# Persian-ish Rice

**Chef:** Monisha  
**Cookbook:** Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat  
**Potluck Date:** November 18, 2023  

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## Recipe

Rice
Flour
HIVE
Honey
Comb
Pollen
SEED
Pulse
Nut
Seeds
VINE
Grape

Plant
Ferment
Index
Suppliers
Acknowledgements
Copyright Page

Introduction
I grew up in Greece, a country full of history, and have lived most of my life
in Athens, a city that wonderfully blends and balances the ancient with the
modern. For me, this blend is how I experience the cuisine of this age-old
culture. Its roots are ancient, its core has been preserved, yet it has
harmoniously developed over the years, and I would say has been gracefully
touched by the course of history, from both West and East.
I have been cooking from a very young age and food has been an integral part
of my life. I experience a unique pleasure from cooking and a whole different
level of pleasure from eating. I owe this joy of eating to my beloved
grandfather George, who taught me so much, and I owe my love of cooking to
my mother Tesi, who gave me my first cookbook as soon as I was able to
read.
Cooking is a form of art, of communication, and indeed an expression of
love; love is an essential ingredient in all the dishes I cook. I like food with
soul, no matter where it comes from and how fast or simple it is to prepare.
To me, Greek cuisine is fresh and seasonal; an ancient, wise kitchen with
soul. Sustainable and resourceful, it is principally a maternal cuisine that is
nutritious and comforting at the same time. It doesn’t need too many elements
or anything fancy, but it will certainly impress your senses and tastebuds.
Just as every ingredient and dish can be associated with a time and place in
Greece’s history, for me every flavour and scent is associated with a special
memory in my own history. A taste of avgolemono instantly transports me to
my grandmother’s kitchen; the scent of melomakarona feels like my mother’s
hug; while botargo reminds me of my grandfather, with whom I always
shared it.
The geographic location of a country hugely defines its cuisine, and Greece
is no exception. Food is produced all over the country, even on the driest

island, where you might savour the best thyme honey or the most flavourful
capers, wild oregano, tiny chickpeas, fresh cheese, or the freshest seafood.
Every single part of Greece is blessed with at least a couple of exceptional
food products. I have had the pleasure and luck of travelling a lot around the
country, researching regional cuisines: their local produce, the ingredients
and techniques they use, as well as the wonderful results. Moreover, it is
astonishing to me how a small country like Greece has such regional
diversity in its cuisine and how each region retains its own sense of tradition
– not just in the recipes themselves, but in all the associated traditions,
including the way each dish is served, eaten and celebrated. It is this
wonderment and intrigue that pushed me to dive deeper into Hellenic cuisine
and the more I discover from the history that unravels, the prouder I feel.
By studying the cuisine and recipes of a culture, you obtain a much better
understanding of the history and how different cultures exchanged their
knowledge and experience through their culinary worlds; traditions acquired
and passed on by the civilizations from which we evolved. I have always
been fascinated by ancient history and Greek mythology – mostly concerning
the anthropological and sociological side of it: how they were educated, how
they used to spend their day, what their eating habits were, their religious
customs and how those were connected to food and ingredients, and other
such questions. I found the answers in history books and essays, in Greek
mythology and in the writings of ancient masters, including Homer and
Herodotus.
I believe it is our duty to treasure and preserve our culinary traditions and
recipes. All of them, if we can: recipes that evolved out of need and poverty
and were then forgotten; recipes that have already been preserved for
centuries or altered along the way; recipes or ingredients with symbolic
meanings; recipes that require time and skill. They are our history and
heritage.
My passion for gastronomy is constantly alive and growing. It gives me great
pleasure to share in this book the knowledge and experience of Greek cuisine
and culture that I have lovingly built up. I hope that through this I can
contribute to the revival of old recipes that may be lesser known but worth
preserving. At the same time, I like to dig into the story of each dish, the

traditions associated with it, or its symbolic meaning. I hope to transport the
reader to the Greece I love so much, and to present through each recipe the
different regions and islands, their local produce, folk tales and traditions.
I have chosen to divide this book into chapters that offer an ingredient-centric
approach to cooking, selecting the core foods that have defined Greek cuisine
for several centuries. Recipes cater for all levels of cook, for different styles
of palate, flavour or dietary requirement. While I encompass all kinds of
recipes, including those for meat and seafood, my main chapter ingredients
are plant-based, because plant-based dishes are the true essence of the
traditional Greek kitchen. Meat is there, but it would have been used in
smaller amounts in order to add flavour and protein rather than be the actual
star of the dish – with certain exceptions, of course, that were mostly related
to special occasions.
By focusing on one main ingredient, or the source – such as the hive, or a
whole plant such as the vine or olive tree – and showing the many different
ways it can be used, I aim to present recipes that are accessible, sustainable
and cost-efficient while also being satisfying, nutritious and, of course,
delicious. Greek cuisine is shaped creatively in order to make use of
everything available and I feel ultimate fulfilment when I have used all
possible parts of an ingredient; this is the greatest way to honour and respect
it.
Simple, flavourful, comforting, nourishing, and certainly seasonal food is
what I aim for when I cook, and it’s what I usually crave to eat and share
with others. With this book, I invite you to explore the wonderful secrets of
my own Greek kitchen, with all its history and heartwarming tales.
Kali orexi!
1
1
 ‘bon appétit’ in Greek

The Roots and Evolution of Greek Cuisine
Greek cuisine is shaped by a prodigious climate, diverse landscape and
abundant natural resources. The ancient knowledge of working with the land
and the sea, being in coherence with the seasons and respectful to what nature
has to offer, is evident in the local gastronomy.
Gastronomy is an ancient Greek word, deriving from the words gastir
(stomach) and nomia (knowledge, law), literally meaning the ‘rules/law of
the stomach’. Both words, gastir and nomia, have been used in the Greek
language since Homer’s time, but the term is actually attributed to
Archestratus, the 4
th
 century BCE Greek poet, who was possibly the first to
study and write to such an extent about the pleasures of eating and the laws of
appetite. In his work, Hydipathia or Gastronomia
1
, the gourmet writer of
antiquity wittily describes the secrets of ancient Greek gastronomy, shares full
recipes, and dedicates whole chapters to wine, pulses and fish – ingredients
that remain staples in present-day Greek cuisine. Athenaeus, in his book
Deipnosophistae (Dinner Sophists) written in the early 3
rd
 century CE, also
provides valuable information about eating habits and particular recipes; his
book describes in detail banquet conversations on food, literature and the arts.
Several other writings, including Homer’s stories, Aristophanes’ plays,
Plato’s Symposium and the works of Hippocrates, who preached: ‘Let food
be your medicine and medicine be your food’, clarify ancient eating habits.
Archaeological excavations have also proved invaluable, with some of the
oldest findings dating to the Bronze Age Aegean Civilization
2
 that brought to
light not only

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