Spinach

Spinach carries two of the most recognisable dishes in the whole repertoire, spanakopita and spanakorizo, and in both of them it is paired with dill and spring onion rather than with garlic, which is the pairing most other cuisines reach for. That combination of spinach, dill and a soft, oniony background is close to a signature of Greek vegetable cooking, and it turns up again in pies made with wild greens.

Water is the problem with spinach in every one of these dishes. A kilo of fresh leaves collapses to a couple of handfuls once wilted, and whatever water is left in it will leak into a pie and soften the bottom sheets of phyllo. Wilting the spinach first, then squeezing it hard in a colander or a clean tea towel, is what keeps a spanakopita crisp underneath.

Frozen leaf spinach is a genuinely acceptable substitute in cooked dishes and many Greek households use it without apology, provided it is thawed completely and squeezed dry in the same way. Fresh bunched spinach, the kind sold with roots and soil still attached, needs more washing than it looks like: grit sits in the crown where the stems meet, and one gritty mouthful ruins an otherwise good pie.