The beautiful island of Crete with its wild mountainous terrain and a strong traditional culture is justifiably proud of a cuisine that is internationally famed for its unique ingredients and flavours. Based on simple techniques, it’s the variety of local produce that distinguishes their dishes: mountain herbs and greens, wild bulbs, unique cheeses, olives and,…
Tag: Kalamata Olives
Greek Gigantes, White Beans With Tomatoes, Lemon and Herbs
This is the kind of dish I like to make when I want something that’s easy to prepare but packed with goodness and subtle summery flavours that have the super power to instantly transport me to my happy place – basically, a two up two down beach house with a summer kitchen anywhere along the…
Greek Feta, Romano Pepper and Tomato Saganaki
In Greece the term saganaki is a term used to describe a variety of small dishes made in a traditional two-handled frying pan. The name comes from the Turkish word sahan meaning a copper dish. Very often, the term is used to describe cheese cooked this way – namely kasseri, kefalotyri, kefalograviera or another firm Greek…
Old Town Feta, Watermelon and Kalamata Olive Salad
This beautiful salad is inspired by a backstreet grocery store in Corfu old town whose frontage is a cornucopia of fresh seasonal fruit and vegetables piled high in rickety old wooden crates. Tiny sweet apricots, velvety flat peaches, glossy nectarines, huge watermelons, bright gnarly lemons, green figs and dark juicy cherries. Two girls, gloriously plump…
La Belle Salade Niçoise with a Green Olive Tapenade Dressing
Named ‘La Belle’ after the frequently used nickname for the city of Nice which lies in the French Riviera on the Mediterranean Sea, this salad typifies for me the fresh seasonal beauty of the local cuisine. This simple plate of summer is inspired by Richard Olney’s musings on Lulu Peyraud who, with her husband Lucien,…
Greek Spelt, Roasted Red Pepper and Chickpea Salad with an Oregano and Lemon Dressing
Picture yourself sitting at a table for six on chairs painted in a faded shade of Aegean blue, its white cotton cloth billowing in the warm breeze, the sea slowly lapping onto the beach just yards from your feet. Women, invariably dressed in black, sit alongside one another on a bench cracking pistachio shells as…
Marina’s Greek Yoghurt Flatbread with Tomatoes, Olives, Feta and Wild Oregano
Last summer we spent some time in Corfu Old Town, one of my favourite destinations in the world. We didn’t do much for we had booked our trip at the last minute with the aim of getting away from the bonkers pace of our lives and properly slowing down. Our days quietly passed in a…
Sóllar Lemon and Saffron-infused Roast Potatoes with Olivas Negras Sea Salt
We’ve just returned from a brief visit to the beautiful island of Mallorca where the sun was shining and the air was heavy with the scent of orange and lemon blossom, heady wisteria and clouds of tumbling white jasmine. It made my heart sing to be back in the Mediterranean where I had the chance…
Cardamom and Dill 