According to the preface and acknowledgments to this book, `The Olive and the Caper' by Susanna Hoffman, the author went through many more difficulties than usual in bringing this book to completion. Heading the list was the loss of the virtually complete manuscript in 1991, and its reconstruction in the following years. I for one am delighted that the author took the effort to reconstruct this volume, as it should stand as a template for how to put together a readable, useable, entertaining exposition of the cuisine of a country.
I am not saying Ms. Hoffman has given us the very best treatment of a national cuisine or even necessarily the very best treatment of Greek cuisine. Diana Kennedy's `From My Mexican Kitchen' is a different approach to a national cuisine that works equally as well as a format and her content is of the highest possible quality. Similarly, Diane Kochilas approaches Greek food in `The Glorious Foods of Greece' in an entirely different manner than Hoffman, giving us a third valuable approach.
While Kochilas' approach is by region, with each chapter covering a different ethnic and culinary enclave such as The Peloponnesos, The Ionian Islands, Thessaly, Macedonia, Crete, and Athens and others, Ms. Hoffman approaches her subject by ingredient or type of dish. While this seems very conventional and while it is definitely less scholarly than Ms. Kochilas book, it is done with a depth that is uncommon among lesser books on a national cuisine. For example, the very first chapter deals with the drinks of Greece, including lowly water, which just happens to have a special place in Greek tradition. It reminds us that it is Greek intellectual tradition and customs that contributed much more to the development of early Christianity than Roman customs. Most of the first bishops of the church in Asia Minor were Greek and the intellectual underpinning of theologians such as St. Augustine was Plato. If the traditions of baptism and holy water did not originate with Greek Christians, their traditions certainly reinforced these Christian ideas.
Interspersed with recipes within each chapter are excellent culinary sidebars on things like Greek cheeses, olives, pickles, bread, tomatoes, saffron, and marinades, among many other topics. There are also excellent sidebars on Greek history and mythology on subjects such as Zeus, Byzantium, Cyprus, Pericles, the Olympics, Alexander the Great and so on. And, there is much here which may be new to even well informed readers. I did graduate studies in Philosophy and was an avid reader of Greek Mythology, and I find things here that I did not know. The reference to the mysterious Sythians, a culture which lived in Hellenic times above the Black Sea shows they had culinary and trade connections to the Greeks, before they were erased from world history by the Tartars.
The book divides the material into three great parts. The first is Drinks, Meze, and Savory Pies. I have already discussed the drinks section which includes wine ouzo, tsikoudia (similar to Italian grappa), brandy, beer, coffee, tea, and fruitades. The second chapter is Meze, of which much has been written recently. The third chapter in the first part covers savory pies, primarily constructed from filo pastry.
The second part covers the lions share of savory dishes. The chapters are:
Bread - Greek bread is really different from what you expect from French and Italian bakers. This is where the Eastern Mediterranean flatbread terroir starts, with lots of stuff like eggs, olives, and figs baked into the bread.
Soup - Much closer to Italian traditions and recipes than the bread. Lots of vegetable soups with beans and greens.
Salads - The famous Greek Salad plus new variations on common Mediterranean themes.
Eggs - One of the most distinctive Greek ingredients. The author explains how the Greek colony in Denver, with their traditional involvement in running diners, created the Denver omelet, much more a Greek than a cowboy dish, it turns out.
Sustaining Grain - Barley, Wheat, Rice and Noodles
The Vegetable Parade
Fish and Shellfish - One of the very few lapses in this book is that it makes no mention of the fact that contrary to expectations, fish does not play as big a part in most island cuisine as you may expect, since almost all fish is shipped off to Athens for sale. That is not to say Greece does not have a lot of fish recipes, just that you may not find them where you expect.
Meat - Lots of lamb.
Birds - Mostly Chicken
Wild Game - The other birds
Sauces, Toppings, and Marinades
Fruit as the Finale
The third part of recipes is a single chapter on sweets. Like the Italians, Greeks eat fewer sweets after their meal than they do in the afternoon with coffee or late at night. The star of Greek pastry is filo, honey, and nuts in dishes such as baklava, kadaifi, and other cakes, fried pastry, cookies, and puddings.
There are many very good books on Greek food, but if you have none yet, this should definitely be your first. It is a great survey by topic with recipes written in an extremely clear, detailed style which even a novice should have no trouble following. I also find practically no overlap between this book and Diane Kochilas' classic. Get them both, but get this one first. Then get Kochilas' book on Mezes, as neither of these others cover the full range of this topic.
Highly recommended for all foodies, especially for those with an interest in the Greek, Turkish, and Eastern Mediterranean cuisines.
