Ted and Grandma

My Grandma was an amazing cook and she was always exposing us as children to new and exotic foodstuffs … pretty brave when you think that most young children eat based on colour. Supposedly human beings have an inbuilt survival mechanism from cave man days based on reaction to what the colour of food “told us” in the days before refrigerators (and sense of smell obviously) aka whether something was safe to eat or not!!!

Apparently children are not born with this ability and the mechanism develops as they grow up, which possibly explains why green is bad, but blue (bubble-gum flavoured ice cream for example) which typically would just be such a no go adult area, holds no such fear for kids.

I remember one of the strangest looking yet most exotic of fruits that she bought (must have cost a fortune now I realise) and tempted us into tasting it.  Yes, dear readers it was the not so humble pomegranate.

A native of the middle east and India it was soon transported to the Greek and Roman empires where it quickly became revered and cemented its place in our historic folklore. There are those who would tell us that it was in fact the “apple” that tempted Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden – those of you who read my Quince post will know of course that this simply can’t be true (or can it???). We do know that it was much valued by desert travellers as it provided an easy to transport, thirst quenching, full of vitamins, great tasting fruit, wrapped in a semi hard skin that protected the between 200 and 1000 seeds inside, each surrounded by a water laden pulp.

It’s attributed a range of powers and even now some cultures have a soon to be married woman split open a pomegranate and the number of seeds that fall to the ground indicate how many children the union will be blessed with. Naturally they’re full of good stuff that helps protect our skin, has anti-inflammatory properties, supports our liver, help fight infections and protect against arthritis. Grandma taught us the fabulous trick of how to get the seeds out of a pomegranate by cutting it in half then scoring a cross into the back of the fruit and tapping it vigorously over a large bowl with a big wooden spoon (read small children dangerously wielding a culinary weapon) before adding them to dishes or cooking down to make a sweet and sour like syrup. 

… which I now know is called Pomegranate Molasses and is totally and utterly delicious and good for enhancing almost everything … even pouring over blue ice cream …  

Ted is reunited ...

… with an old girlfriend and the Doll didn't mind in the least now that you ask (yes you did I heard you).  There is a great Cypriot restaurant in Camden town in what was originally known as the “Peloponnese Triangle” due to its large Greek and Cypriot communities. While a lot of these communities have moved to north London (looking for sun presumably) Daphne’s remains and provides some of the best Greek Cypriot cuisine in town.

So why the “reuniting” Ted?  Well Daphne’s closed down temporarily for building works and it took a lot longer to complete than ever imagined, and only relatively recently did they fire up their charcoal grills again in the refurbished handsome restaurant, where naturally they retained all the interesting historical photographs.

The family behind Daphne's are long-time residents of Camden. The woman behind Daphne’s is Anna (now the truth comes out Ted) who ran the restaurant for many years and created a really warm and welcoming atmosphere that along with the excellent food accounts for why about 70% of their customers return again and again. Today it’s son Nicholas who runs the restaurant and he is every bit as warm and welcoming and knowledgeable on the cuisine and passionate about Cyprus and Greece as his Mum. 

Cyprus has been invaded many times over the centuries and as a result while the core of the cuisine remains Greek and Turkish it also shows the considerable influences of Byzantine, French, Italian, Catalan, Ottoman and Middle Eastern cuisines.

I ordered a bottle of soft juicy plummy cherry and very moreish Agiorghitiko red wine from Nemea in the Peloponnese in Greece, and we perused the menu while nibbling fresh nutty marinated green olives.

I went for Greek sausages on the charcoal grill for starters and they were all meaty and seasoned and smoky, just like they should be.  The Doll had stuffed aubergine and pronounced it delicious. I couldn’t resist the Kleftiko which is lamb slow baked in the oven with lemon and herbs and onions, until it literally falls off the bone and this one just melted in my mouth. The Doll went for lamb souvlaki from the grill and ate every bit of it (and there was a lot) and all her spinach on the side and sat smiling and looking replete. Sadly we were too full for desert.  I finished the evening with a snifter of the famous Cyprus brandy – 5 Kings.

There is a reason why we all return to Daphne’s time and time again – next time you’re in the Camden pop in and discover why all for yourself. Go at lunchtime and the chances are you'll that you'll meet the lovely Anna as well.