When I was a teenager growing up in Alexandria, I became very interesting in cooking. I read cookbooks, I tried my hand at recipes and I badgered anyone who could cook for lessons. At the time, we had a Greek lady called Kyria Marika helping in our kitchen, and she kindly inducted me in the basics of Greek cooking.

‘The Mediterranean cuisine,’ she would tell me, ‘is the best in all the world. It is simple and it is healthy, based on delicious fresh foods that are nutritious. Garlic, onions, fennel, zucchini, grapes, apples, dates, figs – these ingredients, and more, have been used by the Greeks for century after century, all the way back since ancient times.’

Just as I love the Spanish tapas, I came to love – through Kyria Marika’s teaching and then my own travels in Greece – the Greek mezedes. Meze is a Turkish word that means appetiser (in turn derived from the Persian maza, which means ‘to relish’), and it refers to a small hot or cold dish typically served as an hors d’oeuvre. Usually, one has several dishes at a time, and the plural of meze is mezedes.

Mezedes are meant to be shared. Greek people are sociable, and they love to come together and share food and drink in a simple, rustic way. As such, mezedes were the perfect dishes to write into my latest novel, Aphrodite’s Tears, which focuses on the unfolding love story of Oriel, an archaeologist, and Damian, the leader of a small and traditional Greek island. Here’s a glimpse of mezedes at a gathering of the islanders:

The long table was soon covered in small plates of mezedes, displayed like works of art on the red chequered tablecloth. There were little pies of spinach, cheese and seafood wrapped in filo pastry, chunks of saganaki, a fried yellow cheese, black Kalamata olives, cod’s roe, tzatziki and kolokythoanthoi, zucchini flowers stuffed with rice and herbs.

Tzatziki is a dip made from Greek yogurt with finely chopped cucumber, garlic and olive oil – delicious with strips of flatbread. The little pies are spanakopitakia, triangles containing crushed feta cheese.

Seafood mezedes are popular, too. Htapodi is made from small pieces of octopus, served grilled, boiled or fried with lemon juice, olive oil, vinegar and oregano. Kalamarakia are small pieces of fried squid with lemon juice.

My favourite of them all is dolmades, which are vine leaves stuffed with rice and vegetables (pictured). Back in Alexandria, Kyria Marika taught me how to make this dish, and I have continued to make it ever since, particularly when I am entertaining guests. I use the grape vine leaves from our garden in the South of France, rolling them around rice and onions, or rice, currants and pine kernels. Sometimes I add aubergine and courgettes as well. My recipe is vegetarian, but some call for minced lamb.

The fun, and skill, is in the rolling of the leaves – there’s a knack to how to parcel up the filling and roll it just so, meaning it will keep its shape perfectly. Some of my guests are surprised when I offer them a leaf-wrapped appetiser, but once they try dolmades, they are delighted.

Have you tried Greek mezedes? Is there a particular meze you enjoy? Do you cook any at home? I would love to hear about your own experiences. Recipes most welcome!