Written by Karen Watts
Photography by Chris Watts and the man man who would be fish…Chris Florey!
Our fabulous friend from London, Chris Florey, arrived last weekend for his 18th visit to the island in 8 years. It is also his third visit this year. Undeniably the man is a Rodos Addict. He is also entering this year’s London Triathlon and so is incorporating this visit into his training schedule. Every morning he has walked from Nio Hori to Australias Bay to swim lengths from the boatyards to the cruise ship side of the bay. On Thursday, after swimming 18 million metres, he walked back to us via the Thursday Farmers’ Market, picking up, amongst other things, a 4 kilo Tuna, 2 beautiful Yellow Stripe Snapper and a gigantic lump of Cretan Feta. The Thursday Farmers’ Market can be found on Byronos between the walls of the Old Town and Diagoras Stadium from 8am till about 4pm.
Even feeding four people a 4 kilo tuna can be cooked and eaten in a variety of ways over a few days. Chris Florey and i are addicted to the raw stuff. Personally I could eat raw tuna every day for the rest of my life – the stuff they call tuna that comes in cans is nothing more than cat food.
My Chris and Chris’ wife, Denise, find eating raw fish a step too far for their personal tastes, so London Chris made, just for he and I, Sashimi Tuna. So simple, so good for you and so lusciously tasty… Simply steam up some Jasmine Rice, let it cool, using two dessert spoons (otherwise it sticks to your hands) quenelle it, then top with generous slices of raw tuna. Serve with Soya and Wasabi Sauce and Chilli Sauce.
The main course that first night was Seared Tuna Medallions with Boiled New Potatoes and a salad of lettuce, cucumber, red onion, raw courgette, steamed peas and Cretan Feta.
Cretan Feta is not like most Greek Fetas – it is soft, creamy and almost sweet – divine on its own, in salads or mashed up with cooked tuna, a little mayonnaise and soya and wasabi to make a tuna spread for bread or toast.
Then came the Snapper night. With the heatwave still showing no signs of abating, the Euro Football League occupying most of London Chris’ time when he is not swimming, cooking or eating fish, we all agreed that lighting up the barbecue was a bit of a faff so we elected to bake instead. We preheated the oven to 180°, and having agreed to let these stunning fish “speak” for themselves, we wrapped the Snapper in tin foil with a few slices of lemon, a little virgin olive oil and some sea salt and fresh ground black pepper. Bake for about 20 – 25 minutes until the flesh falls from the bone and serve with home made oven chips.
For those of you holidaying on Rodos at the moment who are desperate to watch every single game in this some what ironic display of European “togetherness” after last week’s UK news, all matches are being shown live on National Greek Television (channel 3 on most people’s sets). Though your wives, lovers and children will probably be much happier if you go to a bar to watch it.
London Chris, who has been an occasional contributor to this blog in the past, is swimming his part of the Triathlon with colleagues to raise money for the Silver Line Charity – https://www.thesilverline.org.uk/ – a charity that helps and supports one of the most important but also one of the most marginalised sections of UK society – the elderly.
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