In Greek: λαχανικά σχάρας, pronounced lah-HAH-nee-kah SKHAH-rahs A simple matter of sliding pieces of your favorite vegetables onto skewers turns into a fabulous side dish for other grilled foods (or, add more vegetables and make it a complete meal). Ingredients: For 2 skewers per person: ———- 2 medium tomatoes 1 zucchini (Italian squash) 1 yellow […]

In Greek: ξιφίας σουβλάκι, pronounced ksee-FEE-ahs soov-LAH-kee Grilled kebabs (souvlaki) are a favorite cooked over the coals, but also work well under the broiler. Fresh swordfish is a delight if you can find it; otherwise, frozen swordfish steaks (usually sold 1-inch thick) are a good alternative. The addition of bay leaves to the skewers (bamboo […]

n Greek: ντολμαδάκια γιαλαντζί, pronounce dohl-mah-THAHK-yah yah-lahnd-ZEE Throughout the Middle East and southern Europe, this dish is a favorite. Here in vineyard country, these are often made with the very youngest and tenderest (and smallest) freshly picked leaves – which you can do as well if you have access to vines. This is the same […]

STRADIA Makes 4 to 6 servings This is an “urban” summer dish in Lefkada, savored in its capital. It calls for the grey mullet, which spawn at the end of summer. The female, called bafa, is swollen with eggs, and the male is at the height of his sperm production—details, granted, that are difficult to appreciate out of context. The […]

SKORDALIA APO HTAPOTHOZOUMO Makes 4 to 6 meze servings This garlic dip is served just as aliatha, ayiatha, and others are—as an accompaniment to boiled greens, fried vegetables or fish, plain on bread, or as a side with Ithacan Fried Octopus . Four 1-inch-thick slices stale rustic bread Pan juices from cooking 2 small or 1 large octopus. Igredients: 4 to […]

KOLOKITHOKORFATHES ME SKORTHO KAI SELINORIZA In Greece in the late spring, zucchini flowers fill up the markets. There are 2 kinds: the large sturdy flowers that grow on the stalk of the zucchini plant and the smaller, more fragile ones that sprout out of the actual zucchini. Greeks generally prefer the sturdier ones because they’re easier to work with. These […]

GALOPOULA AVGOLEMONO Sometime after the sixteenth century, turkey arrived in Corfu from the West. There is some disagreement as to who first brought it. If its name is any indication, then the turkey came with the French, since its name in Greek, galopoula, translates literally as “French bird.” Regardless of its provenance, today it is still the Christmas meal in Corfu. […]

AYIATHA TIS KERKYRAS Another take on the pan-Mediterranean garlic sauce that accompanies fried fish and boiled vegetables. But Corfu’s version of ayiatha, as it is pronounced in the local dialect, calls for bread and almonds, as opposed to potatoes, as the base. Vinegar makes this garlic sauce slightly harsher in flavor than those that call for lemon juice. Locals tend to […]

In Greek: λαδολέμονο, pronounced lah-tho-LEH-mo-no A classic Greek topping for grilled fish, this sauce is used in many ways to enhance the flavors of all kinds of seafoods, but if your family is like mine, you’ll find many other uses for it as well. We use it on vegetables and anywhere we want a light […]

Dried beans and peas – limas, pinto, red, black-eyed peas, garbanzo (chickpeas), and Great Northern, to name a few – are favorites in Greek cooking, and easy on the family budget as well. Beans are easy to make, but often not especially quick since most need to be soaked for at least 6 hours, and […]