Darina Allen: The flavours of Greece make the perfect summer food

Spicy beef and lamb patties, chicken avgolemono soup, and fragrant apricot ice cream — a selection of mezze to set taste buds tingling

Greek food is like sunshine on a plate.

I'm just longing to jump on a plane and spend a few days in Greece or puttering around the Aeolian Islands. Imagine those clear skies and azure blue seas and little tavernas by the seas with spanking fresh grilled fish, sizzling saganaki, a freshly chopped Greek Salad — gorgeous sunny Summer food. I've never been to Greece in winter but I also love those rich bean soups, lamb and beef stifados, and an occasional pork or wild boar and butter bean stew.

The closest I'll come to that in the near future is a trip down memory lane with Rosemary Barron's Flavours of Greece. It was originally published in 1991 but it has never gone out of print and has recently been republished by Grub Street.