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| Protesting Against the Use of the Term MACEDONIA in any Settlement of the Dispute Between Athens and Skopje |
More than 600.000 Greek demonstrators gathered, this afternoon, at Syntagma square and the surrounding streets, protesting against the government’s deal with the government of Skopje, that intends changing our northern neighbour’s name to "Republic of Macedonia". The demonstration was peaceful until a group of provocateurs attacked a police squad. The police responded with blasts of tear gas which affected families, children and older people while trying to disperse part of the crowd, outside the Parliament.
I am obliged to present historical events that took place during antiquity, the middle ages and contemporary times, pertaining to Macedonia and its residents, in order to explain to you, dear Reader, our firm conviction about the name issue.
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| Alexander the Great as the Conquering Warrior |
Alexander the Great was the young king of ancient Macedonia, Greece. He spent most of his ruling years on a unique military campaign through Asia and part of northern Africa thus creating one of the largest empires of antiquity, stretching from Greece to north-western India. It has been proven, through archaeological excavations, that the ancient Macedonians were Greek in language, religion and culture.
During the 5th and 6th centuries, the Slavs, an ethnic group of people who share a culture and speak a set of languages, known as the Slavic languages, came to the Balkans. Little was known about them before they were mentioned in Byzantine records of the 6th century. Apparently, the Slavs stayed in the Balkans until they were expelled by the Byzantines. But by this time, the Slavs had a firm presence in the Balkans and other regions in central and eastern Europe.
Cyrillus and Methodius were two Byzantine missionaries, brothers from Thessaloniki, who preached Christianity to the Slavs and are, therefore, known as the Apostles of the Slavs. During the 9th century, they created the Cyrillic alphabet, which derives from the Greek alphabet, augmented by letters in "Old Church Slavonic" sounds, not found in Greek. The Bible was, therefore, translated from Greek into Slavic languages.
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| St Cyrillus and St Methodius |
Cyrillus and Methodius were two Byzantine missionaries, brothers from Thessaloniki, who preached Christianity to the Slavs and are, therefore, known as the Apostles of the Slavs. During the 9th century, they created the Cyrillic alphabet, which derives from the Greek alphabet, augmented by letters in "Old Church Slavonic" sounds, not found in Greek. The Bible was, therefore, translated from Greek into Slavic languages.
After emerging victorious from the two Balkan wars in of 1912 and 1913 Greece’s territory and population were greatly expanded by the addition of the historic region of Macedonia on the southern side of the Voras and Belles mountain ranges.
We hope and believe that our northern neighbours will not insist to call themselves Macedonians because they are not. They are Slavs from the former Republic of Yugoslavia and they ought to be very proud of their significant history.
Macedonia is one and only Greek!!
Macedonia is one and only Greek!!
Please find below several recipes of dishes from Thessaloniki.
MELITZANOSALATA
This is a traditional recipe for an aubergine salad.
1 kg (2 lb) large aubergines
1 clove crushed garlic
Salt and pepper according to taste
3 tbsp vinegar or according to taste
125 ml (½ cup) extra virgin olive oil
Prick the aubergines and bake in an oven preheated to 200C (almost 400 F) until the skin is charred, to give a smoky flavour to the salad. Split and scoop out the flesh discarding any seeds or hard parts. Blend the aubergines and stir in the garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper. Add the vinegar, a tbsp at a time, until the prefered acidity has been reached, and stir well together. Place in a bowl, cover and chill.
SUMMER AUBERGINE SALAD
This melitzanosalata reminds one of guacamole.
1 kg (2 lb) large aubergine
2 tbsp cucumber, finely chopped
2 tbsp multi-coloured peppers finely chopped
2 tbsp tomato, peeled, seeded and finely chopped
1 tbsp spring onions, finely chopped
1 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
1½ cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp or more lemon juice (optional)
1/8 tsp Cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
For baking the eggplant, please see the preceding recipe. Mix all the ingredients well together and season according to taste with salt pepper, and Cayenne pepper. Place in a serving bowl, cover and chill. Serve with crusty warm bread,
MUSSELS STUFFED WITH SPICED RICE
This can be either an appetizer or a full meal.
1 kg (2 lbs) large mussels, well scrubbed, beards discarded
120 ml (1/2 cup) olive oil
75 g (1/2 cup) shelled, unsalted pistachio nuts
1-2 clove garlic, finely chopped
3-4 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped
1 large onion, peeled and finely grated
480 g (2 cups) long grain rice
8-10 saffron threads, soaked in 3 tbsp water
1 small slice of peeled, fresh ginger
Salt and pepper to taste
1/8 tsp Cayenne pepper
720 ml (3 cups) vegetable stock
35 g (1/4 cup) currants, optional, and
1-2 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
120 ml (1/2 cup) hot white wine, mixed with
120 ml (1/2 cup) boiling water
Lemon wedges
Sauté the pistachios with ½ the olive oil for about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and onions and cook until soft. Then stir in the rice, ginger, salt, pepper and the Cayenne pepper. Pour in the vegetable stock, the saffron water and stir. Simmer, until the rice is barely “al dente” and discard the ginger. Add the parsley and the currants, if using, and set aside to cool.
Meanwhile open the mussels with a sharp knife, making sure that the flesh remains attached to both halves of the shell. Stuff each mussel with the rice mixture and tie with string.
Arrange the mussels snugly in a saucepan, and place the remaining stuffing over. Pour the water and wine solution over and sprinkle with the remaining olive oil. Cover the saucepan, and simmer gently until all the water has been absorbed. Let the mussels cool and discard the strings. Serve the mussels on a bed of stuffing, garnished with lemon wedges.
CHICKEN WITH PRUNES, SAFFRON AND PAPRIKA
A delicious, poultry dish from northern Greece.
8 chicken thighs, skinned
A pinch of Kozani saffron
4 tbsp olive oil
3 onions, peeled and finely sliced
1½ tbsp. sweet paprika
20 pitted prunes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Place the chicken in a large saucepan with 1litre (1¾ pint) and the saffron. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and poach for 15 minutes; drain and reserve the cooking liquid.
Stir in the paprika to the saucepan and cook for 2 minutes, add the chicken thighs, about 700 ml (1¼ pint) of the cooking liquid and the prunes. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and simmer gently for about 20 minutes.
If the sauce seems too watery, remove the chicken, prunes and sliced onion, with a slotted spoon, and keep warm. Reduce the sauce to gravy and spoon over the chicken. Serve over buttered rice and vegetables of your choice.
SOUTZOUKAKIA
This was one or Aleco’s favourite dishes.
500 g (1 lb) minced beef or veal
2 thick slices of stale bread, crusts removed, soaked in dry white wine and squeezed dry
1 clove minced garlic
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
½ tsp crushed and sieved cumin seeds
2 tbsp butter
125 ml (½ cup) white wine
Sauce:
750 ml (3 cups) fresh tomato juice
250 ml (1 cup) unsalted meat stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp sugar or more
1 tiny pinch of cumin powder
1 bay leaf or
5 small basil leaves, (add at the end of the cooking period to prevent the herb from losing its aroma)
In a bowl, mix the minced meat with the soaked bread, minced garlic, salt and freshly ground black pepper, crushed cumin seeds, until very well combined. With wet hands, form sausage-shaped oblongs, 5 cm (2 inches) long, and place in a dish.
Boil about 3 cups of water in a large, deep frying pan, stir in the butter, add the soutzoukakia, one at a time, and turn around to cook on all sides, When the water has evaporated and the meat has started to sizzle in the butter, pour in the wine and swirl the frying pan, once or twice, for 2-3 minutes, before turning off the heat.
Meanwhile, place all the ingredients for the sauce in a saucepan and bring to the boil, and pour over the soutzoukakia and simmer gently for12-15 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Taste the sauce and season with more salt, pepper and sugar, if necessary and discard the herbs.
Serve with rice or mashed potatoes and a zesty rocket salad.
YALAKTOBOUREKO
Custard cream pie is a traditional Greek dessert. The custard can be flavoured with either orange or tangerine peel or a vanilla pod.
10 sheets phyllo pastry
250 ml (1 cup) hot, melted butter
Syrup:
600 g (3 cups) sugar
500 ml (2 cups) water
Custard:
1 litre (4 cups) milk
A piece of lemon peel
5 eggs
200 g (1 cup) sugar
100 g (2/3 cup) finely ground semolina
A little salt
2 tbsp of butter
First, prepare the syrup. Boil the sugar and water together for 10 minutes and set aside to cool.
In a large saucepan, heat the milk with the lemon peel, and keep warm. Beat the eggs and sugar in a mixer, until almost doubled in bulk. Lower the speed, add the semolina and 2 ladlefuls of warm milk, and beat for 2 minutes more. Pour the egg mixture into the saucepan with the warm milk and simmer gently, until the custard thickens, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Remove the custard from the heat, stir in 2 tbsp butter, and set aside to cool completely.
Butter a 32 cm x 20 cm (12 in. x 8 in.) baking tin and line it with 5 sheets of phyllo pastry, brushing each sheet liberally with melted butter. Pour over the cool custard, trim the overhanging pastry and fold it over. Cover with the remaining phyllo sheets, again brushing each sheet generously with hot butter, and tuck them neatly into the sides of the baking tin.
With a sharp knife make parallel slits on top of the pastry, to allow the pie to breathe. Heat the remaining butter to the sizzling point and pour over the pie, and bake in an oven preheated to 190 C (375 F), for 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and pour the cool syrup over. Cut into portions, while still warm, and serve immediately.
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| The Church of Agia Ekaterini Thessaloniki by Kostantinos Maleas |
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