Greek Recipes

The Union Square Greenmarket, is one of NYC's best food markets, open on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday from 8am until 6pm. We visited on a Friday and it was quite simply a visual feast. Madame Zen, who I visited the market with, would have been happy to sketch scenes of the market for hours. There was a really wonderful seasonal bounty of fresh produce and flowers on display, as well as farm house cheeses, breads, jams, wine, ciders, maple syrup and more. The market is located in one of the city's great public spaces. There was a remarkable diversity of native New Yorker's and tourists enjoying the market on the day we visited. Unlike the hot summer markets of Provence where there is a relaxed seriousness to the shoppers (with food being a national sport in France, there is always a degree of seriousness at the market - the relaxed atmosphere is usually due to the heat), there was an energetic, warm and welcoming atmosphere at the at the Union Square Market. Perhaps ...

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...

In my kitchen this month is a lovely aqua picnic basket, filled with delicious treats sourced from around my local area. Although it is still winter, constant clear blue skies combined with a big warm jacket have made the most perfect conditions for seaside picnicking. The first essential for my picnic basket was a large rustic loaf of bread. I bought the bread from our local baker, Yanni's Bakery. There were a range of delicious breads on sale including an olive bread, lagana bread and large round loaves of Horiatiki psomi (Χωριάτικη Ψωμί). It was a hard decision to make, but I settled on the Horiatiki and it was delicious sliced into large wedges and spread thickly with lemon filled taramasalata. Some thick, sweet Thassos olives from the local deli, all crinkly and glossy from being dried in the sun provided a salty contrast. You have to get in early Yanni's. Too late and all of their delicious breads have been snapped up by discerning yiayias. From the local grocer, there we...

The best way to eat whitebait is by the seaside on a Greek island. In Greek, whitebait are called marida (μαρίδα). They are enjoyed after being dredged in flour and then fried in hot oil until just golden. Sometimes they are eaten as meze with a glass or two of ouzo, or as part of a main meal, along with a large bowl of fava and some horta (boiled wild greens) - and a glass of wine. To eat them, you pop the whole thing in your mouth and eat it like a little french fry. If you don't like the heads, you can snap them off when you eat them. The last time I enjoyed marida by the sea, was on a visit to Lefkada. After a morning spent shopping in the town, we could not resist the impossibly fresh seafood that had just been caught and was on sale in the town's fishmongers. The little shop fronts, made out of corrugated iron, were completely open. The fish and seafood, on sale, was not protected behind a sterile sheet of glass. It was open to the sea air, beautifully glistening on a ...