This traditional Thracian recipe is posted for a friend of mine since high school, Holly, who farms and ranches with her husband up here in North Central Montana. Hopefully, she will be able to give this a try and will get a picture! If not, I am interested in this one and will probably try it myself, sooner or later ~

 

I have seen wheat packaged in smaller size bags, maybe about a half gallon size, in grocery stores. The reason I noticed is because it was an anomaly. Can't remember where or what brand the grain was. I think ordering online may be the best way to find what you need. For this type of recipe, just any kind of wheat would work fine.

 

here's how it looks - you simply can't beat real montana wheat:

 

 

the first part of preparation is boiling the 2.5 cups of wheat until it aborbs 2 cups of water. here we are:

 

 

while it was boiling, i cannot describe the wonderful smell that was filling the house. it's the same smell that fills the air around here this time of year when i'm driving around, and it really is nice!

 

now, according to the instructions, i will let it dry overnight before using it in the recipe tomorrow. we'll see how it goes ~

 

In Greek mythology, Demeter is an ancient, possibly pre-Greek, mother goddess. As goddess of the earth, of fruitfulness, of growth and especially of crops, she was not so much interested in the "Olympian society" but instead wandered the earth, taking care that the seeds flourished. As a result, she was greatly venerated, especially by women. Her daughter Persephone was once abducted by Hades, god of the underworld. When Demeter learned that her daughter was no longer living in the light of the sun, she withdrew from the earth, so no more seeds sprouted.Zues, concerned at the lack of the sacrificial offerings, succeeded in making a bargain with Hades, which allowed Persephone to leave the underworld for two-thirds of the year to dwell on Mount Olympus. So Persephone's annual release from and return to the underworld have become a metaphore for the annual growth and death of the seeds and plants on the earth.

 

 

Demeter and Persephone, by http://korethemaiden.wordpress.com/greek-mythology-and-history/ - Corina Chorila

 

Working as closely as I have today with a product straight from the earth, it is not hard to see the origins of these myths and how the Greeks came about them. The annual cycle of seeds, crops and harvest is one that reaches back to the roots of civilisation, and it is reasonable that the ancient cultures would have placed a lot of focus on these things. Lacking modern science, they came up with explanations that were consistent with their belief systems and plausible in their minds.

 

The chicken is simmering now - the preparation was simple and the smell is amazing. Lacking specific guidance on seasoning, I guestimated on the salt, pepper, paprika and oregano. I think I came close, but the end results will say for sure; it is possble that i have a little to much, and will give a report, with notes and pictures, soon!

i've got messages out to the folks who seemed most interested, but if anyone else wants 5 or 10 cups of good, whole-grain, locally grown montana wheat for this recipe, or bread, or anything else - pm me with an address!

 

ron

 

a), yep, that oregano/paprika combination is truly beautiful, isn't it? much more than the sum of its parts - it was definitely one of the things i found special about this dish!

 

b) i also noticed there seemed to be a little too much liquid, but then again, the picture from Culinaria Greece does show that there is some. it's pretty thin, not quite like gravy, but makes good sopping-up juice for any bread served with the dish.

 

c) on a related subject, i also learned that it is better to have a little too much liquid rather than not enough, because the wheat does continue to expand while it is simmering in this dish. you will know when the wheat is "done" because it will be swelled up to an almost speherical shape, and will sort of "pop" when you're eating it. it won't be quite as chewy as it is now. both ways are good, but i think the fully-swelled-up version is the more "correct' and in keeping with the spirit of the dish.

 

good stuff, isn't it? if you get the chance to get some batteries and post a picture, feel free to do so.

 

when we last left you in suspense, dear reader, we had measured out our wheat, boiled it as per the recipe instructions and left it to dry overnight. from there, we start with a shot of all the goods:

 

 

as you can see, there isn't a heck of a lot needed for this thracian peasant dish, but i can assure you, the flavour quotient is very, very high!

 

as with so many good dishes, we begin by chopping a couple of onions:

 

 

the recipe says one onion, but these were pretty small, so i did two. if you make this, adjust the amount to your taste.

 

after sweating the onions out for a bit, i added the chicken, a few pieces at a time, in order to brown them.

 

 

i kept the onions in the dutch oven while browning the chicken, and this is not a problem:

 

 

the onions continue to cook and soak in flavour, and eventually most of them melted into a beautiful, carmelised sauce - it's quite brown, and removing the onions while browning the chicken would eliminate that, but i found it to be very good when prepared this way.

 

when all the chicken pieces were browned and set aside, i removed most of the extra fat (there wasn't much) and turned my attention to the spices.

 

the recipe keeps it simple, enumerating a wonderful quartet consisting of salt, pepper, oregano and paprika:

 

 

but unfortunately, the recipe does not list any amounts of these spices, so i winged it and took a guess based on some past recipes i have made. as i recall, i settled on a generous teaspoon each of salt, pepper and oregano - and 1.5 or 2 teaspoons of the paprika, and sprinkled them on the chicken and onions:

 

 

this ended up working really well, and i was amazed at the wonderful aroma and ultimate flavour combination. the paprika and the browning of the chicken and onions made this a very dark dish, quite a bit darker than the picture in culinaria greece, but i can't say enough how good it tasted ~

 

after the spices, i added the required amount of water, 6 cups:

 

 

this seemed like a lot, but keep in mind, it needs to soak up the hard, whole-grain wheat, which i added next: 

 

 

from there, i brought the whole concoction to a boil:

 

 

then reduced the heat and covered the dutch oven so that the chicken could simmer and the wheat could absorb the water. after about an hour, here's what we had:

 

 

looking really, really good!

 

i went ahead and simmered a while longer, uncovered, so as to allow the wheat to soak up more water and for some of the water to evaporate as well. as the liquids reduced, the aroma kept getting richer and better.

 

looking back, i believe i should have kept the pot covered while this happened, so that the wheat could absorb the water more. as it was, the wheat came out just a little chewy, but with excellent flavour that went well with the chicken.

 

we served this dish up in very simple fashion: chicken, wheat and a side vegetable dish simply consisting of carrots and corn (more gifts from demeter):

 

 

as you can see here, the wheat has puffed up quite a bit:

 

 

but it was still a little chewy/tough. not enough to ruin the dish, but it seemed to me that i should have simmered it longer while covered.

 

that one texture problem aside, i can't describe in enough words how great this tasted. simple, simple ingredients truly are the key to real, true cooking success. the dish was very dark from the paprika and the carmelisation of the onions, providing a very rustic touch that brought on a whole depth of flavour. the wheat acted as a perfect compliment for the chicken and the spices, and considering the incredibly low cost of this meal, all things considered, i believe it was one real bang for the buck that must be tasted to be appreciated. it's so easy, there's no excuse not to.

 

later, after supper, i took some of the leftover wheat (with bits of chicken mixed in) and added some more water. i brought it to a boil and simmered a while, in order to see if could get the wheat to absorb more water, and sure enough, before long, the grains swelled up considerably:

 

 

when allowed to get to this point, the grains are very soft and almost "pop" when you bite into them, releasing wonderful flavour without the chewiness. based on this, i would recommend simmering as long as possible, adding more water if needed, until the grains seem almost, but not quite, spherical.

 

if anyone is interested in authentic, old-style greek/thracian cooking, i sincerely hope they are able to give this a try. it is simple, inexpensive and really provides a savory, rustic, quality meal for a family.

 

i enjoyed this dish very much, and will certainly be making it again, but I don't have much ready access to the old grains such as farro and spelt. There are a couple of shops in Great Falls where I should be able to find these and others, and I'll make it a goal to do some searching for them. I might be able to get barley or rye locally, but I don't know enough about grains to know how they would work with this dish.