Amygdalopita - Traditional almond pie with syrup

This is a traditional syrupy dessert which can be found in various areas of Greece with more or less the same ingredients and name. In some regions instead of the famous classic Ravani or the mastic flavoured Ravani they make this pie and it is considered as a dessert for treating the guests. It is one of the easiest "oven-pan desserts" (as we call them) and normally it should be served lukewarm along with some vanilla or pistachio ice cream or even plain

Fluffy meatballs in sweet and sour sauce with beer

Beer is an amazing ingredient to cook with. It can totally transform a plain recipe, add a kick to various sauces, give a richer taste in braised foods. It is so versatile since we can marinade meat like pork or beef with it, to cook sea food in, to use in a batter for fried vegetables and fish. It goes perfectly well in bread dough, in cakes, pastry, crepes, even in ice cream!!! It is better to cook with a type of beer that you normally like to drink! The taste of beer stays with us after cooking, so choose one depending on the flavour you'd prefer your food to have: a light,  fruity, strong or bitter flavour

Lamb and chickpeas stew

Chickpeas with meat! One of the most hearty and popular Winter time combinations which you can find around the country with minor differences from region to region. A simple, classic, every day, tasty and nutritious dish. You definitely have to try it out

Orange flavoured Marbré Cake with cream cheese (or how another childhood cooking illusion was shattered...)

This recipe is not Greek at all of course but it seems that it is with us since..... forever!!! Loooong before the average housewives started to discover all the fancy cooking magazines and books or cooking TV programmes or (even more) the Internet, in Greece this was one of the most popular type of cake!!! In a way, I think, responsible for this (and for other recipes that they are not native to Greece but still made mine and previous generations initially to believe they were), is a gentleman who was one of the first who published a complete cooking book in the country. Nikos Tselementes (1878-1958), born in Sifnos island, was French and Vienna-educated chef. When he returned in Greece he started becoming known through a cooking magazine of the time (1910) called "Cooking Guide". Later he left Greece for higher level of studies in cooking (he also worked as a chef in the most glamourous Hotels of the time) and he came back in 1932 where he opened a small cooking and baking school and it was then when he published his book which had, after the first printing, another 15 official reprints during the decades that followed!!! Obviously, influenced by the French cooking, he was the one who first introduced to the Greek housewives what "Béchamel Sauce" means or how the "Piroshki" are related to the Greeks or why a "Bouillabaisse" is "a must" instead of the humble traditional Greek fish soup... Still nowadays there are those who "swear on his name" and are loyal fans of his guidelines and recipes (my mother still has one of the reprints at home, it must be an antique by now...), but there are also those who accuse him for the "distortion of the Greek cuisine with unnecessary European influences"... and with this happening it took us afterwards a few decades to recover and "go back to basics and into the traditional way"... Imagine the impact his work had that in cooking books of the '30s, '50s and even '60s when referred to the "Moussaka" without the béchamel sauce, but sprinkled on top with fine breadcrumbs or beaten eggs with grated cheese, it was mentioned as a "Moussakas Imitation"!!! Well, I will agree with both sides because I can not deny that Tselementes tried his best and introduced us to a great amount of guidelines and knowledge and recipes which, maybe, could not find their way to our tables if things were different. And, between us, I'm not sure that I would prefer my "Moussaka", "Pastitsio" or "Aubergines Papoutsakia" without a luscious béchamel sauce on top:-)).... As for the "Marbré Cake" we have a different version of it here today with the addition of cream cheese which makes it fluffier and more moist. You could also use Mascarpone cheese for a richer taste and texture or the Greek unsalted Anthotyro cheese for a lighter and slightly sour taste

Cauliflower Stifado

A delicious and hearty vegetarian Winter time recipe to enjoy with your family. Cauliflower gets better than ever with the addition of the small shallots in a nice sweetish tomato sauce

Fresh cod soup with vegetables and flavoured with saffron

Winter is coming and soups will become an essential part of our diet for a few months. Always warm, hearty and nutritious. This fish soup has a rich texture and is full of aromas thanks to the various vegetables. Accompany with a glass of chilled white dry aged wine and don't forget to have plenty of country style bread next to you so to enjoy this dish even more