Spiced Camel for Epicureans

Pastourma....
Spicy slices of cured camel.  Does that tickle your taste buds?
There is a shop in central Athens  whose pastourma is of the highest quality.  It is not always made from camel but more often  beef or water buffalo.  The camel variety is sold for 97 euros a kilo.  We were given, or gifted as they say nowadays, a few slices, not even 100 grams.  This finest meat is cut so thin you can see daylight through it's lacy slicing.  Each slice is separated and protected with it's own slice of waxed paper.  

This was kept by our ardent traditional person to serve only to those who would appreciate it with a shot (or 2) of the best local  fire water or some of his precious ouzo from a bottle found only in  select duty free, so he says. 

Every Christmas it is now his tradition to make a pie from the cheaper beef pastourma, a pie made with phyllo pastry, slices of pastourma, slices of a mild greek cheese called kaseri and fresh tomato.   

We have a few pieces now in the fridge waiting for a meeting of  epicureans, those who desire the sensual enjoyment that comes from fine food and wine.  Fine food they may find in our house, however I'm not at all sure about fine wine.  Fine wine does not usually come from a plastic bottle.

Our Epicureans also relish soudzouki, a dried spicy sausage cut into slices and fried, or kopanisti, a soft, very salty and stinky cheese brought to us by a friend from the island of Andros.  I see on the web this cheese is described as greek roquefort.  I would dispute that.  I eat and enjoy roquefort, this stuff is downright offensive.  But then I avoid ouzo and raki too.  Strong spirits need strong tastes to wash them down.

Give them a bowl of salty, tangy olives and some cured fish and they will reminisce for hours about the mezes they have eaten and the wine they have drunk.   An epicurean is happy when there is  balance between  alcohol, basic traditonal food and company that debates, discusses and philosphises.  Alcohol loosens their tongues, food fills their bellies and their company fills their day.

One friend will call another, one will proudly bring a bowl of pigs foot or pickled sardines or just some fresh boiled greens picked that day from the fields, something for all the company to enjoy.  There will be the wine from their neighbours vines or tsipouro (a very strong alcohol distiled from the remnants of the wine press) from some small village in the mountains.  The company gathers and these sessions will continue till dawn or at least till the last has staggered out the door because he must work in a few hours time.

This is the greek male way, and ever more shall be so.



*epicurean 
1. a student of the greek philosopher Epicouros. 

Wikipedia
For Epicurus the purpose of philosophy was to help people attain a happy, tranquil life characterised by peace, freedom from fear and absence of pain.  He advocated that people were best able to pursue philosophy by living a self-sufficient life surrounded by friends.

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Cold Spiced Camel

Spicy beef pie - also called Pie from Kesaria (recipe brought by refugees from this area of Turkey)

The photo above is pastourmadopitta.  Ha, try and say that after a New Years drink....or even before!

Pastourma -  is highly spiced dried and salt cured beef cut into very thin slices.   Some of the spices are cumin, fenugreek, garlic, hot paprika.

 The meat used to be camel but I rather think it is always beef nowadays, at least in Greece.  Is an Anatolian speciality.  Anatolia meaning Turkey, but it is popular all over the middle east.  It has a very strong smell and your sweat will stink of it for days, just like garlic!

The flavour is obviously quite strong and takes a bit of getting used to....like goats feet or garden snails.

Pastourma is very expensive, something bought only for festive days (just about every day in Greece).  A kilo will cost 23 euros and maybe much much more.  We buy 100 grams very thinly sliced.  Usually it will be eaten  as-is with bread and cheese and an ouzo.  One other way of eating it is to make it into a pitta (pie) with filo pastry.

Our traditional cook made one for xmas eve and he'll be making another for New Year's Eve.  It is very hard to find pastourma at other times of the year unless you have a friend who will bring the best from a specialty shop in Athens called Miran.  They sell the best pastourma from the Kirkini area of northern Greece and soujouk from Armenia.

The pitta is made with layers of filo pastry, each one oiled and placed in a baking dish.  Then there are layers of thinly sliced pastourma, slices of a mild cheese and topped with slices of tomato.  More filo pastry and into the oven.

This is one of our family traditions.