Offering a taste of Athens at the dinner table

FRAMINGHAM -- Penelope Kotidis doesn't speak much English, but she makes herself understood. "Watch, watch," she urges a visitor who has come to observe Greek specialties in the bright, airy home she shares with her son, Petros ; daughter-in-law, Nina Balodimos ; and two grandchildren for half the year (when she isn't living in Athens). As Kotidis comes to a crucial step in the recipe, she wants to be sure to demonstrate exactly how it's done.

On this brisk day, Kotidis is preparing stuffed vegetables with bright, colorful bell peppers and tomatoes. Through Balodimos, who is acting as translator, Kotidis apologizes for the winter tomatoes -- nothing like what you'd get in summer, and nothing like what you'd get in Greece. "Greek tomatoes are amazing," says Balodimos. "The meat is better here, but the vegetables are better there, in season."

Kotidis, 75, learned to cook from her mother. But the cuisine of her hometown of Kozani in northern Greece, isn't what most Americans think of as typically Greek. "It was more meat, beef and pork mostly, in sauce," says Kotidis. "We were not near the ocean, so fish was hard to find." The family had no refrigerator, but it was cold in winter, so they stored food outdoors. One regional specialty was a dish made with lamb spleen, which Balodimos once attempted to re-create. "Do you know how hard it is to find lamb spleen around here?" she asks, laughing. The heavy dishes of her childhood, says Kotidis, are rarely prepared nowadays; even at home, they're considered too rich and time-consuming.

On Greek Easter (this year celebrated on Sunday, the same day as Western Easter), the family will go all out. After midnight Mass on Saturday, they'll eat a soup made from lamb's liver and intestines. On Sunday, they'll roast a whole lamb outside on a spit. They'll also enjoy a sweet bread prepared now during Holy Week, that Balodimos says rises three times and is "very hard to make."

Of course, weekday fare is quite a bit simpler, but still traditional. Kotidis's stuffed vegetables, accompanied by feta bread, are "relatively light and generally appealing," says Balodimos, an obstetrician and gynecologist who is also an accomplished home cook. "Those other dishes are an acquired taste."

Yiayia's feta bread -- "yiayia" is Greek for "grandma" -- comes together quickly. Kotidis cracks the eggs against each other, adds corn oil and feta, and stirs the batter gently. "It won't rise as much if you beat it hard," says Balodimos. She pops the muffin-tin of little breads into a hot oven, then lowers the temperature after a few minutes. "That's very crucial," says Balodimos.

Next, the stuffed vegetables. They aren't complicated, but require attention. Kotidis is precise and adamant about just how the tomatoes and bell peppers should be trimmed, first hollowing them with a knife, then a spoon. And, she says, it's very important to keep the tops attached by a hinge of skin. It's a bit tricky, given how thin and delicate tomato and pepper skins can be, but Kotidis does it with a sure touch.

She rinses the chopped onions and rice before adding them to the filling, and she makes little sandwiches of sliced potatoes with filling that's leftover, and places those around the stuffed vegetables. These steps aren't absolutely necessary, but they help turn a good dish into a great one.

Golden muffins, tangy with feta, are the perfect accompaniment to juicy stuffed vegetables. Lamb spleen and fermented stuffed cabbage may have their place, but this is a dish the family enjoys year round, says Balodimos.

When the meal is served, Balodimos's mother arrives, and her 11-year-old daughter joins the group at the table, too. This extended family is a close one: "There's no word for 'privacy' in Greek," says the translator.