Sunday, March 1, 2009

Greek pancakes


Whilst I am of mixed background my father is 100% Pontian Greek, so I am quite familiar with the Greek culture and definitely the food, thanks to the most gorgeous little Greek grandma in the world, my yia yia Sofia. Growing up, my brother and I spent a HUGE amount of time at my yia yia's simply because she spoiled us rotten. We would literally be eating the entire day in between playing on the makeshift swing of a blanket tied between trees.
For example I shall tell you about breakfast:
  • orange juice
  • milkshake
  • cooked eggs
  • slices of crusty white bread
  • sliced cucumber and tomatoes with salt
  • kalamata olives
  • tsoureki (sweet bread, similar to challah I think)
  • pancakes (tijanites)
  • slices of feta or saganaki
  • half a watermelon (no joke)


Did I mention this is what we ate when we were only 6years old? Miraculously none of us grandchildren became overweight either. My yia yia loves to cook; whether it be pitas she would make on her kitchen table with a huge wooden rod we later used to chase each other with, or little servings of semolina halva dotted with sultanas. Whilst I have a few of her recipes written, I did not write down the recipe for the pancakes. Luckily I found them on Greek Gourmand (eerie isn't it?) and was able to give my hubby a taste of Greece.

ease: 5/5.
prep time:
5mins.
cooking time: 5mins.
total: 10mins.

taste: 4/5. It only made 6 small pancakes but they were lovely and light, not as fluffy as the one's pictured here (my eggs were too cold I think) but still yum. I think this was the first time I have made pancakes that didn't have any sugar in them, and it wasn't missed at all. I served mine with maple syrup, french butter, walnuts and cinnamon. Yum.

would I make it again: Yep - super easy recipe that makes just enough for two.

recipe: http://greekgourmand.blogspot.com/2008/09/tiganites-greek-pancakes.html

8 comments:

  1. Thank you for your comment, and your photos are very striking too! Wow, if I had grown up eating so much good stuff over at my grandmother's house, I'd still be there right now! I'm so happy you left a comment so now I know another great Melbourne food blog. Btw, are you coming to the food bloggers meet Duncan of Syrup and Tang is hosting at the Commoner in Fitzroy next Saturday? Would be great if you could make it. If you're interested just leave Duncan a comment on his blog( http://www.syrupandtang.com/200902/announcing-melbourne-foodblogger-afternoon-sat-7th-march-2pm/)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love your blog ;) love your recipes. as well love your blog's elegancy and simplicity.

    Can you tell me a little secret? What template do you use? It looks totally awsome.

    ReplyDelete
  3. just came across your blog...these pancakes look amazing the the photos are lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh what I would have given to have a Yia Yia all my own growing up. My best friend in grade school was Greek and her Yia Yia lived directly behind her. We'd spend hours at her house being spoiled too. Between my friend's Yia Yia and Mom, we never, ever went hungry! I learned a lot about Greek food and culture spending countless hours with her family. I even went on to live in Greece for a year. However I have to admit I never have had Greek pancakes. These look so scrumptious too! Thanks for the great post, good memories, and the link to the Greek Gourmand's blog. You two are my new favorites!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you to everyone for their lovely comments - it's the most I have ever gotten!

    To Egle - I used Minima to start with and then added/changed the html with the help of my hubby who runs an online ecommerce site. Feel free to copy the bones of the html if you like.

    To Julia - the words 'still hungry' never left my mouth growing up and it's cool you got to experience and enjoy Greek culture so much so that you even went to Greece! And yes, Greek Gourmand is awesome, it's especially fun to see whether his recipes are the same or different from my Grandmother because for instance, Greek Lentil Soup (Fakes) varies greatly. I love my yia yia's but I have tried 4 others and they were so different.

    ReplyDelete
  6. breakfast at your grandmother's house sounds fantastic.

    i don't make pancakes enough. i made crepes suzette recently. playing with fire in the kitchen is awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thnx, you're really nice and it would be a pleasure for me to use the bones of html but... i don't know how. shame on me :)

    could you contact me (cause I couldn't find your e-mail) at aleksandraviciute.egle@gmail.com, i have some silly questions ;)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Your tiganites look amazing!!! Thank you for the shout out! You have an amazing blog, and I LOVE the name. :-) I have added you to my Google Reader and to my Blogroll on my blog proper. I look forward to seeing many more of your posts in my Reader. And yes, everyone should be so lucky as to have a Greek Yiayia, we love them dearly!

    ReplyDelete