For the New Year I decided to dress it up, sprinkling with diced, caramelized citrus peels and pistachios; I also cut the year’s numbers on tangerine peels that I simmered in syrup before placing on the cake. 

See more New Year’s Cake recipes HERE and HERE. 

Bake the cake at least a day before you plan to serve it so the flavors  have time to develop. Cakes are best the day after!  

In our family it was simply called Tou Yiaourtiou (the one with yogurt), to distinguish with another, more elaborate festive dessert my mother and aunts prepared with store-bought lady-finger cookies and a heavy margarine-based cream –butter and heavy cream were not a common ingredient in Greece in my childhood years. 

Only recently I realized that this, ubiquitous urban Greek dessert is the Gateau aux Yaourt the simplest French cake, the first one kids bake as the portions are measured in the yogurt pot. Obviously my family, as most other bakers in Athens, got the recipe from Tselementes’ book. He obviously copied the French cake, but substituted margerine (!) for the olive oil, calling it Yiaourtopita (yogurt pie) a name that many bakers use today.  

Whenever I have, I use lemons from my garden, or our local tangerines and oranges that are wonderfully aromatic. I suggest you seek organic fruits for this and my other recipes. 

See also my Orange, Lemon or Tangerine Olive Oil Cake which I make pulsing the whole citrus fruit, not just zesting it.  

For a 9-inch (23 cm) round or square pan

THE CAKE

2/3 cup light olive oil, plus 1 to 2 tablespoons for greasing pan

2 1/2 cups cake flour

2 1/2  teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 large eggs

1 cup sugar

Fine zest of 4 lemons –fresh, preferably organic– OR 2 large Oranges and 2 Tangerines 

1 1/2 cup full-fat strained yogurt (Greek)

1/3 cup lemon or orange juice

THE SYRUP & TOPPING (optional)

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon or orange juice

1/3 cup water

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup home made Lemon Liqueur or any citrus-flavored liqueur

1 cup home made Lemon Marmalade or any citrus fruit marmalade you have at hand

1/2 cup toasted almonds or pistachios, coarsely ground

MAKE THE CAKE: Preheat the oven to 375°F (200 C)

Line a round or square 9-inch (23 cm) pan with parchment paper and very lightly brush with oil. 

In a large bowl stir together the flour, the baking powder and the salt. Set aside.

Using a standing mixer, or hand-held mixer and a stainless-steel bowl, beat the eggs and the sugar for about 4-5 minutes, until creamy. Add the olive oil, the lemon or orange zest and the yogurt, and beat until incorporated.

Add half of the flour mixture and work very briefly to incorporate then add the remaining flour and the lemon or orange juice. Just incorporate the last ingredients and don not overwork the batter.

Using a rubber spatula, fold the beaten egg whites into batter, working until just combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and even the top with a spatula.

Bake 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a knife or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool 15 minutes on a rack.

Make the Syrup: While cake bakes, in a small saucepan combine the lemon or juice, the water and the sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the sugar is dissolved.

When the cake is cool enough to handle but still warm, invert it onto a serving platter, peel off the paper and prick the surface all over with a toothpick. Using a spoon, douse the cake with syrup, making sure you cover the entire surface evenly.

Sprinkle with the liqueur, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let stand until it is completely cold.

Spread the lemon marmalade over the cake, and, if you like, sprinkle with toasted almonds or pistachios. Cover and let stand at room temperature a few hours or overnight before cutting to serve.

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Now I wend a long way east, taking inspiration from a very interesting recipe in Serious Eats.

“There’s a lot going on in the marinade, but one of the standouts—arguably even the key ingredient—is anchovy-based Vietnamese fish sauce, or nuoc mam,” write Emily and Matt Clifton. “Lime, ginger, and fish sauce add bold, bright, deep flavor to chicken,” they point out.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the particular fish sauce they mention, so I used the standard Thai fish sauce (nam pla) available at the Asian food stores in Greece. Limes are, again, an imported fruit that we can only get on Kea in the summer, when bars and the more sophisticated restaurants use it. I only had the local fragrant lemons, which, I must admit, are quite different in flavor; I decided to combine lemon and orange in my recipe.

I didn’t discard the very flavorful Vietnamese-inspired marinade but used it as the sauce to bake both the chicken as well as the accompanying vegetables, potatoes, some of our last garden peppers, and squash, drizzling with olive oil, as I usually do.

I think you will like this deep-flavored, easy chickenand vegetable dish as much as Costas and I did…

Serves 4 

About 2 1/2 pounds (1 kilo 250 grams) chicken, spatchcocked

The MARINADE

1/4 cup (60ml) soy sauce

1/4 cup (60ml) Asian fish sauce

1/4 (60ml) sunflower oil

2 packed tablespoons (7g) fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems, finely chopped (optional)

¼ cup (60ml) fresh lemon juice

¼ cup (60ml) fresh orange juice

1 teaspoon (5g) finely grated zest from 1 orange

3 tablespoon (30g) minced peeled fresh ginger

2 tablespoons smoked hot pepper, or Aleppo pepper flakes

4 medium cloves garlic, minced or grated (about 4 teaspoons)

The VEGETABLES etc. 

3 medium baking potatoes peeled and cut into about 1 ½-inch pieces

1 pound peeled and seeded butternut squash cut into about 1 ½ -inch pieces

1 large red bell pepper seeded and thinly sliced

2 small, sliced oranges, plus 1 orange peeled, quartered and sliced

About 1/3 cup olive oil

Cilantro leaves, for garnish (optional)

Lay the chicken on a parchment-lined plate or pan, or place in a large zipper-lock bag, if you plan to refrigerate it with the marinade.

In a medium bowl, whisk together soy sauce, fish sauce, oil, cilantro, if using, lemon and orange juice and zest, ginger, smoked or hot pepper, and garlic. Pour half the marinade over the chicken, and massage to make sure it coats well the entire front and back. Cover with kitchen film, or seal the bag and let the chicken marinate for at least 45 minutes, and up to 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 375°F (200°C) and set the oven rack in the middle position.

Line a rimmed baking dish with parchment paper and spread the potatoes, squash, and pepper pieces pouring the rest of the marinade over, and tossing well to make sure all vegetables are coated. Add the quartered orange slices and toss again.

Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the bag, and arrange over the vegetables, skin-side up, pouring any marinade drippings over, arrange the orange slices over the breast and thighs and drizzle with olive oil.

Bake for about 45 min. then cover loosely with parchment paper and bake another 20 minutes or more, until done –the center of the thickest part of the thighs should register 155 to 160°F (68 to 71°C) on an instant-read thermometer.

If the chicken skin is not brown enough by the time the thighs are cooked through, set broiler to high and broil for 1 minute or until browned and crisp, but be very careful, because the skin can burn fast.  

Let rest for 5 minutes before serving, transfering chicken and vegetables to a platter, if you like, and garnished with orange slices and cilantro.

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Its flavor depends on the incredible freshness of the simple fish I use, which in most cases is almost alive when I get it from the caïque, less than a few hours out of the water.

I usually make the broth the day before, refrigerate it, then finish the soup the next day.

In kakavia, the traditional fish soup of the Greek fishermen, all kinds of small fish that cannot be sold, the cheapest kinds you find that are not suitable for grilling or frying, are boiled for with plenty of olive oil and a few vegetables and herbs, until the flesh almost falls from the bones and the vegetables are very tender. Then all trhe ingredients of the pot are strained, and fish witrh vegetables served in a platter along with the broth which is dressed with more fruity olive oil and lemon juice. I heard that in Provence the somewhat scarry weevers are considered ideal for the bouillabaisse; we also use them in this simple traditional fish soup.

In my version, if a couple of larger fish are available, I carefully fillet them, drop the bones in the pot, and refrigerate or freeze the fillets, to be added in the soup at the very end since they need no more than 2-3 minutes cooking.

Between kakavia and bouillabaisse

I strain the broth from the small fish and after I remove all bones and heads, I pass it again through a very fine sieve to make sure all scales and small bones are removed. Then I sauté leeks or onions and two-three coarsely chopped garlic cloves in plenty of olive oil, then add potatoes and other vegetables, and finally the fish broth, cook until the vegetables are tender.

I know that some fish mongers sell fish carcasses which can be boiled to make the stock. Below is my basic fish soup recipe, but you can certainly play around with the quantities and ingredients adding more onions if you have no leeks, celery leaves instead of root etc. Taking inspiration from the bouillabaisse of Provence, I also add a pinch of saffron.

My mother used to mash coarsely in the food mill all the vegetables at the end, but I like to keep a few pieces of potato, zucchini, and peppers, to serve in the soup plates together with the fish fillets.

I suggest you read the Serious Eats to see a detailed Bouillabaisse recipe, and the Rouille, the garlicky and peppery mayonnaise-like sauce of Provence to serve alongside the fish soup.

NOTE that you could probably use clam juice, or a good quality ready made fish stock if available, and skip the first part of boiling the fish and vegetables. But I wouldn’t use the Japanese shaved, dried tuna, dashi, or combu. In my opinion their taste is somwhat too prominent and very different from the delicate flavor of small fish and fish bones. But, during the busy summer months many Greek taverns use them…

Serving 6-8

The FISH BROTH

3 ½ pounds small and/or medium fish, gutted and scaled –the larger fish filleted and the fillets refrigerated or frozen

3 cups dry white wine

A small celery root with leaves, or 3 large celery stalks

2 medium zucchinis, halved lengthwise, and/or 1-2 pieces squash

Most green part of 2-3 leeks, or 2 medium onions quartered

1 tablespoon allspice berries, bruised in a mortar

1-piece fresh ginger, about 2-inches, halved lengthwise

1 piece star anise

1 tablespoon anise seeds, coarsely ground in a mortar

About 1 ½ teaspoon sea salt, or more to taste

FINISHING the Soup

½-2/3 cup olive oil

1 large onion, or 2 leeks thinly sliced

2-3 large garlic cloves, sliced

2 medium potatoes peeled and cut into chunks

1 medium zucchini halved lengthwise; each piece cut into 3  

1 red and 1 green bell pepper, seeded and quartered

2 medium tomatoes, halved to remove the stem, then each piece quartered

1 pinch saffron soaked in ¼ cup boiling water

1-2 teaspoons Aleppo pepper or red pepper flakes, to taste

For SERVING

Juice of 1 lemon or more, to taste

A handful flat-leaved parsley leaves

Lemon halves or quarters

Fruity olive oil for drizzling

Rouille: peppery and garlicky mayonnaise-like sauce (optional)

In a large pot place the fish, all vegetables and spices, add the wine and water to just cover the lot, and cook in medium-high heat for about 45 minutes or more, until the flesh almost falls from the fish bones and all vegetables are very tender.

Strain the broth, setting aside the vegetables, after checking they are free from fish bones or scales.  Press and discard all other solids, then pass again the broth through a very small sieve. Set aside.

To finish the soup: In a skillet warm the olive oil and sauté the leeks or onion and the garlic until translucent, then add this to the rest of the vegetables and the fish broth; bring to a slow boil. Cook in medium-high heat until all vegetables are tender.  Remove half of the vegetables with a slotted spoon and set aside, then pass the rest through a food mill.

Return the broth to the pot, add the saffron, Aleppo or pepper flakes and lemon juice, and taste to correct the flavor. Add the fish fillets and the reserved vegetable pieces, and boil in high heat for about 3-4 minutes, or until the fish fillets are cooked, depending on their size.

Add freshly squeezed lemon juice, and either serve the soup in bowls or bring the pot to the table.

Serve a piece of the fillet and some of the vegetables along with the delicious broth, decorating with parsley sprigs and bringing extra lemon and olive oil to the table.

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I baked it in a very old copper casserole, over several layers of parchment paper, as the traditional inside lining of the is somewhat worn, and there are very few itinerant craftsmen to renew it.

This dish is particularly good on islands like Naxos, or here on Kea, where the local potatoes have exceptional flavor. If you want to cook this dish using small potatoes there is no need to peel them, but I suggest that you halve them, because they taste best when they can absorb the flavorful juices.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

3 pounds chicken thighs and drumsticks, preferably with the bones and skin

2 pounds baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes

2/3 cup olive oil

4-6 garlic cloves, minced (to taste)

1 1/2 tablespoons dried oregano, thyme or savory, crumbled

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Freshly ground black pepper, or Aleppo pepper flakes to taste

½ thick-skinned or Mayer lemon thinly sliced (optional)

1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock, or white wine

1/3 -1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (to taste)

2–3 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano, thyme or savory and some sprigs

Preheat the oven to 375°F (200 C)

Place the potatoes and chicken in a single layer in a round baking dish, about 12-inch (30 cm), and pour the oil over them. Add the garlic, dried oregano, salt, cumin, mustard, and pepper to taste, and toss well to coat all-over with the oil and flavorings.

Alternatively, you can work all the above ingredients in the blender and make a paste, then toss the chicken and potatoes to coat all over.

Bake for about 40 minutes. Add the stock, toss well, and bake for 15 minutes more. Drizzle the lemon juice, toss again top with the lemon slices, if using, and bake for about 20 minutes more, or until the chicken and potatoes are cooked through.

If you like, preheat the broiler, and broil the food for 2 to 3 minutes until golden brown. Sprinkle with fresh oregano and serve at once.

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Unlike the boldly flavored cacik, the Turkish yogurt-cucumber-garlic soup, common throughout the Mediterranean –an ancestor of tzatziki– this older, fragrant Persian soup has no garlic.

I use almonds or pistachios instead of the walnuts the original recipe calls for, and I add preserved lemon, which enhances the soup with its salty-tangy flavor. I suggest you double the recipe and enjoy it the next morning for breakfast.

Serves 6

1/4 cup (25 g) dried rose petals, crushed

1/3 cup (40 g) almonds, or pistachios

About 1/8 of a  preserved lemon piece, briefly rinsed

2 cups (500 g) Greek-style yogurt

1 1/2 cups (360 ml) ice water

1/2 cup (80 g) golden raisins, finely chopped

1 1/2 cups peeled, seeded, finely diced cucumber (one small or 2/3 of a large cucumber)

1/4 cup (10 g) finely chopped fresh mint

1/4 cup (10 g) finely chopped fresh dill

1/4 cup (25 g) finely chopped chives or scallions, white and most of the green parts

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Sumac

2-3 tablespoons coarsely chopped pistachios (optional)

Garlic Blossoms (optional)

In a small bowl, soak the rose petals in slightly warm water until softened and cold, about 20 minutes. Drain and pat dry with paper towels.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

Spread the almonds or pistachios on a baking sheet and toast for 8 minutes, or until fragrant and lightly colored. Let cool and chop finely in a food processor together with the preserved lemon.

In a large bowl, whisk the yogurt with the ice water. Add the raisins, cucumber, mint, dill, chives, rose petals, and almonds. Season with salt and pepper.

Cover and transfer to the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning, then serve in glasses or in shallow bowls, sprinkling generously with sumac, pistachios, and garlic blossoms, if you like.

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Potatoes, carrots and a couple of onions are boiled first, in a pot with 1-2 teaspoons salt, until tender and easily pierced with a fork. 

We discard nothing in our part of the world, and we have learned that for example the root-ends of spinach are delicious when fresh, especially from ours, or the local gardens, so we carefully wash them, and boil them for a few minutes longer than we boil the large fleshy spinach leaves. Baby spinach is not what you need for this delicious salad. 

We boil zucchini  by themselves, usually, in a separate pot, with their hard stems still attached. We discard them when done, because if we cut them before boiling, the water seeps into the zucchini flesh, making the tender zucchini  unacceptably soggy.  

Boiled zucchini are often made into a salad/side dish by themselves, all through the season, as gardens all over Greece are overflowed by this beloved early summer vegetable.  And of course zucchini feature in lots of meze and main course dishes, of which my favorite is Zucchini Fritters, as well as the fabulous Crustless Zucchini Pie.  

Finally the boiled vegetable salad, after being drizzled with fruity olive oil and some lemon juice, is complemented with tangy Tahini Yogurt Sauce, the same that flavors the Roasted Squash and Bread Salad.

I serve the boiled vegetables with some chopped, pickled hot peppers, and plenty of fresh mint leaves. 

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It is inspired from a dish served by Semsa Denizsel, the celebrated chef and former owner of Kantin Lokanta in Istanbul. She has now moved to the Aegean coast, and teaches cooking in her beautiful home, amidst olive trees.

Serves 4-6

Four 1/2-inch (1.2cm) slices day-old sourdough bread, torn to about 1-inch (2.5cm) pieces–remove only the very hard crusts

2/3 cup olive oil

About 2 1/2 pounds (1 1/4 kilo) butternut squash, kabocha, or any other squash with dense flesh; peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) cubes 

2 teaspoons dry Greek oregano or thyme

Salt to taste

A few pinches Maraş pepper or crushed red pepper flakes, to taste

Yogurt-tahini sauce

1 1/2 cups (375 g) thick Greek-style yogurt

2/3 -1 cup (160 ml) tahini

1 clove garlic, minced

Salt, to taste

3 tablespoons lemon juice, or to taste

To serve:

A bunch fresh mint, coarsely chopped or a good pinch dried mint (optional)

Fruity olive oil for drizzling

A handful of toasted pine nuts

Finishing salt

Preheat the oven to 400º F (200ºC) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl toss the bread with half of the oil, spread on the baking sheet and toast in the oven for about 10 minutes or more, until golden brown and dry. Transfer to a tray.

In the same large bowl add the squash and toss with the remaining olive oil, adding oregano, salt and pepper to taste.

Spread on the parchment-lined baking sheet and roast in the oven for about 20 minutes or more, until tender. Let cool a little.

Meanwhile make the sauce: In a bowl, stir the yogurt with the tahini, and add the garlic, salt, and lemon. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Stir in 2 to 3 tablespoons water to thin the sauce just to the point that is only just pourable. Cover and store in the refrigerator.

Spread half the yogurt-tahini sauce on a shallow serving dish. Arrange alternating pieces of squash and toasted bread on the sauce, sprinkle with the fresh and dried mint, if using, drizzle with fruity olive oil and sprinkle with the pine nuts and some finishing salt.

Serve warm or at room temperature, passing the rest of the yogurt sauce on the side.

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The potatoes taste wonderful as they soak up the aromatic juices.

The beautiful juicer created by the potter Lorna Meaden.

Makes 4 servings

1/2 cup olive oil

2 leeks, trimmed, thinly sliced, washed well and drained

2 medium onions, coarsely chopped

4–5 scallions (white and most of the green parts), thickly sliced

1 small fennel bulb, trimmed (fronds and tender stalks reserved) and coarsely chopped

3–4 medium potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices

2-3 medium carrots, halved lengthwise and cut into chunks

1 teaspoon fennel seeds, preferably freshly ground or crushed in a mortar

2 tablespoons ground coriander seeds

2 pounds mixed greens: Swiss chard, chicory, spinach, sorrel, or any wild or cultivated, preferably not bitter greens

1-2 oregano or thyme sprigs (optional) 

1 1/2 cups water

1 teaspoons salt or more, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper and Aleppo pepper, to taste 

1/4 cup or more freshly squeezed lemon juice, to taste

1 cup chopped fennel fronds plus tender stalks, or fresh dill OR a handful coarsely shredded fresh mint

Extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling 

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat and sauté the leeks for 8 minutes, or until soft. Add the onions, scallions, fennel bulb, if using, and potatoes and carrots. Toss with the fennel seeds and coriander and stir to coat with the oil.

Cook for about 6 minutes, then add the chopped stems of the greens and cook for another 6 minutes, until the potatoes are almost done. Add the greens which will pile on top of the pan, cover and let them steam and shrink for 1-2 minutes, add the thyme, if using then pour about 1/2 cup wine and toss everything.  

Sauté for 2 minutes, then add the water, salt and pepper to taste. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 10 more minutes, or until the greens and potatoes are tender and most of the juices have evaporated. If the sauce is still too watery, cook for 2 to 3 minutes over high heat to reduce it.

Add 4 tablespoons lemon juice and 1/2 cup of the fennel fronds or dill, as well as half the mint, taste and adjust the seasonings.

Cook for 2 to 3 minutes more, then sprinkle with the remaining herbs,  and drizzle with fruity olive oil, toss and serve warm or at room temperature.

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A humble leftover lentil soup becomes a delicious vegan pasta with complex flavor, while in my Mediterranean Vegetarian Feasts  I created the Lebanese-inspired Linguine with Spicy Lentils and Caramelized Onions. 

Our plant-based, vegan dishes are not contrived, but created by the women who had to bring a delicious, filling dish to their family’s table.

More than twenty years ago, in my Foods of the Greek Islands I included the delicious Pasta with Olive Oil, Onions and Spices from the island of Karpathos, which is very similar to my later, Lebanese-inspired one.

I often make pasta with greens and lemon. Recently I found a recipe for pasta with green olives and feta in the NYT which was very close to what I often whip up.

But I wanted to try and make a completely plant based dish, with no cheese at all.

I was intrigued by a vegan pasta with greens and lemon in Food and Wine: It had white miso to add umami, but this ubiquitous Asian component is not part of our everyday ingredients, so I decided to use sliced Kalamata olives, the Mediterranean umami equivalent…

The resulting Olive and Greens Pasta with Garlic and Lemon is truly delicious, even for non-vegans like us!

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I prefer it warm, but you can always re-heat the potato salad you store in the refrigerator.

Serves 4-6

2-pound small or medium-size potatoes, cooked in salted water until tender, and drained

Fruity Olive oil

Tahini Sauce

1/2 cup (about 130 g) tahini paste well-stirred

5-6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice or more, to taste

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

About 2/3 cup cold water, or more as needed

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 cups finely chopped green onions, white and most of the green part

3-4 sprigs fresh thyme

Aleppo or Maras Pepper flakes

In a large bowl drizzle the very hot boiled potatoes with olive oil and toss.

Make the Tahini sauce by whisking all the ingredients, minus the onions and thyme, in a bowl. Using a stick blender you will get a lovely, smooth sauce.

Taste and adjust the taste and consistency adding more lemon, water, salt, pepper, or mustard.

Pour over the potatoes and toss, adding the chopped scallions and sprinkling with fresh thyme and Aleppo pepper flakes.

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