In honor of Mother’s Day, our mother invited my sisters and myself to a Greek cooking workshop in Bossi’s kitchen.

The beautiful Bossi Mardor has been hosting food workshops of all styles for 15 years in her kitchen in Kfar Shmaryahu.

We arrived in the morning to her inviting, rural home for a Greek cooking workshop, where we joined five other participants. We entered a kitchen full of spices, cookbooks, fragrances, a warm atmosphere and sat around a large dining table in an informal atmosphere with pleasant Greek music in the background. We put on Bossi’s red aprons and immediately got into the mood.

Bossi, who humorously calls herself “Hellenized Polish woman,” is charming, full of knowledge of cooking, and lots of fun.

The connection to the other women at the table was immediate and during the conversation the ouzo flowed into the glasses, and the fun began. Helen, one of her workshop participants with Greek roots, told us that she had found a notebook from her aunt Vira, who has all the recipes for authentic Greek dishes and even taught us a few words in Greek.

Bossi prepares gourmet, rustic meals using the finest ingredients. She explained to us that Greek cooking requires a little more work than other kitchens, and that the real Greeks do not make shortcuts and prepare everything themselves. Therefore, the Stefadu, which requires 6 hours of cooking, began to cook from yesterday, as well as the dough of the Greek bread that was already left to rise.

During cooking, Bushi teaches all kinds of methods and gives great tips, such as how to get rid of a phobia of using yeast, or how to keep a pot dish from drying? (Moisten a piece of parchment paper and place under the lid during cooking).

The workshop enriches the culinary knowledge and yet it creates an intimate experience of women cooking together in the kitchen, laughing and enjoying and tasting while sharing knowledge and experience with each other, and there were quite a few moments that reminded me of my grandmother’s house. The workshops are all designed, of course, for men as well.

So what did we prepare at Bossi’s?

Tzatziki – which was delicate and perfect.

Kalamata olive bread – because one must have a yummy base for the Tzatziki dish.

“Shoshka” Pepper stuffed with feta – an impressive dish with a very bright color and simple to prepare.

Shrimp Flambé with ouzo – the same ouzo Plomari we drank during the meal was also used for cooking this dish.

Spanakopita – spinach and cheese pastry – the dish that is so identified with Greece in its refined and non-greasy version – with filo leaves.

Santorini tomato patties – a wonderful dish that surprised us all, some of us could not restrain ourselves and stole a few patties from the frying pan. The recipe was learned by Bossi in a kitchen in Mykonos.

Stifado – a traditional casserole dish, comparable to the Hungarian Goulash, and the French Beef Bourguignon.

And for dessert – strawberries with yogurt and honey with a touch of fragrant orange flower water.

The workshops in Bushy’s kitchen vary according to the season, her muse, and the demand. Sometimes she hosts other chefs, as well, and it is worthwhile to keep up with what is happening on her site.

For your pleasure, the recipe for “Shoshka” peppers stuffed with feta 

6 red elongated peppers (Shoshka)

250 grams of fine feta cheese

A bit of yoghurt to soften the mix

A drizzle of olive oil

1 fresh hot green pepper, finely chopped

Salt and pepper

Dried oregano, to garnish

Preparation:

Roast the peppers in the oven and then peel them.

Make a slit length-wise in each pepper.

Warm the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Mix the feta with yogurt, olive oil and spices

Fill the pepper with the feta mix

Drizzle olive oil and dried oregano

Bake for 20 minutes until the cheese is warm.

eat with a lot of joy in the heart and a good bottle of ouzo.

Bon appetite!