From my neighbor Ela Alamani who halves her mother’s original recipe that calls for 16 egg whites…
This is a delicious festive treat! Use the egg yolks to make Pots de Crème!
For a 10-inch round cake (more…)
Baking
Galatopita, Milk Pie
The exact recipe for this wonderful and quite simple pie from Thessaly was given to me by the late Loula Baimpa, Costas’ aunt, one of the best cooks I have ever encountered. I deeply regret that I failed to record more recipes and advice from her!
I suggest you make the custard 1-2 days in advance, let it cool and refrigerate. Assemble and bake the pie a couple of hours before you start serving the meal, so that you can bring the pie to the table while still warm.
For a deep 9-inch pie dish, 8-10 servings (more…)
Kean Amygdalota (Flourless Almond Cookies)
The flourless almond cookies of Kea are traditional festive treats prepared for weddings and christenings and for other joyous family occasions. They are the perfect kosher-for-Passover sweet, as a participant in our classes pointed out, watching my neighbor Zenovia prepare amygdalota.
Most people now use blanched almonds, but I find that, although less attractive, cookies made with whole, un-skinned nuts are equally delicious, not to mention a bit less labor-intensive — if you’re starting from the harvest-field. (more…)
Saffron, Allspice and Pepper Biscuits
The week before Easter it is customary throughout Greece to bake biscuits; but these bright yellow, spicy ones from the island of Astypalaia were very different from the sweet, laden with eggs cookies I was familiar with… Read MORE
I start with the baking-powder version, a variation on the original yeasted biscuits, which produces very good results quite fast. If you want to make a more interesting yeasted one as it was the custom in the old days, use my recipe for Yogurt Bread adding the saffron diluted in the milk, as I describe below, and the other spices (allspice, nutmeg and pepper). Make the dough, omitting the stuffings, and when it has risen form into doughnut-like paximadia or smaller biscuits. Sprinkle with caraway seeds, if you like.
These biscuits are great as snacks, with coffee or drinks, and are an ideal accompaniment to soft cheeses, both sweet and creamy ones, like manouri and ricotta, and sharp ones, like Gorgonzola, Roquefort or any other blue
Makes about 56 biscuits
Amygdalota: Lemon-scented, Stovetop Flourless Almond Cookies
Traditionally these fragrant cookies are scented with orange flower water, but I prefer to use the very aromatic zest of my lemons. They can also be made with tangerines, when in season. I use lemons from my garden or organic lemons in my recipes. If you cannot find organic lemons, wash your lemons thoroughly.
See also the Flourless Kean Almond Cookies
Makes About 50 Cookies (more…)