"Pastitsado" from Corfu

During my many years of "wandering" round Western Greece, I picked up many local recipes which became our favourite Sunday meals.

One of the most appreciated is "Pastitsado", from the island of Corfu. It usually refers to a chicken stew (usually poor old roosters) - "kokoros pastitsado"- served over very large macaroni or penne pasta. However it is also made with veal or beef which do not have to be from the expensive cuts.

There are many recipes in books or on the internet, yet nothing compares to the original flavour at a local house or a taverna. The difference lies on the one hand in the use of local products and on the other hand in the correct balance of herbs and spices. Cloves, allspices and rosemary along with red wine and a bit of vinegar, add to the final distinctive taste.

Today I cooked beef pastitsado but with white rice instead of pasta. It was equally tasty though lighter for our digestive system!

What you need:

- 1 kilo beef meat, in small chunks (If you use a country chicken, have it cut in portions)
- 1/2 cup of olive oil
- 1 full tbsp of butter
- 2 large onions finely chopped
- 2-3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 4 medium size ripe tomatoes chopped (or 400 grms tomato juice)
- salt, pepper (optionally 1 small chili pepper)
- 4 whole cloves, 5 whole allspices, a pinch of fresh rosemary leaves
- 1 tbsp wine vinegar (plain or balsamic)

Heat the olive oil and the butter in a deep casserole. Add the chunks of meat and stir-fry for a few minutes. Add the onions, the garlic, salt, pepper and the spices. Fry for a few minutes, pour in the wine and let it evaporate. Finally add the tomatoes and the vinegar, put on the lid and let it simmer for about one hour and a half. Boil some rice or pasta and serve with some grated cheese on the top.

Bon apetit - ΚΑΛΗ ΟΡΕΞΗ!

Marinated Salted Anchovies

I'm doing my best with the last anchovies of the fall, before their price climbs again to unreachable heights.
I pull off  the intestines from the ancovies and the central fishbone. I put the fillets in layers in a shallow bowl and in between I sprinkle salt and vinegar. I let them rest for 24 hours in my fridge, and then put them in a strainer. Finally (in a plastic container) I make beautiful layers of anchovies, olive oil, finely chopped garlic, parsley and chilli pepper.
They keep well in my fridge for about a month.
I usually serve them as a meze for ouzo or tsipouro, bu they also accompany wonderfully winter soups with legumes such as beans (fasolada) or lentils fakes)!

Ηπειρώτικη Χορτόπιτα-Grand Serai, Ιωάννινα

Roasted Eggplants with Feta cheese

Deep purple, ready to perform!
The summer princess (the crown belongs to tomato) is gloriously and invitingly sitting on the market stalls. I can't resist the challenge. Roasted eggplants with tomato sauce and feta cheese. It's the greek answer to eggplant-parmesan without the egg batter.

- 1 kilo of eggplants
- 2 large onions (chopped)
- 2 cloves of garlic (chopped)
- 3 large ripe tomatoes or 500 gr canned tomato juice
- 300 grams feta cheese (grated)
- salt and peper, 1 level teaspoon each of
thyme, oregano and basil
- olive oil, for frying

Wash the eggplants, cut them in 1/2 slices, spinkle with salt and let them drain for 1 hour.
This way the extra (and bitter) liquid will drain out. Pat them dry, and fry them in plenty olive oil. Put them in rows in a baking dish.
Make a simple tomato sauce, with the onion,
the tomato and the herbs. Be careful with the salt. Place the sauce over the eggplants,  cover with the feta cheese and bake in medium oven for 15-20 minutes. Wait until it gets down to
room temperature before you serve!
Enjoy!

Summer rewards

All this digging wasn't for nothing!!!!

Fish "Savoro" (marinated)

Fish "Savoro"

We're half between Easter and the Pentecost,  namely the Mid-Pentecost. Traditionally we eat fish today so here is a favorite dish of mine and quite an easy recipe.

I usually use red mullet or pandora fish (greek λιθρίνια) for this but it can be done with any type of medium size fish.

It is a recipe mainly of the greek islands and the "savoro" sauce was a good way to preserve leftover fried fish for the following day. They are much tastier, I can assure you! Try to make this dish at noon and serve it in the evening supper. Uncomparable!!!!

Get ready for cooking:

- 1 1/2 kilo of fish (ask your fishmonger to clean it, if it's too much touble for you)
- plain flour for the frying and thesauce
- salt, peper
- 250 grams of olive oil (for the frying and the sauce afterwards)
- 1 small glass of wine vinegar
- 300 grams fresh tomato juice
- 2-3 garlic cloves
- 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary or 1 tablespoon dry leaves
- lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon caster sugar

Clean, wash and drain your fish, add plenty of salt and drizzle with lemon juice. Let it marinate for some minutes.

Pat it dry with some kitchen paper, flour it and fry it in small batches. Place it in rows on a large plate.

Using a sieve, drain the remaining of the frying oil into a clean sauce pan. Let it heat and the garlic in thin slices. Don't let it burn but add in the saucepan 4 level tablespoons of plain flour. Stir well until it gets a golden brown colour and add the vinegar. Add the rosemary, the tomato juice, the sugar, some salt and pepper and let them simmer until the tomato is cooked and the sauce is thick enough.

Drizzle over the fish and let it cool for at least 30 minutes before you serve so that the fish absorb the sauce.

Kali orexi!

Stuffed vineleaves and zucchini (Dolmadakia kai kolokythakia gemista)

This vegetarian dish originates from the district of Macedonia in Greece and it belongs to the "ladera" category of dishes. That is, food cooked until all the juices have evaporated and there is only some olive oil left in the pot.
"Ladera" compose a whole school of thought in Greek cuisine, being the main solution during our long fasting seasons when even fish is forbidden most of the days. Moreover they play the major role in the Mediterranean diet, making great use of  vegetables, legumes and olive oil.
If we were in Italy, we cood call it "cucina povera" since it needs only some rice and what it can be found in your vegetable garden this season.If you don't have a garden, you can find everything at your greengrocer's or your supermarket. Vineleaves are also sold in jars, preserved in brine.

It can also be tranformed to a more rich dish if you add beef/lamb mince in the rice stuffing and some egg-lemon sauce in the end. But this is only a matter of taste.

As I said the ingredients are mainly found in our garden:

- 350 grams vine leaves (fresh or in a jar)
- 1 kilo of zucchini, big enough to be stuffed (see the picture above)
- 500 grams spring onions, chopped
- 1 dry onion, diced
- 1 bunch of dill, chopped
- 1 tablespoon dry mint or 2-3 sprigs of fresh mint, chopped
- 500 grams of olive oil (2 large water glasses filled)
- 500 grams of rice (risoto type)
- the juice of 5 lemons
- (optionally) some tomato juice, fresh or canned
- salt & pepper

If you have fresh vine leaves, you must wash them thoroughly and blanch them in a pot with some water, salt and the juice of half a lemon. Take them off the boiling water and let them cool on a plate until you prepare the stuffing. If you use leaves from a jar, you must also wash them because they are preserved in brine and this makes them extra salty.

Grate the zucchini from the outside, then cut them in the middle and hollow them (just like toy boats) with a small spoon or the special gadget we also use for fruit salads. Keep the stuff from inside in a bowl.

In a deep frying  pan add the dry onion, the spring onions, the dill and the mint, salt and pepper and half a cup of water. Let them simmer for five minutes and take the pan off the heat. Now add half the olive oil, half the inside of the zucchini finely chopped, the rice, salt and pepper and the juice of the other half of the lemon. Stir well and the stuffing is ready.

Put a layer of vine leaves at the bottom of your cooking pot. Take each zucchini boat and fill it with 3-4 teaspoons of the rice stuffing. Put them in the cooking pot in rows, next to each other.

Lay flat a vine leaf on your kitchen board and put a tablespoon of stuffing in its middle. Fold the sides of the leaf so as to form a small cylinder and the stuffing is secured inside. (You can see how to do it in the sketch).

 Put it in the cooking pot over the stuffed zucchini. Continue until all the leaves are stuffed and in very tight rows in the pot. Try not to leave gaps between them or they will open and the stuffing will pur out.

Add the rest of the olive oil in the pot, the juice of 2 lemons and enough water to cover the food. Take an old dish and put it upside down in the pot over the vineleaves. This will serve as a weight to prevent them from opening. Simmer for about 30 - 45 minutes. During the cooking time we can add the tomato juice and some hot water if the liquid is absorbed.

Let them cool totally and then serve on a plate, putting the zucchini in the middle and the dolmadakia around them. Serve with some plain yoghurt or tzatziki if you like but feta cheese is essential to all lathera dishes.

Kali orexi!

Μπορείτε να δείτε τη συνταγή στα Ελληνικά εδώ.

Red Florina Peppers with feta Cheese

Stuffed Red Florina Peppers

This is one of my favourite appetizers. Roasted red Florina peppers*, stuffed with feta cheese. Drizzle with a little olive oil and grill for a few minutes. You can use peppers ready from a jar or roast fresh ones, if you have the time. Enjoy with freshly baked bread and don't be afraid to dip in the oil.

* Florina red peppers = Grilled or roasted, the famed red peppers of Florina, in Northern Greece, impart a wonderful, sweet fragrance, one of the telltale signs of the rustic cooking of Macedonia. Their robust flavor, ruby-red color, and glossy sheen make them one of the most renowned local products. Whole and grilled, the Piperia Florinis is preserved in Greece's excellent extra-virgin olive oil, flavored with whole peppercorns, bay leaf, basil, and other fresh and dried herbs.

My spring green pots!

These days I'm spending much time with my green and colourful pots.

Not much time for experimentation in the kitchen where i limit myself to spaghetti bolognese (μακαρονια με κιμά) and legumes, such as lentil soup.

However my pots are getting more and more promising and this year

I'm also growing tomatoes and yellow beans on our roof.

a timid butterfly

bees in the lemon flowers

The bees are bumbling happily sucking the nectar of the lemon flowers and a lonely butterfly paid me a short visit!

I love working in my garden in the spring even if deep digging is a hard- hard work.

tomato

yellow beans

Pork Stew with Leeks and Plums

This is a recipe from the region of Macedonia, in Northern Greece. It was posted on Google+ by Xaris Xaris and I was given permission to translate it. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 kilo of pork meat, preferably from the shoulder, cut in pieces
1 kilo of leeks, only the white part, cut into slices
5 tablespoons celery, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 level tablespoon tomato puree
10 dry plums, cut in halves
¾ of a cup extra virgin olive oil
salt, freshly ground black pepper

Saute slightly the onion with the olive oil, add the pork and let it get golden brown on all sizes. Add 1 cup of hot water, a little salt and let it simmer for about 30 minutes. Take the pork out of the pot and keep it warm on a large plate. Add the leeks in the pot (if you like you can blanch them before), 2 cups of water, a little salt and cook on medium temperature for another 25 minutes. Finally, put the pork back in the pot with the leeks, add the tomato puree dissolved in a little water, the plums and the celery. Stir only once and simmer for another 20 minutes until most of the liquid is evaporated and there is only a thick sauce in the pot.
Serve this dish warm with freshly ground black pepper on top.

Black Risotto with Cuttlefish from the Aegean Islands (Σουπιοπίλαφο)

Ok, I know this sounds very Italian, however it’s a traditional recipe of the Cyclades, the Aegean islands. 

It is also expected from a maritime people who had long-term relationships with the italian cities of Venise and Genoa, through conquer and trade, to adopt and adapt many of their recipes. 

After all, the use of seafood such as octopus, cuttlefish and calamari is extensive throughout the coastal cities of the Mediterranean. 

You can buy fresh cuttlefish from your seamonger or deep-frozen ones, which usually come from the Indian Ocean. 

One way or the other, you have to clean them carefully so as not to destroy the precious little pouch which contains the black ink. This is responsible for the black colour of the rice and also those black spaghetti that you so much admire at the shelves of your local deli.

You wiil need:

• -        1 kilo of cuttlefish (fresh or frozen)
• -        2 large onions, diced
• -        1 large cup of olive oil
• -        3 large ripe tomatoes, diced
• -        500 grams rice
• -        2 level teaspoons of salt, a little pepper
• -        the ink of the cuttlefish

The traditional recipe suggests that you use all the ink pouches from 1 kilo of cuttlefish, though I wouldn’t recommend it if you cook this for the first time. Just use 1 pouch and if you like the result you can increase it the following time.

Clean carefully the cuttlefish and wash it under running water. Cut it in bite size and let it dry in a drainer. Put the ink in a bowl and disolve it with a little water. Usually there is some sand which will naturally sit at the bottom of the bowl, so be careful when you add the liquid to the food.

Saute the onion with the olive oil, add the cuttle fish and stir in high temperature for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes, salt and pepper and let it simmer for one and a half hour. When the are cooked (they must be soft, not like rubber) add the ink and as much water as to amount up to 4 cups of liquid. Let it come to the boil, add the rice, stir once, turn down the heat, put the lid on and let it simmer until the rice is cooked to your liking. Don’t forget to stir occasionally because the rice tends to stick at the bottom of the pot, and then you’ll literally have “charcoal”  rice.

Serve it in room temperature accompanied by cool white wine or beer.

Good apetite! Kali Orexi!

Seftalies (Σεφταλιές) from Cyprus

Seftalies

 

It's a quite simple recipe, just burghers wrapped in caul of fat. Half a teaspoon of cinnamon powder gives that extra kick in the mix. The size varies from burghers to meatballs but I prefer the the latter since the feeling of the fat is minimum. The best option is to grill them in your BBQ, but yesterday it was a rainy day here, so I put them under the grill in my oven ant they were equally great. The caul of fat I had was rather small, so I made small meatballs with the rest of the stuffing.

Now, the ingredients:

- 750 grams mince (I used 500 grams lamb ans 250 beef, but you can also use pork)
- 1 large onion
- half a loaf stale bread, without the crust, soaked in water and then squizzed
- 1 bunch of parsley
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
- 2 level tsp salt
- caul of fat

caul of fat

Put the mince in mixing bowl.
Add the bread, the onion and the parsley finely chopped, the egg, salt, pepper and the cinammon.
Mix well and let it rest in the fridge for half an hour.

Take the coul of fat and put it in a bowl with tiepid water and two tablespoons of wine vinegar.
Rinse it and strain it wit a clean kitchen towel.
Put it on your working surface and cut strips of 8 cm in diameter.

Take a small quantity of your stuffing and wrap it with the caul of fat, just as you would with spring rolls.

Grill them until the fat gets a golden brown colour and serve them with fried potatoes (This time of year we have plenty of Cypriot potatoes) and a green salad.

We like finely chopped lettuce with spring onions and dill, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and wine vinegar.

If you want to be more authentic, serve also some fried haloumi cheese.

Good Morning Cyprus!

Melitzanosalata - Eggplant dip

This is a specialty from Epirus, in Northwestern Greece. There are many varieties of this dip around Greece and there is also a manufactured version which uses mayonnaise. The actual recipe, however, was created as an alternative for the fasting days during the Great Lent (the forty days before Easter) when the diet must be strictly vegetarian. What makes this recipe special is not that much the eggplant per se, but the "tahini", the sesame puree, which enhances the flavor and makes it more intense. There is also a different version which instead of tahini uses roasted ground almonds. It's just a matter of taste and all you have is to experiment yourselves. It's an ideal mezes and accompanies ouzo and tsipouro perfectly.

You'll need:

• 1 kilo of large round eggplants
• 2 large onions
• 2 medium lemons (the juice)
• 100-150 grams extra virgin olive oil
• 200 grams tahini (sesame puree)
• 100 grams dry breadcrumbs
• some chopped parsley
• salt, pepper

Put the eggplants whole in a baking dish and roast them in the oven for 30 minutes or until their skin is slightly burnt. Take them out off the oven, put them in a bowl, cover them with cling film and let them cool down for about 10 minutes. This way it will be much easier to peel them.
Put the flesh of the eggplant in a food proccessor, add the salt, peper, parsley and onion. Mix them for 1 minute, then add 1/3 of the olive oil and 1/3 of the lemon juice. Mix again for two minutes, add the rest of the oil and the lemon. Pour the sesame puree in the mixture, in small doses, making sure that the mix is getting homogeneous. Finally add as many breadcrumbs as you think it needs to become firm. Taste for salt and peper and put in the fridge for an hour. As with all mixtures, this will help the flavors to develop.

Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and serve with toasted rustic bread!

Good Apetite and have a Nice Great Lent! Kali orexi kai Kali Sarakosti!

Boxades (greek: μποξάδες)

Boxades, meaning handkerchifs, are small pies stuffed with lamb's meat and casseri cheese. It's a local recipe of Crete, though a larger version of a pie can also be found in Cyclades. It is better to use ready-made thin phyllo pastry rather than homemade because it's thinner and they are easier baked.They are an excellent appetizer and can be accompanied by a cool plate of tzatziki or plain yogurt.

We'll need:

• 1500 grams lamb's meat, preferably from the rear leg
• 500 grams of kasseri cheese, or another yellow semi-hard cheese
• 15 sheets of thin phyllo pastry
• 200 grams butter
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• dry oregano, salt, peper 

Wash the meat and cut in bite size pieces. Put them in a bowl, add the oil, oregano, salt and pepper. Stir them once and let them marinate for half an hour.

Meanwhile, prepare your phyllo. Spread the sheets on your working surface and cut them in four stripes. Cut also the kasseri cheese in thin slices of 6-7 cm.

Using a kitchen brush, spread each phyllo sheet with melted butter, put one slice of cheese on one end, add 2-3 pieces of meat and roll them tight, just as you would a spring roll. These are the boxades.

Brush a baking dish with butter too, and place the ready rolls in it next to each other. On top of each roll put a tiny bit of butter.

Bake in medium oven (180 C) until they are golden brown. Serve them warm, preferably with a red wine from Crete.

Good Apetite! Kali orexi!

Retsina, the Umber wine

Retsina (Greek: Ρετσίνα) is a Greek white (or rosé) resinated wine, which has been made for at least 2000 years. 
Its unique flavor is said to have originated from the practice of sealing wine vessels, particularly amphorae, with Aleppo Pine resin in ancient times.
In Greece, local Retsina is produced throughout the country. Major production centers around Attica, Boeotia and Euboea. 
The European Union treats the name "Retsina" as a protected designation of origin and traditional appellation for Greece and parts of the southern regions of Cyprus.
Nowadays, protecting the new wine from oxidation is easy to do with far simpler means and much less resin is used for retsina than traditionally called for. 
Such wines lack the pungent "whiff of turpentine" streak of old, and are considered ideal accompaniments to such strong-tasting local cuisine as pastourma or garlic dips.

Avgotaraho

Avgotaraho = A Taste with… History. 

Avgotaraho has been considered a delicacy since the era of the Pharaohs and it was an important element in the Ancient Greek diet. Its value was also known in Byzantine times, while nowadays it occupies a prominent place among gourmet products. 
A delicacy of cured Grey Mullet Roe. Natural without preservatives, with high nutritional value and a pleasant long-lasting aftertaste. 
Produced exclusively from Grey Mullet Roe, recognized as the best roe for Avgotaraho production. 
Standardized production techniques properly balance the salting and drying processes to deliver higher moisture and lower sodium in the final product. It is coated by natural bee’s wax, which sufficiently preserves the product and its delicate taste during its shelf life, despite the low sodium content. It constitutes a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, which reinforce body health by acting positively on the cardiovascular system and by strengthening the immune system.

Tzatziki, the Greek weapon-answer to the Twilight.

Tell me, which vampire could resist this garlic-fused greek bomb called tzatziki? As long as your breath is lightly (or heavily!!!) scented with the delightful fragrance of this garlic sauce, you can sleep calmly, unless you really want to be bitten by a blood-thirsty creature of the night.

In the real world now, Greek souvlaki is nothing without tzatziki, and if you share this passion for greek food with your potential boyfriend, then there won’t be any trouble, since neither of you would detect the garlicky smell.

Tzatziki is also very easy to make at home but since it is made of raw ingredients you have to be sure that they are of the best quality. Extra virgin olive oil, thick strained greek yogurt, organic and juicy cucumbers and red wine vinegar. You can use fresh garlic cloves but if you like a milder version which holds the flavor but not the heat, you can use garlic powder.

The quantities vary according to your taste but to start with, 500 grams of yogurt, a large cucumber and 2-3 garlic cloves are just fine.

You have to peel and coarsely grind* the cucumber. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and let it strain in a drainer for about an hour. Then squeeze it to get rid of the extra water and it is ready to mix. In a big bowl add the yogurt, the cucumber, the garlic cloves mashed or very thinly chopped, 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon of vinegar. Mix them gently and then taste for salt, because the cucumber has already been salted. Experiment with the quantity of olive oil and vinegar (you can start with 4 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of vinegar)  until you come up with a result that you really like. Don’t add more garlic. The dip must remain in your refrigerator in an airtight container (for obvious reasons) for at least one hour before the flavors are developed.

For more authenticity, when you are ready to serve it, just drizzle it with some olive oil and decorate the center with a Kalamata olive.

*Sometimes, especially when the cucumber is very juicy, I prefer to scoop the seeds out and dice it instead of grind it. This way it keeps its moisture and it adds a crunchy feeling to the dip.

 Finally, as much as I admire Jamie Oliver, NO, dear Jamie, we don't add dry oregano in the mixture. Maybe, just maybe, some dill!

It's all greek (food) to me!

Ok! This is not the ultimate list of greek cuisine, but it's a good place to start.
Most of these dishes are typically cooked around Greece and can be found in the majority of Greek traditional restaurants.
There are many more, usually regional dishes, which are a pleasant surprise to those who want to get off the beaten track.
I have to admit that for this post I relied on Wikipedia because I wasn't quite confident about some of the vocabulary, though I had to adjust some details.
In the future, you will find in this blog the original recipes, especially those from different regions of Greece. Enjoy!

Appetizers

• Deep-fried vegetables "tiganita" (courgettes/zucchini, aubergines, peppers, or mushrooms).
• Dakos, a Cretan salad consisting of a slice of soaked dried bread or barley rusk (paximadi) topped with chopped tomatoes and crumbled feta or mizithra cheese.
• Dolmadakia, grapevine leaves stuffed with rice and vegetables; meat is also often included.
• Fava: purée of yellow split peas or beans; sometimes made of fava beans (called κουκιά in Greek). In Santorini made from yellow lentils.
• Garides Saganaki: shrimp in spicy tomato sauce with cubes of feta or some other local cheese.
• Gavros: european anchovy.
• Gigandes plaki, baked giant white beans in tomato sauce.
• Greek salad: the so-called Greek salad is known in Greece as village/country salad (horiatiki) and is essentially a tomato salad with cucumber, red onion, feta cheese, and kalamata olives, dressed with olive oil. In Cyprus it contains also cracked wheat (bulgur), spring onions instead of red onions, and lemon juice.
• Horta: wild or cultivated greens, steamed or blanched and made into salad, simply dressed with lemon juice and olive oil. They can be eaten as a light meal with potatoes (especially during Lent, in lieu of fish or meat).
• Kalamarakia: deep-fried squid.
• Katsouni, cucumber from Santorini
• Kolokythakia: zucchini.
• Kolokythoanthoi: zucchini flowers stuffed with rice or cheese and herbs.
• Koukia: fava beans.
• Lachanosalata: cabbage salad. Very finely shredded cabbage with salt, olive oil, lemon juice/vinegar dressing. Often combined with finely shredded carrot.
• Kroketes: croquettes.
• Marides tiganites: deep-fried whitebait, usually served with lemon wedges.
• Melitzanes, eggplants. Notable is the white eggplant from Santorini.
• Melitzanosalata: eggplant (aubergine) based dip.
• Pantzarosalata: beetroot salad with olive oil and vinegar.
• Patatosalata: potato salad with olive oil, finely sliced onions, mayonnaise, lemon juice or vinegar.
• Saganaki: fried yellow cheese, usually graviera cheese; the word "saganaki" means a small cooking pan, is used to say "fried" and can be applied to many other foods.
• Skordalia: thick garlic and potato puree, usually accompanies deep fried fish/cod (bakaliaros skordalia, i.e. fried battered cod with garlic dip, a very popular dish).
• Spanakopita: spinach, feta cheese (sometimes in combination with (mizithra=ricotta cheese), onions or scallions, egg and seasoning wrapped in phyllo pastry in a form of a pie.
• Taramosalata (from Turkish tarama, roe): fish roe mixed with boiled potatoes or moistened breadcrumbs, olive oil and lemon juice.
• Tzatziki: yogurt with cucumber and garlic puree, used as a dip. Served with warm pita bread.
• Tyropita: a white cheese (usually feta) pie with phyllo pastry. When yellow cheese (usually kasseri) is used, it is called Kasseropita.

Soups

• Bourou-bourou, a vegetable and pasta soup from the island of Corfu.
• Fakes, a lentil soup, usually served with vinegar and olive oil.
• Fasolada, a bean soup defined in many cookery books as the traditional Greek dish, sometimes even called "the "national food of the Greeks". It is made of beans, tomatoes, carrot, celery and a generous amount of olive oil usually served with a variety of salty side dishes.
• Kotosoupa (chicken soup), usually thickened with avgolemono.
• Kremidosoupa, onion soup served with sprinkled cheese.
• Magiritsa, the traditional Easter soup made with lamb offal, thickened with avgolemono.
• Patsas, a tripe soup.
• Psarosoupa 'fish soup' can be made with a variety of fish, and several kinds of vegetables (carrots, parsley, celery, potatoes, onion), several varieties include the classic kakavia which is drizzled with olive oil.
• Revithia, a chickpea soup.
• Trahana soup, made from a dried grain-dairy substance.

Vegetarian main dishes

Very popular during fasting periods, such as the Great Lent:

• Anginares a la Polita: artichokes with olive oil.
• Arakas me anginares: oven-baked fresh peas with artichokes.
• Bamies: okra with tomato sauce (sometimes with potatoes or during non-fasting times with chicken/lamb).
• Briám: an oven-baked ratatouille of summer vegetables based on sliced potatoes and zucchini in olive oil. Usually includes eggplant, tomatoes, onions, and ample aromatic herbs and seasonings.
• Domatokeftedes: tomato fritters with mint, fried in olive oil and typically served with fava (split-pea paste). Mainly a Cycladic island dish.
• Fasolakia: fresh green beans stewed with potatoes, zucchini and tomato sauce.
• Ghemista, baked stuffed vegetables. Usually tomatoes, peppers, or other vegetables hollowed out and baked with a rice-and-herb filling or minced meat.
• Gigandes plaki: baked beans with tomato sauce and various herbs. Often made spicy with various peppers.
• Horta (greens), already mentioned in the appetizers section, are quite often consumed as a light main meal, with boiled potatoes and bread.
• Kinteata, a dish from Pontos cuisine, made from boiled young nettles.
• Lachanodolmades: cabbage rolls, stuffed with rice and sometimes meat, spiced with various herbs and served with avgolemono sauce or simmered in a light tomato broth.
• Lachanorizo, cabbage with rice.
• Prassorizo, leeks with rice.
• Spanakorizo, spinach and rice stew cooked in lemon and olive-oil sauce.

Meat and seafood dishes

• Apáki: a famous Cretan specialty; lean pork marinated in vinegar, then smoked with aromatic herbs and shrubs, and packed in salt.
• Astakos: lobster.
• Astakomacaronada: spaghetti with lobster.
• Atherina: fried smelts.
• Chtapodi sti schara: grilled octopus in vinegar, oil and oregano. Accompanied by ouzo.
• Fagkri sti schara: grilled red porgy.
• Gavros: fried or marinated anchovy.
• Giouvetsi: lamb or veal baked in a clay pot with kritharaki (orzo) and tomatoes.
• Gopes tiganites: fried bogues.
• Gyros: meat (usually pork or chicken) roasted on a vertically turning spit and served with sauce (often tzatziki) and garnishes (tomato, onions) on pita bread, or served as a sandwich wrapped in pita bread together with tomatoes, onions, tzatziki and tomato sauce; a popular fast food.
• Hilopites pasta with chicken: savory chicken is mixed with "Hilopites" or cut up tile-shaped pasta in a spiced tomato sauce.
• Kalamari: squid, most often fried or stuffed with rice.
• Kleftiko: literally meaning "in the style of the Klephtes", this is lamb slow-baked on the bone, first marinated in garlic and lemon juice, originally cooked in a pit oven. It is said that the Klephtes, bandits of the countryside who did not have flocks of their own, would steal lambs or goats and cook the meat in a sealed pit to avoid the smoke being seen.
• Keftedakia, fried meatballs.
• Loukaniko, sausage
• Macaronada: classic spaghetti.
• Moussaka : an oven-baked layer dish: ground meat and eggplant casserole, topped with a savory custard which is then browned in the oven. There are other variations besides eggplant, such as zucchini or rice, but the eggplant version, melitzánes moussaká is by far the most popular. The papoutsákia ("little shoes") variant is essentially the same dish, with the meat and custard layered inside hollowed, sauteéd eggplants.
• Barbounia: red mullets.
• Bifteki: Ground beef burgers either baked, fried or grilled.
• Mydia: mussels.
• Oven-baked lamb with potatoes (Αρνί στο φούρνο με πατάτες). One of the most common "Sunday" dishes. There are many variations with additional ingredients.
• Oven-baked chicken with potatoes (Κοτόπουλο στο φούρνο με πατάτες). Another common Sunday dish.
• Paidakia: grilled lamb chops with lemon, oregano, salt and pepper.
• Pastitsio: an oven-baked layer dish: Bechamel sauce top, then pasta in the middle and ground meat cooked with tomato sauce at the bottom.
• Pork with celery (hirino me selino/hirino selinato).
• Savridia: mackerels oven-baked or fried.
• Soupia me melani: cuttlefish cooked in its ink.
• Soutzoukakia Smyrneika (Smyrna meatballs): long shaped meatballs with cumin, cinnamon and garlic and boiled in tomato sauce (sometimes with whole olives). Often served with rice or mashed potatoes.
• Souvlaki: (lit: "skewer") grilled small pieces of meat (usually pork but also chicken or lamb) served on the skewer for eating out of hand, or served as a sandwich wrapped in pita bread together with tomatoes, onions, tzatziki and/or tomato sauce; a popular fast food, also called kalamaki (small reed) mainly in Athens.
• Spetsofai: a stew of country sausage, green mild peppers, onions and wine. Originates from Pelion.
• Stifado: rabbit or hare stew with pearl onions, vinegar, red wine and cinnamon. Beef can be substituted for game.
• Xiphias: swordfish.

• Yiouvarlakia: meatballs soup with egg-lemon sauce.
• Strapatsada: eggs scrambled in olive oil and fresh tomato puree, seasoned with salt, pepper and oregano. Often includes feta cheese.

Sweets

• Amygdalotá or pastéli exist in many varieties throughout Greece and Cyprus, and are especially popular in the islands. They consist of powdered blanched almonds, confectioner's sugar and rose water, molded in various shapes and sizes. They are snow-white and are considered wedding and baptismal desserts.
• Finikia, cookie topped with chopped nuts.
• Baklava, phyllo pastry layers filled with nuts and drenched in honey.
• Diplahs, a Christmas and wedding delicacy, made of paper-thin, sheet-like dough which is cut in large squares and dipped in a swirling fashion in a pot of hot olive oil for a few seconds. As the dough fries, it stiffens into a helical tube; it is then removed immediately and sprinkled with honey and crushed walnuts.^[16]
• Galaktoboureko, custard baked between layers of phyllo, and then soaked with lemon-scented honey syrup. The name derives from the Greek "gala"(γάλα), meaning milk, and from the Turkish börek, meaning filled, thus meaning "filled with milk."
• Halva, a commercial version consisting of a nougat of sesame with almonds or cacao and a homemade version with semolina and syrup.
• Karidopita, a cake of crushed walnuts, soaked or not in syrup.
• Koulourakia, butter or olive-oil cookies.
• Kourabiedes, Christmas cookies made by kneading flour, butter and crushed roasted almonds, then generously dusted with powdered sugar.
• Loukoumades, similar to small crusty donuts, loukoumades are essentially fried balls of dough drenched in honey and sprinkled with cinnamon, typically served with crushed walnuts.
• Loukoumi is a confection made from starch and sugar, essentially it is from Turkey known as the Turkish delight. A variation from Serres is called Akanés. Loukoúmia are flavored with various fruit flavors, with rose water considered the most prized.
• Melomakarona, "honey macaroons", Christmas cookies soaked with a syrup of diluted honey (méli in Greek) and then sprinkled with crushed walnuts.
• Milopita, apple pie with cinnamon and powdered sugar.
• Moustalevria, a flour and grape must flan.
• Moustokouloura, cookies of flour kneaded with fresh grape juice (must) instead of water.
• Rizogalo ("rice-milk") is rice pudding.
• Spoon sweets (γλυκά του κουταλιού) of various fruits, ripe or unripe, or green unripe nuts. Spoon sweets are essentially marmalade except that the fruit are boiled whole or in large chunks covered in the fruit's made syrup.
• Tsoureki, a traditional Christmas and Easter sweet bread also known as 'Lambropsomo' (Easter bread), flavored with Chios mastic and "mahlepi", the intensely aromatic extract of the stone of the St. Lucie Cherry.
• Vasilopita, Saint Basil's cake or King's cake, traditional only for New Year's Day. Vasilopites are baked with a coin inside, and whoever gets the coin in their slice are considered blessed with good luck for the whole year.
• Yiaourti, Yogurt with honey and walnuts.

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuisine_of_Greece)