Semolina played a significant role in nurturing many villagers in Greece due to its nutritional properties but also because of its ability to fill and sustain people. Words like low GI weren’t floating around in Greek villages of yesteryear but they knew that a warm, rich bowl of semolina as a breakfast food, packed with nuts and home-made honey, could fill you right up until lunch and give you the energy needed to perform your daily tasks. Semolina plays an unpretentious peasant-style role in Greek cookery, and as the main wheat ingredient – the foundation of the dish – it allows other flavours to shine, such as in a semolina orange cake or semolina lemon cake. These hearty treats substitute flour for semolina and allow the citrus fruit to come to the fore.
But what is semolina and where does it come from? Semolina is the hard part of the grain of durum wheat. It is found when hard wheat is ground; the endosperm – the floury part of the grain – and then through sifting, these endosperm particles, the semolina, are separated from the bran. It can come in different forms. There is semolina flour – which is the finely ground endosperm of durum wheat, and semolina meal – a coarsely ground cereal. Sometimes other grains such as rice and corn – after they have been ground also – are added to the semolina, creating a hybrid such as corn semolina or rice semolina.
The nutritional benefits of semolina are abundant. Semolina is high in protein and fibre and is low in GI. Because it’s made from durum wheat, it is digested slowly. This helps you feel full longer and prevents you from overeating. Semolina is a good option for people who need to monitor their glucose levels, like diabetics or dieters. And because it’s a nourishing, quick and rich source of energy, it’s perfect for those with an active lifestyle. It is also a good source of vitamins E and B, which help your immune system. Yet those with gluten intolerance should avoid eating semolina.
Due to its high potassium content, semolina improves kidney function. It is a known source of two vital vitamins: the E and the B group. Both vitamins are essential for good immunity from disease. The trace minerals in semolina, such as phosphorus, zinc and magnesium, are beneficial for the health of your bones and nervous system.
But the beauty of semolina is that it can be combined with other nutritional ingredients to make it a power-packed super food. Such as adding nuts – that are rich in protein – and creating a semolina porridge for breakfast that is the perfect energy fuelled way to start the day. Adding berries or other seasonal fruits to your breakfast can bring you a variety of health benefits depending on dietary requirements. If you are looking at a healthy way to detox and are wanting to exercise as well, a dinner of semolina bake, for example, as the staple and then adding roasted vegetables to the mix is a great way to get the health benefits from the veg, but also the sustenance that a semolina bake can provide, giving you an early low GI meal before you tackle the late-night gym work-out.
Boiled semolina with milk creates a perfect start for breakfast and as discussed above, allows other ingredients to be highlighted. Adding a fruit conserve or honey can add a natural sweetener to the dish. For a main savoury meal, semolina can be boiled with salted water as a polenta style side that is popular when wanting a wheat alternative to pasta. It can be served in that texture as it hardens when the boiling process stops, or can be spread out on a tray and baked and turned into a slice and cut accordingly to be served with any dish, and is especially fitting for meat-based dishes that have been cooked in a casserole and have a sauce base, such as tomato.
Desserts are the dishes that make up a large component of Greek cookery for wheat-based semolina. As a replacement for flour, semolina is a hardening ingredient that soaks up other flavours. Semolina halva is perhaps the most popular dessert found in Hellenic households. And every region, and every family, has their own version of this simple dessert. Some add nuts or dried fruits such as sultanas. Some use a variance of syrup to flavour the halva, such as honey or a sugar-water-cinnamon stick combination. Cakes made of semolina feature prominently too, such as citrus based cakes. Another way semolina is used in Greek desserts is to create the basis for a custard. Combined with milk and sugar, semolina becomes the foundation of the favourite Greek dessert galaktobouriko. In Cyprus, other than milk it is mixed with almond cordial to create a light, water based pudding.