Many of us who live on the Mediterranean islands love to island hop when we go on vacation. One of my favorite things to do as I travel is to discover new food and recipes. Even though the basic ingredients are usually the same from island to island, what is created is often vastly different. Sometimes, recipes are shared with me and other times I am able to recreate a recipe after trying it just once. It is something I have always been able to do and, as a cookbook author and cooking teacher, it is one of my favorite skills. Recently, I visited the beautiful Greek island of Skyros. Skyros is a small island (80 square miles) with a population of 3,000. While there, I had an amazing dinner of freshly caught fish made into a lovely soup served with onion salad fried in olive oil and lots of black pepper (plus, of course, freshly baked bread, Greek salad and red wine!). The owner showed me how to prepare the onion dish and I share with you this unusual, but tantalizing salad. I would recommend serving it with fish, but it will go with almost any meat or chicken dish. Enjoy!
Fried Onion Salad with Black Olives (Greek Island of Skyros)
Ingredients
- 8 medium onions, peeled and quartered
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1 tbsp sea salt
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 cup small whole black olives
- 1 tbsp oregano, dried
- 2 fresh lemon juice
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste (traditional recipe uses a lot of pepper)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, blend flour and salt with a fork. In a larger bowl, coat onions with flour and salt mixture.
- Heat oil in a large frying pan on a medium heat. Sauté flour coated onions for 5 minutes, flipping onions often.
- Turn heat to low. Add sugar and cook another 10 minutes. Stirring occasionally.
- Add olives and oregano. Cook 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn heat off.
- Add lemon juice and pepper. Mix well and serve.
Nutrition
About the Author: Koula Barydakis
