Olives/ Yogurt/ Greek Food and Health / Thessaloniki's ... - Kerasma

Olives / Yogurt / Greek Food and Health / Thessaloniki’s 

Cuisine / Xinomavro Wines / Chios Mastic / Asparagus / 

Sweet Florina Red Peppers / 30 + Kerasma Recipes 

SPRING 2006

www.greekgourmetraveler.gr 

www.kerasma.com

Contents 

ISSUE 2 SPRING 2006 

Letter from the President of HEPO 4 

Letter from the CEO of HEPO 5 

Letter from the Greek Finance Minister 7 

Letter from the Editor 9 

Greek Food and the Traditional Mediterranean Diet 10 

By Dr. Antonia Trichoppoulou 

Rainbow Coalition: A Spectrum of Greek Olives for Every Taste 14 

By Diane Kochilas 

Oh, So Rich in Possibilities: Greek Yogurt 22 

By Daphne Zepos 

Chefs Talk: Four International Chefs Cook with Greek Yogurt 28 


From the International Kitchen: Greek Yogurt Recipes 30 

Spears of Desire: Greek Asparagus Rising 36 

By Orestes Davias 

Asparagus on the Plate: Recipes 42 


Northern Greece's Crimson King - The Sweet, Red Florina Pepper 44 


A Diva in the Vineyard - the Xinomavro Grape 48 

By Konstantinos Lazarakis 

A Taste of Thessaloniki 58 

By Rachel Howard 

Tears of Joy: Chios Mastic 66 

By Diana Farr Louis 

Wild and Sweet: The Timeless Appeal of Greek Honey 74 

By Susanna Hoffman 

Kerasma: Treat Your Taste with Great Recipes for Olives, Florina 80 

Peppers, Honey, Xinomavro, and Desserts from Greece's Top Chefs 

3 GREEKGOURMETRAVELER

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT OF HEPO 

We, here in Greece, recognize the impressive range of our native gastronomy. 

Inherent in our cuisine is a continuum of nutritional wisdom passed down through 

the millennia and embodied within the country's distinct regional table. 

Our culinary evolution begins in the fields, in the uniqueness and variety of ingredients 

that spring from the fecund Greek earth. It's these very ingredients, authentic 

and local, that render Greek cuisine innately healthful and delicious. Even a 

simple Greek salad, known the world over, becomes unsurpassable when it is prepared 

with excellent Greek extra-virgin olive oil and authentic Greek feta. The Greek 

mainland and islands are home to a countless range of local ingredients, such as 

honey, herbs, capers, saffron, myriad cheeses and more: unique Greek ingredients 

that combine to create unique Greek dishes. 

Our chefs find their muse in the products of their native land, as well as in Greek 

culinary traditions and the cuisine's innate healthfulness, and they create dishes 

that are inspiring both for home cooks and professionals all over the world. 

The Greek diet is at the heart of the Mediterranean diet. 

Greek gastronomy reflects an entire philosophy, a way of life that's joyful, direct, 

human, and spontaneous. Our “big” small treats, meze and kerasma, and the 

warmth and hospitality of sharing food with friends and loved ones, define what 

the Greek dining experience and Greek cuisine are all about. 

This notion of sharing and offering, called kerasma in Greek, is what we convey in 

this and every issue of the GreekGourmetraveler. 

This second issue of the GreekGourmetraveler coincides with the first 

International Kerasma Conference on Quality Greek Food, Wines & Spirits, taking 

place in March, 2006, in Athens. An international group of food and wine journalists 

and retail food representatives will be in Athens to savor and share more than 

a few Greek treats. We hope they discover our rich traditions and our modern Greek 

culinary creations, but more than that we hope they experience the Greek way of 

life for themselves. 

The conference, the magazine, the whole Kerasma campaign are just the start. We 

invite the world to accept our invitation. Come join us. Contact us. We're offering 

something new, different and dynamic. Savor a Greek treat. We're sure you will like it. 

Panagiotis I. Papastavrou 

President 

HEPO 


LETTER FROM THE CEO OF HEPO 

When I took over as CEO of the Hellenic Foreign Trade Board, I had arrived fresh 

from three years as business developer of ALPHA BANK (sponsor bank of the 

Olympic games) on the Athens 2004 Olympic Games Organizing Committee. I had 

experienced a fascinating, inspiring time in Greece's modern history and witnessed 

the transformation of the country from its provincial perch to world-class player 

on the international stage, as Greece organized one of the most memorable 

Olympic Games in history. 

The whole country was ebullient with pride and a great sense of accomplishment, 

but also with a newfound goal: to become more international in its outlook, more 

extroverted. Through 

the Olympics, Greece suddenly propelled itself out of decades of cloistered centricity 

and became part of the modern, vibrant world order. It was an exciting time. 

My mission here at HEPO is to bring the same largesse of spirit that characterized 

those magical Olympic days into the more prosaic world of Greek food, wine, and 

spirits exports. 

Greeks have always loved their heritage, and cuisine is an essential part of who we 

are. Greeks replanted their culinary traditions far and wide, from the colonies of 

antiquity to the neighborhoods in Western Europe, North America, Australia and 

elsewhere, where generations of immigrants settled during the last century. We are 

the keepers of the Olympic flame but also of the more homespun fires of the 

hearth, which have kept our food traditions alive. Now, our cuisine is alight with 

the sparks of innovation, as chefs all over the world discover and experiment with 

our products and enjoy our food, wines, and spirits. 

I came on board at HEPO on the heels of the Olympic fervor, just as Greece was 

basking in its newfound worldliness, with a mission to harness to the country's 

brimming internationalism and pride and usher the food and drinks industry into 

the limelight. HEPO with the Hellenic Ministry of Economy and Finance is organizing 

a long-term campaign to accomplish that, first with our branded Greek- 

Mediterranean gastronomy concept, “Kerasma,” which means treat or offering, as 

a way of sharing our traditions with the rest of the world, but also with a series of 

international programs, new marketing strategies, food and press conferences, and 

publications that aim toward catapulting Greek cuisine into the global arena. 

It's an exciting time. 

Panagiotis Drossos 

CEO 


LETTER FROM THE MINISTER OF ECONOMY AND FINANCE, 

MR. GEORGE ALOGOSKOUFIS 

In a country like Greece, where tourism accounts for almost one-fifth of the gross 

domestic product, good cuisine is crucial. Visitors—last year there were some 14 

million travelers to Greece—base a large part of their overall experience on how 

well they dine. In Greece, whether one finds oneself casually enjoying simple country 

food in a local taverna or haute cuisine in one of our many fine restaurants or 

hotels, the dining experience is always imbued with welcoming Greek hospitality 

and warmth. 

Luckily, we Greeks have strong culinary traditions, rooted in a deeply held sense of 

place and based on the excellent quality of our raw ingredients. The same sunny, 

warm climate that attracts so many people to our islands and mainland each year, 

also nurtures the millions of olive trees that are tended to with family pride, producing 

the oil and olives that are the heart and soul of the table; the rich and varied 

flora that feeds our strong apiary traditions is also the reason why our cheeses, 

especially feta, and our yogurt are renowned all over the world. The same sunny, 

Mediterranean climate gives Greek fruits and vegetables their intensity, making 

them viable, sought-after exports all over Europe and elsewhere. These are but a 

few of the things that have made Greek cuisine famous for its healthfulness. 

The Greek Ministry of Economy and Finance, together with the Hellenic Foreign 

Trade Board, is on a mission to share the virtues of the Greek table with the rest of 

the world. We have embarked on a campaign called Kerasma, which means treat 

and offering, to do just that. The Kerasma campaign is a multi-tiered effort to 

share Greek recipes and promote Greek foods, wines, and spirits. Kerasma 

embraces chefs, journalists, food industry and food - and - beverage professionals 

all over the world. 

George Alogoskoufis 

Minister of Economy and Finance 


GreekGourmetraveler 

Greek Food, Wine & Travel Magazine 

Editor-in-Chief 

Diane Kochilas 

Art Director & Designer 

k2design 

HEPO Liaison 

Anastasia Garyfallou 

Contributors 

Orestes Davias, Susanna Hoffman, Rachel 

Howard, Konstantinos Lazarakis, Diana Farr Louis. 

Antonia Trichopoulou, Daphne Zepos 

Contributing Chefs 

Michael Dotson, Yiannis Baxevannis, Panos 

Karatassos, Theodore Kyriakou, Lefteris Lazarou, 

Stelios Parliaros, Christoforos Peskias, Michael 

Psilakis, Kostas Vassalos 

Photography 

Yiorgos Dracopoulos, Dimitris Koilalous, 

Constantine Pittas, Vassilis Stenos, Studio Nikos 

Vavdenoudis-Christos Dimitriou 

Food Styling 

Dawn Brown, Paola Lakah, Tina Webb 

Printing 

Red Line 

G. Kossyfologos & Associates A.E. 

87 Byzantiou Street, Nea Ionia 142 34 

ISSN 

1790-5990 

Cover 

Vassilis Stenos 

Publisher 

Hellenic Foreign Trade Board 

Legal representative 

Panagiotis Drossos, CEO 

Marinou Antipa 86-88 

Ilioupoli, 163 46 Athens, Greece 

Tel: 00 30 210 998 2100 

Fax: 00 30 210 996 9100 

http://www.hepo.gr 

http://www.kerasma.com 

8 GREEKGOURMETRAVELER 

SPRING 2006 

Information and subscription 

GreekGourmetraveler, a publication of the Hellenic 

Foreign Trade Board, promotes Greek cuisine, wine, 

travel, and culture. The magazine is distributed free 

of charge to food-, beverage-, wine-, and travelindustry 

professionals. 

If you wish to subscribe, visit our website at 

www.hepo.gr or www.kerasma.com 

Reproduction of articles and photographs 

No articles, recipes, or photographs published in 

the GreekGourmetraveler may be reprinted without 

permission from the publisher. All rights 

reserved. GreekGourmetraveler©Hellenic Foreign 

Trade Board.

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR 

Enlightened Continuity 

When I started as a food writer almost 25 years ago, I naturally turned to what I 

knew: great Greek food, mainly prepared at the hands of genuine, hospitable home 

cooks. Over the course of two and a half decades, the cuisine of my childhood has 

blossomed, not only on its native soil but also abroad. Greek cuisine today is well 

known far and wide and it's closely associated, thanks to so much press over the 

last decade, with all the healthful foods of the Mediterranean. Greece is the cradle, 

after all; an intrinsic part of the Mediterranean, the place where so much of what 

we know as good for us—olive oil and olives, cultured yogurt, fresh, seasonal vegetables, 

grains, herbs, honey—first came to light. Ancient common sense and perspicacity 

formed the basic lessons on the benefits of a healthy diet by which Greeks 

still abide. 

Continuity is important in this culture. But so are distinction, variety, and innovation. 

Continuity is seen everywhere on the table, especially in seminal ingredients like 

olives, honey, and yogurt. Olives are still cured the way they have been for eons, 

and many are still called by their ancient names. Honey, explored in this issue by 

anthropologist and cookbook author Susanna Hoffman, has been an important 

food in Greece since time immemorial. It still is. 

Variety on the Greek table is evinced by the wealth of dozens of edible herbs and 

greens, vegetables, fruits, cheeses and more, many associated with specific 

regions, such as the long, red Florina pepper, whose history and nutritional values 

biologist Orestes Davias focuses on. 

In this issue, we touch on regionality in almost every article, but two stand out: 

Rachel Howard's eating tour of Thessaloniki and the photo essay that accompanies 

it, and Diana Farr Louis' article on Chios Mastic. 

Innovation is a big word these days in the Greek culinary world. We see new things 

happening in restaurants abroad—four of them on three continents are highlighted 

in this issue—but also on Greeks' home turf, especially under the Kerasma banner, 

a Greek word for treat or offering. Thanks to the Kerasma campaign the country's 

top culinary talent has been tapped to create and share new food ideas, expanding 

the limits of the cuisine, and in each issue page after page is devoted to their 

recipes. So, as always, enjoy the treats, savor them, and pass them generously 

along. 

Diane Kochilas 


The traditional Mediterranean diet meets many of the criteria 

of an optimal diet: It has health-promoting properties; it is 

palatable; and it is compatible with a sustainable environment. 

Although the Mediterranean diet was shaped by history, climatic 

conditions, poverty, and hardship, rather than by intellectual 

insight or wisdom, it seems as if some superior force led 

the Mediterranean populations to exploit fully the bounty of 

nature and thus develop a prudent diet. 

Greek Food 

and the Traditional 

Mediterranean Diet 

By Dr. Antonia Trichopoulou 


The health-promoting properties 

of the Mediterranean diet have 

been documented in many populations, 

including populations outside 

the Mediterranean region, but 

much of the convincing original 

work, from the days of Ancel Keys 

on, has been done on the Greek 

population, giving credence to the 

notion that the traditional Greek 

diet represents a distinguished prototype 

of the traditional 

Mediterranean diet. The traditional 

Greek diet has been found to 

reduce mortality from coronary 

heart disease and several forms of 

cancer and to increase longevity. 

Indeed, in the late 1960s, when the 

fast-food epidemic had not yet 

invaded Greece, mortality among 

adults in this country was among 

the lowest in the world. 

GREEK PRODUCTS AND HEALTH 

In simplified terms, the traditional 

Greek diet relies on high consumption 

of olive oil, 

which in Greece, more than in any 

other country, is extra-virgin; high 

consumption of plant foods, 

including vegetables, legumes, 

fruits, and unrefined cereals (many 

of which form the backbone of the 

country's agricultural economy); 

preference of fish over meat; 

and emphasis on feta cheese and 

yogurt rather than other dairy 

products. Moderate consumption 

of wine, mostly during meals, is 

also considered beneficial, provid- 


ed that the dogma of not mixing 

drinking with driving is respected. 

Recent studies have documented 

that the combination of food 

intakes is of paramount importance, 

but it is obvious that the 

high quality of the component 

foods is also critical. 

Greece is justifiably proud of the 

high quality and palatability of 

many of its food products, including 

olive oil and feta cheese, as well 

as a wide range of traditional foods 

that have long made the traditional 

Greek diet distinct. Olive oil, for 

example, has always been considered 

sacred and invaluable. In 

Greek mythology it was considered 

a gift of the gods. Today, medical 

research has identified myriad ben- 

This page: Greek Feta. 

Right page: from left to right, Greek olive tapenade, 

Prespa giant beans in a traditional casserole, 

Kalamata olives.

eficial health properties in olive oil. 

The unusually low incidence of 

coronary heart disease in France 

(the “French paradox”) has occasionally 

been attributed to the high 

consumption of cheese by the 

French, but Greeks consume per 

capita as much cheese as the 

French in the form of the country's 

traditional feta. 

Prepared foods and even some confections 

have an impressive array of 

healthful properties. Most notable 

among them are the savory greens 

pies, pasteli (a sesame-and-honey 

brittle), spoon sweets made with 

seasonal fruits, sun-dried tomatoes, 

legumes and pulses such as 

fava (yellow split peas), and more. 

The surprising nutritional proper- 

ties of many of these foods are only 

now being recognized. For 

instance, some of the greens pies 

contain very high quantities of 

important antioxidants, in fact 

much higher than those found in 

other foods widely reputed as 

antioxidant-rich. 

Antonia Trichopoulou, 

MD, PhD, is Director of 

the World Health 

Organization 

Collaborating Center for 

Nutrition at the 

Department of Hygiene 

and Epidemiology, 

School of Medicine, 

University of Athens, 

Greece. She is Professor 

Emeritus at the Hellenic 

National School of 

Public Health and the 

University of Athens 

Medical School. She has 

served as President of 

the Federation of the 

European Nutrition 

Societies and has 

received numerous honors 

and awards, includ- 

The traditional Greek diet, as a prototype 

of the traditional 

Mediterranean diet, finally has 

been recognized for its health-promoting 

attributes. Now it's time to 

get to know the food products that 

form the most important components 

of this renowned diet. 


ing the Corato award 

(2001) and the IV 

Grande Covian Award 

(2002) for her studies 

concerning the health 

effects of the 

Mediterranean diet. In 

2003 she was decorated 

by the President of the 

Greek Republic with the 

Golden Cross of Honor.

Ancient olive grove 

at the Monastery 

of Vatopedi, 

Mt. Athos. 

An unctuous, cloying scent permeates the winding back roads 

of the Greek countryside during the short, slate-skied days of 

winter. It's the smell of years of olive harvesting and processing 

come to life again as farmers and producers gear up for 

their busy season. 

Rainbow 

Coalition 

a Spectrum of Greek 

Olives for Every Taste 


Photography: Vassilis Stenos 

Food styling: Dawn Brown 


Mills start churning up for the 

months of work ahead, and vast 

quantities of table olives are transported, 

sorted, and finally steeped 

in the various solutions (from plain 

water to salt brine to vinegar to 

olive oil) that will help transform 

them from a bitter inedible fruit to 

a pungent, delicious, nutritional 

food of both sustenance and pleasure. 

Greece produces about 

120.000 tons of table olives per 

year. The table olive is one of the 

country's most important agricultural 

exports. 

I've experienced the olive harvest 

many times, in many places all 

over Greece. The harvest begins in 


October for table olives and continues 

for about two months, 

depending on the type of olive and 

the place it is cultivated. Green 

olives, essentially less ripe than 

their darker counterparts, are harvested 

first; next come all the 

plump black olives that are among 

the country's best-known snacks:

tight-skinned Kalamata olives with 

their pointy, nipple-like tip; juicy 

Amfissas in an array of browns, 

blacks and purples. Last to be 

plucked from the tree is the wrinkled 

black variety, which matures 

on the branch, can be harvested as 

late as March, and is cured in 

coarse salt, not brine. 

Greece produces 

about 120.000 tons 

of table olives per 

year 

Left page: These tiny green Cretan olives are one of 

many regional specialties. 

This page: Black Kalamata olives and plump green 

Halkidiki olives are two of the main Greek table 

olive varieties. 

CULINARY CONTINUUM 

The olive has shaped 

Greek life and history, 

and continues to do so, 

like no other agricultural 

product. In folklore, the 

olive is rife with symbolism. 

Sharing olives and 

bread is an act of friendship 

in Greece. The olive 

branch, of course, is the 

universal symbol of 

peace. 

Olives have been savored 

from prehistoric times in 

Greece, although most 

likely they were eaten 

uncured, plucked instead 

off the tree, or from the 

ground, wrinkled and 

soft. 

Over time, of course, 

people worked out how 

to cure olives so that 

they tasted better--i.e., 

less bitter--and so that 

they could be stored for 

long periods of the year. 

The earliest and most 

basic way of doing this 

was simply to salt them. 

By Homeric times, olives 

had become a very 

important staple food, 

one that sustained farmers, 

shepherds, and travelers 

alike. To this day, 

olives, together with 

bread or rusks and a little 

cheese, comprise an 

important part of the 

traditional Greek 

farmer's midday snack in 

the field. 

The ancients Greeks 

were avid cooks and culinary 

experimenters, and 

they devised many different 

ways to cure and flavor 

olives. They knew, for 

example, that in addition 

to salting olives, 

they could also store 

olives in olive oil or in 

vinegar. They made salt 

brines and also preserved 

olives in grape 

must and even honey or 

combinations of wine 

and honey. They used 

aromatic herbs, such as 

wild fennel and oregano, 

to season olives. Many of 

these techniques survive 


to this day. High technology 

has not really 

touched the ways in 

which olives are cured or 

seasoned. In fact, cured 

olives in modern Greece 

often go by the same 

names that the ancient 

Greeks gave to them. 

Olives had a unique 

place on the ancient 

table because they were 

both a food eaten by, 

but also necessary to 

the survival of, the 

masses. But they were 

also one of the most 

important early "appetizers." 

Olives came 

under the category of 

prosfagio, or food that 

was meant to be consumed 

before the actual 

meal. To this day, by and 

large, that is still the 

role that olives play on 

the Greek table. Greeks 

offer them often with a 

little ouzo, or other eau 

de vie, as a means of 

whetting, but not sating, 

the appetite.

The weather is often somber and 

melancholy during the olive season 

in Greece. Clouds billow overhead, 

sometimes spraying a light rain for 

days on end, while black net-like 

tarpaulins or pearly-grey woven 

plastic drop cloths stretch under 

every olive tree, blanketing the 

OLIVES IN THE 

TRADITIONAL GREEK 

KITCHEN 

For all its illustrious 

history and nutritional 

value, the olive is used 

sparingly in traditional 

Greek cooking. 

Olives appear in a 

whole array of salads. 

They are delicious 

matched with all sorts 

of vegetables, such as 

fresh ripe tomatoes, 

cucumbers, peppers, 

onions and more. They 

are wonderful with 

vegetables preserved 

in brine or olive oil. 

Greeks use olives in 

some sauces, namely 

tomato-based sauces 

that are served over 

pasta or with meats, 

poultry, and fish. 

There are several 

breads and pies which 

call for olives. In some 

parts of the country, 

stews often include 

damp earth over whole slopes. 

Farmers lay them down to collect 

errant olives that fall to the ground. 

A few seasonal jewels enliven the 

short, dull days: The olive harvest is 

the time when pomegranates burst 

open on tree after tree, succulent 

winter grapes ripen invitingly along 

olives. One such dish 

comes from the 

Ionian island of 

Zakynthos, where 

potatoes are stewed 

with onions, tomatoes, 

and black olives. 

Another traditional 

dish calls for chicken 

stewed with green 

olives and feta. On 

the mainland, olives 

are roasted and 

served as a meze, and 

in Crete, one of the 


roadside vines, and paddles of 

prickly-pear-studded cactus grow 

riotously everywhere. 

Many Greeks, myself included, 

have a few trees of their own. The 

olive and its production punctuates 

life here, even among city 

dwellers. Despite my New York 

most delicious preparations 

is oftes elies— 

roasted olives. 

In the last few years, 

the olive has caught 

the imagination of 

contemporary chefs, 

so that even in the 

contemporary Greek 

kitchen olives are 

everywhere: In the 

skillet and in the pan, 

in breads, pies, braised 

dishes, sauces, stuffings, 

dips, and more 

(see Kerasma recipes 

with olives, pages 82- 

91). One interesting 

evolution hearkens 

back to the sweetsavory 

flavor combinations 

of antiquity: 

Olives matched with 

dried figs and herbs 

seem to be a combination 

growing in popularity, 

in stuffed poultry 

dishes, in breads, 

and as a dip or condiment. 

Olive delights: stuffed with 

roasted Florina peppers and 

almonds; A rich helping of 

Kalamata olive tapenade; 

Right page: A variety of Greek 

olives at market.

oots, I have come to love that 

time of year, not for its arduous 

work but for the carte blanche that 

home curing affords me. Each year 

a neighbor collects several kilos for 

me, sends them to my home in 

Athens, where I dutifully set about 

leaching out their bitterness, 

experimenting with various brine 

and oil solutions, and tinkering 

with the herbs that eventually end 

up imbuing them with flavors both 

subtle and robust. 

In the last few years, packers and 

producers have begun experimenting 

with the timeless olive, too, so 

that today Greek packaged olives 

come in an ever-growing gamut, 

from classic Kalamatas bobbing in 

their red-wine-vinegar solution to 

unique green olives flavored with 

garlic, hot pepper and coriander or 

plump black olives seasoned with 

wild fennel. 

A SHORT GUIDE TO 

GREEK TABLE OLIVES 

Most consumers recognize 

Greek table olives 

either by their place 

names (Kalamata, 

Atalanti, Amphissa, 

Halkidiki, etc.) or by 

their curing and processing 

(cracked, split, saltcured, 

brine-cured, etc.) 

While there are dozens 

of "different" kinds of 

olives, only three main 

varieties are commercially 

important as table 

olives. The confusion 

starts here-these few 

types of olives just happen 

to come in many 

sizes, and from many different 

parts of Greece, so 

that they all look different 

and are all called by 

different names. 

All olives change from 

green to black as they 

mature, and all are bitter 

and inedible unless cured. 

Depending on the variety 

and the curing method, 

some olives are processed 

unripe, or green, while 

others are left to mature 

and darken on the tree. 

Others still are purposely 

harvested late, when 

their skins are leathery 

and wrinkled. 

Following is a list and 

brief description of Greek 

table olives as they are 

most commonly called 

at the market. 

1. Halkidiki. It is named 

for the Halkidiki peninsula 

east of Thessaloniki, 

where this variety flourishes. 

Most people 

encounter the Halkidiki 

olive as the classic, large 

Greek green olive; however, 

it is cured in many 

different ways. When it 

is at later stages of 

maturity, it is salt-cured 

and makes for one of the 

most succulent wrinkled 

olives in the world. These 

are produced on a small 

scale, however. 

2. Kalamata. The king of 

Greek table olives and 

one of the best-known 

olives in the world. 

Kalamatas are shiny, 

brownish-black, tightskinned 

with a characteristic 

"almond" shape. 

The Kalamata is the 

most highly prized black 

olive, and is usually slit 

(harakti), on two sides 

and preserved in vinegar 

and/or olive oil. 

3. Tsakistes. These generally 

belong to the 

Megaritiki variety and 

colloquially are called 

tsakistes, or "cracked." 

Tsakistes grow mainly in 

Greek packaged olives come in an ever-growing gamut 


Attica. They are almost 

always cured as a green 

olive, often flavored with 

garlic and lemon 

wedges. 

4. Volos, Amphissa, 

Agrinio, Stylida, and 

Atalanti. These olives all 

belong to the 

Conservolia variety. This 

is the large, oval olive 

which accounts for more 

than 80 percent of all 

the table olive production 

in Greece. It starts 

off a rich dark green 

when it is unripe and 

changes into a whole 

spectrum of different 

colors as it matures: 

greenish-yellow, greenish-red, 

mahogany, and 

finally, dark, bluishblack. 

These are the 

most versatile Greek 

olives, processed with 

equal success as both a 

green and black olive. 

5. Wrinkled black 

olives. There are many 

different wrinkled olives 

in the Greek larder. The 

best known is the 

throumba, closely associated 

with the island of 

Thassos in the northern 

Aegean. These are the 

wrinkled, reddishbrown, 

mealy olives that 

are left to ripen on the 

tree and are salt-cured.

CURING OLIVES 

Most of the ways in 

which Greeks cure and 

season their olives 

have come down 

through the centuries. 

Many of these methods 

have survived the 

test of time 

unchanged. First 

among them are the 

wrinkled black olives, 

probably the earliest 

consumed olives. 

Tsakistes elies, or 

small cracked green 

olives, were prepared 

as early as the 

Byzantine era. The 

olives were smashed 

lightly with a wooden 

tool in order to break 

their flesh. They were 

then soaked in warm 

water, which helped 

make them less bitter, 

then sealed in clay 

jugs with layers of salt 

and water. Sometimes 

they were seasoned 

with a little wild fennel 

and then left for 

several months to 

cure. The method for 

doing this today is not 

all that different. 

Another well-known 

method for curing 

olives that dates back 

to ancient times and 

was also prevalent in 

Byzantium, calls for 

steeping the olives in 

brine. These are called 

kolymbathes, or 


"floaters," a name and 

technique still in use 

today. Some old methods 

have been lost to 

time and perhaps to 

changing tastes. 

Among the most 

interesting practice 

was that, of the 

Hellenistic Greeks, 

whereby ripe black or 

wrinkled olives were 

mixed with salt and 

oil, left for several 

days, and then pre- 

served in a mixture of 

vinegar, honey and 

water, and sealed in 

clay jugs. Another 

method for curing 

olives that has been 

lost to time was the 

ancient technique 

applied to green 

olives, which were 

soaked in sea water in 

order that their bitterness 

leach out, then 

kept in clay jugs filled 

with wine must. 

Monastery of Vatopedi, Mt. Athos.


Yogurt is about as ancient as milk. Its beauty lies in its simplicity; 

yogurt was the first and most immediate way to preserve 

milk by extending its life (hence nutritional value) for several 

weeks. The key is fermentation, which is triggered and controlled 

by the addition of two bacteria, lactobacillus bulgaricus 

and streptococcus thermophilus. 

Oh, So Rich 

in Possibilities- 

Greek Yogurt 

By Daphne Zepos 


Food styling: Dawn Brown 


The ancient tradition of preserving 

milk began around 5,000 years 

ago in Central Asia and the Middle 

East, where the climate is warm 

and the land lean, making it ideal 

for grazing ruminants. Harold 

McGee, author of On Food and 

Cooking, describes it most lyrically: 

“When our ancestors took up 

dairying, they adopted the cow, 

the ewe, and the goat as surrogate 

mothers. These creatures accomplish 

the miracle of turning mead- 

ow and straw into buckets of 

human nourishment. And their 

milk turned out to be an elemental 

fluid rich in possibility, just a step 

or two away from luxurious cream, 

fragrant golden butter, and a multitude 

of flavorful foods concocted 

from friendly microbes.” 

In adults, yogurt has health benefits 

that far outweigh those of 

milk. In the early 20th century the 

Russian Nobelist Metchnikov 

proved through science what was 


common belief for centuries in 

Greece and the Middle East: that 

eating yogurt will make you strong 

and make you live longer. Lactic 

acid bacteria have been proven to 

eliminate toxic microbes in the 

digestive system. 

SHEPHERDS AND THEIR YOGURT 

Greek yogurt, renowned the world 

over for its quality, density, and 

unabashed, delicious sour taste is a 

product of the country's pastoral 

Greek strained yogurt is extremely versatile. 

Toss it with olive oil (l), mix it with luscious 

Greek honey, top it on fruit, or savor it in a 

classic tzatziki.

traditions. Up until fairly recently, 

yogurt production was ruled 

entirely by farming and seasonal 

conditions. Greece has always been 

a land of sheep and goats. Cows 

were animals of labor, used to till 

the land and draw heavy loads, and 

rarely reared for milk. Sheep and 

goats provided most of the milk 

Greeks consumed. Yogurt was 

always made with sheep's milk and 

was seasonal, produced from late 

fall to early June. 

There were two reasons for the 

seasonal production. Sheep produce 

milk from the moment they 

lamb until the summer, when the 

heat and the shortness of plants to 

graze on naturally will condition 

them to dry up. The heat of a Greek 

summer was never ideal for dairy 

production. Yogurt needs to be 

kept cool once it is set, and until 

the 1950's refrigeration was rare 

outside cities. The storage cellars, 

cool enough from fall to spring, 

loose their chill in the summer. 

Yogurt was made immediately 

after the milking, when the temperature 

of the milk is the same as 

the animal's and ideal for the addition 

of the lactic acid bacteria that 

turn it into yogurt. The shepherd 

would simply add a little yogurt 

from the last batch as starter to 

the fresh milk. He would keep the 

containers covered and warm, 

probably in the room where he 

made his cheese. When people 

began boiling the milk that was 

used to make yogurt, they knew 

they had to wait until it cooled 

back down to “sheep” temperature 

before adding the starter. 

Yogurt, the quintessential shepherd's 

product, was a specialty of 

the itinerant shepherds' tribes that 

roamed much of Greece. In the 

mountains of Epirus in Northern 

Greece, the Vlachs, for example, 

were a pastoral people with a 

strong tradition of cheese making. 

They made yogurt in wooden tubs. 

The wood was permeable enough 

to store traces of the lactic acid 

bacteria, which were moistened 

and revived with the milk of the 

following season. Today the Vlachs 

are no longer nomadic, but some 

continue to make a heavenly 

yogurt in wooden receptacles, 

called tsanaka. Although not 

strained, the yogurt is thick and 

very flavorful because the milk is 

boiled long enough to condense it. 

Another common way to preserve 

the starter was to dip a cheese 

cloth in the yogurt, then dry it and 

carefully preserve it until the next 

season. 

In most other parts of Greece the 

yogurt was set in terracotta bowls 

glazed on the inside, still a popular 

way to set yogurt today, and with 

good reason: The ceramic bowls 

are porous, thus enabling the whey 

(water content) to leak out slowly, 

beading up on the sides of the 

bowl. By losing water, the yogurt 

gets thicker, and the natural 

sweating evaporates and cools the 

yogurt. In the cellar, the yogurt 

continues to ferment. As it ages it 

thickens and sours, which helps 


extend its preservation. 

Temperature and timing are the 

secrets to making great yogurt. 

The milk has to be in’oculated at a 

precise degree of heat, and then 

has to sit, unmoved, in a precisely 

heated room (an incubator) for a 

specific amount of time. Finally it 

has to be quickly chilled. 

The yogurt maker has to be exacting 

in his technique. Fudge it, and 

the yogurt will be too runny or too 

sour. 

GREAT WITH EVERY MEAL 

Sheep's milk is far richer in protein 

and fat than either cows’ or goats’ 

milk. The yogurt it produces is 

dense, creamy, flavorful. I asked 

Sotiris Kitrilakis, a renowned Feta 

expert and advocate of Greek artisanal 

foods, how we Greeks traditionally 

eat yogurt, and he gave me 

a perplexed look. “But with bread, 

of course!” he answered, and at 

that moment I remembered my 

father. 

Growing up, my family wasn't fully 

attuned to the pleasures of good 

food. We did not scour the Greek 

countryside in search of the best lit- 

tle taverna, the cleanest lamb 

chops, the most fragrant retsina. 

We visited old churches and ancient 

ruins. But there was a small number 

of food staples—country bread, 

oranges, pistachios, and yogurt— 

that ruled our weekend destinations. 

In my family's mind they did 

not belong in the category of luxuries, 

but in the category of essentials, 

hence it was perfectly acceptable 

to plan our weekend outings 

around the visit to the baker (he 

baked in a wood-fired oven), the 

orange seller (he sold the juiciest 

oranges out of his pick-up), and the 

best yogurt maker in Attica. Every 

Sunday night my Dad ate bread and 

yogurt for supper, his eyes beaming 

as he reveled in the flavors that 

took him back to his boyhood. This, 

he never failed to say, was the best 

of all meals. 

In Greece, yogurt is an addition to 

every meal: scooped over rice pilaf, 

dolloped in tomato sauce; served 

with stewed and fried vegetables, 

meatballs, and grilled meats. It is 

used as a sauce, baked over chicken 

and certain beef dishes until it sets 

and thickens like béchamel. It is 


used as a condiment, stirred with 

shredded cucumbers and garlic to 

make the well-known dip tzatziki, 

or spooned onto savory squash and 

cornmeal pies, a tradition in 

Greece's northern mountain 

regions. In some areas it is even 

served as a cool summer soup. 

Swirled with honey or spoon 

sweets, yogurt is divine. Strained 

sheep's milk yogurt was rare, and 

used in lieu of cream in desserts 

sush as roasted caramelized quince, 

or as a pudding with honey and walnuts. 

A more regular treat, still a 

favorite with children today, is 

“yogurt skin,” scraped off the top of 

the yogurt and sprinkled with sugar. 

STRAINING FOR TASTE 

In Europe, the health benefits of 

yogurt were acknowledged early 

last century, and yogurt production 

in the West catapulted into a 

huge industry. The large yogurt 

dairies in Western Europe are 

defined by two factors: They make 

yogurt with cows’ milk, and they 

add fruit and fruit preserves. Cows’ 

milk yogurt is thin in texture and 

can be very acidic. Adding sweet- 

Daphne Zepos is an internationally known 

cheese expert, judge, and consultant. She is 

head of the affinage program at Artisanal 

Premium Cheese.

ened and preserved fruit makes the 

yogurt richer in texture and erases 

the sour flavor. Yogurt has become 

synonymous with a healthy, sweet 

snack. 

In Greece, the dairy industry has 

also adopted the use of cow's milk 

which is plentiful and produced 

year round. But instead of sweetening 

the sour and thin yogurt, we 

use a time-old technique: We 

strain it. The result is astounding: a 

There are many varieties of Greek yogurt, each with 

its own texture and flavor. From left to right: 

strained Greek yogurt; sheep's milk yogurt made in 

clay; cow's milk yogurt. 

dense, creamy mass which has lost 

most of its sourness with the 

whey. Strained yogurt became 

more and more popular after the 

Second World War. Large modern 

dairies devoted entire rooms to 

yogurt draining; Cheese cloths 

bulging with yogurt would hang 

from the ceiling, dripping the 

green-yellow whey into plastic 

drums. Today the titans of the 

dairy industry no longer use 

cheesecloth. They strain the yogurt 

centrifugally, a more efficient, 

automated practice. 

We Greeks have taken to strained 

cows’ milk yogurt. Greek-style 

strained yogurt has recently 

exploded in the U.S. and European 

markets. American chefs and cooks 

don't restrict it to Greek or 

Mediterranean cuisines. It appears 

everywhere, a beautiful re-incarnation 

of a stellar ancient food. 


Because of the unique flavor and 

texture of Greek yogurt, more and 

more chefs outside Greece are 

using it in their kitchens. 

Some, like Panos Karatassos, chefowner 

of Kyma restaurant in 

Atlanta, Georgia, recalls his father, 

also a chef, swirling Greek yogurt 

into rice pilafs, a combination that 

he still finds attractive enough to 

use on his menu today. Theodore 

Kyriakou, chef-owner of London's 

renowned restaurant, The Real 

Greek, also has childhood memories 

of eating yogurt, which his 

father made daily to sell in the 

family delicatessen. Today, he 

seeks out Greek yogurt from a 

small producer in Almyro, near 

Volos, in Thessaly. Michael Dotson, 

an American chef who heads the 

kitchen at Evia, a Greek restaurant 

in Palo Alto, California, came to 

know Greek yogurt as an adult, but 

has been using it regularly in his 

kitchen for the last four years, 

lauding the thickness and lemony 

tang that add another dimension 

to so many foods. 

That tang is one of Greek yogurt's 

most endearing characteristics. 

“It's so much more interesting than 

other yogurts,” says Michael 

Psilakis, chef-owner of Oneira in 

New York City. “Because most of it 

is made with sheep's milk, it's so 


much more piquant, so much higher 

in acidity.” Karatassos also 

speaks of the “rich and creamy flavor 

and great acidity” of Greek 

yogurt, and says that he uses the 

“stick-to-your-spoon” variety. 

Yogurt, despite its pastoral roots 

and longstanding link to the traditional 

Greek table, is a surprisingly 

versatile ingredient in the modern 

kitchen. “I use it instead of butter, 

sour cream, or crème fraiche,” says 

Kyriakou. “It's much more suitable 

in garnishes typically finished with 

butter or crème fraiche, especially 

when paired with seafood, chicken, 

or lamb.” 

Dotson agrees: “The best way to

think about Greek yogurt is to 

think about it in terms of crème 

fraiche, sour cream, or heavy 

cream. A world of possibilities 

comes to mind. I use it to finish 

sauces, for a little acidity, or to 

enrich a sauce. I also use it a lot as 

a garnish for soups and stews, 

sometimes infusing it with a little 

savory flavor. 

Kyriakou says he uses yogurt as a 

marinade, especially for meat, just 

before grilling it. He whisks an egg 

into three tablespoons of Greek 

yogurt, pours it over the meat 

before roasting, and ends up with 

“a very clean, new flavor.” He also 

mixes it with Greek tomato spoon 

sweet, a preserve, and serves that 

with roasted, salted walnuts. 

“Yogurt is an amazing addition to 

breads and works very well with 

liquidized fresh fruit or even champagne 

and a dash of vissinada 

[sour cherry syrup].” 

A FEW TIPS: 

Strained yogurt normally breaks 

apart if heated to over 60 degrees 

Celsius, notes Kyriakou. Some 

chefs, such as Evia's Dotson, temper 

it, mixing a little hot liquid into 

it before adding it to a simmering 

sauce. Kyriakou uses a different 

technique: “You don't need to stabilize 

it. Just cook it for longer at 

Chefs Talk: 

Four International 

Chefs Cook with 

Greek Yogurt 

lower temperatures. If you want to 

cook with it at higher temperatures, 

use Greek yogurt with less 

than 10% fat.” Karatassos, too, says 

that strained yogurt doesn't react 

as well to heat as non-strained. “If 

you want to mix it into a warm 

sauce or a vinaigrette, use regular 

Greek yogurt. The strained kind 

tends to lump or turns grainy. It 

does, however, add great flavor.” 

If it does break apart, there is no 

need to panic. “Just tip the split 

yogurt into a mixing bowl, whisk it 

with a few spoonfuls of cold Greek 

yogurt, and when both are amalgamated 

pour them over the 

cooked ingredients,” notes Psillakis. 



Food styling: Tina Webb 


Artichoke and Yogurt Salad 

1. To prepare the artichokes, cut off 

the stem to leave about 3cm (1 1/3 

inch), and then peel the stem. Take off 

the outer two rings of leaves and slice 

the artichokes across to separate the 

base from the leaves. Trim it back to 

reveal the hairy 'choke' in the center of 

the bud. Remove this carefully with a 

teaspoon. Each artichoke must be 

rubbed over with half a lemon, and 

then kept in water that has had lemon 

juice added to it. The acidulated water 

Theodore Kyriakou, The Real Greek, London, England 

12 globe artichokes 

200 gr. (6 ½ ounces) red onions, peeled and grated 

200 ml Greek extra virgin olive oil 

Flaked sea salt and black pepper to taste 

500gr. (2 ½ cups) strained Greek yoghurt 

1 bunch dill, chopped very finely 

stops them oxidizing and going 

brown. 

2. In a heavy bottomed casserole, 

sauté the onions in the olive oil, add 

the artichokes, enough water to cover 

them, and some salt. Place a large 

plate on the top of the artichokes so 

to keep them submerged and bring the 

water to the simmering point. Simmer 

for approximately 30 minutes. When 

the artichokes are ready, remove them 

with a perforated spoon and keep 


them aside. Bring the liquid to the 

boiling point and reduce by 70 percent, 

or until you have approximately 

150ml of water. Let the water cool 

down and whisk the yogurt into the 

water. Pour it over the artichokes and 

sprinkle on the top the chopped dill. 

Serve it at room temperature as a 

salad or with a leftover of cold 

meat(s) and grilled sourdough bread.

Sea Urchin Tzatziki 

1. Combine yogurt, vinegar, and sea 

urchin in a food processor and puree 

until smooth. Pass through a strainer 

to make sure mixture is very smooth. 

Michael Psilakis, Oneira Restaurant, New York City 

2 cups Greek yogurt, strained in a cheese cloth overnight 

1/3 cup distilled white vinegar 

180 gr. (6 oz) sea urchin 

1 cucumber, seeded and diced 

4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced 

1 shallot, minced 

1 Tbsp. chopped fresh dill 

Salt and pepper to taste 

2. Add cucumber, garlic, shallots, dill 

and combine. Add salt and pepper to 

taste and refrigerate for 1 hour and 

then serve. 

Kerasma recipes with yogurt 

Note: Use vinegar to thin the mixture 

to your preferred consistency 

This sauce is an excellent accompaniment 

to grilled shrimp or almondcrusted 

prawns 


Greek Yogurt Gnocchi with Wild Boar, Preserved Sour 

Orange, and Snap Peas 

1. In sauté pan warm all ingredients 

except gnocchi until braising juices 

are reduced by 25 percent. 

1. Mix the cure ingredients well and 

keep in an air tight container. 

2. Season boar liberally on all sides 

with cure mix four hours before beginning 

recipe. 

3. In a large pan sear boar on all sides 

and place in a deep braising pan. 

Michael Dotson, Evia Restaurant, Palo Alto, CA 

Serves 8 

40 yogurt gnocchi (see recipe below) 

750 gr. (24 ounces braised) boar (see recipe below) 

26 ounces braising juices 

3 tsp. fine short julienne of preserved orange (preserved lemon may 

be substituted) 

180 gr. (6 ounces) blanched snap peas cut in half on bias 

2 Tbsp. chopped parsley for garnish 

2 Tbsp. Greek extra virgin olive oil 

2. Heat gnocchi in a separate pot of 

simmering salted water, add to pan 

and gently toss to coat. 

For Boar: 

1.2 kilos (2.5 pounds) wild or 

farm-raised boar 

Cure: 

1/2 cup kosher salt 

1/4 cup dried thyme 

1 Tbsp. fennel pollen or ground 

fennel 

1 tsp. cinnamon 

1/2 tsp. cumin 

2 Tbsp. ground black pepper 

4. Wipe out pan and sweat all vegetables 

and bay leaf in 3-tablespoons. 

olive oil until soft. 

Add Mavrodaphne, reduce by half, and 

add remaining ingredients. 

Bring to a simmer, skim any scum, 

season and pour over boar. 



3. Check seasoning, spoon mixture 

into individual bowls or onto large 

platter to serve family style, and garnish 

with parsley. 

Braise: 

2 cups diced onions 

1 cup diced leeks 

1 cup diced carrot 

1 cup diced celery 

8 cracked garlic cloves 

2 bay leaves 

1 Tbsp. peppercorns 

1/2 bunch thyme 

1 Tbsp. smoked paprika 

1 cup Mavrodaphne wine 

1/4 cup red wine vinegar 

8 cups veal stock 

Sea salt 

5. Cover with foil and braise oven 

3000F / 1490c until tender. 

Remove boar strain juices twice and 

proceed with recipe or pour juices over 

boar and can be kept for 1-2 days.

1. Place yogurt in bowl and beat in 

eggs. Season, and mix butter, cheese 

and nutmeg in very well. Fold in flour, 

check seasoning, and let rest 1 hour 

before proceeding so flour has time to 

be absorbed. 

2. Test by dropping a small spoonful of 

mix into simmering salted water. When 

For Yogurt Gnocchi: 

2 cups whole milk yogurt 

2 eggs lightly beaten 

1 Tbsp. melted butter or Greek extra virgin olive oil 

1/4 cup finely grated graviera cheese 

1/4 tsp. fresh grated nutmeg 

½ cup flour plus additional for shaping gnocchi 

Sea salt to taste 

gnocchi floats cook an additional 2-3 

minutes then transfer to plate and drizzle 

with olive oil. If gnocchi doesn't 

hold, mix in a little more flour, let rest 

and place in pastry bag. Spread flour on 

a cookie sheet to come up about 1 ½ cm 

(1/2 inch) and pipe 12 inch ropes about 

2-cm (1/4-inch) thick on flour and 

sprinkle with additional flour. Cut 

gnocchi's into one inch lengths and 

transfer very carefully with a fork to a 

lightly floured cooking sheet. Cook in 

batches of 12 in simmering water in the 

same way as the test gnocchi. This can 

be done a day before if wrapped well 

and stored in the refrigerator. 


Spicy Lamb Exohiko 

1. Trim the fat off the leg of lamb. Rub 

with olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano, 

and thyme. In a skillet over low heat, 

pour in 2-3 tablespoons olive oil and 

caramelize the onions and garlic. Cool 

down and rub all over the lamb. 

2. Wrap the leg of lamb tightly in plastic 

wrap. It needs to be air tight. 

Braise at 85 degrees C (185 degrees F) 

for about 10 hours until tender. 

Panos Karatassos, Kyma Restaurant, Atlanta, Georgia 

Yield: 6 servings 

Braised Leg of Lamb 

340 gr. (1 1/4 pounds) leg of lamb 

Greek extra virgin olive oil as needed 

Greek oregano and fresh thyme to taste 

½ cup thinly sliced onions 

2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced 

Exohiko Farci 

150 gr. (1/3 pound) braised leg of lamb 

Oregano and thyme 

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 

2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour 

½ cup thinly sliced onions 

2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced thin 

30 ml (1.2 ounces) lamb cuisson 

10 ml Greek extra-virgin olive oil 

250 gr. (1/2 pound) Greek kefalograviera cheese, cut in 3/4-cm (1/4inch) 

dice 

Phyllo dough, defrosted and at room temperature 

Clarified butter as needed 

3. For the farci: Caramelize the onions 

and garlic and hold on the side. Pull 

the leg of lamb into bite-size pieces. 

Season with salt, pepper, oregano, and 

thyme and dust with flour. Heat 3 

tablespoons oil in a sauté pan until 

hot and add the meat. Crisp. Add the 

lamb cuisson, reduce, and emulsify 

with the extra-virgin olive oil. Add the 

onions and garlic, mix well, and cool 



down. Add the cheese to the farci and 

mix well. Roll the mixture into two 

layers of phyllo, making sure to brush 

each layer with clarified butter. Bake 

until crisp and golden. Let cool and 

cut when warm into serving pieces.

Asparagus is the ultimate harbinger of Spring. It grows all winter 

long under a cold, often frozen, nest of dark, damp earth, 

absorbing the soil's nutrients with zeal. As though sensing the 

weather's moods, it waits for the right moment to appear. If 

the weather is favorable and warm days come early, it sprouts 

quickly and gains height up to one span a day. 

Spears 

of Desire 

Greek Asparagus 

Rising 



Food styling: Dawn Brown, 

Paola Lakah, Tina Webb 


It's on those spring days that the 

harvest is at a frenzy. Greek asparagus 

farmers work with special 

knives, which look like chisels, cutting 

the tender shoots every three 

days. As the weather warms up, 

they harvest the shoots, every day. 

The delicate nature of asparagus 

demands gentle but quick handling. 

The vegetable is one of the 

most vulnerable in the world. It 

becomes woody and tough after 

just a day at room temperature or 

a few hour's exposure to light or 

arid conditions. So, as soon as it is 

harvested, it is sent off to be 

processed and packed, usually in 

cardboard crates, which help maintain 

the moisture necessary to 

keep asparagus fresh. Before being 

packed, the shoots are washed and 

Asparagus has for 

much of its long history 

been a prized 

vegetable 

sorted by length and thickness. 

In Greece, both wild and cultivated 

asparagus are valuable springtime 

vegetables, but for different reasons. 

Wild asparagus is an object of 

desire among nature-loving gourmands, 

who will drive hours to 

spend an afternoon foraging for 

the thin, long stalks. Wild asparagus 

is mainly savored in baked and 


pan-fried omelets or is put up in 

brine and served with a drizzling of 

Greek extra-virgin olive oil. 

The cultivated variety, on the contrary, 

doesn't claim a great place in 

traditional Greek cooking, 

although contemporary Greek 

chefs love to use it. They add it to 

soups, combining it with delicate 

seafood, citrus, ubiquitously great 

VITAL STATS FOR GREEK ASPARAGUS 

15 Number of prefectures in which asparagus is cultivated 

43,000 Cultivated hectares 

24,000 Tons culativated in 2005 

7,500 Tons, accounts for single largest regional production, in Giannitsa 

95 Percent of Greek asparagus that is white 

65 Percent of production exported in 2003 

95 Percent of production exported in 2005* 

55 Percent of asparagus on German market that is cultivated in Greece 

* From the XI International Asparagus Symposium and the Greek Ministry of Agriculture 

Greek tinned white asparagus (this page); fresh green asparagus (opposite page).

Greek olive oil, sepia ink, and various 

delicate Greek cheeses, among 

other things. But it's most important 

place in contemporary Greek 

life is as a prized agricultural 

export. In fact, only a small percentage 

of the Greek harvest ends 

up at Greek grocers. Northern 

Europeans in particular, as well as 

the English and Italians, value the 

superior taste of Greek asparagus. 

It is mainly a crop of the North; 

asparagus flourishes in cool climates. 

The small town of 

Galatades, in Verroia, and 

Giannitsa in Macedonia; Tychero in 

Evros, and certain villages around 

Kavala, both in Thrace (northeastern 

Greece); and Agrinio, on the 

western part of the mainland, are 

all known for the quality of their 

asparagus. In all these areas fertile 

soil and cool, damp climate work 

together to make conditions particularly 

conducive for asparagus 

farming. The industry is also 

advanced in these areas, with 

state-of-the-art processing plants 

near growing areas, to ensure 

quick and efficient packing. 

There are three main varieties of 

Greek asparagus that are commercially 

important: green asparagus, 

which has a robust flavor thanks to 

its abundant chlorophyll; white 

asparagus, which gets its color by 

being kept hidden from the sun—it 

is covered with soil as it grows; and 

another white variety that is 

tinged with a purplish-blue hue. 

There is a thriving market for Greek 

white asparagus among northern 

European countries, especially 

Germany, Belgium, and France 

while the English and Italians show 

a preference for the green varieties 

that Greece produces. 

A sizeable part of Greek asparagus 

production ends up as frozen produce. 

Stalks that are less than perfect, 

either crooked or broken for 

example, are canned, after first 

being trimmed. The fresh shoots, of 

course, are the most esteemed in 

both the export markets and at 

home. Peak season for asparagus in 

Greece is between March and May. 

Asparagus, thought to be native to 

the Eastern Mediterranean, has for 

much of its long history been a 

prized vegetable. The Egyptians 

thought it worthy enough to serve 

as an offering to their gods. In 


ancient Greece, some varieties 

were known and mentioned by 

Atheneus, in his work The 

Deipnosophists and by 

Theophrastus in his Enquiry into 

Plants. It was eaten mostly as an 

appetizer, according to the British 

classicist Andrew Dalby in his book, 

Siren Feasts. The Romans were 

probably the first to cultivate it. 

They procured most of it from their 

colonies in the Eastern 

Mediterranean, but when demand 

outgrew supply they began to 

grow it themselves. It was such a 

luxury item, in fact, that a thriving 

black market sprouted and flourished 

until the 4th century AD. The 

Roman emperor Diocletian made 

the penalties for black marketeering 

asparagus so austere, that he 

effectively eliminated the illegal 

trade. Emperors across the ages 

seem to have hankered after the 

delicate spears. Julius Caesar first 

tasted them in Lombardy, served 

with melted butter (a favored way 

to eat them to this day), and 

Augustus apparently knew how 

they should be cooked, quickly to 

preserve their crispy texture. The 

French, too, embraced asparagus, 

so much so that under the reign of 

Louis XIV, who wanted asparagus 

all year round on his royal table, 

the botanist Jean de la Quintinie 

developed a method for growing 

them in hotbeds. 

In Greece, although asparagus has 

been known for millennia and 

despite the fact that today the 

spears are an important agricultural 

product, large-scale cultivation 

didn't begin until about 1960. 

Asparagus demands large investment 

and it requires patience to 

grow. The first harvest takes three 

years to materialize. Asparagus is 

also hard on the soil, absorbing so 

many nutrients that in a few years' 

time fields are virtually stripped 

and need to lie fallow for a decade 

in order to be replenished. These 

are among the factors that make 


and have always made the vegetable 

pricey. 

But asparagus is a prize, not only 

for gourmands but for nutritionminded 

consumers, too. It is low in 

calories—about 22 calories per 100 

grams (3 ounces)—extremely low 

in fat, with no cholesterol to speak 

of, and yet high in proteins, fiber, 

and minerals. It has long been 

known for its therapeutic attributes, 

too. The ancient Greeks 

believed it cured all internal ailments. 

It is known to aid indigestion, 

temper high blood pressure, 

and help arteriosclerosis. They say 

that those with gout and rheumatism 

should savor the spears in 

moderation. 

One of its greatest attributes, 

though, and one acclaimed from 

earliest times, grew out of the 

asparagus' suggestive shape and 

the speed and manner with which 

it sprouts, upright and stiff. It has 

long been considered an aphrodisiac, 

a spear, so to speak, of passion.

Roasted Asparagus Sprinkled with Feta, Olive Oil and Dill 

1. Preheat oven to 220C (500F). 

2. Toss the asparagus with 2 Tbsp. 

olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place in a 

large shallow baking pan in one layer 

and roast until tender, abut 10-15 min- 


1 kilo (2 pounds) asparagus, trimmed 

3 Tbsp. Greek extra-virgin olive oil 


½ tsp. pink peppercorns, crushed slightly in a mortar 

2 tsp. snipped fresh dill 

½ cup crumbled Feta 

1 tsp. fresh strained lemon juice 

utes. Shake the pan once about 

halfway through roasting, to keep the 

asparagus from burning. 

3. Remove and transfer to a serving 

plate. Whisk together the remaining 


olive oil and lemon juice. Pour over the 

asparagus, sprinkle the pink peppercorns, 

feta, and dill on top, and serve, 

garnished if desired with a wedge of 

lemon.

White Asparagus with Kalamata Olives and Fennel 

1. Whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, 

lemon juice, fennel seeds, orange zest, 

salt, and pepper. 

2. Place the asparagus on a steamer 

rack in a deep pot and steam, covered, 

for about 10 minutes, until tender. 


2 Tbsp. sherry vinegar 

2 tsp. fresh strained lemon juice 

1 tsp. fresh strained orange juice 

½ tsp. crushed fennel seeds 

½ tsp. finely grated orange zest 


5 wrinkled black Greek olives, pitted and minced 

4 shelled walnuts, finely chopped 

2 tsp. chopped fresh chives for garnish 

2 pounds white Greek asparagus* 

3. Remove and drain. Pat dry. Arrange 

on a platter or individual serving dishes, 

sprinkle with the chopped olives 

and walnuts, and drizzle with the 

dressing. Serve immediately. 

Kerasma recipes with asparagus 

* You can do this with Greek canned 

asparagus, too. Remove from tin, 

rinse, and drain well. Prepare the 

dressing as above and serve in the 

same manner. 


Grilled or roasted, the famed red peppers of Florina, in 

Northern Greece, impart a wonderful, sweet fragrance, one of 

the telltale signs of the rustic cooking of Macedonia. Their 

robust flavor, ruby-red color, and glossy sheen make them one

of the most renowned local products. Their perfume floods the 

market every September and October. Mountains of long red 

peppers inundate Greek supermarkets, both in the environs of 

Florina and afar, from one corner of the country to the other. 



Northern Greece's 

Crimson King: 

The Sweet, 

Red Florina Pepper 


The cultivation of peppers has a 

long history in Northern Greece. As 

far back as the Ottoman presence, 

regions within Macedonia were 

well-known for the quality of their 

peppers. Whole villages were devoted 

to the cultivation solely of hot 

peppers; others concentrated on 

growing the sweet varieties. Sweet 

and hot peppers were never planted 

in the same fields because they 

cross-pollinate easily. Preserving 

the variety's integrity has always 

been important. Up until the 1960s, 

in fact, specific areas within 

Macedonia were lauded for the 

quality of their peppers. One such 

region, Aridea, known as Karatzova 

until the early part of the 20th century, 

is still renowned for its long, 

thin, bright red hot pepper. There is 

even a town within the municipality 

called Piperia—Pepper. 

The sweet, red pepper of Florina 

with its inebriating aroma, was 

probably first cultivated in the 

region, which lies west of 

Thessaloniki along a large lake, 

sometime in the 1930s, about the 

same time that an experimental 

nursery in the area began test 

planting various pepper varieties. 

Local botanists improved the variety 

for size and flavor. Cultivation 

was hampered during World War II, 

but beginning in the 1950s again 

the region embraced its pepper 

with newfound interest. Largescale 

cultivation made the pepper 

commercially viable and important. 

Local farmers and wholesalers 

would load up their trucks and sell 

the peppers all over Macedonia, to 

greengrocers and at farmers' markets. 

It didn't take long for the pepper 

to acquire national recognition 

all over Greece. 

Over time, more lucrative crops 

lured Florina's farmers away from 

the region's eponymous pepper, 

however. Despite the regional 

association, most of Greece's 

piperies Florinis, as the Florina peppers 

are known, come from other 

regions within Macedonia and 

Thrace: Serres, Drama, and 

Komotini are the real Florina-pepper 

capitals today. In Florina itself, 

a large, bustling town that acts as 

a hub for the farmland that surrounds 

the city, most peppers are 

planted more for nostalgic reasons 

or personal consumption, rather 

than commercial importance. 

But farther to the East, in the 

regions mentioned above, the pepper 

business is in full glory. For a 

frenetic three or so weeks every 

September, northern Greek farmers 

fill crates and sacs in seemingly 

endless supply, making sure to get 

their colorful crop into every last 

corner of Greece. The Florina pepper 

is unusually sturdy despite its 

thin skin and ships well. 

At least some farmers and local 

cooks uphold the traditional ways 

of yore, stringing the peppers up 

garland-style and sun-drying them. 

It's common to see strands of peppers 

dangling from balconies and 

balustrades in village homes and 

tavernas alike. To savor the sundried, 

traditional pepper requires a 

little patience. They simply need to 

be reconstituted in a little water. 


One of the best local dishes made 

with rehydrated red Florina peppers 

calls for stuffing them with 

rice and herbs. In the days before 

refrigeration and food industry 

production levels, such a stuffed 

red pepper was one small way local 

cooks brought a bit of summer's 

bright warmth into the cold, blustery 

days of a typical Macedonian 

winter. It was often used in rich 

braises and stews, with veal, beef, 

rabbit and all manner of freshwater 

fish and shellfish culled from 

local rivers and lakes. 

Ironically, raw Florina peppers have 

a very subtle, almost bland, flavor. 

It is no surprise, then, that the peppers 

are seldom savored raw. 

Instead they are either fried—one 

of the best-known local dishes all 

over northern Greece calls for frying 

them and serving them with a 

little extra-virgin olive oil and redwine 

vinegar—stuffed and pickled, 

or grilled. One traditional pantry 

item in northern Greek kitchens is 

a home-made stuffed red pepper, 

filled with shredded cabbage, carrots, 

parsley and herbs and put up 

in heady Greek wine vinegar. 

But it's when the pepper meets the 

grill, that its true aromatic potential 

develops. It's no surprise that 

grilled red peppers are a local specialty 

in almost every northern 

Greek taverna, and no surprise that 

the grilled pepper has won the 

hearts and minds of the food 

industry. In 2005, grilled red peppers, 

preserved in either olive oil or 

brine, topped 5,000 tons. About 

40 percent is consumed locally,

within Greece, but the pepper, 

with its excellent texture, heady 

aroma and innate versatility is an 

important export, too. About 

3,000 tons, were exported in 2005 

alone. Greek food manufacturers 

seem particularly enamored of the 

Red Florina peppers in all their glory (clockwise): 

roasted, in olive oil; roasted red pepper tapenade; 

stuffed; fresh red Florina peppers. 

pepper's potential. Taking their cue 

from some local preparations, 

there is a whole array of red pepper 

sauces and tapenades, sometimes 

mixed with other vegetables, 

sometimes with cheeses such as 

feta or manouri. Whole and grilled, 

the Piperia Florini is preserved in 

Greece's excellent extra-virgin olive 

oil, flavored with whole peppercorns, 

bay leaf, basil, and other 

fresh and dried herbs. The roasted 

pepper is so flavorful it inspires all 

sorts of preparations. 

Orestes Davias is a biologist whose life has always been ruled by the plant kingdom. 


Greece has the potential to become one of the world's leading 

wine-producing countries. Most Greek producers agree that 

the best way to move ahead is not by mimicking the wine 

styles of other successful countries, but by exploiting the possibilities 

of Greece's indigenous grapes. Quite a few native vines 

are capable of greatness, of producing wines with a purity of 

character that could only be Greek. One of these is the 

Xinomavro grape of Northern Greece. 

Xinomavro 

a Diva in the Vineyard 

and in the Glass 


By Konstantinos Lazarakis, MW 

Photography: Constantinos Pittas

The Xinomavro variety is one of the 

great divas of the Greek vineyard. It 

is capricious, demanding, and difficult 

to deal with, both in the vineyard 

and in the winery. The style of 

most traditional Xinomavros contradicts 

the current international 

image of what a modern, commercial 

wine with wide general appeal 

should be. However, bucking the 

trend is part of Xinomavro's 

charms. The grape is capable of 

producing wines of stunning character 

and individuality and extraordinary 

complexity, with a seamless 

combination of intense extract and 

sheer finesse. 

One could compare Xinomavro to 

the more famous Pinot Noir, to the 

great red Burgundies, or to the 

Italian Nebbiolo grape and its 

benchmark wines of Barolo and 

Barbaresco. Like Xinomavro, none 

of these varieties is appropriate for 

making large-volume, everyday 

wines. Attempts to do so usually 

result in featherweight, characterless 

wines that range anywhere 

from charming, to easily quaffable, 

boring, thin, and aggressive. But 

the best examples are unquestionably 

among the top wines of the 

world. 

ANTIDOTE TO GLOBAL TASTES 

Nowadays consumers are attracted 

by a certain style of red wine 

expressed in the many Cabernet 


Sauvignons or Syrah/Shirazes produced 

around the world. On the 

globalized palate, if a red wine is 

very dark, indeed opaque, intense 

on the nose with bright, sweetfruit 

aromas and loads of buttery 

new oak, and full, ultra-rich, 

extracted but velvety on the 

palate, then it must be good. 

Modern-style wines dictate that 

power, opulence, and high alcohol 

are desirable, while low-key finesse 

and high acidity should be disparaged. 

Xinomavro wines offer a fascinating 

antidote to this homogeneity. 

Xinomavro is tremendously promising, 

but it takes effort to realize 

the grape's potential. As a vine,

Xinomavro forces the grower to 

adapt to its requirements, rather 

than the other way around. It 

requires specific soils, climates, 

and cultivation techniques in order 

to achieve proper ripeness at harvest 

time. The vine's age is particularly 

important, as is its clonal 

selection. Some of Greece's brightest 

viticultural minds have been 

working on identifying promising 

Xinomavro clones and have 

achieved a number of outstanding 

results. Finally, the plant responds 

very badly to high yields. While 

Merlot in Greece can produce perfectly 

acceptable fruit, whilst producing 

12 tons per hectare, 

Xinomavro must go below half 

that figure in order to yield grapes 

with good sugar levels and expressive 

aromas tied with ripe tannins. 

VINIFICATION TECHNIQUES 

Ripeness and tannin levels are key 

factors when vinifying Xinomavro. 

This variety has an angular and 

firm tannin profile that can be 

aggressive if not handled properly. 

Xinomavro's color can be low, with 

a tendency toward browning. 

Oenologists are studying the particulars 

of Xinomavro and consequently 

creating “Xinomavro-specific” 

winemaking practices that 

allow winemakers to extract color 

without adding harshness and 

have more refinement in the way 

primary flavors are expressed. 

For example, as with Pinot Noir, 

more and more producers are trying 

cold-soaking the grape-skins 

with the juice before the start of 

the alcoholic fermentation. At this 

stage, water is the main extracting 

agent. This process means not 

extending the maceration on skins 

after the end of the fermentation, 

when alcohol is the far less selective 

extraction force. Xinomavro's 

complexity can be underpinned by 

some elegant notes, but excessive 

amounts of new oak can destroy 

the grape's character. Many producers 

now are working with more 

pungent American oak barrels 

rather than the more widespread 


and subtle French oak. A blend of 

the two maturation techniques 

gives stunning results. 

XINOMAVRO WITH FOOD 

Xinomavro wines almost never 

have very deep color or bluish 

tints, and tawny hues are apparent, 

even when the wine is still in 

barrel. The nose is usually intense, 

even high-pitched, although bottle 

aging couples these “soprano” 

notes with more “contrabass 

phrases.” One of the criticisms 

often heard about the Xinomavro 

variety is that it lacks vibrant, 

fresh, sweet-fruit notes, and leans 

instead more towards dried prune, 

cherry-tomato, and very often 

strawberry facets. But why should 

anyone miss the fruit when there is 

so much more going on in the 

wine? Sweet, exotic spices and 

finely powdered Mediterranean 

herbs are matched with haunting 

nuances of leather and wet earth. 

The palate has a crisp acidity and a 

firm tannin structure, giving more 

extract and density than body and 

broadness. 

For some, Xinomavro can be too 

angular, but, in fact, it is the ultimate 

food wine. It is present but 

never cloying on the palate and the 

interplay of the flavors of food and 

wine, or protein and tannin, can be 

fantastic. The tomato and prune 

aromas and flavors complement 

many dishes with tomato sauce, 

such as the Greek soutzoukakia 

(meatballs in a sauce) or even 

pasta with tomato sauces. The 

high acidity and firm tannins make 

Xinomavro incompatible with salty 

foods but work beautifully with 

high-acid dishes, for example, pork 

with lemon sauce. The acidity and 

tannins in Xinomavro cut through 

the oiliness and fat of certain 

meats, especially lamb. One could 

even go as far as matching the 

lighter versions of Xinomavro with 

oily and rich fishes, especially tuna. 

Most of all, Xinomavro arguably 


produces the most age-worthy 

Greek dry reds. Many bottlings 

develop for at least five years, good 

examples need more than a decade 

to reach their peak, while 30-plusyear-old 

wines are superlative. 

FOUR APPELLATION REGIONS 

Xinomavro is the major red grape 

variety of Northern Greece and, 

together with the Agiorgitiko of 

Peloponnese, the undisputed 

large-acreage quality leader in 

Greek red wines. Greek wine legislation 

acknowledges the variety's 

supremacy. Xinomavro is included 

in four appellations; only the sweet 

wine appellations dedicated to the 

Muscat varieties exceed that number. 

The four Xinomavro O.P.A.P.s 

(Onomasia Proelefseos Anoteras 

Piotitas, or Appellation of Origin of 

Superior Quality, which is the 

equivalent of the V.D.Q.S. in 

France) are, from north to south: 

Goumenissa, Amyntaion, 

Naoussa and Rapsani.


Goumenissa is located 50 kilome- 

ters north of Thessaloniki and 20 

kilometers west of the town of 

Kilkis. Despite being the northernmost 

appellation, Goumenissa is 

markedly warmer than Amyntaion 

or Naoussa. Sheltered by mountains 

from west, north and east, 

and at a low average altitude, the 

entire region enjoys the temperate 

influence of the Aegean. 

Xinomavro is here blended with the 

Negoska variety; by law, the 

region's O.P.A.P wine has to contain 

at least 20% Negoska. 

Negoska counterbalances some of 

its partner's weaknesses: It has 

soft tannins, and only moderate 

acidity. Many growers suggest that 

it contributes a higher level of fruit, 

adding slightly raisiny notes. 

Goumenissa wines display more 

power on the nose and broadness 

on the palate, while most Naoussa 

wines are more elegant and leaner. 

Amyntaion is the coolest O.P.A.P. 

in Greece, with most parts of the 

area exceeding the 600 meter 

(1,800 ft.) altitude mark. It is possibly 

the only place in the country 

where cool weather frequently hinders 

grape maturation. Xinomavro 

is allowed to shine alone in this 

region, and Amyntaion's wines display 

many of the variety's different 

faces. The region's individual specialty 

is its range of rose wines, 

which are produced in still, semisparkling, 

and sparkling wines, all 

of them perfect for summer drinking 

or as meze accompaniments. 

The region's reds tend to be lighter 

than those of Naoussa because of 

cooler climate. Wines from these 

two appellations find a comparative 

parallel in the slightly more 

elegant red Burgundies from Côte 

de Beaune and the more powerful 

Pinot Noirs of the Côte de Nuits. 

However, quite a few producers in 

Amyntaion are now moving to a 

more extracted style, which keeps 

the finesse but exhibits a denser 

palate structure. 

Not all of Amyntaion's wines are 

legally eligible to carry the region's 

appellation. For example, there are 

some excellent, non-OPAP Blanc de 

Noirs that are fresh on the nose 

and crisp on the palate, yet with 


the flavor profile of the variety surprisingly 

intact. 

Goumenissa, Amyntaion, and 

Rapsani to the south notwithstanding, 

the region most closely 

associated with Xinomavro is 

Naoussa. Naoussa is located in the 

prefecture of Imathia, about 50 

kilometers west of Thessaloniki. It 

is less that 40 kilometers away 

from Amyntaion, but the combination 

of lower altitudes, mainly 

between 200 and 450 meters, and 

south-east facing slopes, creates a 

much more forgiving climate. 

Xinomavro is the sole king of the 

red-wine-only Naoussa appellation, 

producing wines full of breed, 

with a firm tannin and acidity 

framework, and an intense aromatic 

presence, full of ripe tomatoes, 

complex herbs, and graceful 

red fruits, such as strawberries, 

blueberries, and currants. 

Naoussa's wineries embrace every 

wine-making philosophy and produce 

a full range of styles, from the 

traditional to the modern, the latter 

often characterized by a noticeable 

new-oak influence. There are


winemakers who concentrate on 

making good, light, fresh, everyday 

wines, and others who make wines 

meant to last decades. Naoussa's 

local wine culture has a healthy 

infrastructure. The region boasts 

large producers who make greatvalue 

wines, medium-size wineries 

that focus on higher price points, 

and boutique growers who exploit 

the potential of single vineyards. 

One of the most important issues 

among Naoussa producers now is 

the variety of styles and even the 

quality potential within the appellation 

itself. For example, there is 

some evidence that the vineyards 

around the village of Gastra are 

producing quite tannic wines, 

while higher-altitude locations 

such as Yiannakochori, show fresher 

fruit aromas. These are very 

complex issues, and the Naoussa 

wine community will need some 

years to identify the region's possible 

Grand Cru areas. 

The final appellation that includes 

Xinomavro in its varietal make-up 

is Rapsani, the grape's southernmost 

growing region and potentially 

its most important because it 

is located in the foothills of Mt. 

Olympus, a place name with 

world-wide recognition. Wine production 

in the area lulled during 

the 1970s and the '80s, but nowadays 

Rapsani is becoming one of 

the most high-profile O.P.A.P.s, 

both in local and export markets. 

Here, by law, Xinomavro has to be 

blended with 30 percent of the 

local Stavroto variety and 30 percent 

of the Krasato variety. Neither 

has Xinomavro's difficult temperament 

or quality, but both add complex 

nuances to the blend. The 

warmer climate of Rapsani transforms 

the character of Xinomavro, 

preserving the basic aromatic elements 

but providing a far 

smoother tannin structure and 

lower levels of acidity. The resulting 

wines easily could appeal to the 

average Merlot lover. However, 

Rapsani wines have a great affinity 

for oak maturation and lengthy 

bottle aging, and can be very close 

in flavor to the Xinomavro- 

Negoska blends of Goumenissa. 

The great potential of most indigenous 

Greek cultivars is still 

untapped. What we known today 

for example about Xinomavro and 

its possibilities is much more than 

what we knew a mere decade ago. 

To reveal the limits of Xinomavro, 

producers need passion and dedication. 

Luckily, both are qualities 

Greeks have in great supply. 

Wine consultant and writer Konstantinos Lazarakis became Greece's first Master of Wine in 

2002. His book, The Wines of Greece, Mitchell Beazley, London, was short-listed for the 

Andre Simon Memorial Award in 2006. 

Amyntaion 

Naoussa 

Goumenissa 

Rapsani 


The first time I visited Thessaloniki, ostensibly to cover the 

international film festival that takes place every November, I 

spent more time enjoying meze than watching movies. Between 

screenings, I would dash out to the myriad mezedopolia, casual 

restaurants that specialize in a multitude of miniature dishes, 

making every meal a leisurely, convivial feast. 

A Taste of 

Thessaloniki 


By Rachel Howard 

Photography: Studio Nikos 

Vavdenoudis-Christos 

Dimitriou

Thessaloniki is celebrated for its 

mezedes, and every ouzeri boasts 

at least one special dish, specialties 

like kalamaria gemista (squid 

stuffed with feta), melitzanosalata 

(smoked eggplant and walnut 

tapenade), grilled sardines with 

slivers of raw onion and parsley, 

delicious savory pies, and hot peppers, 

grilled or fried, a delicacy 

among daredevils. Open late into 

the night, these mezedopolia provided 

a cozy backdrop for endless 

cinematic debates, fuelled by 

carafes of ouzo or too many bottles 

of rich red xinomavro wine, cultivated 

in Macedonia. 

After the premiere parties at the 

stylish bars along the seaside strip, I 

would join the hungry huddle 

around the koulouri cart on 

Aristotelous Square. During World 

War II, when food was scarce, kids 

wore these sesame-studded bread 

rings as bracelets, until hunger 

compelled them to snap and scoff 

them. Every morning, I indulged in 

Thessalonikans' favorite breakfast, 

bougatsa, a rich phyllo pastry filled 

with cheese, meat, or sweet custard. 

I would invariably scuttle late 

into star-studded press conferences, 

shirtfront flecked with telltale 

crumbs of sugar and cinnamon. 

Set on a deep harbor, with more 

parks and less pollution than 


Athens, Thessaloniki is Greece's 

second-largest city and, according 

to some, its culinary capital. “What 

sets Thessaloniki's food scene 

apart is the sheer variety. There are 

so many different cuisines that 

reflect the city's cosmopolitan history,” 

says vintner Yannis Boutaris, 

whose winery is located in nearby 

Naoussa. 

A CUISINE STEEPED IN HISTORY 

A stopover on the Via Egnatia, the 

Roman route connecting the 

Adriatic with Istanbul, Thessaloniki 

has long been a cultural and commercial 

crossroads. Echoes of its 

former occupants—Roman ruins,

Ottoman architecture, crumbling 

synagogues, and a wealth of 

Byzantine chapels— resonate at 

every turn. Miraculously, most of 

these monuments survived the fire 

that ravaged the city in 1917. Ano 

Polis, the Upper Town and old 

Turkish Quarter, is all that remains 

of 19th century 'Salonika'. Ringed 

by ramparts, Ano Poli's steep, narrow 

lanes, lined by timber-frame 

houses with overhanging balconies 

and overgrown courtyards, reward 

ramblers with sweeping 

cityscapes. There are several unpretentious 

tavernas with pretty gardens 

and great views tucked 

around Eptapyrgio. The less acces- 

sible area behind Kastra is a 

favorite with local foodies, who 

come for the home-cooking at oldschool 

tavernas hanging above the 

cliff-edge. 

ASIA MINOR INFLUENCES 

Turkish landmarks are prominent 

in Ano Poli, from the notorious 

Yendi Koule prison to the planeshaded 

coffeehouse on Tsinari 

Square, in operation since 1850. 

The Turkish influence outlasted the 

Ottoman Empire, whose rule of 

Macedonia ended in 1912. Around 

130,000 refugees arrived from Asia 

Minor in 1922, the fallout of political 

upheavals between Greece and 

Turkey that displaced millions 

across the Balkans. These newcomers 

brought a touch of 

Anatolian spice to the local cuisine. 

Politiki kouzina—dishes from the 

“Poli,” as Istanbul is known in Greek 

parlance—is still pervasive, from 

ingredients like quince, clove, and 

eggplant, to dishes like gemista 

(vegetables stuffed with rice, mint, 

raisins, and pine nuts), yiaourtlou 

kebab (spicy souvlaki slathered in 

yogurt), and soutzoukakia (cuminlaced 

meatballs bobbing in tomato 

sauce). Spicy flakes of boukovo (red 

pepper) are sprinkled on pretty 

much everything. The Greeks from 

Poli also brought a penchant for 



tripe - still a popular hangover 

cure. Many long nights end with a 

steaming bowl of pork innards at 

an all-night tripe-house, or patsatsithiko. 

Seafood, often based on recipes 

from the fish-rich Bosphorus, is 

equally popular. Fish is smoked, 

salted, or cured, grilled, roasted or 

fried, wrapped in vine leaves, 

topped with egg-and-lemon sauce, 

greengage plums, or potent skordalia 

(garlic dip). At weekends, 

locals flock to the waterfront psarotavernes 

(fish taverns) in Kalamaria 

and Nea Krini, Perea, and Neoi 

Epivates, to feast on grilled octopus, 

crispy whitebait, and mydia saganaki 

(mussels sautéed with ouzo, feta 

and tomato). 

Other immigrants have also had 

their hand in the culinary melting 

pot. Thousands of Black Sea Greeks 

settled in Thessaloniki in 1922. 

Another wave came after the fall of 

the Soviet Union. Many of them 

live in the Martiou neighborhood, 

where you can find all manner of 

pickled vegetables, unusual 

cheeses, flatbreads, dried corn kernels, 

and other unusual culinary 

treats. 

The once-thriving Jewish community 

has dwindled to about 1,000, but 

their legacy spans five centuries. In 

1492, 20,000 Sephardic Jews came 

as refugees from the Spanish 

Inquisition. They developed a distinctive 

cuisine, blending flavors 

from their Spanish roots and Turkish 

rulers with native ingredients and 

kosher traditions. Typical dishes 

include huevos haminados (ovenbaked 

eggs with onion skins), rodantikes 

(pumpkin pies), and frittada de 

berenjenna (eggplant fritatta). With 

the large Jewish community all but 

decimated during the Holocaust, 

there are no Sephardic restaurants 

left today.“You can sample delicious 

dishes at the Jewish Community 

Association's café, but you'll have to 

befriend a local Jew to get in!” 

laughs Andreas Kounio, a food and 

beverage manager in various hotels. 

With a population of around 1.5 

million, boosted by a vibrant student 

scene and September's international 

trade fair, Thessaloniki is 

compact enough to explore on 

foot. Gentrification has created 

new dining districts like Ladadika, 

a warren of pedestrian streets near 

the port, where olive oil storehouses 

have been converted into 

restaurants and bars. Xyladika, 

once full of carpenters, is dotted 

with craft shops, cafés, and arts 

centers. Other popular spots are 


Athonos Square, lined with tavernas, 

where people jostle for tables 

on sunny afternoons, and 

Navarinou Square, with its many 

fagadika (literally, “little eating 

places”). “They have just a few 

tables and dishes, but the inventive 

menus marry all kinds of cuisines,” 

says Kounio. 

BUSTLING MARKETS AND PASTRIES 

If you want to try recreating these 

recipes at home, head to Modiano 

and Kapsani, Thessaloniki's adjoining 

markets, which brim with seasonal 

produce and unusual delicacies. 

There's something of the souk 

in the riot of color, sound and 

smell—crimson peppers and fra- 

grant peaches, carcasses of lamb 

and garlands of smiling sausages, 

bundles of oregano and delicate 

wild rosebuds, fresh-ground coffee 

and walnut -and- chocolate halva. 

Glass-domed Modiano echoes day 

and night with the banter of bargain 

hunters, the mournful music 

of gypsy minstrels, and the chatter 

of bon viveurs who congregate in 

the ouzeri, which source their 

ingredients straight from the 

neighboring stalls piled high with 

spices, salt-fish, and sweet treats. 

Locals definitely have a sweet tooth 

and Thessalonikans affectionately 

call their city glykomana, which 

means sweet mother. Some of 

Greece's most famous pastry dynas- 


ties were started here and are now 

run by second- and third-generation 

heirs. Sheet pans filled with honeyed 

phyllo pastries, exotic sweet creams, 

chocolate -and- nut rolls sparkle like 

jewels in pastry shop windows all 

over the city. The city's trigona 

(syrup-soaked phyllo triangles oozing 

vanilla cream) are well-known all 

over Greece, as are, among many 

other sweets, its kazandibi, a kind of 

cooked and caramelized cream traditionally 

made with buffalo milk. 

Traditionally, each bowl was sprinkled 

with cinnamon in the name or 

initials of the recipient—a typically 

personal touch in a city of friendly 

food lovers. 

London-born and Athens-based, Rachel Howard is a freelance journalist, screenwriter and regular 

contributor to Conde Nast Traveller, National Geographic Traveller, and Time Out.

The old man nudged my forearm. “Look, there, can you read 

the name above the door of that house? It says KOLOMBO. 

Yes, that Kolombos, Christoforos Kolombos. That's where he 

lived before he went to Spain and discovered the New World. 

He didn't stay here long but it was this island that pushed him 

across the ocean.” 

Tears of Joy: 

Chios 

Mastic 

By Diana Farr Louis 

Photography: Dimitris Koilalous, Vassilis Stenos 

Food styling: Dawn Brown, Paola Lakah 


We're standing in the center of 

Pyrgi, the largest of the 24 socalled 

mastic villages on the eastern 

Aegean island of Chios. With 

its corbelled walls, narrow lanes 

bridged by long, low archways, 

stone houses bearing the patina of 

centuries, and at its heart the 

defence tower for which it was 

named, Pyrgi certainly looks old 

enough to have entertained 

Columbus. Indeed his countrymen, 

the Genoese, founded it and 

the other mastic-producing villages, 

200 to 300 years before his 

visit. 

We all know that Colombus was 

born in Genoa and dedicated his 

voyages to the rulers of Spain, but 

this was the first time I'd heard of 

the Chios connection. Columbus 

apparently stayed on the island 

between 1473 and 1474, a fact that 

sparked enough conjecture to feed 

the rumour mill for centuries. 

The man lowered his voice in a conspiratorial 

whisper, “This is where 

he found out about mastic. It was 

in great demand in those days, so 

he thought if he could find another 

source, he could break the Chios 

monopoly and get very rich. In the 

New World found trees that looked 

just like mastic trees, but they didn't 

weep like ours.” 

A BEGUILING RESIN 

Mastic, a strange but beguiling 

crystal that flavours Greek cakes 

and breads, myriad confections an 

ouzo-like liqueur, and a chewing 

gum, is also used in making varnishes, 

adhesives, and an impressive 

catalogue of potions and 


lotions that seem to be good for 

whatever ails you. It has been the 

island's most prized natural 

resource for centuries. Mastic 

comes from the resin that seeps 

like teardrops from the bark of a 

scrubby tree related to the pistachio. 

But as my informant insisted, this 

tree will only shed its tears in 

southern Chios, a peculiarity 

reflected in the legend of the 

island's patron saint, Isidore. 

Apparently the trees began to cry 

in sympathy when Romans tortured 

the Christian martyr and left 

him to die in a mastic grove. 

Herodotus, however, had noted 

their behavior in the 5th century 

BC, more than seven centuries earlier. 

And people may have been 

chewing its crystals since the dawn 

The tree grows in many places but it only 

sheds its tears, thus producing its valuable 

crystals, in southern Chios

of language; mastic is the root of 

the verb to masticate. 

I revisited Pyrgi again one late 

September, nearing the end of the 

mastic harvest. Older women with 

their hair bound in kerchiefs, laps 

concealed by wide aprons, bent 

over round trays where they 

painstakingly separated the precious 

mastic crystals from the 

dead leaves, twigs, and earth that 

had been raked up during their 

collection. Next to each stood a 

large sack with more stuff to pick 

over and a bright blue washtub for 

rinsing the crystals. This step can 

take weeks. Most mastic trees 

yield no more than 200 grams of 

resin, but the annual production is 

rising steadily. In 2004, 128 tons 

were produced and in 2005, 160 

tons. 

A TIME-TESTED, 

LUCRATIVE PANACEA 

Mastic production is 

controlled by the Chios 

Cooperative of Mastic 

Producers, and in recent 

years the cooperative 

has done an exemplary 

job of marketing its ageold 

natural resource. 

Under the cooperative's 

aegis, elegant boutiques 

selling mastic products 

have opened shoppers in 

the main Greek cities, 

and several are being 

planned for abroad. At 

the same time scientists 

are confirming what earlier 

savants had 

observed: Mastic is good 

for myriad ailments. 

Both Roman and 

Victorian gentry cleaned 

their teeth with mastic 

wood toothpicks. 

Aristocrats at the courts 

of Versailles and Topkapi 

chewed the gum assiduously 

to sweeten their 

breath and prevent 

tooth decay. Justinian's 

physician, Aetios, invented 

a mastic-based lotion 

to protect the emperor's 

sensitive skin from sunburn. 

Mastic creams 

were said to make your 

complexion glow, while 

drinking it could induce 

feelings of optimism and 

even euphoria. Doctors 

in late antiquity prescribed 

mastic compounds 

for digestive 

problems, stomach 

pains, vomiting and 

anorexia and used it to 

treat burns. 

By the 14th century, the 

mastic trade was so 

lucrative that the 

Genoese had conquered 

Chios to gain control of 

it. They imposed strict 

price and quantity con- 


trols and their vice 

squads searched every 

ship for evidence of black 

marketeering. When the 

Ottoman Turks wrested 

power from Genoa in the 

late 16th century, they 

offered privileges to 

Chios in exchange for a 

vast portion of mastic 

crystals in tribute to the 

Sultan. The precious 

commodity meant so 

much to them they even 

called their new possession 

Sakis Adasi or Resin 

Island. And their fear of 

losing it provoked the 

massacre of 1822, when 

Turkish soldiers murdered 

30,000 islanders, 

who expressed sympathy 

with the newly proclaimed 

independent 

Greece, while enslaving 

thousands more and corralling 

the women into 

harems.

THE MASTIC VILLAGES 

In the mastic villages, 

modernity is most notable in 

its absence. 

Mesta, for example, the second 

most famous village 

after Pyrgi, still fits inside its 

original fortification walls 

and is entered by the same 

four gates. They lead to a 

bewildering warren of 

streets, unexpected culs de 

sac and tunnels, that were 

deliberately designed to confuse 

would-be invaders, 

whether pirates or foreign 

conquerors. It resembles a 

North African casbah, much 

more than an Italian 

medieval village. The architecture 

alternates between 

severe stone cubes and gentle 

stone arches, decorated 

in late summer by necklaces 

of small, fire-engine red 

tomatoes, drying in the sun. 

Hanging from drainpipes, 

balcony railings, and nails 

hammered into white plastered 

walls, they look like 

unseasonal Christmas ornaments, 

all the more vivid 

because of the lack of colour 

elsewhere. As for the arches, 

they not only curve above 

doorways and alleyways but 

form vaulted ceilings inside 

churches and even in the 

community center in one of 

the main squares, where the 

Women's Cooperative of 

Mesta holds lunch parties for 

visiting dignitaries and journalists. 

There, I've been served a 

couple of extraordinary banquets, 

consisting solely of 

dishes cooked with mastic, 

including meatballs and fish 

fillets seasoned with mastic 

liqueur, roast chicken, goat 

stew, and “wedding” bread 

flavoured with pulverized 

mastic crystals and winding 


up with crème caramele and 

mastic cakes and cookies. 

The addition of mastic has to 

be judicious —never more 

than a few tablespoonfuls of 

the liqueur, or two to three 

grams of powder. It should 

inject a certain something, 

rather than a knockout blow 

to the taste buds. 

Back in Pyrgi, the decorations 

covering virtually every 

inch of built surface send 

other senses whirling. 

Whereas Mesta is austere 

and sober, Pyrgi is an encyclopedia 

of every ornamental 

motif imaginable - all in elegant 

charcoal grey against a 

white background. Triangles, 

squares, hourglasses, 

lozenges, half-moons and 

many, many more run in horizontal 

bands from one corner 

to the next; garlands, 

stars, flower petals, ringed 

suns lighten and brighten a 

Scientists are confirming what earlier savants had 

observed: Mastic is good for myriad ailments 

four-arched corridor; stout 

stone columns branch out to 

form an arched canopy of 

diamonds, crosses and 

checkerboards over a traditional 

café; even the cats are 

black and white. Here, too, 

there are splashes of 

colour—from flamboyant 

sprays of pink bougainvillea, 

faded green and blue doors 

and of course the ubiquitous 

drying tomatoes. 

Who knows why Pyrgi alone 

should have adopted this 

unique art form, called xysta, 

found nowhere else in 

Greece except in Lithi, 

another lesser known mastic 

village? Xysta comes from 

the verb xyno, to scratch, and 

describes the design process. 

The technique is related to 

the Genoese sgraffito, but 

I've never seen anything this 

elaborate in Genoa.

HARVESTING THE RESIN 

Care of the mastic groves is a yearround 

job carried out by the families 

of some 4,850 members of the 

mastic-producers' union. The winter 

months involve pruning and 

thinning branches, followed by 

clearing and weeding the area 

under the trees until it is smooth. 

Then fine white earth is sifted over 

the area and tamped firm. The resin 

would darken and spoil if it dripped 

and dried onto brown earth. 

Summer marks the start of the 

pricking season. From early July 

until late September, the men make 

vertical slits, 4-5 mm deep and 10-15 

mm long, in the trunks and branches 

of every tree twice a week. The 

process is called kentima, a word 

that also means embroidery, but it 

more like the jabs one makes in a 

leg of lamb to insert a garlic sliver. A 

tree can receive from between 20 

and 100 slits, depending on its age. 

Though they may live to be more 

than 100 years old, mastic trees 

don't begin to ooze resin until after 

their fifth year and remain productive 

until they reach 70. The resin 

usually takes 10 to 20 days to crystallize 

and the first harvest in the 

second half of August yields bigger 

tears. The second harvest lasts 

Left page: Mastic is a natural chewing gum (l), and a versatile spice, used to flavor sugar pastes and candy, among other things. 

This page:The resinous crystals are still harvested traditionally by hand. 

from mid-September until mid- 

October or the first rain storm, 

while cleaning the crystals for processing 

may last until pruning time. 

Crawling under a tree with a local 

woman as guide made me see that 

mastic collection over so many 

months could wear permanent 

grooves in the knees and palms. 

These trees don't grow higher than 

3 meters and you certainly can't 

stand upright under them. Yet 

there was something almost mystical 

about crouching under the mastic 

umbrella, and getting a really 

close look at the moldy green 

lichen-spattered branches that glis- 



tened with tiny “icicles.” It's such an 

unprepossessing little shrub and 

yet in 2004 these crystals earned 

the union almost 14 million euros. 

MASTIC AND HEALTH 

Although demand for mastic fell 

drastically in the 20th century as 

the chemicals industry devised 

ways of making artificial resins for 

varnishes, and American gum 

manufacturers turned to chicle 

from South America's far more 

common sapodilla tree, mastic is 

re-emerging from obscurity, in no 

small part thanks to recent scientific 

findings lauding its many 

health benefits. 

Mastic is becoming 

as popular today 

as it was in the past 

For example, a research team from 

the UK's Nottingham University 

has found that even small amounts 

of mastic can destroy the helicobacter 

pylori bacteria, which only a 

decade ago was recognized as the 

prime cause of peptic ulcers and 

stomach cancer. 

Furthermore, mastic adhesive 

bandages heal rather than hurt 

your skin, as do mastic-based surgical 

sutures; mastic appears to be 

able to lower cholesterol levels, it 

has anti-inflammatory properties, 

acts as an antioxidant (smoothing 

wrinkles inside and out) and may 

even offer protection against arteriosclerosis. 

Yesterday's panacea is 

looking increasingly like tomorrow's 

wonder drug. It may even 

raise gum-chewing out of the gutter 

and back into polite society. 

And to think that it's completely 

natural. 

This miracle tree weeps its diamond 

tears only around the mastic villages 

of Chios. But in October 2001, 

a mission from the island planted a 

mastic tree next to the house 

where Columbus is said to have 

lived in Genoa. It may never shed 

crystals but it stands as an unexpected 

and moving reminder of the 

ongoing link between a small Greek 

island, a humble tree, and dozens 

of New World discoveries. 

Diana Farr Louis is the author of Feasting and Fasting in Crete. She has written two guide- 

books to Corfu and has contributed to the Penguin, Berlitz, and Fodor guides to Greece. 

Left page: Mastic trees in the plain of Mesta, Chios. 

This page: The crystals (r) flavor spoon sweets and many other confections, sauces, and more. 


Far earlier than olive oil, long before wine, Greeks fell in love 

with honey. It is a love affair that has lasted for 6,000 years. 

From ancient times until today Greeks have produced some of 

the best honey in the world. To taste Greek honey, whether 

from Crete, the Peloponnese, Thassos, Epiros, any of a thousand 

islands, or from, historically at least, the most praised site 

of all, Mount Hymettos in Attica, is to fall into that same adulation. 

In the modern world, Greek honey continues to enjoy the 

same high regard as it always has. 

Wild 

and Sweet 

the Timeless Appeal 

Greek Honey 

By Susanna Hoffman 


Food styling: Paola Lakah, Tina Webb 


Today, there are about 25,000 beekeepers 

in Greece and about 1.3 million 

hives. Despite the density of 

hives —one sees them all over the 

countryside— production is relatively 

limited. Figures vary depending 

on the source, but production is 

fairly stable from year to year, at 

about 10,000 to 12,000 tons. The 

quality of Greek honey, however, 

remains as stunning today as it has 

been throughout time. There is 

good reason: Greece's countryside 

continues to yield an unrivaled variety 

of vegetation with the attendant 

of pollens. Most of the plants 

from which Greek bees gather are 

wild, sun-baked until their flavors 

and tints maximize. (In most other 

honey-producing countries, bees 

feed off cultivated monocultures.) 

Greek honey also undergoes a minimum 

or processing, therefore 

retaining all the nutrients, flavor, 

and texture dictated by nature. 

Smoke makes the bees lethargic, thus protecting 

the beekeeper from getting stung. 

Honey takes its name from what 

bees feed off, hence thyme honey, 

blossom honey, pine honey, 

orange-blossom honey, chestnut 

honey, etc. Beekeepers move their 

hives from place to place, slope to 

slope, field to field, in order to reap 

the rewards of the season and provide 

fodder for their hives. The season 

begins in March and ends 

around November in the southernmost 

parts of Greece. In May, when 

orange trees bloom, bees are taken 

to feed off their inebriating flowers. 

July is the season for thyme 

honey; September for pine; and 

May and September for heather, 

which blossoms twice. As a general 

rule, the honey is harvested right 

after the feeding period to ensure 

the best flavor. 

In the incredibly rich and varied 

Greek flora, there are at least 120 

different flowering plants and trees 

that provide fodder for Greek bees, 

Tasting honey straight from the honeycomb. A honey bee in the hive. 


and theoretically just as many different 

types of honey, but only a 

handful are commercially viable. 

Among them: dark, thick pine and 

fir honey, orange-blossom and 

flower-blossom honey, heather, 

and, of course, arguably the bestknown 

of all, thyme honey. Thyme 

honey is unique to Greece, 

although more than 60 percent of 

Greek honey comes from pine. 

There is one Greek honey that has 

been awarded Protected 

Designation of Origin (PDO) status, 

the light-colored, pearly-textured 

fir honey from Vytina in the 

Peloponnese. About 80 percent, 

comes from bees that forage off 

wild, not cultivated, plants. 

Some of the more obscure and 

unusual honeys, such chestnut, 

sage, and heather, are appreciated 

by connoisseurs. There is even a 

range of “bitter” honeys, harvested 

from bees that have been allowed

to feed on the ubiquitous arbitus 

berry, a relative of the strawberry. 

Since the color of the honey comes 

from plant pigments, and those in 

Greece are strikingly deep, the hues 

of Greek honey are darker than 

elsewhere, ranging from caramel to 

brandy to almost cordovan. Even 

blossom honey, usually pale, looks 

HONEY IN THE KITCHEN 

Certainly honey was the first 

—and for quite a while the 

only— sweetener Greeks had 

in their diet. Even now, it 

remains the most prestigious 

one. With its importance 

from ancient times, 

honey, along with the olive 

and the grape, marked the 

beginning of Greek gastronomy 

and a cuisine that 

retains its unique and original 

aspects today. 

Cheesecakes sweetened 

with honey are still found 

Left to right: Pine honey, thyme honey 

and thick blossom honey from Mt. Athos. 

like liquid butterscotch. 

Greek honey is available in markets 

and shops worldwide. The Greek 

honey industry has evolved to 

include a whole range of apiary 

offerings, honey bejeweled with 

walnuts and almonds (a favorite 

winter snack), to royal jelly, propolis, 

bee's pollen and extended prod- 

all over the Greek islands, 

especially at Easter. The 

chefs of Byzantium simmered 

Greek honey to pour 

over their famous layered 

sweets, baklava, galaktoboureko, 

kadayifi, and the 

fried doughnut-like puffs 

called loukmades, all 

sweets still savored in 

today's Greek kitchen. 

Byzantine cooks also continued 

the ancient practice 

of mixing honey with vinegar, 

the oximeli of old, and 

today such sweet-and-sour 

flavors are enjoying a resurgence 

in the contemporary 

kitchen. Honey and true, 

deliciously sour Greek 

yogurt, are one of the alltime 

classic desserts. 

In cooking, honey adds flavor 

in a way that other sugars 

cannot. Along with 

sweetness, it bequeaths 

the savor of the original 

flowers, herbs, and even 

trees. Greek cooks well recognize 

this, which is why 

honey still plays a major 

role in Greek cuisine. 

uct lines that cover the gamut 

from sauces to soaps, all enriched 

with Greek honey. 

The hunt for sweetness is perhaps 

people's most ardent, but with 

Greek honey it is gloriously solved. 

Greek honey invites every one who 

tastes it into the love affair that 

Greeks have forever relished. 

Honey is utilized not just in 

desserts, but often as an 

element in classic stews 

such as stifado and the 

intriguing kapama from 

Corfu. In Crete, it is sometimes 

used as a marinade 

and tenderizer for lamb 

and added to various meat 

stews at the end, simmering 

until it caramelizes. 

Contemporary chefs mix it 

with raisin vinegar and 

orange juice and use it as a 

sauce for everything from 

seafood to salads. 


A LONG, SWEET HISTORY 

Early Greeks very quickly 

began to lure bees away 

from logs and crevices in the 

wild into man-made habitats. 

With the bee ensnared, 

they realized they no longer 

had to forage for honey; they 

could plunder it at will. 

Historians thought that 

Greeks learned the trick of 

beekeeping from the 

Egyptians, but there was no 

need. The industrious people 

already living in Greece, the 

Minoans, well knew how to 

harbor bees. One of the most 

beautiful pieces of Minoan 

gold jewelry ever recovered is a 

pendant showing two bees 

sucking on a drop of honey, 

and an intact beehive was 

found in Akrotiri, the Minoan 

city destroyed around 1623 b.c. 

More tellingly, one of the 

Minoan's most important goddesses 

was called “Keeper of 

the Animals” and also “Queen 

of the Bees.” Echoing that, in 

the later Greek pantheon, 

Artemis, the goddess most 

associated with animals, had 

the bee as her symbol. 

The first beehives the Greeks 

manufactured replicated the 

sort of burrow bees swarm 

to in nature. Soon, however, 

they began to make hives of 

hollowed-out mud, and 

shortly after, dome-shaped 

ones of clay. Very early, by 

about 800 b.c., Greek beekeepers 

came up with a stunning 

innovation, one that is 

essentially still used around 

the world today: they developed 

hives that contained 

removable bars to hold 

numerous honeycombs. With 

the bars, single combs and 

their store of golden liquid 

could be extracted, leaving 

others behind for later gleaning. 

The bars with their separate 

honeycombs could also 

be used to start new hives. 

With this innovation, beekeeping 

so rapidly proliferat- 


ed in Greece that regulations 

had to be enacted to restrict 

overstocking. Even the great 

lawmaker Solon in the sixth 

century b.c.e. had to enter 

the fray of bee regulation. 

Either to limit the exploitation 

of Greece's potent, but 

delicate, flora, or to stop beekeeping 

battles, he stated 

that no new apiaries could be 

established within a distance 

of three hundred yards of a 

previous one. 

Because it was such a 

revered item, so mysteriously 

sweet and golden, honey 

also figured as a sacred substance 

to the Greeks. The 

great god Zeus was suckled 

on honey by the nymph 

Melissa, whose name means 

“she who makes honey.” Eros, 

the god of love, dipped his 

arrows in honey before 

shooting them into unsuspecting 

humans and sometimes 

fellow gods. The 

priestesses of Demeter, 

Susanna Hoffman is an anthropologist and the author of The Olive 

and The Caper: Adventures in Greek Cooking. 

Artemis, and Rhea were the 

“honied ones 

As now, Greek honey was 

produced in such varieties 

and quality, there were 

numerous grades of it, and 

it, like wine, was rated 

according to place of origin 

and specific characteristics. 

Aristotle and Theophrastos 

declared Attica honey the 

best, especially the honey 

from Mount Hymettos, followed 

by that from Salamis, 

Leros, Kalymna, and Hybla in 

Greek Sicily. The renowned 

food writer, Archestratos, 

also waxed lyrical over Attica 

honey, especially over the 

cakes soaked in it sold in the 

Athens market. Skillful 

honey agents traveled about 

to procure the best honey, 

for as well as for food, honey 

was used as a trade good, to 

stave off invading soldiers, to 

comprise dowries, coat 

cheese, polish metal, and as 

an undercoat for murals.

Kerasma: 

Treat Your Taste 

with Great Recipes for Olives, 

Florina Peppers, Honey, 

Xinomavro and Desserts 

from Greece's Top Chefs 

Photography: Yiorgos Dracopoulos 

Food styling: Tina Webb 


Grilled Bread with Kalamata Olive Paste, Sun-Dried Tomatoes 

and Greek Cheese 

Yield: 4 meze servings 

10 Greek sun-dried tomatoes 

100 gr. (about ½ cup) Kalamata olive paste 

200 gr. (6 1/2 ounces) Katiki Domokou, or other sharp, 

soft cheese, such as quark or Greek feta combined with Greek 

yogurt or anthotyro or farmer's cheese 

Olive oil as needed 

Freshly ground black pepper 

8 slices country-style bread, toasted on both sides 


1. Drain the sun-dried tomatoes. Chop 

8 of the 10 into very small cubes and 

cut the remaining two into thin strips 

for garnish. 

2. Combine the diced sun-dried tomatoes 

with all the remaining ingredients 

and add enough olive oil just to 

moisten the mixture and make it 

spreadable. Spread a little of the mixture 

over each slice of bread, garnish 

with sun-dried tomato strips and 

serve.

Greek Pasta with Kalamata Olive Paste and Octopus 

1. Clean the octopus: Remove and discard 

the hood, eyes, and beak. Bring a 

large pot of unsalted water to a 

rolling boil and blanch the octopus for 

2 minutes. Remove and submerge in 

an ice bath. Cut along the tentacles 

into eight pieces and cut each piece in 

half across the width. 

Yield: 4 to 6 servings 

1 octopus, about 1 ½ kilos (3 pounds) 

1 bay leaf 

2 sprigs fresh oregano 




Kerasma recipes 

For the pasta 


1 small bunch fresh mint, leaves only, chopped 

250 gr. (1/2 pound) small-grain rice-shaped pasta (orzo, manestra, 

or kritharaki) 

250 gr. (1 cup) Kalamata olive paste 

2. Place the octopus in a wide 

saucepan, add 100 ml water, the bay 

leaf and oregano, cover, and bring to a 

simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer 

the octopus until almost the liquid 

has cooked off. Remove from heat 

and set aside until cool enough to 

handle. Cut each piece on the slant 

into thin ovals and toss with the olive 

oil and pepper. 

3. While the octopus is cooking, boil 

the pasta to al dente in salted water. 

In a food processor or blender pulse 

the remaining olive oil and mint 

together. Drain the pasta, toss with 

the mint-flavored olive oil and olive 

paste. To serve, place a portion of the 

olive-paste-tossed pasta in each of 4 

or 6 serving bowls and top each with 

sliced octopus.

Greek Salad Served Over Grilled Bread 

For 12 pieces 

3 medium ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced 

2 small Cretan cucumbers, peeled and diced 

1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced 

15 Thassos throumbes olives, or other wrinkled black Greek olives, 

pitted and diced 

1 medium onion, diced 

1 small bunch chives, finely chopped 



12 slices old country-style bread, cut into slices about 2 cm 

(1/2-inch) thick 

Greek oregano to taste 

150 gr. Greek feta 


1. Combine the tomato, cucumber, bell 

pepper, olives, onion, chives, olive oil, 

salt, and pepper in a bowl. 

2. Lightly grill the bread slices. 

3. Spoon a little of the diced salad over 

each slice of bread. Sprinkle with 

oregano and feta and drizzle with a little 

more olive oil. Serve immediately.

Sautéed Sesame Shrimp with Olive Mayonnaise 

Yield: 4 to 6 meze servings or 2 main courses 

For the mayonnaise 

250 gr. (1/2 pound) wrinkled black Greek olives, pitted 

1 garlic clove 


2 egg yolks 

10 gr. Dijon mustard 

Juice of ½ lemon or 1-2 Tbsp. red-wine vinegar 


For the shrimp 


60 gr. (2 ounces) sesame seeds 

12 large shrimp, cleaned but with tails intact 




1. Prepare the mayonnaise: In the 

bowl of a food processor at high speed 

whip the olives and garlic to a pulp. 

Add the olive oil and continue beating 

at high speed until the mixture is 

smooth. In a stainless steel bowl with 

a wire whisk, beat the egg yolks and 

mustard together until creamy. Drop 

by drop, add and whisk in the oil mixture. 

When the mixture is bound, 

slowly add the lemon juice or vinegar, 

drop by drop. Season with pepper. Set 

aside. 

2. Season the shrimp with salt and 

pepper and dip in the sesame seeds, 

turning to coat on both sides. Heat 

the olive oil in a nonstick skillet and 

sauté the shrimp over medium-high 

heat until the sesame seeds are golden 

and the shrimp bright red and tender. 

Serve hot on a platter with a bowl of 

the mayonnaise in the center.

Pumpkin Tartlets with Spicy Skordalia 

and Olive Puree 

1. Salt the pumpkin in layers in a 

colander and place a weight on top. 

Leave to drain for 2-3 hours. Squeeze 

out all the excess water by taking a 

little bit of pumpkin at a time and 

pressing it between the palms of your 

hand. Set aside. 

2. Place the first sheet of phyllo in 

front of you and brush with olive oil. 

Layer the next sheet on top and 

repeat. Do the same with the remaining 

sheets, layering seven all together 


600 gr. (1 1/3 pounds) pumpkin, peeled, seeded 

and coarsely shredded 

Salt 

14 sheets commercial phyllo, at room temperature 

Olive oil for brushing phyllo 

100 gr. (3 ounces) Greek graviera cheese, grated 

½ red bell pepper, chopped 

½ green bell pepper, chopped 

100 ml sheep's or goat's milk 

2 eggs 

For the skordalia: 

500 gr. (1 pound) stale bread 

3 garlic cloves 

50 gr. (1 ½ ounce) hot pepper puree 

Pinch of Greek saffron 


Strained juice of half a lemon 

For the olive puree: 

200 gr. pitted Kalamata or other Greek dark olives 

1 scant tsp. rosemary 

4 anchovy fillets, chopped 

in two separate stacks. Trim each 

stack to form a square and cut into 

four equal, smaller squares. Fold in 

the edges of each square stack to form 

a rough circle. Set aside, covered, on 

oiled sheet pans. 

3. Combine the pumpkin, graviera 

cheese, peppers, milk, eggs, salt and 

pepper in a bowl and mix well. 

4. In the bowl of a food processor 

pulse all the ingredients for the skordalia 

together to form a creamy 



spread. Remove and set aside. 

5. Rinse out the food processor and 

puree the olives, rosemary, and 

anchovies. Remove and set aside. 

Preheat the oven to 180C (350F). 

6. Place several tablespoons of the filling 

over each of the eight phyllo circles. 

Mound generously. Bake for 

about 20-25 minutes, until the phyllo 

is crisp and the filling cooked.

Pasta Stuffed with Mussels, Cheeses and Olives 

1. Clean the mussels, cutting away 

their beards and scrubbing the shells 

very well. Steam the mussels in the 

ouzo, water, garlic and celery for a few 

minutes until they open. Discard any 

that don't open. Drain, cool slightly, 

shell, and set aside. 

2. Heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil in a nonstick 

skillet and sauté the onions until soft. 

Add the peppers and tomatoes and 

simmer uncovered until most of the 

liquid has cooked off. Set aside. 

Yield: 4-6 servings 

For the mussels: 

1 kilo (2 pounds) fresh mussels 

1 cup ouzo 

1 cup water 


1 celery stalk, chopped 

For the sauce: 


2 onions, finely chopped 

2 green bell peppers, finely 

chopped 

1 small chili pepper, seeded 

and chopped 

2 firm ripe tomatoes, peeled, 

seeded and chopped 

For the olive puree: 

200 gr. (6 ½ ounces) pitted 

Kalamata or Amphissa olives 

1 tsp. dried rosemary 

1 anchovy 


3. In the bowl of a food processor, 

pulse together the olives, rosemary, 

anchovy and olive oil until the mixture 

forms a thick paste. Remove and set 

aside. In the same processor, combine 

the yogurt, cheeses, and buttermilk in 

a food processor and pulse until 

smooth. 

4. Roll out the pasta dough and cut 

into 20 to 24, 6-cm (3-inch) circles. 

Have a large pot of salted water ready 

and boiling. Place a mussel or two in 



For the cheese mixture: 

60 gr. (1/3 cup) Greek strained 

yogurt 

60 gr. (2 ounces) smoked 

Metsovone cheese or other 

smoked cheese 

60 ml buttermilk 

60 gr. (2 ounces) feta, crumbled 

500 gr. (1/2 pound) pasta 

dough, at room temperature 

½ - 3/4 cup sheep's milk butter, 

melted or an equal amount of 

olive oil, warmed over low heat 

Chopped fresh parsley for garnish 

each circle, top it with a pinch of the 

sauce, the olive puree and the cheese 

mixture. Bring up like a beggar's purse 

and twist and squeeze the top to seal. 

Use a toothpick to secure closed even 

further. Boil the pouches for 3 minutes. 

Remove with a slotted spoon 

and serve, drizzled with melted 

sheep's milk butter or warmed olive oil 

and chopped parsley.



Braised Octopus with Tomatoes and Green Olives 

1. Clean the octopus: Remove the 

hood, eyes, and beak and discard. Cut 

the octopus into eight pieces, along 

the tentacles. 

2. Heat the olive oil in a wide pot and 

sauté the onions over medium heat 

Yield: 8 meze servings or 4 main course servings 

1 medium-small octopus, about 1 kilo (2 pounds) 

1 large onion, finely chopped 

200 gr. (6 ½ ounces) medium-sized Greek green olives, pitted 

and cut in half 

250 ml (1 1/2 cups) xinomavro wine or other tannic, dry red wine 

250 ml (1 1/2 cups) tomato sauce 


1 Tbsp. dried mint 


until soft. Add the octopus, stir, and 

pour in the wine. Bring to a boil, 

reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. 

Add the tomato sauce. Simmer 

until the octopus is tender. About 10 

minutes before removing from heat, 

add the olives. Season with pepper 

and a little salt if necessary. Serve as a 

meze for eight or a main course for 

four. 


Kerasma recipes


Squid Stuffed with Roasted Red Florina Peppers, 

Graviera Cheese and Tomatoes 

1. Preheat the oven to 180C (350 F). 

Toss the quartered tomatoes with 

olive oil, garlic, basil, salt and pepper 

and roast in a shallow pan for about 

40 minutes. 

2. Cut the Florina peppers lengthwise 

into thin strips. Combine the roasted 

tomatoes, Florini peppers, breadcrumbs, 

half the chopped lemon, 

chopped squid tentacles, graviera, 

salt, and pepper to make the filling 

and set aside. 


1 kilo (2 pounds) fresh squid, 

cleaned, tentacles chopped 

and set aside 

For the filling: 

2 tomatoes, quartered and 

seeded 

2 tsp. Greek extra virgin olive oil 

1 garlic clove, crushed 

1 tsp. dried basil 


200 gr. (6 ½ ounces) roasted 

Greek Florina peppers, 

drained 

2 lemons, peeled and chopped 

200 gr. (6 ½ ounces) plain fresh 

bread crumbs 

150 gr. (5 ounces) Greek 

graviera cheese, diced 

3. Blanch the fennel, drain, and drop 

into ice water. Drain again and blot 

dry with paper towels. 

4. Heat the butter in a nonstick skillet. 

Add the sugar and fennel and stir 

over medium heat until the fennel is 

caramelized. Remove and set aside. 

5. Layer the blanched potatoes, onion, 

tomatoes , remaining lemon, star 

anise, basil, sugar, garlic olive oil, salt, 

pepper and a little broth, enough to 

come about halfway up the vegeta- 

For the pan: 

1 small fennel bulb, trimmed 

and cut into thin slices 

2 Tbsp. butter 

1 Tbsp. sugar 

1 kilo (2 pounds) potatoes, 

peeled, sliced into rounds, 

and blanched 

1 large onion, sliced 

2 tomatoes, chopped 

4 star anise 

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil 

Pinch of sugar 

2 garlic cloves, chopped 

Olive oil 

Chicken stock 

bles, on the bottom of a shallow baking 

pan. Fill the squid with the stuffing, 

leaving about 1 1/2 cm. (1/2 inch) 

space at the top. Secure closed with 

toothpicks. Place over the vegetables. 

Cover and bake until the vegetables 

and squid are done, about 40 minutes. 



Smoked Florina Peppers Filled with Manouri Cream 

1. Place the peppers on the rack of a 

stovetop smoker and smoke for 15 

minutes. You can do this at home by 

placing small woodchips in a heavy 

pot, place a plate holding the peppers 


10 whole Florina peppers in brine, drained and blotted 

dry with paper towels 

100 gr. (3 ounces) dark, seedless Greek raisins 

100 ml (1/2 cup) ouzo 

200 gr. (6 ½ ounces) Manouri cheese 

100 ml (1/2 cup) heavy cream 

3 large egg whites, whipped to a stiff meringue 

Greek extra virgin olive oil 

Salt and freshly ground black pepper 

on top, and covering the pot well. 

Smoke over low flame. 

2. Soak the raisins in the ouzo while 

the peppers are smoking. Drain. 

3. Whip together the manouri cheese and 


cream until smooth. Add the drained 

raisins, salt, and pepper, and fold into the 

meringue. Place in the refrigerator for 3 

hours. Fill the smoked, cooled peppers 

with the cream and serve.

Pork Loin Skewers with Honey-Yogurt Herb Dip 

Yield: 12 skewers 

For the skewers: 

100 gr. (1/2 cup) Greek thyme honey 

50 gr. (1/4 cup) red wine vinegar 

50 gr. (1/4 cup) Greek extra-virgin olive oil 

1,200 gr. Pork loin cut into 3 cm (1-inch) cubes 

10 gr. (1/3 ounce) cumin 

For the Dip: 

150 gr. (1 ½ cups) strained Greek yogurt 

150 gr. (1 ½ cups) Greek sheep's milk yogurt 

½ garlic clove 

50 gr. (1/2 cup) Greek thyme honey 

Salt 

Freshly ground pepper to taste 

Oregano to taste 

1. Whisk together the honey, vinegar, 

olive oil, and cumin. Marinate the 

pork cubes in this mixture, covered 

and refrigerated, for three hours. 

2. Place all the ingredients for the dip 

in a blender or food processor and 

pulse until smooth. 

3. Light the grill to medium according 

to individual unit directions. Thread 

100 gr. (3 ounces) of meat onto each of 

12 skewers. Season with salt and pepper 

and grill. Two minutes before the 

skewers are done, sprinkle generously 

with oregano. Serve the skewers 

immediately, accompanied by the dip. 



Pork Braised with Leeks, Prunes and Honey 


Salt and freshly ground black pepper 

30 ml (1ounce) Greek extra-virgin olive oil 

1 kilo (2 pounds) pork shoulder, cut into large cubes 

400 ml chicken stock 


1 bay leaf 

½ bunch thyme 

1 kilo (2 pounds) leeks, trimmed, washed and cut into 5-cm 

(1 ½-inch) rounds 

16 prunes 

100 gr. (3 ounces) Greek thyme honey 

50 gr. (1/4 cup) red wine vinegar 


1. Season the pork with salt and pepper. 

Heat the olive oil in a large, wide 

pot over high heat and sear the pork 

on all sides. Add the stock, garlic, bay 

leaf, and thyme. Reduce the heat to 

medium-low and simmer the pork for 

1 ½ hours. 

2. Add the leeks to the pot and simmer 

another 30 minutes. Add water or 

stock if necessary to keep the contents 

of the pot moist. Add the prunes and 

continue simmering, covered, for 

another 15 minutes. 

3. Whisk together the honey and vinegar 

and add to the pot. Remove the lid 

and simmer another five minutes, 

until the sauce is caramelized. Adjust 

seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve 

immediately.

Fresh Pork Baked in Paper with Honey and Herbs 


250 ml (1 ½ cups) Greek extra virgin olive oil 

1 bunch fresh basil 


1 Tbsp. salt 


1 Tbsp. rosemary 

50 gr. (1 ½ ounces) shelled walnuts 

2 Tbsp. finely chopped parsley 

½ cup Cretan raki or tsikoudia (eau de vie) 

3 Tbsp. Greek honey 

1 fresh pork leg, boned, about 2 kilos (4-5 pounds) 

3 cups meat stock 

2 large garlic cloves, split in half 



1. Pulse together the olive oil, basil, 

salt, pepper, rosemary, walnuts, parsley, 

raki, and honey in a food processor 

until smooth and thick. 

2. Remove half the skin from the pork 

and discard. Loosen the remainder of 

the skin with a sharp knife, peeling it 

away from the meat without removing 

it. Rub all but 2/3 cup of the marinade 

all over the meat and place the 

skin back over it. Rub the skin with 

the remaining marinade. 

3. Place a piece of parchment large 

enough to wrap around the meat 

inside a large roasting pan. Place the 

stock, garlic, and meat inside the 

parchment and bring up the sides to 

enclose the meat, turning to seal. 

Roast at 200 C (450F). The meat will 

take approximately one hour and 15 

minutes per kilo (40 minutes per 

pound) to bake.

Pork-Filled Zucchini Blossoms Fried in Honey Batter 

1. Remove the stamens from the blos- 

soms and set aside. 

2. Combine the meat, rice, onion, 

herbs, pine nuts, raisins, apple, salt 

and pepper. Stuff the zucchini blossoms 

with this mixture. Twist the tops 

closed to contain the filling. 

3. Place the artichoke hearts on the 

bottom of a large, wide saucepan. 

Place the zucchini blossoms on top, 

one snugly next to the other. Add 

Yield: 6 - 8 servings 

30 zucchini blossoms 

250 gr. (1/2 pound) ground pork 

50 gr. (1 ½ ounces) Greek glazed rice or any small-grain rice 

1 large onion, minced 

2 Tbsp. each chopped dill, chopped fresh mint, chopped lemon 

balm or lemon verbena 

50 gr. (1 ½ ounces) pine nuts, toasted 

50 gr. (1 ½ ounces) seedless dark raisins 

1 apple, peeled and chopped 

10 artichoke hearts, cleaned and sliced thin 

½ cup Greek extra virgin olive oil 

1 Tbsp. flour 

1 Tbsp. lemon verbena 

For the Batter 

300 gr. (10 ounces) flour 

150 gr. (5 ounces) cornstarch 

1 large egg 

Salt 

15 gr. (1/2 ounce) bacon 

50 gr. (1 ½ ounces) Greek honey 

Pinch of cinnamon 

60 gr. (2 ounces) walnuts 

Water as needed 

Corn oil for frying 

enough wine and stock to the pot to 

cover the blossoms. Pour in half the 

olive oil. Cover and simmer over medium 

heat for about 40 minutes, until 

the blossoms are tender. Add more liquid 

to the pot if necessary. There 

should be at least two cups left at the 

end of the cooking. 

4. Remove from heat and let cool. 

Remove the zucchini blossoms and set 

aside. Place the sauce back on the 



burner at low heat. Whisk together 

the remaining olive oil and flour and 

add to the pot. Heat the sauce until 

thick. Add the lemon verbena just 

before the end. 

5. Whisk all the ingredients for the 

batter together and heat ample corn 

oil in a large pot or deep fryer. Dip the 

blossoms in the batter and deep fry 

until golden. Serve together with the 

sauce.


Tuna with Xinomavro Sauce 

1. Brush t he tuna steaks with a little 

olive oil and season all over with salt. 

2. Place all the remaining ingredients 

except the butter and cream in a 

medium saucepan and heat until 

reduced by one third and thickened 

slightly. Remove the bouquet garni 

and simmer the sauce another 10 minutes 

or so, until thickened further. 


4 large tuna steaks 

Extra-virgin Greek extra virgin olive oil as needed 

Salt to taste 

300 ml Xinomavro wine 

200 ml beef stock 

300 ml fish stock made with red wine 

50 gr. (2 ounces) finely chopped scallions 

2 ounces thinly sliced mushrooms 

1 bouquet garni 

50 ml heavy cream 

200 gr. (6 ½ ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes 

Remove and strain through a chinois 

or fine-mesh sieve into another, clean, 

pot. Heat over low flame, slowly 

adding the butter and stirring vigorously 

with a whisk, until the sauce is 

thick and glistens. Season with salt 

and pepper, set aside, and keep warm. 

3. Score the tuna on one side. Heat a 

ridged griddle or stovetop grill pan 


over high heat, oil it slightly, and add 1 

sprig of fresh rosemary. Sear the tuna 

on both sides over the rosemary. 

Remove immediately, repeat with 

remaining tuna steaks, and transfer to 

a preheated, 180C (375F) oven. Roast 

for five minutes. Remove. Serve over 

the sauce on individual plates.

Wild Boar Braised with Onions, Xinomavro Wine, 

and Citron 

1. Cut the wild boar into serving size 

pieces and place in a large stainless 

steel basin together with the onions, 

xinomavro wine, citron peel, carrots, 

star anise, orange juice, and ½ cup 

olive oil. Cover and refrigerate for two 

days. Bring down to room temperature 

before cooking. Strain and set 

aside the marinade, vegetables, and 

meat separately. 

2. Bring the bones, mushrooms, bay 

leaves, thyme, allspice, and 

Mavrodafne to a boil, reduce heat and 

simmer for one hour. Remove, drain, 

and set aside. 


1,200 gr. (2 ½ pounds) wild boar, preferably shoulder, deboned* 

1 pound small stewing onions 

1 liter Xinomavro wine 

3 citrons, peeled 

300 gr. (10 ounces) carrots, pared and coarsely chopped 

1-2 star anise 

1 kilo (2 pounds) oranges, juiced 

Greek extra-virgin olive oil as needed 

Bones from the shoulder* 

1 pound fresh button mushrooms 

2 bay leaves 

2-3 sprigs fresh thyme 

4-5 allspice berries 

1 liter Greek Mavrodafne wine 

Flour 

200 gr. Greek honey 

150 gr. rice, boiled and drained 

1 teaspoon fresh oregano 

100 gr. (3 ounces) Metsovone cheese 

2 eggs 

Caul fat from pork 

Fresh butter as needed 

3. Flour the meat lightly. Heat ½ cup 

olive oil in a large, heavy, wide pot 

and brown the meat. In a separate 

skillet, heat 2-3 Tbsp. olive oil and 

sauté the marinated vegetables. Add 

the honey and stir until the vegetables 

begin to caramelize. Pour the marinade 

into the vegetables and as soon 

as it simmers remove and empty the 

contents of the skillet into the meat. 

4. Add the stock from the bones. Cover 

the pot, reduce heat to low, and simmer 

for 5-6 hours. Replenish the liquids 

as needed with a little water or 

wine. Remove lid and continue sim- 

mering until the pot juices have been 

reduced by two-thirds. Remove from 

heat. 

5. While the boar is simmering, prepare 

the rice cakes. Combine the rice, 

oregano, Metsovone, eggs, salt and 

pepper and shape into small patties. 

Wrap with the caul fat. Saute in a little 

butter until golden. Serve the boar 

hot with one or two rice patties. 



Home Salted Cod Fritters with Mastic-Scented 

Skordalia Foam 

1. For the skordalia foam: Soak the 

gelatin sheets in cold water for five 

minutes. Heat 100 ml milk in a medium 

saucepan and dilute the soaked 

sheets. Mix in the remaining milk. In 

the bowl of a food processor or strong 

blender whip together the milk mixture 

and gelatin. Pulse for one minute 

at high speed. Add the almond oil, 

vinegar, mastic oil, salt, and pepper. 

Pulse for another few seconds to com- 

Yield: 12 meze servings or 6 main courses 

For the Foam: 

700 ml fresh whole milk 

300 ml almond oil 

1 garlic clove 

2 drops mastic oil (see next recipe) 

5 ml red wine vinegar 


13 gr. (4 ½ ounces) gelatin sheets 

1 fresh cod, about 3 kilos (7 pounds), filleted 

1 kilo (2 pounds) coarse salt 

For the Batter: 


75 gr. (2 ½ ounces) cornstarch 

30 gr. (1 ounce) baking powder 

330 ml beer 

Pinch of salt 

Olive oil for frying 

bine very well. Strain the mixture and 

place in a whipped cream canister. 

Place two gas ampules in the canister 

and refrigerate for 4 hours or until the 

mixture is very cold and set. 

2. Place the cod fillets in the salt, covering 

completely, for one hour. 

Remove, rinse, and soak in plain 

water for 30 minutes. Dry with paper 

towels and cut into pieces or strips, 

each about 100 gr. (3 ounces). Set 



aside. 

3. Mix together all the dry ingredients 

for the batter. Add the beer a little a 

time and mix to get a thick mixture. 

4. Heat the oil in the deep fryer. Dip 

the cod into the batter, shaking off 

excess. Deep fry in hot oil until golden. 

Serve with a dollop of foam on 

each plate or in separate small cups or 

glasses.

Olive Oil Infused with Mastic 

1 Tbsp. mastic crystals 

250 ml (1 1/4 cup) extra-virgin Greek olive oil 

Heat 80 ml (about 3/4 cup) of olive oil and the mastic in a nonstick skillet over 

low heat. Pour into a bottle, let cool, and add the remaining olive oil. Use immediately 

or store in a cool, dark place. Shake before using. 



Spiny Lobster in Spicy Sauce with Mastic Oil 

1. Carefully split the lobsters in two 

lengthwise using kitchen shears, cutting 

in the direction of the head down 

towards the tail. Remove intestine 

and wash the lobsters well. Place the 

stock, olive oil, bay leaves, salt and 

pepper in a shallow pan and place the 

lobsters on top, cut side down. Leave 

in the marinade until ready to use. 

2. Preheat the oven to 200 C (450F). 


2 fresh spiny lobsters, 700-800 gr. (about 1 ½ pounds) each* 

200 ml (1 cup) fish stock 

60 ml (1/3 cup) Greek extra virgin olive oil 

2 bay leaves 


1 large mango (about 250 gr./ ½ pound), peeled 

and cut into small pieces 

50 ml Greek brandy 

3 Tbsp. mastic-infused olive oil 

Pinch of curry powder 

7 gr. (1/4 ounce) green peppercorns 

100 gr. (3 ounces) shelled, unsalted Greek pistachios Aeginis 

300 ml fish stock 


100 ml (1/2 cup) Greek yogurt 

1 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley 


Bring the mango, brandy, olive oil, 

curry, green peppercorns, and pistachios 

to a simmer in a medium 

saucepan. Add the stock and simmer 

over low heat for 15 minutes. Add the 

cream and continue cooking another 5 

minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 

the yogurt. Transfer the sauce to a 

blender and pulse to combine. Strain 

through a fine mesh sieve or chinois, 


season with salt and pepper, cover 

and keep warm. 

3. Roast the lobster in its marinade for 

about 10 minutes, or until its flesh is 

white and comes away easily from the 

shell. Remove the flesh with a small 

fork, place upright in the shell, spoon 

a little warm sauce on top and serve.

Turkey Breast Marinated in Cantaloupe Juice 

and Samos Wine with Mastic Oil 

1. Wash and pat dry the turkey 

breasts. Set aside. 

2. Pulse the cantaloupe, white wine, 

chili pepper, spice seeds, cinnamon, 

pepper, cumin and mastic oil together 

in a food processor or blender until 

smooth. Marinate the turkey in the 

mixture for 2 hours, covered and 

refrigerated. 


2 boneless turkey breasts, skinned and halved 

300 gr. (10 ounces) peeled, fresh cantaloupe 

200 ml Samos white wine 

½ tsp. finely chopped fresh chili pepper 

½ tsp. combined fennel seed, coriander seed and aniseed 

1 small cinnamon stick 

Black pepper to taste 

1.2 tsp. cumin powder 

2 tsp. mastic oil 

2-3 Tbsp. unsalted butter 

Salt to taste 

200 gr. (6 ½ ounces) feta cheese, cut into 4 slices 

3-4 Tbsp. all-purpose flour 

Greek extr virgin olive oil for sautéing 

1 tsp. cold unsalted butter 

3. Remove from the marinade. Melt 

the butter in a large, nonstick skillet. 

Remove the turkey from the marinade 

and wipe dry. Season with salt and 

pepper. Saute over medium heat, turning, 

and add the marinade to the pan 

once the turky has acquired some 

color. Simmer until done, about 15-20 

minutes. 

4. Heat the olive oil in another nonstick 

skillet. Dampen the feta under 

the tap, dip each slice in flour, and 

sauté until the cheese softens, just 

before it begins to melt. Remove and 

place on individual plates. Place a 

turkey breast half over each piece of 

cheese and spoon some of the sauce 

on top. 



Mastic-flavored Almond Cake 

Yield: one TK-round cake 

250 gr. (8 ounces) blanched almonds 

225 gr. (7 ½ ounces) unsalted butter 

250 gr. (8 ounces) confectioner's sugar 

5 gr. (2 ounces) mastic crystals, crushed with a pinch 

of sugar in a mortar 

4 medium eggs 

150 gr. (5 ounces) all-purpose flour 


1. Finely grind the almonds at high 

speed in a food processor. 

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, 

whip together the butter, sugar, mastic, 

and almonds until fluffy and 

white. Add the eggs one at a time, 

beating after each addition. 

3. Add the flour, mixing it in with a 

spatula or large spoon. Cover the bowl 

with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 

2-3 hours. 

4. Preheat oven to 170C (350F). Pour 

the batter into a 24-cm (10-inch) 

round buttered cake pan. Bake for 30 

minutes, reduce oven temperature to 

160C (325F) and continue baking 

another half hour, or until a knife 

inserted in the cake's center comes out 

clean.

Mastic Biscuits 

Yield: 1 kilo (2 pounds) 

250 gr. (8 ½ ounces) unsalted butter 

250 gr. (8 ½ ounces) light brown sugar 

75 gr. (2 ½ ounces) granulated sugar 

1 egg 

1 pinch salt 

2 Tbsp. milk 

500 gr. all-purpose flour 

5 gr. (1 ½ ounces) mastic crystals, pounded in a mortar 

with a little sugar 

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, 

whip together the butter and two sugars 

until light and fluffy. Add the 

milk, egg, mastic, and salt and mix. 

Slowly whisk in the flour. Knead 

slightly and let the dough rest, covered, 

for 30 minutes. 

2. Preheat the oven to 180C (375F). 

Using a rolling pin roll open the dough 

on a lightly floured surface. Cut with 

cookie cutters into desired shapes no 

thicker than ½ cm (1/8 inch). Place on 

a parchment-lined baking sheet and 

bake for about 20 minutes, or until 

golden. Remove, cool, and store in a 

cool, dry place. 



Mastic-Scented Panacotta with Greek Honey Sauce 


2 gelatin sheets 


100 ml milk 

2 gr. mastic powder 

60 gr. (2 ounces) sugar 

150 gr. (5 ounces) Greek thyme honey 

50 ml warm water 


1. Soften the gelatin sheets in a little 

water. 

2. Bring the cream, milk, mastic and 

sugar to a boil. As soon as it begins to 

simmer and swell, remove and add the 

gelatin. Mix and let the mixture cool. 

Mix again. 

3. Pour the mixture into individual 

ramekins and refrigerate for at least 5 

hours to set. 

4. Make the honey sauce while the 

panacotta is chilling: Whisk together 

the honey and warm water and set 

aside. 

5. Dip the ramekins in a little hot 

water to loosen the cream and invert 

onto serving plates. Serve together 

with the honey sauce.

Tahini Mousse with Greek Honey Florentines 


For the Florentines: 

160 ml. heavy cream (35% fat) 


50 ml Greek honey 

200 gr. (6 ½ ounces) sesame seeds 

For the mousse: 

200 ml Tahini 

300 ml. heavy cream 

100 gr. (3 ounces) Italian meringue 

Sugar violets for garnish 

1. Prepare the Florentines: Preheat the 

oven to 170C (325F). Place the heavy 

cream, sugar, and honey in a medium 

saucepan and bring to a simmer and 

let the temperature reach the firmball 

stage, 118C (244F). Remove from 

heat and vigorously mix in the sesame 

seeds. Spread the mixture in small circles 

onto a silpat or over a piece of 

parchment paper layered in a sheet 

pan. Bake for 12-14 minutes. As soon 

as the Florentines come out of the 

oven, invert them onto small bowls to 

shape. Garnish with the sugar violets. 

Set aside. 

2. Lightly heat the heavy cream and 

fold into the tahini. Let cool and fold 

into the meringue together with the 

Tahini. Refrigerate and serve inside 

the Florentines. 



Pasteli with Greek Honey and Aegina Pistachios 

400 gr. Greek thyme honey 

400 gr. Aegina pistachios 

½ tsp. dried lavender, crushed 


1. Heat the honey in a medium 

saucepan to 130C (270F). Remove from 

heat and stir in the pistachios and 

lavender. 

2. Spread the pasteli onto a silpat or 

nonstick parchment. If using parchment, 

cover with another piece of 

parchment. Using a rolling pin roll out 

the pasteli to a thin sheet, about 1 cm 

(1/8 inch) thick. Cut into squares or 

diamonds when cool and keep stored 

in a cool, dry place.

Cheese Tart with Greek Honey and Pears 

5 fresh pears 


160 gr. (5 ½ ounces) butter 

100 gr. (3 ounces) confectioner's sugar 

60 gr. (2 ounces) honey 

150 gr. (5 ounces) Cretan xinomyzithra cheese or a combination 

of 2 ounces whipped Greek feta and 2 ounces farmer's 

or anthotyro cheese 

3 eggs 


100 gr. (3 ounces) ground walnuts 

1. Peel the pears, cut in half, and 

remove the seeds and stem. Bring to a 

simmer in a medium pot with 2 cups 

water and the sugar. As soon as they 

soften, remove and strain. Let cool. 

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer at 

high speed whip together the butter, 

confectioner's sugar, and honey until 

creamy and fluffy. Add the eggs one at 

a time, beating after each addition. 

Remove bowl. Using a spatula or 

spoon, vigorously mix in the cheese, 

flour, and half the walnuts. Pour the 

mixture into a 25-cm (10-inch) tart pan. 

Cut the pears into thin slice and spread 

evenly and decoratively over the surface 

of the tart. Bake at 180C (350F) for 

30 minutes, lower heat to 150C (300F) 

and continue baking another 10 minutes 

or until the tart is set. 



White Chocolate Truffles with Feta and Greek Honey 

1. In a medium bowl, crumble the feta 

and knead together with the honey. 

Add the pine nuts and combine well. 

Shape into 2 ½-cm (1-inch) balls and 

Yield: About 20 truffles 

160 gr. (5 ½ ounces) hard Greek feta 

60 gr. (2 ounces) Greek honey 

30 gr. (1 ounce) toasted pine nuts 

200 gr. (6 ½ ounces) white chocolate 

place on parchment for about 30 minutes 

to dry out a little. 

2. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler 

and spread it onto a marble surface 


to cool. Let it cool to 30 C (86F). Roll 

the feta-honey balls into chocolate 

the feta-honey balls in the chocolate. 

Cool on parchment.

Fresh Fruit Gelé with Yogurt Cream 

1. Prepare the fruit gele: Bring the 

sugar, water, and herb to a boil and 

stir until the sugar is diluted. Strain. 

Place the gelatin in a small shallow 

bowl and cover with cool water. Let it 

stand a few minutes to soften. Strain 

and place in a small saucepan. Add 2-3 

Tbsp. of the fruit juice. Heat over low 

flame for a few seconds until the gelatin 

melts. Add to the syrup mixture 


Make one of the following, as 

per personal preferences: 

Peach gelé: 

40 ml water 

40 gr. (1 ½ ounces) sugar 

1 small sprig fresh rosemary 

15 gr. (1/2 ounce) sheet gelatin 

(3 sheets) 

400 ml fresh peach juice 

Cantaloupe gelé: 

20 gr. (3/4 ounce) sugar 

20 ml water 

5 fresh mint leaves 

10 gr. (1/3 ounce) sheet gelatin 

(2 sheets) 

300 ml cantaloupe juice 

and stir well. Add remaining juice, mix 

well, and pour into 4-6 serving cups or 

glasses. Place in the refrigerator and 

chill until almost set. 

2. Make the yogurt cream: Place the 

gelatin in a small shallow bowl and 

cover with cool water to soften. 

Remove and place in a small saucepan 

with 3-4 Tbsp. water. Heat, stirring, for 

a minute or so until the gelatin melts. 

Watermelon gelé: 

40 gr. (1 ½ ounces) sugar 

40 ml water 

3-4 fresh basil leaves 

15 gr. (1/2 ounce) gelatin 

(3 sheets) 

400 ml watermelon juice 

For the yogurt cream: 

400 gr. (2 cups) strained Greek 

yogurt 

40 gr. (4 ounces) Greek honey 

7 gr. (2 1/2 ounces) sheet gelatin 

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together 

the yogurt and honey. Add 4 Tbsp of 

the yogurt mixture to the gelatin. Mix, 

and then stir in the remaining yogurt 

mixture. Pour a little of the yogurthoney 

gelé over the fruit gelé, which 

has already set in the refrigerator. 

Chill until the yogurt is set, too. Serve 

cold, garnished if desired, with some 

fresh mint or other herbs. 



In the next issue… 

Greek Peaches 

Greek Ouzo 

Greek Summer Meze 

Crete 

And more… 


www.mnec.gr 

www.hepo.gr 

www.kerasma.com 

Kerasma is run under the aegis 

of the Hellenic Ministry of Economy 

and Finance and the Hellenic Foreign 

Trade Board (HEPO).

Olives/ Yogurt/ Greek Food and Health / Thessaloniki's ... - Kerasma

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?