KEFALONITIKO LAGOTO This dish is traditionally made with wild hare in Cephalonia, but in its absence rabbit is often used. The name lagoto (lago means “hare” in Greek) is also found in parts of the Peloponnesos, where it refers either to a dish of hare or rabbit thickened with skordalia or, oddly, to pork stewed with skordalia. The Cephalonian version of […]

ORTYKIA ME KOUKIA – ορτυκια με κουκια Quail appear in many varied dishes all over Greece, from the preserved quail so revered in the Mani to the quail-stuffed bread, also from the southern Peloponnesos. From the eastern Aegean, we find another unusual quail dish, in which the tiny birds are stuffed into eggplants (the recipe is included in my first book, The […]

SARTSA – frangokota Guinea fowl in the Ionian region might have an interesting history—or, at the least, an interesting etymology, if one is to believe historian Waverley Root. The Zakynthians call it frangokota, or “French chicken,” while in Corfu it is called faraona, after the Italian gallina faraona, or pharaoh’s turkey. Root says that the bird, indeed a native of Guinea in […]

Pastitsatha was the traditional Sunday meal of Corfu’s well-to-do. It was almost always made with free-range cock or with turkey, which Corfiotes hold in particularly high esteem. Thick tubular spaghetti is needed for this dish. According to island cooks, a proper pastitsatha requires no fewer than 9 spices: allspice, cinnamon, cloves, cumin, nutmeg, paprika, cayenne, salt, and black pepper. Makes 4 to […]

Arbaroriza (Pelargonium graveolens), called kiouli in Cyprus,  is one of my favourite plants and it is so common in Greece  and Cyprus that you will surely find one in most gardens or balconies,  planted in pots or directly in the garden. Scented geraniums belong to the Geraniaceae family but they should not be confused with […]

Ingredients: 15 bergamot oranges 2 kilos of sugar Juice of 2 lemons 3 cups of water 2-3 leaves of sweet- Arbaroriza – Kiouli – Scented pelargonium (optional) Juice of 1/2 a lemon for the finish Spoon Sweets Method: Wash the bergamot well, and dry with a towel. Grate the peel with a fine grater without reaching […]

Ingredients: 1 kilo of ripped quince 1 kilo plus 2 cups of sugar Juice of 1 lemon 3-4 leaves of sweet-scented pelargonium (Arbaroriza) Juice if 1/2 a lemon Method: Wash and peel the quinces. Cut in half, remove the core with the pits and grade with the course side of the grader. Place in a […]

Ingredients: 1 1/2 kilo of fresh chestnuts 1 1/2 kilo sugar Little salt 4 cups of water 1 tbsp of lemon juice or even little more For every half kilo of chestnut we add half kilo sugar and 2/3 of glass water. Method: Clean the outer skin of the chestnuts. Place them in a pot […]

Ingredients: 1 kilo of strawberries 1 kilo minus 1 cup of sugar 5 tsp of brandy 6 tbsp of lemon juice Juice of 1/2 a lemon for the finish strawberry preserves Method: Wash well and cut the stems off the strawberries. Cut in half or quarters if they are too big and place in a […]

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 […]