One of the best presents I got for Christmas last year was Culinaria Greece. Thanks Sue and Brian and Callum and Tom! I have been savouring it for months and gradually reading it through section by section. This lavishly illustrated book brings the sunshine, the olive oil, the light, the retsina, the scent of jasmine and so much more right into my house. And, of course, there are the recipes and descriptions of Greek food in all its regional variety, from Epiros to the Cyclades, from Corfu to Cyprus.
Culinaria Greece is divided up geographically: Athens, Attica and Central Greece, Peloponnese, Ionian Islands, Epirus, Thessaly, Sporades, Chalkidiki, Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Thrace, North Aegean Islands, the Cyclades, Dodecanese, Crete and Cyprus. In each of the sections, there is stuff about the area, its food and wine specialties,and recipes that relate to the area and to the food and wine featured in the section. Want to know how retsina is made? Try the Attica section. And, of course, where would you go for bougatsa but to Epiros? That section brought back vivid memories of the main street of Iannina and eating bougatsa just pulled from the oven. Memories of smell and sight mingled with the taste of the bougatsa.
I have many books on Greek food but this one is a real storehouse of information and photographs about Greek food and cooking! It is just lovely to dip into and to savour.
