Lucinda Frye
Diverse and indigenous cuisine brought by the many ethnic people to St. Maarten from all over the world piques our interest. To this end, we are on a quest to find where it comes from, if it is used for celebrations, if it is exotic to some but everyday food to others. Anything to do with keeping the body and soul nourished with that which is produced from good old terra firma, is what makes the world go around.
The beautiful island of Rhodes is as ancient as the hills, as we saw last week. This week, we continue from the Middle Ages.
With the Holy Land nearby, it was easy for the inhabitants to accept the new-fangled ideas of Christianity with ease. St. Paul was preaching and converting many people on the island by 58AD. But wars and invasions did not stop through the 1st century – Rhodes was still overrun and destroyed by the Persians, Saracens and Seljuks.
By 1082 (11th Century), the Venetians were given the right to set up a trading station in the port. One hundred years later, Richard the Lionheart and King Phillip of France arrived with a fleet of ships hoping to enlist mercenaries for their crusade. By 1204, the crusaders conquered Constantinople and a rich landowner from the former capital of the Empire declared himself Despot of Rhodes!
Then the Byzantine emperors captured their capital back from the Crusaders in 1261! In 1306, one of the admirals sold Rhodes (and the neighbouring islands of Kos and Leros) to the Knights of St. John in Jerusalem! The Knights remained on Rhodes for 213 years! In 1522, the last of the Grand Masters, surrendered the island to Suleiman the Magnificent
The Knights ruled Rhodes and the island became the most powerful in the Eastern Mediterranean. They left imposing evidence of their presence on Rhodes, and gave the city the particular character it retains to this day, with its impregnable walls, gates, churches, hospitals, inns and palaces.
Rhodes truly became an important port of call for trade between Europe and the East.
Large Florentine branches for commercial and banks were established.
Merchants loved Rhodes – they traded wheat from Cyprus, Asia Minor and Sicily as well as caviar, wool and silk, oil, wine from Crete and Italy, sugar, perfumes, saffron, wax, pepper.
Any disputes were taken to the Mercantile Court of Rhodes to be settled.
And then along came the Turks! Turkish occupation lasted until 1912. The Italians along with local Greeks were happily co-inhabiting when the Turks arrived. To begin with, they treated the local residents well. However, Fascism raised its ugly head and led to more expansionist policies. Italy denied Rhodes the right to self-determination which led to the beginning of armed resistance.
The Turkish occupation of Rhodes was the darkest period in its history, as it was for the whole of Greece. The Greek inhabitants of the city were forced to leave the walled Town and settle outside it, forming new suburbs. The Turks never managed to attain complete dominance over the island, and the Turkish part of the population was always a small minority. However, during those dark days of foreign occupation, many towns were able to flourish – thanks to their stock and production in foodstuffs, clothing, silverware, household utensils and perfumes.
The British bombs that fell on the medieval city of Rhodes in 1944 claimed human lives and destroyed a great number of buildings, leaving large gaps in the urban tissue. One of the first Decrees of the Greek administration designated those areas as reserved for future excavations and a number of edifices as safeguarded buildings.
In July 1944, the Nazis ordered the deportation of over 1,600 Jews of Rhodes including men, women, and children of which 1,200 were murdered at Auschwitz.
After the defeat of the Axis powers, Rhodes and the other Dodecanese islands came under British military administration until March 1948, when the Greek flag was finally raised over the Governor's Palace.
In 1957, a new city plan was approved by a decree and in 1960, the entire medieval town was designated as a protected monument by the Ministry of Culture.
In 1961 and 1963, new decrees were issued concerning the new city plan. They provided for the widening of existing streets and the opening of new ones. These were not implemented in the old city due to the resistance of the Archaeological Service. In 1988, the old town of Rhodes was designated as a World Heritage City by UNESCO.
Peace reigns for now.
Cuisine
The cuisine of Rhodes is Mediterranean, Greek style.
Most of the typical traditional Greek food of Rhodes has its roots in the ancient “Dorian Rhodes” and reflects the old traditions in most of its offerings. A writer from the end of the 2nd to early 3rd century AD) wrote in his book Deipnosofistai that the Rhodians especially loved the fish soup and praised those who “ate fish and not meat”.
In medieval and modern times, people turned more to agriculture and livestock with traditional dishes being based mostly on fresh vegetables, olive oil, and local herbs and spices. The aroma of oregano, thyme, spearmint or rosemary is ever present wafting on the breeze.
Apart from the very different seafood called “fouskas/sea squirts” the delicious food from the sea is phenomenally fresh. Eating on Rhodes is often done as a tapa – this is called “mezethes” (singular mezes) and one can certainly have an entire filling-meal nibbling on dishes like
stuffed vine or cabbage leaves, feta cheese wrapped in phyllo and topped with honey and sesame seeds, snails in olive oil, onion, tomato sauce, green beans with onions, parsley, tomatoes, red peppers, olive oil, grilled feta cheese, roasted eggplant, croquettes made of chickpeas all just so delicious. Feta cheese features in many dishes
Then there is a fondness of lamb dishes though mixed grills are also cooked. Rabbit, goat, liver, beef, chicken meat and pork are consumed with enjoyment. The desserts are often of cheese or yogurt and sweetened with honey. Nuts and phyllo pastry encases a number of the dishes.
RECIPES
Shrimp with Feta Cheese
Ingredients
1½ TBL unsalted butter
1½ TBL vegetable oil
½ cup minced onion
½ cup dry white wine
4 medium ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper
¾ tsp dried oregano
4 oz feta cheese, crumbled
1lb raw large shrimp, shelled and deveined
¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Method
Sauté onion in butter and oil until soft.
Add wine, tomatoes, garlic, salt, pepper and oregano.
Bring to boil, lower heat to medium and simmer until sauce is slightly thickened.
Stir in cheese, simmer 10 to 15 minutes.
Adjust seasonings.
Just before serving, add shrimp to simmering sauce and cook 5 minutes until shrimp are just tender.
Do not overcook.
Garnish with basil, serve immediately.
Marinated Octopus
Traditional Greek style: Octopus should be tender; sometimes it is so tender you can cut it with a fork.
Ingredients
1 kg octopus (or slightly bigger)
1 litre water
10 TBL red wine vinegar
Olive oil
1tsp dried oregano
Method
Bring the water and 5 tablespoons of vinegar to a boil.
Add octopus, reduce heat to gentle boil.
Cook about 2 hours, until the octopus feels soft when pricked.
Set aside to cool.
Cut octopus legs off and head into strips.
Place it in a wide glass dish with lid.
Drizzle remaining 5 tablespoons vinegar, olive oil, and oregano on top.
Refrigerate 2 hours or more before serving.
Real olive oil will become cloudy when cold; remove from fridge 10 minutes before serving.
Stuffed Lamb Back
This would make an excellent dish for a celebration like Christmas or Easter. This can be cooked in the oven or indirect heat in a BBQ – both must be big enough to take a large baking dish.
This can be cooked on an outside spit roast over coals.
Ingredients
1lamb back about 12 kg - remove hind quarters, neck and legs
Marinade Ingredients
Ghee
Tomato paste
Cinnamon
Salt and pepper
Stuffing Ingredients
1½ kg short-grain rice
Finely diced kidney and liver
500g topside, finely dice or minced
4 large onions, diced
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 cups tomato paste
2TBL cinnamon
1TBL herbs (dried thyme, winter savoury or fresh)
2TBL ghee (or butter)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Method
Make an incision, crossways (in spine) approx. 15 cm from base, but do not cut completely through (ask the butcher to do this).
Mix marinade ingredients together and paste this over the whole lamb, inside and out.
Sauté rice with olive oil in a heavy pan – be careful not to burn rice (do this in batches).
In same pan, add 3-4 TBL olive oil.
Add onions, garlic and sauté until translucent.
Add ghee and meat.
Stir constantly until cooked through.
Add tomato paste, cinnamon, herbs and seasoning.
Add enough water to cover then add the rice.
Bring to boil, simmer for 1 hour until all moisture is absorbed – check often.
Place lamb on its back.
Sew the carcass partially together with a needle and thread.
Begin to place the stuffing inside of cavity as you sew so the stuffing does not escape.
Place a rack in the base of a very large baking dish and fill with water.
Place stuffed lamb on the rack.
Cover whole lamb with foil and cook for 6-8 hours at 300° F - until cooked through.
