Greek Recipes

    Artichokes  (aginảres in Greek)  are the most tasty and unique vegetable of Spring. These flower buds can be found fresh only at this time of the year and the list of recipes to cook them is endless.     Globe artichokes are cultivated worldwide but the ‘wild’ variety, although they are smaller and have thorns, have been preferred in Greece since ancient times. They cost double the price of Globe artichokes because of their wonderful taste. Wild artichokes are more difficult to find in the market but in the island of Tinos they are widely cultivated, marinated in olive oil, and sold canned,  -  a great meze.     In Greece we also make a very nice vegetable stew with artichokes, broad beans and peas, all of which are in season at the same time.      Since Easter is getting close, one of our favorite traditional festive dishes is lamb stew with artichokes  ( arnảki me  aginảres ) .  This dish  combines lamb, (the Greeks’ favorite meat); with artichokes, fresh herbs, greens (in this

       Youvarlákia are meatballs made with ground beef, rice, and herbs. They are cooked in stock and then thickened with avgolẻmono sauce. Avgolẻmono is the most characteristic Greek sauce and consists of whole beaten eggs with the addition of lemon juice. This is added carefully to the meatballs just before serving to give taste and a velvety texture to the final dish.        When you have no time to cook two dishes for a meal, Youvarlảkia can be the best choice. It can be served either as a hearty soup in winter or as a main dish anytime, - especially in summer when the weather is hot and soup is not a good choice. We then cook youvarlákia with half the amount of stock in order to end up with a thick sauce. This version of the dish is usually served with fried potatoes. The meatballs Serves 4 500gr ground beef ¼ cup rice  3 Tsps olive oil 1 carrot grated 1 onion chopped 2 Tsps. Chopped parsley or dill (or both) Salt and pepper to taste ¼ cup olive oil ½ litre chicken or beef s

Yesterday, under the olive trees, we found the first wild asparagus of the year. What a treat! Have you ever tasted wild asparagus? That is not something you wouldn’t remember!. Their taste is superb. . In Greek they are called  σπαράγγια -sparảgia  and in my opinion, wild ones are ten times better tasting than cultivated ones. In the mountains you can find native wild asparagus from late February to late April. As I read on wiki, wild asparagus are found all over Europe and Asia as native plants, so look out for them in scrubland , roadsides, and river valleys near you. Their shape is much thinner than the cultivated variety and their color is green or purple. The most common way we cook them in Greece is in omelets. You can also make nice risottos or simply cook them for a minute in boiling water and serve them strained with olive oil and lemon. Serves 2 150gr wild asparagus 4 eggs lightly beaten (cooked, peeled, and diced potatoes or mushrooms to make it more filling)  Salt and pep

                    Some traditional desserts are so popular that there are pastry shops specializing in making only that special one; they often have long queues with customers waiting to buy their favorite. One of those desserts is galaktoboúreko.           Galaktoboúreko is a traditional dessert made with phyllo pastry crust and filled with semolina custard. Butter and vanilla give to the cream its wonderful taste.            Galaktoboúreko was traditionally made at Easter. But it is so tasty that no one could wait until Easter to enjoy it, so now you can find it all year long. Every home cook and pastry shop has its own version of this dessert. Everyone uses different proportions of the same ingredients. The quality of the butter, orange or lemon zest, the thinness of the phyllo pastry, and  the baking time are a few of the  secrets leading to different unique results. It’s not difficult to make. All you’ll need is phyllo pastry from a Greek or Middle Eastern food store and friend