trahana

trahana is similar to pasta in that flour is mixed with a binding agent and the resulting dough is shaped, dried and stored for future use..dried trahana is typically used in soups, spinach pies and boiled like porridge and served with feta and a drizzle of olive oil..it has a long history of having been made in greece but the same or similar versions of it are made in turkey, albania, bulgaria, iran, serbia and iraq..

i first ate trahana when i was 24..my mother in law made the porridge version for me for breakfast many times and i remember really enjoying it.. i had the opportunity to make the dried trahana myself when i was living in the north of greece after discussing it with our land lady..i would have happily made it on my own following her recipe but most greek women of her generation don't use recipes and it's easier to learn a recipe by watching them cook..i don't remember exactly how i made it back then so i had to look on the internet for recipes but there are few recipes available for making the trahana itself although there are many that use it as an ingredient..when i next go to greece i plan to do a bit of trahana sleuthing..

trahana

trahana
recipe adapted from here

ingredients

2 large eggs

1 cup yoghurt

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 (or more or less) cups plain flour

1 1/2 (or more or less) cups fine semolina

method

~ in a large bowl beat eggs, salt and yoghurt

~ add enough flour and semolina to make a pliable dough

~ turn the dough out of the bowl and knead briefly

~ divide the dough into egg sized pieces

~ roll each piece into thin disks

~ place the disks onto clean tea towels, cover with another tea towel and leave to dry for about 24 hours

~ turn the disks and continue to dry until the dough crumbles 

~ once ready crumble the dough into small pieces (as pictured above)

~ place back on the tea towel, cover and allow to completely dry

~ when dry store in a cloth bag or in an airtight jar 

have a happy week..x