Kalliopi's KitchenYIAYIA'S GREEK FOOD RECIPES

Region

Asia Minor and Pontic Recipes

Brought to Greece by refugees after 1922 and now fully naturalised. Soutzoukakia, peinirli, and a taste for cumin and hot pepper that the rest of Greece did not have.

Map of the Greek world with Asia Minor and Pontic Recipes highlighted

Greek food is regional to a degree that surprises people who know it only through taverna menus. Mountain villages cook nothing like island ports. Areas under Venetian rule for four hundred years ended up with a completely different pantry from those under Ottoman rule. Refugee populations arriving in the 1920s brought spicing that had never existed on the mainland.

Dishes on this page include Baklavas, Bougatsa, Dolmades, Soutzoukakia, Peinirli and Politiki salata. Where a recipe belongs clearly to one place I have said so, and where a dish is claimed by several regions at once I have said that too.

Regional labels in Greek cooking are honest approximations rather than strict boundaries. Recipes travelled with people, and most dishes have a version in every part of the country.

Every recipe on Kalliopi's Kitchen carries the dish's Greek name and a pronunciation, its region where that is meaningful, ingredient quantities in both metric and imperial, and an honest note on what commonly goes wrong. Nutrition figures are calculated estimates and are labelled as such.

Asia Minor and Pontic Recipes

13 recipes on the site so far.

Diamond-cut baklava pieces glossy with honey syrup, studded with walnuts and a clove Greek DessertsGreek Baklava Μπακλαβάς · 1h 45m · serves 24 Squares of bougatsa custard pastry dusted with icing sugar and cinnamon Greek Breakfast RecipesBougatsa Μπουγάτσα · 1h 10m · serves 8 Rolled stuffed vine leaves arranged in a dish with lemon wedges and olive oil Greek Meze and AppetisersDolmades Ντολμάδες · 1h 50m · serves 8 Greek soutzoukakia oval meatballs in a rich tomato sauce Greek Main CoursesSoutzoukakia Σουτζουκάκια · 1h 10m · serves 6 A Pontic Greek peinirli boat-shaped cheese bread fresh from the oven Greek Breads and PiesPeinirli Πεϊνιρλί · 2h · serves 4 Greek SaladsPolitiki Salata Πολίτικη σαλάτα · 20m · serves 6 Greek Main CoursesAnginares a la Polita Αγκινάρες αλά πολίτα · 1h 20m · serves 4 Pontic Greek manti dumplings served under garlic yogurt sauce Greek Main CoursesManti Pontika Μαντί ποντιακό · 1h 50m · serves 6 Fried aubergine slices topped with garlic yogurt and paprika butter Greek Main CoursesMelitzanes se Saltsa Giaourtiou Μελιτζάνες σε σάλτσα γιαουρτιού · 55m · serves 4 Sliced pastourma cured beef coated in red fenugreek and paprika paste Greek Meze and AppetisersPastourma Παστουρμάς · 40m · serves 10 Greek Side DishesBulgur Pilafi Πιλάφι με πλιγούρι · 30m · serves 4 Strings of Greek soutzouki walnut and grape must candy hanging to set Greek DessertsSoutzouki Σουτζούκι · 2h · serves 10 Greek Main CoursesKeskek Κεσκέκ · 4h 30m · serves 8

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