Leonidas’ Almond and Lemon “Cigars”

Wednesday November 11th, 2020Wednesday November 11th, 2020 aglaia Leave a comment

My late cousin Leonidas loved sweets, but he had health problems that meant he had to avoid butter and eggs. At some point, inspired by rolled baklava, he created these wonderfully simple, vegan crunchy, almond, and lemon phyllo rolls.

They are more like cookies than a real dessert dish, but they are dangerously addictive.

Leonidas used to bring them to our festive lunches and dinners, and he was proud to share the recipe with anyone who asked—and most people did. See at the bottom my savory variation, with cheese.

Makes about 85 pieces (more…)

My Pasticcio

Wednesday November 11th, 2020Wednesday November 11th, 2020 aglaia Leave a comment

Greek pasticcio (or pastitsio) is a béchamel-topped dish of macaroni mixed with ground meat cooked with onions in a cinnamon-scented tomato sauce, then mixed with cheese, and béchamel. I often use up leftover meat or poultry instead of ground meat for my pasticcio. The dishes’ name is Italian (it literally means “a mess”) but pasticcio as such does not exist in Italy, though its roots are in the elaborate timbales, the pastry-enrobed meat-pasta-vegetable pies prepared for special occasions.

Read about its origins and get the recipe for the old Pastry-enrobed version.

Makes 6-8 servings (more…)

Cauliflower stories

Wednesday October 28th, 2020Wednesday October 28th, 2020 aglaia Leave a comment

I remember the huge cauliflowers –white and purple— as well as the oversized cabbages we used to get in the old days. Now the large cauliflowers have almost completely disappeared, although we occasionally find some here, on Kea, grown from heirloom seeds.

In Greece we traditionally boil cauliflower and broccoli in plenty of water, but the small tender ones we get today taste better steamed, I think. This saves us from the terrible stink that was pestering our kitchen in the winter whenever my mother boiled cauliflower to make father’s favorite salad. (more…)

Cauliflower Salad with Rosemary-scented Vinaigrette

Tuesday October 27th, 2020Tuesday October 27th, 2020 aglaia Leave a comment

I often make this salad buying two small cauliflowers and using the stems from both, plus a few florets to make my Cauliflower gratin. I steam most of the tender florets and serve them dressed with my fragrant rosemary-scented vinaigrette. In Greece traditionally we used to boil cauliflower and broccoli in plenty of water –the old-fashioned large ones needed considerably more cooking– but these small tender ones taste better steamed, I think.

Serves 3-4 (more…)

Braised Chicken with Quince

Monday October 19th, 2020Monday October 19th, 2020 aglaia 3 Comments

On Chios, quinces are paired with free-range chicken; on Crete, with lamb; and on Lesbos, with veal. With quince from our trees on Kea I make a stew with the delicious local veal shank, but I also cook pork with quince. I give any meat extra flavor by tying the cores of the fruit in cheesecloth and adding them to the cooking broth. This recipe is a somewhat faster version variation of my Veal Stew with Quince.

Serves 6 (more…)