Thessaloniki Mustard

One of my favourite condiments is mustard and my affinity has nothing to do with that yellow ballpark stuff most of you are familiar with but it from my first taste of good mustard…in Thessaloniki of all places! My first trip to Greece was in 1974, accompanied by my mother who had not seen her […]
Grilled Shrimp With Mustard & Honey

Just last month I was in Greece and even though I was there for a a mere 12 days, I squeezed in all the activities I could: seeing family and friends, visiting markets, trying out new eateries and…making new friends. One of the new friends I made was Vefa Alexiadou – the Julia Child of […]
Artichoke Salad With Split-Peas & Shrimp

It’s late Spring, we’re almost officially into Summer and the entertaining season is full-on: Saturday evening dinners, backyard BBQ’s on a lazy Sunday or throwing a party outside simply because it’s just too nice to stay indoors. This salad’s main ingredient is canned artichokes but if you’re so inclined to use fresh ones, you’ll make […]
Ergon All-Greek General Store

Readers of this blog will know that I try use and feature Greek products in my cooking whenever possible. There is still a supply/demand gap here in the West but the situation is improving year by year. In Greece prior to it’s entry into the EU (1981), one would only find local Greek goods and […]
Mussels With Ouzo (Μυδια Ουζατα)

I know you’ve been waiting for some new recipes to appear on this site and with me just coming back from a wonderful (albeit brief) Spring visit to Greece, I bring you a quick and easy mussels dish that will take you to a Greek taverna and keep me at bay until my proper vacation […]
Psarotaverna: To Fresko Psari

When in Thessaloniki and one is looking for fish and seafood, locals will often direct you towards Kalamaria and Nea Krini for such fare. I’m telling you to do the exact opposite by traveling west of the city center and head to the Eleftherio-Kordelio neighborhood. Kordelio was founded in 1924 by refugees who came from […]
Crispy Fried Shrimp

I came up with this meze during Lent, which ended at the stroke of midnight April 24th. Although created for Lent (no meat or meat by-products eaten), this shrimp dish is good any tome of the year and what’s even better? It comes with a sauce that one can liberally dip the shrimp in! Another […]
Kontosouvli

In Greece, there are many souvlaki and gyro joints all over the country and on nearly every corner. Then there are tavernas, small eateries that specialize in grilled meats that go beyond souvlaki and gyro, serving pork chops, biftekia, sausages, lamb chops, whole roast lamb on the spit, kokoretsi and kontosouvli. Kontosouvli another rotisserie offering […]
Asparagus Salad in the Raw

This recipe can be pulled-off with using any one of the following gadgets (yes I own all three of them). The first is a box grater and considered a “must” in the Greek kitchen. The box grater is used to grate ripe tomatoes and the pulp is used in many Greek dishes. The second kitchen […]
Onion Dolmades

These stuffed onions are flavour bombs with a filling of meat, rice and herbs.