Meni Valle’s new cookbook ‘Thessaloniki’ delves deep into the culinary history of Northern Greece, collating over 70 recipes with images to celebrate the region’s flavours and traditions.
Valle’s new cookbook explores both traditional and modern dishes as it highlights the region renowned for its unique food culture.
Thessaloniki, a UNESCO-recognised epicentre of traditional culinary practices, is well known for its abundant natural resources (fertile plains, mountainous enclaves etc), including Greek elephant beans and stone fruits, with the cookbook exploring all that heritage.
Valle also adds in elements linked to the influence of Sephardic Jews, Ottoman influences, and returning Greek émigrés on the Northern Greek cuisine in the book.
The author’s work combines her own research alongside collaborations with local experts as they reveal the untold stories behind each dish.
Below is one of the recipes in the cookbook:
GEMISTA MYDIA (Stuffed mussels)
Very similar to parmesan, and made with both sheep’s milk and cow’s milk, kefalotyri is one of Greece’s most popular cheeses. Its sharp and slightly salty flavour is the result of being aged for three months and it works wonders in this dish.
Serves 4
-1 kg (2 lb 3 oz) fresh mussels
-125 g (4½ oz/1½ cups) fresh breadcrumbs
-2 tablespoons olive oil
-60 g (2 oz) kefalotyri (or parmesan), grated
-2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
-2 heaped tablespoons finely chopped flat–leaf (Italian) parsley
-315 g (11 oz/1 cup) coarse salt
Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F).
Clean the mussels well, scrubbing the shells and removing the beards. Put the mussels in a large saucepan and pour in 250 ml (8½ fl oz/1 cup) of water. Simmer over a high heat for 4–5 minutes or until the mussels have opened up.
While the mussels are cooking, combine the breadcrumbs, olive oil, kefalotyri, garlic and parsley in a bowl and season well with salt and pepper.
Carefully drain the mussels, discarding any that have remained closed. Remove one half of the shell leaving the mussels on the other half. Spread the coarse salt over a baking tin and arrange the mussels on their shells on top. Place a spoonful of the breadcrumb mixture on each mussel and bake for 12–15 minutes until golden.
Serve hot.
