A Blog from Greece – Life at The Lemon Tree on Crete
On first sight of an avocado you might not be really too impressed, you might think of it as a rather boring shiny pear shaped fruit that looks about as interesting as a slice of wrinkled mouldy smelly cheese (or then again if you are like me you might get quite excited about a little bit of matured cheese). Well back to our avocado - if you knew what was underneath or if you went as far as buying it, you would be fulfilled with happiness. Unknown to the non-avocado person who just walks past the vegetable and fruit counter without a glance at this shiny green fruit and without a clue about what lies beneath the outer shell - the inner flesh: a marvel of flavour texture and pure tasty love.

For myself many years ago when I first saw an avocado and was told to do some work with it, I was as interested as I was in nuclear psychics. Easy instructions - cut it in half, put it on the plate, followed by salad garnish, some oil and vinegar. Who in their right mind would even consider eating something so bland and rather boring? But hey these things were very popular in the eighties and since then they have come on a little further in the kitchen. You can really transform the taste and texture or really bring out the flavour if mixed with the right other ingredients.

Food has changed a lot from the prawn cocktail, well done steak and Black Forest gateaux days. Not to say that a prawn cocktail is to be put down at all, a well made prawn cocktail with fresh peeled prawns, the original cocktail sauce with a splash of brandy and Worcester sauce and cream is to die for. The well done steak would have to be medium. And I could miss the Black Forest, a good selection of cheeses, a glass of port, a large brandy and a nice little cheroot would do me fine and then a little look at the stars and I would be finished for the night.

Many years later that low term of the avocado changed - I was looking at a menu and this little green pear appeared topped and grilled with blue cheese; it was the only thing that really appealed to me. It was very nice and transformed the avocado into something else for me. After this my opinion changed towards that green pear shaped fruit. When I walked past them I would sometimes pick one up and put it away, sometimes forgetting about it and throwing it out but 75 percent of the time eat it and enjoy it. Living here and running the restaurant the avocado has moved to a new dimension in my mind and is a firm favourite on my menu.

At the market in Sitia I have found the best avocado stool in the world; he has hundreds of them, all grown on the island and I buy them every time I see them. There are two varieties, one is prickly and the other one is smooth, they are both tasty and are equal in flavour and texture but in my opinion the smooth have better keeping periods. If you buy them hard the smoother textured avocado will keep very well for over a week and a half where as the other will start to go off. But to solve this little problem, if you catch it just before the change, you can turn the flesh inside into a marvellous guacamole dip or meze. If you know your stuff there is always another option for foods and leftovers.

There is always something new to try and new flavours to develop.

The first and probably most popular serving of the avocado on the menu is most definitely with blue cheese; it is very popular.  I always add a twist to this: I put a spoon of honey and some golden breadcrumbs on; pop it in the oven to finish and it is lovely! Another variation is to scoop the flesh out and cook it with shallots, salt and pepper, some chopped tarragon, little wine and cream and top it with your best cheese like good farmhouse cheddar and grill it. There are many different variations, it is just a matter of putting different things with them and swapping around till you come up with a good dish; test eat and love. And do it again. As often as you like and then repeat have fun.
Of course you are eating a fresh fruit full of natural healthy oils and yes I have often heard how fattening they are but golly they are delicious! And I am starting to wonder if they have some youth enhancing properties as we know a couple who have a house in the next village and he swears by them, eating one a day and has a rather youthful energetic glow about him! Maybe it is the oil and vitamin content that help to keep the skin supple and the body lubricated? Forget plastic surgery – eat an avocado!!

Our emphasis in these blogs from Crete is on food because that is what we do at The Lemon Tree, but we aim in these little blogs from Crete to also give a reflection of life in a Greek Village on Crete. Simply put, we live here; have a family here and a business. Thus we encounter daily both the joys and tribulations of life in a Greek village, some of which are familiar to the whole of Crete and Greece, some of which are unique to village life; some which villagers alike share or  are experienced by us as settlers in this land. Alongside these writings you will find recipes and ideas about food.

For previous blog articles please click on the link at the bottom of the ‘blog page’ and if you are searching for a particular food recipe such as curry  – then type in the keyword in the search box on the website and Hey Presto! This will bring up the recipes that contain this ingredient.

We write the blogs together; mostly the food stuff is Mark and some of the other bits are Anita or what we come to through general chat (or heated discussion, depending on the day….) Mark is dyslexic - he writes a first draft, hands     it over to Anita (who puts on her old English teacher’s hat) to redraft and develop, adding a bit here and there; this seems to work!

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