The Food In Greece
Greeks eat loads of vegetables, they are abundant and inexpensive. They are also served on the mezze table as fried peppers, courgettes and aborigines. Many are casseroled into delicious oily dishes of peas, onions and tomatoes or artichokes served in a delicious lemony sauce. Freshly cut salads are eaten with every meal and you can choose to your hearts desire.
The famous Greek salad: tomatoes with cucumbers, green peppers and onions. Sprinkle on the oregano and salt, and dress the salad with olive oil.
Tzatziki (yogurt and garlic dip)
Keftedes (small walnut sized morsels made with meat)
Teropitakia (feta cheese pies)
Taramosalata (cod roe dip)
Melitzanosalata (aubergine dip)
Dolmades (stuffed vine leaves).
Moussaka is probably the best- known Greek dish. Aubergines, minced meat cooked in herbs and spices covered in béchamel. Best served with a crisp salad and crusty bread not to be missed !
Spaghetti with prawns and muscles
Kalamarakia Tiganita ( Fried Squid)
Fried Tope with Garlic Sauce ( Galeos Tiganitos me Skordalia)
Fried Whitebait ( Marides Tiganites)
"The best fish is the freshest one"
Fish (psαri) and seafood is also abundant on the menus: Kalamαria (squid), octopus, prawns, cattle fish, mussel, lobster. The commonest species of fish served include: sea bream (sinagrida, tsipoura, lithrini), plaice (glossa) cod (bakaliαros), red mullet (barbouni) and tuna (tonos).
Some choose to go to a hasapotaverna (a butcher's tavern) to eat charcoal grilled meat, mainly tiny succulent lamb or kid. In a hasapotaverna the meat is sold to the customers by weight, and while it is being grilled, the hungry Athenians devour all sorts of meze and salads in those vast restaurants that are usually packed during the weekends. Meat (kreas): The favorite kind of meat is lamb ( arne ) usually roasted or grilled. Souvlakia and doner kebab (meat grilled on the spit) are also popular. Kokkoretsi (lamb entrails roasted on the spit) are a popular dish in country areas and tavernas. Pork and beef is also served.
Cheese (tiri):
Most Greek cheeses are made from sheeps milk or goats milk. Among them are Agrafa (a sheeps milk cheese reminiscent of Gruyere), manure, kopaniste, (a highly spiced sheeps or goats milk cheese), misythra (a milk curd cheese) and anari (a goats milk cheese)
Yogurt (yaourti),
made from sheep's or goats milk is also commonly found.
Miscellaneous :
Bread psomi, butter voutiro, salt alαti, pepper piperi, sugar Zachary, milk gala
Soups (soupes):
Greek soups are usually very substantial , and are often made with eggs and lemon juice.
Fasolαda is a popular thick bean soup. Others include pepper soup, with the addition of vegetables and meat and bouillon.
Kakavia is a fish soup, made of various kinds of fish and seafood with onions, garlic and olive oil. There are also other excellent fish soups (psarosoupes).
Drinks (potα) :
The commonest drink is wine (krasi, inos), either white (αspro krasi) or red (mαvro krasi). The usual table wines are resinated to improve their keeping qualities (retsina, krasi retsinato) and have a characteristic sharp taste, which has to be got used to.
RETSINA. The Greeks and at first the Romans too, stored wine in earthenware vessels, as they did almost all foodstuffs. However, the material was porous, so when amphorae were
Beer (bira): The brewing of beer in Greece dates from the region of King Othon I a native of Bavaria. Thanks to the good water of Greece, the beers are excellent.
Spirits (pnevmatodi pota): The commonest type of spirit is ouzo. Ouzo is based on pure alcohol from various sources. It could, for instance, be a distillation of molasses produced during sugar manufacture. The alcohol is diluted with water, then the herbs are added. As well as the obligatory anise, these can also include fennel seeds, star aniseed, coriander, cardamom and others. This mixture is left to stand, so the herbs can release their flavors into the mixture of water and alcohol.
Raki is similar but stronger. Greek brandy (konyak) has a fruitier aroma than the French variety but less character.
Coffee
Coffee (Hellinikos kafes) comes in different strengths and degrees of sweetness. Ness cafe (Frappe) with ice.
There are numerous ways of preparing it and sometimes it does not turn out successfully. There are basically three different ways of preparing mocha coffee: sketos (bitter), metrios (medium-sweet), and glikos (sweet). To make one cup of mocha coffee, you need one teaspoonful of very finely ground coffee beans. Add sugar to taste, then a cup of water, and slowly bring it all to a boil in a special little longhand led pot,
Tea (tsai)
is of different kinds. Mountain tea (tsai tu vunou) an infusion herb found on mountainsides.
