Kathryn Fauci - A Memoir and a Recipe |

Eat & Drink

Kathryn Gauci - Author of "An Aegean Odyssey"

The best-selling author shares one of her recipes

All photos courtesy of Kathryn Gauci

Every now and then, I get to open the blue-painted doors of The Greekish Life a little wider and invite someone else in. Today is one of those days, and I’m genuinely delighted to welcome USA Today bestselling author Kathryn Gauci as my very first guest contributor.

Kathryn’s newest book, An Aegean Odyssey: A Memoir, traces her journey across the islands of the Aegean in search of something many of us quietly long for. Not just sunshine and blue domes, but the older, deeper Greece that lives in mountain villages, in mastic-scented lanes, in olive groves and old kitchens. After decades as a textile designer and then an award-winning historical novelist, she returned to Greece alone, chasing inspiration and, perhaps without fully knowing it at the time, a kind of midlife rebirth. From Chios and Lesbos to Karpathos and Crete, her travels became both a creative turning point and a personal reckoning.

What I love most is that her story is not just about place. It is about courage, reinvention, and the quiet power of going anyway, even when it feels daunting (something I've certainly experienced in my years of solo travel in Greece and beyond).

In the piece that follows, Kathryn shares a glimpse into her journey, along with a recipe from her book (yes, there are some fantastic recipes, too!) that carries the flavors of the islands straight into your kitchen. Because if there is one thing Greece does beautifully, it is this - it feeds both the body and the soul.

Please enjoy this wonderful shrimp recipe, and check out An Aegean Odyssey: A Memoir for a heartfelt look into Greece by someone who clearly loves it

By: USA Today Bestselling Author Kathryn Gauci

When I decided to become a writer, I returned to Greece from Melbourne, Australia, in 2005. Greece holds a place in my heart because I worked there from 1972-78 as a carpet designer for Anatolia Carpets, in Athens, which was the largest carpet company in Greece at the time. I’d been back several times, but this time, I wanted to explore the old Greece that I knew; a world that many tourists didn’t know about. People told me that Greece had changed through modernization and mass tourism, but I knew that if I looked hard enough, I would find it, and I did.

In the 1970s, I visited Piraeus quite often, and particularly the small harbour of Mikrolimano which was, in those days, not surrounded with apartment blocks. It was there that I first had the dish that I am sharing with you – Garides Yiouvetsi. Often I would walk between this harbour and the larger one – Paşalimanı (Πασαλιμάνι), past old houses built by the Asia Minor refugees, and washing lines with octopus draped over them to dry in the sun and sea breeze, their bright orange tentacles contrasting with the deep blue Aegean Sea and sky. The area and these images remain some of the most memorable of my time in Greece, so much so that I set one of my Asia Minor refugee novels there – Seraphina’s Song. I never had an oven in my apartment in Athens; only a two burner stove. In those, days that was not unusual for many families and we took anything that needed to baked to the local bakery – roast lamb, stuffed vegetables, etcetera. Therefore, to have such a delicious seafood dish was a treat, but it needed to be fresh, hence the many visits to Piraeus. Of course, the sea breeze and harbour view also added to the experience. And even since leaving Greece, it has become a family favourite.

To dine on seafood at a taverna by the waterside in Greece, is a quintessential part of the Greek way of life and I describe many such moments in my memoir, An Aegean Odyssey; the scenes and the delicious food, cooked in a time honoured way. There is nothing like it. I hope you enjoy my version of this classic dish. .

Garides Yiouvetsi (Serves 6)

Baked Prawns with Feta

Served in individual ceramic bowls with lashings of crusty bread for dipping, it is one of my all-time classics. There are various recipes for this, but this recipe remains true to that first sensational taste.

Ingredients

18 large green prawns

3 tablespoons olive oil

4–5 cloves crushed garlic

2 onions, finely chopped

¾ cup of chopped green onions

5 cups of blanched and chopped tomatoes

1 tablespoon tomato puree

1 tablespoon sugar

250 ml white wine (about 8.5 ounces)

1 cup chopped parsley, divided

Salt and pepper

¼ kilo feta

Rigani (oregano)

Method

1. Clean the prawns, leaving the tail intact and reserving the heads.

2. Heat the oil in saucepan and fry the garlic, onions, and green onions until transparent and softened.

3. Add tomatoes, paste, sugar, wine, half of the parsley, salt and pepper. Stir through and simmer gently for twenty minutes until thickened.

4. The sauce can be made in advance and used when required. This helps the flavours meld together.

5. In individual ovenware bowls, place three prawns and two heads per person. Spoon over the tomato mixture. It is not necessary to totally smother the prawns.

6. Crumble the feta over each bowl. Sprinkle with a little rigani.

7. Bake in a preheated very hot oven for 10–15 minutes or until mixture starts to take on a deep colour with the prawns and feta are starting to brown.

Serve topped with remaining chopped parsley and accompanied with crusty bread.

NOTE: I find that baking the prawn heads together with the sauce adds a richer intensity to the sauce. If the guests do not like to suck the juices from the heads, they can simply be discarded onto a side plate. If they do enjoy eating them, then finger bowls are essential. Another option is to cook the heads in the sauce prior to ladling over the prawns. They can then be discarded at this stage.

About AN AEGEAN ODYSSEY

From USA TODAY Bestselling author Kathryn Gauci comes a vivid memoir of her life and travels across the ancient and spectacular islands of Greece.

“I would be like Odysseus, wandering in search of adventure. How it would turn out, I had no idea: I would leave that to fate.”

After more than thirty years as a successful carpet and textile designer, Kathryn decided it was time for a change: she wanted to become an author, and the first place she turned for inspiration was Greece, where she had worked as a carpet designer in Athens in the 1970s.

With no idea of what she would write about, she took two months off and returned in 2005 in search of a new adventure. All she knew was that she wanted to find the old Greece that was quickly disappearing through modernization and tourism. It was a great leap of faith to make this change in mid-life, yet not being one to miss an opportunity, she packed her bags and set out alone, hoping to discover the beauty and rich tapestry of characters that had inspired such great writers of the past – Nikos Kazantzakis, Lord Byron, Henry Miller, Patrick Leigh Fermor, Odysseus Elytis, and Homer himself.

Follow along with Kathryn’s journey as she explores the centuries-old mastic villages of Chios; the island of Lesbos, with its vast landscapes of olive groves and purveyors of the world’s finest ouzo; Karpathos, with its stunning beaches and crystal-clear turquoise waters; and finally, the majestic mountains and gorges of Crete, home of the God Zeus, the legend of the Minotaur, and that famous Cretan spirit of Zorba – the same spirit that fought against the Ottomans and the Germans in World War II.

Staying in unspoiled villages and mountain retreats, she also discovers the mouth-watering regional food cooked in the age-old tradition. Along the way, she finds her own story – and discovers that a part of Greece will always be embedded in her psyche.

The book includes some of her favorite recipes that were shared by friends when she lived in Greece in the 1970s, and others acquired on the islands she visited.

Kathryn Gauci is a critically acclaimed international bestselling author who produces strong, colorful, characters, and riveting storylines. She is the recipient of numerous major international awards for her w

Do you enjoy Greek recipes? Take a look at out Eat & Drink section for some delicious and easy options.

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