Whether you’re looking for a gorgeous and simple seafood dish, fresh salads and dips, or a hearty meal for sharing well into the summer evenings, the flavours and freshness of Greece are a perfect fit for warmer weather.
From fresh feta-topped salads to flaky spanakopita to mouth-watering souvlaki, we’ve rounded up the best cookbooks featuring Greek and Mediterranean dishes.
The Athenian
You may know The Athenian for its award-winning gyros that brought a Greek twist to London’s street food scene. But in this cookbook, founder and CEO Tim Vasilakis covers everything from the fundamentals (like yoghurt dip and hand-made pita) to show-stopping meze, roasts and pastries, all inspired by his upbringing in Athens and summers spent on the Aegean island of Chios.
Rick Stein’s Long Weekends
In this whistle-stop tour of a cookbook, head straight to the Greek coastal town of Thessaloniki for sweet filo pastries, shallots stuffed with lamb, cinnamon and pine nuts, baked feta, fava bean hummus, squid souvlaki, and more.
Taverna
This gorgeous book by food writer Georgina Hayden is packed with Greek Cypriot recipes, featuring staple ingredients like orzo and halloumi, classic dishes like moussaka and spanakopita, and an array of inventive-yet-simple desserts including pink peppercorn, fennel and rose ice cream.
Rick Stein: From Venice to Istanbul
Accompanying his BBC Two series of the same name, Venice to Istanbul celebrates the flavours of the Eastern Mediterranean – and Greece features heavily. From honey-drizzled halloumi to the classic meat stew stifado to decadent seafood showstoppers to walnut cake, Rick Stein’s selection of dishes has plenty of options for a full Greek feast, from meze to dessert.
Table Manners
Table Manners, from the mother-and-daughter duo behind the hit podcast, is not solely about Greek food, but it does feature a substantial collection of recipes inspired by their summers spent on the Greek island of Skopelos. Expect baked eggs, filo parcels of spicy lamb, meatballs with ouzo, and plenty of fresh, vibrant salads.
Rick Stein’s Mediterranean Escapes
This collection of recipes plucked straight from the Med is packed with Greek dishes, including the classics like like lamb souvlaki, spanakopita, a deeply rich and perfectly spiced beef and macaroni pie, and rice pudding, Corfu-style.