Greek

What do you think when I say rice? I know chinese food. Some more adventurous my think indian food. But in every case it will be thought as the companion to a very hearty, saucy meal. But Rice is way more than that. Rice can be yummy and delicious on its own. All it takes is some simple techniques, some basic know-how, and will to get creative... Yes with rice. But rice is a lot more than Chinese and Indian food. Don ‘t get me wrong, I love both of Chinese (and more generally speaking oriental) and Indian food.

One of the most recognizable greek deserts is baklava. It is a layered desert with lot's of nuts and a thick sweet delicious syrup. It a staple to almost every greek restaurant and pastry shop. The history of the desert is long and it is lost in past centuries, somewhere in the middle east. The first record of a desert like such was in ancient Syria where the Assyrians at around 8th century B.C. were the first people who put together a few layers of thin bread dough, with chopped nuts in between those layers, added some honey and baked it in their primitive wood burning ovens.

A spinach pie with a real twist I gave it. Just to make more fun the process of eating. And increase the mystery that surrounds the pie. The concept is actually not original. It is inspired by a pie called saricopita and it is very very common at the mountains of Crete. It resembles the way the sarici (a cretan traditional head-wear) is wrapped around the head. Spinach pie (spanakopita), in every form, is a great summer food. Light, tasty and goes great with Ouzo.

Saffron is a spice derived from the flower of the saffron crocus (Crocus sativus), a species of crocus in the family Iridaceae. The flower has three stigmas, which are the distal ends of the plant's carpels. Together with its style, the stalk connecting the stigmas to the rest of the plant, these components are often dried and used in cooking as a seasoning and coloring agent. Saffron, which has for decades been the world's most expensive spice by weight, is native to Southwest Asia. It was first cultivated in the vicinity of Greece. The tedious and elaborate process to produce and grow saffron makes it the most expensive spice on earth right now, and one of the most expensive food items. It requires 160,000 flowers to produce a kilogram of saffron. Saffron flower has three yellow and three orange buds. The orange is the most flavorful and has the highest amount of chromatic substances and pure orange saffron can easily reach to $3,000 per lb. Powder saffron is cheaper but that ‘s because the saffron is mixed with turmeric that reduces the price and unfortunately the taste and color ability.