The Foods of the Greek Islands: Cooking and Culture at the Crossroads of the Mediterranean by Aglaia Kremezi

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Notes about this book

  • Eat Your Books

    2000 Gourmand World Cookbook Award Finalist

Notes about Recipes in this book

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

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

  • 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.

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

    • Avocet on January 02, 2020

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

    • Yildiz100 on July 15, 2019

      Just fine for me. Needs onion for sharpness.

  • 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

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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)

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

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

    • lkgrover on June 08, 2021

      Good, fragrant roast pork.

  • 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).

  • 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.

  • 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.

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  • ISBN 10 0395982111
  • ISBN 13 9780395982112
  • Linked ISBNs
  • Published Dec 19 2000
  • Format Hardcover
  • Page Count 312
  • Language English
  • Countries United States
  • Publisher Houghton Mifflin
  • Imprint Houghton Mifflin (Trade)

Publishers Text

Aglaia Kremezi, a frequent contributor to Gourmet and an international authority on Greek food, spent the past eight years collecting the fresh, uncomplicated recipes of the local women, as well as of the fishermen, bakers and farmers. Like all Mediterranean food, these dishes are light and healthful, simple but never plain, and make extensive use of seasonal produce, fresh herbs and fish. Passed from generation to generation by word of mouth, most have never before been written down. All translate easily to the American home kitchen: Tomato Patties from Santorini; Spaghetti with Lobster from Kithira; Braised Lamb with Artichokes from Chios; Greens and Pork Stew from Crete; Spinach, Leek and Fennel Pie from Skopelos; Rolled Baklava from Kos.

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