Aside from Greek cuisine, which is your favorite cuisine? Do you see any way to meld this cuisine with Greek flavors?
Aside from Greek cuisine I really like Arabic and Moroccan cuisine and Middle Eastern food in general. I favor the "sun cuisine" with dishes full of aroma. French cuisine is certainly great, too, with the French being the grand teachers of haute cuisine. Rather late, I developed an admiration for Italian food. The Italians have the best simple, everyday dishes, with great antipasti and pasta. Their food has a lot of character.
Here at 48, we often meld other cuisines with Greek flavors. More often, this fusion has to do with technique and not with ingredients. The idea is to color Greek flavors with additional nuances and details. One dish I sometimes prepare that might be characterized as Greek-Arabic fusion is grilled sardines with humus and raisin sauce. Another interesting example is our kolios (mackerel) tartar. Think of how popular tuna tartar is these days; instead of tuna, we use kolios, a fish that is very characteristic of Greece. The result is a refreshing blend of traditional Greek ingredients and foreign modern techniques.

Are you like most Greek and Cypriot men in that you believe your mother is the best cook in the world?
I hope my mother does not read this…she’s a good cook, but her cooking had the purpose to nurture us. She is definitely not the worse cook in the world but not the best one, either. My father, on the other hand, used to cook because he enjoyed it. Still, whenever I see my mom, which is not very often these days, I always ask her to make me dishes I remember eating at home that I miss. I always crave her dolmadakia (stuffed grape leaves). The food one grows up with and the taste one develops for it, are the result of a more complex ritual that is closely related to the people we love. Some people, especially Greek men, who are smothered by their mothers, tend to easily confuse taste with feelings of familiarity and love. But, personally, I try to stay objective by not being a smothered mommy’s boy.

RECIPE: Amberjack with eggplant, chorizo and tomato water

Ingredients(for 6 persons)


•  6 fillets of amberjack 200gr each
•  1.5kg eggplant in slices 2cm thick
•  150gr onion finely chopped
•  180gr chorizo cut brunoise
•  1/3 small bunch parsley finely chopped
•  1.3 small bunch chives finely chopped
•  1.5kg tomatoes for the tomato water
•  300gr tomatoes (2 pieces) for the oven dried tomatoes
•  1 clove garlic cut into slivers
•  100gr lemon juice
•  50gr sugar ñ 20gr soy sauce
•  20gr poppy seed ñ Extra virgin olive oil
•  Salt ñ Freshly ground white pepper

For the tomato water (from the night before)
Roughly chop the tomatoes, salt them lightly and pass them through a food processor for approximately 20 seconds. Put the puree of tomatoes in a cheesecloth that has been folded 6 times and hang it in the refrigerator with a bowl underneath so the water can drip into it. The tomato water should be clear and transparent. The next day, put the water in a casserole and, on a very low fire, let it evaporate until it reaches a clear, golden color and it begins to become syrupy. The tomato water should not boil during this process.

For the oven dried tomatoes (from the night before)
We cut each tomato into 6 wedges and discard the inside part so that we can get 6 fillets from each. Add the tomoatos to a bowl and toss gently with olive oil, salt and pepper. Then place them on a sheet pan lined with wax paper and place a slice of garlic on each one of them. Then dry them in a 70oC oven for 12 hours. After they are done we cut each wedge into 4 strips.

For the eggplant
Salt the eggplants generously and let them sit for 45 minutes. Then run them under cold running water for 20 minutes. (this process reduces the bitterness in an eggplant). Dry the eggplants well and brush them generously with olive oil. Then cook the eggplant on a very hot grill for 2 minutes on each side and place them on kitchen paper to get rid of the excess olive oil. After the eggplant has cooled down, we cut it in medium brunoise.

For the lemon marmalade
Boil together the lemon juice, sugar and soy sauce until it becomes syrupy.

For the fish
Season the fish, brush it well with the marmalade and cook it under a salamander on one side only for approximately 4 minutes. It should be a little raw in the middle. After it is cooked we sprinkle the top with the poppy seed.
While the fish is cooking, we sauté the chorizo with the onion in a sauté pan on high heat for two minutes and then we add the eggplant and sauté for another 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the oven dried tomatoes, the parsley and the chives and season with salt and pepper.
To serve, put a little of the eggplant mixture in a deep plate and place the fish on top. Finish by pouring some of the tomato water over the fish and around the plate.