Main Ingredient Recipes
As a kid of the 1970s, I grew up on pizza muffins! They were my favorite afternoon snack and among the first experiences I had “cooking.” I’ve reworked the concept here using pita bread, fresh tomatoes and feta cheese, a trio made in heaven. This makes for a great snack no matter what time of […]
One of the classics of Greek meat cookery is a one-pot stew called Kokinisto, which means red, for the tomato that goes into it. This is a variation of that recipe, enriched with a complex nexus of herbs and spices that give the dish a rich, multi-faceted flavor.
One of the absolute classics of Greek summer, but also delicious year-round, green beans yiahni are an easy, luscious casserole of fresh beans slowly cooked in olive oil, with tomatoes, onions, potatoes and herbs. All you need is a chunk of feta and a bit of good bread to complete this wonderful vegetarian main course.
The simplest of dishes like this one, which is essentially nothing more than tomato paste mixed with capers and olive oil, rely on the best ingredients. In this case, the tomato products and capers from the volcanic terroire of Santorini, one of Greece’s most unique islands and major tourist destinations.
This classic caper topping is a signature dish of Santorini and nearby Therasia, but the combination of capers and fava is savored all over the Cyclades.
The whole spirit of the Aegean is in this dish. I like to use fennel, which grows wild all over the Aegean, to perfume my fish. Grape leaves add a beautiful astringency and make for a gorgeous presentation. Easy elegance with the pared down essential nature of the Aegean! I can feel the salty sea […]
It’s difficult to choose one recipe among the many for yellow split peas throughout the Cyclades and Dodecanese. The small yellow legume is a local hero, the stuff of sustenance but also of imagination; despite its humble nature it has become the main ingredient in countless local specialties, married with herbs and spices such as […]
Everyone loves baklava but it’s not something a lot of people may want to attempt at home for fear of working with phyllo. In this version, the nut filling is the same, there’s no syrup, and the puff pastry roll up is very easy. I’ve take a few liberties by adding chocolate and heat!
Sofrito is one of the most traditional dishes from Corfu. Its name, from the Italian fritto, for fried, is characteristic of many of the local recipes on Corfu and elsewhere in the Ionian, where the Venetians ruled for centuries and left an indelible stamp on the cuisine. This is a wonderful festive dish, perfect for […]
This wonderful eggplant dish is the regional version of a classic. This rendition comes from Lesvos. It’s one of the heartiest and most filling vegetarian dishes in the whole Greek repertoire. To find some of the artisinal Greek products you’ll need to make this, visit my online shop here, where you’ll discover a host of […]