Editorial Reviews:
Delicious and healthful, redolent of the flavors of the Mediterranean, and perfect for the way we like to eat today-it?s no wonder that Greek food is so beloved. Modern Greek offers 170 recipes for everything from meze to luscious pastry desserts. This delightful cookbook draws together ingredients from the everyday Greek kitchen-all readily available-such as cheeses and yogurt, vegetables and legumes, rice and pasta, seafoods and meats, and, of course, olives, and transforms them into easy, exciting dishes with a seasonal twist. There are savory pies stuffed with greens and herbs in autumn; slow-cooked one-pot stews for winter warm-ups; braised lamb and baby vegetables to welcome spring; and simple grills for relaxing summer evenings. Many of the recipes are traditional, while others are updated interpretations adapting traditional Greek foods and cooking techniques to contemporary kitchens. Beautifully photographed, Modern Greek reveals this much-favored cuisine in a fresh and contemporary light.
Andy Harris's Modern Greek presents 170 easy, contemporary Greek recipes for this light and delicious food. Ideally suited to readers' health- and time-conscious lifestyles, the book covers Greek cuisine from the traditional appetizers called mezes to pastry desserts, with stops for fresh salads like the tomato, feta, and red onion Horiakai Salad; and pastas, including savory Meat and Pasta Pie, and Pasta with Spinach, Parsley, and Yogurt. Vegetables are at the heart of Greek cooking and dishes including Baked Eggplant, Zucchini, and Potatoes, and a delicious stew of artichokes and peas offer a rich example of the direct Greek approach to cooking. Seafood, also basic to the Greek table, receives its due with the likes of Pan-Fried Squids with Onions and Lemon Juice, and Marinated Sardines with Onion Salad; desserts, including Sweet Cheese Pastries and an easy-to-do baklava, bring the book to a happy close. With a useful glossary, and illustrated with color photos throughout, the book offers tasty, unpretentious food that works for everyday and special-occasion dining alike. --Arthur Boehm
Customer Reviews:
Displaying 1 to 5 of 8 total reviews (Page 1 of 2):
 Worth every penny!
I bought this book for the retail price and have been happy with it ever since. It is truly worth every penny -if you like Greek food and if you like to cook. I fall into both of those categories. I have another book about Greek cooking as well that was produced by some ladies of a Greek Orthodox church, and of course there are some of the same recipes, but they do differ somewhat. I find that the author of this book has better recipes overall. They seem to be a bit updated and perhaps more healthy as well.
A lot of these traditional Greek recipes seemed intimidating at first. I always liked Greek cuisine, but felt that the recipes may be too labor intensive. I was also very afraid to work with fillo. I'm not anymore! I absolutely love his recipe for spanikopita! Using his recipe, I've feel that I've made better spanikopita than any I've tried elsewhere. It's a joy to make and completely worth the effort and cost of ingredients. I could go on and on about how much fun it is to make your own Greek dishes at home. They are quite often better than what I get in restaurants and Greek festivals!
I agree that the layout of the book is nice and it does have beautiful pictures. All of this combined makes a great book! Gorgeous and achievable
I was looking for a Greek cookbook because of the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet. I had virtually no experience of Greek food, so I wanted recipes that were accessible to both my imagination and my ordinary local shopping. I was attracted to this book by the beautiful images as others have mentioned, but also because the recipes themselves are interesting, achievable and largely healthy. And they are delicious! Great Greek Homecooking!
I picked up this Greek cookbook mostly because of the wonderful photographs. A novice cook like myself feels much more confident if they can see what the dish is supposed to look like when cooked. Now I have to say that on top of making these recipes for the first time, I also can not cook/bake with gluten so I've had to substitute some of the ingredients with gluten-free versions...but all of my recipes from this book turned out amazing! I've made the skordalia, fried zucchini, Cod w/Leek rice, Fried Cheese, Spinach Pie (Used Thai rice paper to replace Filo - not as good as real filo but got a new GF Filo recipe to try next time), Greek country salad, prawns with feta & tomatoes(OUT OF THIS WORLD!), Spinach rice, Chicken rice with lemon egg sauce, Peas, baked chicken with yoghurt on top, and a gluten free version of the semolina pudding (Replaced most of the flour with a mix of hazelnut flour and some rice flour.) Absolutely everything I have made so far has turned out tasty! I adore this cookbook and plan continue cooking meals from it for my family often. Inspiring in every way!
First, let me just mention that the photography alone is going to inspire you to make a bee-line to your produce aisle or farmer's market, fish market and then to your kitchen. That said, the stunning photos, as I remind myself, are of the very dishes this genius author has put into his cookbook. It is clear that this book is filled with a dedicated, thoughtful collection of recipes, all of which are worthy of trying and tweaking to your heart's content. I can attest to the truth of that (mmmm!).
If you want help thinking in new, healthy, Mediterranean ways for your diet, then this book is going to send you well on your way. Personally, I can't stand following recipes to the "tee" very often; with this book I find no shortage inspiration, recalling vividly my days in Chicago when I was privileged to experience authentic Greek cuisine. Do yourself a favor. Treat yourself to this book whether or not you're a vegetarian, omnivore or vege-wondarian or whatever other label you want to call yourself based on your diet preference. Life is finite so get over the live forever concept. Enjoy your food however you need to and this book will give you plenty to go on; I can say that it sent me on a journey that made me want to visit Greece yet it embraces the life of westerners, all without being condescending to the possibility of our having limited resources (or presumtuous that we don't have any limits, unlike some books I've read). This book is a new favorite and I highly recommend it.
By the way, the basic ingredients for the kitchen from the perspective of the author is in the back of the book, unlike many other books I have come across. Contemporary Greek At Its Best
Sophisticated flavors. Easy to follow instructions. Greek food requires a time commitment to prepare but well worth the effort. More Customer Reviews:
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