Premieres Saturdays, Dec. 31, 2022 - Saturday, Jan. 28 at 1 p.m. on KPBS TV / On demand now with the PBS Video app
In Season 4 of the award-winning show MY GREEK TABLE WITH DIANE KOCHILAS, host and co-creator Diane Kochilas guides viewers on a robust and inviting exploration of the Greek landscape, including its people, food, history, traditions, and culture. Diane explores the rich world of Greek wines, informing viewers of the country's ancient vinicultural traditions and introducing them to the flavors and varieties that are uniquely Greek.
Connect with Diane Kochilas on Facebook / Instagram / YouTube
EPISODE GUIDE:
Episode 1: “Diane Discovers Her New Athens 'hood” premieres Saturday, Dec. 31, 2022 at 1 p.m. on KPBS TV - On this episode, Diane discovers the history of her historic neighborhood in the heart of central Athens with the city's most renowned urban chronicler, and cooks up a delicious Spiced Roasted Chicken with Toasted Orzo Pilaf, Kale Caesar with Greek yogurt and a Crispy Phyllo Ice Cream Sundae with Honey, Nuts and Halva.
Episode 2: “The Accidental Vegan” premieres Saturday, Jan. 7 at 1 p.m. on KPBS TV - So much Greek food is naturally vegan. That's a truism about life around the Greek table. Diane explores the fast-growing vegan trends in Athens, honing in on the transformation of Greek classics like moussaka rendered vegan! She invites the country's best-known vegan chef into her kitchen. The results are delightful: Vegan Moussaka, Vegan Galaktoboureko, even a Vegan Yiouvarlakia, a Rice-Meatball Soup. Hint: mushrooms and avocados are involved. Guest: Nikos Gaitanos.
Episode 3: “Street Food In Athens” premieres Saturday, January 14 at 1 p.m. on KPBS TV - 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.
Episode 4: “Thessaloniki: Greece’s De Facto Food City” premieres Saturday, Jan. 21 at 1 p.m. on KPBS TV - 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 explores the many influences that have shaped the flavors of beautiful Thessaloniki, especially the confluence of so many different Greeks settled there from the Anatolian and Balkan environs. Along the way she learns (and shares) 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. Back in her kitchen she cooks up a couple, too: Feta-Stuffed Sweet Red Peppers and Mussel Pilaf.
Episode 5: “Old World Charms Of The Athenian Table” premieres Saturday, Jan. 28 at 1 p.m. on KPBS TV - Diane explores the urbane, bourgeois flavors of an Athens of another era in this tasty trip down memory lane. She visits the home and kitchen of 90-year-old Eirini Pournara and her daughter Margarita, a journalist for the city’s most respected daily paper. Eirini 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 both a sophisticated artichoke dish called A la Polita and an unusual Meatloaf Wrapped in Grape Leaves.
Schedule To Be Announced:
Episode 6 “The Sephardic Cooking Of Thessaloniki” - In this poignant episode of loss, survival and revival, 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). Then Diane visits a local restaurant for a demo and taste of yet another old Jewish dish, Keftikas de Nogada (meatballs with walnut sauce) that is part of this fascinating city’s cultural and culinary heritage.
Episode 7 “Northern Delights – Ioannina” - Nestled in the dense Pindus mountains along a crystalline lake in the remote northwestern corner of Greece, Ioannina is a crossroads of two main traditions: the meat-and-cheese centric cooking of the mountains as well as the culinary gifts of the lake. But 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 Thin Feta-Cheese Pancake-like pie to a truly rare Clay-Tile-Baked Eel, the flavors of Ioannina and its environs will leave you pining for second helpings and will pique your curiosity about this undiscovered corner of the country. Along the way, you’ll even glimpse a shimmer of the past in the art of silversmithing that was once the commercial lifeblood of the town.
Episode 8 “The Foods That Unite Us” - With Athens as a backdrop, in this episode Diane explores the foods that unite us, meaning the foods so many of us have in common regardless of where we are from, as well as the foods that have insinuated themselves into Greek cuisine, embraced by a whole new generation of cosmopolitan, global Greek cooks. Can soba noodles be Grecophied? Oh yes, with a little tahini, shrimp and olive oil! Can the undeniably Greek filling of a classic spanakopita be repurposed as a filling for that all-American classic, a 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!
Episode 9: “Pie Heaven” - Densely forested mountains, stone-cobbled villages, sheep and emerald greenery are the stuff of Epirus’ lush, mountainous landscape. In this episode, 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 in the ground, covered by a metal dome called a gastra. The result is a taste of heaven on earth! But her journey into Epirus doesn’t stop there. Savory pies are the thing here, one of the most important foods, especially among itinerant shepherd’s communities. We sample a Greens and Cornmeal Pie, yet another old classic, and 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.
Episode 10: “Everyday Superfoods” - 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 Three Ways; a Black-Eyed Pea Salad with Dried Figs, Pomegranate, EVOO and Herbs; and an ancient dessert of wheat kernels, Greek honey, nuts, and dried fruits called Varvara.
Episode 11: “My Greek Dinner Party” - 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 Fish with Leeks; and a Greek Yogurt Panna Cotta.
Episode 12: “The Father Of Modern Greek Cooking” - Diane and Chef Lefteris Lazarou go back a long way, and his path mirrors the road Greek cooking has traveled these past three decades. Diane meets up with Greece’s most famous chef and a famed seafood master, often dubbed the father of modern Greek cuisine, whom she first met when she moved to Athens more than 30 years ago. Lefteris takes her 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 Grouper and a Whole Squid with Spanakopita Puree. Diane, inspired by Lefteris’ artistry, creates seafood-stuffed cabbage rolls back in her own kitchen.
Episode 13: “Flavors Of The Athenian Art Scene” - Diane’s 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.
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Presented by Maryland Public Television. Presented by Public Television.
