Nistisima: The secret to delicious Mediterranean vegan food, the Sunday Times bestseller and voted OFM Best Cookbook

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I forgot to ask her about instructions, so I mixed the liquid ingredients first and then added the remaining ingredients. Writing a vegan book as a carnivore has also been an interesting experience. It’s made me want to focus more on plant based meals, take time over them and celebrate them in the same way. There is no preaching or judgement in the book – however you come to it is good. Whether you want more of a repertoire when fasting, are vegan and looking for new recipes, or like me, and eat everything but want to up your veg intake – there is something for everyone. I hope you like it.

Georgina Hayden was at a family wedding on the Greek island of Lefkada when she heard that Nistisima had been voted Best New Cookbook at this year’s OFM Awards. To say she was surprised would be an understatement, despite the enthusiastic reception for the book when it was published in March. “When I pitched the idea, I thought it shouldn’t work on so many levels,” she says. “Orthodox Christianity. Religion. A cookbook on fasting [nistisima means “fasting food” in Greek]. Would people get it? It is quite niche, but I am chuffed that they let me write it.” Add vegetable oil (or very light olive oil) and knead into crumbly dough to combine completely. This will form a ball of dough. When ready to bake, heat your oven to 200C fan/gas mark 7. Brush a 22cm springform cake tin with a little oil. Lay out a sheet of filo, longest side nearest to you, and brush with oil, then top with another sheet. If the leafs are very big cut them into pieces about 4 x 4 inches and remove any hard core. Add a heaped spoonful of minced meat (the amount of the filling will depend on the size of the leaf). The Christmas fasting period starts on the 15th November and ends on the 24th December. From the 15th November till the 17th December,fish is allowed to be consumed but not on Wednesdays and Fridays, which in any case all Wednesdays and Fridays of the year are fasting days.I have a story for you – bear with me. Before I left university many many moons ago (15 years?) I wrote to Delicious Magazine to see if I could do work experience there. I didn’t know what I wanted to do after uni, but all I knew was that I was obsessed with food, cooking and art. I was studying Fine Art and assumed I’d end up in design. However a 2 week placement on the magazine led me to meeting food stylists, photographers and being on my first ever food shoot. I had my eureka moment and life changed forever. vegan recipes from the Mediterranean, Middle East, and Eastern Europe that have stood the test of time, from award-winning food writer Georgina Hayden. Place neatly in the pot (I use the same one the cabbage was boiled) starting from the edge to the centre. Second and third layers may be placed on top, then cover with the plate (which must be exactly the size of the pan). This is done so that when the lahanodolmades are boiling they will not open. Place the fennel, sesame, coriander, cumin and nigella seeds in the pan and toast for just a couple of minutes until you can really smell them. In a bowl put the ground meat, the rice, the onion, parsley, herbs, salt and pepper, as well as half the oil and mix well.

The word Nistisima refers to the food eaten during periods of lent and fasting. These are predominantlyvegan/ plant based foods. And this is how people of Orthodox faith eat for many days and weeks during the year. When you hear the word ‘fast’ you may assume it refers to the act of ‘not eating’. However in this sense, you can eat what you like but it mustn’tcontain animal products (the exception here being shellfish. As shellfish doesn’t bleed, so religiously this is considered ok. However I chose to keep the book vegan). When baking them, I had a misfortune which in the end wasn’t that bad but I was upset at the time. Just a little while after putting the tin in the oven we had power failure. They were nice and brown outside but inside they were still soft. So instead of baking them the second time for ten minutes, I cut them with the knife and spread them in the tin and they baked only with the warmth of the oven.Pinch of golfball size pieces of dough and roll into circles. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and press down just slightly so balls of dough don’t roll off the pan! Lahanodolmades me avgolemono is a rustic Fall / Winter Greek dish with cabbage leaves stuffed with ground meat and rice in an egg-lemon sauce. Place a grill pan on a high heat. Peel and slice the squash into 1cm slices, discarding any seeds. Place in a large bowl and drizzle with While the pie is baking, make the finishing oil. Crush the garlic, in its skin, with the side of your knife and place in a small pan with four tablespoons of olive oil. Gently fry over a low heat, until it starts smelling wonderful but it doesn’t burn – about 4 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and immediately stir in the remaining half-tablespoon of harissa. Leave to cool. The purpose of fasting is to cleanse the body as well as the spirit in preparation for accepting the Resurrection at Easter, which is the most sacred of all observances in the Greek Orthodox faith.

As I started penning down my own experiences and recipes, I want to delve further. So I reached out to priests, monks, religious friends, peers… The stories and messages I have received have been so inspiring. I started in Greece and Cyprus and looked at other countries with a big Orthodox following such as Serbia, Syria, Ukraine, Lebanon and more. The introduction goes into the ‘whys and hows’ of Orthodox fasting but it is factual, interesting and contextual. The recipes are for everyone.

Try this recipe from the book

Although, when graduating I acquired many GCEs O level degrees and later on a Proficiency Degree in English, I don’t know about my English skills, as so many years have passed since then and although I’ve been using English in all my jobs, I am not familiar with the culinary terms. This one of my go-to nistisimo recipes if I have people round for a meal – you can get it ready in advance, it looks impressive and it tastes amazing. It is loosely based on the Greek-Cypriot fasting classic kolokotes – little pumpkin, bulgur and raisin pies – that my yiayia Martha makes. Roasting the pumpkin first is not traditional, my yiayia just uses finely chopped raw pumpkin, but I think it brings a more intense flavour to the dish, which I balance with harissa oil and dill. If you’re a fan of squash but not its long cooking time then this is the recipe for you, as cutting it thinly enough dramatically cuts this down. And if you use a grill pan, or a barbecue, you’ll get a delicious, sweet-charred flavour that is complemented so well with the earthy nuttiness of dukkah. I really do recommend using homemade dukkah, it’s a total game changer. I hope that I and can still explain the procedure and that you will understand my instructions. Now that I am blogging in English I hope to learn more culinary terms and practice my English 🙂 I apologize if in some of the links you do not find some of my Cypriot “nistisimes syntages”. This means that they have been included in my cookbook and had to be removed.