Taking a walk in Eastern Attica, we meet the residents of Keratea, who are generally famous for their traditional cuisine. People especially hardened by the agricultural work of the past in a frugal local economy with habits that continue to follow them in the kitchen even today.
In their eating habits, Trahana has a prominent place and is used as a nutritious ingredient in stuffed foods, it is cooked with aubergines, it is included in dough pies, it is eaten as a soup especially on winter days, but it is also used as a filling in sweet pies.
A special habit of the locals is when they do not miss the opportunity to collect the small and nutritious land snails, which appear only for a few days of the year, with the first autumn rains. They collect the snails in quantities, clean them, blanch them, keep them in the freezer and use them to make an extremely tasty dish accompanied by the Trahana.
Recipe : Snails with Trahana
Degree of difficulty : Moderate
Cooking time : 2 hours & 30 minutes
Materials :
500 gr. snails, cleaned
150 gr. Famelima Trahana wheat sweet
2 dry onions, grated
1 tsp. sweet sugar
2 ripe tomatoes, grated
1 tsp. tomato paste soup
5-6 allspice grains
200 ml Famelima extra virgin olive oil
salt, freshly ground pepper
Cooking process :
In a pot with a lot of salted bread, put the snails and boil for 5-6 minutes. Drain them, rinse them and drain them again.
In the same pot, now empty, heat the oil on medium heat and saute the onions for 6-7 minutes, until they are well wilted without browning.
Add the sugar, sauté for 1-2 minutes, until it caramelizes slightly, and add the snails. Stir for a while until they are glossy and add the tomatoes, the paste, the spice and plenty of freshly ground pepper. Let the sauce come to a boil, reduce the heat, add salt and simmer over low heat for 1½ hours, until the snails are well softened.
Add the Trahana and 1 fl. of tea hot water and cook for as long as indicated on the package, until it softens and swells.
We regularly mix the snails with the Trahana during cooking, because the Trahana easily sticks to the pot.
Chef: Gastronomos, issue 197