Sofiko

Sofiko or Soufiko

Many years ago, a woman from the island of Ikaria didn’t have time one day to prepare dinner for her husband, who had returned home tired and hungry from a long day of working in the farm.  She wanted to whip something up real quick and easy, and she headed down to the garden to take a look.  She grabbed whatever vegetables she saw and went back in the kitchen to clean them and chop them up.  She tossed everything in the frying pan and cooked the vegetables.  She contemplated on whether she should take a taste or not.  As she ate some, she began to say, “Sou afiko i na min sou afiko” (should I leave your or not leave you)….and that is where the name “Sofiko” originated from;

This story named the traditional Ikarian dish, as told by the local, homemaker.

 

Ingredients
1 eggplant, 2 potatoes
¾ large zucchini, 2 small zucchini
3 peppers, 1 red, 1 green and 1 yellow
4 diced tomatoes
2 onions, coarsely chopped, 2 cloves garlic
Olive oil
Thyme, fennel, parsley
Salt, pepper, sugar, ketchup or tomato paste

Directions:

    Cut the eggplant, potatoes, zucchini and peppers into small cubes, and sauté each separately.
    In the same oil (after frying all the vegetables), stir-fry the onions and garlic, tomatoes and peppers; add some water or white wine to quiet the boil.  Add a pinch of sugar and ketchup to give it a sweet kick.
    Now, using a pot, we throw in our potatoes, zucchini and eggplant and let it cook/boil until soft.
    Add salt, pepper, fennel and thyme and mix together.  Remove the mixture from the pot, and pour it into a clear, pyrex pan, then bake in the oven.
    After 20 minutes, our dish is ready to be served; add a sprinkle of parsley.

 

Sofiko goes very well with a glass of white wine, and whose recipe has many varations depending on what region of Greece you are in.