LET THE CULINARY GAMES BEGIN.

Byline: Natalie Haughton Food Editor

During the next two weeks while you're watching TV coverage of the Olympic Games (which open Friday in Athens), transport yourself to Greece via your dining table with an array of Mediterranean fare.

Let Greek native Helene Liatsos, a Woodland Hills resident, and Susanna Hoffman, an anthropologist and author of the hot-off-the-press ``The Olive and the Caper'' (Workman; $19.95 paperback), be your guides.

While Greek food has been associated with pastitsio, moussaka, Greek salad, stifado, baklava and kourambiedes, it encompasses much more, says Liatsos, who came to New York at an early age with her Greek parents and moved to California more than two decades ago.

``Greece is the font of Mediterranean cuisine,'' says Hoffman, who paints a vivid portrait of a captivating country with its regional differences in her 600-page tome filled with 325 recipes.

``From the majesty of their bounty, over millennia the Greeks have spun a cuisine of sublime and captivating dishes. Greek fare intertwines ingredients and tastes until preparations blaze with an intermingling of flavor, hue and texture.''

Greek cooks marry meats with vegetables; rub game birds with native herbs and spices and roast them; simmer lentils with greens and serve with chunks of goat cheese; stuff peppers with all sorts of vegetable, spice and nut concoctions; combine fish and shellfish in soups and such; turn an array of sun-blessed vegetables into all sorts of mixtures and casseroles; fold fruit and nuts in paper-thin sheets of dough; and bath pastries in syrups of honey, citrus and brandy.

``Their repast is simply and utterly glorious,'' adds Hoffman, who has lived on and off in Greece for more than 30 years.

Liatsos recalls growing up eating creations like savory squash pie (with filo, egg, cheese and squash strips), meat- and rice-stuffed tomatoes, boiled greens of all kinds, cheese puffs with homemade filo dough, noodles and meatballs, lamb and orzo, stuffed cabbage cooked in lemon egg soup and various fish dishes that her mother, a great cook, and her father, chef-owner of a Greek restaurant in Manhattan, prepared.

``Our house was always filled with relatives, friends and neighbors, and we always had a lot of parties,'' says the owner of Home Office Management Experts who is fluent in Greek and involved in Los Angeles' Greek community.

The biggest misconception about Greek food is that it's fattening, says Liatsos. It also has a reputation for being heavy, adds Hoffman. ``In reality. it is lighter, more modern and more to current taste than any other culture - and it is remarkably healthful. Greeks have the lowest rates of heart disease and cancer in Europe.''

Among the cuisine's hallmarks are olive oil, capers, some 60 varieties of fresh vegetables, healthy grains, hearty breads, cheeses (sheep and goat's milk), herbs growing wild (fennel, mint, marjoram, oregano, anise, savory, sage, coriander, cumin, saffron, turmeric), lots of fish and shellfish and small amounts of meat, continues Hoffman, adding that the book represents the scope of Greek food.

Greek dining comprises lots of small plates, and every noon or evening meal is a banquet of dishes (six to 12 different creations), explains Hoffman.

The book was a complex endeavor, she continues, because it includes so much anthropology - the origins of the food, eating customs, food lore, personal stories, ancient recipes, meanings of words, Olympic stories, Greek proverbs and more.

A Denver native (one of the original three owners of Chez Panisse with her former husband) she currently resides in Telluride, Colo. She hopes the book, which took six years to write (the first half of the completed manuscript burned up in her house in the Oakland-Berkeley firestorm in 1991 and had to be completely rewritten), will be viewed as a ``total sensual delight. I want people to love the stories, enrich their knowledge of the cuisine and then enrich their taste buds with the rich scope of flavors.''

When it comes to Greek cooking, Hoffman advises cooks: ``Don't fear filo. It's very forgiving and so easy to use.'' Also, don't fear olive oil. When buying capers, look for salt brined, not vinegar brined. ``Vinegar changes the flavor of capers.'' Buy salt or oil-cured Greek olives, never canned.

Natalie Haughton, [phone]

natalie.haughton(at)dailynews.com

GREEK SHRIMP SALAD

2/3 cup olive oil

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/2 pound cooked, deveined medium shrimp, with tails on

1 clove garlic

3 medium tomatoes

2 medium green bell peppers

1 cup pitted kalamata olives

2 medium onions, chopped

1/2 pound feta cheese, cut into 1/2-inch chunks

Mix olive oil, vinegar and oregano in a jar; cover tightly and shake thoroughly. Pour 1/2 of this dressing over shrimp and marinate in refrigerator 2 hours. Cut garlic clove and rub all over a a large serving bowl. Cut tomatoes and peppers into bite-size wedges and place in large serving bowl along with olives and onions. Add remaining dressing and toss until well mixed. Add marinated shrimp, then top with feta cheese. Keep refrigerated until serving time. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

From Helen Liatsos.

SMALL GREEK VILLAGE STUFFED TOMATOES

6 firm, medium tomatoes

1 pound lean ground beef

1 1/2 cups uncooked long grain rice

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1/4 cup plus 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 cups water

Wash tomatoes and cut a thin slice horizontally off tops; set tops aside. Scoop out pulp from inside tomatoes and chop. Place pulp, uncooked beef, uncooked rice, onion, tomato paste, parsley and 1/4 cup olive oil in saucepan and cook, uncovered, over medium high to high heat 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add water, stir well and cook, covered, 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Let mixture cool a few minutes.

Fill tomatoes with rice mixture, replacing tops. Place in a baking pan and sprinkle with remaining 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven about 30 minutes. Serve warm. Makes 6 servings.

NOTE: Beef can be left out, if desired, for a vegetarian dish.

From Helen Liatsos.

LEEK, POTATO AND OLIVE PIE

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 to 4 medium leeks ( 1 1/2 pounds total), white and light green parts well rinsed, drained and chopped

1 large egg

3 to 4 tablespoons milk

2 medium potatoes (10 ounces), peeled and coarsely grated

3 tablespoons chopped kalamata OR other good black OR green Greek olives

1/3 cup grated kefalotyri OR Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

3/4 teaspoon salt

Dash cayenne pepper

12 to 15 sheets store-bought filo dough OR 6 to 9 sheets homemade

Olive oil OR melted butter, for oiling filo

Lightly oil bottom of a 13X9-inch baking dish or equivalent round pan. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in nonreactive skillet over medium heat. Add leeks and saute until well wilted, 10 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly. Meanwhile, lightly beat egg with 1 tablespoon milk. Place potatoes, olives, cheese, dill, salt and cayenne in a mixing bowl. Add leeks and egg mixture and stir together.

Cut filo sheets to size to fit pan (1/3 of sheets should be a little larger than bottom of pan because they will shrink a little). Oil and layer 1/3 of filo in bottom of prepared baking dish. Add 1/2 of filling, spreading evenly. Oil and layer another 1/3 of sheets over filling. Spread remaining filling evenly over filo. Oil and layer remaining sheets of filo on top. Oil top of pie. Tuck filo in around edges and score to make 12 pieces. Brush top and around edges with remaining 2 to 3 tablespoons milk.

Bake in preheated 375-degree oven about 1 1/2 hours or until top and edges are golden and crisp. Serve immediately or at room temperature. Makes 1 (13x9-inch pie); serves 12 as an appetizer.

NOTE: You can also make the pie with simply a top and bottom crust and one layer of filling.

From ``Adventures in Greek Cooking: The Olive and the Caper,'' by Susanna Hoffman in collaboration with Victoria Wise.

YOGURT CAKE WITH OUZO-LEMON SYRUP

Butter OR oil for cake pan

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

4 large eggs, separated

1 cup yogurt

1 tablespoon coarsely chopped lemon zest

1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

Pinch salt

Ouzo-Lemon Syrup

Grease and flour a 10-inch springform pan. Combine butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until creamy. Beat in egg yolks all at once, then yogurt and lemon zest. In another bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt together, then sift into bowl with yogurt mixture. Beat to mix well.

In a separate bowl, beat egg whites with electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Whisk 1/2 of whites into batter mixture, then gently fold in remaining whites. Turn batter into prepared pan, spreading evenly. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven about 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean and edges of cake are pulling away from pan. Cool. When cool enough to handle, remove springform side of pan and place cake on a serving plate.

Spoon out about 1/3 of Ouzo-Lemon Syrup over cake and allow it to soak in 5 to 10 minutes. Repeat this process two more times with remaining syrup. Set cake aside at least 1 hour before serving. The cake will keep several days, covered and stored at room temperature. Makes 12 to 16 servings.

OUZO-LEMON SYRUP: Place 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup ouzo, 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, 1/4 cup water and 1 1/2 tablespoons finely shopped lemon zest in a medium saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer briskly until thickened, about 10 minutes. Cool and use immediately or store, covered, in the refrigerator indefinitely. Makes 2 cups.

From ``Adventures in Greek Cooking: The Olive and the Caper,'' by Susanna Hoffman in collaboration with Victoria Wise.

CAPTION(S):

5 photos

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) Be a culinary goddess

WHIP UP GREEK FARE DURING THE OLYMPICS

Staff photo illustration

(2 -- color) YOGURT CAKE WITH OUZO-LEMON SYRUP

(3 -- color) LEEK, POTATO AND OLIVE PIE

From ``The Olive and The Caper,'' Workman

(4 -- color) SMALL GREEK VILLAGE STUFFED TOMATOES

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer

(5 -- color) Helen Liatsos