Fresh salmon souvlaki with parsley pesto

Easy, light and delicious salmon dish to enjoy this nutritious fish! It goes nicely with plain rice pilaf, steamed asparagus or a fresh green salad along with some rustic bread

Fake "mille-feuille" with tuile biscuits, chocolate cream and nuts

Easy and quick to prepare, good looking to impress but above all very tasty and light, this mille-feuille-minded dessert can become one of your favourite desserts to treat your guests!! In the simple chocolate cream, beside or instead of the nuts, you can add finely chopped strawberries or other seasonal fruits. They give a very refreshing flavour

Potted beef with carrots and mushrooms in creamy paprika sauce

Tender beef slowly cooked and a nicely spiced creamy sauce give you this delicious family dish to enjoy any day of the week! The original recipe is cooked in the oven but I found that it was not so suitable this way of cooking for the specific recipe. In the pot, where I cooked it after the first time, I think it's better at keeping the meat juicy and the creamy sauce more "lively"

Chicken and peppers pie with cheesy homemade pastry

A really delicious pie which you can enjoy as a snack, a light meal or even a main along with a rich green salad. The combination of the ingredients is one of the best, it is a seasonal recipe and the homemade pastry makes this pie really luscious. If you want, you can add in the filling some finely chopped parsley and 1 large grated carrot which both suit to the recipe very much!

Easy olives and capers paste

Easy and fast to make this paste, it can be used in many different ways and it is for all seasons! Useful as a dip or a spread for sandwiches, canapés etc, as a nice addition to various salads or even mixed in pasta dishes

Vols-au-vent stuffed with chicken and mushroom filling

Vols-au-vent, these small and cute hollow cases of puff pastry were such a big success in the 70's and 80's buffet tables and party dinners!! So much in fashion that there was no doubt everywhere you were invited you would find a platter full of them and every time with a different filling! Not sure if they are back in fashion as such, but I see that they are always welcomed when served as a first dish or as a nibble. In today's recipe we have a tasty filling with chicken and I'm sure that they won't disappoint your guests. You can either make your own vols-au-vent cases out of puff pastry or use store-bought ones

Pasta salad with spinach and walnuts

Simple pasta recipe to enjoy as a salad but also as a light meal any day of the week! Nothing complicated about it but really very tasty, filling and nutritious

Fresh salmon fillets with onion sauce

A very interesting and tasty way of cooking fresh salmon. The onion sauce suits the fish very well and  creamy mashed potatoes accompany this meal in the best way!

Fast chocolate mousse with strawberries

Easy and quick to make this light and tasty mousse can be the best seasonal dessert to end up a family meal in the best way!

Lamb "Atzem" with rice pilaf - Greek version

This is one of the most classic recipes for potted lamb and, fortunately for us, arrived at our tables thanks to the Greeks of Asia Minor years ago but it goes back to the era of the Ottoman Empire! I call it "Greek version" because it is a recipe we rather share with the Turkish cuisine but over there it is followed a bit differently. The word "atzem" ("acem" in Turkish language) indicates the method the rice is cooked, using the same broth/sauce the meat has been boiled in instead of water or other kinds of stock. The recipe is super delicious, full of aroma thanks to the pure butter (don't go cheap with this) and with the meat really tender and moist. This is the meaty version of "atzem" but there is also the one where only the rice is involved

Feta cheese and olives homemade bread kneaded with beer

I'll never stop saying that nothing can beat freshly baked homemade bread and those of you who are familiar to baking know how right I am! And why not to add a few more things in so to make it even more interesting and luscious? And what if these extra ingredients are Feta cheese and olives? Well then you'll find your self in front of a small miracle of taste and aroma! The ideal cheese in this bread is a hard and lightly pungent Feta giving extra flavour. You can use your favourite olives but Kalamata olives are not a bad variety for this bread. As for the herbs, beside the oregano, marjoram or thyme both suit the recipe

Potatoes "stifado" with capers

Simple and easy to prepare but a really delicious vegetarian dish to enjoy any day! Inspired by the classic Greek dish of "Stifado", only this time no meat is involved and the capers take the place of the sweet small onions giving to the food a distinctive flavour. The fact that there is no meat in this version doesn't mean that the recipe is not filling! Ideal not only for the vegetarians but also those Greeks (back home or abroad) who are fasting this period and would like to cook something different

Baked octopus balls served with mustard sauce

Another delicious meze dish, this time with octopus, the so popular, in Greek cuisine, seafood. Quite versatile since we can cook it in so many different ways, this time it is transformed into tasty balls without too many calories since they are baked and not fried. And here there's a nice idea for you: the liquids after the boiling of the octopus could nicely used to make a tasty rice pilaf the next day

Spring-time risotto with wine, orange and strawberries

This is really a special recipe full of aromas and flavours! A nice savoury dish with the strawberries and the orange involved adding an extra taste and freshness! It is amazing how fruits can get together so well with classic ingredients creating such a luscious and creamy food!

Potted chicken with black-eyed beans and green olives

Try out this nice and rather light recipe with chicken and have the chance to enjoy the beans and some root vegetables before the Winter waves us goodbye for now! The combination of the ingredients turns out to be well balanced and it is a nice idea for those who are not such big fans of dried pulses. Personally I'm not a big fan either but combining the beans with the leeks and carrots which I really like and the addition of the olives which give an extra flavour the dish was very tasty, hearty and filling. You can also use chicken breast but for this recipe it would be better if you kept the skin on



Warm chocolate half-moon pies with cinnamon

They are so easy and fast to prepare so I'm sure these cute chocolate pies will become one of your favourite sweet treats and snacks for all year round! Play with the ingredients if you are in the mood, adding to the filling blond raisins or chopped nuts or use different spices

Potted marinated rabbit "salmi"

Hmmm, this is an absolutely delicious recipe to cook with rabbit! It is a traditional recipe cooked in various areas of the Peloponnese peninsula of Southern Greece. Very often the recipe was cooked using a hare in the old days but rabbit does the work just fine! A variation of this recipe is to slowly cook the rabbit for 2 hours in the oven along with baby potatoes and bay leaves. If, though, you are not big fans of that kind of meat you can try out the recipe (I strongly recommend it because it is delicious) with chicken or cockerel

Spinach salad with fresh fruits, walnuts and cheese

According to some people the strawberry season started already.... I hear friends, colleagues, my mum saying that the last time they've been at the market they "also got some strawberries".... Is it really the season of this luscious fruit?!?!? In my opinion it is rather early to enjoy them to the full but, still, we have to start from somewhere I suppose so that's why I decided to publish a recipe with strawberries involved. It is a really refreshing, tasty and filling salad and since I'm not so convinced yet about their presence I chose a salad that has a few leftover elements from the Winter season. Pear and blue cheese go perfectly with the strawberries and the spinach and the crunchy walnuts give an extra taste!

Vegetarian sandwich with peppers and sundried tomatoes

Who said that vegetarian sandwiches are not equally delicious as the meaty ones? For example this luscious sandwich can be the best idea to have as a snack or a light meal and definitely it is not made only for vegetarians! In my opinion the little secret that makes this sandwich so tasty is to serve it while the vegetables are still lukewarm

Lentils, beans and cheeses terrine

A rather unusual idea of a recipe but with a nice combination of ingredients, very tasty and nutritious at the same time! A great recipe to serve as a first dish served with a tomato sauce or even as a main along with a crispy green salad. You can use a different combination of dried pulses if you want depending on your preference

Cauliflower "yahni" with olives and cheese

Lets try to cook the, sometimes, boring cauliflower in such a way which will attract the family's interest to enjoy a very tasty dish! The classic "yahni" enriched with olives and cheese gives a new perspective to this Winter-time vegetable

Greek Hylopites pasta with pancetta, mushrooms and yoghurt sauce

"Hilopites" is a traditional Greek pasta which in the past a lot of people used to prepare at home by hand (no pasta machines back then...) during the Summer period and then, after drying naturally (often under the warm sun), they used to store the pasta in hessian or cotton bags to save for the Winter months in their pantry. In Greece we have mainly two types of Hilopites, the long strips type (almost linguine-style) and the smaller version cut into small squares. There is also a medium length version which are slightly curly. Hilopites can be cooked fresh or dried after storage. Of course nowadays people, especially in the big cities, they don't make their own Hilopites anymore but those bought from small family and artisan businesses are still fabulous!

Coffee panacotta with honey sauce

Another simple but delicious and light dessert from my favourite Greek confectioner Mr Parliaros. A classic Italian dessert with the addition of one of the most popular ingredient of the Greek cuisine, the honey. If you can find thyme-flavoured honey the taste will be even greater!

Beef roll with creamy yoghurt and saffron sauce

An elegant recipe to please your guests and family with a piece of meat which is not famous for its tenderness but definitely is for its delicious taste!

Salad with iceberg, apples, celery and leftover roast chicken

A very tasty and filling salad with the leftovers of roast chicken (or turkey) from a previous day's meal! Inspired a bit by the famous and delicious Waldorf salad, this dish could also be a light main meal for any day of the week

Dill and tarama fried "pancakes"

A delicious appetizer to share with friends and family with some chilled wine or beer. A great meze dish for all seasons! The mixture resembles to the one for crêpes and if you use self-raising flour and add the mixture into the hot oil tablespoon by tablespoon then you will have some delicious fluffy and crunchy fritters. As I have mentioned before when using tarama (salted and cured roe from cod or carp fish) in various recipes, the best choice is the white one

Chicken cooked in red wine and dried fruits sauce

Very easy, tasty, nutritious and very filling recipe to enjoy with the family! Serve this mellow chicken recipe with rice pilaf or bulgur if you'd like something different. The chicken with the dried fruits go very well together and actually cooking (and not just soaking) the fruits with the wine not only they will get more juicy but also they will release their sweet flavour nicely embracing the rest of the food

Octopus "yahni" with potatoes

Another rustic but delicious way to cook octopus and if you can find a fresh one the taste will be even better! Instead of octopus you can use squids or cuttlefish but also a mixture of these three popular seafood ingredients will make the food special!

Simple but luscious chocolate tart with orange-flavoured liqueur

Maybe it doesn't look as glamorous as others but the taste of this tart is delicious! Chocolate and orange always suited together and this is a filling and delicate in flavour dessert to serve at any time. Although it is preferable to prepare our own pastry, if you don't have the time or if you feel intimidated by the idea you can of course use a ready-made pastry for tarts

Delicious and easy stuffed hard-boiled eggs

This is a tasty and easy recipe to follow for stuffed eggs for all year round. It is also, though, a great idea for using up any leftover Easter eggs you might have in the fridge! Only a few ingredients are enough for this recipe which can be served as an appetizer dish