Greek Island Hopping

Marathon Carbs

…I was living near Athens and my son was running in the Boston marathon. Since I couldn’t be there to cheer him on, I thought I’d be with him in spirit by taking a trip to Marathonas – the place that gave marathon races their name. Later thoughts of the Athenian victory at the Battle of Marathonas tangled itself with thoughts of my son racing in Boston, and inspired a recipe that’s perfect for runners.

Marathonas is 26.4 miles from Athens and that’s how far marathoners run today. In the 490 BCE, the Persians, lords of a great empire, attacked the Athenians, who had long been a thorn in the imperial side. They landed their ships and 25,000 soldiers at Marathonas. Though vastly outnumbered, the Athenians, who held the only road to Athens, won the day.

In contrast to the Persians, who put their strongest battalions in the middle of their line, Miltiades, the Athenian general, positioned his best battalions on the end. When attacked they quickly overcame the Persian flanks, then encircled the elite soldiers in the centre, killing 6,400 of them. Only 192 Athenians died, and they lie buried in the huge mound that dominates the battle site at Marathonas.

There’s not much else except vegetable fields, flowers, and a painted line on the road to Athens. It commemorates the journey back to tell the victory news. Some say the runner Pheidippides strode the thyme-covered hills to deliver the message; others that the whole Athenian army made the trip. Whatever the case, today’s marathoners honour that ancient victory run.

Marathoners load up on energy by eating lots of carbohydrates before a race. Pasta is my son’s carb of choice. Greeks love it too. Olives are also essential to Greeks, especially Athenians because Athena created the first olive tree as a gift to the city.

Olives became the symbol of peace and hence of victory. Bay leaves are for runners because myth has it that the nymph Daphne was turned into a bay tree while running away from lustful Phoebus.(‘Daphne’ is Greek for bay.) Branches of both olive and bay were used in classic victory wreaths. Inspired by all these associations, I created Pasta with Olives and Bay, scenting it with thyme and rigani from the Greek hills, to send lucky vibes to my son in Boston.

It’s a perfect dish for carbo-loading – or just a family supper. Here’s the recipe.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1–2 garlic cloves, chopped
800gr/28 oz tin tomatoes
8 medium nicely shaped bay leaves
1/ 2 teaspoon dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste
30 pitted Kalamata olives
10 green olives
2 teaspoons dried rigani or oregano
1 pound pasta such as spaghetti or tagliatelle, cooked
4 tablespoons grated Parmesan

Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat and soften the onions and garlic in it. Add the tomatoes, bay leaves, thyme, salt and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes or until some of the liquid has evaporated. Stir in the Kalamata and green olives and the rigani or oregano. Cook for 5 minutes more to heat the olives through. Toss with the pasta and sprinkle with the Parmesan. Serves 4–5.

by Claire Hopley

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Tags: Claire Hopley, marathon, recipes