Kourabiethes Nistisimoi In Greek: κουραμπιέδες νηστίσιμες, pronounced koo-rahm-bee-YEH-thes nee-STEE-see-mes Adapting recipes to meet Greek dietary restrictions during Lent and other periods of “fasting” (as they are called in Greek) doesn’t mean giving up taste and texture. And it doesn’t mean not eating delicious foods. Kourabiethes, sugared shortbread cookies, are favorites at the holidays made with butter and […]

Greece is known for fabulous lamb dishes, from small souvlaki (skewered kebabs) to stuffed baby lamb to spit-roasted whole lamb – and a lot of grilled, roasted, and stewed recipes in between! Learn more about cooking with lamb. What is baby lamb? Spring lamb? Young? Mutton? The age of the animal is calculated based on […]

Ingredients: 3/4 of a cup soft unsalted butter (room temperature) 1/2 a cup of sugar 2 egg yolks 1 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour 1/2 a cup of fruit jams of different kinds Method: In a large enough bowl add the butter, sugar and the egg yolks. Using a wooden spoon mix well to combine […]

If I were pressed to name one Greek cookie that reminds me of Christmas, this would be it. This is an oil-based cookie recipe that produces moist cake-like cookies flavored with orange and brandy that are bathed in a sweet honey syrup and topped with chopped walnuts. This recipe was given to me by my Thea […]

Stuffed Little Meatballs POLPETES APO TIN KERKYRA Makes about 24 meatballs What the rest of Greece knows as keftedes or by the diminutive, keftedakia, Seven Islanders call polpetes, delicate little meatballs. In the Ionian area these days they are apt to be the mint-doused rendition common throughout all of Greece. This particular recipe, borrowed from Ninetta Laskari’s excellent book on Corfu, […]

KEFALONITIKI KREATOPITA This recipe, from native Cephalonian Roussa Meleti, originally appeared in my first book, The Food and Wine of Greece. Makes 8 to 10 servings Ingredients: 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for brushing 1/2 pound boneless lamb, trimmed of fat and cut into 1/2-inch pieces 1/2 pound lean boneless pork, cut into 1/2-inch pieces […]

BAKALIAROPITA TIS ITHAKIS Makes 8 to 10 servings Codfish pies are found throughout the Ionian Islands. The Ithacan version includes both rice and cubed potatoes, testimony to the fact that this originated as poor man’s food, a dish that needed to be as filling as possible. Cod pie is a classic Lenten dish not only in Ithaca but in Cephalonia […]

KEFALONITIKI PITA ME KOLOKYTHA KAI KAROTA Makes 6 to 8 servings One finds recipes in the most unusual places, in this case from Spiros Bazigos, the accountant at the Coridalenio Library in Argostoli, Cephalonia’s capital. I had just spent a day looking for books on old island customs and food habits. He had come in to say good night to […]

PASTITSIO VENETSIANIKO Ingredients: Makes 10 to 12 servings For the pastry: 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) cold unsalted butter 1/3 to 1/2 cup ice water, as needed For the filling: 1 pound thick tubular spaghetti, like bucatini 2 to 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, […]

MELITZANES SKORDOSTOUMBI – Μελιτζάνες σκορδοστούμπι This simple dish is a paean to the robust flavors that mark so much of Greek and Ionian—cooking. Garlic and vinegar are a combination we find on country tables all over Greece, but usually it is one reserved for seasoning meat. Its use here with eggplant is what makes it unique. Makes 4 to 6 servings […]