This is the dazzling group that embodies the very idea of a Greek island. Every journey around the islands should start here: at charming waterfronts such as Mykonos , enchanted cliffs such as Santorini , with the dazzling whiteness of Paros , the bareness of los or Amorgos , the homeliness of Sifnos .

One has not experienced the magic attached to the simple word 'island' until you have sat at the waterfront of these places with an ouzo and a few morsels of octopus or with a quartered sugary tomato and just gazed at the setting sun transforming the landscape into a soft mass of colour, as if with a conjurer's wand; or until you have taken a brightly painted blue boat - that unique Aegean blue - and asked the boatman to deliver you to some deserted little bay enclosed by rocks, where armed with the local olives and tomatoes (particularly the little Santorinian tomatoes which taste sweet, like fruit), a small elongated crusty loaf of hot bread, a square slice of white sheep's cheese, some water and a dark green watermelon which you skilfully anchor into the sea to cool, you can spend a blissful day in the blistering heat until your boat returns to collect you in the late afternoon.

Kyria Maroulia Laoutha talked nostalgically about an old fisherman friend she had some years ago, who would give her the best of his catch for her young children; and would occasionally invite her to join him and the other fisherman at the beach of Armeni near Oia for a kakavia (the Greek fisherman's soup). This derives its name from the cauldron-like pot, the kakavi, as it was called in ancient Greece.

The fisherman used to imply that she could sample a genuine kakavia only when made by a fisherman because, in his exact words, 'you housewives cannot make it properly.' So they would use 2kg (4.5 lb.) of their smaller fish for only 3-4 people and would boil them with very little water, a bit of olive oil and an onion, and the result, as one can imagine in such a wonderful setting was absolutely delicious.

Anyway, now that her children are grown up, her son's favourite dish is a plaki with small fish such as sardines (sarthelles), fresh anchovies (gavros), or small mackerel when they can be found in late summer. This is the way she prepares them for him:

• 4 small mackerel, cleaned but whole with their heads on (the smaller they are, the tastier and less oily)
• 5 ml (1 tsp) dried oregano (the Greek rigani )
• salt and black pepper
• 90 ml (6 tbsp) olive oil
• 1 lemon
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 60 ml (4 tbsp) parsley, finely chopped

Oven: 180°C/350°F/Mark 4.

Rinse and season the fish. Arrange them closely, side by side in a small oiled baking dish. Beat olive oil, lemon and seasoning lightly with a fork until well amalgamated. Add remaining ingredients and mix them in; pour this all over the fish and bake for 45 minutes, basting 2-3 times. Serves 4.

Like the rest of the Greek islands, Syros has a fondness for pies, which despite their simple ingredients make delicious meals and have a decorum that makes them fit for special occasions.

• 90 ml (6 tbsp) olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely sliced
• 3 spring onions, finely sliced
• 700 g (1 1/2 lb) courgettes (zucchini), trimmed, washed and scraped lightly
• 75 g (3 oz/ 1/2 cup) long-grain rice, rinsed and strained
• 100 g (4 oz) feta cheese or Caerphilly, crumbled
• 75 ml (5 tbsp) milk
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 tbsp each of chopped fresh dill or mint and parsley
• salt and black pepper

PASTRY
• 1 packet fyllo pastry
• 150 g (5 OZ/1V4 sticks) butter, melted

Oven: 180°C/350°/Mark 4

Heat 75 ml (5 tbsp) of the olive oil and saute the onions. Grate the courgettes coarsely and mix with the onions and other filling ingredients.

Use a medium-sized roasting dish (pan). Trim the pastry, allowing at least 10 cm (4 in) for shrinkage at either end. Oil the dish (pan) with the remaining olive oil and line its base with a sheet of pastry that has been brushed with butter first. Continue in the same fashion, brushing each sheet with butter first, until half the pastry has been used. Spread out the filling evenly and fold all the pastry sides over it. Cover with the remaining pastry, brushing each sheet with butter first. Trim the excess all round or tack them in at the sides.

Using a sharp knife cut the top layers of pastry only (otherwise the filling might spill) into square or lozenge pieces, approximately 5 x 8 cm (2 1/2 x 3 in). Sprinkle a little cold water with the tips of your fingers to prevent the fyllo edges curling up.

Bake for one hour, until crisp and light golden.

Serves 6.

Source: Greek Island