beans cooked in a tomato sauce with dill were also above average, partly thanks to the light touch of chilli, and the Greek salad was a refreshing counterpart to our hot dishes.
Hearing our delighted sighs at the eggplant, the restaurant owner came over to chat, explained that the Olympus restaurant specialised in home cooking, not tourist food - just what we were looking for before starting our ascent of the restaurant’s namesake. Vegetarian in Greece: More posts on Greek veggie food
V Rating: VVV Ordering from a menu in a Greek Taverna is simple for vegetarians - you just head straight for the mezedes section. It follows that a restaurant specialising in mezedes is likely to be more vegetarian friendly than most, which is how Andy and I came to try our favourite restaurant in Athens, Filistron.
A mezedopoleio is a restaurant that serves only mezedes, which are shared amongst the table (a little like a tapas bar). Traditionally, mezedes are accompanied by a bucket of ice and a bottle of ouzo so you can “clear” your palate between courses (in my experience, unless you also dilute the ouzo with water “clear” means like with dynamite, not gently washing away lingering flavours). Filistron is a well-known mezedopoleio with a rooftop terrace looking back onto the Acropolis. It’s not in the traditional tourist restaurant area of Athens, Plaka (thankfully), but on a wide, paved boulevard which runs between the far side of the Acropolis and the Hill of the Pynx . The boulevard is a fun place to visit at night, when cafes set up endless outside lounges and tables, and Athenians come out en masse to drink, talk, promenade, and watch tout le monde. Although Filistron is a popular restaurant, locals don’t go out to dinner until it’s dark (and cooler) so if you arrive before 9pm you won’t need to book. As we’d hoped, the mezedes emphasis meant there were plenty of vegetarian dishes.
We started with a salad with toasted bread, goats cheese, lettuce, tomato, sunflower seeds and a basil pesto, and a dish of cold preserved beetroot with a garlic dip.
We also tried fried mastelo cheese with a chilli tomato sauce. This was my first taste of fried cheese, but in hindsight it was easily the best. The cheese was similar to haloumi but came served in the shape of a pancake. The chilli tomato sauce made the dish because it offset what was otherwise a very fatty dish - it’s the only time enjoyed a fried cheese dish to the end.
We rounded off with the house speciality of sliced potatoes baked with smoked cheese, tomato, scallions and green capsicum. Yum!
Each of the dishes was of a high quality, and we appreciated the wider than normal range of choices including local specialities from different parts of Greece. I loved the use of the smoked cheese in the potato dish, which was saved from being too stodgy by the fresh tomato and capsicum. I don’t think the ouzo helped my palate, or my capacity to walk down the stairs later that evening, because the aniseed taste was so stark against the food… but I’ve since been acquiring a taste for it. Filistron was my favourite restaurant in Athens, and a great way for vegetarians to sample food from all over Greece. Vegetarian in Greece: More posts on Greek veggie food There’s a scene in the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding where the female protagonist advises her aunt that her new boyfriend is vegetarian.”No problem” says the aunt, “he can have lamb.” It’s stereotypes like these that made me afraid of Greek food. But like most stereotypes, the movie conveniently exaggerates the truth to get some cheap laughs. With all of ten days experience under my belt, I’m ready to declare Greece a vegetarian friendly zone. A typical menu in a Greek Taverna is divided into appetisers or mezzes (cold and hot), salads, cheese, mains, and dessert. The first three categories always include lots of vegetarian options (although not necessarily vegan). While some dishes appear on every menu, the choice does vary from place to place so you don’t find yourself having Greek Salad at every meal.
Some typical examples of mezze dishes include fava beans in tomato sauce with dill or oregano, fried vegetables with a dip (i.e. sliced zucchini, or eggplant), stuffed vegetables (eggplant, tomato, capsicum), dolmades, olives and dips.
The mezze dishes are larger than an entree in Australian restaurants so there is no need to turn to the mains section (generally a bad idea unless you’re one of the lamb eating vegetarians).
Every salad section includes the Greek salad with feta, tomatoes, olives and red onion, but there are always more, and often inventive options. For example, a tomato based salad with soft cheese, olives and capers, or a coleslaw like salad (politiki) with a vinegar rather than mayonnaise base.
I am scared and enchanted by a country that devotes a section of its menu to fried cheese. It’s good for the taste buds because it showcases the many varieties of Greek cheese, made from either goats or sheeps milk and using subtle variations, but I’m yet to make it through one of these dishes without thinking guiltily of my arteries.
The mains section rarely has vegetarian options, although we have come across the occasional vegetarian moussaka or vegetarian plate.
Greek food may not be known for its vegetarian friendliness, but I think there’s a lot to recommend it. With an emphasis on fresh vegetable produce legumes, there’s plenty of tasty ways for a vegetarian to maintain a balanced diet in Greece. Vegetarian in Greece: More posts on Greek veggie food While we were in London we visited the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms. Andy and J-LO have written about the permanent exhibition, but I was fascinated by a special exhibition called Dig for Victory. It was about a massive, Government sponsored campaign during World War II to encourage English citizens to grow their own vegetables. The idea was to ensure a steady supply of fresh, balanced foods in the British diet in the face of rations and blockades of European supplies. The War Cabinet championed the initiative because England’s lack of self-sufficiency during the First World War had placed the country under pressure. The campaign included extensive radio and print adverts, promoting characters like Potato Pete, and encouraging people (mainly women) to “Dig for victory”. The Food Ministry issues instructions for growing food, and suggested households keep diaries of their garden’s progress (examples of which were on display, leading Andy to query if these were early examples of food bloggers). The Museum, in association with the Royal Parks service, has set up a space in St James Park opposite the Museum where school groups are able to grow their own gardens. As the exhibition notes, although the original campaign grew out of the deprivations of war, the concerns motivating the campaign are still relevant today: having access to fresh healthy food, being active, and living sustainably. V Rating: Super V Continuing our quest for the best vegetarian restaurants overseas, Andy, J-Lo and I decided to try Manna. The polite, upper middle class suburb of Primrose Hill in London’s North is a unlikely place to find England’s oldest vegetarian restaurant. However, there was a serendipitous aspect to our trip.
A stint working in the kitchen of a London pub nigh on ten years ago confirmed my move to vegetarianism (there was nothing wrong the pub - it was just the first time I’d had to pull apart a full cooked chicken, limb by limb, ligament by tearing ligament….urgh). That pub, the Magdala Tavern, is very close to Manna in Hampstead Heath so we paid a short nostalgic trip there before heading to Manna for a sumptous vegetarian feast.
Inside, Manna reminded me of a modern, tasteful country house, the kind of place whose effortless chic makes Home and Garden editors swoon. Despite its elegance, the friendly staff immediately impressed us with their hospitality and down-to-earth attitude. Manna’s menu draws its inspiration from the globe with the entrees showing Japanese, French, Moroccan and Italian influences. I quickly opted for the caramelised pear and goats cheese galette, which turned out to be my favourite dish of the night. The creamy tart goats cheese was a great foil for the not too sweet carmelised pear with cinnamon, and are set off nicely by the delicate pastry base.
For mains, I had the beautifully presented parmesan and nettle polpetta. These were egg-shaped, fried herbed cheese croquettes in a tomato and basil sauce served with sauteed greens and wild garlic pesto. The cheese gave the polpettes a soft, gooey consistency, and had a lovely homey feel when matched with the tomato sauce, although the taste of the nettle was too subtle for me to make out.
Restoring some cosmic dinner karma, J-LO picked the winner for main. Her organic puy lentil torte may sound vaguely like 1970s vegetarian food, but don’t be put off. The taste was sensational. It was a lentil, herb, tofu and green bean cake served with green lemon sauce, tomato and olive salsa, rosemary roast potatoes, red wine reduction and rocket. Two courses of hearty food later we were stuffed. However, our host insisted that Manna was famous for its puddings, and we couldn’t we leave without trying the special dessert of the night, a raspberry mascarpone and and white chocolate cheesecake served with ice cream. Our arms were not long in the twisting, and it turned out to be a wise call. Although the white chocolate base was sweet, the raspberry sauce was not and together they made a great combination. With a delicious, gourmet vegetarian meal in my stomach, Manna proved why ten years on I still love being vegetarian. It takes a long time to get anywhere in Norway. For example, a 300km drive takes 5 - 6 hours because rather than go as the crow flies you have to go over, around and /or through something (generally a large, snow-capped mountain or fjord).
The more we saw of Norway, the more I developed a theory that the long travel times prompted Norwegians to hone the art of the travel snack.
Stop at a roadside petrol station and you can buy boller, spiced cinnamon buns that come plain, with raisins, or lately with chocolate pieces.
Catch a ferry (a frequent, but beautiful, necessity in a country riddled with fjords and lakes) and you can enjoy svelle - thick, fluffy pancakes filled with a mix of cream and sugar. These are generally sold on an honesty system - go down to the hold of the ship and you’ll find a small plate of svelle, a thermos of coffee, a price list and a money tin.
Another favourite available in petrol stations and on ferries is pekan weinerbrod, a pastry baked in a twist, with a crushed pecan nut filling, and sprinkled with chopped pecans on top.
Norway is heaven for berry lovers. Tangles of blueberries, raspberries and cloud berries grow wild in the forrests and meadows, but the Norwegian pride and joy is strawberries. Apparently Norwegian strawberries are naturally sweet because they receive so much light in the land of the midnight sun.
Large punnets of strawberries are often sold by cute children while you’re waiting in the ferry line, but you can also buy them from the side of the road, again on an honesty system.
One of the best uses of the strawberries I tried was at the house of a Norwegian family who had befriended Andy’s brother Tim. Hearing we were stopping by the wife, Eda, whipped up lappar - small, thick pancakes made with sour milk - and used fresh strawberries from their garden to make a thick syrup to eat with them.
Basking in the warmth of Norwegian hospitality, I was in no hurry to go anywhere. |
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