Easter

Tourkakia is one of the traditional delicacies we first ate in Sparta. Fragrant offal from goat or lamb wrapped in caul fat and grill over charcoal. 

Here are some of my Easter Recipes and a few ideas of what to do with your leftovers. I have also included some cakes for those celebrating.

Pirozhki or piroshki or Piroski (as we call them in Greece, with stress on the last syllable), are made from yeast dough and filled with a variety of fillings and are great for snacks, appetizers, lunch or dinner.

This braided Savory cheese tsoureki is made with tsoureki dough and a filling made with cheese, eggs and mint.

Traditional Lambriatika Koulourakia (also called Paschalina Koulourakia), are Greek Easter butter cookies, which are traditionally made only during Easter and have a distinct flavour as baking ammonia is used as the leavening agent.

Vassilopita is a traditional Greek cake or bread with a coin inside, named after St. Basil, which is made for New Year’s Day.

I hope you all had wonderful holidays. We spent some days in Sparta where we had our traditional lamb on the spit and kokoretsi. On Monday we visited the nearby village of Agios Georgios Voutianoi, where St. George’s day is celebrated with horse races. The weather was mostly sunny and enjoyed our visit there. On …

Tsoureki, plural Tsourekia, (pronounced TSOU-rhe-kee), is a slightly sweet Greek bread, similar to brioche, which is braided and made throughout the year. It is also part of our Easter and Christmas traditions.

“Christos Anesti!” This is the wish exchanged by all orthodox to spread the word that Christ has risen. “Alithos Anesti!” The reply comes from the others to confirm that it is true that Christ has risen. It’s still very early in the morning and the family is still asleep.  I Just wanted to make a …

Kollyva, is a sweet dish prepared with boiled wheat berries, nuts, raisins, pomegranate and spices, which is taken to church to commemorate our deceased during funerals or memorials.