Elleni’s Tiri Meze

By PAULINE GLYKOKOKALOS

I’d like to think I’m not one of those demented people who go through life collecting unimaginably useless items with obsessive-compulsive glee. The truth is, though, some of my recipe collecting forays do in fact display distinct OC tendencies.

I once made an expensive and uncomfortable trip to Greece for a particular recipe I was after. My husband’s uncle had died and I tagged along, knowing it’d mean having to attend the funeral. Not having been brought up in a culture where heavy emotion (real or exaggerated) is part of every day life, the prospect of standing three hours through a Greek village funeral at the height of summer for an unknown man was more than any sane person would reasonably subject themselves to.

But sanity doesn’t usually play a major role in collecting. What made the trip irresistible for me was the location of the funeral: the very village where my husband and I once had the very best tiri meze (cheese appetizers) I’ve ever tasted anywhere.

Why on earth I hadn’t gotten the recipe then was beyond me. I’d spent the following three years cursing my oversight. I wasn’t about to pass up another opportunity.

Elleni, the taverna owner, would never have given me her recipe had my husband not been there. She seemed to take it as a matter of course that someone would travel halfway around the world for one of her recipes, and gave no indication she would part with what she explained was a family recipe.

I was devastated. It was a sheer stroke of luck that our visit happened to coincide with the first anniversary of her mother’s death. My husband sang the most beautiful miraloi (remembrance song) for her in church that Sunday, moving Elleni and some of her theatrically inclined friends to tears.

I guess it was her way of saying thank you, but the next day as we were leaving, Elleni hurried down to catch us at the bus stop, and as we were boarding she pressed a smudged copy of her divine cheese balls recipe into my sweaty but grateful hands.

Cheese Balls appetizer One-half pound Asiago cheese One tablespoon cornstarch One egg white One-half teaspoon black pepper (optional) Vegetable or canola oil for deep frying Grate Asiago on a medium grater. Mix well with cornstarch, egg white and pepper. Form into small walnut sized balls by pressing firmly with hands and squeezing mixture into shape. Leave on counter uncovered for one to two hours. Deep fry in hot oil for a few minutes until golden. Don’t overcook. The cheese balls will become bitter if they’re overdone. Drain on a paper towel. Serve hot. Serves three to four people.