(Not up for the chitchat? Completely get it. Click the email title to go to a web-based version then jump straight to the recipe, or Cultural Fun.)
We were in Corfu last week. (Or should that be “on Corfu”? How large does a landmass have to be before you are in rather than on it?) James and I have spent several happy holidays (including part of our honeymoon) in (or on) Crete, Rhodes and Santorini but never made it to this particular island before. It was lovely. Possibly it didn’t capture my heart in the way Crete has but I liked Corfu very much and will hopefully return.
The rainy season had only just finished (indeed we were pretty lucky to have sunshine for our entire trip) so everything was very green with flowers busting out all over the place. Mostly striking, pink-blossomed Judas Trees (which I needed the Picture This app to identify) and incredibly fragrant wisteria. Plus another pink snapdragon-y thing that loved to grow on walls.
We were based mainly in the capital, staying in Corfu Old Town, strolling around looking at Venetian forts etc. but managed a couple of good walks too.
One along the coast and through Mons Repos Park (birthplace of Prince Philip!) to a little swimming jetty and onwards to look at the iconic Vlacherna monastery on its tiny island.
And our big hike of the holiday, up from Benitses, a little south of the capital. The route for the latter was on a route described by Hilary Whitton-Paipeti, founder of the Corfu Trail in her Complete Book of Corfu Walks. She’s working on an app-based version of her walking guides at the moment so they are temporarily unavailable on the website but I emailed her and she sent me some half-price pdfs. We followed Benitses: The “Vouno” & the Waterworks from her Complete Book of Corfu Walks which took about four hours and rewarded a steep climb with some incredible views. I would love to go back and do more of these walks, or maybe even the 220km Corfu Trail itself?
I gathered some wild thyme whilst we were up there which is currently fermenting away in a honey-based experiment. If successful I shall bring you the results in a future newsletter, along with other recipes inspired by or involving some of the goodies I brought back with me. Make sure you’re subscribed to stay up to date.
Picture of Greek goodies sadly lacking the expensive olive oil confiscated by British Airways on my return journey as a "flammable liquid". WTF?!
See Cultural Fun for my other highlights. I’ve also created a list on Google Maps with all those plus my restaurant and bar recommendations.
We returned from holiday to find the things in the garden really getting going. The daffs are all gone but everything else is going great guns with the forget-me-nots out (I never planted these, they just show up every year and I’m happy about it), tulips and blossom on both the apple and quince trees.
The wild garlic is flowering too. I don’t have loads but usually get enough to make a batch of pesto. I’ve sometimes heard it said that once wild garlic has flowered it isn’t so good to eat as when the leaves are young and tender. Which is perhaps true if you want to eat them fresh in a salad since they definitely do lose sweetness and subtlety. The allium flavour is also stronger and more pungent but this makes these older leaves great for fermenting.
You could try it in a fermented pesto, substituting wild garlic for some or all of the basil, but I stretched my minimal harvest by using it in a kimchi with cucumber. Nice and fresh and crunchy. Perfect as the weather warms up.
The flowers themselves are also tasty and lovely as garnishes for salad. I’ve left most of mine out there so they’ll self seed and hopefully give me a bigger crop next year but couldn’t resist a few here and there…
Recipe: Wild Garlic & Cucumber Kimchi
It would have been thematically nice to bring you a Corfu-inspired recipe this week but I’m still experimenting and tweaking and this is a nice, easy one to have a go at and feels fresh and green and pleasing. This made enough to fill a 750ml jar.
Ingredients
500g (approx) cucumber (see note)
60g (approx) wild garlic leaves, washed and shredded
1tbsp flaky sea salt
1⁄2 inch ginger, finely chopped or grated
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp gochugaru Korean chilli flakes (or to taste)
2 tbsp fish sauce (for a veggie option replace with light soy sauce)
Method
If the cucumber skin is thick, peel them. If quite delicate you can leave it on. Remove the ends, quarter lengthways and cut into 2-inch lengths (or thereabouts). Put the pieces in a large bowl and add the shredded wild garlic leaves and salt. Toss well and leave for at least 30 mins.
In a separate bowl combine the other ingredients into a flavoursome paste.
Drain the cucumbers and wild garlic, discarding the liquid.
Add the paste to the cucumbers, making sure every piece is coated and put the kimchi in a scrupulously clean jar.
Leave at room temperature for a day then move to the fridge. Eat within a week.
Notes (If Ifs And Ands Were Pots And Pans…)
Try to find cucumbers that are firm and crunchy with a high flesh-to-seed ratio. I used four Lebanese cucumbers. Those little tiny “snacking” ones you can get in supermarkets would be good too.
If you haven’t got any wild garlic then a big bunch of Thai basil or coriander would be nice substitutes.
This is a variation on my classic easy kimchi recipe. But I left the garlic out for obvious reasons. Feel free to add it back in if you want to double-garlic things up.
Cabbage-based kimchi can be eaten anywhere from really fresh to months old. The texture of cucumbers mean that this is best eaten young. Don’t leave it more than a week or the cucumbers will go slimy.
Cultural Fun - Corfu Special
Our visit was very early in the season which meant that there were no tours or boat trips were running. And the Achilleon Palace was closed for renovations. As non-drivers we rely on public transport and shanks pony, hence this list is confined to the area around Corfu town. But hopefully useful if you’re thinking of holidaying on the idland. If not, I’ll be back next week with more books, podcasts and less geographically-specific things…
The Venetians occupied Corfu for four centuries and built two forts. Both are impressive but neither has much in the way of information throughout so it’s worth taking a guide book with you or reading up on the history beforehand. The Spinata, the area in front of the Old Fort, is beautiful. Full of locals and tourists taking a stroll, playing cricket (a relic of 19th century British rule, along with ginger beer) and enjoying the sun.
Behind this is the Liston, thronging with cafes and bars and pretty lively all day. I really liked that it seemed to be a place where locals met as much as a tourist spot.
My favourite museums were the Municipal Gallery of Corfu and the Byzantine Museum. The former has a collection of paintings, mainly by Corfiot artists, including one by Samartzis George in which the Liston looks every bit the social hub that it is now, just with more bonnets.
As well as the permanent collection, when we visited there was an interesting exhibition called "Echoes of the Struggle" about the Greek revolution of 1821.
Extensive evidence of our patron saint being mean to lizards.
The Byzantine Museum is housed in a church and has a great collection of religious icons and paintings. There are several of St George (probably originally from Turkey and very popular in Greece) although due to artistic conventions of the time I never think he looks terribly heroic slaying his dragon, more like he’s bullying a large lizard.
The Rough Guide described the Banknote Museum as “more interesting than it sounds” which is kind of damning with faint praise but also true. Four rooms gave you an overview of Greece’s history told through its money. Including the point in the 1920s when, to fund the war effort, the state forcibly borrowed money from the citizens by cutting all the banknotes in half!
A surprise highlight of the trip was the Patounis Soap Factory, a family owned business that has been making olive oil soap for five generations. The owner gives a short tour at midday each weekday and explains the process. It was fascinating and free (although obviously led to me buying lots of soap). I found it genuinely moving to see someone so invested in what they do.
The map includes all these and more plus bars and restaurants etc. is here.
Not really a recommendation, I just wanted to show you this carved dude on Nikiforou Theotoki who looks like Benedict Cumberbatch.
Bye! See you soon!
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In Good Taste is a Sycamore Smyth newsletter by me, Clare Heal. You can also find me on Instagram or visit my website to find information about my catering work, cookery lessons and upcoming events.
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