Odysseus Elytis was a very important poet who was born in Heraklion of Crete on 2 November 1911 but his descent was from Lesbos island. He died in Athens on 18 March 1996. He is considered to be one of the exponents of romantic modernism in Greece and the world. In 1979 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Elytis was very active for over forty years giving to the world a vast spectrum of subjects and stylistic touches placing emphasis on rarefied and passionate. Although he took many elements of ancient Greece and Byzantium, he tried to tie them with modern Greece in which he was undoubtedly devoted. He is considered to be one of the most important surrealistic poets and through his trips mainly to Paris he had the chance to mingle with André Breton, Paul Éluard, Albert Camus etc. and he was a founding member of the Association Internationale des Critiques d’art. He also met with Henri Matisse, Marc Chagall and Pablo Picasso for whom he wrote a poem called “An Ode to Picasso”.
His poetry praised Greek light, the sun, the sea and nature. He tried to express passion and love through metaphors and aspects of everyday life. Greek sun played a major role in his poems since he was his “worshiper” and was the moving power to feelings and thoughts.
The Nobel Prize in Literature 1979 was awarded to Odysseus Elytis “for his poetry, which, against the background of Greek tradition, depicts with sensuous strength and intellectual clear-sightedness modern man’s struggle for freedom and creativeness”.
It is summer here already and sun is shining in all his glory. To make this dish, I used Lesbos Kaseri cheese and this somehow reminded me of the important poet. Kaseri cheese is a semisoft cheese made from sheep and goat cheese, solid without holes. It is formed in wheels with diameter of 30 cm. / 12 in. and height 10 cm / 4 in. with a waxed shell. It is produced in several areas in Greece and Turkey. It is a cheese of Protected Designation of Origin from EU.
This chicken is packed with flavors and it is a dish that everyone in your family will enjoy. I made it on a Sunday and both my husband and son dived into it with hunger. I accompanied it with French fries and I had no leftovers!
- 1 chicken, cut in pieces, bones and skin on
- 2 onions, sliced
- 1 red and 1 yellow pepper, sliced
- 100 gr. / 3.5 oz. Kaseri cheese, grated. If you don’t have kasseri you can use gruyere
- 250 gr. / 9 oz. tomato juice
- 10 red and yellow cherry tomatoes
- 2 tsp dried basil
- 2 tsp sugar
- Salt and pepper
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 rosemary sprigs
- 4 fresh sage leaves
- 3 thyme sprigs
- 3 tbsp fresh chives, chopped
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup water
- Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F.
- In a bowl mix the tomato juice, the sugar, salt and pepper, the basil, the olive oil and the water.
- Take the pieces of chicken and with a knife cut little pockets in their flesh.
- Add in each pocket as much cheese as possible.
- If there is any cheese left keep it to sprinkle on top.
- Take a deep pan and arrange the chicken pieces, the garlic cloves, the peppers, the cherry tomatoes, the onions, the rosemary, the sage, the thyme and the chives.
- Pour the tomato juice on top.
- Bake for 45 minutes.
- Turn your oven to broiler and broil for 8 to 10 minutes.
- If you have any cheese left sprinkle it before you put it under the broiler.
- Remove, let it rest for 5 minutes and serve.
- 1 κοτόπουλο, κομμένο σε κομμάτια
- 2 κρεμμύδια, κομμένα σε φέτες
- 1 κόκκινη και 1 κίτρινη πιπεριά, κομμένες σε φέτες
- 100 γρ. κασέρι, τριμμένο.
- 250 γρ. χυμό ντομάτας
- 10 ντοματίνια, κόκκινα και κίτρινα
- 2 κ.γ. ξηρό βασιλικό
- 2 κ.γ. ζάχαρη
- Αλάτι και πιπέρι
- 2 σκελίδες σκόρδο
- 2 κλωνάρια δενδρολίβανο
- 4 φρέσκα φύλλα φασκόμηλου
- 3 κλωναράκια θυμάρι
- 3 κ.σ. φρέσκο σχοινόπρασο, ψιλοκομμένο
- ⅓ φλ. ελαιόλαδο
- ¼ φλ. νερό
- Προθερμαίνετε το φούρνο στους 200° C.
- Σε ένα μπολ ανακατέψτε το χυμό ντομάτας, τη ζάχαρη, αλάτι και πιπέρι, το βασιλικό, το ελαιόλαδο και το νερό.
- Πάρτε τα κομμάτια του κοτόπουλου και με ένα μαχαίρι κόψτε τσέπες στη σάρκα τους.
- Γεμίστε κάθε τσέπη με όσο περισσότερο τυρί μπορείτε.
- Εάν υπάρχει περίσσευμα τυριού κρατήστε το να το ρίξετε από πάνω.
- Πάρτε ένα βαθύ ταψί και τακτοποιήστε τα κομμάτια κοτόπουλου, τις σκελίδες σκόρδο, τις πιπεριές, τις ντομάτες cherry, τα κρεμμύδια, το δεντρολίβανο, το φασκόμηλο, το θυμάρι και το σχοινόπρασο.
- Περιχύστε με το χυμό της ντομάτας από πάνω.
- Ψήστε για 45 λεπτά.
- Γυρίστε το φούρνο στο γκριλ και ψήστε για 8 έως 10 λεπτά.
- Αν έχετε περίσσευμα τυριού, ρίξτε το από πάνω πριν το βάλετε στο γκριλ.
- Βγάλτε από τον φούρνο, αφήστε το να ξεκουραστεί για 5 λεπτά και σερβίρετε.
