A Tribute to Laconian Cuisine, part 2
A few weeks ago, we used syglino (cured pork meat cooked in an aromatic liquid flavored with orange and smoked with sage), sfela (a PDO brine cheese produced in Messinia and Laconia that resembles feta but is denser and saltier), juicy Laconian oranges, dried figs, and a mustard-orange-honey dressing to make a very special potato salad. Today we’re making Maniot pulled pitas [πίτες «τραβηχτές»].
Other than its lush oranges, Laconia also produces virgin and extra virgin olive oil (from the varieties Koroneiki, Athinolià, and Koutsourelià) and well-known wine labels like Mandilaria, Rhodites, Agiorgitiko, Malagousia, or the PDO Malvasia. The area is rich in vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, and an indigenous kind of onion exclusively grown in Neapoli (aka Vatika)—this “vatikiotiko” onion is also on the list for a protected designation of origin (PDO) status approval.
Since the entire region of Mani is a famous resting point for quails on their migration trip to Africa, a special feature of Laconian culinary tradition is quail hunting. In fact, the quaint little village of Porto Kagio/Cayo (named by the French “Port des Cailles” meaning “port of quails”) was famous for exporting thousands of birds per year in the 19th century.
Typical culinary practices include drying up wild greens to preserve for use in the summer months, canning tomatoes and tomato paste, making homemade pasta (sweet and sour trahanas, noodles, etc.), and prune preserves. Here are some more well-known local treats:
Lùpina (lupin/lupini beans)
“Lùpina” are a type of legume known since antiquity. After their harvest in July, they were spread out on threshing floors so that the fruit could be ground out of the barks. Barks and sprouts would be kept for feeding the animals while the berry fruits were boiled in cauldrons set by the seafront and then placed in burlap sacks and emerged in seawater for 8 to 10 days—this took the bitterness away. Lupina were known as the “raisins of Mani,” and they were very popular in fasting periods, while during WWII lupin flour was a major wheat alternative.
Brùstulas
A special sweet pie from sheep’s and goat’s milk, bulgur, sweet trahana, savory herb, and honey.
Monemvasia almond-cookies
The almond cookies of Monemvasia, very similar to the Italian “amaretti” are among Greece’s most famous.
Galopita/Galatopita
Old-fashioned cream pie made with eggs, milk, flour, and a little butter—much like the galaktoboureko but without the phyllo—sprinkled with powdered sugar.
Diples
A traditional wedding dessert in Mani, they’re considered symbolic of joy. They go way back in time and their origin story is a bit lost, but it is said that even in harsh times when eggs were rare, the Maniatisses would still bake them using only water and flour.
Maniot pulled pitas
Another contrivance of hardship and scarcity of ingredients, these pitas were made of flour, water, and olive oil. Nowadays, they’re a quick delightful comfort food that can satisfy both a savory and sweet craving. Feta or graviera cheese and/or syglino can be incorporated in the dough, they can be drizzled with honey or grape molasses, sprinkled with walnuts, or served in literally any combination one can think of.
Paspalàs
While for many regions of Greece, “paspalas” is the method used to preserve pork (or other) meat in pork fat in Mani, it is also a main dish: a slurry made of wheat flour, oil, and water. It was a quick and easy solution for the Maniatisses to wholeheartedly feed their big families. Paspalas is served hot and has several variations: onion-paspalas, made with thin slices of sautéed onion, skoto-paspalas made with finely chopped sautéed liver, pork-paspalas with sautéed pork chunks and last but not least quail-paspalas!
Let’s get onto making some pitas!
Maniot Pulled Pitas
Ingredients
- 21-25 oz all-purpose flour (600-700 g)
- 1 sachet active dry yeast (they’re usually around 0.28 oz/8 g each, suitable for one pound of flour)
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ cup olive oil (60 ml)
- 1 cup lukewarm water (250 ml)
- ¼ cup feta cheese crumbled (80 g)
- vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Sift flour, dry yeast, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Add olive oil and lukewarm water and mix until everything is well combined. Knead into a smooth, slightly sticky dough. (While kneading, you may find that the dough requires more flour than 1.3 pounds. Keep adding 1-2 tablespoons at a time until you achieve the desired smoothness.)
- Brush a clean bowl with olive oil, place the dough in and cover with a kitchen towel. Let it rest until it rises. Make sure the room (or the place you leave it next to) is warm. It should take about 20-35 minutes to rise depending on room temperature.
- After the dough has risen, slather your hands with some olive oil to punch it down. Sprinkle with the crumbled feta and fold it all in. Divide dough into equal parts and roll into small balls (think of a plum in terms of size).
- Pour vegetable oil of choice into a 10"-12" frying pan or wok to a depth of ¾". Heat oil to 375 °F. If you’re not using an electric frying pan, you can either use a candy thermometer to take the temperature of the oil, or you can guesstimate by seeing if a single piece of dough (fry alone first) fries nicely in the time specified.
- Pull and stretch each little dough ball just like you would do to pizza dough. Give them an oval shape. (You can do this on any flour-coated or nonstick surface, but since they’re pretty small in size, I usually shape them in my hands.)
- Carefully lower each dough “disk” into the pan. A maximum of 2-3 pieces per batch are advisable. Let them cook for 60 seconds (they will slightly puff and become light brown around the edges), then flip them over and cook until light brown on the other side, about 60 seconds; you don’t want to cook these too dark.
- Remove from the pan and set them in a paper-towel-lined baking sheet. Place in a 200 °F oven to keep warm while you make the remaining pitas.
- Serve warm with toppings of your choice.
Notes
*images by Athina D. Pantazatou for Kicking Back the Pebbles
Μανιάτικες τραβηχτές πίτες
Ingredients
- 600-700 γραμ. αλεύρι για όλες τις χρήσεις
- 1 φακελάκι ξηρή μαγιά (συνήθως 8 γραμ.)
- ¼ κουταλάκι του γλυκού αλάτι
- 60 ml ελαιόλαδο
- 250 ml νερό χλιαρό
- 80 γραμ. φέτα θρυμματισμένη
- λάδι για τηγάνισμα
Instructions
- Κοσκινίζετε το αλεύρι, τη μαγιά και το αλάτι σε ένα μεγάλο μπολ.
- Προσθέτετε το ελαιόλαδο και το χλιαρό νερό και ανακατεύετε μέχρι να συνδυαστούν καλά τα υλικά. Εάν η ζύμη σας απαιτεί περισσότερο αλεύρι προσθέτετε 1-2 κουταλιές της σούπας μέχρι να επιτύχετε την επιθυμητή υφή. Ζυμώνετε μέχρι να έχετε μια λεία, ελαφρώς κολλώδη ζύμη.
- Αλείφετε ένα μπολ με λίγο ελαιόλαδο, βάζετε μέσα τη ζύμη και σκεπάζετε με μια πετσέτα κουζίνας. Αφήστε τη να ξεκουραστεί μέχρι να φουσκώσει. Βεβαιωθείτε ότι το δωμάτιο (ή το μέρος που την αφήνετε) είναι ζεστό. Θα χρειαστεί περίπου 20-35 λεπτά ανάλογα με τη θερμοκρασία του δωματίου.
- Αφού φουσκώσει η ζύμη, αλείφετε τα χέρια σας με λίγο ελαιόλαδο και την ξεφουσκώνετε πιέζοντάς την. Πασπαλίζετε με τη θρυμματισμένη φέτα και ζυμώνετε ελαφρά για να ενσωματωθεί. Χωρίζετε τη ζύμη σε ίσα μέρη και πλάθετε σε μικρές μπάλες.
- Ρίχνετε λάδι κατάλληλο για τηγάνισμα σε βαθύ, αντικολλητικό τηγάνι και το αφήνετε να ζεσταθεί. Η ιδανικότερη θερμοκρασία τηγανίσματος είναι περίπου οι 175 °C.
- Ανοίγετε ένα ένα τα μπαλάκια της ζύμης με τα χέρια σας και τους δίνετε οβάλ σχήμα. Μπορείτε να χρησιμοποιήσετε και μικρό πλάστη αλλά τα συγκεκριμένα πιτάκια, όπως υποδεικνύει και το όνομά τους, εύκολα «τραβιούνται» και τεντώνονται με τα δάχτυλα!
- Τοποθετείτε προσεκτικά τα πιτάκια στο τηγάνι. Συνιστώ το πολύ 2-3 τεμάχια ανά παρτίδα. Τα αφήνετε από τη μία πλευρά για 60 δευτερόλεπτα (θα φουσκώσουν ελαφρώς και θα χρυσίσουν στις άκρες) και στη συνέχεια τα γυρίζετε για να τηγανιστούν και από την άλλη, για περίπου άλλα 60".
- Αφαιρείτε τις πίτες από το τηγάνι και τις τοποθετείτε σε πιατέλα στρωμένη με χαρτί κουζίνας για να απορροφηθεί το λάδι. Μπορείτε να βάλετε την πιατέλα στον φούρνο σε χαμηλή θερμοκρασία (80-100 °C) για να διατηρηθούν ζεστές ενώ φτιάχνετε τις υπόλοιπες.
- Τις σερβίρετε ζεστές με συνοδευτικά της επιλογής σας.
Notes
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