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The Drizzle Volume 1

September 20263 min readBy Demosthenes Hickling
The Drizzle Volume 1
Welcome to The Drizzle. A monthly pour from Dimos—straight from our groves in Kalamata. Here, olive oil isn’t just made—it’s grown slowly under the Mediterranean sun, harvested by hand, and shared the way it always has been: around a table. Each month, we’ll bring you closer to that world. Recipes inspired by the seasons, stories from the grove, and the people—family, villagers, cultivators—who make Dimos what it is. This is your way in. To the land, the harvest, and the small rituals that turn good food into something unforgettable. Go on—drizzle generously.
A recipe passed down through generations While turning the pages of my mother’s old cookbook — a treasured family heirloom passed down from my great-grandfather, Demosthenes — my sister and I found a Lent fasting cake recipe we knew we had to make. The book holds more than recipes; it carries the story of our family, the wisdom of generations, and the kind of cooking that brings people back to the table. Fragrant with orange and cinnamon, and made rich and tender with olive oil, this cake took us straight back to the ones our Grandmother would bake for us after school. Simple, generous, and full of memory, it feels like a small piece of Greece passed down through time — made to be shared.

How to make it: Prepare the dry ingredients Sieve the flour into a deep bowl, then mix in the baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Add the remaining dry ingredients Stir in the walnuts, raisins, sugar, cinnamon, ground cloves, and orange zest until evenly combined. Add the olive oil Make a small well in the centre of the mixture and pour in the olive oil, stirring gently to incorporate. Pour in the liquids Slowly add the orange juice and cognac, mixing as you go, until you have a thick, smooth batter. Transfer to the tin Pour the batter into a well-oiled baking tin. We lined ours with baking paper to make it easier to lift out afterwards. Leave a little room for the cake to rise, as it expands more than you might expect. Bake The original recipe simply calls for a “medium heat oven”, so we baked ours at 190°C / Gas Mark 5 for 1 hour. Check the cake halfway through, and if it is colouring too quickly, cover it loosely with foil. Finish and serve Once baked, allow the cake to cool slightly, then dust with icing sugar and a little nutmeg. A simple, generous cake — best enjoyed with coffee and a little sunshine.
The harvest may be over, but the grove is never still. At this time of year, my uncle Christos prunes each tree with care, opening the branches so that, in his words, “a bird can fly through it.” It is a way of bringing balance to the tree — making space for light, air, and new growth, and laying the groundwork for the harvest to come. In the months ahead, he’ll continue to return to the grove, tending both trees and soil with the quiet consistency that good olive oil has always required.
D

Demosthenes Hickling

From Kalamata with Love

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