This dish is made all over Greece, but this particular version, the original of which calls for a wild Cretan chicory called askolimbrous is from Crete. You can use any sweet or even bitter green for this. To find some of the artisinal Greek products you’ll need to make this, visit my online shop here, […]
This wonderful salad, so simple, is one of the masterpieces of Greek seasonal cuisine. All you need is super fresh sweet greens in season, some beautiful zucchini and excellent Greek extra virgin olive oil, of course, available here.
Beets are an unusual but delicious addition to classic risotto, made here with Greek rice or with Italian risotto rice. Greek rice is something to look for because it is naturally flavorful, thanks to the close proximity of Greek rice fields to the sea. Most Greek rice grows in Macedonia. Greek rice is also free […]
I had been hearing about the use of corn kernels and cornmeal in the Ikarian diet ever since my aunt Mary, who passed away several years ago at the age of 97, mentioned the corn-stuffed cabbage leaves she remembered as a child. This soup is an old recipe and a perfect example of the kind […]
Greek pancakes? It seems like a stretch, but truth be told, pancakes exist in many regional variations in the Greek kitchen and are very old, traditional Greek recipes. As a working mom I’ve used these traditional Greek recipes to offer up quick, nutritious meals to my own kids. Greek-style pancakes offer up a relatively healthy […]
Ikarian cooking in the middle of the 20th century is what most of the island’s nonagenarians remember vividly. They were the stone-hard years of the Occupation, a time of great hunger all over Greece. This pie, really a kind of pancake, stands out to me because it’s cooked on a griddle, the better for using […]
LOOKING FOR WILD ASPARAGUS ON IKARIA You have to learn how to look. That’s what my friend Lefteris, a fount of knowledge about Ikaria’s flora, told me as soon as we stepped out of the car in Cambo, the island’s largest flat plain, not too far from Evdilos, the port town in the center of […]
This is one of my all-time favorite Greek pies, from the Blue Zone island of Ikaria, where we run our cooking schoolin spring and summer. We teach our guests to make this and they love it.
Black-eyed peas are one of the easiest legumes to cook. You don’t have to soak them. They are filled with nutrition and have a wonderful, nutty flavor. In Greece, regional specialties abound for black-eyed peas, among them this lovely, savory, vibrant stew from the Aegean islands, where fennel is one of the core flavors.You can […]
These traditional pies, so called “poor”, are in fact full of flavor and exceptionally healthy. They are one of the most popular, traditional foods of Ikaria.