THE 25TH OF MARCH

 

                                                  THE 25^TH OF MARCH

 

 

From antiquity until today Greece has lived through major historical events.  The country was involved in many wars, Persian wars, the wars of Alexander the Great etc. In modern Greek history from 1821 till today the country was involved in two major wars, the War of Independence form the Ottoman Empire and World War II.  Every year Greeks remember these historical events with two national anniversaries on October 28^th and the 25^th of March.

 

The 25^th of March is also a religious holiday the Feast of the Annunciation. On this day in the Orthodox calendar, the Archangel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary and told her that she was pregnant with the Son of God.

 

In 1821 the Greeks rose against the Ottoman Empire which had occupied their country for over 400 years leading to the war of independence.  Bishop Germanos of Patras raised the Greek flag at the monastery of Agia Lavra inciting the Peloponnese to rise against the Turkish oppressors.

 

The first modern Greek state was founded in 1828 under the name Hellenic State and consisted of the Peloponnese and part of Central Greece.  The first governor was John Kapodistrias who founded schools and orphanages and helped make great development to the economy and education of the country.  Kapodistrias is still honored in Greece and the Greek euro coin of 20 cents bears his face.

 

The national holiday is celebrated with patriotic speeches and school and military parades. Most Greeks attend church followed by a memorial service and a fabulous lunch! 

On the 25th  of March, the traditional lunch is salt cod with garlic sauce (bakaliaros skordalia).  Eating cod this day perhaps predates the Greek revolution.  and stems the day's religious significance.  As it is the middle of Lent, the Greek Orthodox Church allows some exceptions to the period's normally strict dietary prescriptions,  Specifically, fish could be consumed as well as wine. 

For the fish you need:

1 kg salted cod, soaked for 48 hours in water, changing the water several times

Batter:

100 g plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper 

1 tsp salt

100 ml cold water

Vegetable oil for frying 

So just prepare the batter by mixing the flour, baking powder, Cayenne pepper, and salt, Dip each fish fillet in the batter and fry on both sides until golden and place on paper towels to drain,

Prepare the garlic sauce before frying the cod, here is the recipe:

500 g potatoes, peeled, roughly chopped and boiled 

4 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed

1 pinch of Cayenne pepper

Salt to taste

50 ml lemon juice 

Place the potatoes with all the other ingredients in a blender and pulse until you have a smooth sauce.  Taste the sauce before serving and add more seasoning and lemon juice, if necessary.

Serve the fried cod with the garlic sauce, and boiled wild greens  (agria horta).