Phyllo pastry rolls with chicken, mayo and sundried tomatoes filling

Delicious recipe with so many uses: as a first dish, as a snack for all hours, as a dish among others at a party... Finger food in its best!! Tasty ingredients wrapped with crunchy phyllo is always a great idea and welcomed by everybody. Play around with the ingredients if you want but this combination is tested and it works perfectly!

Potatoes yahni with mussels

This is a great recipe for those who are big fans of sea food and I'm sure they will really enjoy it! The classic vegetarian "potatoes yahni" recipe comes very nicely together with the mussels creating a really filling and delicious tasty dish!

Rice pilaf with artichokes

A delicious but so simple and easy recipe to put together any time and enjoy as a light meal or to accompany roast chicken or steamed fish

Meringues with Aegina pistachios, lemon and Earl Grey tea

The air in the meringue and its crunchy texture combined with the lightly sour lemon taste and the aroma of a good quality tea leads us into something really elegant! A joyful little sweet treat for all seasons to serve to your guests and enjoy plain or with a cup of fragrant tea

Grilled saddled seabream with tomato sauce - Version of "fish à la Spetsiota"

Saddle Seabream ("Melanouri" in Greek) is a very tasty fish of the Greek waters and very popular during the Summer months. The term "à la Spetsiota" shows the origin of the dish which is none other than the very beautiful and picturesque island of Spetses in Saronic Gulf, not far away from Athens. "A la Spetsiota" is a specific way of cooking with very few but essential ingredients. According to the elder locals this is a very old recipe and the authentic one consists only of fish, ripe tomatoes, dried savory, salt, good quality of olive oil and... that's it!! Initially fish and tomatoes are grilled on charcoals, sprinkled with some coarse salt. Then the tomatoes are peeled and mashed with a fork, making a nice, almost, raw sauce. Plenty of olive oil is added and some salt and then the sauce is poured over the fish finishing with some fragrant savory sprinkled on top.... Simplicity at its best!! Through the years changes and/or additions (minor or not) took place and the original recipe lost some of its traditional colour but the taste is always nice. You can also use fish like whole Gilthead seabream, Common dentex or White grouper in slices, so feel free to subsitute the saddled seabream with something you prefer. The version of "à la Spetsiota" I'm giving you today is more enriched in ingredients but nothing stops you to try the authentic recipe as I described it above. Fresh, meaty fish is the key ingredient in this recipe which you can enjoy along with a fresh green salad

Baked pasta with chicken, goat's cheese and broccoli

Easy and very tasty recipe to enjoy any day of the week with your family. The combination of the ingredients is quite balanced but you can, as always, make your alterations regarding the vegetables

Steamed vegetables salad with anthotyro cheese

We smile at Spring cooking salads with Greek cheeses and fresh seasonal vegetables! Light and tasty this warm salad is a nice start for the best Season of all making us to look forward for the upcoming Summer. *** The original recipe demands of "myronia" a fragrant herb we have in Greece, but I don't expect you to find any abroad (as I can't either) so feel free to substitute according to your preference

Homemade mayonnaise dressed in green!

Fresh, green herbs can be used to boost up the taste of various dishes but also to give a twist to the classic (and boring according to some) mayonnaise making it more interesting. Better to have all the ingredients at room temperature

Lemon and poppy seeds cake with syrup

Easy, simple but always tasty and refreshing the lemon cake! Alternatively, instead of poppy seeds use 1 tsp of crushed cardamom seeds for a different flavour

Potted mixed vegetables in oil sauce

An interesting and quite tasty combination of mixed vegetables to enrich your everyday cooking. As always in Greece such kind of recipes are equally popular served as a main meal or as a side dish to various meat, poultry and fish dishes

Baked meatballs with onions and yoghurt sauce

Based on an old traditional recipe which differs a bit from region to region this dish will impress you with its taste! This is a quite versatile recipe, as you will see further down it can be served anytime through the year depending on which cooking version you will follow. Along with a crispy, green salad it will make an excellent Summer-time dish and along with some simple rice pilaf it can become a really hearty Winter-time dish

Grilled Haloumi cheese with sweet wine and cherry tomatoes

A delicious and easy recipe to serve as a first dish along with some chilled wine. Feel free to substitute with feta or Kefalograviera cheese, if you want, but the taste will be different and also you should be careful with the salt. In my opinion, though, Haloumi is ideal for this recipe and you should try it out as suggested

Salmon fillets with lemon, orange and mustard baked in baking paper

Although salmon is not one of our favourite fish there are some recipes which we really like and this one today is a good example. It is an easy, light and very tasty recipe to enjoy the fresh salmon along with some fresh green salad or steamed vegetables. Very fragrant too thanks to the aromas the lemon and the orange give to the fish

Baked potatoes in wine, lemon, orange and mustard sauce

Baked potatoes are considered as "a must" dish at the Greek table on numerous occasions, regardless the season or the day of the week. Other times as an accompaniment to various meat or poultry dishes and other times as a meal themselves, baked potatoes are very popular to most Greeks. The Greek way of doing baked potatoes is different to the ways they use them abroad but within the country, more or less, the recipe doesn't change dramatically from region to region. Try out this simple but delicious version and along with a fresh green salad you'll see what a delicious meal humble potatoes can offer

White chocolate mousse with coffee

I was never a fan of white chocolate and I always considered it as a "no chocolate thingy"... but when I first tried this dessert at a friend's house I was pleasantly surprised by the taste and the smoothness of it. Still, I haven't changed my mind about the white chocolate and I don't think I will ever do with exceptions of airy desserts like this one today. Try to find a really good quality of white chocolate because this is the key to the success of this mousse

Peas with garlic/yoghurt sauce

Such a colourful, Spring-time dish this one! Easy to put together and ideal to be served next to roast meat, poultry and fish! But served by itself along with fresh bread and steamed potatoes or simple rice pilaf it makes an excellent light meal

Fluffy kebabs at home

To those who have visited Greece and especially Athens (and its touristic areas of Plaka and Monastiraki) this recipe will bring back memories... Pleasant ones I hope:-) What we call "kebabs" in Greece is what you see in the photo underneath and not pieces of meat arranged with vegetables on a skewer or metal spit, as I see they are called abroad and especially here in the UK. Those are what we call in Greece "souvlaki" (with or without a pitta bread) because "souvlaki" means "small skewer" or spit.... Now that I have tried to make things clearer lets get to this delicious, interesting spiced recipe for kebabs which you can easily cook at home and enjoy with your family and friends. Great idea for a Sunday meal and definitely something different than the classic BBQ

Drambuie flavoured cream pudding with strawberries

With this small, vibrant red and juicy fruit we can create the most attractive, refreshing and tasty recipes! Strawberry, the star of  the Spring-time desserts!

Pickled tuna fillets - A great meze for your ouzo

This is really one of those delicacies that one should try out at least once! If you like your wine or ouzo and you would like to taste something different this is a great idea of what we call "meze dish". Its purpose though is not only this, it can also be served as a side dish next to recipes like the classic haricot bean soup or other recipes with dried pulses

Greek salad with feta cheese dressing

This is a delicious alternative way to enjoy the classic Greek salad. The feta cheese instead of served on the top of the salad becomes the main part of an easy and very refreshing dressing. This dressing can also be used on various green salads or steamed vegetables

Chicken and broccoli tart with almond homemade pastry

This is a delicious and very filling tart to enjoy any day, regardless the season. A nice meal itself if served along with a fresh green salad. Adding almonds in the homemade dough, which is the surprise ingredient, will give an extra taste and texture to the pastry

Baked stuffed onions with ground meat

"Gemista" or, in other words, stuffed vegetables with rice and herbs or with the addition of ground meat was always a family-friendly and very filling dish. Depending on the season various nutritious and tasty vegetables can be used and "gemista" either cold during warm months or warm during colder months always offer culinary surprises in unexpected combinations

Sweet cheese pies with honey and walnuts

Such a light and delicious dessert these sweet pies to please your guests and family! An easy recipe, inspired from various traditional ones, ideal for any occasion after a rich meal and for all seasons

Full of herbs roast chicken with refreshing yoghurt sauce

Roast chicken can't really go wrong regardless the season or the recipe each one of us follows. It is a very family-friendly meal and there are so many variations and so many different ingredients that can be used to cook with or accompany the chicken. Here we have a really fragrant roast and to make it even more pleasant we accompany it with a refreshing yoghurt sauce
 

Homemade strawberry liqueur flavoured with spearmint

May is the month of strawberries and there are so maaaany things we can prepare with this fragrant and tasty, sub-sour fruit!! One of the things many households do in Greece between the Spring and Summer months is to prepare the next season's homemade jams, preserves, dessert-spoon sweets and liqueurs. So take advantage of this velvety, vibrant red and delicious fruit to make your own liqueur which can be served chilled any time and especially after a rich meal

 

Baked giant beans with Florina red peppers

The classic baked giant beans with the addition of the popular Florina red peppers which give an extra taste and fragrance to the dish. A nice and nutricious recipe which is suitable in every season and a good idea after all this Easter meat-eating orgy

Rice pilaf with ground meat and feta cheese

This recipe can be cooked from scratch but it is ideal for when leftover rice pilaf or ground meat are available in the fridge so to save you some time in the kitchen. Greek cuisine always was fond of cooking with cheeses and often in the most unusual combinations. Recipes cooked in the pot, in the fryin pan or in the oven always get more exciting when cheese is involved. Cheese gives a new identity to numerous recipes and this makes it one of our most favoured ingredients

Tuna, olives and mushroom sauce

Such an easy, simple but so tasty sauce to top your pasta or rice pilaf with it! But, strange as it might sound, adding 2-3 tbsp of this sauce in recipes like potatoes yahni, sweet peas or green beans stew give such a kick and extra flavour to the final result! I was hesitant too when I first read about it but I did risk it and Mrs Nikolaou was right! When I first cooked this recipe, though, by choice I added red and green bell peppers in small cubes as well as a glass of wine. But if you want to try the idea of using some of the sauce in the other recipes I mention above then omit the vegetables

May's rose petals "dessert-spoon" sweet

At last!! May is here!! Spring is my favourite season for a lot of reasons. One of them is that fragrant, colourful and delicious fruits and vegetables are back in season giving us the chance to enjoy them in so many savoury and sweet recipes. But, beside the veg and fruits, Spring-time flowers are back in season too and one of these can become one of the most fragrant and tasty sweets. May's roses can give us the right petals to use them for this traditional "dessert-spoon" sweet and mark my words it will not disappoint you or your guests! My mother, among other "dessert-spoon" sweets, used to make rose petals too for years. In those days most neighbourhoods still had houses with beautiful gardens and it was easier to find those gorgeous roses - the so called"one-hundred petals" variety - which were the appropriate for this sweet. Unfortunately nowadays in big cities like Athens not many houses have left and even fewer gardens are around...