Nothing annoys the Greeks as much as an insinuations that they have a historical relationship with the Turks but luckily the Thracians have lifted themselves above it all.*Food, in this case, was the supreme peacemaker  - so, if you’re looking for an area of ethnic fluctuation with the resultant vibrant cuisine, Thrace is the place to visit. Ancient Thrace not only covered a huge part of Southern Europe and Bulgaria but a large part of Turkey as well. (Bear in mind that Thrace became part of Greece for the very first time in 1913.) Xerxes used Thrace as his passageway in 480 BC and the Roman Via Egnatia went through the area.

Byzantine monks, on their way to Mount Athos, influenced and were influenced by the unbelieavably interesting and ever changing cooking of the region.   During the Middle ages, whe everyone was building fortresses and castles to protect themselves from the Slavic Bulgars, the Thracians simply didn’t. Granted they were, in themselves, a force to be reckoned with because they weren’t afraid of anyone, but the fact that they didn’t was an extremely important factor in the development of their cuisine. Their chickens are legendary, having arrived from China via Central Asia,  and are known as Persian birds.

At first they were given as love tokens, rather than eaten and it was only much later, in Roman times, that the Greeks started eating chickens (they much preferred the delicate quails). Interesting too is the fact that the secret granary of the Greeks was situated here as well. These ancient grains would later develop into those we know today. They must have arrived from Syria, where there had been civilization since 7000 BC, and formed the basis for the wheat we know and love today. A thriving and world famous grain culture became the cornerstone of Thracian cuisine. The area is now part of Greece and the Greek Orthodox majority lives peacefully side by side with the large Muslim population, their children growing up bilingually, tolerant and accepting of one another. The children frequent separate schools but this is only for cultural reasons and the peace and tolerance displayed by them is an example for the whole world!

KOTÓPOULO PSITÓ   (Roast Chicken)

Ingredients

• 1,5 kg whole chicken – cleaned and oven ready
• 2 lemons, juice and zest
• 1 tablespoon mustard seeds, well ground
• 1 kg baby potatoes, peeled
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 200 ml Greek extra virgin olive oil
• Salt to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 180 C

• Massage the chicken inside and outside with the lemon juice and season well with the salt and pepper.
• Slash the side of the thighs, making one cross slit on each side.
• Place the meat in a large oven proof dish and cover the entire surface of the skin with the mustard seed and lemon zest, mixed into a little olive oil, to create a rough paste.
• Make sure that you get flavour into the two slits on the side of the thighs.
• Place two of the sprigs of thyme inside the cavity of the chicken, divide up ½ of the remaining sprig and place underneath the wings and on top of the slits in the thighs.
• The remaining piece of thyme must be taken off the stick and chopped finely to be sprinkled over the potatoes.
• Arrange the whole potatoes around the chicken, coat with olive oil, season well with salt and pepper and place around the chicken.
• Roast for 1 hour, turning occasionally so that the bird browns on all sides.
• When you turn it around, attend to the potatoes.
• When cooked, deglaze the roasting dish with whatever good white wine you have and turn the juices into a gravy by reducing or by adding a little flour and butter.

I found the following recipe for the oldest recorded Greek soup that’s still eaten today on a visit to my godfather in Crete. Usually made in Thrace, it’s a national favourite in Cyprus – an intresting meal and worth the effort – if only to know it.

TRAKHANÁS  (Wheat and Sour Milk Soup)

Ingredients

• 150 g Greek yoghurt (or sour milk)
• 1 large white onion, finely chopped
• 200 g fresh tomatoes, peeled and puréed
• 130 g butter
• 1 liter chicken stock
• 1 heaped teaspoon fresh thyme (removed from the stick and finely chopped)
• 1 handful Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 100 g kefalotíri cheese, grated
• Salt to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper

Method

• Heat the butter in a pot and sauté the onion.
• Add the tomatoes and simmer until they start turning orange at which point you pour in the stock, add the thyme and bring soup to a boil.
• Now pour in the yoghurt whilst whisking constantly.
• Cover and simmer over a low heat for about 20 minutes (the heat must not be so low that there are no little bubbles coming to the surface, it has to simmer properly) until the soup becomes creamy.
• Add the parsley, check and correct the seasoning and serve with the grated cheese sprinkled on top.