Notes about Recipes in this book

• Baked white beans with pork and orange (Fassolia me hirino ke portokali)

  • twoyolks on March 12, 2019

    I used large lima beans in this and they tended to disintegrate in all the cooking. It felt like the orange flavor overpowered everything else. I also think the pork would be better if it was shredded and mixed with the beans.

  • GloriaG on May 04, 2026

    A lot of work & time but delicious. Very fragrant with oranges. Have made it twice! Soaked beans 24 hours; still needed to simmer for almost an hour. Increased pork meat to one pound which was more in balance with amount of white beans. Intricate flavors, hearty comfort food. Froze leftovers; added a little OJ when reheated which was perfect!

• Beets and green beans with skordalia (Patzaria ke ambelofassolia me skordalia)

  • Yildiz100 on August 11, 2019

    This recipe is very potato-ey and makes a ton of skordalia. I had to add a lot of water, and it still quite thick. Overall, not my fav version of skordalia.

• Black-eyed pea salad with herbs, walnuts and pomegranates (Mavromatika fassolia salata)

  • Yildiz100 on July 15, 2019

    Just fine for me. Needs onion for sharpness.

  • Avocet on January 02, 2020

    Excellent, very nice side dish on New Years Day. No purslane available, so increased arugula. p. 187

• Braised turkey with scallions, lemon and dill (Galopoula me freska kremydakia)

  • twoyolks on December 27, 2016

    I found the flavors of this to be just odd. The lemon flavor was too strong and contrasted badly with the turkey.

  • memphiseat on March 10, 2025

    This was delicious. I used a full half turkey breast as opposed to turkey parts, so it was a bit difficult to maneuver in the pot. But the scallion, lemon, and dill sauce was wonderful, especially served with orzo.

  • sometimes on October 14, 2025

    Made as written using water, chicken, a reduced cooking time as instructed, and served with rice. I’d think about cutting the wine and lemon juice a bit particularly if using water. I trimmed excess fat and skin from the chx thighs pretty aggressively as I was worried about the sauce being too fatty. It turned out in the rich end of the acceptable range for my taste but definitely needs the suggested carbs to soak it up. Relatively vague and DIY recipe, which seems typical for the book. For example it mentions reducing the sauce if it’s “too thin” with no instruction as to the proper consistency. (I just did nappe) There was also a great deal of sauce relative to the chicken. I’d think about boneless skinless thigh on a remake to get a little bit better ratio and cut down on the fat content. As with many braised chicken recipes probably some room here to stick it in the oven and end up with crispy skin as well. Overall I enjoyed this despite how all that sounds

• Braised zucchini with garlic and olive oil (Kolokythia me skordo ke ladi)

  • Yildiz100 on July 05, 2019

    I love all the ingredients, and love zucchini simply prepared, but didn't love this. Surprisingly bland, even the large amount of garlic didn't come through.

• Chicken and fennel stew with quince (Kota me krasi, maratho ke kydoni)

  • Avocet on January 02, 2020

    This recipe makes a lot of food, and even though it is very good, it doesn't rewarm very well, so plan accordingly. p. 136

• Chicken soup with egg-lemon sauce (Kotopoulo soupa, avgolemono)

  • twoyolks on January 25, 2018

    This was a really nice, chicken soup. The lemon flavor was clearly present without dominating or overpowering other flavors. I'd consider using chicken stock if I had some in the future as opposed to poaching a whole chicken.

• Chicken stuffed with tomatoes and feta (Kotopoulo gemisto me domata ke feta)

  • twoyolks on July 17, 2018

    The stuffing just tasted odd. The mix of warm feta and tomatoes was somewhat off-putting. Otherwise it was a decent roast chicken with roast potatoes.

  • jenburkholder on December 07, 2024

    We thought this was good and liked the feta/tomato stuffing.

• Collard greens with pancetta (Lahanides me paspala)

  • Avocet on June 24, 2025

    excellent made with kale.

• Feta cheese pancake (Tiganopita me feta)

  • Yildiz100 on September 09, 2021

    Very thin batter. No point holding some cheese back to sprinkle on top because it will sink in immediately anyway. Sticks to the pan terribly. All the same, this is tasty and we ate it enthusiastically.

• Greens and potatoes from Crete (Yahnera)

  • Frogcake on September 13, 2016

    This was just ok for me, nothing fabulous. I could have been more assertive with the seasoning and also should have reduced the sauce more. This lemon at the end did not give the zest I thought it would, probably diluted by too much sauce. I will try again sometime with tweaking. I might add some green tomatoes to the stew and dill in place of fennel fronds.

• Grilled whole fish with lemon, olive oil and oregano (Psari psito)

  • twoyolks on June 08, 2016

    This is just a whole grilled fish with a lemon vinaigrette. The success of this recipe comes down to the quality of the fish and the skill in grilling it. The lemon vinaigrette is a nice compliment.

• Lentil soup with pasta and mint (Fakes me pastoula ke diosmo)

  • Yildiz100 on November 05, 2018

    Surprisingly flavorful for so few ingredients. Modified the technique slightly to cook in one pan, and cook pasta separately. (Reduce liquid by about 1.5 cups)

• Lentil soup with spinach (Faki soupa me spanaki)

  • jenburkholder on January 18, 2022

    Very simple but very good. I cooked the lentils through before adding them to the soup, as I suspected that they wouldn’t cook through with the wine and tomatoes. Really cozy, lovely soup.

• Meatballs with okra (Bamies me keftedes)

  • PinchOfSalt on September 22, 2016

    This recipe is actually a combination of two found in the same book. There is a recipe for meatballs in a tomato-based sauce, and a separate recipe for okra in a different tomato-based sauce. I used the meatball recipe from the first recipe and the complete second recipe, placing the meatballs (no browning stage) directly in the baking dish with the okra, with the sauce poured over both for the final baking stage. This approach does not use the cinnamon sticks called for in the ingredients listed here on EYB, as they belong to the sauce in the first recipe. Anyway.... the result was quite tasty, even though the canned diced tomatoes that I used did not break down to the extent that one would expect of the grated tomatoes called out by the second recipe.

• Olive and mint bread (Eliopsomo me diosmo)

  • Yildiz100 on November 30, 2018

    I would make this again, but with some tweaks. The bread was a bit dry, I think because it was overcooked already at the minimum cooking time of 35 minutes. Start checking earlier next time. The onion topping was burnt to a crisp. To remedy, try leaving the onions in larger pieces, and don't saute for more than a couple of minutes before topping the bread. (The recipe says until they are golden brown, but I would not let them get any color.) I also reduced the salt a bit (didn't fill the tbs measure all the way) and it was still a bit salty. Would say 2 tsp max is enough.

• Oven-baked pork loin with olive oil, garlic, thyme and oregano (To chirino tis annas)

  • lkgrover on June 08, 2021

    Good, fragrant roast pork.

• Polenta with currants and onions (Poulenta or batzina me stafides ke kremedia)

  • sometimes on October 19, 2025

    Made as written with a coarse cornmeal. Hadn’t cooked polenta in many years and certainly not with a coarse cornmeal, or this hands off oven method. Figured it was worth a shot to serve with the suggested greens recipe from the book and some salmon and it turned out great. It seemed a little loose out of the oven and I let it go another 5 minutes which didn’t really help, but it firmed up well enough to cut into squares as it cooled to serving temp. I’d probably try a medium grind or the suggested variation next time but tasty by any standard and considering that there’s perhaps 5 minutes of work involved, a tremendous result. Stated portions are very generous, I’d call this more like 8.

• Rabbit baked in garlic, feta and lemon sauce (Kouneli me skordo ke feta)

  • Avocet on March 12, 2020

    I made this with chicken thighs, and it was excellent. Cooking time, of course was shorter than with rabbit. Served with noodles, and a side of roasted butternut squash. Easy to put together, great for a weeknight dinner. p. 143.

  • TrishaCP on July 03, 2020

    I made this with rabbit legs, and it was really delicious. The feta cooks down into a creamy, lemony sauce and the rabbit was fork tender. A definite repeat.

• Roasted potatoes with garlic, lemon and oregano (Patates riganates)

  • twoyolks on December 28, 2015

    The potatoes took longer to cook by 10 minutes than specified in the recipe. These are soft roast potatoes instead of a crispy roast potato that I would prefer. They do get a lot of flavor from the stock and lemon juice.

  • a2cook on June 10, 2016

    The best Greek lemon roasted potatoes ever! Restaurant quality! This is now my go-to recipe. The technique of adding the different marinades at different stages during roasting is ingenious. The lemon, garlic, and oregano flavors are perfectly balanced.

  • Yildiz100 on March 08, 2019

    Very delicious. I also needed more roasting time, even though I cut the potatoes somewhat smaller than indicated in the recipe.

  • TrishaCP on April 08, 2020

    These are really flavorful potatoes. As others indicate, they are softly roasted rather than crisp, but I wouldn’t expect them to crisp up when you are adding stock and lemon juice while roasting. I found the cook time to be spot on.

  • jjankows on November 06, 2021

    We loved these (despite not having any fresh oregano on hand) and will definitely make them again. Like a few of the other reviewers, we needed to keep them in the oven for about 10 minutes longer than the recipe stated.

  • cottonmama on January 18, 2022

    Absolutely delicious. I cut the lemon juice in half (or less) for my kids, but I prefer it as written. Nice with a bit of browning from sitting under the broiler briefly.

  • lorloff on August 06, 2023

    Really great potatoes. Made these for a dinner party and they were a real hit. Used dried oregano from Andros Greece and tripled the fresh greek oregano because I had tons growing in the garden. The two were perfect together and finishing in the broiler led to a perfect result. Garlic, lemon, and oregano is a brilliant trio.

• Savory cheese and mint muffins (Haloumotes)

  • Yildiz100 on July 29, 2019

    Omitted mahlep. Made half recipe which made 12 regular sized muffins. Although I made larger muffins than indicated in the recipe (mini) they were done earlier than indicated. I pulled them out at 28 minutes (recipe says 35) and they probably should have come out a bit earlier still.

• Shrimp baked in tomato sauce with feta (Garides saganaki)

  • twoyolks on April 30, 2020

    I was a little skeptical about this recipe but it worked really well. The shrimp, tomato, and feta go really well together. Despite the extended cooking time, the shrimp weren't overcooked.

  • GloriaG on May 04, 2026

    Love this dish! Have made it multiple times! Double the sauce and feta cheese so there’s enough to put on rice as a side dish. Fresh, delicious!

• Spaghetti with lobster in light tomato sauce (Astakomakaronada)

  • lkgrover on May 04, 2020

    Excellent pasta with lobster sauce; quick preparation. I used lobster tails instead of whole lobsters, which simplified the recipe (and was less expensive).

• Yellow split peas with garlic (Fava skordalia)

  • Yildiz100 on July 03, 2019

    Very good! Maybe reduce oregano slightly next time.

• Yogurt, garlic, cucumber and fennel dip (Tzatziki me maratho)

  • Yildiz100 on August 11, 2019

    Nice - the fennel is surprisingly very subtle.

• Stewed mixed greens from Corfu (Tsigarelli)

  • sometimes on October 19, 2025

    Made as written opting for the spinach/mustard green combo, tomatoes, and no rice, and served with a lemon wedge and feta alongside the suggested polenta and a piece of salmon. Recipe was straightforward but it’s a lot of greenery to prep, and the whole shebang ended up taking me most of the cook time for the polenta. I was pleased with the result which made for a delicious meal but the effort-reward ratio was a bit opposite that of the trivial to make polenta. Thankfully it does make a lot; book says 4 portions but IMO 6-8. If serving hot I’d perhaps suggest forgoing the final addition of parsley and arugula and letting diners add it to taste. Wouldn’t omit the tomato from this either, I think it adds a lot of savoriness. Probably wouldn’t make the written recipe again but a solid template when faced with a glut of greens to use