Zambolis apartments

Zambolis apartments
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Wednesday 8 July 2009

Tikvitchki (Τικβίτσκι)

It's that time of year again when our garden is starting to produce more than we can eat. I'm talking specifically about those long shiny creamy green vegetables topped with a bright yellow flower on their crown. We've already had zucchini fritters, boureki, boiled courgettes with horta and zucchini chocolate cake, no less than twice this past month. I've also put away no less than four baking tins of boureki in the deep freeze. I won't run out of zucchini this summer, but I may just possibly run out of creative recipes to use them up.

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We've graduated to growing kinkier varieties of zucchini, like the round one in the photos (it's not a pumpkin).

I remembered having Georgia's dish of fried courgettes layered with tzatziki dip, which she had made for us last year while she was looking after my mother-in-law who was recuperating from a broken leg. She came from Bulgaria, and told us that she used to make this dish often back in her home country. At the time, I called it a kind of Bulgarian boureki, as it seemed similar to the Cretan boureki pie consisting of layers of sliced courgettes and curd cheese (instead of yoghurt). With a little research, I even found a name for Georgia's dish: tikvitchki. We had this recently with some pan-fried veal steaks and horta.

bulgarian savoury dish
Georgia's rendition of tikvitchki (above) was creamier than mine; she used plain yoghurt spiced with garlic, while I preferred to use Greek tzatziki.
pan grilled veal steaks and onions tikvitchki
Veal is very expensive in Greece, but it is worth buying when you find it; Greek beef is very tough, even when cooked, but this veal took only half an hour to be cooked in the pan.


Bulgarians constitute a major group of economic migrants in Greece, making a major contribution to the workforce. Bulgarian cuisine shares a lot of similarities with Greek cuisine, and no wonder, since the countries neighbour each other and share a similar history from the period of Ottoman rule. Ingredients for traditional Bulgarian recipes can be found easily in Greece. Bulgarian dishes are generally uncomplicated, spiced up with lots of onions and garlic, with heavy use made of seasonal produce.

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Although Bulgarian cuisine hasn't passed into the realms of the commonly known widespread repertoire of international cuisine, I was secretly pleased to see that the Bulgarian economic immigrants of Hania have passed from the status of kitchen hands to taverna owner-operators, as I was passing by the old harbour in Hania on the east side near the marina. That's a positive sign of socio-economic progress in a migrant community, and it reminded me very much of the way my own parents built up their status as Greek immigrants in New Zealand.

BG eatery Boliari BG eaterie Boliari
In front of Mehana Boliari (the nobles' taverna), there is a large open shadeless courtyard which was being used as a carpark for a long time. The freshly painted walls of the building where the taverna is housed (presumably it operates in winter too) become easy targets for the depravities of graffiti artists. From a brief look at the menu, I noticed some Bulgarian favorites like tarator soup and ovcharska salad, as well Greek standard fare. The whole set up reminds me of my Greek parents who used to cook fish and chips and serve them up to Kiwis. I'll be visiting this place for sure one day - it's bound to tickle my memory of my time in New Zealand.

Economic migrants often undertake the dirtiest, most mundane tasks in their adopted country. While the locals run businesses and manage offices, these people keep the work areas clean and provide them with food. This is all part and parcel of both the country's and the migrant's successful progress. Who says migrants aren't acclimatising into Greek society?

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16 comments:

  1. What beautiful zucchinis you have! We are a month behind you in zucchini production, but I am looking forward to having them. I find the key is to limit myself to the number of plants initially and grow other things that are not so fantastically fertile.

    Here's an easy way to use up some zucchini that we like. Coarsely grate zucchini on a box/cheese grater. Melt some butter and olive oil in a pan, add chopped onion and garlic and saute. Then throw in zucchini and cook until done and then throw in fresh chopped basil and season with salt and pepper.

    Just made myself hungry.

    Enjoy those zukes!

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  2. τέλεια τα κολοκυθάκια σου! σε 2 βδομάδες θα είμαι κι εγώ Κρήτη - ανυπομονώ να κατεβαίνω στο περβόλι της πεθεράς μου και να κόβω ολόφρεσκα (και αψέκαστα) κολοκυθάκια, μελιτζάνες, πιπεριές και ντοματούλες!!! δεν βλέπω την ώρα!

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  3. The Bulgarian connection is very interesting!

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  4. When I visited in Feb. a few years ago, so many restaurants were closed for the season. What does everyone do then, go somewhere else on tour? Or, another job? Here we stay open all year round.

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  5. good point cloudia - work is very seasonal in crete. tavernas are busy when there are lots of tourists around. tourism actually stops at the end of october, when the chartered european flights stop coming into the town, and there are too many restaurants to serve the town's resident population, so most places in the port area close down. the owners of those places usually have other businesses to attend to (eg olive oil production), or they also had other tourist businesses along with the restaurant (eg renting out rooms, a hotel, etc), so they've made their money for the year. those same places will open at the weekend when the weather is good, and on festive days - people are ou and about on those days, and most locals love going to the harbour, even in the middle of winter, as long as the sun is shining and it isnt raining (which is most of the time in Hania).
    some established places open year round, but they aren't located in the harbour - they are all over the countryside and usually out of the town. we also have winter places which close down int he summer - who wants to be stuck indoors in summer? people wont go to them in any case if all the other places are outdoor tavernas!

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  6. This sounds delicious and very tempting Maria! How wonderful to use tzatziki in this fashion. Have you thought about pickling all that extra zucchini? (just for something different!)

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  7. Oh my gosh, I would LOVE a serving of this zucchini and some veal and some horta!!! YUM! I can't believe you have all that zucchini already! I'm looking forward to zucchini season. I absolutely love it! Now I have a new recipe to try thanks to you! :-)

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  8. I am supposing that there are absolutely no calories whatsoever in this dish! :) Interesting to read about the cuisine of Bulgaria too.

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  9. Hello Maria,
    please watch the movie and try this dish , the kids love it. you can eat it with yogurt.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QTVFfY64hQ
    Leyla

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  10. Hello Maria,
    The stuffed zucini is with cooked yogurt sauce.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdEVw_h4bFM&feature=related
    Leyla

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  11. thanks leyla for the clarification of the yoghurt sauce - i will use your links and hopefully cook them soon (there is still a lot of zucchini in the garden)

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  12. Zucchini is a favourite of mine - love them raw or cooked, and the dodgy insides like them too.

    I picked my very first last summer in Dad's garden up in Tauranga. Even if known about, they would have grown in 1970's Newlands!

    I'll store away a bookmark to this post, already for next Summer here.

    I hope your children are having a happy summer, and you're getting a happy and peaceful one,

    care and many huggles, Michelle in Wgtn, xxx

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  13. Sounds delicious Maria. I've never read up much on Bulgarian cuisine but will look into it thanks to your post.

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  14. After reading your latest blogpost, and that of Paula at simply Gouda I had to share this recipe. it even works on Zucchs that are becoming marrow, and can be frozen

    http://www.ruthpretty.co.nz/index/Recipes/Antipasto/Zucchini%20Paste%20on%20Bruschetta

    Season it up all you like once it is reduced (otherwise seasoning may be too powerful). I've made it with less olive oil at times. And successfully with avocado oil.

    btw - Ruth Pretty is another WGC "old girl". Her company did the catering for the reunion last year.

    Happy cooking and eating, Mickle in NZ

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  15. The round globe zukes are everywhere here too...I suppose they would be great for Gemista. Interesting to see the similarities in dishes through the Balkans.

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  16. Last year, we grew our own zucchini for the first time and we were a bit too ambitious, planting a few too many plants. The result was a seemingly endless bounty of zukes - I was chopping, shredding and freezing all summer! At least we had this homegrown vegetable available throughout the long winter. 8-)

    I should check to see if I have any left over for some tikvitchi!

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