NEW YORK – Rice is one of those rare foods that can be found in almost every cultural cuisine throughout the world. In its basic form, simply prepared, it offers nourishment and can soothe upset stomachs, but it is also a fantastic ingredient that can elevate an everyday meal into something special.
On June 26, the Rice Up Greek Risotto event took place at the Manhattan’s Sopra at Amali, a wonderful Mediterranean restaurant in its own right, and featured a cooking demonstration by celebrity Chef and cookbook author Diane Kochilas.
Among those present were Consul General of Greece in New York Konstantinos Koutras, Agis Pistiolas- the Marketing and Exports Director for Agrino which has a long history of producing rice in Greece, and many members of the community. Pistiolas spoke with The National Herald noting the importance of this campaign for Greece and Greek products.
He showed the new packaging of one of the just released products for the US market and said that Greek products are known for being healthy and high quality and that the Greek diet is the healthiest in the world. The new Greek rice products that will soon be hitting store shelves in the US demonstrate those characteristics and will undoubtedly attract even more people to the healthy and delicious Greek diet.
Pistiolas told TNH that in addition to the stores that sell Agrino products through Loumidis Foods, in about three months the new Greek rice products will be available at North Shore Farms grocery stores.
Artemis Kohas of the Kohas Agency and Mastiha Shop welcomed everyone to the event in her opening remarks and introduced Consul General Koutras who noted what a marvelous event to promote Greek rice, especially with the cooking demonstration by Diane Kochilas and through the work of Agis Pistiolas, success is already granted.
Pistiolas then spoke about the history of rice in Greece, how Alexander the Great brought it back from his travels and how it spread through Europe via Spain and to the West, eventually to America. He pointed out that Greece is the 3rd largest producer of rice in Europe after Italy and Spain, and the richness of the soil and the perfect climate produce an excellent product.
Pistiolas then introduced his friend Diane Kochilas who mentioned the risottos that were being prepared for the guests to taste including a traditional Politiko rice flavored with cinnamon, a Greek red saffron risotto, and two risottos featuring lemon rice, one with shrimp and peas, and another with chicken and mushrooms.
Needless to say, the Greek risottos were fantastic and many among the guests praised Kochilas’ recipes. One guest said of the four versions of risotto she tried, “I loved every single one of them.”
Kochilas said she has been on the “rice roadshow” for three years now and noted that convenience is important for the American market. The Greek rice products especially offer excellent quality meals that can be prepared quickly. The inspiration for the lemon rice was from classic Greek cuisine and the traditional avgolemono soup that is tremendously popular. The classic lemon flavor can accompany so many foods as a side dish and with chicken or shrimp and/or vegetables mixed in, the lemon risotto can be enjoyed as a complete meal, too.
Kochilas told TNH about her upcoming cooking show, My Greek Table, which will begin airing this October across the country on public television. She said, “It is a huge project for the Greek community and for Greece, in terms of mainstreaming all that’s beautiful about the country.” The sizzle reel for the show is available online: https://vimeo.com/222408789/2aa205c06d.
The Rice Up project is co-funded by the European Union and Greece and aims to promote the guaranteed quality of EU food products, the strict measures of the EU food safety system in all procedures, and the advantages of EU labelling of food products, and provide information concerning the specific production methods of rice regarding the implementation of assured production methods. The program also aims to increase public awareness of the high level of European Food Safety and Hygiene Standards in rice production in terms of consumer safety and sustainable farming development.
More information on the Rice Up project is available online at www.riceup.eu. Agrino rice products (www.agrino.com) are available in many supermarkets and grocery stores and will soon be available to a wider market in the US.
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