honey

Tastes of Greece at Pantopoleion gourmet shop

Tastes of Greece at Pantopoleion gourmet shop

We love shopping in grocery stores to look for the foods that local people use in their kitchens. That's usually what we bring home to our own kitchen. But Athens supermarkets proved too much for us because we are illiterate in Greek. The alphabet confounded us. We can usually figure out food names in most European languages that use a Roman alphabet. Ironically, many of those food names come down from Greek. But knowing that doesn't help when you can't sound out the spelling. So we resorted to Pantopoleion (34 Dimitrakopolou, Athens; +30 210 325 4890; pantopwlion.gr/), a local specialty store in our neighborhood, and put ourselves in the capable hands of John Kontoyiannis, one of the owners. (That's John behind the deli counter at...Read More

Truffles, cheese, and honey for dessert

One of our favorite breakfast dishes in Spain is a plate of sliced Manchego cheese drizzled with honey and served with a bit of membrillo (quince jelly). For dessert, the ewe's milk tang and saltiness of Manchego pairs exceptionally well with black truffle. MANCHEGO CHEESE, HONEY & BLACK TRUFFLES Serves 2 6 oz. wedge of Manchego semi-curado (aged at least 6 months) 2 tablespoons of chestnut or acacia honey 10 grams black truffle crackers for serving Remove rind from Manchego. Lay wedge on its side and slice into 7-8 triangles of cheese. Arrange on a plate and drizzle with honey. (The easy way is to dip a butter knife in the honey and “paint” it on the cheese.) Shave black truffle over the top. Add...Read More