Based on Athanasia Moraitis’, my late mother in law’s, recipe, which, according to Costas was a dish his grandmother taught his mother to make. It resembles Gratin Dauphinois, or a potato frittata with olive oil and feta cheese. It is addictive and because we cannot stop eating it, we don’t make it often…
Serves 8-10
In a rich tomato sauce scented with bay leaves, this simple vegan dish is part of the traditional Greek foods we cook during Lent, hence the late, brilliant Martin Brigdale chose to photograph it at Meteora, the breathtaking site in Central Greece for my first book The Foods of Greece.
Serves 2 as main course, and 4 as side dish
I have adapted for mung beans my mother’s simple recipe for lentil soup, a winter staple in our house for as long as I can remember. She added mustard to all the pulses believing that it helped tame the occasional digestive issues.
Somehow inspired by the bean’s origin I add turmeric and my mung beans became a richer and more flavorful soup than the original lentils, I feel! This is a very filling Vegan dish.
Serves 6 to 8
The name of the dish, as well as the bits of pork that are simmered until tender and then fried in their fat are called ‘papspalas’ in the local dialect of the island.
Because I make these scrumptious scrambled eggs mostly in the winter, I roast the pale, greenhouse tomatoes to give them more flavor. In the summer, diced fresh, vine-ripened tomatoes are perfect for this, as for any other dish. You just need to cook them a bit longer in olive oil until their juices become syrupy. See also Bonnie S. Benwick’s version at the Washington Post.
Serves 2-3 as a main course, 5-6 as part of a meze spread
