The basics of Greek Cuisine
Essential stand-by ingredients in Greek kitchens include: Olive oil, lemons, walnuts, honey, almonds, wine vinegar, currents, oreganon, basil, and thyme.
Some dishes such as Mousaka, may take quite a while to prepare, but here are some very simple dishes!
Authentic ingredients are available throughout Europe and further afield wherever there are Greek communities. If you can't get the real thing - compromise!
Simply delicious:
Mezedes:
Mezedes (plural of meze) Bite-sized pieces of cheese, sausage, potato, olives, bread, fish, tomato, all arranged on a small plate.
Why we like it:
Simple again - served usually with ouzo, as a snack at mid-day.
Marouli:
Marouli (lettuce salad) A winter salad of shredded lettuce, with chopped spring onion and sprigs of Dill, dressed with olive oil and either white wine vinegar or lemon juice.Why we like it:
The nicest way to eat lettuce - an attractive, fresh salad with any meal ( a favourite with chicken on the spit.)
Horiatiki - Greek salad:
Large tomatoes, cucumber, onion (usually red in Greece), Kalamata olives (large, black), green peppers, all sliced and tossed in olive oil with white wine vinegar; topped with a large slice of fete cheese sprinkled with oreganon.
Why we like it:
This is Greece! On postcards, recipe book covers - the main dish many of us think of alongside hot, sunny days by the Mediterranean Sea.
Horta (wild greens):
A Winter dish of freshly picked green leaves, (wild are best) cut just above the root (so the plant grows again) - carefully washed, several times to remove all soil. Then boiled in plain water for about 20 minutes and Served, with drizzled olive oil and half a fresh lemon (to squeeze over it) on a plate or dish beside the main course.
Why we like it:
Full of vitamins and iron, traditional and, if you know which leaves to pick - free. CAUTION: You must know which leaves to pick - If in any doubt, get a local person who knows to check with you.
Apple desert:
Slices of peeled desert apple, arranged on a small plate, drizzled with honey and sprinkled with cinnamon. Cocktail sticks provided! Also made with oranges instead of apples.
Why we like it:
It is so simple. Sometimes presented by the restaurant proprietor to diners after a meal as a goodwill gesture.