Simplicity of Island living

Simplicity of island living, especially on Ikaria, a remote, less-travelled island, meant life consisted of a few wonderful things over the week I spent there, writes Steph Peirce.

Exploring the mountainous island by car, finding pockets of pebbled shore to take a dip with the locals and many times alone (which is rare when in the Greek islands), fresh fruit pickups from roadside stalls. Most good swimming spots required strapping the sandals up tight to hike and rock climb down to excluded beaches; once down there I noticed most had boated in, but the adventure of the walk and clinging to rocks in the blistering heat makes swimming in the salty, crystal clear, blue waters that much more surreal. Floating out in the ocean is where worries and stressors in our everyday life seem to feel insignificant in the moment, because being there right then feels like the biggest exhale you could ever imagine.

Now, I don't think you need to go to the Greek islands to feel this appreciation for right now (although I would highly recommend it too!). But is was a great reminder that we can have it anywhere at anytime, stopping and taking in the beauty of where we live, our surroundings, what foods are available right now and how we can make them into something beautiful with little time or resources and connect with the people around us, like really stop and connect.

As I was floating between Airbnbs and hotels for much of the trip, it was nice to get to Ikaria, where I had slightly bigger homes with a kitchen. These were never too well equipped, yet enough to improvise and turn the local ingredients into something worth savouring after a long day at the beach. I do think I thrive with under challenging circumstances that offer me less choice, whether it be lack of ingredients or very few kitchen essentials (not to mention the loss of my 20kg luggage from day one of a 5 week trip!). When I decide I want to cook, nothing will get in my way, and its times like these new methods, new recipes and new ways of making something possible emerge. When everything is easy and accessible, there are endless things to create, but sometimes that can make it all too easy to cook what you already know.

Making these walnut, sunflower and honey bars was exactly one of those times; ingredients were scarce, and the kitchen - well, it looked like a kitchen, but open the cupboards and there was next-to-nothing inside. I was determined to make a nut bar to take on my beach trips and tide me over for plane snacks as well, knowing they will be filling and satisfy a sweet craving. I also only had 45 minutes before I was to check out, so it had to be quick. Well, the things you can do with a pan, wooden spoon, a plate and a freezer! And I used the bag my walnuts came in to take my bars away with me, as someone with strictly carry-on -  thank you, lost luggage - does not have extra Tupperware tucked away, so this nut bar exercise was a great test of using less and wasting nothing.

Snapping the bars into pieces and enjoying them at the beach had me thinking how doable this recipe and my others will be to make while camping over summer in the caravan - or you know, if you have a full setup kitchen, you've really got no excuses. All of these recipes could be made using a hot plate or a BBQ. The watermelon salad is easiest of all, as it just requires a chopping board, knife and a few bowls.

The inspiration that follows a trip abroad gives you new lenses to create from on return. I have brought the flavours, the techniques, the different experiences and lessons home for me to use for my own cooking and share with you and my clients. Last week at my shop, Local & Friday in Roxburgh, I crafted a full Italian-inspired menu and dinner packages, using ingredients we have right here in Central Otago. Well what a hit that was, with deliveries right up to Wanaka and people enjoying an Italian dinner experience in the comfort of their own home. The excitement for something different, the sparkle in others’ eyes hearing about my trip and their past and future trips brings out wonderful memories and plans, all from sharing and connecting with people through the love of food and travel. My sharing with others will continue next week as I create a Greek theme menu, and I hope you can create your own too with these recipes. Flicking back through my photos for inspiration and relishing in the memories makes me feel like I’m right back there, and those feelings of joy and simplicity are being remembered for me again.

There are times where we can dedicate half a day to mastering a beautiful recipe with endless technique and precision, which I very much love to do on occasion. And there are so many times where a good humble recipe that requires only few simple techniques is all you wish to create. Neither is better or worse, more enjoyable or less, they both are fantastic and can be appreciated equally. When I reflect on my ‘‘eating journey’’ around Europe, I am just as inspired by the cheap street food I stumbled upon, as three-course French dining experiences I chose. Enjoy it all. And for these recipes, relish in the simplicity. Perhaps while you're enjoying these recipes you may stop and take in all of the beauty surrounding you right then and there in that moment, because the more we recognise it, the more we will see it.

Greek fries with garlic oil, feta + oregano

Now, I'm a sucker for a good hot chip, but these are next level. The garlic oil delicately infuses the fries with a fragrant garlic aroma, feta adds that extra creamy and salty kick and oregano is a staple herb used in Greece and really tops it off. It's key to use Greek-style feta as this is a firmer, crumbly feta that won't break down with the heat of the fries - Danish or soft feta are very creamy and soft and don't work quite as well.

SERVES 4

1.2kg potatoes, washed
½ cup olive oil
4 garlic cloves
80g Greek feta
1½ tsp dried oregano
2 Tbsp flaky sea salt
½ lemon, to serve

Method

Preheat oven to 200degC, place a large baking tray into the oven to heat.

Remove skins from the garlic cloves and, using the side of a large chef's knife, squash the garlic until the clove has burst. Heat olive oil and garlic in a small pot on med-low temperature for 15-20 minutes while your potatoes boil, to infuse the oil.

Slice potatoes into 1cm disks and then slice again into 1cm thick fries. Transfer to a medium pot and cover with tap water. Bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer for 8-10 minutes, until tender but not completely cooked. Drain potatoes in a colander.

Scatter the potatoes over the hot oven tray followed by the garlic oil, garlic cloves and 1 tablespoon of sea salt. Using a flat spatula, gently give the potatoes a toss to evenly coat with oil. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes until crispy and golden, flipping the fries after 15 minutes to ensure even baking.

Remove fries from the oven, sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sea salt, the oregano and roughly crumble the feta on top of the fries. Using your spatula, transfer fries to a serving bowl — this way the fries are already evenly coated with the feta and oregano. Serve with a squeeze of lemon.

Walnut, sunflower seed and honey toffee bars

You're hard-pressed to get a muesli bar in the grocery stores in the Greek islands. However, they do have sticky sunflower seed bars in stores and bakeries, which are a staple for snacking. After browsing the very simple grocery stores, about all I could get my hands on to make a snack bar were these few ingredients, but they were available in most grocery stores I came across, and they're cheap as chips - actually, cheaper than chips.

Using very little kitchen equipment, these were whipped up in 10 minutes - no fancy equipment, no slice tins, hardly even basic equipment - which makes these perfect for making anywhere you like. Even while camping over summer you could whip these up with a pan on the barbecue.

You could absolutely set this recipe into a slice tin and cut them into bars. However, I didn't have that luxury, and to be honest, I quite like how simple they are to spread over a plate and then break apart once set.

I used butter in my recipe, which gives that really nice toffee flavour with the honey; however, coconut oil would work just fine (you need fat that will solidify, so don't use oil.

SERVES 12

140g runny honey
40g butter or coconut oil
1/3 cup hulled tahini paste
2 cups walnuts, roughly chopped
1 cup sunflower seeds

Method

Using a large pan on a medium heat, toast walnuts and sunflower seeds for 5 minutes, stirring and tossing frequently until lightly toasted. Transfer to a medium size mixing bowl.

Using the same pan, place it back on the heat with honey and butter/coconut oil and bring to the boil. Allow this mixture to bubble away for 2-3 minutes before turning the heat off and quickly stirring in the tahini paste. Pour this toffee mixture over the warm nuts and mix together until well-combined.

Place a 30cm piece of baking paper on a large dinner plate and tip the mixture out on to the plate. Working quickly, while the mixture is still hot, use the back of a dessert spoon to press the mixture down and flat, about 1cm thick, making sure the mixture is as stuck together as possible and pressing around the edges to seal it into a rough round shape. The shape doesn't matter too much as you will snap it apart.

Transfer to a refrigerator for 2 hours or freeze for 40 minutes. Remove from the fridge, peel the baking paper off the nut bars and break the bars apart into snack-sized pieces. Enjoy just like that or transfer to an airtight container - they keep for 5 days.

Watermelon, rocket and feta salad with sumac pickled red onions

Stunningly fresh, simple and light, this salad is the ultimate palette cleanser while having hints of acidity and salt from the sumac pickled onions and feta. This elevates the fresh fruits and greens. Perfectly paired with seed-crusted chicken, barbecued steak or fish.

This salad is best assembled and enjoyed within 1 hour of making it. You can prepare the ingredients in separate bowls up to 4 hours prior and assemble just before serving.

SERVES 6

1kg watermelon, chilled (approx 4 cups)
250g cherry tomatoes
120g rocket
100g greek style feta
½ small red onion
1 tsp sumac
½ cup white wine vinegar
1 tsp honey
¼ tsp salt

Mint dressing

¼ cup white wine vinegar
1 tsp honey
¼ cup mild extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp sea salt
12 large mint leaves

Method

Finely slice red onion in thin strips, place in a small bowl with ½ cup white wine vinegar, sumac, honey and ¼ teaspoon salt, mix together with a fork and allow to pickle for 20 minutes, toss occasionally to ensure all of the onion is being pickled.

To make the dressing:

Using a small bowl and a fork, whisk together white wine vinegar, olive oil, honey and salt. Finely chop mint leaves and add these to the dressing and whisk together.

Remove rind of the watermelon, then chop the fruit into 4cm cubes, place cubes in a colander in the sink as you prepare salad.

Cut cherry tomatoes in half through the centre, width ways and set aside in a small bowl.

Strain pickling liquid from the red onions.

Using a large serving plate to serve the salad, layer all ingredients twice to ensure each serving has a bit of everything.

Start with layering half of the rocket across the plate, followed in order with watermelon, sliced tomatoes, pickled red onion, crumble half of the feta and spoon half of the dressing over top, repeat in the same order with the remaining ingredients.

Garnish with extra mint leaves and a good pinch of sumac.