When thinking of Greek food, Moussaka must be the first dish that would spring to most people’s mind, understandable as it is officially the national dish.
This is a layered casserole type dish, made from ground lean beef mixed with beaten eggs, milk onion cheese and seasoning, traditionally topped with sliced eggplant, though this may be substituted by potato.
Another highly enjoyable dish is Kleftiko, which in Greek translates as stolen meat.
This stems from the legend where the dish is made from a lamb stolen from an unsuspecting shepherd’s flock.
To avoid detection, the meat would then be cooked in a hole in the ground, sealed with mud, to avoid the thief being given away by steam.
In modern day cooking methods the hole in the ground is fortunately substituted with paper packaging, in which a shoulder cut of lamb is added to garlic, lemon juice and the inevitable olive oil.
Souvlaki is a much lighter meal , consisting of a choice of meat, for example chicken, lamb or even swordfish or shrimp, marinated with oil, lemon and oregano.
This is then cooked on a skewer, the literal translation, and served with rice and fresh vegetables or salad.
The fried meatball dish Keftedes is another popular choice, along with Stifado, which is a game stew cooked in red wine sauce with onion and cinnamon.
Delicious served with Psomi, a traditional Greek bread.
No traditional meal is complete without the accompaniment of appetizers, sides, dessert and of course drink.
Meze is the collective name for a selection of small appetizers, such as calamari,
fried squid, or alternatively Greek salad or tiganita, which is fried vegetables such as courgettes,
mushrooms, egg plant or peppers, often served with a yoghurt dip.
For dessert, baklava is readily available.
These are light pastry layers filled with nuts and syrup, or karidopita, walnut cake.
Children will enjoy traditional Greek cookies, koulouraki, made from butter or olive oil.
The most readily identifiable Greek cheese would be feta, a white cheese made from a blend of goat and sheep’s milk.
Other popular cheeses, often not readily available outside Greece, are kasseri and graviera.
All good meals should be washed down by a traditional drink, such as retsina white wine, an unfiltered frappe coffee.
For those really looking to let their hair down, there is of course the eighty per cent proof Ouzo, best drunk with caution, or of course an ordinary beer for the less
adventurous!
:)
