Yesterday, my blogging friend Laurie of Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska had three articles published on SKAI TV & radio’s (Greece) website as part of their focus on Great Lent Week.
Now that the “cat’s out of the bag”, I can now add that I too was asked by SKAI journalist Lamprini Thoma to contribute to the series with a dish for Good Friday.
All the articles are in Greek but you may use Google’s translator. Although nowhere near perfect, the translator will give you the gist of each article.
The first article is titled “Good Friday in Toronto” and it’s basically an intro of myself, that my family attends St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and a seque to the other two pieces.
The second piece focuses on how I first got interesting in cooking and Lamprini relays to the reader the many ways food has inspired me during my many visits to Greece.
The third and final piece focuses on the dish. Good Friday’s fast is quite strict and it leaves little choices for eating on this day. I offered a Lent-friendly potato salad, flavoured by vegetable stock and mustard. Below is the English text as I had submitted to SKAI TV.
I would like to express a huge thank you to Lamprini Thoma who translated all three pieces for me from English to Greek. She made the articles bright, full of sentiment and poetic as only the Greek language can be. I wish you all knew Greek so as to fully grasp how beautifully written all three pieces were.
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Good Friday
Today marks the solemnest date on the Greek-Orthodox religious calendar. For Jesus Christ died on this day and our services take on a tone of mourning.
The run-up to Easter, Good Friday and ultimately Easter is the most important reglious holidays for Greeks around the world.
In Greece, the people will leave “en masse” for their home towns or summer retreat homes and most will be attending the Good Friday church services (especially the evening Vespers).
On Good Friday (Megali Pareskevi), flags at homes or government buildings are set at half-mast to mark the mournful day.
All over the world, the Greek-Orthodox will attend the evening Vespers service and follow the procession of the Epitaph of Christ. In Greece, the procession will circle the entire town, in the cities, the epitaph will circle the whole neighborhood.
Here in Toronto, my family has attended St. Nicholas Greek-Orthodox Church for most of my life and the epitaph will also makes it’s procession. Greek churches like St. Nicholas will also conduct the procession of the Epitaph for a few kilometers around the neighborhood where the church is located. Often, local traffic police are enlisted to help ease the traffic of cars and parishoners that congregate for this solemn service.
The service culminates with the return of the Epitaph to the church and as it’s above the portal, just high enough for all the faithful to pass underneath the Epitaph and back inside the church.
As Good Friday is the solemnest day of the Greek-Orthodox calendar, the Great Lent on this day is of the strictest nature. Besides retaining the fast from meat and dairy, no oil or any ingredients that were “crushed” are to be consumed.
Most on Good Friday will subsist on a diet of fruit and nuts, bread, Fakkes made without oil and one of my particular favourites is a mustard-based potato salad that’s flavoured with spring ingredients and true to the traditions of Good Friday.
Potato Salad for Good Friday
Approx. 1kg. of new red potatoes
2/3 cup of vegetable stock (made from Vegeta)
1/4 cup of mild mustard
2 Tbsp. capers, roughly chopped
1/4 cup of pickles, finely chopped
1/4 cup pickle juice from the jar
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 Tbsp. of chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup of chopped fresh dill
sea salt and fresh ground pepper
- Rinse your potatoes and place in a pot of salted water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 30 minutes or until fork tender. Drain the hot water from the potatoes and then add ice cold water to cool the potatoes until they are warm.
- As soon as the potatoes are cool enough to handle (but still warm), cut them into chunks and place them in a large bowl.
- Add your hot vegetable stock and toss the potatoes for a few minutes to absorb the stock and take on some flavour.
- Now add the mustard, pickles, pickling juice, parsley and dill and toss to coat the entire salad.
- Taste your salad and adjust by adding salt & pepper according to your tastes. Add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and your salad warm or at room temperature.
Great picture and recipe!
Peter, that is great news!!! Both Laurie and yourself deserve the recognition. I was very pleased for both of you when I learned about it.
And the potato salad is awesome! Good and GOODER! :-)
How wonderful that you and Laurie are being featured this way, congrats!
Great potato salad, and I absolutely love the articles. You are right, Lamprini did a wonderful job! She is a wonderful and generous woman, and I was so glad to have “met” her.
Wow! I’ve never seen potato salad served like this! Congtratulations, too.
Gay
wonderful post in the skai website – growing up in nz was very similar!
Peter, congratssss…and I am munching the potato salad (albeit virtually…in my head) now…
although this is no match to the article…I’m passing an E award to you, see it in my latest post ^_^
keep up the good work!!! stay yummy :)
See, then you are an Excellent cook. I have awarded you, Peter, but do not shoot me, read the post first. Oops, I see rita has awarded you, just goes to show, you can’t keep a good cook down.
See, then you are an Excellent cook. I have awarded you, Peter, but do not shoot me, read the post first. Oops, I see rita has awarded you, just goes to show, you can’t keep a good cook down.
See, then you are an Excellent cook. I have awarded you, Peter, but do not shoot me, read the post first. Oops, I see rita has awarded you, just goes to show, you can’t keep a good cook down.
See, then you are an Excellent cook. I have awarded you, Peter, but do not shoot me, read the post first. Oops, I see rita has awarded you, just goes to show, you can’t keep a good cook down.
See, then you are an Excellent cook. I have awarded you, Peter, but do not shoot me, read the post first. Oops, I see rita has awarded you, just goes to show, you can’t keep a good cook down.
See, then you are an Excellent cook. I have awarded you, Peter, but do not shoot me, read the post first. Oops, I see rita has awarded you, just goes to show, you can’t keep a good cook down.
See, then you are an Excellent cook. I have awarded you, Peter, but do not shoot me, read the post first. Oops, I see rita has awarded you, just goes to show, you can’t keep a good cook down.
See, then you are an Excellent cook. I have awarded you, Peter, but do not shoot me, read the post first. Oops, I see rita has awarded you, just goes to show, you can’t keep a good cook down.
See, then you are an Excellent cook. I have awarded you, Peter, but do not shoot me, read the post first. Oops, I see rita has awarded you, just goes to show, you can’t keep a good cook down.
How EXCITING!!
You know how I feel about all of your wonderful posts on Greek food. You’re so knowledgeable about all that is Greek that I’m sure it was a no brainer for them to choose you to contribute! Congrats…
I really do not know what to say – thank you Peter and Laurie for your wonderful recipe and for being so generous yourselves. Kali Anastasi ke Kali patrida!
Well done Pete! Your food is always very inspiring and I enjoy reading every single entry.
Thank you Poonam.
Sam, thank you my friend, the parents were thrilled as well.
Kalyn, we both were surprised when the request came in.
Laurie, bravo again to you, your blog and the recognition.
Gay, I had to do a little extra for this feature, thanks.
Maria, I think I gave a good idea of what it’s like being a Greek in the Diaspora.
Rita, thank you again for the E-award…your a doll.
Nina, as I’ve echoed in your blog, thank you so much and you’re no slouch in the kitchen either!
Lori, thank you so much and also for being an avid reader of my blog.
Lamprini, thank you again…ta leme in Greece this summer.
Pixie, thanks dear…you’ve tried some dishes and that’s a joy for me.
I am so pleased for you Peter this is great news!! Your food is an inspiration and I really enjoy reading your blog – well done :)
Congratulations as always Peter. You are getting to be quite the celebrity with your articles and recipes in newspapers and magazines all over the world….hopefully you will still have time to cook up amazing dishes:D
Wow, Peter — congratulations on your many accolades and accomplishments! Maybe you should quit your day job and open a restaurant…people would line up in droves! Enjoy your Holiday weekend and all the feasting (after today, that is!). ~ Leah
Congratulations Peter! Beautiful salad and presentation!
The Greeks are much more strict than the Romans – I had not known that…most interesting, and thanks for the pimer.
And the potato salad…
And congrats on the articles!
Congratulations on your article! Your potato salad looks really colorful and pretty.
Congrats Peter and Laurie! You both deserve recognition with all the time and effort you put into such great food!
Nice “tater” salad, perfect for spring!
Happy Easter to you Peter!
Congrats on being in print Peter.
Your potato salad is the swishest looking that I have ever seen – the extended presentation on that fantastic glass dish is an excellent idea.
Happy Easter, Peter!
what a colorful and tasty looking potato salad. I’m used to seeing plain white mayo drenched potato salads… this looks much better.
Peter,
Congrats on this exposure. You deserve it. I hope you and your family have a wonderful Holiday with great food and good times.
Nice picture, it looks delicious!
Congrats Peter! Your hitting the big time! I hope you’ll always keep blogging! Have a very happy Holiday with your family!! What a feast your going to have!
Happy Easter to you and yours!!! I don’t have to worry that you will eat well!
Peter, we all knew just how talented you truly are and it was just a matter of time before the world was to learn this =D! Congratulations Peter! This couldn’t have happened to a more talented and brilliant person. BTW, I just love your serving dishes. The potato salad looks flavorful and gorgeous and the platter the salad is served on is elegant. Thank you for sharing.
The platter would be gorgeous with crab tacos on it too =D
Congrats Peter and happy Easter to you and your family! I’ve always enjoyed holiday family gatherings so I too am looking forward to Sunday :)
This is great news Peter. You and Laurie both deserve the recognition. All the best for Easter.
Thank you again everyone…it was very touching for family & friends to read the 3 pieces and once again, I wish you all could read Greek…it reads so beautifully…thank you again Lamprini (journalist).
First off, a big congratulations! That’s great news and you and Laurie definitely deserve the recognition!
Second off, I love the potato salad! It looks a lot more flavorful and colorful than the potato salads I’m accustomed to seeing.
First off, a big congratulations! That’s great news and you and Laurie definitely deserve the recognition!
Second off, I love the potato salad! It looks a lot more flavorful and colorful than the potato salads I’m accustomed to seeing.
First off, a big congratulations! That’s great news and you and Laurie definitely deserve the recognition!
Second off, I love the potato salad! It looks a lot more flavorful and colorful than the potato salads I’m accustomed to seeing.
First off, a big congratulations! That’s great news and you and Laurie definitely deserve the recognition!
Second off, I love the potato salad! It looks a lot more flavorful and colorful than the potato salads I’m accustomed to seeing.
First off, a big congratulations! That’s great news and you and Laurie definitely deserve the recognition!
Second off, I love the potato salad! It looks a lot more flavorful and colorful than the potato salads I’m accustomed to seeing.
First off, a big congratulations! That’s great news and you and Laurie definitely deserve the recognition!
Second off, I love the potato salad! It looks a lot more flavorful and colorful than the potato salads I’m accustomed to seeing.
First off, a big congratulations! That’s great news and you and Laurie definitely deserve the recognition!
Second off, I love the potato salad! It looks a lot more flavorful and colorful than the potato salads I’m accustomed to seeing.
First off, a big congratulations! That’s great news and you and Laurie definitely deserve the recognition!
Second off, I love the potato salad! It looks a lot more flavorful and colorful than the potato salads I’m accustomed to seeing.
First off, a big congratulations! That’s great news and you and Laurie definitely deserve the recognition!
Second off, I love the potato salad! It looks a lot more flavorful and colorful than the potato salads I’m accustomed to seeing.
Congratulations, Peter! How very exciting for you! Your success is very well deserved.
The potato salad looks like a success as well. It looks really fresh and lovely!
Looks tasty! Not your average potato salad, and that’s a good thing. I absoluly love me some flat leaf parsley, I can eat it like lettuce.
Great recipe Peter! Congrats on the articles!
What a great looking salad Peter.
This is a work of art!
MUCHAS FELICIDADES, Chico!!! You are becoming such a BIG guy in the food community :D
Your salad looks so beautifully set and eventhough you can not pour a drop of oil in it… I can :D MMmmmmmm
Congtratulations! Your potato salad looks fantastic,yummmmy