Happy New Year and let us hope 2018 will bring contentment and good food to us all. Also Happy Australia Day or Regretful Day of Invasion or Survival Day. The 26th January may mean different things to different people who currently reside in Australia.
Another year , another random recipe and this time the chance falls to Modern Greek by Andy Harris. It is a cookbook and not a language primer, in case anyone is concerned.
It took a little time to choose the recipes and originally another recipe was included (Spinach and Yogurt Rice) but it was discarded once the amount of food that the two recipes would create was realised. It also provided a chance to try some new vegetarian recipes which was a bonus.
Revithokeftedes (Chickpea Fritters)
Due to not reading quantities required for the recipe only 375 grams of dried chickpeas were available. Shrugging with resignation I placed them in a bowl and added water, putting them aside to soak. Within an hour, more water was required. This was not mentioned in the recipe or referenced anywhere and if an inexperienced cook had followed the recipe there might have been a problem.
The following day, the chickpeas were drained and added to the food processor along with the rest of the ingredients, except the salt and pepper. As per usual, garlic was added as it seemed the fritters might be a little bland otherwise. The rest of the ingredients were adjusted to take into account the fewer chickpeas, except a whole egg was added due to the difficulty of dividing an egg and using the other half.
It took some time to blend the ingredients on the top setting of the food processor and once it seemed to be smooth enough, salt and pepper was added and it was tasted. Immediately another clove of garlic and more salt and pepper were added and tasted again. As it was now slightly more appealing to the palate, the mixture was placed in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
While forming the mixture into fritters, it quickly became apparent that more than 15 fritters would be created. Placing them in the hot oil they took some time to cook, at least double the 5 minutes estimated on each side. They were placed on a paper towel on a plate and conveyed to the table for taste testing.
Vegetables A La Grecque
At this time of year, and possibly for most of the year, it is not possible to obtain baby turnips or baby cauliflower so small turnips and small florets of cauliflower were used.
Putting all the liquid and spices (except for the coriander) in a pot and boiling until it was ’emulsified’ (I probably would have said “until all the ingredients are combined), took a little time and when it appeared to be ready the vegetables were dropped in, except for the asparagus. As the other vegetables would take longer to cook, the asparagus was added when the others were becoming tender. Again, the directions were not very helpful.
When the vegetables were ready, they were placed on the plate and taken to the table.
Tasting the Food
As usual the tasters had to try both dishes and have at least one taste of each vegetable.
The chickpea fritters were bland but acceptable and when informed garlic had been added to the recipe, there was universal agreement that they would have been extremely bland. Condiments, including sauces were added to the table to make the fritters more palatable for some of the tasters.
The vegetables were… They had been well cooked and were soft without being overcooked. Their appearance was nice enough.
To be blunt, the vegetables were unpleasant. The onions were edible, tasting a little like very weakly pickled onions but the cauliflower, turnip and asparagus were tasted and pushed to one side. No amount of sauce could encourage anyone to eat more than one bite. I have eaten Korean and Japanese pickled turnip and enjoyed it considerably. I’ve enjoyed pickled cauliflower but these vegetables were sour without being sour enough and the other flavours. Possibly there was not enough vinegar, the thyme was freshly picked from the garden but it seemed like there was something omitted from the recipe.
Verdict
While looking at the Spinach and Yogurt Rice recipe, which was not used, I noticed that at one point the directions request water be drained from the rice and retained. The recipe does not disclose for what purpose the water is retained.
This, in addition to the bland fritters and the unpleasant vegetables has sealed the fate of the Modern Greek cookbook. It will not be committed to the Kraken residing in the deep oceans, the flames of Hades or torn apart by the hounds of Actaeon. It will be donated to Lifeline to hopefully find a new home.
Clean the Plate 