Notes about Recipes in this book

• Sumac rose spice

  • bernalgirl on July 04, 2024

    Absolutely loved very on the scallop recipe in this cookbook and I can’t wait to try it on salmon.

• Sumac onions

  • bernalgirl on August 03, 2024

    I like this recipe even better than yo Ottolenghi version

  • rmardel on July 08, 2024

    Basic sumac onion recipe is simple to make and yields excellent results. We doubled the sumac and added additional allspice as well, to suit our taste. I think this would also be variable, depending on the specific nature of the particular sweet onion used.

• Turmeric pickled vegetables

  • bernalgirl on August 03, 2024

    An easy and delicious quick pickle. I strained the brine and pickled carrots and radishes. Worth making again.

  • rmardel on July 04, 2024

    Excellent pickles with a lovely warmth added by the turmeric. I used an assortment of summer veggies: carrot, red bell pepper and green beans for my first batch and they worked well. The green beans were not as successful but I think this would be excellent with yellow wax beans, and with cauliflower in season.

• Tzatziki

  • bernalgirl on July 08, 2024

    Possibly my favorite version to date, I love the combination of yogurt and labneh, the subtlety of the garlic confit (no recipe, something I keep on hand) and the slight heat and earthiness of the white pepper.

  • pattyatbryce on July 22, 2024

    Great version of a classic. Definite go-to recipe.

• Lemon-honey dressing (Ladolemono)

  • bernalgirl on July 08, 2024

    A very simple dressing, I added Mediterranean oregano, Urfa chile, and a good pinch of ground bay leaves and liked it much better.

  • pattyatbryce on July 21, 2024

    Very simple. Tasted great with the grilled whole fish recipe in this book.

• Spiced tomato sauce

  • bernalgirl on August 15, 2024

    I eliminated the cinnamon and boosted it a bit with Burlap & Barrel tomato powder and could see making this again any time I wanted to go in a Greek direction, this is a silky, tomato-forward basic sauce, even reducing the final addition of olive oil by half.

  • pattyatbryce on July 14, 2024

    I really enjoyed this sauce and used it for the Tomato Saganaki in the same book.

  • hlange on May 15, 2024

    Nice flavor. We would have preferred to have had the seeds & skins of the fresh tomatoes removed for sauce. Next time I'd just use all canned.

• Lemony greens salad (Horta salata)

  • bernalgirl on July 08, 2024

    I used kale, rainbow chard, beet and turnip greens, increasing the recipe by 1/3, and doubled the Kalamata olives, believing you should have one with every bite. I do not regret this choice. I would cook the greens longer next time for a softer, silkier texture. I made the yellow split pea spread the day before and already had the dressing so this came together very easily.

• Fattoush

  • bernalgirl on July 03, 2024

    A very nice rendition of one of my favorite salads. I skipped the pomegranate seeds as they’re out of season here but added hearts of palm and avocado. The dressing offers zip to the salad, and is not too sweet.

• Watermelon and feta salad (Karpouzi me feta)

  • bernalgirl on July 08, 2024

    This may be my favorite take on a watermelon and feta salad, I expect to eat this all summer long and may bring it to a 4th of July barbecue. I will decrease the honey slightly and double the Kalamata olives to increase the chance of one in every bite.

• Greek mixed lettuce salad (Maroulosalata)

  • bernalgirl on July 04, 2024

    Nothing groundbreaking here, just a nice herby green salad with a sprightly vinaigrette that goes with anything. I topped mine with feta and appreciated the briny addition.

• Roasted beet salad (Patzarosalata)

  • bernalgirl on July 04, 2024

    This salad is really special. I pressure-cooked my beets and used supremed navel oranges. I also added the za’atar into the whipped lebneh. I layered the platter with lebneh, arugula, and beets and oranges tossed in the vinaigrette, then topped with flaky salt. None of the steps are that time-consuming and the finished dish is both gorgeous and delicious.

• Yellow split pea spread (Fava Santorini)

  • bernalgirl on July 08, 2024

    This is silky, savory and gorgeous. Mine wasn’t as bright yellow as the picture and I could stand more saffron flavor so I’d increase this next time. It was wonderful with the Horta salata and I plan to try the grilled octopus recipe as well.

• Roasted red pepper and feta spread (Htipiti)

  • bernalgirl on August 10, 2024

    I added a jot more red wine vinegar and thyme, and left it all chunky — this was a mistake in terms of mouthfeel. We really enjoyed this although my husband thought it would be even better with minced anchovy added.

• White bean stew (Piyaz)

  • bernalgirl on July 24, 2024

    While I quibble with the bean cooking method, this dish is unusual for me and surprisingly delicious. I balked at cooking the beans with just onion and potato, and chose to add salt, kombu, a pinch of chile flakes, and olive oil. I don’t know what the potato does but I enjoyed eating it with a bowl of beans for lunch. I used the largest bean I had on hand, Rancho Gordo snow caps, which resulted in a very brown but thoroughly delicious dish. I love the depth of the sundried tomatoes offset by the ladolemono vinaigrette. Also, I doubled the kale and halved the fresh dill at the end.

  • RThoma on May 08, 2024

    Delicious bean stew! The beans' skins remained a bit hard and chewy, even after the beans themselves were fully cooked, but overall, a very flavorful recipe.

• Cypriot-style potatoes with coriander and wine (Patates antinahtes)

  • bernalgirl on July 09, 2024

    These potatoes are completely addictive!Although I found the fragrance of wine off-putting at first, the flavor and texture are both peak comfort food. These would benefit from a light garnish of chives or parsley as they are rather rich.

  • bernalgirl on July 09, 2024

    These potatoes are completely addictive!Although I found the fragrance of wine off-putting at first, the flavor and texture are both peak comfort food. These would benefit from a light garnish of chives or parsley as they are rather rich.

  • rmardel on July 09, 2024

    These were wonderful! My grandson cooked these, and although they got a little but over-crunchy in places they were still delicious. The delicacy of the wine and honey added a subtle aroma and rounded out the flavors of the coriander seeds and cilantro in an addictive way.

  • pattyatbryce on July 18, 2024

    These were good and it was fun to try a new way to cook potatoes. We liked these, but weren't in love with them.

• Smoky mushroom kapnista

  • bernalgirl on August 10, 2024

    Serve with whipped labneh

  • pattyatbryce on July 14, 2024

    Really delicious! Would make a great vegetarian main dish. We used a Weber grill as the smoker and put the mushrooms on foil to avoid ruining a good pan.

• Buttery shrimp with dill (Garides me ánitho)

  • bernalgirl on July 08, 2024

    Such a simple preparation, the mustard and lemon blends beautifully with slowly cooked shrimp and shallots, the sauce is lush even while reducing the butter. I used chives in place of dill to suit our tastes.

  • pattyatbryce on July 11, 2024

    So easy to make and so much flavor to be had. Good bread is a must for the wonderful sauce. My store only had smaller shrimp, so I removed them from the pan once cooked and proceeded with finishing the sauce to prevent rubbery protein. Worked perfectly.

• Seared scallops with tzatziki

  • bernalgirl on July 08, 2024

    So simple, I’ll be hard-pressed to make another scallop recipe in summer. I served the scallops and tzatziki separately, unsure how my family would take to the combination, and it turned out we all loved the balance of flavors and textures the cool sauce provided.

• Chicken youvetsi

  • bernalgirl on August 15, 2024

    This was very meh for us. Partly my fault for leaning into oregano and marjoram and away from the warm spices, but the liquid ratio felt off. If I were to make again I would add half again the amount of stock, simmer till the orzo is not quite al dente, then add 1/2 the amount of tomato sauce. As written it felt like it was drowning in tomato sauce, and was all-around more bland that our usual comfort food.

• Slow-roasted pastirma-style rib eyes

  • bernalgirl on July 24, 2024

    This is a special occasion dish for a family that eats very little beef. With 3 lbs of ribeye and many tablespoons of spices, it is also a spendy dish. But the pastirma rub and slow roasting produces the most luscious result. I wanted a simpler base than the accompanying greens recipe so I tossed arugula with sumac onions in the ladolemono vinaigrette and would do so again. I’d also try this with tri-tip or skirt steak.

• Okra and tomato stew (Bamya)

  • michalow on May 25, 2024

    I made this with frozen okra, canned chickpeas, and canned tomatoes, and for what was effectively a pantry meal, it was really delicious.. It feels like a lot of steps, but once you've made the tomato sauce (I skipped the pureeing and left this chunky), fried the chickpeas, and cooked up the okra, it's mostly a matter of stirring things together. I'm undecided whether it's worth frying the chickpeas--might skip this next time and just let them simmer in the stew.

• Hommus

  • michalow on June 01, 2024

    This technique definitely yields a distinctly different hummus compared to others I've made using the very same ingredients. I was surprised to find I did not love it (despite having enjoyed plenty of hummus at both Zaytinya and Lebanese Taverna, whose recipe Andrés says this is based on). The texture is lovely--smooth and airy. But it has an odd sweetness to it, despite the ample amount of lemon juice. I think this must come from the concentrated bean-cooking water. I mitigated this by serving the hummus topped with a swirl of pomegranate molasses, and this worked well. But I'll go back to the Jerusalem or Zahav-style hummus for my next batch.

• Cardamom apricots

  • michalow on June 04, 2024

    Now that I've tried these, I think I will need to have them in my fridge at all times. So far, I've found them to be delicious with both brie and waffles. My only modification was to reduce the turmeric from 1.5 tsp to 1 tsp, and I think they have just enough of a subtle bitter note, so I'll stick with this in the future. Note that the turmeric makes these apricots and their syrup prone to staining.

• Lebanese seven spice

  • rmardel on July 04, 2024

    I made this on a whim and haven't yet made the recipes in the book that call for this spice. The aroma from the spice blend is intoxicating. I used it to dust carrots before roasting and the sweetness combined with the heat of the pepper and the warm savoriness of the coriander worked very well. Seems similar to a blend I've used called baharat, but sweeter. This will, in all likelihood, become a staple.

• Cucumber melon soup

  • rmardel on July 08, 2024

    I was pleasantly surprised with this soup. Even with a less than ripe melon, the soup was bright, cooling and refreshing. Although I think it would be fabulous with a ripe melon, it is also worth remembering as a way to use up honeydew melons that do not live up to their promise.

• Circassian chicken salad (Çerkez tavugu)

  • rmardel on July 08, 2024

    This was not a hit for me. Although the dressing is lighter and silkier than a mayonnaise dressing, it was too bready for my taste. The pickled golden raisins are fabulous though, and I want to throw them on everything.

• Grilled asparagus with smoked labneh

  • pattyatbryce on August 26, 2024

    The smoked labneh and preserved lemon took a standard grilled asparagus over the top! We used applewood chips because the store was out of cherry.

• Tomato saganaki

  • pattyatbryce on July 14, 2024

    A labor of love with sub-recipes, but worth the effort. Wonderful flavor. Spiced Tomato Sauce was not optional. Pernod used instead of ouzo and Manchego used for Kefalograviera. Otherwise made as written.

• Meatballs in spiced tomato sauce (Soutzoukakia)

  • pattyatbryce on July 18, 2024

    I had leftover spiced sauce from making the Tomato Saginaki and thought this would be a good use. I agree with hlange that the meatballs were just so-so. I'd make the saginaki again with the extra sauce next time.

  • hlange on May 16, 2024

    The meatballs needed something more. They were just ground beef and a couple of seasonings. After cooking their texture was tough.

• Grilled whole fish

  • pattyatbryce on July 21, 2024

    Our first try at a whole fish. A 1.5 lb trout was perfect for 2 of us. An excellent preparation and super easy. We both want to make again soon.

• Grilled lamb chops

  • pattyatbryce on July 22, 2024

    We cooked as a full rack to not overcook the meat. The sides were all great, but I chose to skip the harissa chili crisp and just only put a little harissa on the side.

• Yellow squash skordalia

  • pattyatbryce on July 21, 2024

    Made with zucchini based on the quality of veg at the store. We liked, but didn't love. The garlic was overpowering.

• Garlic confit

  • pattyatbryce on July 22, 2024

    I like the recipe in Gjelina better. It also stores with the olive oil protecting the garlic, which lasts a long time in the fridge. The garlic was great in this one, but I like the oven method better and the longer storage.

• Creamy caviar spread (Taramosalata)

  • pattyatbryce on August 02, 2024

    You have to like caviar to eat this, but it has great flavor and the texture is better than any I've had in a restaurant. I subbed salmon roe based on availability, and really enjoyed it. My husband never wants to order it in a restaurant, so I made it when he was on travel. Happy Wife!

• Whipped labneh

  • pattyatbryce on July 14, 2024

    Very easy and great with the Smoky Mushrooms from the same book.

• Chicken soup avgolemono

  • Shelmar on April 05, 2024

    Had this dish in DC, hope recipe is as good as restaurant version!

  • MissKoo on June 10, 2024

    Excellent soup, with a few caveats. Made this for a solo dinner. The combination of ingredients and layers of flavor they provide are lovely as is the visual presentation. It is not a soup to tackle if you have limited time or are in a hurry. Each element -- the chicken, the kale, the sautéed vegetables, the orzo, the lemon soup -- is prepared separately. When cooking the carrot-onion-celery mixture under cover I found that the small amount of water added evaporated more quickly than anticipated and veggies charred slightly. So I would keep a close eye on those veg and also would salt them when preparing. The recipe does not call for that but think it essential. Also the lemon broth/soup needed some flavor enhancement. I added more salt, and most of the lemon zest and dill. I wanted to boost the flavor profile and knew that I would have leftovers for 2-3 more servings -- easier in that instance to have the herbs and zest incorporated with the soup. Would definitely make again.

• Carrot fritters with pistachio sauce (Havuç köftesi)

  • MissKoo on April 07, 2024

    This was my favorite menu item during many years living in the DC area and eating at Zaytinya. The recipe isn't difficult but it is time consuming. Made the pistachio sauce a few days in advance and kept in the refrigerator. Wonderful flavors but may have roasted the pistachios just a bit too long and would opt for shorter roasting time and checking carefully after six minutes or so. The fritters are ambrosial -- very light and with subtle but complex flavors. They come together quickly in a food processor once the ingredients are all prepped. Used a scoop (approximately 2 tablespoons) and scale to make uniformly sized fritters and kept in the refrigerator overnight before deep fat frying. Brought these to a cocktail group gathering and received rave reviews. Would definitely make again and definitely recommend making the sauce and fritter batter a day or two ahead of time. A bit fussy but worth the effort.

• Pomona

  • jenburkholder on April 14, 2024

    Refreshing, light, and (as promised in the book) appealing to even an anise-hater. Perfect summer drink.

• Butternut hommus

  • hlange on May 09, 2024

    Nice but not really memorable. I needed to cover the squash while it was roasting in order for it to cook through in the allotted time which the recipe didn't specify.

• Greek butter cookies (Koulourakia)

  • hlange on May 21, 2024

    These were awful. I tossed them and I've never had to do that before.

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