Greek Recipes

Taramosalata (or Tarama) garnished with an olive. Fish roe is a superb source of vitamins A and D, zinc, and long-chain fatty acids. As deficiencies in one or all of these nutrients can cause birth defects during pregnancy, I highly recommend this recipe for pregnant women in particular. This is not to say that the rest of us cannot benefit from the inherent richness of this dish, so let us follow the dictum of Hippocrates and “make our food our medicine”. Carp roe (also called ‘ Tarama ’), is the variety most commonly used today for taramosalata and there are two types: one is distinctively dyed a salmon-red colour and the other is the undyed natural beige coloured roe. When I was very young, I thought this dip was like a pudding and I simply could not get enough of it, I did not bother to eat it with pita or any other kind of bread; I preferred it on its own. However, it appears my palate has mellowed with age and I have grown to appreciate some warm Greek-style pita bread as an acc...

Feta and Roasted Red Pepper Piquante When outdoors in the late summer and early autumn, in neighbourhoods where there are Greeks, chances are you'll catch the scent of roasting peppers wafting on the breeze. With our family this practice is almost a ritual. My father visits the farms north of Toronto to find the best peppers available. We then set aside the better part of a Saturday afternoon and we hold a pepper roast! The wonderful scent of grilling peppers is one of my earliest and fondest reminiscences of family cooking as a child. So, I just love going into the freezer and pulling out the roasted red peppers we froze from last summer. I roasted an entire bushel of red peppers on the barbecue and then we packed them in small batches and put them in the icebox for use throughout the winter months. This recipe is one of my favourite things to do with those roasted red peppers; it is easy and quick to make, and is an excellent appetizer dip for entertaining guests. Recipe 1...

This is one of my favourite cheese appetizer dishes. Once you try this, you will have a hard time going back to eating plain feta cheese.  It is really important that you use a good quality feta cheese for this recipe. I used the best: Feta Tripoleos, which is authentic Greek feta cheese from the southern Greek city of Tripolis. This particular feta is stored in wooden barrels and not tins or plastics. Some of the finer cheese shops will stock this variety and I highly recommend it. Recipe: 250g of Greek feta cheese 1 egg 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon oregano fresh ground black pepper sesame seeds 1. Using a sharp knife and without hesitation, cleanly slice the feta into 1/2 inch thick slices, be careful not to crumble or break the cheese when slicing. When the cheese is cut, put the slices on a plate and place in the freezer for 10 minutes to ensure that the cheese is firm. 2. In a shallow bowl, be...

Biankéta ... Almond Tangerine Bites. Puréed blanched almonds flavoured with tangerine rind and juice, sweetened with brown sugar and dusted with confectionery sugar before serving. These wonderful little delights leave a lingering tangerine flavoured scent in your mouth long after you eat them up! Cute little morsels... The almond (' amygdalo ' in Greek, pronounced "AH-MEEG-THA-LOW") has a long history in Greece. Today, Greece is the fourth largest producer of almonds in the world after the United States, Spain and Italy. The epicentres of Greek almond production are the prefectures of Magnesia, Larisa, Serres and Kavala, and the cultivation of the almond tree is a traditional practice that dates back to ancient times. In the Classical period, almonds were common "dinner ornaments" ( αναθήματα δαιτός ) and those from the island of Naxos were especially prized. Other centres of almond production in the ancient Greek world included Cyprus, Thasos, Paphlagonia...