Classic Spinach Salad
I used to order a spinach salad from a lunch counter and it was usually filling enough to be a meal. Iron-rich spinach, protein-packed eggs, immune boosting mushrooms, crispy bacon (needs no touting). Wrap all that in a tangy/sweet dressing and you have a salad that serves well as a main or good starter. Classic […]
Warm Mushroom Salad With Graviera Cheese, Almonds
It can be tough to come up with a tasty salad in the winter months but there are options! I love mushrooms, they are a great meat substitute, great immune system booster and with mushroom cultivation expanding to more than button mushrooms; one can eat an exotic array without breaking the bank. I love cremini, […]
Chicken with Hilopites
My parents, who come from towns in Florina prefecture, would make this dish with Keftedes or in this case, chicken. Both proteins affordable and complementary to such a rustic dish. It’s an easy dish to prepare but in keeping with Greek cooking philosophy, use quality ingredients and they will speak for themselves. Good chicken, ripe […]
Peinirli
The first time I saw a Peinirli was when the bus I was riding on from Thessaloniki to Amynteon (parents’ home town); the bus made a 20 minute stop in Edessa and some passengers were grabbing a “peinirli” to snack on. During many trips to Greece since, I’ve seen Peinirli at bakeries and there are […]
Schnitzel with Smyrneiko Sauce
I came up with this dish about a decade ago and was reminded of the dish in a recent “facebook memory” that popped up. The gist of the dish is marrying a schnitzel with a Smyrni (Smyrneiko) style tomato sauce, aromatic with a pinch of cinnamon. Serve with rice pilaf and it’s a wonderful meal […]
Pork Fricassee
Winter is almost officially here and heartier Greek dishes enter the cooking rotation. Greek cuisine is rustic, humble and usually economical. Enter the Fricassee dishes. Fricassee is traditionally a French dish that’s been Greek-a-fied. The most popular versions are made with lamb and today, pork. There are lots of vegetables like onions/leeks, leafy greens (many […]
Greek Style Peas – Arakas Latheros
This dish really shines when you’re using local, fresh green peas; in season late Spring/early Summer. Thankfully, we have high quality frozen vegetables that are “flash frozen”, preserving them for use in the off season. Frozen green peas shine. Arakas (green peas) Latheros are often found in open kitchen restaurants (magiria). They can be had […]
Chicken Souvlaki
Autumn is definitely here and winter threatened to stay earlier this week with our first snowfall. Warm temps returned, the snow melted overnight and we’ve had a bright and sunny weekend. If there’s an opportunity to grill, I embrace it. Greeks do not eat souvlaki all the time but we are known for putting practically […]
Seared Calf Liver with Caramelized Onions
Up until about a few years ago, I hated liver – couldn’t stomach it. It smelled nice whenever my parents would fry it up with onions. I would try it on occasion – one bite and with half a chew, I would place a napkin toward my mouth and expel it. Won’t go down. Fast-forward […]
Chestnut Stifado
If you’re familiar with Greek cuisine, then you’ve heard of Stifado. It’s a slow cooked dish usually containing lots of onions, spices and either rabbit or hare. In modern Greek cooking, beef or veal have also become a favourites. Like many cuisines, there are regional differences and such is the case with this Cretan inspired […]