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 […]
Feta Brined Turkey Breast, Chestnut Stuffing and Make Ahead Gravy
American Thanksgiving is coming up this Thursday and Christmas is just over a month away. Both dinners center around a roast turkey plus whatever fixins’ and sides you may prepare plus some ethnic dishes that your family likes to serve on special occasions. Our holidays will be different this year – smaller gathering and that […]
Sea Urchin Pasta
This first time I saw sea urchins was in Halkidiki (where our family’s summer home is), clinging to rocks under the sea. Another sea urchin memory was eating them on the half-shell with a squeeze of lemon juice in Mykonos (summer ’92). Fast forward to 2009, first visit to Crete and I have a big […]
Politiko Baklava
I’ve been making this version of Baklava for a few years. There are many styles and varieties but this one is my favourite. A round tray is used, I have a diagram below that demystifies how to cut the baklava pieces into diamonds and when you look at the whole pan, it looks like a […]
Scalloped Roast Lemon Potatoes
Sundays are for gatherings of family and friends. Some more time can be taken in the kitchen to make something a little extra-extra but it doesn’t have to be super-technical either. A couple of summers ago, I came up with the idea of cutting potatoes in slices (like for scalloped potatoes) and roasting them like […]
Grilled Pork Belly
One of my favourite meat cuts is pork belly. Where else can you get juicy, crispy, fatty and firm all in one bite? When cooked properly, you get all that with pork belly. The key is to render the fat so that the meat is tender, the skin is crisp and just a think layer […]
Cod Saganaki with Scallops and Mussels
As a cook, I get my inspiration from in many ways: through travel, exploring your own city’s dining scene, family and friends, TV shows, cookbooks and media (internet). The inspiration for this dish came from Chef Eric Ripert, a French Chef who grown up on the Cote D’Azur and he’s made his Le Bernardin restaurant […]
Pear Croustade
In this age of the ‘rona, I have extra time on my hands and I am happy to be cooking more for myself and to be able to contribute new recipes here. I am also updating some old recipes I feel that need a fresh look. One such recipe is this Pear Croustade. Posted in […]
Portokalopita (Πορτοκαλόπιτα)
Portokalopita is an Greek compound word translated into “orange pie”. The first time I ever saw this dish was about a decade ago at my friend Maria’s blog, “Kali Orexi”. I had never before heard of this dessert, I have never ever eaten a Portokalopita. It’s been over a decade since my original post and […]
