Greek Recipes

I think I may upset a few people if I tell you exactly where I am right now, but I really don't think I can keep this to myself. I kid you not when I say I am sitting outside at a taverna on a Greek island, right on the beach, and I mean literally on the sand. The sun has just gone down over the flat sea horizon, the clear sky tinted pink and mauve as the waxing crescent moon makes an appearance. The air is warm, the cicadas are in full song, people are chatting in Greek about the good times they had today, and in the background a young musician is gently playing classical guitar while I sit here using free wifi on my little laptop. We are at Manos Beach Bar on the island of Limnos. This is the island where my father's mother was born, the place where generations of my family have spent their summer holidays for over one hundred years. Our family house still stands tall on a cobble-stoned road five minutes from the beach, a house that my Dad and his wife Julia have been pa

From one traditional Greek soup, to another! I do seem to be on a little bit of a soup theme this week. Perhaps it was the rainy weather that finally arrived, after such a long, dry, blue-sky winter. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about the rain. It is going to do wonders for my garden - particularly the recently planted artichokes and broad beans. What is more, rainy weather accompanies a great big bowl of Trahanasoupa (σούπα τραχανά) perfectly. Trahanosoupa is a simple soup made with sour trahana. Trahana is classed as a sort of "couscous/pasta" and is an ingredient is not much known beyond Greek households. It is made from cracked wheat which has been soaked in milk and then (traditionally) dried in the sun. There are two types of trahana: sweet, and sour. Sour goat's milk, buttermilk or yoghurt is used for the sour trahana. You can buy trahana from Greek delicatessens and some fruit and vegetable shops also sell it. If you are feeling very ambitious y

      Lemon flavored casserole stews, or lemonáta (λεμονάτα) as we call them in Greek, are very popular because of the refreshing and slightly sour taste that the lemon juice and peel give to these dishes. Although lemon flavored dishes are cooked all year long, summer is the most popular season for lemonáta. Hot weather calls for light flavors! Poultry and beef are the most popular meat choices for this dish.  Lemonáto can be served with pasta, rice or most preferably with homemade fried potatoes. Lemonáto  1 chicken, cut into 8 serving pieces 100gr olive oil 1medium onion, finely chopped 1 small garlic clove, finely chopped Salt and ground pepper to taste 1litre of hot water or chicken stock Juice and the peel from one lemon In a large skillet over medium heat pour the olive oil and when hot add the chicken, skin side down, and brown quickly for 3 minutes. Turn the chicken over, add onion and the garlic, reduce the heat to medium- low and let the onion soften for  about 4-5 min. Seas

This soup is another dish, common to all Greek homes. Growing up, this soup was on the table almost every week in Mr K's house, especially during Lent. When I first heard it pronounced "fah-KESS" I had to do a double take, as I thought Mr K was swearing! Little did I know, he was just taking about lentils. Although, I have to admit - while I've been working hard to learn more of the Greek language, this word still makes me giggle. I absolutely loved this soup when Mrs K first made it for me to try. It is such a hearty and flavoursome dish, I didn't believe Ma when she said it just included the lentils, water and three things - onion, garlic and bay leaves. It has no meat or stock, yet you could be forgiven for thinking it did. The true flavour of the dish comes from the lentils and the aromatics of garlic, onion and bay leaves. It is just another fantastic example of how healthy traditional Greek home food is, and why the Mediterranean diet is so good. Since first

Garlic spaghetti, called skordomakaronia, is a dish I always associate with Greek summer holidays. Last year, after a gruelling 36 hour journey Mr K arrived at his mother's home island of Zakynthos, to meet his parents. The first dish his mum placed on the table was a big bowl of skordomakaronia, with an extra big helping of freshly grated myzithra cheese. This is comfort food at its best. This recipe is courtesy of Anna, who hails from the island of Syros. Anna is married to a good work friend of mine. Every now and again he brings a generous container of this beautiful spaghetti to work for me. What a treat! It is such a comforting dish with fresh, simple flavours. I warn you now - it is very hard to stop at one helping. I had to ask for the recipe, which Anna kindly shared. Eating this spaghetti, I often find myself dreaming of summer holidays - especially summer holidays on the island of Kyithira. While Anna is from Syros, she and her hubby always return to the beautiful Island

  It was Monseiur Zen's birthday this week. The tradition in our family has always been that you can request your favourite cake on your birthday. When I was little, I always asked for the 'Gingerbread House' from the Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cake Book. I loved that book. I would lovingly turn the pages throughout the year, carefully deciding which cake I wanted. Despite all my dedicated year-long research, I always asked for the same cake, much to Madame Zen's delight (not). To their credit, mum and dad, for a number of years, spent an agonizing birthday party eve, trying to construct the said cake. Mum recalls it was a two person job and that just when you were nearing the end of construction, the roof was prone to collapse like a pack of cards - and she had to start from scratch again.       Thankfully, dad didn't chose the infamous 'Gingerbread House' cake for his birthday this year. Instead, he asked for the passionfruit sponge cake f

In Greece, it is said that the best cabbage is found after the first frost. My lovely mother in law was right on cue, making this classic Greek winter favourite, lahanodolmades (λαχανοντολμάδες) as the winter chill settled over Sydney this week. If you love Greek food you would be no stranger to dolmades, made with vine leaves. The homemade version with avgolemono (egg-lemon) sauce, not the ones in the can(!), are one of my all time favourite Greek dishes. However, grape vine leaves are best in season from late spring to early summer when tender leaves are plentiful. Lahanodolmades are a lovely winter version of the regular vine leaf dolmades. Tender winter cabbage is filled with ground beef and rice and the dolmades are covered with a avgolemono (egg-lemon) sauce. The avgolemono sauce is another great way to use the best fruit and vegetables in season - with all of the gorgeous citrus available at this time of year, particularly home-grown lemons. I was recently given a large bag of h

Very, very new season garlic appeared at the market today. I was thrilled to see the garlic and the promise of spring it brings. The season of artichokes, broad beans, sweet baby peas and juicy asparagus is just around the corner. Spring must really be the most delightful season for vegetarians! While there was super fresh and juicy garlic at the market, sadly I am going to have to wait a little longer for the other delights of spring until the chill of winter has defrosted. This is where my trusty bag of frozen peas stepped in. I hardly ever use frozen foods, but peas are the one staple that are always in my freezer - combined with the new season garlic, spring was just at a moments reach.   As soon as I saw the fresh garlic at the market, I immediately started craving a beautiful vegetarian dish, called 'biselli (pea) - arakas laderos' (μπιζέλια - Αρακάς λαδερός) which I first tried in one of the eateries in Athens Central Market. This delicious vegetable stew calls for peas,