Greek Cooking Lessons with Calliope in Her Brooklyn Kitchen
A rainy Saturday afternoon spent in a warm kitchen is the definition of paradise. So when our customer and new friend Calliope invited us to her home in Boerum Hill for a Greek cooking class, we were thrilled! Calliope founded her cooking school to offer an antidote to the stress and worry her friends suffered trying to prepare healthy family meals each evening. Dinner doesn’t have to be a big to-do, Calliope believes. It can be nourishing, fresh, and easy if you have a little plan!
When we arrived, we rolled up our sleeves, donned aprons, and wasted no time sampling her Greek extra virgin olive oil sitting amongst the cookbooks on her shelf. Some oils were light and clear and tasted like raw olives; others had a dark color and more complex flavor, almost barrel-aged. Since they’re hard to track down here, Calliope has to ship bottles back to Brooklyn from her family’s home in Greece every summer.
Olive oil remained a theme the entire afternoon. Calliope taught us about the “ladera” method of cooking, which originated in the south of Greece. There, olive trees are prevalent and warm summers cultivate produce in abundance. Because the vegetables and herbs available varied from municipality to municipality, and sometimes from town to town, laderas across southern Greece always change but the guiding principle remains the same: beautiful vegetables roasted at high heat in lots of olive oil.
While we chopped and stirred, Calliope shared anecdotes and pointed to the map of Greece on her kitchen wall. As the vegetables roasted, we learned about the arid, mountainous, cold northern region of Greece, where dairy and meat are traditionally the primary source of calories. This region sits in steep contrast with the cuisine of the south, where olive oil rules the day. We heard about Calliope’s family and the role her mother’s Smyrnan roots play in her cooking. Smyrna had more access to the cosmopolitan flavors of Istanbul and the fertile plains of Turkey. As a result, the food is more elaborate with raisins, sugars, spices and nuts.
Calliope’s mother’s “gemista,” or rice-stuffed vegetables, is the pinnacle of Smyrnan cuisine. To make them we first hollowed out tomatoes, peppers, and zucchini. Before we stuffed the vegetables—with Arborio rice, chopped mint, raisins, pine nuts, salt + pepper—Calliope added a tiny spoonful of sugar into every hollowed vegetable, for a touch of sweetness. We placed them in a pan, drizzled with plenty of olive oil (of course) and placed them in her oven—now full to the brim with bubbling pans.
As all the vegetables and olive oil cooked and cooked, we set the table. Calliope poured tastes of Crazy Donkey IPA from Santorini and Assyrtiko wine for all of us. We sat and ate and laughed. “Food cooked with olive oil only gets better the day after it’s cooked,” said Calliope, but we had no problem finishing the the lovely spread right then and there. Before bundling up and setting off into the chilly rain, Calliope shared some spoon fruit and thyme honey for a sweet end to the perfect Saturday afternoon.
Calliope hosts cooking classes most Fridays and Saturdays. Her beautiful website offers a complete schedule. Every class lasts 4 hours and includes a lovely recipe booklet with illustrations by Anne Le Guern.
