Η συνταγή και στα ελληνικά στο τέλος της ανάρτησης!

Today I am going to share with you a very funny story on how Greeks started to consume potatoes many, many years ago.

Story says that, during the first years (1830) of the newborn Greek nation after its liberation from the Ottomans,  John Kapodistrias its first governor, imported potatoes or geomila as they were called back then, here and urged people to start including them in their diet. He offered the seeds free to whoever wanted to cultivate them and he encouraged every step towards this direction.

Unfortunately, all this activity wasn’t received as warmly as anyone would expect. Locals were very suspicious and reserved and didn’t want even to try these new potatoes. They refused to cultivate them and potatoes were rotting in the warehouses.

Kapodistrias was a man of deep knowledge of the local mentality and so, he realized that unless he could think something out of the ordinary to make the local people accept this new produce and include it in their everyday meals, these seeds will eventually become useless and waste.

So, he did the following, he cultivated a big piece of land with potatoes and once the plants started giving fruits, he put armed guardians around the land 24 hours a day not letting anyone pass.

When the locals saw this, they started thinking that since the governor put all these armed men to guard the land, then this produce must have great value. How stupid of them not to take advantage of that previous offer! And now how were they going to get their hands on these fruits? By stealing them of course.

They waited till night and when the guards were taking a nap, they went in and took as many potatoes as they could. Of course the armed men were in the know by Kapodistrias. They pretended they were sleeping and to let them take as much as they could.

The rest is all history. This is how, my dear friends, potato came into the lives of the Greeks and it became an irreplaceable part of our diet. It also proves that humans always crave what they don’t and can’t have!

When I saw this potato salad in Sissi’s blog With a Glass, I immediately bookmarked the recipe. Sissi is a Polish girl who lives, along with her family, in Switzerland. She is a big lover of Greek kitchen and she is also a master in Asian dishes as well. She is a warm and very kind person and I always enjoy exchanging ideas on Greek and other countries’ food.

So, going back to the salad, once I saw it, I was certain that this potato salad somehow someday would end up on my table. And it did and it was so delicious, my husband took the very few leftovers with him at work. Because we are also carnivores, we accompanied the salad with this very easy yet extremely tasty Pork Tenderloin with Sangria and Dijon Mustard. It was a very filling and tasty meal and it gave me the chance to talk to my son about another country, Poland for that matter, and its people and kitchen. Thanks Sissi for the beautiful recipe and for sharing it with us. It is definitely a keeper.

Polish Potato Salad

 

Ingredients

4 potatoes

3 carrots

4 pickled cucumbers

2 cups peas

4 eggs

½ onion (you can add one onion, I have stomach issues and I cannot eat too much)

2 apples

2 tsp Dijon mustard

10 tbsp mayonnaise

2 tsp white wine vinegar

Salt and pepper

10 drops of liquid stevia

 

Instructions

Boil together the potatoes and carrots until they start to soften.

We don’t want them too soft or they will be mashed when we mix them with the other ingredients.

Boil the peas or you can use canned ones.

Boil the eggs.

Drain the potatoes and carrots and cut them in cubes.

Do the same with the eggs.

Chop the onion.

Cut the pickled cucumbers and apples in cubes too.

Take a big deep bowl and add everything including mustard, mayo, vinegar, stevia salt and pepper.

Mix gently and taste to adjust in salt and pepper.

Put in the fridge for an hour and serve cold.

Drunk Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients

1,5 kilo / 3lb. pork tenderloin, cut in slices 1,5cm / 0.5 in. thick

50 gr. / 2 oz. mushrooms, sliced

1 small onion, sliced

1 cup sangria

1 knorr vegetable stock in jelly form not the cubes

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Salt and pepper

1 tbsp corn starch

1 tbsp water

 

Instructions

Sauté onion and mushrooms in medium heat until they start to soften.

Add the pork slices and sauté for a couple of minutes each side.

Pour the sangria wine and increase the heat to high.

Let the wine to be reduced in half, decrease the heat to low and add the vegetable stock jelly, the Dijon, balsamic, salt and pepper.

Let it simmer for 20 minutes and then add the corn starch.

Increase the heat to medium and let the sauce thicken.

Remove from fire and serve while it is warm.