Saturday, September 14, 2013

FOOD FROM MANY GREEK KITCHENS by Tessa Kiros

One week on Cyprus was enough to hook me on Greek food forever. I absolutely loved the different combinations of sour yogurt and sweet vegetables, often accompanied by flaky pastry, that I found all over. The food was both fresh and comforting –worlds away from the heavy souvlakia sandwiches and moussaka that constituted Greek food in Astoria’s diners. But I’ve rarely cooked Greek inspired dinners at home, probably because I didn’t have a yia-yia to show me how. Which is why I took note when Couscous and Consciousness shared a recipe from Tessa Kiros’ Food From Many Greek Kitchens in a recent Weekend Cooking post, and ordered it from the library.

Who is Tessa Kiros? A European woman (mother from Finland, dad from Cyrus, born in London, now living in Italy) with an deep interest in the intersection of food and culture—which makes a lot of sense when you consider the intersection of fantastic cuisines she must have grown up with! She has written books addressing many aspects of her life – she is perhaps best known for her Nordic cookbook, Falling Cloudberries.

Take on Cooking: Traditional Greek home cooking, with an emphasis on regional specialties.

The Delicious Parts: This book is absolutely gorgeous – the sumptuous photos resemble a coffee table book about the Greek Islands. Kiros’ chapters don’t follow a traditional order – instead, they seem to reflect her thoughts on Greek food. The first four chapters explore Traditional Foods, Fasting Foods, Easter Foods and Shared Foods. The Greek Orthodox Church still observes a very strict fast during lent – no meat or eggs at all – so the Fasting Foods chapter was a natural source of vegetarian and vegan dishes.

My First Bites: I cooked four recipes from the book: Spanakopita (Spinach Pie), Tomatokeftedes (Fried Tomato Fritters), Spanakorizo (Spinach Rice) and Yiaourti (Yogurt on the Side). All of them were delicious. I actually used Kiros’ delicious Spanakopita filling in a simple phyllo pie, rather than make the individual rolls that she suggested, and everyone at the barbecue raved about it. My daughter inhaled the Spinach Rice – and it made a really delicious lunch later in the week, warmed up with the leftover Yiaourti.

Not Quite To My Taste: While I thought the flavors were fantastic, and the ingredients spot on, I did find myself modifying the cooking directions, adapting them to my modern kitchen. Some of the directions are complex — Kiros admits this herself – but as gorgeous as the book is, there are no illustrations of technique to help the reader through the difficult parts.

Recommendation? Devour, Split, Send it Back to the Kitchen? Devour or split, definitely – but I’d lean toward devour if you have a hole in your cookbook collection where a comprehensive guide to Greek cuisine belongs. I probably wouldn’t make many of the fussier, holiday-oriented recipes, but I can see making a great party out of the Mezedes (Shared Foods) section. I’d call it a great cookbook for a confident cook.

One Great Recipe: Tessa Kiros’ Spanakorizo

Spinach Rice

2 ½ pounds spinach, rinsed and drained (I used 12 oz baby spinach, and I thought the proportions were fine)

4 tablespoons olive oil

3 ½ ounces green onions, with some of the green, chopped

3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill (I used 3 teaspoons dried)

1 cup medium grain rice

Salt

Juice of 1 lemon

Freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon fresh mint, chopped

1) Coarsely chop the spinach leaves. Heat the olive oil in a very large pot and sauté the onions until pale gold and softened. Add the dill and sauté for 30 seconds or so then stir in the rice.

2) Now add the spinach. You might feel that it won’t all fit in the pot, but fit as much as you can. Add 2 cups of hot water and press down the spinach until it begins to wilt and it’s all in. Add a good amount of salt, turn the spinach over with a wooden spoon and put the lid on. Bring to a boil then turn through again. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes. If there is still water in the bottom of the pot toward the end of this time, take the lid off and turn up the heat to let it evaporate. Remove from the heat. Sprinkle with the lemon juice and add a few grinds of pepper. Turn through gently and taste for salt. Add the mint. Cover with a clean dish cloth, put the lid back on for 10 minutes to steam. Serve hot or even at room temperature.

FTC disclosure: I did not receive a free copy of this book for review. I borrowed it from the library.

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18 comments:

  1. Love the comment about Astoria diners - they are a staple here as you know! I would love to visit Greece - right now, the closest I get is Greek restaurants!

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    1. I actually LOVE diner food -- but I would call it a very rare indulgence. Many of the recipes in this book could be cooked every night -- without having a coronary care unit on call :)

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  2. I recently borrowed this from my library, too, and you are right - it is one gorgeous cookbook!! Should probably borrow it again and actually try a few of the recipes ;-)

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    1. Some of the recipes are definitely keepers, JoAnn. But the book is so beautiful it hardly matters.

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  3. What a great way to re-live your memories of a trip to Cyprus. Spinach rice sounds really good!

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    1. I try to come home with a cookbook from vacation if it's possible -- it's so fun to bring back vacation memories with a meal!

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  4. I now realise I know nothing about Greek food. I will see if I can get this one from the library. Cheers

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    1. I don't think you will be disappointed -- I thought it covered most of the recipes I associate with Greece, although I'm sure that's just the tip of the iceberg.

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  5. I've never tried to cook Greek at home. This sounds like a great cookbook to try out!

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    1. It certainly gave me a better idea of what "everyday" cooking might look like in Greece. It's worth a try.

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  6. I should give cooking Greek food a try too. It sounds delicious. I know I could pull off the rice dish. Also a great way to bring back your vacation memories.

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    1. There were plenty of really accessible recipes, like the ones I chose. There were also lots of amazing, holiday-oriented dishes that I really think would be easiest to learn while watching someone else. But I guess that makes sense for such an ancient cuisine.

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  7. Thanks for the good review from the book! I only buy vegetarian cookbooks. But the things you made all soiund so good! I really love Greek cuisine, but I don't make it as much as I would like.

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  8. I really like this cookbook. I'm too lazy to make the more elaborate recipes, but I think they look doable.

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  9. Oh, I've read FALLING CLOUDBERRIES, and love the recipes! I don't have a Greek cookbook and have been wondering if I should branch out a bit more - I'll have to get this one from the library and try a few of the recipes and see if it's the one for me. Thanks for sharing!

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  10. MMMM I love Greek food so I am glad to know this one is so good!

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  11. I have checked this one out of the library too. It was one I used at I Heart Cooking Club when we cooked Tessa's recipes for 6 months.
    It is good, but yes, some recipes are challenging!

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  12. Thanks for the mention, Col, and I'm so pleased you felt inspired to explore this book further. I've spent many hours pouring over this book and reliving my Greek island holidays. I've made a number of dishes from the book, and found all of them to be very successful.

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I absolutely love comments. Thanks for taking the time to share! Col