Greek cuisine - cuisines of the world - Greece

Food and drink are a fundamental part of Greek life, and Greek culture and cuisine come together in traditional taverns. The stores of fast-prepared gyros and souvlaki, which become so widespread during the tourist season, are not a reflection of real Greek cuisine. This one is really bursting with fresh ingredients and variety.

Greek cuisine, which shares its characteristics with Italian, Balkan and Turkish. They use a lot of olive oil, vegetables, spices, grains and bread, wine, fish, various types of meat. Bread is eaten at every meal, and Greek desserts are known for their use of honey and nuts.

Appetizers or small dishes
Mezes is the Greek name for a collection of small dishes served with wine or other drinks. An appetizer, meze in Greek, is served in restaurants called mezedopoleíon in order to complement the taste of the drink. Meze is also served as an appetizer in taverns. Greeks distinguish two types of appetizers - those that go well with wine and those that go well with ouzot.

By the sea, mezes are mostly made from seafood, while higher up in the mountains, they are made from cheese or lamb. Mezes include various small dishes: fried vegetables; Greek salad (tomatoes, cucumbers, feta cheese, olives, onion); cane leaves filled with rice, vegetables and/or meat; mashed beans; shrimp; sardines; zucchini flowers (they can be stuffed with rice, cheese and herbs); eggplants or salad made from them; beetroot salad with olive oil and vinegar; spinach, feta cheese, onion pie; yogurt sauce with cucumbers and garlic (known as tzatziki).

"Big" dishes
Small dishes are followed by large dishes, and even here larger meals start with soup. One of the most common everyday Greek dishes is lentil soup, usually served with vinegar and olives. Another typical one is Fasolada, a bean soup made from beans, tomatoes, carrots, celery and a lot of olive oil. Main meals in Greece are a real treat for both vegetarians and meat lovers. If we start with the latter, in Greece the climatic and geographical characteristics are most suitable for raising sheep and goats, and in the coastal regions, fish is an important part of the cuisine. Among the meat and fish dishes, we can find lobster, baked octopus in vinegar, oil and oregano, lamb or veal cooked with tomatoes, gyros, baked meatballs with oregano and mint, moussaka with meat, eggplant and eggs, mussels, lamb with potatoes. Feta cheese is often added to many dishes. This is indispensable in the traditional Greek salad, which is available especially in the summer months. In other seasons, it is replaced by cabbage carrot salad or green salad.

A variety of meatless goodness
Among the vegetarian dishes often on the Greek table are artichokes with olive oil, fresh peas in the oven with artichokes, summer vegetables on potatoes and sliced zucchini and olive oil (usually contains eggplant, tomatoes, onions and aromatic seasonal herbs), fresh tomatoes with zucchini, potatoes and tomato sauce, cabbage and leek with rice, spinach and rice in a lemon and olive oil sauce.

Potatoes are an important part of Greek cuisine and are eaten in salads, fried in olive oil and drizzled with lemon, or baked in the oven together with onions, garlic, lemon, olive oil, salt, pepper and oregano.

For those with a sweet tooth, baklava, halva and pita
After a meal in Greece, a bowl of sweet seasonal fruit often comes to the table, in the summertime watermelons, melons and honeydew melons, a little later apples and pears. Otherwise, typical desserts include snow-white treats made of powdered almonds and sugar. Another classic wedding and Christmas dessert is called "diples" and it is a thin dough that is dipped in hot olive oil for a few seconds. Then it is sprinkled with honey and chopped nuts. The menu often includes baklava and halva, as well as apple pie with cinnamon, rice pudding, yogurt with honey or sweet syrup. Finally, if we mention drinks, Ouzo and Metaxa are certainly among the most recognizable. Ouzo is a strong alcoholic drink with anise, which acquires a milky white color with water or ice. They say that the best can be drunk on the island of Lesbos. Metaxa is a sweet brandy with an alcohol content of 40%. In Greece, they also have some home-brewed beers, and with dessert you can't go without Greek coffee, which in many ways resembles the more (well-)known Turkish coffee in our country.

Another cute Greek video recipe