0:00:03 > 0:00:05I'm on a gastronomic journey
0:00:05 > 0:00:08that started with the pleasingly simple food of Venice.
0:00:10 > 0:00:12Can we have another? They are lovely.
0:00:12 > 0:00:16And we'll end with the vibrant Byzantine dishes of Istanbul.
0:00:16 > 0:00:18If you like, no problem.
0:00:18 > 0:00:19Mm! I like!
0:00:19 > 0:00:21Mm!
0:00:21 > 0:00:26In between, the culinary melting pot of East meets West - Croatia.
0:00:26 > 0:00:27This is my lunch.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31Back to basics - Albania.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34Ham, salt, beans, water.
0:00:35 > 0:00:36Life!
0:00:36 > 0:00:39And a place I know and love - Greece.
0:00:39 > 0:00:41What would I do with them?
0:00:41 > 0:00:44Well, I'd put them on a barbecue. What would you do with them?
0:00:44 > 0:00:47Fabulous dishes from the mountains to the sea.
0:00:47 > 0:00:49Who could ask for anything more?
0:01:19 > 0:01:23Every day on this journey, I think how blooming lucky I am
0:01:23 > 0:01:28driving through fabulous countryside in search of good things to eat.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31And in Greece, I'm starting to feel really at home.
0:01:34 > 0:01:38It's just getting better and better, really.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41Well, in northern Greece, Yanina, the mountains, the freshwater fish,
0:01:41 > 0:01:43some of it was nice.
0:01:43 > 0:01:44I didn't really like the frogs.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47But I do remember going up into a mountain village
0:01:47 > 0:01:48and having a horta pie.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52A filo pastry pie. I particularly loved that.
0:01:52 > 0:01:53And a chicken pie.
0:01:53 > 0:01:55But then it's to southern Greece.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58And, of course, coming out of those northern mountains,
0:01:58 > 0:02:02yes, it's Greece, but this is the Greece that I love and remember.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05And it's all about vegetables.
0:02:05 > 0:02:07I sort of suddenly realised
0:02:07 > 0:02:10the Greeks are really, really vegetable cooks.
0:02:10 > 0:02:14But the meat is sort of only reserved for high days and holidays.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18It's about those tomatoes, those aubergines, those peppers,
0:02:18 > 0:02:21loads of olive oil, loads of onions, loads of garlic.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24And finally, what I haven't had yet
0:02:24 > 0:02:27but I'm really, really desperate for
0:02:27 > 0:02:30is some red mullet.
0:02:31 > 0:02:33So, the more I travel south,
0:02:33 > 0:02:36the closer I get to the Greece of Homer,
0:02:36 > 0:02:38the stuff I remembered from school.
0:02:38 > 0:02:40The Spartans, brigands, pirates
0:02:40 > 0:02:43and dreadful vendettas, too.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47The Southern Peloponnese is made of two regions,
0:02:47 > 0:02:49Messinia on the west
0:02:49 > 0:02:50and the famous Laconia,
0:02:50 > 0:02:52where the word laconic comes from.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00What I'm looking for on the sat nav is Neapoli in Laconia.
0:03:00 > 0:03:04Thinking of Laconia, so often in Greece you pass a place name
0:03:04 > 0:03:06and you think, "I know that in some way."
0:03:06 > 0:03:09Laconia - laconic.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12The capital of Laconia is Sparti - Sparta.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14And in ancient times,
0:03:14 > 0:03:20Philip of Macedonia sent a message to the king of the Spartans,
0:03:20 > 0:03:23"If I capture Sparti,
0:03:23 > 0:03:26"I will crush every stone."
0:03:26 > 0:03:28The reply was, "If."
0:03:29 > 0:03:31Laconic.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35So, for laconic, think Clint Eastwood.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44This is the town of Pilos on the Bay of Navarino.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46Never been here before,
0:03:46 > 0:03:48but I know and I can tell instantly
0:03:48 > 0:03:50that I'm going to like it.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54Simply because it just happens to be, well, like everyday Greece.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00Food, of course, is the reason for my journey.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03But I'm beginning to realise that it's rather a good thing
0:04:03 > 0:04:05to find places along the way
0:04:05 > 0:04:07that I might like to come back to one day.
0:04:07 > 0:04:09And I think this could be one.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19I know I've said this before,
0:04:19 > 0:04:22but I love our supermarkets back home.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25But there's nothing to beat this.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28As a cook, it's like a sort of frame.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31I like the way the shop is with this arch,
0:04:31 > 0:04:34a frame of what do you want to cook today?
0:04:34 > 0:04:36And all those leaves at the back,
0:04:36 > 0:04:39they boil those and serve them with salt and olive oil.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42There's one there called vlita, which I've only just discovered.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46And that, boiling in water, olive oil, lemon juice,
0:04:46 > 0:04:48that's Greece to me.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51I just love a little vista like this.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54It gets me very, very excited.
0:04:59 > 0:05:00I'll stick my neck out
0:05:00 > 0:05:03and say that hardly any British holiday-makers
0:05:03 > 0:05:05will order this in a restaurant.
0:05:05 > 0:05:06But why not?
0:05:06 > 0:05:09Fresh wild greens from the fields and hedgerows.
0:05:11 > 0:05:13In the early morning and the evenings,
0:05:13 > 0:05:16you usually see old people out with their carrier bags
0:05:16 > 0:05:19because they know how jolly good this is for you.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22Basically, you boil them
0:05:22 > 0:05:24and then you stick them in very cold water
0:05:24 > 0:05:26to stop them cooking any longer.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30These greens are always eaten cold.
0:05:32 > 0:05:37Add oil, Kalamata, one of the best in the world, nutty and sweet,
0:05:37 > 0:05:40and then lemon, lemon juice.
0:05:40 > 0:05:44No wonder these old people live for over 100.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47Finally, salt and pepper and there's a dish.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51It's like a pleasing health cure on a plate.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56This vlita is absolutely delicious.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02It's sort of sad, really, because we don't do the same thing back home.
0:06:02 > 0:06:03But you could.
0:06:03 > 0:06:08I was sort of thinking you could use rocket or spinach or Swiss chard.
0:06:08 > 0:06:12And for a bit of bitterness, you could use dandelion leaves.
0:06:12 > 0:06:13Even nettles.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15- Nettles?!- Yeah, nettles.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17Because, once you've boiled nettles,
0:06:17 > 0:06:20they don't have the poison in them, the sting in them,
0:06:20 > 0:06:23and they're actually, tasting this vlita,
0:06:23 > 0:06:25I'm sort of thinking nettles.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28It's the same sort of, erm, lovely...
0:06:30 > 0:06:32How would you describe this?
0:06:32 > 0:06:33Leafy.
0:06:33 > 0:06:35Leafy-with-a-bit-of-attitude flavour.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45One of the things I love doing,
0:06:45 > 0:06:46I think any chef loves doing,
0:06:46 > 0:06:49is looking at boats to see what they've caught.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52I think, really, this is where cooking starts.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55And in the restaurant where I was tasting those wild greens,
0:06:55 > 0:07:00the chef sort of insisted that he'd make me the local fish stew,
0:07:00 > 0:07:03made with whatever the fishermen had caught.
0:07:04 > 0:07:08Well, I liked that, because that's the very essence of fish cookery -
0:07:08 > 0:07:11use what's here and now.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14And as you'd expect, lots of vegetables.
0:07:14 > 0:07:18Carrots, onions, parsley, tomatoes, potatoes in olive oil.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20Lots of olive oil.
0:07:20 > 0:07:22That's the base.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24And just water.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27Actually, when I made it, I added a bit of ouzo.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30But here, just water and then saffron.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36He's not going to use all of this.
0:07:36 > 0:07:38He uses mayatiko -
0:07:38 > 0:07:41I had to look that one up, because we don't get it at home -
0:07:41 > 0:07:43red mullet
0:07:43 > 0:07:45and chunks of whitefish,
0:07:45 > 0:07:48bream, silver bream,
0:07:48 > 0:07:50prawns and that'll do.
0:07:50 > 0:07:52It's not an expensive dish
0:07:52 > 0:07:55and this will certainly feed about four people.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09I'm not sure whether this is actually going to end up
0:08:09 > 0:08:11as a fish stew or a fish soup.
0:08:11 > 0:08:13But either way,
0:08:13 > 0:08:15I tend to judge fish restaurants
0:08:15 > 0:08:18on the quality of either stew or soup
0:08:18 > 0:08:20and I found myself asking him,
0:08:20 > 0:08:21"Is there any wine in it?
0:08:21 > 0:08:24"Any ouzo in it? Perhaps some brandy in it?"
0:08:24 > 0:08:27And that's because I've become so used to fish stews
0:08:27 > 0:08:30being something more than they were ever intended to be.
0:08:30 > 0:08:34I mean, they were just stews that the fishermen made
0:08:34 > 0:08:37from the fish that they took home, because they couldn't sell it.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40I mean, bouillabaisse started like that.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43And that's been elevated now into the most fantastical flavours
0:08:43 > 0:08:45and if you try making something
0:08:45 > 0:08:48that approximated to what it used to be like,
0:08:48 > 0:08:50people say, "That's not bouillabaisse."
0:08:58 > 0:09:00So, to taste...
0:09:02 > 0:09:04Oh, it's delish!
0:09:04 > 0:09:06- Really?- Really nice.
0:09:06 > 0:09:07Mm!
0:09:07 > 0:09:10- You can tell you've used really good fish.- Mm-hm.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12It's a lovely, simple fish stew.
0:09:12 > 0:09:14Just what I expected.
0:09:16 > 0:09:17Cheers! Yamas!
0:09:18 > 0:09:19Lovely.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31I was just thinking,
0:09:31 > 0:09:34Greece is a really good country for thinking.
0:09:34 > 0:09:38It's warm and there's lovely walks like this along beaches like this.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41And I was also thinking, if this was Italy,
0:09:41 > 0:09:42would this beach look like this?
0:09:42 > 0:09:45Would it have this informality,
0:09:45 > 0:09:47with just a few Greeks sitting in deckchairs?
0:09:47 > 0:09:49No!
0:09:49 > 0:09:52For a start, the beach would have been swept.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55It would be filled with deckchair concessions.
0:09:55 > 0:09:59There'd be pizza and pasta shacks at the back
0:09:59 > 0:10:04and it would cost you lots of euros to get anywhere near the water.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13This is the famous Bay of Navarino.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16The very last sea battle under sail
0:10:16 > 0:10:19happened here nearly 200 years ago.
0:10:19 > 0:10:23Through these straits sailed 22 ships -
0:10:23 > 0:10:25British, French and Russian.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27And inside the bay
0:10:27 > 0:10:31were nearly 70 ships and boats from the Ottoman Empire.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34The subject on hand was peace.
0:10:35 > 0:10:37The Ottomans were slaughtering the Greeks
0:10:37 > 0:10:40and all of Europe wanted it to stop.
0:10:40 > 0:10:43And so the British were here to look for a peaceful solution.
0:10:43 > 0:10:48However, it's said the Ottomans took a pot shot at a British ship...
0:10:51 > 0:10:53..and then all hell broke loose.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57It finished with the sinking of the entire Ottoman fleet
0:10:57 > 0:10:59and the loss of their sailors.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06Admiral Codrington, the leader of the peaceful mission,
0:11:06 > 0:11:08got a huge telling-off
0:11:08 > 0:11:11by the politicians and the hierarchy back at home.
0:11:11 > 0:11:15After all, he was supposed to be a peace envoy.
0:11:15 > 0:11:19But without doubt, his actions, not that they would be copied today,
0:11:19 > 0:11:24shortened the war with the Ottomans and made Greek independence viable.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30The Greeks really loved Admiral Codrington.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33Notice, he's got pride of place.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36The other two, the French and the Russian, are just round the back.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57For some reason, I'm in a serious holiday mood.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00I think it's Greece, really.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04And this farm-cum-taverna run by Nakos and his wife Georgia
0:12:04 > 0:12:06is just a few miles from Pilos.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08You'd never find it.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11But I think it's what Greek dreams are made of -
0:12:11 > 0:12:13good food straight from the farm,
0:12:13 > 0:12:16home-made wine and a fabulous setting.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24Now this, this rooster, is the reason I'm here.
0:12:24 > 0:12:28Because there's a famous dish with chicken and pasta
0:12:28 > 0:12:30that I've heard about but never tasted.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34The basic rule here in this taverna
0:12:34 > 0:12:36is that if it's not reared and grown here,
0:12:36 > 0:12:38it's not on the menu.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43I couldn't help noticing wandering around the back of the taverna
0:12:43 > 0:12:46this fabulous garden, kitchen garden, I suppose.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49But just looking at it and there's loads of tomatoes growing,
0:12:49 > 0:12:52loads of beans, lots of onions,
0:12:52 > 0:12:55courgettes over there, aubergines over there.
0:12:56 > 0:12:57And I was thinking this, actually,
0:12:57 > 0:13:02is producing vegetables for the taverna.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05It's not like some of our trendy places back home
0:13:05 > 0:13:11with these very, very pretty herb gardens with a few vegetables.
0:13:11 > 0:13:12Is that for the kitchen
0:13:12 > 0:13:14or is it for the journalists?
0:13:20 > 0:13:22You can just tell by the look of this,
0:13:22 > 0:13:26this chicken is straight from the farmyard.
0:13:26 > 0:13:28That is how it's always been on farms.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31Let's face it, you're not going to kill a chicken
0:13:31 > 0:13:33and keep it in a bag for a couple of days.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35No, it's straight in the pot.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38Look at that skin, golden and fatty.
0:13:39 > 0:13:44Now, I've just learnt an important culinary process in Greece,
0:13:44 > 0:13:47which is called kapama, this dish.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50Basically it just means taking the rooster, a jointed rooster,
0:13:50 > 0:13:52and frying it in lots of olive oil.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54And I mean lots.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56And then adding tomato sauce and cinnamon
0:13:56 > 0:13:58and simmering it until all's cooked.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00Now, kapama means heavy.
0:14:01 > 0:14:03And I think it is going to be heavy.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07But they say it also means extremely delicious.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09And they serve it with a tiny pasta,
0:14:09 > 0:14:12which is just broken up pasta called hilopites.
0:14:12 > 0:14:14And the combination I know,
0:14:14 > 0:14:17because I've had it many times here, is wonderful.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22I love this pasta hilopites.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25Little squares of egg pasta made in the summer months,
0:14:25 > 0:14:28with whole-wheat flour mixed with milk
0:14:28 > 0:14:30and dried for use in the winter.
0:14:30 > 0:14:31It's lovely.
0:14:33 > 0:14:35Just this in a well-made stock
0:14:35 > 0:14:38and sprinkled with some mizithra cheese.
0:14:38 > 0:14:40It's a real delight.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49People say, "Oh, Greek food, it's too simple, it's too easy."
0:14:49 > 0:14:51But they miss the point
0:14:51 > 0:14:53when it's made with really good ingredients like this.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56Why would you want anything more complicated?
0:14:56 > 0:14:57It just works.
0:14:59 > 0:15:01By any standards, this was top-class food.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04The place was just right.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07And I've always said that I much prefer lunch to dinner
0:15:07 > 0:15:09any day of the week.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11A long lunch with friends,
0:15:11 > 0:15:13good wine and lovely food
0:15:13 > 0:15:17is one of the great reasons why we're put on this earth.
0:15:17 > 0:15:18I'm sure about that.
0:15:22 > 0:15:24- So what do you think? - I love this.
0:15:24 > 0:15:26It's really good. I love the...
0:15:26 > 0:15:28I mean, it's just one of those sort of like
0:15:28 > 0:15:30big, yummy dishes the Greeks do so well.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32Yamas! Yamas! Yamas!
0:15:34 > 0:15:37Yamas! Yamas! Yamas! Yamas! Yamas!
0:15:39 > 0:15:41I do think that wine goes really well with it.
0:15:41 > 0:15:43Don't you?
0:15:44 > 0:15:47I've got a friend called Colin who wants your job.
0:15:48 > 0:15:50He wants my job?
0:15:50 > 0:15:52Yeah, he says you're always going on your holidays.
0:15:54 > 0:15:56On my holidays?
0:15:56 > 0:15:57Really? Does it look like that?
0:15:57 > 0:16:01Eating, drinking wine, meeting great people along the way,
0:16:01 > 0:16:03having a fabulous time in filming land.
0:16:04 > 0:16:05Yes, I suppose I am!
0:16:05 > 0:16:07Yamas! Yamas! Yamas!
0:16:17 > 0:16:20So now it's time to cook in my lovely kitchen
0:16:20 > 0:16:22on the island of Symi.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25A dish that takes me back to when I was in my 20s.
0:16:25 > 0:16:29I remember it was particularly soothing first thing in the morning,
0:16:29 > 0:16:31after a heavy night on the retsina.
0:16:34 > 0:16:36This is galaktoboureko.
0:16:41 > 0:16:43So I'm making galaktoboureko,
0:16:43 > 0:16:47which is one of the most famous Greek puddings ever.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51And, basically, it's a baked semolina custard
0:16:51 > 0:16:54wrapped in crisp filo pastry.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57And it is absolutely delicious.
0:16:57 > 0:17:01And I actually cooked it for some friends of mine in Sydney
0:17:01 > 0:17:03and it was the star of the evening.
0:17:05 > 0:17:09I'm going to whip up the yolks with sugar and a bit of vanilla
0:17:09 > 0:17:12and then I'm going to fold in the whipped-up whites later,
0:17:12 > 0:17:15to give a lovely souffle-like semolina custard.
0:17:15 > 0:17:17And off we go...
0:17:21 > 0:17:23And what I'm looking to do here
0:17:23 > 0:17:28is to get a sort of white and fluffy look to my egg yolks and sugar.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31So that will take about five minutes.
0:17:34 > 0:17:36That's the right consistency now.
0:17:36 > 0:17:38I'm going to add my semolina
0:17:38 > 0:17:42and that just thickens the whole custard up and gives it body.
0:17:42 > 0:17:44So in that goes.
0:17:44 > 0:17:46And now a couple of ladlefuls of warm milk.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51And I'm now going to add that back into the milk
0:17:51 > 0:17:54and start cooking my custard until it all starts to thicken.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05That's really ready to go now.
0:18:05 > 0:18:07Just take that off the heat.
0:18:07 > 0:18:11Now I'm just going to whisk up some egg whites to fold into it.
0:18:14 > 0:18:18When this comes out of the oven, it will be puffed up like a souffle.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24And now to just fold in the egg whites...
0:18:26 > 0:18:29Galaktoboureko means custard pie.
0:18:29 > 0:18:33And what a difference between the traditional British custard pie,
0:18:33 > 0:18:35which I like, don't get me wrong,
0:18:35 > 0:18:37and the Greek.
0:18:37 > 0:18:38It's light and fluffy.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41Now, fold in the edges of the filo pastry.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44This will give it a really satisfying crunch
0:18:44 > 0:18:46to that soft, sweet centre.
0:18:47 > 0:18:49I know I've said this before,
0:18:49 > 0:18:50but when it comes to pies,
0:18:50 > 0:18:53the Greeks really know what they're doing.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55Just put plenty of butter on the top,
0:18:55 > 0:18:59so you get a nice, lovely glaze when it comes out of the oven.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02And we can go straight into the oven with that.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05It'll probably take about 40, 45 minutes.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10It goes extremely well with orange syrup.
0:19:10 > 0:19:16Basically, dissolve about 400 grams of caster sugar in 200ml of water
0:19:16 > 0:19:17and heat.
0:19:17 > 0:19:19Add the zest of three oranges
0:19:19 > 0:19:23and the juice of half a lemon.
0:19:23 > 0:19:28All you need now are thin slices of orange to make it look sublime.
0:19:29 > 0:19:30And that's it.
0:19:30 > 0:19:32The pie by now is cooked
0:19:32 > 0:19:35and the semolina custard has a healthy wobble to it.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39So that needs to cool until set.
0:19:39 > 0:19:41There you have it.
0:19:41 > 0:19:43It's a fab dish.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46The number one pudding throughout Greece.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48"Nostimo," as they say here.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50Or at home, "Yummo!"
0:19:58 > 0:20:01In the mountains above Pilos there's a taverna.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03It's really famous,
0:20:03 > 0:20:05not only for food,
0:20:05 > 0:20:07but for the music.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10It's where you can eat and drink and dance with abandon.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13It's the sort of place where, if you're like me,
0:20:13 > 0:20:17you discover it on the final night of your holiday and you think,
0:20:17 > 0:20:20"Why didn't we know about this earlier?"
0:20:20 > 0:20:23Like the best places, it's family-run
0:20:23 > 0:20:24and the food is rustic.
0:20:24 > 0:20:29To me, it's the sort of food you really want to eat on holiday.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32Stuffed courgette flowers with tomato sauce.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35Greek meatballs and chips.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38Stifado, that's a sort of Greek beef stew.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42Fried cheese called saganaki.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46Stuffed courgette flowers again,
0:20:46 > 0:20:47stuffed with minced spicy pork.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53Oh, and this lovely scrambled egg dish with fresh tomatoes and pork.
0:20:53 > 0:20:55It's called kayana.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57It's very popular.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59Pork and chips.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02The Greeks do the best chips in the world.
0:21:02 > 0:21:03Greek salads.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06Well, it wouldn't be Greece without a Greek salad.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09And vegetables cooked in a wood-fired oven.
0:21:11 > 0:21:13Souvlaki.
0:21:13 > 0:21:17Now this kebab brings me back to the first time I ever had Greek food.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21Pancakes with mizithra cheese.
0:21:21 > 0:21:22A classic local dish
0:21:22 > 0:21:25in which you have about five pancakes
0:21:25 > 0:21:28layered with this astringent cheese like a cake.
0:21:30 > 0:21:32Or a lovely pork chop.
0:21:33 > 0:21:37That's got to be for the film crew, because they're so adventurous!
0:21:39 > 0:21:42The evening's just warming up,
0:21:42 > 0:21:44but I came here hours ago
0:21:44 > 0:21:48because I wanted to see how they made this famous lamb dish.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51So I met up with Panayotis, who runs the place.
0:21:54 > 0:21:55- Yamas!- Yamas!
0:21:55 > 0:21:57- Cheers!- Cheers!
0:21:59 > 0:22:01- Crikey!- OK...
0:22:01 > 0:22:03It's very nice wine.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05So what are you cooking?
0:22:05 > 0:22:09OK, today we cook lamb with potatoes in the oven.
0:22:09 > 0:22:11- And in the wood oven?- Yes. OK?
0:22:11 > 0:22:13Let's begin.
0:22:13 > 0:22:14- Shall we start?- Yeah.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18I'm enjoying this. There's nothing to it.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21What a wonderful alternative to a bit of barbecuing, really.
0:22:21 > 0:22:25Just some potatoes, some lamb, a bit of oregano, salt, pepper,
0:22:25 > 0:22:27olive oil, lemon juice.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29Done, dusted, in the oven.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33I have to admit that this is one of those dishes
0:22:33 > 0:22:36I took away with me and cooked back in Cornwall.
0:22:36 > 0:22:41Why? Because it's really easy and wonderfully tasty.
0:22:41 > 0:22:45You can use a shoulder of lamb or, indeed, thick lamb chops.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48But the lamb must cook slowly and be ready
0:22:48 > 0:22:51without burning the potatoes.
0:22:51 > 0:22:53Important points...
0:22:53 > 0:22:56Don't stint on the olive oil, lemon juice or oregano.
0:22:58 > 0:23:02Don't forget the rosemary and garlic - about four cloves.
0:23:02 > 0:23:04And use plenty of seasoning.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07It's a no-trouble dish.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09Two hours in the oven.
0:23:09 > 0:23:11It's delicious.
0:23:22 > 0:23:24You know, people get a bit sort of like,
0:23:24 > 0:23:27"Oh, we love Greece, but the food..."
0:23:27 > 0:23:29I think, what?! What do you mean, "The food..."?
0:23:29 > 0:23:31You know?
0:23:31 > 0:23:33It's not Thailand, it's not Italy.
0:23:33 > 0:23:35It's Greece!
0:23:35 > 0:23:37And the food is appropriate to Greece
0:23:37 > 0:23:40and once you get into the sort of frame of Greece,
0:23:40 > 0:23:42it's the best food ever.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55THEY SING IN GREEK
0:24:04 > 0:24:06I think this would make a jolly good advertisement
0:24:06 > 0:24:08for our National Health Service.
0:24:08 > 0:24:14Here we are, men all in our 60s, leaping around like spring lambs.
0:24:14 > 0:24:18The tall man, the better dancer, is an olive farmer.
0:24:18 > 0:24:22I'm sure it's the olive oil that keeps his knees going.
0:24:22 > 0:24:26That, a healthy diet of fish and the odd glass of wine...
0:24:26 > 0:24:29Yes, it's the much-talked-about Rick Stein diet!
0:24:29 > 0:24:33PLATES SMASH ON THE GROUND
0:24:51 > 0:24:52Well done, Ricky!
0:24:52 > 0:24:53Cheers...!
0:24:56 > 0:24:58There's one dish I saw being cooked in that taverna
0:24:58 > 0:25:02which is served from the poshest hotel restaurants
0:25:02 > 0:25:05to the little taverna next door to the bus station.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08It's so popular and it's...
0:25:08 > 0:25:10cheese saganaki.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15First thing to do is to coat the cheese in semolina.
0:25:15 > 0:25:17This, as you're probably thinking,
0:25:17 > 0:25:20is not a terribly difficult thing to cook.
0:25:21 > 0:25:24The accompaniment I best like with this fried cheese
0:25:24 > 0:25:29is honey and black sesame seeds and a little bit of oregano, of course.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32So I've got my pan hot here. Just add some olive oil.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35I think the secret with cooking the kefalotiri
0:25:35 > 0:25:38is not to cook it too much.
0:25:38 > 0:25:40So it's a sort of lovely combination
0:25:40 > 0:25:42of slightly molten cheese on the outside
0:25:42 > 0:25:44and firmer cheese inside.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47And you get this lovely satisfying combination.
0:25:51 > 0:25:53So those are just about done.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56So they go just straight into my serving dish.
0:25:58 > 0:26:02And now to heat up some honey.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06Greek honey is quite wonderful.
0:26:06 > 0:26:08A revelation.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11Honey and Greek yoghurt, the best breakfast there is.
0:26:14 > 0:26:17They always seem to do it with black sesame seeds,
0:26:17 > 0:26:19but it's just very nice with ordinary sesame seeds, too.
0:26:19 > 0:26:21I just think the black ones
0:26:21 > 0:26:24look very spectacular on top of the cheese.
0:26:26 > 0:26:27I don't know why,
0:26:27 > 0:26:30but it's just a very satisfying combination of flavours.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35I've only come across this dish on this trip.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38I mean, I don't remember it in the early days in the '70s in Greece.
0:26:38 > 0:26:40I'm finishing off with a bit of oregano.
0:26:40 > 0:26:43Now, actually, the way it's most often served is char-grilled.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46But I just think it's much better fried like this.
0:26:46 > 0:26:48It's delish.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51The cheese to use is kefalotiri or halloumi.
0:27:02 > 0:27:06The Taygetos Mountains made the southern border
0:27:06 > 0:27:08of the famous Spartan empire.
0:27:08 > 0:27:09It was like a wall.
0:27:09 > 0:27:13Whoever fancied attacking Sparti from the south
0:27:13 > 0:27:15had to get over this lot.
0:27:15 > 0:27:17Full of chasms, ravines,
0:27:17 > 0:27:20with nigh-on impenetrable passes.
0:27:20 > 0:27:22CAR HORN BLARES
0:27:22 > 0:27:24And if you were mad enough,
0:27:24 > 0:27:27you then have to face the deadliest fighting force on earth,
0:27:27 > 0:27:29the Spartans.
0:27:31 > 0:27:36Men of few words, who were trained in the art of battle since infancy.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39While much of Greece had quite a sophisticated diet,
0:27:39 > 0:27:41from what I've heard,
0:27:41 > 0:27:46most of the Spartan soldiers ate black broth called melas zomos.
0:27:47 > 0:27:52It was made with salt, vinegar, pigs' legs and blood.
0:27:52 > 0:27:54Lots of blood.
0:27:54 > 0:27:56By all accounts, it was horrible.
0:27:56 > 0:27:58But then again, it was a challenge.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01It wasn't for the weak-spirited.
0:28:01 > 0:28:03In the words of an Italian gourmand,
0:28:03 > 0:28:07"No wonder they didn't fear death after eating this awful soup!"
0:28:15 > 0:28:17I'm going to the Byzantine city of Mystras,
0:28:17 > 0:28:20built overlooking the Plain of Sparta,
0:28:20 > 0:28:22on the side of the Taygetos Mountains.
0:28:26 > 0:28:28It was often mistaken for Sparta,
0:28:28 > 0:28:31although it was built a mere 1,400 years
0:28:31 > 0:28:34after the Spartans had been and gone.
0:28:34 > 0:28:36It was a thriving place to do business,
0:28:36 > 0:28:39famous for silk and mulberry trees.
0:28:44 > 0:28:48Sometimes I find ruins a bit hard to imagine what it was all like before.
0:28:48 > 0:28:50But here at Mystras, I get it.
0:28:50 > 0:28:54I mean, this was the second most important Byzantine city
0:28:54 > 0:28:58in the empire after Constantinople.
0:28:58 > 0:29:01And there was 40,000 people that lived here.
0:29:01 > 0:29:05And just walking round the streets, you get that sense of it.
0:29:05 > 0:29:08And also, for me, a sense of the food
0:29:08 > 0:29:12and sort of almost an idea of the smell of cooking.
0:29:12 > 0:29:17And the smell of cooking to me would be very much imbued with spice,
0:29:17 > 0:29:21because the Byzantines brought spice from the Eastern world
0:29:21 > 0:29:24into places like Mystras and Constantinople.
0:29:24 > 0:29:28And funny enough, this morning I was just coming here,
0:29:28 > 0:29:29ordered a coffee,
0:29:29 > 0:29:32there was some cinnamon straight in the coffee.
0:29:32 > 0:29:34I thought, "Well, that's what it's all about."
0:29:34 > 0:29:36The other thing, of course,
0:29:36 > 0:29:41the Byzantines introduced a certain item into their cooking
0:29:41 > 0:29:44which hitherto had not been used because,
0:29:44 > 0:29:46in the western part of Christianity,
0:29:46 > 0:29:49they regarded it as a symbol of the devil
0:29:49 > 0:29:51because it represented a trident.
0:29:51 > 0:29:53Yes, the fork!
0:29:59 > 0:30:01For centuries, in Britain, too,
0:30:01 > 0:30:04the fork was regarded with great scorn.
0:30:04 > 0:30:08People ate with sharp daggers and their bare hands
0:30:08 > 0:30:13and the fork was deemed far too fancy and not manly enough.
0:30:26 > 0:30:28Well, this should be fun.
0:30:28 > 0:30:31The local gastronomic society have invited me for dinner.
0:30:31 > 0:30:34And the theme is going to be Byzantine food,
0:30:34 > 0:30:36so I'm really looking forward to it.
0:30:37 > 0:30:41It was the local gastronomic society of Preveza,
0:30:41 > 0:30:43a town further north, that invited me.
0:30:43 > 0:30:47Its president and cook is Pavlos Alexandrou.
0:30:47 > 0:30:49I'm looking forward to this food, I must say.
0:30:49 > 0:30:51- Come inside.- Thank you. Thank you.
0:30:56 > 0:30:59Pavlos told me this is an authentic recipe
0:30:59 > 0:31:01dating back nearly 1,000 years.
0:31:03 > 0:31:07It's beef cooked with wine and some vinegar,
0:31:07 > 0:31:10black pepper, sea salt...
0:31:13 > 0:31:15..orange juice,
0:31:15 > 0:31:18a lovely mixture of sweet and sour.
0:31:20 > 0:31:21Cumin.
0:31:23 > 0:31:24Lavender.
0:31:24 > 0:31:25Yes, lavender.
0:31:26 > 0:31:28And finally honey.
0:31:29 > 0:31:32The dish is called beef oxymeli
0:31:32 > 0:31:35and it reminds me of a lot of old English cooking.
0:31:35 > 0:31:37And that, probably,
0:31:37 > 0:31:40would have come back with the Crusaders from the East.
0:31:40 > 0:31:45A mixture of sweet, savoury and spice.
0:31:48 > 0:31:50And so it was time to eat.
0:31:50 > 0:31:52There were other dishes there, too, apart from the beef.
0:31:52 > 0:31:56There was rabbit fried and cooked with wine.
0:31:56 > 0:31:58And kokoretsi,
0:31:58 > 0:32:03that's the shepherds' dish made from grilled intestines from young lambs.
0:32:03 > 0:32:05And bream with fennel,
0:32:05 > 0:32:09covered with Greece's most famous sauce, avgolemono.
0:32:09 > 0:32:12Egg and lemon, of course. That's lovely.
0:32:13 > 0:32:17But you know it's a bit difficult because, as far as I knew,
0:32:17 > 0:32:20no-one spoke any English.
0:32:20 > 0:32:23And so it was quite hard for me to show my appreciation.
0:32:24 > 0:32:25Fortunately, Nathalie,
0:32:25 > 0:32:28one of the younger guests, spoke English.
0:32:28 > 0:32:30Saved!
0:32:30 > 0:32:33HE SPEAKS IN GREEK
0:32:39 > 0:32:41What did you say?
0:32:41 > 0:32:43He said,
0:32:43 > 0:32:47"Well, thank you for coming here in Preveza for visiting us.
0:32:47 > 0:32:49"And was it nice?
0:32:49 > 0:32:50"Did you like it?"
0:32:52 > 0:32:53I liked it very much.
0:32:53 > 0:32:55OK, thank you.
0:32:55 > 0:32:57What did you like?
0:32:57 > 0:32:58Well, everything.
0:32:58 > 0:33:01- But more than that... - More specifical?
0:33:01 > 0:33:03- Specifically?- Yeah.
0:33:03 > 0:33:06I liked the beef with the honey and the orange with the cumin in it.
0:33:06 > 0:33:09Very Byzantine, I'd say that was.
0:33:09 > 0:33:11Agvolemono. Can you pronounce...
0:33:11 > 0:33:12Avgolemono.
0:33:12 > 0:33:13Avgo lemono.
0:33:13 > 0:33:15Oh, no, avgolemono.
0:33:15 > 0:33:17Right. Egg and lemon.
0:33:17 > 0:33:19And I loved the kokoretsi.
0:33:19 > 0:33:21I didn't think I would, but I did.
0:33:21 > 0:33:23I loved the rabbit. I loved the beans.
0:33:23 > 0:33:25I loved the fish. Everything!
0:33:25 > 0:33:26Everything!
0:33:26 > 0:33:28- Thank you.- Thank you.
0:33:28 > 0:33:29- Yamas!- Yamas!
0:33:29 > 0:33:31- OK!- OK.
0:33:31 > 0:33:35- Yamas, yamas.- Yamas.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50This is a bit of hero worship for me,
0:33:50 > 0:33:53because it's the home of Patrick Leigh Fermor.
0:33:53 > 0:33:57He was an adventurer and a great travel writer.
0:33:57 > 0:34:01As a young man, he walked the length of Europe to Istanbul.
0:34:01 > 0:34:05He was also a hero in the true sense of the word.
0:34:05 > 0:34:09His exploits in the Second World War were made into a film in the '50s
0:34:09 > 0:34:11starring Dirk Bogarde.
0:34:11 > 0:34:13It was a story of derring-do.
0:34:13 > 0:34:18A young and dashing British officer kidnaps a German general.
0:34:18 > 0:34:20Unheard of, but true.
0:34:26 > 0:34:29Patrick Leigh Fermor is one of those Englishmen
0:34:29 > 0:34:31who the Greeks take to their heart,
0:34:31 > 0:34:36like Byron, like Admiral Codrington and Gerald Durrell.
0:34:36 > 0:34:38The Greeks are like that.
0:34:38 > 0:34:41But once you're their friend, you're their friend for ever.
0:34:46 > 0:34:48Wow...
0:34:48 > 0:34:51I've heard about his study,
0:34:51 > 0:34:53but to come here is just fabulous.
0:34:53 > 0:34:58I mean, my first feeling is like he's just sort of left
0:34:58 > 0:35:01to go and buy something down in the village.
0:35:01 > 0:35:03A bottle of ouzo or something.
0:35:03 > 0:35:07I mean, I just love studies like this,
0:35:07 > 0:35:10where everything's left as it was and you get such an impression
0:35:10 > 0:35:14of what somebody is like by their books, more than anything else.
0:35:14 > 0:35:18I mean, there we've got Deborah Devonshire,
0:35:18 > 0:35:20his best friend.
0:35:20 > 0:35:22They wrote to each other all the time.
0:35:22 > 0:35:25And over there it says, "own books".
0:35:25 > 0:35:26Oh, I like the look of that.
0:35:28 > 0:35:32I mean, he was a man of prodigious intelligence, incredible memory.
0:35:32 > 0:35:35He used to have dinner parties, large dinner parties.
0:35:35 > 0:35:38He loved people,
0:35:38 > 0:35:41loved talking, he drank quite a lot, smoked a lot.
0:35:41 > 0:35:45And somebody told me, I'm sure this is going too far
0:35:45 > 0:35:47but, at one dinner party,
0:35:47 > 0:35:49he recited The Owl And The Pussycat
0:35:49 > 0:35:52in Hindustani backwards.
0:35:52 > 0:35:54That's the sort of man he was.
0:35:54 > 0:35:57Oh, look, here we are...
0:35:57 > 0:35:59Winnie The Pooh in Latin, of course.
0:35:59 > 0:36:01Couldn't just be in English.
0:36:01 > 0:36:04He's got laurel leaves and a toga on!
0:36:05 > 0:36:07So what else have we got here?
0:36:07 > 0:36:10Bruce Chatwin really, really got on well with him.
0:36:10 > 0:36:12John Betjeman.
0:36:12 > 0:36:15Two John Betjemans.
0:36:15 > 0:36:17Jamaica Inn, very dear to my own heart.
0:36:17 > 0:36:21I just get such a sense of him.
0:36:21 > 0:36:25I mean, lovely just to see the books that were really special to him.
0:36:25 > 0:36:27And I know I would have liked him.
0:36:30 > 0:36:35This is Elpida, Patrick Leigh Fermor's housekeeper and cook.
0:36:35 > 0:36:39And this is her famous moussaka.
0:36:39 > 0:36:43You can't have a programme about Greek food without moussaka.
0:36:45 > 0:36:46Elpida...
0:36:48 > 0:36:51Did Patrick Leigh Fermor, did he like a moussaka?
0:36:51 > 0:36:53He didn't like it at all.
0:36:53 > 0:36:56But once I made it. I cook it without telling it to him.
0:36:56 > 0:37:01And I made a pot for four and he ate it all
0:37:01 > 0:37:04and then he asked me, "What was that? It was delicious."
0:37:04 > 0:37:06And I said, "It was moussaka."
0:37:06 > 0:37:08And he said, "Moussaka?! I hate moussaka!
0:37:08 > 0:37:09"I have never eaten moussaka!
0:37:09 > 0:37:13"But from now on, I will eat it from you."
0:37:13 > 0:37:14And he asked me to cook it again.
0:37:14 > 0:37:19Elpida told me her secret of a good authentic moussaka
0:37:19 > 0:37:22is to fry all the vegetables in olive oil first.
0:37:22 > 0:37:28That's potatoes, the aubergines and courgettes.
0:37:29 > 0:37:32Put aside and let them cool and drain.
0:37:34 > 0:37:37Now, the minced lamb, fried in onion and garlic.
0:37:38 > 0:37:42She uses a good half dozen of these big, juicy tomatoes.
0:37:44 > 0:37:47There's no water, just the juice of the tomatoes.
0:37:47 > 0:37:49Lots of seasoning.
0:37:49 > 0:37:51A cinnamon stick.
0:37:51 > 0:37:53And a bay leaf.
0:37:58 > 0:38:01To be honest, I've never had moussaka with potato before, but...
0:38:01 > 0:38:03- Really?- No, I never.
0:38:03 > 0:38:07But it's really, moussaka to me, almost a vegetarian dish.
0:38:07 > 0:38:09I know it's got lots of mince in it,
0:38:09 > 0:38:11but it's really about these lovely Greek vegetables
0:38:11 > 0:38:13cooked in olive oil.
0:38:13 > 0:38:15- Don't you think?- Yeah.
0:38:15 > 0:38:18And also, I notice you really fry the veg first.
0:38:20 > 0:38:22Yes, because it's a better taste.
0:38:22 > 0:38:24It gives a better taste.
0:38:24 > 0:38:26And is that the secret of a good moussaka?
0:38:26 > 0:38:27Yeah, absolutely.
0:38:27 > 0:38:29I thought so. I thought so.
0:38:29 > 0:38:33And have you got any more, Elpida, secrets of a moussaka?
0:38:33 > 0:38:36My secret is about the mincemeat.
0:38:36 > 0:38:39I cook it only with fresh tomatoes and without water at all.
0:38:39 > 0:38:40Without water?
0:38:40 > 0:38:42I cook it only with the tomato juice.
0:38:44 > 0:38:46Excuse me, but your shirt is wet.
0:38:46 > 0:38:47Oh, blimey!
0:38:47 > 0:38:49But it is blinking hot here. It really is.
0:38:49 > 0:38:51I mean, I thought Mediterranean heat,
0:38:51 > 0:38:53not like India when we were filming there, drenched in sweat.
0:38:53 > 0:38:55But it is hot.
0:38:55 > 0:38:57- Yeah. I'm like that as well. - Oh, good on you.
0:38:59 > 0:39:01I just get a bit embarrassed, really.
0:39:01 > 0:39:03Because, you know, lots of presenters
0:39:03 > 0:39:05have new shirts all the time
0:39:05 > 0:39:07and it looks like they never sweat.
0:39:07 > 0:39:08I just seem to spend all my time...
0:39:08 > 0:39:10You can't do anything about it.
0:39:10 > 0:39:13- It's the climate. - It is the climate.
0:39:13 > 0:39:14I like you.
0:39:17 > 0:39:21So, I'm sure you know about layering the dish.
0:39:21 > 0:39:23First of all, potatoes,
0:39:23 > 0:39:25then a coating of minced lamb...
0:39:26 > 0:39:28..aubergines...
0:39:30 > 0:39:32..more mince...
0:39:33 > 0:39:35..and finally courgettes.
0:39:39 > 0:39:42Now, add the remainder of the mince on top.
0:39:46 > 0:39:50This is followed by a very creamy bechamel sauce,
0:39:50 > 0:39:54maybe 200 grams of butter and the same of flour.
0:39:55 > 0:39:57Add more flour if necessary.
0:39:58 > 0:40:01Put in about a litre and a half of full-fat milk.
0:40:03 > 0:40:06You need lots of this sauce to be layered on top
0:40:06 > 0:40:08to make it really creamy.
0:40:08 > 0:40:11Whisk it until it's thick and smooth.
0:40:13 > 0:40:15Turn off the heat,
0:40:15 > 0:40:18because you don't want the three beaten eggs to scramble.
0:40:19 > 0:40:23Season well with lots of pepper and salt
0:40:23 > 0:40:26and then three-quarters of a teaspoon of nutmeg.
0:40:26 > 0:40:30Once that's done, grate, if you can get it,
0:40:30 > 0:40:32some graviera cheese.
0:40:32 > 0:40:36It's a hard sheep's milk cheese, a bit like manchego.
0:40:42 > 0:40:45Now then, how long in the oven, Elpida?
0:40:45 > 0:40:46How long?
0:40:46 > 0:40:48How about 20 minutes, half an hour?
0:40:48 > 0:40:50- OK.- Just to get brown on the top.
0:40:50 > 0:40:52- We can wait.- Yeah.
0:40:53 > 0:40:58Finally, a little blessing of the grated graviera cheese.
0:41:04 > 0:41:08And here it is in all its golden glory.
0:41:08 > 0:41:10A good moussaka home-made
0:41:10 > 0:41:13is a rare and many-splendored thing.
0:41:16 > 0:41:20Well, I think you know what I'm going to say.
0:41:20 > 0:41:24It's the best moussaka I've ever tasted. No question about it.
0:41:24 > 0:41:28I think what I really love about it is it's so light.
0:41:28 > 0:41:30It's just light as a feather.
0:41:30 > 0:41:33I think this is making me very excited,
0:41:33 > 0:41:37because what I want to say is people are quite rude about Greek food,
0:41:37 > 0:41:41but they don't get to taste a moussaka like this.
0:41:41 > 0:41:44I mean, this is seriously a world-class dish,
0:41:44 > 0:41:45the way you've cooked it.
0:41:45 > 0:41:48- I believe that. - OK, well, cheers! Yamas!
0:41:48 > 0:41:49Yamas!
0:41:49 > 0:41:51By the way, what's your favourite English dish?
0:41:52 > 0:41:54Chicken curry.
0:41:54 > 0:41:55Chicken curry?
0:41:55 > 0:41:57- Yes!- I like it.
0:42:07 > 0:42:11I don't particularly care for these road signs.
0:42:11 > 0:42:13If I was on a camping holiday here,
0:42:13 > 0:42:16I think it could well upset the missus.
0:42:16 > 0:42:20I'm sure it's just a playful bit of target practice,
0:42:20 > 0:42:23but it helps reinforce the feelings that this area
0:42:23 > 0:42:26for hundreds, many, many hundreds of years,
0:42:26 > 0:42:29was a land of brigands, pirates,
0:42:29 > 0:42:31cut-throats and, by and large,
0:42:31 > 0:42:35some extremely difficult but resilient people.
0:42:37 > 0:42:40The Turks ruled Greece for centuries,
0:42:40 > 0:42:43but they gave this area, the Mani, a wide berth.
0:42:46 > 0:42:49I'm not taking my eyes off this infernal road.
0:42:49 > 0:42:50I can't stand heights.
0:42:52 > 0:42:54Down there somewhere at the bottom
0:42:54 > 0:42:57is one of the most important places in Greek mythology.
0:42:57 > 0:43:01It's the entrance to Hades, the gateway to hell.
0:43:04 > 0:43:07I'm travelling with Rupert Smith, a classical scholar
0:43:07 > 0:43:12and one of those Englishmen who relish morsels of Greek history
0:43:12 > 0:43:15like a cormorant with a shoal of sprats.
0:43:17 > 0:43:20I'm pretty glad this is a paved road, I must say,
0:43:20 > 0:43:24because I'm not a great lover of hairy roads like this, but...
0:43:24 > 0:43:28- It's a good view from this side of the car, I can tell you.- Oh, I bet.
0:43:28 > 0:43:31I'm sorry, but I'm enjoying being the other side.
0:43:39 > 0:43:41God, that is so special.
0:43:41 > 0:43:42It's pretty good, isn't it?
0:43:42 > 0:43:45So this is somewhere not many tourists get to.
0:43:45 > 0:43:46It's a village called Mundanistika.
0:43:46 > 0:43:48Mundanistika?
0:43:49 > 0:43:52The people of Mani mainly fought either between villages,
0:43:52 > 0:43:55the various clan chieftains fighting each other,
0:43:55 > 0:43:57or within villages,
0:43:57 > 0:44:00hence each house having its own tower.
0:44:00 > 0:44:02So, like, these are two neighbours.
0:44:02 > 0:44:04They would be shooting at each other?
0:44:04 > 0:44:06They could be, yeah, if they were having a feud, a vendetta.
0:44:06 > 0:44:08The towers, pretty as they may be,
0:44:08 > 0:44:12are an indication of what a vicious and violent place this was to live.
0:44:12 > 0:44:15They were permanently fighting each other for this barren land.
0:44:15 > 0:44:17You can see over here, tiny little terraces.
0:44:17 > 0:44:19What's it worth fighting for?
0:44:19 > 0:44:20Because that was all they had.
0:44:20 > 0:44:22You know, they didn't have any lush meadows.
0:44:22 > 0:44:24They just had these hillsides,
0:44:24 > 0:44:26which they had to chop up into tiny terraces,
0:44:26 > 0:44:28you know, just to support themselves.
0:44:28 > 0:44:31And that's how life went on.
0:44:31 > 0:44:33They'd stop occasionally, they would have a truce or tregua,
0:44:33 > 0:44:36using the Italian word, for some reason,
0:44:36 > 0:44:38when they needed to go and bring in the harvest
0:44:38 > 0:44:41or if there was a funeral or a baptism or a marriage.
0:44:41 > 0:44:43You know, life had to go on in that respect.
0:44:43 > 0:44:45They had to feed themselves and marry each other and what have you.
0:44:45 > 0:44:47In fact, there was one extraordinary case
0:44:47 > 0:44:49where two families are fighting,
0:44:49 > 0:44:51they were actually from different villages,
0:44:51 > 0:44:55there was one family from the north fighting another in the south,
0:44:55 > 0:44:58shooting at each other across a very narrow area
0:44:58 > 0:45:03and one of the attackers saw a woman who was going back and forth.
0:45:03 > 0:45:06A young woman, going back and forth,
0:45:06 > 0:45:09in and out of the tower where the defenders were,
0:45:09 > 0:45:11and he thought, "Cor, I like her."
0:45:11 > 0:45:13And he said, "Right, stop! I want to have a truce.
0:45:13 > 0:45:15"I want to marry that girl."
0:45:15 > 0:45:17- And...- I don't believe it!
0:45:17 > 0:45:19They stopped,
0:45:19 > 0:45:20they called the priest
0:45:20 > 0:45:23and they were married right there, bang, in the middle of the battle.
0:45:23 > 0:45:26And then they went back to shooting each other.
0:45:28 > 0:45:30I've never been to a place like it.
0:45:30 > 0:45:32It's like a ghost village.
0:45:32 > 0:45:35Just looking into one of these houses...
0:45:35 > 0:45:36Will it be a kitchen?
0:45:36 > 0:45:39I don't know. But there are all the clues.
0:45:39 > 0:45:43Mostly to the drudgery that was the women's work.
0:45:43 > 0:45:47Harvesting the grains, crushing the olives, making the bread.
0:45:47 > 0:45:50The men would be keeping lookout
0:45:50 > 0:45:53and having the odd pot-shot from tower to tower.
0:45:55 > 0:46:00Life, like the landscape, was as hard as it gets.
0:46:00 > 0:46:01Why didn't they pack up
0:46:01 > 0:46:03and go to Missolonghi or go to Athens or something?
0:46:03 > 0:46:05I think they would say,
0:46:05 > 0:46:06"Freedom is the answer."
0:46:06 > 0:46:09They could live the way they wanted to live,
0:46:09 > 0:46:12you know, not bothered by whoever was in charge, mainly the Ottomans.
0:46:12 > 0:46:14When the Greek War of Independence came along,
0:46:14 > 0:46:17they had their own rallying cry, separate from the rest of Greece.
0:46:17 > 0:46:21The rest of Greece had a rallying cry, "Freedom or death!"
0:46:21 > 0:46:22Whereas the people of Mani,
0:46:22 > 0:46:24because they felt they were already free,
0:46:24 > 0:46:26talked about, "Victory or death!"
0:46:26 > 0:46:28So, you know, that was their view.
0:46:28 > 0:46:30They were free. The rest of Greece was in chains.
0:46:30 > 0:46:32It doesn't look like it, but in a way,
0:46:32 > 0:46:34I'm sort of thinking of Cornwall now, really.
0:46:34 > 0:46:36Because, in a way, Cornwall's like a peninsula
0:46:36 > 0:46:38off the end of the rest of Britain,
0:46:38 > 0:46:41and there's a certain sense of independence
0:46:41 > 0:46:43and individuality about it.
0:46:43 > 0:46:45Topographically, it's extremely similar.
0:46:45 > 0:46:48If you carpeted this in sort of green and flowers,
0:46:48 > 0:46:50you would have Cornwall.
0:46:50 > 0:46:52Shall Trelawny live?
0:46:52 > 0:46:54Shall Trelawny die?
0:46:54 > 0:46:57There's 40,000 Cornishmen will know the reason why!
0:46:59 > 0:47:00Victory or death!
0:47:00 > 0:47:02Victory or death!
0:47:07 > 0:47:11We spent a long time up in that almost deserted village.
0:47:11 > 0:47:14And we met one of the only inhabitants,
0:47:14 > 0:47:15who gave us some superb
0:47:15 > 0:47:18wild mountain oregano to take home with us.
0:47:19 > 0:47:23They say the generosity of the Maniots is second to none.
0:47:23 > 0:47:26I've often found that, the harder the landscape,
0:47:26 > 0:47:28the more generous the people are.
0:47:33 > 0:47:38I honestly had no idea this beautiful place was here.
0:47:38 > 0:47:42But for me, it cried out like a siren from the Odyssey,
0:47:42 > 0:47:43"Come to me!
0:47:43 > 0:47:45"I've got fresh sardines waiting for you!"
0:47:49 > 0:47:51This is how I think of Greece.
0:47:51 > 0:47:54Look at those little darlings straight from the grill.
0:47:55 > 0:47:59A carafe of cold retsina and the inevitable Greek salad,
0:47:59 > 0:48:02which I eat every day with great delight.
0:48:06 > 0:48:09I was looking at what we call the call sheet,
0:48:09 > 0:48:12which is what you have every day to see what's happening and it says,
0:48:12 > 0:48:15"Travel through the Mani with Rupert
0:48:15 > 0:48:19"talking about the village with the towers in it."
0:48:19 > 0:48:21It was really interesting.
0:48:21 > 0:48:23But then he just said,
0:48:23 > 0:48:24"Actually, I had some very nice sardines
0:48:24 > 0:48:26"at this place called Quail Bay."
0:48:26 > 0:48:28- Is it Quail Bay? - Port of the Quails, yeah.
0:48:28 > 0:48:31And as soon as I heard fresh sardines, I thought,
0:48:31 > 0:48:33"Hm, history is one thing.
0:48:33 > 0:48:35"Fresh sardines is something totally different."
0:48:35 > 0:48:38And I had in my mind all I wanted,
0:48:38 > 0:48:39fresh sardines, Greek salad
0:48:39 > 0:48:41and Greek chips.
0:48:41 > 0:48:44Greeks make the best chips in the world.
0:48:44 > 0:48:48I don't know whether it's the waxy potatoes or what they cook them in.
0:48:48 > 0:48:49Always fresh.
0:48:49 > 0:48:51They never taste as good back home.
0:48:51 > 0:48:53Well, ours are all right, but...
0:48:53 > 0:48:55Seriously, I'm in heaven.
0:48:56 > 0:49:00And I want to cook now a dish that I think would certainly be recognised
0:49:00 > 0:49:03by the people who tended those terraces
0:49:03 > 0:49:05overlooking the sea many years ago.
0:49:08 > 0:49:12So in my kitchen on the Island of Symi, let us begin...
0:49:13 > 0:49:15That is gigantes stew.
0:49:15 > 0:49:18Big beans with spinach and tomato.
0:49:24 > 0:49:27So first of all, I've just got lots of olive oil,
0:49:27 > 0:49:29because these dishes are characterised
0:49:29 > 0:49:31by a great deal of olive oil,
0:49:31 > 0:49:35in a pan with, first of all, some garlic and onion.
0:49:35 > 0:49:39But the ingredient that I remember best about this stew,
0:49:39 > 0:49:42which you find all over Greece, is wild oregano.
0:49:42 > 0:49:44Rigani, as the Greeks name it.
0:49:44 > 0:49:47Now you find this dish all over Greece.
0:49:47 > 0:49:49But this one is a memory for me of the Mani.
0:49:49 > 0:49:51And the smell of it...
0:49:51 > 0:49:54When you look at the barrenness of that village
0:49:54 > 0:49:56and you look at the vegetation around it...
0:49:56 > 0:50:00And, in fact, the vegetation in much of the Mani, it's so barren.
0:50:00 > 0:50:04You think, "How could anything grow there?" But it does.
0:50:04 > 0:50:08So there we have the fried garlic and onions,
0:50:08 > 0:50:09the oregano.
0:50:09 > 0:50:12And next I'm going to add some paprika and tomato.
0:50:14 > 0:50:19And a good teaspoon or so of tomato puree.
0:50:20 > 0:50:24And now I'm just going to chop some tomatoes to go in there, too.
0:50:26 > 0:50:29I first had this dish in Epirus in northern Greece
0:50:29 > 0:50:31and it was lovely.
0:50:31 > 0:50:34But the flavours really came alive for me
0:50:34 > 0:50:39as my journey took me further south into guaranteed sunshine.
0:50:39 > 0:50:42Sunshine really makes things taste better.
0:50:43 > 0:50:45Locals collect wild herbs
0:50:45 > 0:50:49the same way as they collect the wild greens or horta,
0:50:49 > 0:50:52which goes very well with the giant butter beans.
0:50:52 > 0:50:54But I'm opting for spinach here
0:50:54 > 0:50:57because it's much more readily available at home.
0:51:01 > 0:51:04Sometimes, gigantes comes with spinach, sometimes without.
0:51:04 > 0:51:06But I'm doing it with spinach.
0:51:06 > 0:51:08I'm just turning it over a little bit.
0:51:08 > 0:51:10And it's very simple to cook.
0:51:10 > 0:51:13You just let it wilt down in its own steam.
0:51:13 > 0:51:15So that'll take about two or three minutes.
0:51:18 > 0:51:20So that's really wilted down nicely.
0:51:20 > 0:51:23Spinach like this is almost a sauce
0:51:23 > 0:51:25and I know, in a lot of Indian dishes,
0:51:25 > 0:51:28they use spinach just to thicken the sauce.
0:51:28 > 0:51:31And that's really what's happening here, too.
0:51:31 > 0:51:33So that's ready to go into my casserole.
0:51:33 > 0:51:35But first of all, my gigantes,
0:51:35 > 0:51:37my big butter beans,
0:51:37 > 0:51:40which I've cooked for about an hour, an hour and a half,
0:51:40 > 0:51:44at a very gentle pace, so they become tender, but don't break up.
0:51:44 > 0:51:48And now for my spinach and tomato sauce.
0:51:48 > 0:51:49Stir that in.
0:51:49 > 0:51:51Now, I now need to put some more seasoning in,
0:51:51 > 0:51:53because I didn't cook those beans in salted water.
0:51:53 > 0:51:55So quite a lot of salt in there now.
0:52:00 > 0:52:02Some pepper.
0:52:02 > 0:52:04There we go. And now a bit more water.
0:52:04 > 0:52:06It's a little bit dry.
0:52:06 > 0:52:10But I want a really tight sauce when this all finishes.
0:52:10 > 0:52:13And finally, some more olive oil.
0:52:13 > 0:52:15Can't have enough olive oil in this dish.
0:52:15 > 0:52:18Perfect, perfect dish for good-quality Greek olive oil.
0:52:18 > 0:52:20Give it a final stir.
0:52:21 > 0:52:24On goes the lid.
0:52:24 > 0:52:27And now into a sort of low to medium oven
0:52:27 > 0:52:29for, well...
0:52:30 > 0:52:32..really almost as long as I like.
0:52:32 > 0:52:34Time to go for a swim, at least.
0:52:40 > 0:52:42A couple of thousand years ago,
0:52:42 > 0:52:45there was a Roman poet called Martial,
0:52:45 > 0:52:49who I would have got on terribly well with.
0:52:49 > 0:52:51He said,
0:52:51 > 0:52:55"If pale beans bubble for you in a red earthenware pots,
0:52:55 > 0:53:00"you can oft decline the dinners of sumptuous hosts."
0:53:01 > 0:53:02How true is that!
0:53:03 > 0:53:06These Romans really knew their stuff.
0:53:06 > 0:53:10There's nothing new gastronomically, except foam!
0:53:10 > 0:53:12And that won't be around for long.
0:53:12 > 0:53:15Now, some feta and parsley.
0:53:24 > 0:53:26This is the town of Areopolis,
0:53:26 > 0:53:30named after Ares, the god of war.
0:53:30 > 0:53:34This is where the battle started for Greek independence.
0:53:34 > 0:53:37These Maniots were as tough as old boots.
0:53:37 > 0:53:40Petrobey, the head guy here,
0:53:40 > 0:53:43took on the Turks and gave them a bloody nose.
0:53:43 > 0:53:46It was like a bolt of electricity,
0:53:46 > 0:53:48a signal throughout the whole of Greece.
0:53:50 > 0:53:55But I declare today I've had quite enough history, thank you very much.
0:53:55 > 0:53:58And I'm only interested in goat.
0:53:58 > 0:54:03Cooked here by Maria, in the very heart of Areopolis,
0:54:03 > 0:54:06an extremely agreeable town.
0:54:10 > 0:54:12Well, I've just watched this being cooked.
0:54:14 > 0:54:16Oh, it is so good!
0:54:18 > 0:54:21People come from far and wide for this.
0:54:21 > 0:54:22They call it young goat.
0:54:22 > 0:54:25It seemed to me to be quite big for a young goat.
0:54:25 > 0:54:27I thought it was lamb to start with, but it's not.
0:54:27 > 0:54:30I suppose it's because I've been filming in India recently
0:54:30 > 0:54:31and the goats are tiny.
0:54:31 > 0:54:35These are serious Maniot goats with big, big muscles.
0:54:35 > 0:54:37It's absolutely lovely.
0:54:37 > 0:54:40And what Maria did first of all was just take a big,
0:54:40 > 0:54:43well, I like to say a washing-up bowl,
0:54:43 > 0:54:45and she had all the goat in there
0:54:45 > 0:54:47and then she chopped lots of potato in there.
0:54:47 > 0:54:49I just loved watching her doing that,
0:54:49 > 0:54:52because it's not like a chef getting on the chopping board.
0:54:52 > 0:54:55It's like a proper housewife doing it like that.
0:54:55 > 0:54:58So she cut up, cubed lots of potato.
0:54:58 > 0:55:02And then about three or four cloves of garlic in there, too.
0:55:02 > 0:55:03And the next thing she did,
0:55:03 > 0:55:05I couldn't see what she'd done to cook them,
0:55:05 > 0:55:07but she took a whole plate of spring onions
0:55:07 > 0:55:09and put those in there.
0:55:09 > 0:55:13And then what I thought was leeks, but in fact it was green garlic,
0:55:13 > 0:55:16it was like garlic shoots that she put in there, too.
0:55:17 > 0:55:22Now, she already had the artichoke bottoms already prepared and cooked.
0:55:22 > 0:55:25And so she added those in with the goat.
0:55:25 > 0:55:28And now she started to make the marinade.
0:55:28 > 0:55:30She started with lots of lemon juice, about 100ml.
0:55:30 > 0:55:33And you could taste that in the potatoes, actually.
0:55:33 > 0:55:35It comes through really pleasantly.
0:55:35 > 0:55:38Next, she added about a tablespoon of tomato puree.
0:55:38 > 0:55:42And then a couple of tablespoons of passata, tomato passata.
0:55:42 > 0:55:45Then about a teaspoon of pepper
0:55:45 > 0:55:46and then loads of salt.
0:55:46 > 0:55:49The locals here are very keen on their Maniot salt.
0:55:49 > 0:55:52It's sea salt and quite sort of moist
0:55:52 > 0:55:55and they say it's saltier than any other salt.
0:55:55 > 0:55:57And she used a lot of it.
0:55:57 > 0:56:00I mean, I'd probably just go for a couple of teaspoons back home,
0:56:00 > 0:56:03but I wouldn't quite get that sort of bang of saltiness.
0:56:06 > 0:56:08So good.
0:56:08 > 0:56:10And then she added mustard powder, about a tablespoon.
0:56:10 > 0:56:12And then sugar.
0:56:12 > 0:56:14Again, about a tablespoon.
0:56:14 > 0:56:16And finally, for the marinade,
0:56:16 > 0:56:19she added about 100ml of water
0:56:19 > 0:56:22and just poured it over the potatoes in the artichokes.
0:56:22 > 0:56:26And then got her hands in there and just turned it all over.
0:56:29 > 0:56:31And the next thing she did I thought was fabulous.
0:56:31 > 0:56:37She took a really large roasting tin and tons of fennel, loads of fennel.
0:56:37 > 0:56:40I really like that bit, because it's such a local herb
0:56:40 > 0:56:44and really pleased to see it being used in such large quantities.
0:56:44 > 0:56:47It was about that deep in the dish.
0:56:47 > 0:56:51And then she took the artichoke bases and the potatoes
0:56:51 > 0:56:55and then she put all the goat meat right over the potatoes.
0:56:55 > 0:56:59And then she poured all the marinade on the top of that.
0:57:01 > 0:57:04And then she went mad, wild, with the olive oil.
0:57:04 > 0:57:09She poured about 150ml of olive oil all over the top.
0:57:09 > 0:57:12And then that went into a hot oven,
0:57:12 > 0:57:16about 200, 220 degrees for three hours.
0:57:16 > 0:57:17And here it is.
0:57:17 > 0:57:21And I can tell you it is very nice indeed.
0:57:21 > 0:57:23The goat is deliciously moist and tender.
0:57:23 > 0:57:27And more than that, I love the combination of the olive oil
0:57:27 > 0:57:30and the fennel and the lemon juice.
0:57:30 > 0:57:31Yes!
0:57:34 > 0:57:38Next time, I'm leaving Greece and heading for Turkey.
0:57:38 > 0:57:43But not before some delicious red mullet and grilled octopus.
0:57:43 > 0:57:45Octopus is Greece.
0:57:47 > 0:57:48And now to Turkey...
0:57:48 > 0:57:51THEY SHOUT
0:57:51 > 0:57:53You have to shout in this country!
0:57:53 > 0:57:55Fabulous!
0:57:55 > 0:57:56Just the one, thanks, for me.
0:57:56 > 0:57:58More fish.
0:57:58 > 0:58:02And that means lovely, spicy stews,
0:58:02 > 0:58:04great bread and more spice.
0:58:04 > 0:58:07Definitely, more spice.
0:58:07 > 0:58:09I mean, this is just so exciting.
0:58:09 > 0:58:11And why shouldn't you have a breakfast like this?
0:58:11 > 0:58:14It's so voluptuous, I would say.
0:58:14 > 0:58:18And if you haven't tried koftas on the motorway,
0:58:18 > 0:58:20well, this...
0:58:22 > 0:58:23..is heaven!
0:58:23 > 0:58:30And so my gastronomic journey from Venice to Istanbul continues.