You can enjoy kolokotes as snack, complemented with yogurt, labne, or fresh cheese; drizzled with honey, date or any fruit molasses they become a lovely dessert. 

Marilena Ioannides’ recipe is by far the best I have tried –and I did try lots over the years. She bakes the pies on camera –speaking Greek with no subtitles, unfortunately; but consulting my recipe below you can easily follow and understand how to make these simple, exquisite pies.

To collect the old, traditional dishes she included in her book Cyprus Food Treasures, Marilena traveled all over the island, even to the remotest villages, and managed to find some incredible dishes! Often they are the missing link between age-old foods we read about in old manuscripts and the more recent variations we still encounter in parts of Greece or in other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean.

NOTE in the video as she prepares the pies leisurely, in real time, she weighs all ingredients –even the olive oil and water– as she adds them, one by one in the bowl of the mixer, zeroing her electronic scale just before adding a new item. This is a wonderful trick that helps cooks use a minimum of  bowls and other measuring utensils. 

My recipe is adapted from Marilena Ioannides’ Kolokotes. I have increased the amount of raisins and doubled the pepper; also substituted fennel seeds for the fresh wild fennel she suggests.

Makes 6 large pies

For the DOUGH:

1 pound bread flour or a combination of pasta flour and all purpose flour

1 teaspoon sea salt

70 grams olive oil

250 grams very hot or boiling water —the secret to make smooth, elastic dough

For the FILLING:

2 pounds butternut squash, peeled and seeded

1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

100 grams bulgur (medium not fine)

150 grams raisins

30 grams olive oil

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 -1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper (I like it peppery)

1 teaspoon coarsely ground fennel seeds

Make the dough tossing the flour, salt, and olive oil in the bowl of a standing mixer. With the motor running pour in the hot water on the side, and work to obtain a soft, slightly sticky dough. Wrap in oiled plastic wrap and set aside. You can make the dough the previous day, refrigerate, wrapped, and bring to room temperature before proceeding further.

For the filling cut the squash in very thin slices, then in small cubes, matchsticks, or any kind of tiny bits. Add salt, olive oil and the raisins, then work with your hands to somewhat soften the squash.

Stir in the bulgur, cinnamon, pepper, and fennel seeds, and toss well to mix. 

Divide the dough into 6 pieces. (Marilena makes 7 pies but I find it difficult to divide the dough into an even number; I only use the scale for the filling).   

Preheat the oven to 150C  (about 300F) in convection mode. 

Roll each piece into roughly a 25 cm round, and place one sixth of the filling in the center, weighing all the filling  dividing the number into 6, then portioning and weighing 1/6th for each pie. Stir the filling each time before you take a portion as the moisture tends to go to the bottom.

Fold the round of dough to cover the filling; seal and crimp the edge, making sure the pie is completely closed so that the squash, bulgur etc. bake and steam inside the crust. Place the pies carefully on baking trays lined with parchment paper, and bake in the middle of the oven for 45 min to 1 h –until lightly colored on top and bottom.

If you bake both pans at the same time, change positions after 30 minutes, turning also the pans back to front.

Let the kolokotes cool on a rack or on thick kitchen towels before cutting to eat.

The flavor is infinitely better after they are completely cold, and I find that it is even better the next day! 

Keep on the counter for 2-3 days, if you manage to resist devouring them. You can also freeze and slowly reheat any leftover pies. 

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I didn’t make the very intriguing rosemary whipped cream Adam suggests, which I will probably try another time, but opted for ice cream instead.

Since both Costas and I love the caramel base of the Apple and Quince Crumble I make often, I decided to repeat something similar here.

Needless to say, that I substituted again light olive oil for the butter in the original recipe, as I do all the time, and the result was absolutely great! Note that this cornbread/cake, unlike most other cakes, is best slightly warm, the day it is baked.

Serves 8: a 10-inch (26cm) skillet.

THE APPLE BASE:

2/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons water

1/3 cup light olive oil, canola or sunflower oil

2 Apples halved, cored, and thinly sliced; I used Fuji.

FOR THE CORNBREAD/CAKE

1 cup All-Purpose flour

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

3 large eggs

1 cup sugar, plus 2-3 tablespoons Turbinado or any light brown sugar for sprinkling

2/3 cup light olive oil, canola or sunflower oil

2/3 cup full-fat yogurt

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 ½ cup coarsely chopped fresh strawberries

Vanilla Ice Cream for serving (optional)

Place the skillet over medium-high heat and add the sugar and water. Swirl the skillet as it bubbles and gradually starts to color. When it is light amber add the olive oil, swirl the pan and spread the apple slices carefully, as they may splatter. Press with a wooden spoon and lower the heat. Simmer and don’t mind if some hard sugary pieces form; they will dissolve later as the cake bakes in the oven. When the apple slices have soften, after about 4-5 minutes, remove the skillet from the heat.

Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C).

Make the cornbread/cake: Whisk together flour, cornmeal, salt and baking powder in a small bowl until combined and set aside. 

In the bowl of a standing mixer, add the sugar and the eggs and work in slow to start with and increase the speed after 2 minutes; keep beating until light and creamy, about 5 minutes. Alternatively, you can use a hand-held mixer.

In a small bowl whisk the oil with the yogurt and add it to the egg mixture working on medium. Add the vanilla and gradually add the flours, continuing to beat in low, until completely incorporated. You will probably need to stop and scrape the sides of the bowl with a flexible spatula to make sure all flour is mixed in.

Pour the batter over the apples and carefully spread it with the spatula. Scatter the strawberries on the batter and sprinkle with the light brown sugar.

Bake for about 40 minutes or more, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool for 20 minutes before cutting to serve, accompanying with ice cream, if you like.

This cornbread/cake, unlike most other cakes, is best slightly warm, the day it is baked, but you can wrap the leftover in kitchen film and enjoy it the next day as well.

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Served with or without ice cream, this is a seriously addictive dessert.

SERVES 8 – 10 

The CARAMEL

4 tablespoons/58 grams light olive oil

¾ cups/175 grams granulated sugar

4 ounces (120 grams) soft cream cheese (see NOTE)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½  teaspoon salt (see NOTE)

THE FRUIT

1 small quince, halved, seeded and cut into 1 -inch chunks

5 medium apples, about 1 kilo, 2 green, the rest red—somewhat sweet—each seeded and cut into 1 ½ -inch pieces

½ cup crystalized ginger, minced

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon cinnamon

The TOPPING

1 cup rolled oats

½ cup whole-wheat breadcrumbs

½ cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¾ cup blond or brown sugar

Zest from 1 lemon

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup (120 grams) walnuts, coarsely chopped

½ cup light olive oil

½ cup orange juice

Vanilla Ice Cream, optional for serving

Heat the oven to 375F (180C)

Prepare the caramel: Add 2 tablespoons water and the oil to a 12-inch oven-safe skillet with high sides. Sprinkle the sugar in an even layer over the bottom of the pan. Turn the heat to medium-high. Cook the sugar without stirring until bubbles start to appear. Now swirl the pan very carefully to help the sugar brown evenly. Once the caramel is dark amber, after about 6 minutes or a bit more, remove from the heat.

Let the mixture cool for 1 minute and then add the cream cheese, stirring until fully combined (the mixture will bubble rapidly). Add the vanilla and the salt.

Prepare the fruit: In a large bowl, toss together the quince, apples and ginger, lemon juice, cornstarch, and cinnamon.

Make the topping: In a medium bowl, combine the oats, breadcrumbs, walnuts, brown sugar, lemon zest, and salt. Add the olive oil and orange juice and toss together until all the dry ingredients are evenly moistened.

Add the fruit to the caramel in the skillet and toss to combine. Sprinkle evenly with the topping.  

Bake until the caramel is bubbling in the center, the fruit is tender, and the topping is browned, 35 to 40 minutes.

Let cool slightly before serving.

NOTE:

Instead of the usual, imported, generic cream cheese, I like to make this crumble with our local cream cheese or fresh myzithra, which is much more flavorful, and somewhat salty, so I omit adding extra salt.   

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From mid-December and up until after the New Year we usually keep on the festive table nuts and dried fruit, plus melomakarona and kourabiedes.  

Wikipedia refers also to the Sephardic Jewish tradition to serve various nuts, candied and dried fruits during Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year.  Catalans and Armenians share similar traditions.

When I first read a description of this traditional festive bread I was surprised by the amount of olive oil it contains. I looked up many French recipes and they all agreed that for each pound of flour there should be one full cup of olive oil added. There were few minor differences in the aromatics among the recipes, with some suggesting just a few aniseeds, and others a lot more –I chose to follow the latter.Some also had orange blossom water along with orange or lemon zest, which I preferred to leave out. Some recent version substituted butter for the olive oil (!) and also had egg in the dough. The recipe Saveur published in 2007 has no aromatics at all, and significantly more sugar; the headnote describes it as ‘a cross between a brioche and a focaccia.’ There is also a crunchy version of the Pompe a l’ Huile, which is baked in a low oven until completely dry.

Part of the traditional Christmas table in Provence this delicious olive oil bread is supposed to be torn into pieces with the hands and never cut with a knife. Pompe a l’ Huile is served along with twelve more desserts on Christmas Eve on the festive tables all around the Mediterranean coast of France. The thirteen sweetmeats include various dried fruits –figs, different kinds of grapes, plums etc.—candied pears and apples, as well as oranges and other citrus fruits, cookies, and nougat.

It is an old Mediterranean tradition to have different kinds of sweets on display during the end of the year holidays, supposedly to placate kalikantzaroi, the  malevolent goblins. In Greece we also keep on the table nuts and dried fruit, plus melomakarona and kourabiedes from mid-December and up until after the New Year. 

RECIPE: Pompe a l ‘Huile: Festive Bread from Provence

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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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The mild taste of this unusual sweet is certainly a wonderful complement to the spicy Indian dishes; for my version I love to add crystalized ginger to give it a slight kick.

Mayukh Sen notes that Mr. Sharma riffs on a traditional dessert from the Indian state of Goa, using a base of coconut milk, eggs and sweet potatoes that are roasted and then puréed, perfumed with nutmeg. “…the addition of maple syrup is a distinctly American touch. (Mr. Sharma likes to make this for Thanksgiving.) Be sure to leave time for the bebinca to cool and set — at least 6 hours in the refrigerator, but preferably overnight,” Sen writes.

Yield: 8 servings

2 to 3 medium sweet potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds (750 gram)

5 tablespoons light olive oil or sunflower oil, plus more for the pan

6 large eggs

1 cup/200 grams grated jaggery or muscovado sugar

¼ cup/60 milliliters maple syrup

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

¼ -1/3 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger

1(13.5-ounce/400-milliliter) can full-fat coconut milk

1 cup/130 grams all-purpose flour

Crystalized ginger, sunflower seeds or pistachios for decorating (optional)  

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Rinse the sweet potatoes to remove any dirt, pat them dry with paper towels and poke several holes in them with a fork. Put the potatoes on baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Roast until completely tender, 35 to 45 minutes. Cool completely before handling. Peel the sweet potatoes, discard the skins, and purée the flesh in a food processor. Measure out 1 ⅔ cups/400 grams and set aside, saving the rest for another purpose. (The sweet potatoes may be roasted 1 day ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.) 

Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees (180 C). Line the bottom of a 9-inch round or square baking pan with 2-inch sides with parchment paper and grease lightly with oil. Put the pan on a baking sheet.

In a large bowl, whisk together the cooled sweet potato purée, olive oil, eggs, sugar, maple syrup, nutmeg, turmeric, minced crystalized ginger and salt until well mixed. Add the coconut milk and flour and whisk until the mixture is smooth, with no visible streaks of flour.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and put the pan, still on the baking sheet, in the oven. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through. The pudding should be firm to the touch in the center and light golden brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Wrap the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate to set for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.

Once the bebinca has set, run a sharp knife around the sides of the pan, flip the pan onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and tap gently to release. Peel the parchment off the top. Invert onto a serving dish, and peel off the second sheet of parchment paper. Decorate with crystalized ginger, pumpkin seeds or pistachios, if you like.  

To serve, use a sharp serrated knife to cut the chilled bebinca into wedges. Store the leftover bebinca, wrapped in plastic wrap, in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

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I though of adding squash and bell pepper to the eggpants as I had no leeks to sweeten and add color to the stuffing. This semi-open colorful pie/tart is the perfect main course for a vegetarian Thanksgiving or for any festive fall and winter meal.   

In the original pie of Drama sauteed leeks and eggplants are flavored with plenty of agad graviera cheese, and scented with cumin. Walnuts add a meaty taste to this delicious pie that I have baked on many occasions, both at home and also at various meals I have cooked over the years in the US. I often bake a rolled eggplant pie, as it is easier to cut and serve, especially if one uses commercial frozen phyllo, and not the wonderful home-rolled. 

Serves 10-12

About 2/3 cup Olive oil as needed

1 round eggplants, cut into slices

1 large purple onion, thinly sliced

 Half a small squash, peeled, seeded and cut into small dice –about 4 cups

1 red pepper seeded and cut into strips   

 2 cups aged graviera, pecorino or cheddar, grated

1 ½ cup smoked cheddar, grated

1 1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Aleppo pepper or freshly ground black pepper

About ½ -1 teaspoon salt, as the cheeses are quite salty

½  packet thick frozen commercial phyllo, or homemade phyllo pastry

Preheat the oven to 375 F (200 C) and brush generously the eggplant slices with olive oil, place them on a parchment-paper-lined baking dish and bake until golden and tender, about 20 minutes. Let cool and then chop them into about half-inch pieces.

In the meantime, in a large skillet sauté the onion in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, until soft. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. To the skillet add the pepper and sauté the pepper, remove when done, then add the squash and a little more olive oil and sauté on high heat, tossing often for 2-3 minutes, then reduce the heat, cover and continue cooking until soft, about 15-20 minutes. Cool in a colander to collect any excess oil.

In a large bowl mix the onions, eggplant, peppers, squash with the grated cheeses, the cumin and the walnuts. Add very little salt and plenty of pepper and toss well to mix.

Oil a pan or a cast iron skillet and lay 2 sheets of phyllo, brushing generously with olive oil and leaving the sheets hanging out of the pan. Add two more sheets of phyllo brushing with oil and then add the filling, spreading all over the pan and pressing to even it.

Fold the hanging phyllo, brushing with olive oil, to make a crown around the pan partly covering the filling.    

Bake in the middle of the oven, reducing the temperature to 350F (180 C) for about 40 minutes or more, until the phyllo turns golden brown and the filling sizzles.

Let cool a little before cutting to serve. The pie can be eaten warm or at room temperature. It can also be frozen and reheated.

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The fruit don’t look like much, but they taste wonderful. I wish we had more…

You can use plums instead of the damsons, but choose small, not large an juicy because they would collapse in the sugar.

This cake is basically another riff on the Apple or Quince Charlotka, the light and easy fruit cake both Costas and I love!  As I posted this recipe I received the Newsletter from Dorie Greenspan with the recipe for a Parisian  upside-down plum cake. Maybe you would like to try that one too…

For a 10-inch round cake –or equivalent square

1 ¼ cup sugar

About 1 ½ pounds fruit: 8-10 damson or plums, halved, stones removed, and 4-5 small pears washed, halved to remove the pips, and thinly sliced (do not peel)

1 cup coarsely ground walnuts

2/3 cup ground cookies –I used my Grape Must Cookies, but any kind of cookies or Graham Crackers will do

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 eggs

1/2 teaspoon sea salt (or kosher salt)

1 tablespoon vanilla essence

1 cup all-purpose flour

Caramelize the damsons: Heat on medium-high a deep, 10-11-inch non-stick skillet that can go into the oven adding 5 tablespoons sugar. Gently move the skillet as the sugar melts or stir with a spatula until the sugar caramelizes. Be careful not to let it get dark. Remove from the heat and wearing gloves and working fast lay the damsons, cut-side-down on the caramelized sugar –they don’t need to be perfectly arranged. Place again the skillet over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, or until they start to sizzle. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Place the rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350F degrees (180 C).

Make the batter: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, or in a large bowl if using a handheld mixer, beat the eggs, the rest of the sugar and salt on medium-high speed until thick and pale yellow, about 5 minutes. Beat in the vanilla extract.

Gradually add the flour into the egg mixture, and gently fold with a spatula until just combined and no flour streaks remain. The batter will be quite thick. Fold in the sliced pears.

Spread the walnuts and the ground cookies over the caramelized damsons, then pour the batter over the fruit in the skillet and use an offset spatula to spread it evenly.

Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out almost clean and the top of the cake is golden brown.

Let cool in the pan for about 10-15 minutes, then gently run a knife around the perimeter to loosen and very carefully, wearing gloves,  invert the pan on a platter and let cool completely before cutting to serve.

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My mother used to bake a cake similar to this during Lent. We were not so religious as to follow the rules of the Church, which prohibited eating any food derived from animals during the forty days before Christmas and before Easter (and on many other occasions). We were simply continuing a family tradition which dictated that various foods or sweets should be made at a particular time of year.

The caramelized ginger, my recent addition to the recipe, enhances the rich flavor of this cake that has a dense texture, somewhat like an English fruitcake. 

Makes one 12 X 5 inch (30 X 12cm) cake

3 1/2     cups all-purpose flour

4   Tablespoons corn starch       

1    tablespoon baking powder

Pinch of salt             

1 1/2            teaspoons ground cinnamon     

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1     tablespoon grated orange zest

1/2 – 2/3  cup sugar –depending on how sweet you like your cakes

1     cup light olive oil, or a mixture of olive and safflower oil

1  teaspoon baking soda

1/2  cup brandy       

1  2/3    cups freshly squeezed orange juice         

1/2 cup golden raisins

10-12  dried apricots, chopped, about 2/3 cup         

1/2 cup  chopped crystalized ginger 

2/3 cup   coarsely chopped unsalted pistachios                         

Confectioners’ sugar (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180 C).

Line the deep loaf pan with parchment paper and lightly oil it. This will make removing the fragile cake from the pan easier.

Toss together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and cloves in a large bowl.

Stir the sugar with the orange zest, rubbing with your fingers to mix and release the orge flavor. In a medium bowl, whisk the oil and sugar until well combined.

In a cup stir the baking soda with the brandy and add it to the oil-sugar mixture. 

Make a well in the flour mixture and stir in the oil and sugar, as well as the orange juice, stirring  just until smooth. Add the dried fruits and nuts and stir just until evenly distributed.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for ONE hour or more, until a skewer inserted in the center comes out almost clean.

Transfer to a rack and let cool 10 minutes before carfully removing from the pan, lifting the parchment paper. Let the cake cool completely before cutting, and better show restrain and only cut after a few hours, or the next day…

If you like, sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar. Slice and serve.

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I got the recipes from my mother and grandmother and I only slightly tweaked  them.

Both most favorite cookies –the Koulourakia with Orange, and the dark deep-flavored Moustokouloura Cookies, were baked using olive oil and no eggs.

Americans and northern Europeans are not the only ones loving their crunchy, fragrant cookies. Greeks usually accompany with cookies their coffee in the morning or afternoon. Home cooks, who used to make them all year round, kept them in a jar or tin box and we enjoyed them any day of the year, including the lengthy Lenten periods, like the days before Easter when all kinds of foods deriving from animals were avoided.

The recipes didn’t change, and our most favorite cookies –the Koulourakia with Orange, and the dark deep-flavored , Moustokouloura Cookies, were both baked using olive oil and no eggs.

These days more and more people have started to bake with olive oil;  it is not just me any more. Cooks all over the world bake lovely, moist olive oil cakes, and I hope soon they will also make variations of these traditional Greek cookies that I have learned to make, or at least help shape since I was a child, together with my grandmother, and my mother.

Try also my older recipe for the traditional Easter, yellow Saffron, Allspice, and Pepper Biscuits, from the island of Astypalaia. They are neither vegan –they have yogurt and cream– and they are savory, perfect to serve with drinks and meze, especially with fresh, creamy cheese.

I am sure you will love them!

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