Ela Ela! To Turkey and Greece, Then Home by Ella Mittas
Ella Mittas’ new cookbook Ela Ela! To Turkey and Greece, Then Home is dedicated to her time spent travelling, taking readers on an intimate culinary journey from Istanbul to Alaçati and Crete.
Words: Hande Renshaw I Photography: Ella Mittas
‘I love these biscuits (melomakarona - recipe below) because there's no butter or eggs in them. They are nutty, savoury, and sweet and keep in the fridge for a long time,’ says Ella Mittas. Photo: Ella Mittas
Candied Grapefruit from Ela Ela! To Turkey and Greece, Then Home. Photo: Ella Mittas
‘My favourite memory from my time travelling to Istanbul and Turkey is my day off was Sunday – so each Sunday, I would have a day of roaming through Istanbul with my two good friends Sophie and Ender. These days mainly consisted of eating and walking—just time spent enjoying the city.’ Photo: Ella Mittas
Greek-Australian Melbourne-based Ella Mittas’ debut cookbook Ela Ela! To Turkey and Greece, Then Home transports us to Turkey and Greece, sharing her beloved Mediterranean recipes, all shot by the chef and food writer on film.
Each chapter in the new book is dedicated to a different place, taking readers on a culinary journey from Istanbul to Alaçati and Crete – a collection of recipes and essays she’s compiled after years of working in kitchens overseas.
For Ella, travel was a time for personal growth, extending her cooking knowledge and deepening her understanding of Greek and Turkish food culture.
‘Coming up against different cultures in new environments taught me so much about my insecurities, most of all, I think. Travel is so hard because all of your comforts are taken away, everything is new, and so you're always slightly unsettled; travelling and working for long periods taught me about my emotional limits, what I struggle with, and what I value about home.’
Many of the recipes within the book evoke memories for Ella, reflecting on treasured culinary moments from her childhood with loved ones.
‘We ate melomakarona (recipe below) a lot growing up. They're certainly reminiscent of my grandparent's house. But I think they're one of my favourite Greek sweets because of the use of olive oil in them. In Greece, there is an extensive lent period for Easter where animal products are eliminated from people's diets. I love these biscuits because there's no butter or eggs in them – they’re nutty, savoury, and sweet and keep in the fridge for a long time.’
Within the book you will also find recipes such as sour cherry dolmades, tzatziki with almonds, slow fried eggplant, moussaka and village salad.
Galaktoboureko from Ela Ela! To Turkey and Greece, Then Home. Photo: Ella Mittas
Potato salad with herbs and roast almonds from Ela Ela! To Turkey and Greece, Then Home. Photo: Ella Mittas
“Travelling and working for long periods taught me about my emotional limits, what I struggle with, and what I value about home.”
‘The biggest similarity between Greek and Turkish food is the olive oil braised vegetable dishes – a big section of both cuisines consists of olive oil braised vegetables served at room temperature. So lots of those dishes are nearly identical for both cuisines.’ Photo: Ella Mittas
MELOMAKARONA
These are some of my favourite Greek sweets because of their mix of savoury olive oil and herbaceous thyme honey. Instead of Greek thyme honey, you can heat some good quality Australian honey with thyme to infuse it. These will keep in the fridge for a few weeks.
Makes about 25-30 biscuits
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups olive oil
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup fine semolina
2 oranges, zested
2/3 cup orange juice
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup Madeira
1/2 cup ground walnuts
1/2 cup almond meal
3 1/2 cups cake flour or all purpose flour, or more as needed
FOR THE HONEY SYRUP
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup Greek thyme honey
1 1/2 cups water
2 cups walnuts, coarsely chopped
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Add the oil and sugar to a bowl and mix to combine.
Add the semolina, orange zest and juice, salt, cloves and cinnamon and mix for another minute.
In a separate bowl, combine the baking powder and Madeira, then pour into the semolina mix, followed by the ground nuts.
Once that is all incorporated, start to gradually add in the flour, kneading to create a soft, oily dough.
Turn the dough out onto a working surface, adding a little more flour if it’s too soft and difficult to shape.
Knead for 2–3 minutes, then cover and let rest for 20 minutes in the fridge.
Roll dough into golf ball sized biscuits. Take your time doing this: if the biscuits aren’t well formed they’ll crack when baking.
Place the cookies about 4 centimetres apart on trays lined with baking paper and press a fork on the surface to create ridges.
Bake for about 25 minutes until the biscuits are golden brown and sound hollow when you tap them.
Meanwhile, make the syrup: in a medium saucepan, simmer the sugar, honey and water for five minutes and remove from the heat. Let cool.
Drop six to eight hot cookies at a time into the honey syrup and let them soak for about a minute or a bit longer, depending on how soft or crunchy you’d like your melomakarona.
Once the biscuits have been soaked, sprinkle the crushed walnuts over them for garnish.
