My Greek Table with Diane Kochilas

In this poignant episode of loss, survival and renewal, Diane visits the daughter of Holocaust survivors for a tour of Thessaloniki’s Jewish past. Hella cooks up a few of her family’s Sephardic recipes, including Huevos Haminados (slowly boiled spiced eggs) and Merenza Assada (grilled eggplant with meatballs in tomato sauce). Diane visits a restaurant for a taste of another Sephardic dish, Keftikas de Nogada (meatballs with walnut sauce). In the kitchen she makes Chicken with Prunes. Guests: Hella Matalon, Konstantinos Markou

So much Greek food is naturally vegan that most people don’t even realize how much of their diet is plant-based. That’s a truism about life around the Greek table. In this episode, I explore the fast-growing vegan trends in Athens, honing in on the transformation of meat-based Greek classics to plant-based alternatives! I welcome the country’s best-known vegan chef, Nikos Gaitanos, into my Athens kitchen, where he shares some of his vegan secrets. The results are all natural and delightful: Vegan Moussaka, Vegan Galaktoboureko and even a vegan version – totally natural – of the Greek egg-lemon comfort dish Yiouvarlakia, traditionally a Rice-Meatball Soup. Hint, hint: mushrooms and avocados are involved. As for the Greek wines we pair with these great dishes, a Greek red, particularly a Xinomavro from Naoussa, goes well with the Vegan Moussaka; and a rosé, specifically a blend of Moscofilero and Agiorghitiko, pairs perfectly with the vegan giouvarlakia.

Athens is a city in the midst of great and exciting change, and Diane just moved downtown from the leafy suburbs. In this episode, she discovers the soul of her new area, Kerameikos, its layers of history, architecture, cultural life and more in the heart of central Athens. Her guide is Nikos Vatopoulos, a journalist and the city’s most renowned urban chronicler. As a thank you, she cooks up a delicious lunch of Spiced Roasted Chicken with Toasted Orzo Pilaf, Kale Caesar with Greek Yogurt and a Crispy Phyllo Ice Cream Sundae with Honey, Nuts and Halva. They share a glass or two of Amyndeon Rosé wine, made from the Xinomavro grape. Amyndeon, the coldest Greek grape growing and wine-making region, is the only Protected Designation of Origin area in Greece for the production of rosés.

Diane and Carolina have a special bond, both cooks and upholders of Greek traditions, both deeply interested in every aspect of Greek cuisine, and, of course, good friends. Carolina also happens to be the culinary producer of My Greek Table. They meet to explore the street food scene all over Athens, venturing into a few neighborhoods beyond the immediate center and tasting their way through vegan treats at a local café, a range of hand-held pies, overflowing creative Greek sandwiches, and gelato -- yes, gelato in the Greek capital – that marks the bubbling international energy infused into so much casual fare in this great food city. Inspired, Diane creates some homemade street food of her own: a Gyro-Stuffed Baked Bread Loaf; a Healthy Smoothie Bowl with Greek Yogurt; and a Warm Green Bean Salad with Chopped Onion and Hazelnuts.

No other city evokes the rich and complex history of Greek cuisine better than Thessaloniki, recently named a UNESCO Food City and Greece’s de facto culinary capital. Diane learns the secrets of bougatsa, an airy, creamy phyllo pastry, with a master baker, and boards a mussel boat just off the coast to harvest one of the city’s favorite seafood delicacies. From sweet shops to hot peppers to unsurpassed meze plates, Diane savors and shares the flavors of Thessaloniki. In her kitchen, she cooks up Mussel Pilaf and Feta-Stuffed Roasted Peppers. Mussel Pilaf Feta-stuffed Roasted Peppers Guests: Filippos Bantis Stergios Darmouslis

Diane explores the urbane, bourgeois flavors of Athens of another era in this tasty trip down memory lane, when she visits the home and kitchen of 90-year-old Irini Pournara and her daughter Margarita, a journalist for the city’s most respected daily paper. Irini makes an Athenian classic and the only dish to which this city has lent its name: Athinaiki Mayioneza (poached fish and vegetables with homemade mayonnaise), and Diane cooks up a sophisticated artichoke dish called A la Polita and an unusual Meatloaf Wrapped in Grape Leaves. Guests: Irini Pournara, Margarita Pournara

Nestled in the dense Pindus mountains along a crystalline lake in the remote northwestern corner of Greece, Ioannina is a crossroads of the meat-and-cheese centric cooking of the mountains as well as the culinary gifts of the lake. It’s also home to the most renowned baklava in Greece. Diane focuses on this quaint old city’s culinary and cultural lore, and the outcome is a delicious confluence of earth and water: from a unique local version of baklava to hearty Clay-Baked Lamb and a Feta-Cheese Skillet Pie to a truly rare Clay-Tile-Baked Eel, the flavors of Ioannina will pique your curiosity and appetite for this undiscovered corner of the country. Guest: Artemis Kolionasiou

With Athens as a backdrop, Diane explores the foods that unite us, meaning the foods so many of us have in common regardless of where we are from. Can soba noodles be grecophied? Yes, with a little tahini, shrimp and olive oil! Can Greek filling of a classic spanakopita be repurposed as a filling for an American baked potato? Indeed! Can the idea of a chicken gyro morph into a Greek-style fajita? We’re guessing you know the answer! In this playful, informative episode, Diane ventures beyond tradition into the global world, embracing new ingredients, inspired by Athens’ vibrant dining scene, and christening a whole bevy of new recipes Greek!

Densely forested mountains, stone-cobbled villages, sheep and emerald greenery are the stuff of Epirus’s lush, mountainous landscape. Diane visits the mountain enclave of a traditional shepherding family and makes a feta cheese pie with layers of crisp homemade pastry that is baked the way it’s been done for centuries: over embers. The result is a taste of heaven on earth! Back in her kitchen, Diane makes two of her own savory pies: a Pleated, Buttery Feta Cheese Pie and a delicious Chicken-Phyllo Pie, both inspired by this region’s deepest traditions.

Continuity, innovation and superfoods! Greece, with its rich flora and unique array of natural edible bounty, is a cornucopia of age-old natural superfoods. In this episode, Diane invites a well-known dietician into her kitchen and together they prepare a deliciously healthy meal that is brimming with Greek superfoods. On the menu: a Spiced Carrot Soup Topped Three Ways, a Black-Eyed Pea Salad with Tangerines, Figs and Nuts and an ancient dessert of wheat kernels, Greek honey, nuts, and dried fruits, Pomegranate, EVOO and Herbcalled Varvara. Guest: Manos Dimitroulis

What to cook when friends come over? This is the quandary Diane encounters in this episode as she prepares a meal for a handful of her closest friends. We catch a glimpse of the thought process that goes into menu planning, how to create a menu that alleviates stress and time away from guests, and how to prepare stunning, easy recipes that are healthy, delicious and impressive. On the menu tonight: Char-Broiled Cabbage “Steaks” with Pomegranate Seeds and Lemon Zest, Whole Baked Grouper with Leeks, and a Greek Yogurt Panna Cotta.

Diane and Chef Lefteris Lazarou, go back over 30 years, often dubbed the father of modern Greek cuisine and a famed seafood master, Lefteris takes Diane to the fish market and sheds light on everything from how to tell freshness and fish gender to the best way to cook squid! Back in his restaurant situated on the quaint Mikrolimano quay of Piraeus, he prepares a Pan-Seared Weever and a Whole Squid with Spanakopita Puree. Diane, inspired by Lefteris’ artistry, creates seafood-stuffed cabbage rolls back in her own kitchen. Guest: Lefteris Lazarou

Diane’s artist daughter, Kyveli, has invited a few gallerists and young artists for dinner in her studio in Exarcheia, a fascinating Athens neighborhood, and mama cooks up the perfect meal to inspire their insightful conversation. It’s all about the art hub that is Athens. On the menu: Braised Ouzo-Orange Octopus, Zucchini-Herb Phyllo Pie, and a Giant Bean Greek Salad. Guests: Hugo Wheeler, Nadia Gerazouni, Sofia Stevi, Claudio Coltorti, Chloe Royer, Kyveli Zoi