Yiayia: Time-perfected Recipes from Greece’s Grandmothers – Anastasia Miari
Yiayia: Time-perfected Recipes from Greece’s Grandmothers showcases regional Greek cookery and features sharing and feasting dishes, mainly vegetarian, from the kitchens of grandmothers across Greece.

Think Stuffed Courgettes from Lesvos, a Cycladic Fourtalia, Corfiot spicy Bourdeto Stew, Ionian pasta dishes, Cretan Dakos salad, Watermelon Cake from Milos.Yiayia maps out the diverse dishes of Greece – far beyond the most commonly-known Moussaka, Greek Salad, and Tzatziki dip – through the fascinating recipes and stories of its Yiayiades.

Follow Anastasia’s journey through Greece as each yiayia welcomes you into their home – cook with them in their kitchen, learn their time-perfected techniques and read the memories that season this book. With stunning location photography and heartwarming interviews, you can discover the true food of Greece and the characterful grandmothers behind beaded curtains in white-washed homes.

Review
Anastasia Miari and her photographer friend Marco Arguello have created such a special book celebrating Greek cookery, but also the amazing contribution of the Greek Grandmothers – the YiaYia as in the title.

Starting with an introduction to the Greek Matriarch and the regions of Greece  Anastasia continues to describe how she would like readers to use the book.

‘ YiaYia is a distillation of my heritage and everything I hold dear about Greece. More than just a cookbook, it holds the ingredients to a way of life that makes me truly happy. There is an emphasis on slowing down to cook, and taking time to make a recipe so that the process is a meditative act that can bring just as much joy as the eating. There is a focus. too. on eating with the seasons as Yiayia does, taking care to nourish ourselves while also being respectful to the land we’re privileged to tread.’

The delicious recipes are divided into Sharing, Comforting, Feasting and Treating, each category containing the most mouthwatering recipes, with step-by-step instructions and stunning photography of the completed dishes.

What we also love are the introductions to the yiayias themselves and their stories and the evocative photographs giving us an insight into their lives.

Whether you love Greek food, have visited, or want to visit Greece and its islands this joyous and uplifting book will transport you to a wonderful place.

One of our favourite books of 2023! Highly Recommended!