Name: Jellied Pork (Pikti)
Yield: Serves 8-10
Cuisine: Greek
Ingredients: 4-5 whole allspice; 3 bay leaves; 1 bunch watercress; 6 cloves garlic, 3 halved and 3 minced; 2 tablespoons capers, drained, plus additional for decoration; ⅓ cup good-quality white wine vinegar; 1 small pig’s head, and 1-2 pig’s feet, about 6 pounds total; 3 medium onions, halved, each piece pierced with 1 clove; Juice of 1 lemon and of 1 Seville orange, or of 2 lemons; 3-4 cups dry white wine; 2 tablespoons grated orange peel, blanched and dried; 1 medium carrot, cooked and cut into thin slices; Sea salt and freshly ground pepper; 1-2 dried chili peppers, or ½-1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes

Preparation info

Serves
8-10

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Foods of Greece

By Aglaia Kremezi

Published 1993

About

Pork is the traditional Christmas meal in Greece. The animals are slaughtered just before the holidays, and the rest of the meat is smoked, preserved in its fat, or made into sausages that can be eaten throughout the winter.

From the leftovers—the head and the feet—a delicious pork aspic is prepared in the Aegean islands, Crete, and Mani. Pikti, or tsiladia as this dish is also called, is usually served as part of a festive Christmas spread together with baked pork, me