Traditionally in Greece, soul-soothing giouvarlakia are paired with an avgolemono (egg and lemon) sauce, but Yiayia Poly is not a purist so she makes a tomato sauce to sit her meatballs in instead. An Athenian yiayia with a modern sensibility and cutting humour that’s as sharp as her nose, Poly takes an inventive approach to cooking, looking out beyond Greece for many of her favourite dishes. It takes us a while to land on a classic Greek dish when discussing what her contribution to this book will be, but there’s absolutely no way I’m missing Poly out. She lives in a typical polykatoikia (apartment block) in Athens’ well-heeled Kolonaki neighbourhood and is representative of the elegant and refined yiayiades that make up a good portion of the city’s population. We settle on giouvarlakia to make together, Poly instructing me to do the jobs she least enjoys (like grating the onion) and pointedly ordering her grandson, Karolos, around, all the while amusing us with her sarcasm and wry wit. She’s a force to be dealt with but her warming giouvarlakia in this sweet tomato sauce reveal the care and love that she obviously has for her grandchildren. A true yiayia in every sense. Yiayia Poly serves her giouvarlakia with a small tipple of beer (she drinks one small glass every day), crusty bread and hunks of feta.
