10 policemen beat 2 handcuffed students on the pavement, in Nicosia, Cyprus. Click here to see the video (Politis newspaper). Yesterday these thugs were found innocent by a Cypriot court. The court did not accept the video, filmed by a local resident, as valid evidence. Once more the rights of citizens are brutally violated. May I remind you of the Menezes case? Nobody went to jail. Nobody was given the sack. And let's not forget Carlo Giuliani (video contains blood & violence), shot by police in Genova in the riots against the G(reedy)8 in 2001, or the shooting of 15-year old Alexandros Grigoropoulos in Athens in December 2008. Or, for that matter, the thousands of others not mentioned here, but whose cases are no less important. Overzealous police are still among us, ready to defy more than 60 years of Human Rights, trigger-happy and proud.
Police are there to 'serve and protect' citizens. Indeed, time and again we see that it is these very citizens who suffer from surveillance, intrusion, torture and death. And we're not talking about Zimbabwe anymore-this is the so-called civilised Europe, the same Europe that assumes the patronising role of 'protecting' the Zimbabwes of the world. Nonsense. Hypocrisy. Give a man a badge and a gun and they will abuse their power to satisfy whatever darkness lies in the depths of their soul.
Ingredients 1 lamb shoulder, cut into large pieces 2-3 onions, chopped 5 cloves of garlic, chopped 1kg of ripe tomatoes, chopped (or 2 cans of tomato) Red wine (dry) Ground cinnamon Nutmeg Fresh parsley, chopped Salt and pepper
In a large, deep frying pan with a lid (or a saucepan) sautee the lamb in olive oil until it turns golden brown. Add the onions and garlic and stir for 2-3 minutes. Add the rest of your ingredients (except the parsley) and stir. Add a bit of water, until all is covered and bring to the boil. Turn the fire down low and allow the food to simmer gently with the lid on for 1 1/2 -2 hours. When the lamb is really tender it's ready. Add the fresh parsley, mix and serve with rice or bulgur wheat and natural set yoghurt. The rest of the sauce can be used as a pasta sauce, lovely!
A lovely recipe plagiarised from my friend Federica (who is from Romanziol, near San Doná di Piave).
Ingredients (serves 2-3 hungry people) 1 medium-sized butternut squash (peeled, cleaned from seeds and diced) 1 medium onion, finely chopped 1-2 cloves of garlic, very finely chopped Fresh parsley, finely chopped 2 cups (or glasses) of arborio rice or pudding rice* Vegetable stock (roughly double the quantity of the rice) Olive oil A splash of white wine Parmesan cheese, grated (optional) Seasoning
*It may be anathema to my Italian friends, but I have been using pudding rice instead. This is for two reasons: firstly, it's a nice, thick grain rice and does a similar job. Secondly, it's infinitely cheaper and you can get it anywhere in the UK. Arborio is a bit of a middle class thing, therefore expensive, right up Nigella's alley.
Execution Put the diced squash in a saucepan with boiling water and boil for about 30 minutes or until nicely cooked. Drain and put aside. In the meantime...
Lightly fry the garlic and onions in the olive oil until beautifully translucent (or cooked as I like to call it). Add a bit of white wine and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the rice and give it a stir for a few seconds until it's nicely coated with the juices. Add the stock until the rice is covered, bring to the boil and then allow to simmer. Add your seasoning and keep an eye on it. When it's beginning to absorb most of the stock, check if it's sufficiently cooked. If not, add more stock until you're happy with the rice. When you think it's cooked, take it off the fire and cover it for 5 minutes, allowing the rice to absorb all the juice. Add the squash and parsley and serve it topped with parmesan cheese. If you want, you can serve it with natural set yoghurt instead, turning it from a risotto to a Turkish pilaf. Enjoy!
Here we bring together two cultures: the comforting nature of British food, based on its cottage pie idea but combining it with Mediterranean style which gives it an extra twist.
Ingredients
For the filling: 2 pieces of chicken breast, diced 1 leek, finely chopped Mushrooms, finely chopped Garlic, finely chopped Olive oil Oregano Salt & pepper
For the mash: Potatoes (obviously) Milk Olive oil Salt & pepper
Lightly fry the garlic and then add the chicken and leek. Sautee until the chicken is cooked (you can add a drop of white wine) and then add the mushrooms, oregano (don't be shy with it, we want a very oregano-ey flavour here) and seasoning. When the mushrooms are cooked, take it off the fire. Put your filling in a medium tray. In the meantime...
Boil the potatoes (if they're chopped it takes less time). Drain them and put them in a bowl. Add milk and mash. When you have a nice, creamy texture, add some olive oil (for flavour) and seasoning. Spread the mash evenly over the filling, making sure that it completely covers it, coming up to the edge of the tray. Stick it in the oven for about 30 minutes (until the top is nicely golden brown), take it out and serve. Lovely.
Ingredients (serves 2-3) 300 gr of green lentils 1 onion, finely chopped 1-2 cloves of garlic, likewise Olive oil Some ripe tomatoes or a can of chopped tomatoes or tomato paste (depends on availability and taste) 1-2 carrots, chopped 1 celery stalk, chopped (optional) Some chopped parsley Salt
In a medium/large saucepan lightly fry the garlic and onion in olive oil. Add the tomatoes and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the lentils, chopped carrots, celery and salt. Add water and bring to the boil. Let it cook for about 40 minutes or until the lentils are soft. They absorb the water so keep an eye in case they get stuck. If they are cooked and have absorbed the water there's no need for more, but if not, add more to help them cook. In the end you'll get a lentily pulp, there shouldn't be much water left in it. No problem if there is, just use a ladle with holes to serve it, or eat it as a soup. Some people like to add bay leaves in the mix, it gives it a nice flavour. When it's finished, throw in the chopped parsley and serve.
This is a very flexible recipe and you can pretty much embellish the lentils with any veg you like. I sometimes put a chopped pepper instead of celery, mushrooms go well too (add them near the end), lemon juice...be brave and try variations.
Goes fantastically well with natural set yogurt. Eat and help yourself to seconds, it's lovely! There is also a version with rice which I promise to share with you all if you're nice :-)
Just finished reading William Bligh's account of the mutiny on the Bounty. This is of course a famous episode in maritime history, one immortalised by Hollywood on more than one occasion (1916, 1935 with Clark Gable, 1962 with the legendary Brando and 1984 with Gibson/Hopkins). Although Hollywood tends to over-dramatise events and romanticise its characters, the narrative itself is nothing short of breath-taking.
The story goes as follows: In December 1787 William Bligh, a former companion of Captain Cook, set out with his crew on The Bounty from Spithead for Tahiti, where they were to procure bread fruit trees which they hoped to introduce them to the colonies in the West Indies. Their initial intention was to round Cape Horn into the Pacific and sail to Tahiti from there. However, strong winds in the area prevented them from making any progress, and after persevering for a whole month off the southern tip of South America, it was decided that they sail to Tahiti by heading in the opposite direction, south of Africa, through the Indian Ocean and from there to the Pacific.
This approach was more successful, and in October 1788 they reached 'Otaheite' as Tahiti was known at the time. The ship and crew spent five months there, collecting a total of 1,015 breadfruit plants. Most of the crew lived ashore and became accustomed to local life. Many of the men formed relationships with local women and became 'embedded' in life there. Master's Mate and Acting Lieutenant Fletcher Christian married Maimiti, a Tahitian woman. Some men even had themselves tattooed in native fashion.
All this led to disaster. The ship departed from Tahiti on 4 April 1789, and on the 28th of the same month a mutiny broke out near the Friendly Islands (known as Tonga Islands today), 1,300 miles west of Tahiti. Bligh's cabin was invaded during the night by some of the crew, who forced him and 18 of the crew who remained loyal to him into a launch, an 23-foot open boat with a sail. They were given limited supplies of water, bread, meat and rum. Strict rationing of these supplies was necessary if they were to survive the journey. Bligh issued only a quarter of a pint of water per day, plus an ounce of bread (which was getting increasingly mouldy). They first stopped at the island of Tofoa in order to gather further supplies, where natives attacked them and killed John Norton, who was stoned to death. Bligh decided that they had to make the journey to Timor by making as few stops for supplies as possible.
In a remarkable feat of seamanship and navigation,Bligh led the boat on a 47-day voyage to Timor in the Dutch East Indies, equipped only with a sextant and a pocket watch, with no charts or compass. He recorded the distance as 3,618 nautical miles (6710 km). He was chased by cannibals in what is now known as Bligh Water, Fiji, and passed through the difficult Torres Strait along the way, and landed in Kupang, Timor on June 14. Shortly after the launch reached Timor, the cook and botanist died. Three other crewmen died in the coming months.Lieutenant Bligh returned to Britain and reported the mutiny to the Admiralty on 15 March 1790.
This is an amazing example of human ability, endurance and determination. The odds were firmly stacked against Bligh and his companions. Bligh managed to navigate his way precisely where he wanted to, armed with only basic tools. Through inclement weather, malnutrition and the threat from native canoes, he managed to deliver his men to safety. After days of heavy rain, the men could no more bear to wear the soaked clothes. They took them off, washed them in sea water and wrung them, something that gave them temporary reilief. The hardships of the journey were too much for some who died in Kupang and Timor. The majority, however, were able to reach Britain safely. Bligh's account is not only valuable for the details of the impossible journey to Timor. It is also filled with good detail on life in Tahiti, the local customs and life, depicted lovingly by Bligh, who had also formed connections to local chiefs and their families.
Apart from being a useful source for the historian, Bligh's account is also a fascinating tale.
Below is the trailer for the 1962 film. I laughed at the "Tahiti...a land that has always represented escape from civilization". How pre-political correctness. Enjoy.
Macondo is the fictional village in which the Buendia family settled down in one of the world's greatest books, A Hundred Years of Solitudeby Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Marquez's books are a concoction of magic, brutal reality, sex and food. He weaves flavours, emotions and memories to deliver a wonderful result. This blog is by way of a polite nod to the master.
