WHAT IS MASTICA? RECIPE LEVANTINE CHICKEN BIRYANI WITH MASTICA

MASTICA

Mastica comes from a tree which is a member of the pistachio nut bearing tree family. The mastica tree’s Latin name is Pistachia lentiscus and it is native to the Mediterranean region, Morocco, Iraq, Iran, the Iberian Peninsula, southern France and Turkey, as well as the Canary Islands. However the trees grown on the Greek island of Chios are the only ones that ‘weep’ Mastica ‘tears’ when the bark of the trunk is scored. The cooperative that produces mastica on the island has been granted protection designation of origin rights, as well as protected geographical indication, because of the unique nature of the trees, and the fact that the island has been producing world-famous mastica for centuries. The villages which produce mastica were fortified in Mediaeval times to protect them from pirates and others who would try to take them over, as the trade in mastica was so profitable. Indeed, the islanders were given special privileges because of the trees’ harvest by their conquerors, the Genovese and Ottoman Turks.

Mastica is tree resin, and has been used in medicine for centuries. The ancient Greeks used it to counteract inflammation, coughs and bladder infections, and the Egyptians put it into their drinking water, to make it taste better. It is said to lower cholesterol levels and blood pressure, help in cases of diabetes, and boost the immune system. It has anti-bacterial effects and was used as a remedy for cholera. Research conducted by the University of Thessaloniki has shown that chewing mastica can reduce plaque, and a separate study by researchers from the University of Nottingham has shown that 1 gram of mastica a day can cure peptic ulcers if this is done over period of two weeks.

The trees on Chios are said to weep because Saint Isidorus, in 253 AD was tortured under a mastica tree. The trees weep for his suffering.

In the villages which produce mastica on Chios, the Mastichochoria, the resin is harvested between June and September. After the ‘tears’ have been collected, the villagers wash each one separately and make this a social occasion. One tree will produce 200 to 300 grams of mastica each year.

Mastica is used in paints, varnishes, toothpaste, toiletries and drinks. It is used to make desserts and is one of the ingredients of loukoumia, or lokhma (Turkish Delight). You can buy it in crystal form or in a gooey liquid which you can eat like yoghurt if you have a sweet tooth. You can also get mastic gum to chew in Greece. The English word to masticate, meaning to chew, comes from the Greek mastica.

LEVANTINE CHICKEN BIRYANI

Ingredients

1 chicken jointed, or cut into smaller pieces

3 bay leaves

1 sprig thyme

1 handful of fresh mint leaves

salt and pepper

For biryani
2 glasses rice, cleaned
4 glasses water or chicken stock

2 cups yoghurt

1 egg,beaten

1 tsp cornflour or arrowroot

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp cumin seeds, dry fried and crushed

1 tsp cardamom seeds, crushed (remove seeds from husks of green cardamoms )

1 or 2 saffron threads, crumbled

2 inch stick of cinnamon

1 large onion, sliced

6 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 mastica crystals

oil

Garnish

50 gr toasted or dry fried almonds, chopped

30 gr pistachio nuts, crushed

1 handful fresh coriander leaves, torn finely

Method

Put mastica, chicken pieces, bay leaves, thyme, mint and seasonings into a pan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Remove scum and simmer for 40 mins, or until chicken is cooked through. Check and remove any other scum that rises to the surface during cooking.

Mix egg with the arrowroot or cornflour and beat in the yoghurt. Add spices and salt to taste.

Fry onions and garlic for a few minutes until the onions start to brown.

Put cooked chicken pieces in a large pan and pour the yoghurt mixture over them.

In another pan, put the rice and pour 4 glasses of the chicken stock over it. Allow it to absorb the stock.

Mix the onions and garlic with the rice and place over the yoghurt.

Now add water to quarter fill the pan and cook for 30 mins over a medium heat or until the rice is cooked.

Remove the pan from the heat and leave to stand, covered for 5 mins.

Turn out onto a large serving plate and garnish with the nuts and fresh coriander leaves.

This has Taste and is a Treat.

ALLSPICE; RECIPE TRADITIONAL GREEK RABBIT STIFADO

ALLSPICE (Pimenta dioca, formerly officinalis)
Allspice is another, like Lemon Verbena which has undergone a Latin name changes. It was discovered by Christopher Columbus in (about) 1494 when he was in the West Indies, searching for pepper. He believed that the berries he found in Jamaica were in fact pepper, hence the name in Latin, pimenta. In some languages, such as Hungarian and Czech, allspice is known as a ‘pepper’ in the cases mentioned, its name translates as ‘clove pepper’. It gets its English name, allspice, from the fact that it is aromatic and tastes like a combination of cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Food manufacturers use it to flavour ketchups, pickles, and sausages. It is also used in the manufacture of terrines, pates and smoked meats. Some say that it can be used as a substitute for cinnamon, but as cinnamon is readily available, I think you should use the real thing, especially in recipes which call for both cinnamon and allspice.
Russian soldiers put it in their boots to keep their feet warm in the Napoleonic War of 1812, and whether or not it helped warm their feet, their smell must have improved. In traditional medicine it is used to aid digestion and stop stomach cramps. If you put one or two drops of oil of allspice on a teaspoon of sugar, it will help with flatulence, and bouts of hysteria according to a Victorian source.
It is good in hot baths to relieve aching muscles, and help arthritis sufferers. You can also make a poultice with it to put on aching muscles: take powdered allspice and mix to a paste with water, spread this paste on a cloth and put on the affected area. It’s good for toothache too. And you can put one or two drops of essential oil on the painful tooth and gum to relieve the pain, (in much the same way as cloves do). In Jamaica they make allspice tea to cure colds, stomach cramps and other stomach disorders. To make this tisane, you need one or two teaspoons of powdered allspice per cup of boiling water. Steep the powder in the water for 15 minutes, and then strain through a coffee filter, or the paper filter.
Allspice is an ingredient used in men’s toiletries, and has also been used as a good luck charm to attract a fortune from business dealings or gambling.
The recipe below is a traditional Greek one which can be used with beef or rabbit.


RABBIT STIFADO
Ingredients
1 rabbit, jointed
500 gr small onions, peeled (either shallots or pickling onions) but left whole
1 large onion chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 large tomato, peeled and chopped
2 tbsps tomato puree (concentrate)
½ tsp grated nutmeg
2 sticks cinnamon
6 cloves
6 allspice berries
12 black peppercorns
1 or 2 sprigs of rosemary
1 tsp dried thyme
3 bay leaves
1 cup red wine
¼ cup red wine vinegar
salt to taste

Method
In a frying pan, heat oil and seal rabbit pieces in it. When sealed all over, transfer to an oven proof dish with a tight-fitting lid.
Now fry the chopped onion, garlic for about 5 mins until the onion becomes translucent. Now add the chopped tomato and tomato concentrate (puree) and stir. Add wine and wine vinegar and all herbs and spices. Stir well and add salt and the whole small onions.
Pour this mixture over the rabbit and add water to cover the meat and cover with the lid. Cook in a low oven for 3-4 hours.
Serve with mashed potatoes, and green vegetables (broccoli is good).
This has Taste and is a Treat.

GRAPES - HISTORY WITH RECIPE STUFFED VINE LEAVES

GRAPES
Grape vines have been around for at least 60 million years, according to fossilized evidence. Wine hasn’t been around for that long, obviously, but we have clearly been enjoying it for some time. Grapes were first cultivated around the Black Sea, in Georgia, as ceramic jars dating from 6,000BC which had contained wine, were found at the site of a Neolithic village. There is evidence that they were cultivated in Asia in 5,000BC. Vineyards were mentioned in “The Epic of Gilgamesh” which was written sometime between 2,750 and 2,500 BC, although it was a written record of a much older tale.
There are many health benefits gained from eating grapes and drinking grape juice, but if you consider the longevity of people in some parts of Italy and France where the grape is grown and wine is consumed, there must be some benefits to the drink.
Grapes contain minerals, potassium, calcium, iron, phosphorous, magnesium and selenium as well as being rich in vitamins A, C and B6.They contain flavonoids and so are powerful antioxidants. It has been claimed that they can help asthma sufferers, they lower cholesterol levels, so help prevent heart disease, are useful as a laxative, cure indigestion, reduce uric acid and so help the kidneys function better, and if you drink fresh grape juice every morning, this is supposed to stop migraine.
Of course the Greeks had a god of wine and orgies, Dionysus, also associated with fertility, and the phallic fennel stalk was his thyrsus or wand, with a pine cone on top. His Roman equivalent was Bacchus. Both Romans and Greeks drank diluted wine, and only the lower classes drank it without water. Pliny, writing in 154 BC says that wine production in Italy was unsurpassed, and of course, it is still very good. Varro wrote about viticulture in 37 BC in his “Res Rusticae” (Of Country Matters), and we know that some Roman wine had to be drunk within a year of its production, while wines such as Falernian would mature. Romans favoured a concoction of wine mixed with honey just before drinking called Mulsum
  In English we have the expression to “have sour grapes”, which comes from the Aesop Tale of the Fox and the Grapes. A fox couldn’t reach a juicy looking bunch of grapes, so told himself they were sour. Now the phrase means to behave meanly after being disappointed in some way. Grapes also feature in John Steinbeck’s novel, “The Grapes of Wrath” published in 1939 and made into a film the following year.
Apart from wine, we also get oil from the grape seeds, and the leaves are edible too (see our dolmades recipe). However the best product from grapes, arguably, is wine. Below is another dolmades recipe which is a fusion of Greek and Asian cuisines.



STUFFED VINE LEAVES
Ingredients
12 vine leaves
200 gr cooked rice
30 gr pine nuts
30 gr raisins
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 tbsps shredded coriander leaves (fresh)
½ tsp paprika (sweet)
1 tsp cumin seeds
oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste


Method
If you are using fresh vine leaves, then blanch them for 3-5 mins before using. If you’re using prepackaged ones, wash them to remove the preservatives.
Fry the onions and garlic until the onions are translucent. Remove from the heat and put in a bowl.
Lightly fry the pine nuts and raisins, and cumin seeds, just to coat them in the oil. Remove and add to the bowl. Put the cooked rice in the bowl. Add the paprika, salt, pepper and coriander leaves and mix well.
Place some of the mixture on each vine leaf and then roll them into a sausage shape, folding the ends inwards. Put them in a single layer in a frying pan with ½ inch water. Alternatively use our chicken stock if you are not vegetarian. Cover and simmer for about 20 mins.
Serve hot, or cold as appetizers with Tzatziki and/or feta cheese.
These have Taste and are a Treat.

LEMON VERBENA WITH TISANE

LEMON VERBENA
This plant should not be confused with Lemon Balm or Lemon Grass. It has had a few changes of Latin names, but is now officially known as Aloysia triphylla. It has been called Lippia citriodora, Aloysia citriodora, and is commonly known by a variety of names, including, Lemon Beebrush, Cedron, Yerba Louisa and Lemon Louisa. It originated in South America and was brought to Europe by the Spaniards in the 18th century. It arrived in Britain in 1784, and is easily grown.
It can be used in teas, or tisanes, the leaves can be dried and used in pot pourri mixture, and it is good with fish, chicken, salad dressings vinegars and marinades.
It was named after Maria Louisa, Princess of Parma in 1819, and in the Language of Flowers is a symbol of purification and love and enchantment. It was thought that it would attract a suitor in folk superstitions.
It is used in medicine to relieve stomach cramps and colon spasms, and it is believed that it will give you a mental boost and help if you feel depressed. A tisane made from the leaves can also help reduce fevers. If you infuse it in cider vinegar it makes a good tonic for the skin, as it softens and refreshes it. You can put the leaves in finger bowls too. The essential oil from the leaves is said to boost the liver’s functions and assist the respiratory and digestive system.
Below is a refreshing tisane for you to try.



Lemon Verbena, Hibiscus and Ginger Tisane
Ingredients
1 handful lemon verbena leaves, torn roughly
1 handful dried hibiscus flowers
2 tsps finely chopped root ginger
7 cups water
sugar or honey to sweeten

Method
Put 7 cups of water in a pan and bring to the boil. Remove the pan from the heat and put in the ginger, dried hibiscus flowers and lemon verbena leaves. Leave to steep for 5 mins, then strain and serve.
Serve with honey or sugar if necessary.
This has Taste and is a Treat.