Santiago de Compostela

We had just passed Burgos, in the north-east of Spain when we spotted our first pilgrims – we thought we still had a long way to go to reach Galicia in the west; these guys would be walking for weeks.

The Camino di Santiago, one of Christianity’s most important pilgrimages, can take up to 45 days (starting in France) in its most formal iteration, and is now considered a physical as much as a spiritual feat.

Pilgrims are heading for the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela (pictured above) where the body of Saint James is said to lie in tomb. Allegedly he crossed over from the Middle East in a stone boat in the 9th Century. This event provided a rallying point for Christians in the early days of Muslim rule and led to the emergence of the pilgrimage, which became instantly popular, and is again today.

Many more walkers join the pilgrimage at closer points to Santiago, walking for hours or days, rather than weeks.

On August 15, the day we arrived in Santiago de Compostela, the elegant moss-covered cathedral was at capacity with worshipers, and a guitarist led singing from the altar.

The congregation was overwhelmingly young, many were in big groups, draped in matching t-shirts or flags; they were exhausted but bright-eyed. Where there were no seats they clustered in the aisles, and some were accompanying the music on their own guitars. Many came from as far as Brazil.

Not sure if this is a typical scene, for the next day the international World Youth Day (actually a five-day, three-yearly event) for Catholic youth was to begin in Madrid, hosted by the Pope, so it is possible people were in the country for this and it skewed the demographic of worshipers. 

Suspended from the nave of the church is the long 'botafumeiro', a giant pendulum that burns incense and swings across the nave, designed to out-fragrance the stench of pilgrims in the days before deodorant.

In the cathedral square outside walkers lean against the pillars, rest their blistered feet and gaze back at the final destination.

In contrast to the higher reverence, surrounding shops in the narrow streets of the old town (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) are stacked high with a breast-shaped cheese known as tetilla (titty cheese). The story is that a statue designed for the cathedral of a beloved Queen Esther had been sculpted with large breasts. Town leaders ordered that these be reduced in size, and in protest, cheesemakers responded by shaping a local soft cow’s milk cheese as a breast in her honour.

As elsewhere in Galicia, there are suberb seafood-oriented tapas bars and tavernas throughout the old town.

The other food to try is the traditional almond tart of Santiago which is decorated with a stenciled icing sugar cross. 

Greek salad days

 

Sunday lunch spot, Almyrida

The iconic Greek salad – cucumber, tomato, onion, feta, olives, olive oil and oregano – celebrates a lot about Greece: the bounty of its fruit and vegetables, the artisanship of producing world-class cheese in an arid, rugged terrain, and luxurious olive oil, which, prized since ancient times, evokes something of that history. You do not have to go far to search for a decent Greek Salad. Ultimately you can’t disguise a bad tomato. As long as those are firm and juicy, you’re halfway there.

Moving on from the classic Greek I have been sampling and experimenting with a few other Greek cheese salad combinations, selecting ingredients that are cheap and plentiful in Crete. The addition of cheese makes for a more substantial light meal than a vegetable salad alone, which is too much like being on a diet.

Greek Salad

The original Greek Salad

Here is my first attempt at Greek salad, served with olive bread. Normally I would only use fresh herbs in uncooked dishes, but in Greece dried oregano is used everywhere, and it actually expunges a significant boost through its companion ingredients. The pack I bought was produced nearby, presumably recently. I think as long as you rotate your dried herbs often enough you’ll get the right flavour (not like me – my oregano at home in London was about four years old!)

Watermelon, cucumber and feta salad

Watermelon, cucumber and feta salad

Watermelon season on the island: every beach shop has a crate full of them on its terrace, farmers drive utes with the back filled with melons and a scale hooked over the side, announcing through a tannoy they are in town and parking up the end of the road to take custom, while delicate black-frocked grandmothers and surly teenage sons are put in charge of manning palm leaf-shaded stalls right along the main highway.

Watermelon and feta is a refreshing sweet and salty partnership. In this version I added cucumber as it’s from the same family as watermelon with a similar texture, just one is sweet and one isn’t… also pink and pale green look pretty together.

Cretan salad

Cretan salad with mizithra cheese

We ordered a variation of Greek Salad at one of our local tavernas in Almyrida, Crete. They had named it Cretan salad and added pieces of Cretan ‘rusks’ as large croutons (rusks here are large pieces of dried bread: it is often found in a simple meze snack called Davos, which is a rusk drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with oregano and topped with chopped tomato and crumbled feta, a bit like bruschetta). Instead of feta in this Cretan salad they added a beautiful soft, fluffy goats cheese called mizithra, which originates in Crete and is a protected product.

Fresh mizithra is similar to ricotta in texture but with a distinct goat’s milk flavour; a favourite breakfast pastry here combines mizithra and honey in a pastry case, all flecked with cinnamon.

Cretan watermelon, cucumber and goats cheese salad

Watermelon, cucumber and goat cheese salad

Taking inspiration from the Cretan salad, I adapted the watermelon and cucumber salad to include the fresh myzirtha cheese. This is not easy to get; even here you can’t buy it packaged, it’s dished up fresh at the deli counter. I would suggest maybe using ricotta and feta crumbled on top, or a very soft young goats cheese. I also added shredded mint leaves and chilli flakes.

3 to 4 small cucumbers or one telegraph cucumber, peeled and cut into large chunks

Quarter of a large watermelon, seeded, and cut into chunks the same size as cucumber pieces

20 mint leaves, shredded finely

1/3 teaspoon chilli flakes (or to taste)

150g mizithra or other soft goats cheese or combination of feta and ricotta

Drizzle of clear, runny honey (optional)

Drizzle of olive oil

Combine cucumber and watermelon pieces in salad bowl with two thirds of the mint leaves and the chilli flakes.

Layer cheese on top with your fingers. Sprinkle remaining mint leaves on top and drizzle with honey (optional) and olive oil.