One thing I’ve learned in my quest to understand Greek food is that the recipe is secondary to the process of cooking, the ingredients, and the experience of eating it. Does it sound like I’m talking nonsense? Let me explain.

Cooking Together - Leaving a Legacy

I grew up learning how to cook from my mom and yiayia (grandmother in Greek). My grandmother especially cooked mainly from feel. The only recipes she really ever used were for things like the Easter rolls we’d cook once a year. Otherwise, she would cook up delicious Greek cuisine sans instructions. It drove my mother crazy.

My mother wanted a record of my grandmother’s recipes so she spent time writing down what my grandmother was doing as they’d cook together. Yiayia has passed on now and those recipes are our legacy. Cooking with both of them is a real pleasure.

Even though my mother wanted to preserve those recipes, it wasn’t really the exactness of the recipe that mattered. It was about celebrating my grandmother’s life and sharing family together. Now that my grandmother is gone, these foods will remind my family of those times.

Fresh Ingredients in Greek Food

Another important element of Greek cooking is the fact that Greek chefs value fresh ingredients. They go to the store every day so they can get the highest quality and tastiest fruits and vegetables possible. For example, stuffed tomatoes and peppers are at their best in the summer when the tomatoes and peppers are fresh out of the garden. It’s all about making food taste as good as you can.

In other words, it isn’t about finding the recipe and buying the ingredients. It’s about looking to see what’s fresh and looks delicious and building your meals around that.

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