Springtime Lettuce Salad with Orange and Almond Brittle

This seasonal salad not only has a welcomed refreshing flavour to offer thanks to the last of Wintertime oranges but also an extra flavour and texture thanks to the crunchy and nutty brittle which makes it really special! Ideal not only as a salad to share but as a first dish or even a light meal

Ladopita - Olive oil, almonds and semolina baked pudding

A traditional recipe usually made during fasting periods because of no dairy and/or eggs involved. The very good quality of olive oil is the secret in this recipe. This dessert resembles in a way to the halva pudding although there is no syrup poured over

Tender squids with spinach and fresh herbs

So, Lent started yesterday and a lot of people started fasting... Until the Easter week you'll find tasty Greek savoury and sweet recipes which are popular during this period (but not only). Recipes which not only will give you ideas to expand your meal choices for your family but also, for those who are not familiar, to get to know better another side of the Greek cuisine. For a start I have chosen for you an easy seafood recipe which is quite versatile because beside the squids you can also use cuttlefish. Fresh squids are always preferable and the food tastes even better but it is not essential. If they are really small then use them whole otherwise cut into rings and don't throw away their tentacles. When fresh they don't need a lot of time to cook; so don't overcook them because they will turn rather chewy. Spinach is in season so it's better if fresh is used. It is a simple meal as you'll see but very tasty and really nutritious

Classic Taramosalata - Tarama Salad for Clean Monday's feast

Not actually a salad. It is rather a dip or a spread that you can have on your bread and as a great appetizer for your ouzo. It comes from carp or cod roe and there are varieties of it. The best quality is the white tarama, with no additives. The smoked cod roe is whitish in colour, while the carp roe can be found in light to dark pink colour. You can make it using stale bread or boiled potatoes. The taste is similar but the texture totally different. This is a great appetizer which it can be found all year through but it is a staple during the various fasting periods in Greece and especially on "Clean Monday" when the Greek Orthodox Lent period starts

Country-style layered cheese pie with semolina - A tradition to celebrate the last Weekend of the Carnival period before Lent starts

It's this time of the year again! Not only Spring has unofficially started but we (the Greeks) get to the Lent period tomorrow. The tradition has it every year on the last Sunday of the Carnival period to "clean up" every dairy product our fridge might have before we start fasting on "Clean Monday" which is tomorrow. Usually a pie is the star of the day in most households, among other non-fasting dishes, but often just a luscious and rich cheese pie along with a salad is more than enough as a main meal. Today's recipe is one that I wanted to make since I first discovered it sometime ago because I thought that differs to other country-style versions and I was very curious about it. My mother, though, told me that this is not an uncommon type of cheese pie and she seems to remember that her mother used to add semolina in the filling so to absorb the moisture of the cheese and of course the phyllo pastry back then was always homemade. So, I had decided days ago that this year I would cook this pie for this special Sunday and I couldn't wait! As you'll see there is nothing fancy about it regarding the ingredients or the method except the semolina's presence. The only thing maybe that makes it so special and tasty is the good quality of the cheese and especially the good quality of butter used and I don't mean margarine. As I'm not so experienced in homemade phyllo making I thought better not to risk it so I used commercial thick phyllo sheets instead. If you can't find this variety and you can't make your own then the classic thin phyllo pastry sheets is the alternative. The pie is cooked, tried out already (just a piece before dinner so to check it out:-)) and it is really very tasty and luscious! It does give you this special country-style flavour which I really love and the filling worked just fine with the semolina. Give it a try when you have the chance, you won't regret it!

Lemony and gingery baked perch fillets with onions and potatoes served with fresh herbs pesto

Oh this is really delicious and quite different than the usual Greek-style baked fish recipes! Although I'm not a huge fan of fish in general, this is one of my favourite recipes! Perch in my opinion is one of the most tasty fishes and this is not only an easy recipe to put together but the rest of the ingredients work perfectly with it (onions, ginger, lemon and wine make the difference) and in the end you have a delicious, filling and of course nutritious meal for the whole family! The pesto going along might seem strange to you but believe me it only compliments the whole dish adding an extra flavour