Ruth’s parents immigrated to Australia from Greece seeking a better life. A Greek at heart, Ruth desired to preserve her heritage by sharing her family’s stories and regional specialties of cuisine. Come along this delicious journey through the Peloponnese, Cephalonia, Elefsina and Northern Greece and enjoy Ruth’s beautiful photographs of her beloved Greece.
A well-stocked pantry ensures the reader is acquainted with Greek produce and the nutritional benefits of Mediterranean eating. Her recipe chapters are divided into four parts: ‘Whetting the appetite’, ‘the saucepan and the pan’, ‘baked foods’ and ‘sweet endings'; easy to follow techniques and foods which have been tried and tested.
With over 80 recipes (half of which are gluten-free) Ruth has cooked, styled and captured a modern yet nostalgic depiction of her life. Family linens, pictures and serving pieces decorate the pages of this book. She has used the abundance of olive oil and spices to achieve authenticity in both main meals and desserts. From a plethora of authentic recipes inclusive of pastry making, pies, feta flat breads, pickled octopus, rabbit stew, yoghurt making, orange and pork sausages, fennel seed bread, vegetarian moussaka, stuffed tomatoes, okra with lamb, lima beans, cumin meat patties, squid with orzo this book will have you salivating. Not to mention the array of desserts such as pumpkin pie, orange apricot semolina pudding, Easter bread, ouzo cookies, olive oil cake with orange blossom syrup, prune stuffed honey soaked biscuits, mouth-watering sesame salted pistachio rose water baklava, honey donuts, milk pie, spoon sweets and Greek coffee!
Segments of narrative are intertwined with recipes, all from a Greek heart!
About the Author
I was born in Australia to Greek parents. Passionate about traditional Greek cuisine, I set off to learn extensively about my heritage, travelling countless times to Greece and revisiting my origins. My strong ethnic heritage and love of nourishing food facilitated my switch from fashion designing to cooking, photography, and writing. With the addition of these skills I was inspired to write, photograph and document stories around the family table. Greek food, from a Greek heart!