FOGATSA Makes 2 large round loaves In Corfu the Venetian influence is echoed in the island’s Easter bread, which is called fogatsa. Unlike the braided tsoureki eaten everywhere else in Greece, here the Eastern spices mahlepi and mastic are nowhere to be found. Instead, fogatsa is a dense, high, round loaf, with a cross slashed into its center and flavored with […]

Tsoureki (tsoo-REH-kee)is the traditional bread of Greek Easter. Tsoureki is a rich yeast bread flavored with orange and a delightful spice called Mahlab (also called Mahlepi) that is ground from the pits of wild cherries. You can find Mahlab online or at ethnic grocery stores specializing in Greek or Middle Eastern products. Every family has their own […]

Pan-Sized Phyllo (Filo) Pies (19) Filled Pies (12) Fresh Cheese Pie with Fennel from Kalavryta Cheese Bread from Laconia – Protsouma Cretan Meat Pie – Kritiki kreatopitta Kalitsounia with Spinach – Kalitsounia me Spanaki Cheese Crescents – Kalitsounia me Mizithra – Cretan Sweet Cheese Pastries – Kalitsounia Glikia me Mizithra Cretan Boureki Zucchini and Potato Pie Pumpkin and […]

Christmas Recipes Christ or Christmas Bread – Christopsomo Christmas Bread – Christopsomo from Peloponniso Brandy Sugar Biscuits – Kourabiethes Syrup-Drenched Nut and Spice Cookies with Olive Oil Shortbread Cookies from Levithi Lenten Sugared Shortbread Cookies with Almonds Sugared Cookies with Almonds & Cinnamon Sugared Shortbread Cookies with Walnuts Christmas Pudding – Xristougenniatiki Poutinga Christmas Sesame […]

It may sound strange if you live in a country where eggs are plentiful and omelets and scrambles are heavy on the eggs and light on any additions; but, in Greece, a country where vegetables, cheeses, and fruit have historically been the primary recipe ingredients, traditional omelets and scrambles are not focused on the egg. Meeting fabulous […]

ORTYKIA ME KOUKIA – ορτυκια με κουκια Quail appear in many varied dishes all over Greece, from the preserved quail so revered in the Mani to the quail-stuffed bread, also from the southern Peloponnesos. From the eastern Aegean, we find another unusual quail dish, in which the tiny birds are stuffed into eggplants (the recipe is included in my first book, The […]

Greek name and pronunciation: Mahlepi, μαχλέπι, pronounced mah-LEH-pee At the market: In the U.S., mahlab kernels or powder may be available in larger markets, or in specialty groceries catering to Mediterranean and/or Middle Eastern cuisines. Mahlab may also be marketed as “St. Lucie Cherry Kernels,” or “ground cherry stones.” Physical characteristics: Mahlab kernels are 5 […]

RAFIOLIA In the pastry shops of Monemvassia, the beautiful Venetian fortressed port on the east coast of the Peloponnesos, these little crescents are a main attraction. I love the name—clearly Venetian, although the pastry itself is as Greek as one can get. Rafiolia are a specialty throughout this whole southeastern region of the Peloponnesos, all the way down to Neapoli. This recipe […]

Egypt had always been the chief grain supplier to the great empires of thr Eastern Mediterranean, both the Byzantine and Roman. When Egypt fell into the hands of the Arabs at the turn of the 7th century BC, the plains of Thrace took its place as the chief source of grain for the region. In […]

Original Recipe: al-Baghdadi p. 212/14 Take fine white flour, and with every ratl mix three uqiya of sesame-oil (one part oil to four of flour), kneading into a firm paste. Leave to rise; then make into long loaves. Put into the middle of each loaf a suitable quantity of ground almonds and scented sugar mixed with rose water, […]