Kean women prepare it each winter with leftover scraps of pork and fat, after the traditional slaughtering and butchering of the family pig. In the old days, the bits were heavily salted so that they wouldn’t spoil as they were stored in clay jars to be used much like Maggi cubes –a common European food flavoring– throughout the year. Costas calls paspalas ‘the Kea bacon,’ but unlike bacon it is not smoked and it is already fried when you use it to flavor eggs and other dishes.

Read about Pig Slaughtering on Kea as I had described it at the Atlantic.  

The importance of this rustic flavoring became apparent when I prepared it in the kitchen of Zaytinya—Jose Andres’ Greek and Middle Eastern restaurant, in Washington DC. During my annual January visit, a few years back, we were trying traditional winter dishes from Kea and other Cycladic islands for a pork and xinomavro wine feast, and Chef Michael Costa was immediately taken by paspalas’ intense and versatile flavor. We made several batches, using pieces of locally grown pork that the chef and his sous-chefs butchered in the kitchen. Besides the Kean scrambled eggs–also called ‘paspalas’ –we filled jars with the pork confit for future use. Bonnie Benwick, the former food editor of Washington Post got enamored with it, as well as with the eponymous scrambled eggs from Kea, and  made the dish famous in her column!

HOW TO MAKE PASPALAS: 

Scraps, bits and pieces of pork meat, leftover from the more serious butchering of the pork–preferably pieces from the breast– cut into small pieces.

It is important that the pieces have enough fat on them, or that additional pieces of fat will be added. Roughly 50-60 % fat to meat.

Salt, Black pepper, Cumin, All-spice

Plenty of fresh thyme, or winter savory if you happen to be on a Greek island (!)

Place the diced pork in a thick-bottomed sauté pan and add water just to half cover. Bring to a boil in medium heat, add salt, black pepper, a good pinch of cumin, all spice and a few sprigs of fresh thyme –stand in for our very fragrant winter savory.

Cook for about 30 minutes or more, until the meat is cooked through, and very tender. You may need to add a little more water as needed.

Increase the heat to high and cook until all water is evaporated.

At this point, I found that it is easier to transfer part of the pork and its juices to a smaller, truly non-stick sauté pan, or deep skillet and brown in batches.

As the pork fries in its fat it splatters and sticks to the bottom of any ordinary pan. If it does stick, transfer the pieces to a non-stick skillet and de-glaze the pan with some water. Add the flavorful bits to the skillet with the rest of the pork to sizzle in the fat, otherwise you will lose some of the flavor.

Fry the piece of pork (preferably in batches, so that you can have more control and less splattering) until they get a nice brown, adding more thyme and taste correcting the flavor with more salt and/or pepper, as needed.
Fill jars and make sure the meat is covered with fat on top. If when it cools you realize that there is not a layer of fat at the top, melt some lard and pour a thin film over the paspalas.

Refrigerated, the Kean pork confit can be kept for up to 2 months, but you can also freeze it, if you want to keep it longer.

See the Recipe: PASPALAS from Kea: Preserved Pork and Tomato Scrambled Eggs

The post PASPALAS: The Rustic Pork Confit of Kea appeared first on Aglaia's Table οn Kea Cyclades.

READ more about it. 

Because I make these scrumptious scrambled eggs mostly in the winter, I roast the pale, greenhouse tomatoes to give them more flavor. In the summer, diced fresh, vine-ripened tomatoes are perfect for this, as for any other dish. You just need to cook them a bit longer in olive oil until their juices become syrupy. See also Bonnie S. Benwick’s version at the Washington Post. 

Serves 2-3 as a main course, 5-6 as part of a meze spread

12 ripe plum tomatoes or 4- 5 medium tomatoes, confit (recipe follows)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup paspala: bits of porkconfit kept in lard (recipe follows)

5 eggs

Salt

1/2 cup goat’s or sheep’s milk yogurt, or thick Greek-style yogurt

1 good pinch Maraş pepper or red pepper flakes, to taste

Good fruity olive oil, for drizzling

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme or winter savory

Crumbled feta cheese, for serving (optional)

Toasted whole-wheat bread slices, for serving

Place the tomatoes confit, in a skillet together with their oil and cook over medium-high heat, stirring often to thicken.
Add the paspala and sauté 2-3 minutes until sizzling.

In a bowl beat the eggs lightly with a pinch of salt and the yogurt.

Lower the heat and add the eggs to the tomatoes, sprinkle with the pepper and cook, tossing often with a wooden spatula until the eggs are just set. Be careful not to overcook the eggs.

Transfer to a shallow bowl and serve warm or at room temperature. Sprinkle with Feta, if you like, drizzle with fruity olive oil, and add fresh oregano or thyme.

Alternatively, you can spread tablespoons of paspala on toasts and serve as bruschetta.

To make Paspalas

Scraps, bits and pieces of meat, leftover from the more serious butchering of the pork–preferably pieces from the breast–cut into small pieces.

It is important that the pieces have enough fat on them, or that additional pieces of fat will be added. Roughly 50-60 % fat to meat.

Salt, Black pepper, Cumin, All-spice

Plenty of fresh thyme or winter savory

Place the diced pork in a thick-bottomed sauté pan and add water just to half cover. Bring to a boil in medium heat, add salt, black pepper, a good pinch of cumin, all spice and a few sprigs of fresh thyme –stand in for our Kea winter savory.

Cook for about 30 minutes or more, until the meat is cooked and very tender. You may need to add a little more water as needed.

Increase the heat to high and cook until all water is evaporated.

At this point, I found that it is easier to transfer part of the pork and its juices to a smaller, truly non-stick sauté pan, or deep skillet and brown in batches.

As the pork fries in its fat it splatters and sticks to the bottom of any ordinary pan. If it does stick, transfer the pieces to a non-stick skillet and de-glaze the pan with some water. Add the flavorful bits to the skillet with the rest of the pork to sizzle in the fat, otherwise you will lose some of the flavor.

Fry the piece of pork (preferably in batches, so that you can have more control and less splattering) until they get a nice brown, adding more thyme and taste correcting the flavor with more salt and/or pepper, as needed.
Fill jars and make sure the meat is covered with fat on top. If when it cools you realize that there is not a layer of fat at the top, melt some lard and pour a thin film over the paspalas.

Refrigerated, the Kean pork confit can be kept for up to 2 months, but you can also freeze it, if you want to keep it longer.

Tomato Confit

You will need only 12 tomatoes for the strapatsada, but I suggest you roast a lot more – as many as your baking sheet or sheets can hold in one layer – doubling or tripling the recipe if possible. Refrigerate any leftover confit in a jar, submerged in olive oil, for up to 1 week. It will also freeze for up to 6 months.

12 ripe plum tomatoes

1/2 cup olive oil

Preheat the oven to 300˚F.

Bring about 3 quarts of water to boil. With a sharp serrated knife cut out and discard the stem end of each tomato and score a cross at the other end. Place the tomatoes in a large bowl. Pour boiling water over the tomatoes and let sit for a few seconds – you will see the skins loosen.

Drain the tomatoes, rinse under cold water, peel off the skin and halve the tomatoes. Drizzle with the olive oil and toss to coat.

Place the tomatoes, cut-side up, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle with a little salt and roast the tomatoes for 3 hours. Turn off the oven, leave the door slightly ajar and let the tomatoes cool slowly.

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