We Are Moving!
This article represents an end, or a new beginning, one could say. So I’ll make it short, as all goodbyes should be, but also representative of the relationship we had this year that I have been contributing my column to Mothering Matters.
Zurich, my house, my garden, Mothering Matters, and my friends have served as a nest that carried very special elements, almost sacred. A big thank you to all who read, wrote and shared their opinions and a big thank you to the Mothering Matters team for giving me the space.
Before I go, I would like to share a recipe. Yes, that’s right. A recipe that has its roots back in my family history, with my Greek grandmother Meropi, who eloped and got married in a black dress with red flowers. This was before the war. Then this same person went to Lausanne to study at l‘ecole hotelier, leaving behind for almost a year her two children and her husband because she had to learn how to run her family business after the death of her brothers. This was also before the war. My mother, her youngest child, never learned how to cook well. She became an acclaimed actress in Greece and had me as a child, two achievements that were more than enough to prove her skills. That’s why she never felt the urge to learn how to cook, especially because both her sister and her mother were cooking for her. She never had to learn!
I, on the other hand, the moment I stepped my foot onto this Swiss land, was kind of forced to learn how to cook. I did and I found a new hobby, which helped me to get through difficulties, create family atmosphere, and understand who I am and where I come from. This is what I actually call a blessing and I owe it all to her, to this ‘before the war’ woman with the black and red wedding dress.
Of all the recipes I have done until now, there is one I love the most because, although it is a traditional Christmas cookie, it can be eaten throughout the year with coffee, and because there is no single person I know who has tasted it and didn’t want to eat more, begging to learn how to make it. All, except my best friend Vicky because she has her grandmother’s recipe and as every self-respecting Greek cook, she is the gatekeeper of this, her own family tradition!
So, here it is, Meropi’s recipe for Kourambiedes, one that gives warmth to my family and connects me to all my friends in Switzerland, Swiss and non-Swiss.
P.S. There is a saying that good cooks in Greece never shared the recipes they loved with people outside of their close family, or, even when they did, they revealed only parts of them, always keeping a secret ingredient for themselves. The good thing about this recipe is that you can’t fail even when something is done differently, even if a secret is kept, even if something goes really wrong.
P.P.S. Arrivederci Zurich; Berlin, here we come!
Recipe: Kourambiedes Meropis
Makes approximately 50 pieces.
640g butter (left out of the fridge for 10 minutes before use)
340g almonds with skin (320g without skin) chopped and baked
1/2 cup cognac
1 teaspoon baking soda powder
2 Tbs powder sugar, not too full
700g to 1kg all-purpose flour (in Zurich I use the bio Weissmehl) – the original recipe said: flour as much as it takes! So I can’t really help with that, but by experience I can tell you that the batter should be neither too soft, nor too hard.
For the vanilla sugar:
500g sugar
8 vanilla pods
1. Beat the butter with a hand mixer for no less than 20 minutes. If you have a stand mixer this is also ok but I haven’t used one, so I can’t really say (I suppose 15 minutes should be enough). This is the most important step so don’t skip it, as the more you beat the butter the fluffier the kourambiedes become.
2. Preheat the oven to 200oC and bake the white almonds for about 10 – 15 minutes or until they become golden brown and the house smells beautiful (if the house doesn’t smell they are not ready). When ready, put them in the blender and cut them into small pieces but be careful not to powder them, because you want to be able to bite the almonds in the cookies.
3. After 20 minutes of butter beating, add the powdered sugar and continue beating for another three minutes. Then add the cognac, in which you have dissolved the baking soda. Slowly add the almonds and beat for another minute. Now add the flour slowly, slowly, and make a batter that is not too soft but also not too hard. Make small round cookies and use your finger to press them in the middle in order for the powdered sugar to stand once they come out of the oven.
4. Bake for 35 minutes or when the kourambiedes turn golden on top. If after 35 minutes they are still white on top, leave for another five to seven minutes.
5. Now in a high dish (baking dish or pan) mix 500g of powdered sugar with vanilla extracted from eight vanilla beans. While the kourambiedes are still hot, dip them (I use my hands to do this but I burn myself, so it might be wiser to use a spoon) one by one in the sugar vanilla mixture, and let them cool without touching one another. When completely cool, you can arrange them one on top of the other to make a pyramid.
By Eleni Mylona
Eleni has lived in Zurich for four years with her husband and son. She is moving to Berlin sometime between spring and summer. She is a performer and a movement/dance teacher. Visit Eleni’s personal website.
Illustration by Albina Nogueira
Albina has been a primary school teacher since 1992, and a writer and illustrator since 2006. She currently lives in Switzerland, but her homeland is Portugal. She is also the author of Letters to Grandparents and Hairdresser. To find out more, like her on Facebook or see her books in Amazon.
