There’s something special about the food you enjoy while on holiday in the Mediterranean. Maybe it’s the joy of sharing meals with friends and family, or perhaps it’s the fresh, locally grown ingredients bursting with flavor. You can almost taste the sunshine in every bite.

Flipping through the vibrant photos brought back fond memories of meals I’ve had in Greece and Turkey. I even tried a few recipes for Sunday lunch at home, which you can find below. If your mouth is watering by the end, you can try these recipes yourself for a taste of the Mediterranean.

The Traveller’s Table recipe book was created by Chris and Carolyn Caldicott, a globetrotting couple who ran the World Food Café in Covent Garden. They now share their love of food through cookbooks, writing, and photography. Together with Simpson Travel, which offers luxurious handpicked villas, apartments, and hotels in Corsica, Greece, Mallorca, and Turkey, they have compiled a collection of simple, authentic, and delicious recipes soaked in Mediterranean sunshine. Here are some recipes to enjoy at home and get you in the mood for planning your next holiday.

This refreshing salad of shaved fennel, oranges, and capers is featured in the Corsica section of the book. Although I haven’t been to Corsica, the salad looked so appealing that I had to try it. The fennel and oranges are in season, and their vibrant colors make it feel like summer is already here. This salad is a great starter before lamb or as a side dish with cold meats and cheeses.

**Ingredients:**
– 2 medium fennel bulbs
– 3 clementines (peeled and sliced) or 2 large oranges
– 2 spring onions (thinly sliced)
– 2 tsp capers
– Mint leaves

**Dressing:**
– 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
– Juice of half a small lemon
– A few sprigs of thyme (leaves stripped from stalks)
– Salt and freshly ground pepper

**To Make:**
– My tip: Shave the fennel as finely as possible using a mandolin (be careful not to cut your fingers).

This dish is inspired by a Greek classic and reminds me of the lamb kleftiko my sister serves in her restaurant in Greece. The recipe is said to have been created by bandits who would slowly cook lamb in a pit to avoid smoke from the fire. The herbs for the marinade and wild greens served with this dish are easily found on any Greek hillside. Nowadays, the dish is slowly cooked in a closed earthenware pot with a rich tomato sauce and a hint of cinnamon, reflecting Ottoman influence.

Most Greeks have a vegetable patch with tomatoes and greens, although I used fresh spinach leaves, which are more readily available in the UK. The slow-cooked lamb is something I’ve often seen my sister’s Greek mother-in-law prepare, and the Greek version uses plenty of olive oil, often from their own trees.

**Ingredients:**
– 6 thick lamb chops or cutlets (1 or 2 per person)

**For the Marinade:**
– 3 tbsp olive oil
– Juice and zest of 1 lemon
– 3 crushed garlic cloves
– 2 tbsp red wine
– 1 tbsp chopped rosemary
– 1 tsp dried or fresh thyme
– 1 tsp cinnamon
– 3 torn bay leaves

**To Make:**
– My tip: Don’t overcook the lamb chops or they will dry out. Keep basting with the marinade to keep them juicy.

This dish pairs perfectly with lamb, using potatoes and courgettes that are staples in every Greek vegetable patch, along with local cheese preserved in olive oil. The crispy cheese topping is irresistible!

**Ingredients:**
– 4 medium waxy potatoes (peeled and thinly sliced)
– 4 medium courgettes (thinly sliced)
– 150 g ricotta cheese
– 150 g crumbled feta cheese (or mizithra or anthotyros cheese if in Greece)
– 350 ml whole milk
– Dried mint, salt, fresh ground black pepper
– 125 g graviera or gruyere cheese (grated)

**To Make:**

When I was in Turkey on a cruise last summer, we spent a day at a beautiful Turkish country house learning to cook traditional dishes like these stuffed peppers. The memory of eating the lunch we made under a shady pergola, followed by tiny cups of strong Turkish coffee, still makes me smile. So, I decided to cook these baked red peppers stuffed with spiced pilaf rice.

**Ingredients:**
– 1.5 mugs of long-grain rice
– 2 tbsp olive oil plus 2 tbsp butter
– 1 medium onion (diced)
– 4 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
– 2 tbsp pine nuts
– 2 tbsp pistachios (chopped)
– 1 tsp cinnamon
– 1 tsp cumin
– 1 tsp ground allspice
– ½ tsp ground pepper
– 1 tsp dried oregano
– 1 tsp dried mint
– 2 tbsp raisins
– 2 tbsp dried apricots (chopped)

**To Make:**
– The peppers are delicious, with sweet flavors of dried fruit and spices that hark back to Ottoman times. This dish is perfect for serving vegetarian guests with cheese and olives.

This article was brought to you in partnership with Simpson Travel, which offers a unique collection of villas, apartments, and hotels in Corsica, Greece, Mallorca, and Turkey. These destinations were chosen for their rich experiences, from mountain hikes and boat trips around the coast to exploring history and heritage.