Gemista / Γεμιστά — Wild Rice Stuffed Peppers

Gemista is a staple dish in many a Greek household. I make them pretty regularly and rarely deviate from the simple rice/tomato/herb stuffing such as the one I used here. I’ve also made them with a mushroom filling and you can of course make them with any variation of stuffing your heart (or stomach rather) desires. When tomatoes are in season, of course, I love filling big juicy beefsteaks alongside plump red and green bell peppers.

Soutzoukakia (Greek Meatballs) with Potatoes, Bacon and Peas

Christmas is just days away … and I am exhausted. And there are still gifts to wrap, more baking to finish up and of course some holiday cooking to partake in. So, I’m going to keep this short and sweet: I made a slight variation of the commonplace Greek dish, soutzoukakia (basically meatballs in a tomato sauce) and am here to share it with all of you.

Greek Pumpkin Pie / Pita (Kολοκυθόπιτα)

During our visit to Maskers Orchards in upstate New York a couple of weeks ago, along with the apples we got to pick ourselves we picked up some small pumpkins from the farm’s market … and paid just $3 for 4 pumpkins weighing about 3 to 4 pounds each. After decorating the dining room with these orange beauties for Halloween, I decided to start using them in the kitchen.

Rustic Lamb with Greens Beans, New Potatoes, Carrots and Tomato

Early this past summer, I received a package in the mail that came all the way from Hania, Crete. It was sent to me by Maria, of Organically Cooked, who had posted a short quiz on her site and then “raffled” a Cretan cookbook as a reward for participating. The book is Myrsini Lambraki’s Cretan Cuisine for Everyone and I’ve enjoyed leafing through its pages and reading about the hearty, rustic, often simple dishes it has to offer in addition to its insights on the ever healthy Cretan diet. I’ve prepared a few things to date one of which is

Dandelion Greens with Roasted Parsnip & Turnip Skordalia

Horta, or wild greens, are a staple in the Greek diet. There are tons of varieties all of which are most often boiled and served drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice. But most Greeks also enjoy eating these greens with a dollop of pungent skordalia, that ever-so garlicky Greek dip made with potatoes or bread.

Corn and Green Bean Salad with a Mint Yogurt Dressing

When we bought our first house in Astoria with it came a small garden that, come every spring, would become overgrown with dense stems of bright green mint. After our move  just over two years ago, I made sure to transplant some of that vibrant mint to our new garden so that for the latter half of spring, all of summer and most of fall we always have fresh mint on hand.