More on Kleftiko - 12th November 2006
Food is a subject never far from my heart. Literally. So it is only natural that I should devote another entry to Kleftiko.
As I stated in a previous note the original kleftiko was cooked by poachers when and where they took their catch. These days it is usually prepared in a traditional stone outdoor oven. These are dome shaped and vary in size between 6 or 7 feet (2 meters) high to that of a small hill which would feed the entire village. Many of the village house have their own oven in the garden.
One of our local butchers has four or five such ovens outside his shop as seen in the picture.
The sign states:
ΚΛΕΦΤΙΚΟ
ΚΑΘΕ ΠΕΜΠΤH
Kleftiko - Every Thursday. (Hey this night school class has not been entirely wasted.)
The butcher prepares Kleftiko as a special take-away dish during the summer.
The oven works by filling it with wood and starting a fire then leaving it with a metal plate to act as a door. Once the wood has burned away the oven is opened and the ash removed. By this stage the inside of the oven is glowing red hot. Then the meat is placed into the oven in foil packages. Each package contains meat, vegetables and herbs. The oven is then sealed up again and left for 6 to 8 hours while the meat slowly cooks and the vegetables cook in the meat juices. The result is delicious.
I was surprised that a hot dish like this was only cooked during the summer but I have been educated to the fact that during the winter the ovens do not keep hot enough to allow the kleftiko to cook properly. Simple really.
Sadly many of these ovens have fallen into disrepair. However I have found that they are very useful for getting small children to behave. After all it is a well known fact that these ovens are used by witches for cooking badly behaved children.
Well it is well known in my household anyway. :)
One final thing. The international dialling code for Cyprus is +357 but I am not sure if the butcher has a home delivery service.
As I stated in a previous note the original kleftiko was cooked by poachers when and where they took their catch. These days it is usually prepared in a traditional stone outdoor oven. These are dome shaped and vary in size between 6 or 7 feet (2 meters) high to that of a small hill which would feed the entire village. Many of the village house have their own oven in the garden.
One of our local butchers has four or five such ovens outside his shop as seen in the picture.
The sign states:
ΚΛΕΦΤΙΚΟ
ΚΑΘΕ ΠΕΜΠΤH
Kleftiko - Every Thursday. (Hey this night school class has not been entirely wasted.)
The butcher prepares Kleftiko as a special take-away dish during the summer.
The oven works by filling it with wood and starting a fire then leaving it with a metal plate to act as a door. Once the wood has burned away the oven is opened and the ash removed. By this stage the inside of the oven is glowing red hot. Then the meat is placed into the oven in foil packages. Each package contains meat, vegetables and herbs. The oven is then sealed up again and left for 6 to 8 hours while the meat slowly cooks and the vegetables cook in the meat juices. The result is delicious.
I was surprised that a hot dish like this was only cooked during the summer but I have been educated to the fact that during the winter the ovens do not keep hot enough to allow the kleftiko to cook properly. Simple really.
Sadly many of these ovens have fallen into disrepair. However I have found that they are very useful for getting small children to behave. After all it is a well known fact that these ovens are used by witches for cooking badly behaved children.
Well it is well known in my household anyway. :)
One final thing. The international dialling code for Cyprus is +357 but I am not sure if the butcher has a home delivery service.
posted by /s at 3:52 pm
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