History of Greek Food

Category: vegetables

  • EDIBLE LITTLE SHOES (Papoutsakia, παπουτσάκια)

    Is Aphrodite’s raised sandal a tease or is she intending to slap the goat-legged Pan with it, because she is not interested in an erotic adventure with him?

    450px-aphrodite_pan_and_eros_01

     100 BC.  National Archaeological Museum of Athens.*

     

    Beautifully decorated sandals were traditionally included in bride’s gifts. For jewelry, perfumes and sandals  provided her with the tools to maintain her beauty of the night of her marriage.

    hippodameia

    Greek red-figure amphora with Hippodameia preparing for her wedding, ca 425 BC.
    (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)

     

     Homer called Dawn “Eos with pale- rose fingers”  but Sappho dressed her bare beet in golden sandals: “Standing by my bed / in gold sandals / Dawn that very / moment awoke me”.**

    eoslouvredetail

    Eos (Dawn) pursuing Tithonus.
    (Attic red-figure oenochoe by Achilles painter. 470-460 BC, Louvre Museum.) 

     

    And there were sandals with marked soles. Walking the dusty streets, the ancient prostitutes would leave footprints with  ΑΚΟΛΟΥΘΙ / AKOLOUTHI (“Follow me”) written on the ground.

    File:Reveller courtesan BM E44.jpg

    Tondo of an Attic red-figured cup. (ca 490 BC. British Museum) 

     

    Elaborate Byzantine shoes, so brighlty colored but almost hidden by the long draped clothes….
    Red was reserved for the Emperor and for women’s footwear in art. 

    theodora_mosaik_ravenna1

     Theodora. Mosaic at San Vitale in Ravenna. ca 546 CE  

     

    Fleeting glimpses of low cut slippers…

    415px-dupre_-_maiden_of_livadeia

    Maiden of Livadeia, 1825.
    (Dupre’s Voyage a Athenes et a Constantinople ou collection des portraits, de vues et costumes grecs et ottomans.      commons.wikimedia.org)

     

    Did the Queen and the Maids of honour wear boots or small heel silk bow shoes?

    emuseumplus

     Queen Amalia, ca. 1850
    (Philibert Perraud, ΦΑ_1_658, PhotoArchive, Mpenaki Museum)

     

    A precious new pair of shoes, just after World War II.

    monimes_silloges_arheia_photo_voula_41

     New shoes by Voula Papaioannou  (PhotoArchive, Mpenaki Museum)

     

    This is the one who got the perfect legs for such fire red velvet shoes. 

    imgp3502

    Bracelet. 

     

    A shoe that  is not made for walking  and certainly doesn’t  make every man pay close attention at women’s legs….  

    papoutsakia-2

     Though, if  prepared with thoughtful care, it offers an unforgettable pleasure… 

     

    AUBERGINE LITTLE SHOES (Melitzanes papoutsakia) 

    papoutsaki11

    8 small aubergines

    4 tbs virgin olive oil

    MINCED MEAT- TOMATO SAUCE

    300 gr minced beef

    300 gr minced lamb

    3 large cloves of garlic, minced

    2 medium onions, finely chopped

    3 medium ripe peeled, cored tomatoes, finely chopped

     5-7  tbs virgin olive oil

    2 tbs fresh parsley, chopped

    1/2 cup dry red wine

    1 cinnamon stick

    1/3 tsp sugar

    sea salt to taste

    ground pepper

    BECHAMEL

     1  2/3 cups milk

    3 tbs all purpose- flour

    2 tbs butter

    sea salt to taste

    ground pepper

    3/4 cup grated graviera or Gruyere cheese

      Cut off the stems of the aubergines, then cut in half, lengthwise. With a  spoon, discard the pulp of the aubergine, leaving a shell about 1 cm thick. Salt and leave in a colander for 1 hour to rid of bitterness. Wash well and dry. Brush both sides with olive oil and roast until just soft. (Traditionally they are sautéed  in olive oil).

    Sauté the onions in 2 tbs of olive oil. When they soften add the minced meat and sauté briefly. Add the  wine and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, cinnamon stick, sugar, salt and pepper to taste and simmer until the minced meat is tender. Add a little water if necessary.  The sauce should be lightly moist and strongly flavored. Remove from the heat, remove cinnamon stick and stir in parsley and half cheese.
    In a saucepan mix the butter with flour over low heat. Stir with a wire whisk. Remove from the heat and add  milk slowly, stirring constantly. Place again over low heat and add salt and pepper.  Stir with the whisk until the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat and stir in the other half of cheese. Allow to cool slightly.
    Preheat the oven to 180°C. Place the aubergines on a baking pan and spoon in the filling. Spoon over  1 – 1 1/2 tbs bechamel sauce.  Cook on the bottom oven rank, until the aubergines are soft and the bechamel top is  browned (about 45 minutes – 1 hour). Serve warm.

     

    VEGETARIAN VARIATION ON THE MEAT SAUCE

      2 large onions, finely chopped

    3 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped

    1 large green pepper, minced

    2 1/2 cups tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped

    1 cup walnuts, blanched, peeled and chopped

    1/2 cup dry red wine

    1/3 cup currants (optional)

    ground cinnamon

    5 tbs virgin olive oil

    sea salt and ground pepper

    3/4 cup grated graviera or Gruyere cheese.

    In a skillet, heat 2 tbs of olive oil and add the onions and green pepper. Sauté for 2 minutes.  Add the wine and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, 3tbs olive oil, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Simmer until sauce thickens. Remove from the heat and stir in currants, walnuts and cheece. Let cool slightly before filling.

     

     *The group of statues bears a solemn votive inscription: “Dionysios, son of Zeno, son of Theodoros of Berytus, benefactor, [dedicates this] on behalf of himself and of his children to the ancestral gods”.

    **SAPPHO  A new translation,  by M. Barnard, 1958.