Greekish: Everyday Recipes with Greek Roots

“When I was growing up my mum would often make Krambosoupa, which translates as cabbage soup,” writes Georgina Hayden in the introduction to her recipe for hard cabbage, lemon and rice soup. “I've never been able to find another Greek or Cypriot recipe similar to hers, which makes it all the more special. Her version is simple and clean, with piercing lines of flavor from copious lemon juice and good extra virgin olive oil. I've tweaked it slightly here by charring the cabbage for us to give it a little added savory depth and adding dill for freshness for flat leaf parsley if you prefer. However, when I am feeling particularly nostalgic and in need of comfort, I'll revert back to my mum's classic method. Or I'll just ask her to make it for me.”

Georgina Hayden, and author of such cookbooks as Nistisima and Taverna, grew up above her grandparents' Greek Cypriot taverna in London, and while she loves the foods of her youth, modern life calls for changes.

In other words, Hayden, an award-winning writer food writer and stylist who lives in North London, isn’t afraid to take classics and adapt them so they’re quick and easy to make without sacrificing the flavors of their origins. It’s a process she describes as Greek-ish, and it’s designed to meet her Greek-ish lifestyle of a hectic career and busy family.

“Take my simplified pastitsio, I'm always trying to find ways to make traditional but admittedly laborious dishes more quickly and my revision of the classic layered pasta bake is a triumph,” she writes in the introduction to her latest cookbook. “Why use four pans when one will do? Hasselback Imam Baylidi is an aubergine dish that I inherited from my yiayia [a Greek term typically referring to a grandmother or grandmother like figure]—I've given it a fashionable name, but its roots stretch back to the Ottoman Empire. Can I get my kids to eat almost anything by making it spanakopita-ish. Spoiler: yes.”

“I want a seat at Georgie's table,” writes celebrity chef and cookbook author Jamie Oliver about Hayden’s cookbooks, and it’s easy to see why.

Told with a sense of humor, the book is a pleasure to read. Hayden is a founding member of what she calls the Spanakopita Appreciate Society and describes herself as attempting to spanakopita-fying many dishes with the addition of feta cheese and spinach including stuffed jacket potatoes (or what we would call twice-baked potatoes in the U.S.), fritters, and risottos.

Hayden loves adapting recipes and she also encourages others to do so as well. Like heat? Add Aleppo pepper. Have a cheese obsession, go on, add as much as you like to your jacket potatoes. And don’t forget lemon zest and juice can seriously tart up a dish.

Mediterranean ingredients like olive oil, herbs, halloumi, tahini, paprika, yogurt, and honey play a big part in her kitchen repertoire. Her recipe collection contains not only those passed down through the generations by family members but also ones she’s collected in her travels. She turns these into Greek-ish by subtracting ingredients and cooking steps.

She also adds twists to what she makes—crafting intriguing and tasty dishes such as Halloumi Fried Chicken, Fried and Pickled Peppers, Triple-Fennel Pork Belly, and Figs and Dates with Anari and Rosemary. Note: Anari is a soft, mild cheese from Cyprus made from goat or sheep's milk and is similar to the Greek mizithra or mizithra cheeses or ricotta, though the latter should be strained before use.

In many ways, Greek-ish is not just a cooking style but a lifestyle as well.