Beginner Cook - Main Dish - Medium Cooking Time A traditional youvetsi consists of braising lamb in a rich orzo filled tomato broth. It is delicious and holds a place of honor on Greek menus. A few years back, my mother-in-law introduced me to a spin on the traditional dish by substituting the tomato broth with cherry tomatoes. The result is a slow roasted lamb paired with dripping flavored orzo balanced by pops of sweetness and acidity from the roasted cherry tomatoes. If a dish ever captured my heart, it is this one. I love to use a Frenched rack for this dish but shanks or a shoulder ..read more

Beginner Cook - Medium Cooking Time - Soup - Vegetarian - Vegan - Gluten-Free This navy bean soup, known as "fasolada" is Greece's national dish. Simple and unassuming, this soup is both comforting and nutritious. Being vegan/vegetarian it is well suited for the season of lent, during which Greek's forgo meat and dairy. One can also opt to top it with some crumbled feta for an added touch of saltiness and enjoy with a thick slice of country bread. Ingredients (serves 6-8)1 pound dry navy beans 1 medium onion 10 cups water (in addition to the water needed to soak the beans) 1 handf ..read more

Baked Goods - Dessert - Beginner Cook - Medium Cooking Time This syrup drenched sweet semolina cake is traditionally topped with a light dusting of confectioner's sugar or a sprinkle of crushed pistachios. Being the chocoholics that we are, our family is partial to this ganache topped version. Add some candied orange slices and specs of gold leaf to jazz things up, making this simple cake as fancy as it is tasty. Ingredients (one 9 x 13 inch cake) For the cake1 cup melted butter 2 cups sugar 5 eggs 2 cups Greek yogurt 3 teaspoons vanilla extract 1/2 cup cognac 1 teaspoon baking so ..read more

Intermediate Cook - Lengthy Cooking Time - Appetizer - Vegetarian - Vegan - Gluten-Free Hummus is sometimes mistaken for a Greek dish, when its roots are found in Arabic cuisine, with the word "hummus" meaning "chickpeas" in the Arabic language. This confusion is understandable with so many restaurants describing their cuisine as Mediterranean, which encompasses traditional foods from multiple countries that border the western Mediterranean. While hummus isn't indigenous to Greece, it is a wonderful dish. Having recently attended a gathering at Yafo Kitchen with the Charlotte Food ..read more

Beginner Cook - Lengthy Cooking Time - Main Dish - Gluten-Free The true translation for this recipe is "fried pork" but "mustard pork" seems more appropriate given its flavor. There are a variety of ways to prepare this dish. Some include mustard, while others do not. This particular version is inspired by a meal we enjoyed at a small taverna, while exploring the southern Peloponnese. It pairs well with rice, potatoes, and vegetables and is relatively simple to prepare. When selecting a cut of meat, be sure to avoid one that is too lean. A boneless loin (not to be confused with ten ..read more

Beginner Cook - Medium Cooking Time - Dessert The best celebrations are those commemorated with food -- barbecue on the 4th of July, turkey at Thanksgiving, lamb for Easter. It wasn't until marrying into a Greek family that I discovered the fun of cake on new year's. The festive part of Greece's Vasilopita, named after "Agios Vasilis" or Saint Basil, is its hidden coin. Whomever receives the slice containing the coin is said to enjoy good luck for the rest of the year. When it comes to the cake's recipe, there are seemingly endless variations. Our family prepares a version reminis ..read more

Beginner Cook - Medium Cooking Time - Baked Goods - Dessert Bougatsa or sweet semolina pie is one of my favorite specialties found at Greek bakeries. With its warm custard filling, flaky buttery crust, and sprinkles of confectioners sugar and cinnamon, it's comforting yet delicate and makes for a great dish to enjoy with family and friends over breakfast or brunch. Bougatsa is best served warm and leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week. Simply hold the confectioners sugar and cinnamon from any portions you plan to store in the refrigerator. When ready, reheat ..read more

Beginner Cook - Medium Cooking Time - Soup - Vegetarian - Gluten-Free With fall comes the celebration of all things pumpkin. While there is no shortage of Greek recipes for this wonderful vegetable, it is out of season during our summer visits, limiting my exposure. Instead, I draw inspiration from my kindergarten days in Switzerland, where school children enjoyed two hour lunch breaks allowing for hearty home cooked meals. These lengthy interludes led to frequent lunch dates at friends' homes, which provided exposure to a diverse range of cooking. On one such occasion, my friend's ..read more

Beginner Cook - Medium Cooking Time - Dessert - Vegetarian With the exception of fresh slices soaked in Grand Marnier, that my mother would serve at dinner parties and I would covet as leftovers, orange flavored desserts were never my favorite. Greek orange cake, featured in cookbooks and displayed on bakery shelves, never captured my fancy... until this summer. While on a weekend getaway to the port town of Gytheio, my husband and I relished the hotel's complementary breakfast buffet. The kitchen served a handful of traditional Greek dishes, in addition to the standard fare, which ..read more

Beginner Cook - Medium Cooking Time - Soup - Gluten-Free Traditionally served with "avgolemono" or egg-lemon sauce, our family's Greek meatball recipe is slightly lighter, forgoing the egg and served instead in a clear lemony broth. Introduced to this version by my mother-in-law several years ago, it remains my favorite due to the broth, which reminds me of the beloved chicken noodle soup of my childhood. The ingredients are the same as those used to prepare stuffed grape and cabbage leaves. This lead my mother-in-law to lovingly refer to the dish as "orphan soup", when first asked ..read more