The tastes of Thasos

Passport & Plate - Revithia

Greece | Friday, March 6, 2015 | 1 photos

Ingredients
1 pound chickpeas, soaked overnight in a deep bowl of water
6-8 onions, thinly sliced
One 8” stalk of rosemary
3 bay leaves
2 large carrots, sliced
Olive oil

 

How to prepare this recipe
In a large skillet, heat 2 T. olive oil over medium heat.
Add the sliced onions with some salt and pepper and a pinch of sugar, then allow to cook slowly, tossing occasionally, until the onions are caramelized and have released their sugars (browned, not burnt).
Meanwhile, drain the chickpeas of their soaking water and discard.
Place the chickpeas in a pressure cooker and cover with water. Bring to a boil, seal the pressure cooker, and cook under pressure for fifteen minutes.
Release the pressure and pour the chickpeas with their cooking water into a casserole dish.
Add the onions, sliced carrots, the bay leaves and the rosemary (removing the whole leaves from their stalks). Drizzle with a generous amount of olive oil and add just enough additional water so the chickpeas are almost covered.
Bake uncovered in a wood oven (or a home oven set at 400 degrees) for about 1.5 hours, or until the chickpeas are soft and most of the liquid has been absorbed and the onions have become chocolaty. The remaining liquid should be dark and reduced.
When the chickpeas are done, season with dish with salt and pepper to taste.
Recipe Courtesy of Christopher Bakken while taking his Writing Workshop in Greece

 

The story behind this recipe
When I was a sophomore in college, I took a non-fiction creative writing class in Thasos, Greece with Christopher Bakken. I was propelled into a world new to me among people who were new to me. I fell in love. I fell in love with revithia. It was one of the first dishes we learned to cook, and write about, in Bakken’s workshop and one that has been cooked at the Pension Archodissa in their brick oven since it was built in the early 1900s. It is a dish baked with garbanzo beans, onions, carrots, and spices. The ultimate comfort food, it was the perfect way to introduce our group to each other and to the flavors of Thasos. Just as the spices and flavors blended together to create one sweet food, we would all blend together to make one family.
Thasos is a place where I feel complete — at peace. I returned the following year to old friends and reluctant new friends. When the bus pulled up to the Archodissa that second year, I returned to my family. I dropped my bags in my room, Room One, and ran down the goat path over the boulders and smaller rocks and sliced through the water. I made it to the small island of rocks in the middle of the gulf and turned around to see the new visitors to the island still struggling, still slipping on the pine needles. I was a lounging siren by the time they caught up to me and decided I could share my podium. I thought there wouldn’t be room on my perfect island for anyone new. It turned out, the island is always welcoming to the new, just as I must be. I can change with the sea.
That night, among the dishes placed before us in a family-style feast, was revithia. My comfort food, the signal that I was home. I explained to the newcomers around me what revithia was and why they would love it. Sharing revithia with someone, in Greece or at home in America, is my way of welcome. If I make you revithia, you are a part of my family. Your flavors were added to my dish and they blended together to make something wonderful and comforting.