International food blog: INTERNATIONAL: GREECE: Part 2: Griko cuisine meets Italian...

International food blog: INTERNATIONAL GREECE: Part 2 - Griko cuisine me...: Greek presence in Italy begins with the migrations of the old Greek Diaspora 

I INTERNATIONAL: GREECE - Part 1 - Introduction

International food blog: INTERNATIONAL: GREECE - Part 1 - Introduction

INTERNATIONAL: GREECE - Part 1 - Introduction

The Greek language belongs to the Hellenic branch of the Indo-European language family, and is spoken by about 13 million people mainly in Greece and Cyprus, where it is an official language. 

There are 14,000,000 to 17,000,000 Greeks in the word in 32 countries. 

Greek Americans are Americans of full or partial Greek ancestry. Over 2.5 million Americans are of Greek descent. 350,000 people older than five spoke Greek at home in 2010. (citizenship and/or nationality question removed from the census after 2010)

Greek is also recognized as a minority language in parts of Italy (Grikos section in southern Italy including Apulia aka Puglia and Calabria) and in Albania, Armenia, Romania and Ukraine. 

The Greek culture and cuisine has had a large impact on cuisines all over the world.  A few examples below. 

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Greek Easter Bread Tsoureki

Greek wedding candies or καραμέλες γάμο

or karaméles gámo

In Albania focaccia and pitta (pita, piti) breads are popular in the region with Greek and Arabic flatbread influences. 

Gjethet e mbushur rrushit

(Albanian stuffed grape leaves)

similar to Greek dolmas (stuffed grape leaves).

Similarly, special pastries and dessert breads take on a Greek flavor with many being fried and dipped in honey like bakllava in Albania. 

Called baklava in Greece.

In Armenia they serve phyllo dough pastries called byorek (բյորեկ) or borek (բորեկ), consists of dough, or phyllo dough, folded into triangles and stuffed with cheese, spinach or ground beef, and the filling is typically spiced. A popular combination is spinach, feta, cottage cheese (or pot cheese) and a splash of anise-flavoured liquor (such as raki)

which is similar to Greek bouréki, bourekáki, bougatsa, etc. 

Armenian and Greek stuffed peppers or 

κρέας γεμιστές πιπεριές or kréas gemistés piperiés

In Romania they also serve dolmas (Greek)

 and call them sarmalute:

Also popular in Romania (rissoles) (meatballs)

and Greece (keftedes) (meatballs)

In the Ukraine they serve beet soup or borsch

and in Greece they serve beet soup or borscht

Another soup that the Ukraine serves 

is sun or tomato soupd

and in Greece it is called σούπα or soúpa

In its modern form, the Greek language is the official language in two countries, Greece and Cyprus, a recognized minority language in seven other countries, and is one of the 24 official languages of the European Union. The language is spoken by at least 13 million people today in Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Albania, Turkey, and the Greek diaspora (the countries where Greeks moved and settled:  (Russia, France, India, United States, Iran, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Argentina, Brazil, Lebanon, Syria, Ukraine, Poland, Canada, Austrailia, Turkey, Greece, Cyprus and Egypt). 

Following is a brief summary of Greek foods:

SAUCES: Egg and lemon, white, tomato, olive oil and lemon, olive oil and vinegar, mayonnaise and garlic sauce.

SOUPS:  Kakavia (fish soup) introduced to Marseille, France by Greek travelers (and the French renamed it bouillabaisse!) and avgolemono soupa (fish stock with lemon and eggs). 

MAIN MEAT, POULTRY & FISH DISHES:  Beef Stefatho (beef braised with onions & herbs), Chicken Oregano (baked chicken marinated in butter, lemon & oregano), Souvlakia ((lamb shish kebab), Fish Plaki (fished baked with tomatoes, onions & seasonings) and Souzoukaia (meatballs).

PIES AND PASTA DISHES:  Tiropites (cheese pies), Spanakopita (spinach pie) and pastitsio (meat, macaroni & béchamel sauce).

RICE DISHES:  Dolmathes (grape leaves) and rice pilaf.

VEGETABLE DISHES:  Green beans with zucchini yahni (yahni is browned onions/tomatoes in olive oil), Moussaka (eggplant casserole) and Greek salad (lemon-oregano dressing served with vegetables, feta cheese and kalamata olives).

DESSERTS:  Baklava (honey-nut pastry), Diples (honey ripples), Galatoboureko (custard & honey filo dough), Kataife (nuts, shredded dough, honey), Karithopeta (walnut cakes with honey), Kourambiethes (Greek butter cookies with powdered sugar), Loukomades (honey puffs with syrup, cinnamon, walnuts) and Pasta Flora (baked short cake with apricot filling).

DRINKS:  Turkish coffee, tea, water, soft drinks, beer, Ouzo (anise flavored) , wine, Metaxa (brandy), Retsina (pine flavored) and Tsipouro (clear spicy hot liquid).

See following posts for recipes!

INTERNATIONAL: GREEK - Part 2 B : Greece in Italy!!! Salentina and Bovesia

LINK TO GREEKS IN SALENTINA ITALY

LINK to WIKI on the Griko people in Italy

LINK to map of Salentina and Bovesia

THERE ARE TWO GREEK-SPEAKING COMMUNITIES IN ITALY!!!

LINK to Map of Puglia (Salentina)

LINK TO Restaurants in Lecce Puglia (Salentina)

 LINK to map of Calabria (Bovesia)

LINK to Restaurants In Reggio Calabria (Bovesia)  

LINK to newspaper article I wrote in 2014 on The PA Melting Pot

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RECIPES FOR GRIKOS FOOD BELOW GENERIC GREEK FOOD PHOTOS

A cut and paste from Wikipedia about Food

Cuisine  (Click on GRAY WORDS to learn more)

The traditional cuisine of Salento and Calabria has been heavily influenced by Griko culture. The Griko are traditionally producers of cereals, vegetables, olives and legumes.^[86] Local Griko cuisine does not differ greatly from the local Italian population, however there local regional variations. Many typical Griko dishes are still in use among them. Some of them are mentioned below.

• Pitta and Lestopitta - a traditional Greek-Calabrian bread from the Bovesia region
• Ciceri e ttrìa - A form of Tagliatelle served with chickpeas. Traditionally this dish was consumed on the feast of Saint Joseph on 19 March in Grecia Salentina.
• Cranu stompatu - a wheat dish, prepared in a simple way, by soaking and pounding the wheat
• ricchiteddhe - type of macaroni
• minchiarieddhi - a type of long macaroni
• sagne ncannulate - a wide tagliatelle up to inch and a half
• triddhi - irregular shaped pasta, specifically used for making Broth
• Mendulata te cranu - a dessert similar to Pastiera, filled with cream cheese, honey, sugar and vanilla
• Le Cuddhure - a traditional Griko cake made during Easter, from the Greek Koulouri
• Tiaulicchiu - Hot Chili peppers, extensively eaten throughout Grecia Salentina, they are usually stored dry, or preserved in jars of oil, with the addition of slivers of garlic, mint, and capers
• Sceblasti - a traditional type of hand made bread from the Grecia Salentina region.^[86]
• Aggute - a traditional Greek-Calabrian Easter bread from the Bovesia region, it is prepared with a mixture of flour, eggs and butter and the surface is decorated with painted hard boiled eggs, similar to the Greek Tsoureki
• Scardateddhi - traditional Greek-Calabrian wedding sweets, made from flour, honey and anise seeds which are shaped like small doughnuts. They are then cooked in boiling water, and sprinkled with brown sugar before being served.

LINKS TO PREVIOUS POSTS ON GREECE

LINK to Part 1 Introduction

https://internationalfoodblog.blogspot.com/2017/01/international-greece-part-2-grikos.html 

LINK to Part 2 Grikos

INTERNATIONAL GREECE: Part 2 - Griko cuisine merges with Italian cuisine

Greek presence in Italy begins with the migrations of the old Greek Diaspora (see world map below)

The darker the red in the photo above means the more Greeks in the area.  

Dark Red: 1,000,000 or more

Next Red:  200,000 or more

Next Red:  50,000 to 100,000

Next Red:  20,000-50,000

Next:  1,000-20,000

Gray 1,000 or less

Greek Americans (Greek: Ελληνοαμερικάνοι, Ellinoamerikanoi) are Americans of full or partial Greek ancestry. About 1.3 million American people are of Greek descent, although there are estimates that raise this number to 3 million, and 321,144 people older than five spoke Greek at home in 2010.

in the 8th century BC, continuing down to the present time. There is a linguistic minority known as the Griko people, who live in the Southern Italian regions of Calabria (Province of Reggio Calabria) and Apulia or Puglia, especially the peninsula of Salento, within the old Magna Graecia region, who speak a distinctive dialect of Greek called Griko. They are believed to be remnants of the ancient and medieval Greek communities, who have lived in the south of Italy for centuries. Alongside this group, a smaller number of more recent migrants from Greece lives in Italy, forming an expatriate community in the country. Today many Greeks in Southern Italy follow Italian customs and culture.

During many centuries of cohabitation there was an exchange of knowledge between Griko and Southern Italians in the art of cooking. The Griko are traditionally producers of cereals, vegetables, olives and legumes.  Local Griko cuisine does not differ greatly from the local Italian population, however there local regional variations. Many typical Griko dishes are still in use among them. Some of them are mentioned below.

Sadly the Grikos culture is disappearing as they meld with the Italians in Calabria and Apulia. 

Pitta and Lestopitta - a traditional Greek-Calabrian 

bread from the Bovesia region

LINK TO PITTA BREAD RECIPE

Ciceri e ttrìa - A form of Tagliatelle served with chickpeas. Traditionally this dish was consumed on the feast of Saint Joseph on 19 March in Grecia Salentina. 

• LINK FOR CICERI E TTRIA RECIPE

• Cranu stompatu - a wheat dish, prepared in a simple way, by soaking and pounding the wheat
• ricchiteddhe - type of macaroni

• minchiarieddhi - a type of long macaroni
• sagne ncannulate - a wide tagliatelle up to inch and a half

• triddhi - irregular shaped pasta, specifically used for making Broth

• Ricchiteddhe cu lle rape - Orecchiette with turnip greens, a popular dish in Grecia Salentina

    LINK TO RECIPE FOR ORECCHIETTE

    WITH TURNIP GREENS

• Turcinieddhi - a type of tripe which includes grilled sheep innards
• Mendulata te cranu - a dessert similar to Pastiera, filled with cream cheese, honey, sugar and vanilla

• Le Cuddhure - a traditional Griko cake made during Easter, from the Greek Koulouri

Tiaulicchiu - Hot Chili peppers, extensively eaten throughout Grecia Salentina, they are usually stored dry, or preserved in jars of oil, with the addition of slivers of garlic, mint, and capers

• Sceblasti - a traditional type of hand made bread from the Grecia Salentina region.

• Aggute - a traditional Greek-Calabrian Easter bread from the Bovesia region, it is prepared with a mixture of flour, eggs and butter and the surface is decorated with painted hard boiled eggs, similar to the Greek Tsoureki
• 
  

• Scardateddhi - traditional Greek-Calabrian wedding sweets, made from flour, honey and anise seeds which are shaped like small doughnuts. They are then cooked in boiling water, and sprinkled with brown sugar before being served.

A book about the cuisine of the Griko of Salento has been published, entitled Grecia Salentina la Cultura Gastronomica. It features many traditional recipes distinctive to the Grecia Salentina region of southern Apulia.

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LINK TO CALABRIA ON PINTEREST

LINK TO THE MYSTERIOUS PATMOS

LINK to A GLASS OF WINE AND A SHIBBOLEH FOR TRANSPLANTED PEOPLES

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GRIKOS Videos

LINK to Part 1 Introduction