Zucchini Fritters excerpted from My Greek Mom’s Recipes: She Died. I Wrote This Cookbook by Gus Constantellis. Photography by Sheneur Menaker.
Classic Greek recipes with a side of humour and heart.
Stand up comedian Gus Constantellis draws inspiration for his material and online content from his family, especially his mother, Julia, who became a social media star and “Greek mother” to an entire online community. When she died suddenly in August 2023, that community mourned with him.
My Greek Mom’s Recipes is Gus’s deeply personal tribute to his mother, an immigrant who never learned English yet managed to achieve the American dream. Every dish comes with a story about Julia, making this cookbook as much a celebration of family as it is a collection of recipes.
Equal parts hilarious and heartfelt, the book offers a comedian’s candid look at grief and family. It will resonate with anyone who has ever had an overbearing but fiercely loving mother, the kind who expresses affection through food, tough love and a whole lot of opinions.
And the 75 recipes themselves are the real deal. Because if there was one thing Julia was known for, besides her razor sharp humour, it was her unforgettable cooking.
Recipes include:
- A Greek Easter feast
- Spanakopita (Spinach Pie)
- Tzatziki (Yogurt Garlic Sauce)
- Pastitsio (Baked Ziti)
- Avgolemono (Chicken Lemon Soup)
- Patates Lemonates (Lemon Potatoes)
- Baklava
- And much more!