Greek: Fava & Seafood Spetsofi.

[Alexandria Profile]

On this trip to The Madrid Capital, my dear and I, put together a collection of dieshes that juxtapose the classics of both Italian and Greek Cuisine, with some of their most iconoclastic modern interpretations ..

Here is a tiny Mezze ( Appetiser or Tapa ) that we had for lunch on Saturday and the Owner, of course is someone we know quite well over the years ..

3 Tiny yellow onions halved and sliced
2 or 3 tiny garlic cloves finely minced
For Sauté-ing: Evoo ( Greek or Italian )
3 red ripe tomatoes diced
250 ml. Greek white wine from Santorini
red bell peppers grilled and sliced into 1/2 inche strips
salt and black pepper freshly ground to taste
Fresh Oregano Herb
4 Octopus tentacles sliced into 1.2 cm rounds (baby octopus is far more tender than adult ) *** Can substitute Squid or Calamar
12 Extra large prawns of choice
Fresh Parsley

1) Sauté the onions and the garlic in Evoo. Add the tomatoes, and the white wine. When the sauce thickens a bit, add the red peppers. Season with the oregano, salt & black pepper ..
2) Now sauté the seafood in Evoo in a separate skillet over a medium to high heat until the octopus is warm & tender .. When the octpus is tender, add the prawns .. Finish with a bit of white wine and let it steam off ..
3) Add the seafood to the sauce and cook all over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes ..

To serve: Mold the Fava, into a sphere, (use a circular mold) and place in centre of plate. Place the seafood on top and drizzle the sauce over the Fava .. Drizzle Evoo all around the plate in subtle drops using a pipette or eye dropper and sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley ..

Serve with a Santorini White Wine .. Simply lovely ..

Have a wonderful weekend ..

[Stokey Sue Profile]

That’s interesting as I had a dish of grilled octopus with Santorini Fava beans in Mykonos two years ago

I can’t see any instructions for the Fava beans in the recipe? Which kind would you use? Fava beans come in many varieties, ranging from the small brown field beans used for ful medanes to the plump tender pale green broad beans popular in the UK

Santorini beans are sold dried skinned and split, so I’ve never seen a whole fresh one as the harvest was over when I was there, but they seemed to be bigger and more tender than brown field beans. The split Fava beans sold in the UK are similar but I think not identical

In the dish I had the beans had been cooked to a thick purée similar to English pease pudding and the octopus was perfectly grilled and served on top. The tomatoes and onions were served on the side as a salad

Santorini white wine is perfectly drinkable but not overly exciting, I wouldn’t bother to source it for cooking, especially with tomato and garlic, any drinkable dry but not to sharp white wine should work

[Alexandria Profile]

Sue,

This was a lunch eaten at a tiny Greek Tavern (family owned, grandmother, mother, daughter) in downtown Madrid ..

Here is the Dry Yellow Bean Fava Recipe ( I assumed every one knows how to make fava ( they are not yellow split peas as you know ).

1) The Greek Brand is: Daba Zantopinhe Eanto, Santorini, Greece ..

I purchase mine at the Restaurant directly from the owners when in Madrid .. ( I am in Madrid until Monday .. )

2) Fava Yellow Beans:

2oo grams of Yellow Fava Beans from Santorini
1/2 tiny lemon juiced
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 medium sized onions minced - Sauté in Greek Evoo ..
Greek Evoo ( I recommend the Greek, Pelopponese Evdominda )
1.5 teaspoons of dry oregano
a bit of minced fresh parsley
Water: Place beans in a pot and make sure to just cover the beans with water & then simmer on a medium flame / heat ..

Once tender, place the oregano, the Evoo, lemon juice and the parsley and re-adjust S & P to taste. And drain the sautéed onions and add .. Combine well ..

Let cool: ( 10 - 15 minutes):
With a stick Stand Up Mixer or a blender, blend the beans until they are a thick paste ( like a polenta to be baked ) ..

Place the fava bean paste in a mold or large cookie cutters, on a large white plate to desired shape ..


And now place your shellfish & seafoond on top ..


Absolutely wonderful ..


Have a nice day ..

[Badger's Mate Profile]

I assumed every one knows how to make fava

Most people in the UK would only know fava from Silence of the Lambs.

Most of those that think they know what they are would assume that fava was simply the American name for what we call broad beans.

[Alexandria Profile]

Badger,

People who have been to Santorini and / or Mykonos know the dish as it is quite amazingly wonderful ..


Santorini is the principle grower of yellow fava beans, so it is still quite uncommon outside of Greek neighborhoods ..

Have a nice weekend ..

[Alexandria Profile]

Badger,

People who have been to Santorini and / or Mykonos know the dish as it is quite amazingly wonderful ..


Santorini is the principle grower of yellow fava beans, so it is still quite uncommon outside of Greek neighborhoods ..

Have a nice weekend ..

[karadekoolaid Profile]

Interesting!

The white wine - would that be " normal" white wine, or Retsina?

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Thank you for the fava bean recipe
I don’t think the version served in Mykonos had any herbs in it at all, but otherwise quite similar, and I see it does use Santorini beans, they are considered a special variety, just as Soissons are considered special variety of white beans in France

Member 461, you would probably only find fava beans in a UK grocery in a Cypriot area. We eat the green broad beans (usually fresh or frozen) and occasionally dried brown beans, and I don’t think most people who eat them would know or care that they are fava beans

Karadekoolaid, retsina is not much seen in Greece these days, and I don’t think it was ever popular down south in the Cyclades, including Santorini and Mykonos. I don’t think retsina is generally used in cooking. Santorini white wine is mostly a decent, straightforward white wine, we went to a wine tasting and all the wines were nice but none except perhaps the dessert wine were very special IMO. The big winery does not make retsina

[Alexandria Profile]

Karakoolaide,

Any white wine would work, from the Mediterranean basically.

1) A Rueda Verdejo 100% - Valladolid ..

2) An Albariño - Rias Baixas .. ( which are quite similar to the Greek Santorini Whites ) ..

3) An O` Rosal 70 % Albarino ( Martin Codax, from Southern Rias Baixas ) ..

4) A light dry white from Italy ..

5) A Portuguese Verdejo ..

6) A Ribeiro from Ourense, Galicia ..

7) A Penédès, Barcelonés White ..

I am unsure what is imported to your country of residence ..

Keep it light and dry ..

But not Retsina ..

Have a lovely day ..

[Lusciouslush Profile]

Here you go...………..

www.countryfile.com/article/british-fav ... ry-recipes

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Here you go...………..

http://www.countryfile.com/article/brit ... ry-recipes

Thanks Lush
I knew ther was a UK company selling field beans but I couldn’t think of Hodmedods for some reason

I didn’t appreciate they called them fava either, I thought the UK ones were sold as brown or field beans

[Alexandria Profile]

Sue,

The Santorini Yellow Fava Beans are indigenious to Santorini and are extraordinarily special ..

You can also contact the Hellenic Foreign Trade Board, H.E.P.O and ask them, which brands they export to London ..


The island "taberna " fare or mezze, Classic Fava, is also prepared and served with red onion, tomatoes and lemon with Pita for dipping .. Or with capers, chopped onion, crumbled Feta, berries , olives and Evoo with Pita and assorted breads with Evoo for dipping ..

We were talking about Santorini, and the Tavernas that we had gone to were: Tomato, Selene, Member 461 and the most memorable was a sea front taberna run by a couple by the name of Stamos. The woman passed on approx. 8 to 10 years ago .. I do not know if the Gentleman who owned it at the time, has sold it ..

Have a nice evening .. Time for a stroll and " tapas crawl " !!!

[Lusciouslush Profile]

You are more than welcome Sue - nothing quite like home is there...…...

[karadekoolaid Profile]

Sue:
The last time I went to Mykonos was in 1978. Retsina was what we drank because the fishermen taught us to drink it with the Kalamaris. I haven´t been there since!

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Sue:
The last time I went to Mykonos was in 1978. Retsina was what we drank because the fishermen taught us to drink it with the Kalamaris. I haven´t been there since!

The manager at the wine centre (which is lovely, and well worth a vist, they do lunches) wasn't born in 1978 and knew nothing of retsina so I just assumed it wasn't local.


One of our party tried to order it in a seafront restaurant and they didn't have any and were quite surprised, I didn't look in the mini market

[Alexandria Profile]

Karakoolaide & Sue,

The Greek Designation of Origin actively producing Retsina is near Athens, on a small islette called Attica .. The production is over 2,000 years old ..

It is very common in the Athens región ..

Have a nice day ..