My daughter, Sophie, and I spent an amazing day today with my
mother-in-law. She taught us how to make
our family’s most favourite dish – one that we fondly call pitta! Outside of
our family it is more widely known in Greek cuisine as spanakopita.
Proudly a fifth generation Australian of German, Scot,
Cornish and English background, I had the very good fortune to marry into a
wonderful Greek family who emigrated to Australia in the year that I was born!
My mother-in-law, whom I have always fondly called Yiayia (Greek
for Grandmother), is an 86 year old dynamo! She is also the most amazing cook –
and I am determined to record for our families our most favourite recipes and
how to cook them as we remember them!
Yiayia’s pitta recipe is simple – deceptively so, as the techniques
involved in the making are a little more complex! As a part of today’s lesson I
learned how to make the most amazing filo pastry from scratch - together with the
tricky business of how to roll it out, how to prepare the spinach, and what
type of cheese to choose.
Sophie and I have videoed our lesson. It is our intention to
produce a You Tube clip to make mastering the intricacies of making
pitta and filo pastry easier - for both us and likeminded learners! This will
also assist us to work out measurements of ingredients as Yiayia, like many
amazing cooks doesn't use a recipe, instead cooking by look and feel! I will
post our recipe in the near future.
Watching every member of our family – from the very youngest to the oldest -
enjoy pitta at every family occasion I can
still only be amazed at how it is possible for spinach, dill, cheese, butter,
flour, water and a dash of salt and pepper to taste so sublime!
I’d love to hear from you if you, too, have family recipes
that you are preserving or intending to preserve.
Sophie and I have another appointment with Yiayia next Wednesday to record and learn another family favourite. Check back next week to see what is!
Preserving our families culinary history is up to us - let's do it!
