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| Makaronia me kima |
Everyone
and each of us have a favorite primitive memory of his favourite comfort food.
Food that consoles, bringing back warm memories of motherly hugs and sweet
kisses. Of Sundays around the family table and of the tantalizing smell of a home-cooked
meal, wafting in the air at least fifty metres before arriving at the house
door.
Although each
home has its own specials, there must be a national memory rooted deep inside
our genes which characterizes our crave for certain dishes. Those cooked by our
mothers or grandmothers and which are registered in our subconscious mind as
our safe haven from exterior threats.
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| Pastitsio |
For many
years, during the “speaking session” in my classes, I’ve been asking my
students the same personal question: “Which is your favourite food?” Seven
times out of ten, the answer was “Makaronia me kima”, that is spaghetti with
minced meat sauce. The eighth was “pastitsio”, the more elaborated version of
the same dish but this time topped with beschamel sauce and gratined. The ninth
was either “souvlaki” or”pizza. Finally the tenth was usually the food that
their mum used to cook best for the Sunday family reunion, such as roast lamb
or chicken and potatoes.
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| Yemista |
But the
most interesting of all were the answers I got when I probed them a little more.
Sometimes I got answers like “yemista” (stuffed tomatoes) “spanakopita”
(spinach pie) or even “lahanodolmades” (cabbage leaves stuffed with meat, rice
and herbs).
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| Patsas Soup |
Surprisingly,
“chicken soup” was not among them at all. On the other hand some of my students
mentioned “patsa” a soup made with the legs and the stomach of an animal
(mainly beef or pork) or “trahana”.a soup made with a traditional pasta,
consisting of bulgur wheat and milk. The traditional “fasolada” (bean soup) is
not so popular though a necessary evil, tolerated during the fasting weekdays
(Wednesday and Friday) when
So, which
is your favourite comfort food? What reminds you of "mum"?
Tasty stew and dumplings made by my Mother.
ΑπάντησηΔιαγραφήEaten on cold Winter evenings in England!
Hot from the pot, I assume! Are you cooking those for your family? And if you do, do you manage to achieve the same flavor as your dear mum did? Because I never manage it with my mum's recipes!
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