Greek Recipes

While Greek food is so much about the seasons and homegrown produce, it is also driven by the festival calendar. We recently started one of the most significant fasting periods in the Greek calendar, Great Lent. This period is called nistia (νηστεία) and traditionally requires you to abstain from meat, eggs, dairy, fish (shellfish are ok), olive oil and alcohol. You are also required to limit the number of meals consumed each day. In recent times, many people do not fast for the whole period of lent (Clean Monday until Easter Sunday) but they do still fast in different ways. For many people, they will not eat meat for the entire period of lent but will still eat dairy. For others, they will not eat meat for the entire period of lent and will also be completely vegan, oil and alcohol free on Wednesdays and Fridays - which are regarded as significant fasting days in the Orthodox calendar year. In addition to this, most people fast strictly during the first and last week of Lent as well a...

A few weeks ago, I posted a recipe for one my favourite Greek dishes, Hortopita (χορτόπιτα) or wild greens pie . In that recipe I used some store bought phyllo and I promised a follow up recipe for homemade pastry. I am still to get a lesson from my lovely mother in law - but in the interim, I have a recipe to share from my travels in Kefalonia. Last year we stayed in Kefalonia for a couple of weeks in a little village near Klismata Beach. While staying there, thanks to Mr K's beautifully fluent Greek, we befriended Stavros and Anna who owned a small taverna and supermarket nearby our villa. This is Anna's recipe for hortopita, which I recently found in my travel notebook. I love keeping a travel notebook, the one from this trip to Greece was packed with watercolour and gouache sketches, recipes, business cards - as well as lots of labels from new season olive oil and wine. Anna's recipe is completely vegetarian and does not use any cheese, so it is perfect for fasting. It...

I have a confession to make. I've become addicted horta. As you may know, horta is a generic term for a variety of wild greens which grow in Greece and are used in mainly hot and cold salads. Ordinarily, after collecting and cleaning the various greens, I would simply boil them in water and then serve with lemon and olive oil. This week, my father in law's garden provided a big basket of various greens. I also bought two big generous bunches of dandelions (known in Greek as radiki) from the Marrickville organic market - for the bargain price of $2.00. To relieve Mr K from the monotony of my horta addiction, I decided not to serve the usual "hot salad" but instead used the greens to make a delicious savoury wild greens pie, called "hortopita" (χορτόπιτα). Hortopita (χορτόπιτα) is traditionally made in the spring when wild greens are young and tender. Given that we have had such a mild winter and with a few warmer days recently, the greens in my father in laws...

My love affair with Kalitsounia started when Mr K and I visited Crete a few years ago. Kalitsounia (καλιτσούνια) are small pies, either filled with sheep cheese and drizzled with honey for a sweet dessert, or filled with cheese, herbs and/or greens and onion for a savoury snack. These little pies are unique to Crete and the island has become famous for them. Kalitsounia are traditionally served at Easter time and filled with two cheeses unique to Crete, along with some mint. There are also two popular kalitsounia shapes for Easter, a square and a 'little lantern'. Beyond Easter, kalitsounia are often served at big family gatherings and parties. They can also either be baked or fried. If you are visiting Crete, kalitsounia can be found in baker's shops and tavernas all year round. In Chania, some of the best Kalitsounia can be found at the Central Market. The Municipal Market of Chania is in the heart of the city and dates back to 1913. The market is full of fresh local pr...

The Autumn colours in Launceston, Tasmania are simply spectacular. Last weekend, Mr K and I spent two days, one day in the glorious vineyards of the Tamar Valley - soaking in the beautiful, warm autumn colours and the second at the the misty, prehistoric-looking Cataract Gorge. It was so wonderful to see and feel the season changing, which we rarely get to do in Sydney, with its temperate weather. The colours were so intense and they reminded us both, so much of our recent travels through the vineyards of Tuscany , last autumn. The cool climate wines of the Tamar Valley were equally as spectacular as the autumn colours. Josef Chromy, Goaty Hill and Holm Oak were particular standouts. Incredible scenery and equally incredible wines, can only result in one thing - a picnic among the vines. Inspired by the warm colour pallet, this pumpkin and feta pie, known in Greek as kolokythopita was just perfect for the picnic basket, along with some olives, beautiful Tasmanian cheese and fruit. In t...