Η συνταγή και στα ελληνικά στο τέλος της ανάρτησης!
The myth says that the first name of Athens was Akte or Aktike, named after its first king Akteos.
When Kecrops succeeded Akteos by marrying his daughter, he wanted to change the name of the city and thus he performed a competition among gods as to who will give his or her name to the city. Two gods made it to the last round; Poseidon, brother of Zeus and god of sea and sea creatures and Athena, beloved daughter of Zeus and goddess of wisdom. Zeus, who was caught in the middle of all this and in order to avoid any violent encounter between the two, decided that each one of them would make a gift to the city and its citizens would choose which one is better and subsequently which god will render his or her name to the city.
Competition took place in the rock of Acropolis and both citizens and gods have gathered to see what the end result would be. Poseidon struck the rock with his trident and a spring of salted water gushed up. With this blow a horse was leaped also ready to serve its lord faithfully. All this was interpreted as help from the side of the Poseidon to succeed in war at the sea.
Athena, on the other hand, dropped a seed that immediately turned into an olive tree, symbolizing the fruits of piece wisdom and the precious nutritional value of olives and olive oil.
It was a difficult struggle and both gods were equally powerful and their gifts appealed to different target groups. Legend says that men voted for Poseidon, whereas women voted for Athena. Because there was one woman more than men, goddess Athena’s gift was selected and therefore the city was named Athens. Parthenon and many other monuments were built to honor the goddess and many games and rituals took place to honor her.
Olive tree has become a vital part of the ancient Greek diet and continues to be a very important part of our diet today. Greece has the highest consumption of olive oil per capita and it is an indispensable part of our everyday cooking. The same stands for olives.
“Greek-style black olives, Spanish-style green olives, Kalamata-style olives, and many different methods of olive preparation provide us with valuable amounts of many different antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrients. Hydroxytyrosol, an olive phytonutrient that has long been linked to cancer prevention, is now regarded as having the potential to help us prevent bone loss as well. Several recent laboratory animal studies have found increased depositing of calcium in bone and decreased loss of total bone mass following consumption of this olive phytonutrient (as well as oleuropein, another key phytonutrient found in olives). These findings are fascinating, since consumption of a Mediterranean Diet has long been associated with decreased risk of osteoporosis, and olives often find themselves on center stage in Mediterranean Diet studies.”
(Source: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=46)
I can tell you one thing; I cannot possibly live without olive oil or olives. And this stands not only for me but also for the majority of Greeks, who learn to eat them from a very young an age. It is only natural for me to try and create as many things as possible with these both. I saw these twirlos in a recipe site, I cannot recall right now, but they were made with bacon and yellow cheese which were perfectly fine. I liked the idea but I wanted something vegetarian and healthy to give my son at school, my husband at work and for me to take at work as well. So, I kept the shape but followed a recipe of mine for the bread and for the filling I improvised! It was awesome and definitely healthier. If you want something light, healthy but still filling and tasty then I urge you to try this one. You will be filled with good energy and you will have eaten a healthy, nutritious snack.
- 300 gr. /10.5 oz. bread flour
- 160 gr. to 180 gr /5.6 oz. to 6.3 oz. lukewarm water
- 1 tsp yeast
- 4 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 100 gr. /3.5 oz. olives, pitted and sliced
- 60 gr. / 2 oz. Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
- 60 gr. / 2 oz. green olives, pitted and chopped
- 150 gr. / 5 oz. yellow cheese I used Edam, grated
- 150 gr. / 5 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
- 2 tsp. sugar to counterbalance the acidity of the feta and the olives
- 2 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
- In the mixer put the flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Pour the water and start mixing for about 10 minutes until the smooth ball is gathered around the hook.
- Take a bowl and oil it. Place the dough either in a warm place or in the oven for an hour.
- After the hour has passed deflate the dough and with a pining roll make a rectangular 40cm X 35cm / 16 in. X 14 in.
- Preheat oven to 200° C / 400° F.
- Spread the yellow cheese, then the feta cheese and finally the chopped olives.
- Sprinkle with the sugar, oregano and basil and start rolling carefully the dough as in the pictures.
- When you finish seal the seams and give it a rounded shape.
- Join the two ends and seal them.
- Place it on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and bake for about 20 to 30 minutes or until it has taken a deep brown color on top.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
- 300 γρ. αλεύρι ψωμί
- 160 με 180 γρ. νερό χλιαρό
- 1 κ.γ. μαγιά
- 4 κ.γ. ζάχαρη
- 1 κ.γ. αλάτι
- 60 γρ. μαύρες ελιές, χωρίς κουκούτσι και ψιλοκομμένες
- 60 γρ. πράσινες ελιές, χωρίς κουκούτσι και ψιλοκομμένες
- 150 γρ. κίτρινο τυρί edam ή όποιο άλλο, τριμμένο
- 150 γρ. φέτα τριμμένη
- 2 κ.γ. ζάχαρη για να αντισταθμίσει την οξύτητα της φέτας και των ελιών
- 2 κ.γ. ρίγανη
- 1 κ.γ. ξερό βασιλικό
- Βάλτε το αλεύρι, τη μαγιά, τη ζάχαρη και το αλάτι στον κάδο του μίξερ.
- Ρίξτε το νερό και ξεκινήστε το ανακάτεμα με το γάντζο για περίπου 10 λεπτά έως ότου η ζύμη γίνει μια λεία μπάλα και συγκεντρωθει γύρω από το γάντζο.
- Αλείψτε ένα μπωλ με λάδι.
- Τοποθετήστε τη ζύμη σε ζεστό χώρο για μια ώρα.
- Αφού έχει περάσει η ώρα ζυμώστε για ένα λεπτό με τον πλάστη ανοίξτε μια ορθογώνια ζύμη 40 cm X 35 cm.
- Προθερμάνετε το φούρνο στους 200° C.
- Απλώστε το κίτρινο τυρί, τη φέτα και τέλος, τις ψιλοκομμένες ελιές.
- Πασπαλίστε με τη ζάχαρη, τη ρίγανη και το βασιλικό και αρχίστε να ρολάρετε προσεκτικά τη ζύμη όπως στις εικόνες.
- Όταν φτάσετε στο τέλος τσιμπήστε για να ασφαλίσετε τις ραφές της ζύμης.
- Ενώστε τις δύο άκρες και ασφαλίστε τις πιέζοντάς τες.
- Βάλτε σε ένα ταψί καλυμμένο με λαδόκολλα και ψήστε για περίπου 20 έως 30 λεπτά, ή ώσπου να πάρει χρώμα.
- Σερβίρετε το ζεστό ή σε θερμοκρασία δωματίου.