Just Start with Greek Cooking
Greek cooking is one of the oldest culinary traditions in the world, rooted in the same ingredients that sustained people across the Mediterranean for thousands of years: olive oil, honey, wheat, wine, fish, lamb, and an abundance of vegetables and herbs. What makes it so rewarding to learn at home is its directness. A Greek cook does not hide behind heavy sauces or complicated techniques. The food relies on quality ingredients, generous seasoning with oregano, lemon, and garlic, and a few time-tested methods like slow roasting, grilling, and layering flavors in a baking dish. Once you understand the logic of a Greek kitchen, you can feed a table full of people with confidence.
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My Greek Table
Diane Kochilas · 400 pages · 2018 · Easy
Themes: greek cuisine, mediterranean diet, home cooking, beginner-friendly
A vibrant, modern Greek cookbook by Diane Kochilas, the foremost authority on Greek cuisine in the English-speaking world. Born out of her PBS television series of the same name, “My Greek Table” brings together over 100 recipes that span the full range of Greek home cooking, from simple mezedes and salads to hearty mains and traditional sweets.
Why Start Here
Kochilas writes with the warmth of someone who has cooked Greek food her entire life and the clarity of someone who has spent decades teaching it to non-Greek audiences. Her recipes are genuinely approachable. If you have never made spanakopita, her version walks you through every fold. If you want a weeknight dinner that feels special, her baked chicken with tomatoes and feta comes together in under an hour. The book does not assume you have a Greek pantry or years of experience. It meets you where you are.
What sets this book apart from other Greek cookbooks is its balance between tradition and modernity. Kochilas grew up between New York and her family’s native island of Ikaria, one of the world’s Blue Zones known for longevity. That dual perspective means you get deeply traditional dishes alongside inventive updates like baklava oatmeal and kale salads with feta. The recipes are organized into clear chapters covering salads, mezedes, vegetables, soups, grains, savory pies, meat, fish, and desserts, making it easy to build a complete Greek meal or just add one dish to your rotation.
The photography by Vasilis Stenos is gorgeous and documentary in style, capturing the landscapes and people of Greece alongside the food. Kochilas also weaves in stories about the regions and traditions behind each recipe, so you understand why certain dishes exist and what they mean to the people who cook them.
What to Expect
A beautifully produced 400-page hardcover that works both as an inspiring read and a practical kitchen reference. The recipes lean toward the healthy end of Greek cooking, reflecting the Mediterranean diet and Kochilas’s Ikarian roots. Ingredient lists are manageable, and most items are available at a well-stocked grocery store, though you will want good olive oil, dried oregano, feta cheese, and phyllo dough on hand. The difficulty level is genuinely accessible: most recipes suit a confident beginner, with a few more involved projects like handmade pies for when you want a weekend challenge. Kochilas includes helpful notes on technique and substitutions throughout.
Alternatives
Vefa Alexiadou · 704 pages · 2017 · Moderate
The definitive encyclopedia of Greek cuisine, published by Phaidon and written by Vefa Alexiadou, the most celebrated food authority in Greece. This massive 704-page volume contains hundreds of recipes covering every corner of Greece and Cyprus, from everyday home cooking to festive dishes prepared for religious holidays and family celebrations.
Why Start Here
Alexiadou spent decades documenting Greek cooking traditions, traveling to remote villages and islands to collect recipes that might otherwise have been lost. The result is a book of extraordinary scope. Where most Greek cookbooks focus on the greatest hits (moussaka, souvlaki, baklava), this one goes deep into regional specialties you will not find elsewhere: the spiced meat pies of Epirus, the seafood stews of the Aegean islands, the cheese-laden pastries of Crete, the slow-braised dishes of the Peloponnese. It is the kind of reference you turn to when you want to understand not just how to cook Greek food but what Greek cooking actually encompasses.
The recipes are written with precision and care. Alexiadou assumes basic kitchen competence but explains techniques clearly enough that an intermediate cook can follow along. The book includes information about regional ingredients, the historical and religious significance of certain dishes, and seasonal cooking traditions, all illustrated with 230 color photographs.
What to Expect
A substantial, encyclopedic reference that is better suited to someone who already enjoys cooking and wants to go deeper into Greek cuisine. At 704 pages, this is not a book you cook through from front to back. Instead, it works as a library you dip into when you want to explore a particular region, ingredient, or occasion. Some recipes call for ingredients that may require a trip to a specialty store or a Greek grocery, though Alexiadou generally offers suggestions for substitutions. The writing is informative and authoritative, reflecting a lifetime of culinary research. If “My Greek Table” is the welcoming introduction, this is the graduate-level reference you keep for years.