Greek Recipes

The grape vine is probably one of the most used plants in Greek home cooking. Nearly every part of the plant is used, except for the roots. In late Spring, the fresh stems and shoots are pickled in a spiced vinegar and used in salads or served on its own as as a meze ( see this link to Kalofagas for a very moving blog post about how Peter's papou made pickled grape vine shoots ). The shoots can also be used to make a rice pilaf and the juice from the unripe grapes (agourida), which is very similar to verjuice, is used in areas of Greece as a citrus alternative in early summer when lemons are not available. There is also grape molasses called (petimezi) - I have a fresh bottle in my store cupboard which I cannot wait to use. Then there is of course Greek wine - not only just for drinking but a classic ingredient used in much Greek cooking - such as kokora krasato, a summer favourite of rooster slow cooked in fresh tomato and wine. Even after pruning, the dry vine cuttings are collec...

As I mentioned in my last post, apricot delights and rum balls have long been a favourite holiday treat in our house, courtesy of my Nana. They are perfect to have on hand in the fridge over the festive season when friends or family drop in - but they are also pretty good at any time of the year, especially as a great way to finish off a meal as a part of a petit four or on a fresh seasonal fruit platter. Apricot, sour cherry & Metaxa delights 2 cups dried Turkish apricots! finely chopped 1/4 cup dried sour cherries, finely chopped (or use dried cranberries that have been soaked in a little lemon juice) 2 and 1/2 cups of dessicated coconut 1/2 - 3/4 cup of condensed milk 3 tablespoons of Metaxa brandy 1 extra cup of dessicated coconut, for rolling 12 cup icing mixture, for rolling Method: 1. Combine condensed milk, 2 and 1/2 cups of coconut, sour cherries, Metaxa and apricots in a bowl and combine well. 2. Take teaspoons of the mixture and roll into walnut sized balls. 3. Mix remai...

This little plate of goodies will be waiting for Santa this Christmas Eve at our house, along with a small bottle of homemade Irish cream liqueur. The White Christmas with plenty of toasty roasted hazelnuts will satisfy Santa's nostalgic leanings and almond shortbreads, kourambiethes will tick the box for traditional Greek Christmas treats. The recipe for White Christmas is courtesy of my Nana, who used to make it for us every year along with a big batch of rum balls (that had a kick) and apricot-coconut delights. They would be placed in the 70s wooden lazy Susan - and I could never resist these treats, usually devouring most of them well before Christmas lunch had even started via sneaky spins of the Susan wheel. I used to keep turning the wheel so the empty sections of the Susan wheel sat right in front of my grandad. He knew exactly what I was up to and loved every minute of it! Instead of the usual glacé cherries, I have used some cranberries - but you could use some dried sou...

      Have you ever wondered what ancient Greek cooking would taste like? If ancient Greeks could have known that people in the future would be interested in their cuisine, they would most certainly have written down everything about their art of cooking.  During what we now call the ‘classical period’ ancient Greek civilization reached its peak. Tragic plays and Aristophanes’ comedies describe daily life including scenes around a table. Deipnosophists (from deipnon - dinner and sofos - wise) writing about the philosophic discussions taking place in rich people’s houses during gastronomic feasts described the menus in great detail. These sources inform us that Athenians had three daily meals out of which ‘’deipnon’’, late in the evening, was the last and most rich meal of the day. Dinner in modern Greece is still called ‘’deipno’’.  Their diet consisted of a great variety of fish, meat from both game and stock farming, grains such as barley and wheat and, o...

    An urge to search for traditional recipes with apples resulted because of a walk we took last week near our cottage. We came across a familiar old apple tree still standing next to the ruins of a house. It has never stopped producing apples yearly for more than six decades now as my mother remembers, with no gardener’s care -  just running water from a spring on the property. We hadn’t explored this corner of the village for a couple of years and we were pleased to find that the tree was still productive and that there were still some apples left for us by the birds who had already taken their share. I love that sense of déjà vu under a tree like this, imagining the repeated ritual of harvesting its fruits.  Though apples have been cultivated in Greece for many centuries yet, as far as I know, there are no recipes in Greek traditional cuisine like pies and cakes, which call for apples. They have always been the most popular year round fruit in every house pantry...