Grecian urge: real Greek cooking

The true essence of Greek cooking comes from its components – traditional seasonal ingredients of the highest quality:

• Olive oil: Greek extra virgin olive oil has a great mellow, fruity, yet grassy character – Karyatis and Iliada are particularly good and own-label supermarket brands offer outstanding value compared with more fashionable Italian oils
• Honey: Greek honey is especially fine and fragrant, and Odysea make some of the best
• Yoghurt: Real, pungent Greek yoghurt is strained to drain away the whey, which results in a notably thick texture
• Cheese: traditional Greek cheeses add distinction to many dishes – genuine feta is matured in wooden barrels and has memorable depth of flavour. Graveiera is a firm cheese that resembles gruyere, while kasseri is mild, smooth and creamy. A personal favourite is ewe’s milk kefalotiri made in Crete and in Epirus in the north-west reaches of Greece. Similar to pecorino, it has a good, salty flavour and lovely texture. It is particularly good, cut into narrow fingers, rolled in seasoned flour and pan-fried in butter and oil until crisp and golden on the outside, with the cheese melting inside. The fingers of cheese should be rested in the refrigerator prior to frying. They are excellent eaten with proper tzatziki.
• Tzatziki: Kyriakou’s mother is still a huge influence on his cooking, and she suggests serving iced tzatziki in the heat of the summer. It is made, simply, of diced seeded cucumber, crushed garlic, lemon juice and fresh mint mixed with thick Greek yoghurt.