William’s Kouneli Stifado (Rabbit Stew) is a family recipe; a recipe emanating from Ioannina, Greece; a recipe that both his mother and aunt prepare and one that is William’s all-time favourite dish. 

To prepare this recipe, we used some beautiful ingredients from the Grecian Purveyor, William’s online store. These carefully sourced ingredients elevate this dish to a whole other level of deliciousness.

You see the Grecian Purveryor only selects and offers the finest products from small independent producers and authentic food artisans in Greece; producers who use natural cultivation and harvesting processes to produce their exceptional products. The purity and authenticity of these products truly raise the eating experience of this dish.

For this recipe we used Vassilakis Estate Superior Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Crete), Mountain Treasures Organic Greek Oregano (Zagori) and Salt Odyssey Natural Pure Fleur De Sel Sea Salt (Messolonghi)– all available on the website now! Get your ingredients at https://grecianpurveyor.com and then cook along with us!

KO’s Yiouvarlakia (Meatball Soup with Rice) is one of my mum’s recipes. This is a recipe she learned from her mother and one that I took with me, when Eugene and I moved to Seattle, almost 30 years ago. It is a wholesome and hearty soup that nourished and comforted us while we lived there and has nourished and nurtured our children since our return to Australia 7 years later.

It’s a soup that I would make when we stayed in accommodation that had a kitchen, when we travelled, and I would feel satisfied that my children had at least one nutritious and satiating meal that day.

It’s a soup that my beautiful thia Vanggio would make, and have ready for us to eat, when we arrived after 30 hours of journeying from Melbourne, Australia, to Kastraki, Greece… In fact, my aunt would also make a large batch of the meatballs and freeze them uncooked. I would then take out as many as I needed and turn them into soup, for an easy dinner for my children, when they were tired after a long day touring around the Meteora.

Just writing this makes me see how this soup for me, for my family, expresses connection, continuity and commitment to life and each other… and the fact that real food isn’t just food, it’s so much more…