Hey, hi, hello! It’s so nice to be writing again - I hope everyone’s day is going swimmingly. Sorry…
For the past few months I have had some sort of travel-induced food writer’s block. You know when you’re outside of your own kitchen, and you lose the ability to think of a single recipe? So, a combo of that + very limited vegan ingredients in Greece = recipe block. So, I find myself going back to my uni basic. A steady combo of beans, carbs and veggies. And the question every night is - rice or pasta?
I was in Greece for a month and the places I saw were incredible - mermaid pools, mountains and olive groves galore. I started out in Athens with my sister and my cousin, and then we headed to Milos. Blake then came to meet me for a couple of weeks before we headed off to Italy. In total, I stayed in the Cycladic Islands for a whole month. That’s a whole month without tofu, and I was in the iron trenches because of it. But I was also in the ocean - my happy place. An eye for an eye I guess?
So, Greece isn’t exactly the most vegan-friendly place that comes to mind, but there is a magic word. NISTISIMO (νηστίσιμο)! It doesn’t mean “vegan”, but it refers to fasting, which is done at different points throughout the year in the Greek Orthodox tradition. Those practising nistisimo abstain from eating meat, dairy, fish and eggs at those times. However, people still eat cephalopods and clams, as well as honey, but those things are easier to spot than a bit of cheese or egg!
It’s a lot easier, and dare I say more respectful to at least try to use local language, especially in small towns. Of course, most people at this point understand veganism. But when I’m hungry, I don’t need to be told, “I understand why you don’t eat meat, but… the cow… it needs to be milked,”(this happened) when all I want is a falafel with mustard instead of tzaziki.
Because of the nistisimo tradition, a lot of foods in Greece are naturally vegan! I could never find tofu on the islands but I almost always found vegan cheese and yoghurt in the supermarkets, plus a lot of “accidentally vegan” foods, both there and at restaurants.
Some vegan dishes you’ll come across in Greece are:
Fava (delicious bean soup/dip made with olive oil and lemon, sometimes with capers and red onion)
Zucchini/ tomato fritters (not always vegan, ask if nistisimo first)
Loukoumades (deep fried doughnuts, made with honey though - depending on where you sit with that)
Fried potatoes (duh!)
Dolmades (rice-stuffed vine leaves)
Gemista (stuffed roasted vegetables)
Anddddd… Gigantes!
Gigantes are giant beans - they taste like butter beans, only softer and silkier, and bigger! I usually love the convenience of canned beans, but my only option in so many places was to use dried ones, so why not experiment?
Gigantes are usually baked, but I haven’t had an oven, mostly just hotplates, so had to make do. Also, you’d traditionally have these with a hunk of bread, but I’m more of a rice gal myself. So serve as authentically as you wish - I’m not one to judge. ♡
ingredients.
250g dried giant beans
2 red onions, diced
2 large cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
1 carrot, diced
400g can tomatoes, blended (if you have a blender lol, I did not)
2 cups veggie stock
2 bay leaves
3 tbsp dried oregano, or fresh, chopped
Salt, pepper and sugar, to taste
how to.
Soak beans in the fridge, overnight in a pot, with enough cold water to cover them. You can soak them for up to 24 hours.
Drain beans, rinse and put them back into the pot with fresh water to cover them, a pinch of salt and the 2 bay leaves. Bring to a boil.
Simmer for 1.5 hours, or until you can squish one between your thumb and index finger without much effort.
Drain and rinse. Keep the bay leaves as well.
Fry onion and garlic on medium heat until onion is translucent. Add carrot and fry for a further 5-7 minutes.
Add in tomatoes, stock, bay leaves and oregano, and bring to a boil. Simmer, covered for 20 minutes.
Add salt and pepper, and then sugar, 1 tsp at a time, tasting until the acidity is balanced to your taste.
Serve with bread, rice, pasta, cous cous or on its own. This dish tastes amazing the next day, just as all tomato-based things do!
See you in Italy!
iron deficient in greece.
Oh, dolmades, one of my Summer favorites! I'm not surprised you found vegan cheeses (beware, it's no longer legal to say or write so in Europe!), given that Violife is Greek. And it also explains why their vegan feta (named vegan white) is so delicious!
Enjoy your trip in Europe, Arielle o/
Oh, those are some dreamy beans and adventures! I'm glad you've resurfaced to share these reflections : )