In fact, whatever you use, it should be as dry as possible before it goes anywhere near the pastry, so you’ll need to reduce the water content. With this part cookbook and part travelogue, you’ll get a sense of the true spirit of the island and the healthy way of life. How To Roast a Lamb is not only a cookbook but also a memoir of the chef making it much more than just a cookbook. The mount athos monastery lentil soup was quite bland and surely the 500g of lentils required for the recipe served more than double the servings mentioned in the book. Being half Greek myself, I thought it would be a good idea to present this book to my mother, who lived on Rhodes for 10 years, to see what she thought.

In 1981, Greece joined the EC (now the EU); it became the 12th member of the European Economic and Monetary Union in 2001. Cabbage should be sliced with the sharpest possible iron blade, then washed, drained, and chopped with plenty of coriander and rue.

Cracking this book open without first perusing the Glossary with its recipe notes at the end of the book might seem daunting at first, so start there.

To her credit Alexiadou is not as guilty of this omission as others have been, and one should remember the book’s subtitle: The Cookbook. Cyprus is a classic example: on the one hand, you’ve got refugees making perilous journeys on choppy waters and small boats, trying to get to the island and then potentially being put in a camp. That said, I’d recommend you have a go at homemade rustic filo one day; it’s not much like the other stuff, but it is rather good. America’s Test Kitchen has a reputation of being extremely thorough and reliable in their recipe writing. Traditionally, the filling is enriched with eggs, though Petretzikis uses cream cheese to give it a richer consistency, Tess Mallos uses ricotta, and Sofia Souli, whose Greek Cookery And Wines comes highly recommended by Jack Monroe, sticks in some evaporated milk and a good glug of oil as well, while Alexiadou uses ordinary milk and melted butter.Using your hands, massage this into the chicken until it is evenly coated, then cover and place in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 3 hours. This is not a good Greek cookbook for those who just want to get the recipes without learning about the culture and lifestyle. We loved the strong empahsis on healthy eating within its pages and it doesn’t mean sacrificing taste.