Greek Recipes

In Greek cuisine, there is a special category of dishes, that we call ‘meze’ or ‘mezedes’ in the plural. Mezedes  are an endless list of ‘little somethings’’ you want to eat with your beer, ouzo, or wine. A Meze is not a main course but the great variety usually offered in a house or tavern, ends up being a full meal. To make meatballs many people use half pork-half beef ground meat; others use lamb ground meat. We always use only beef at the tavern and everyone seems to like this version. It is also the kids’ favorite; I remember when I was a kid whenever I didn’t like lunch my grandmother would always make meatballs especially for me. Meatballs are ideally matched with fried potatoes and tzatziki. Meatballs (Keftedákia) Serves 4 500gr ground beef 70gr olive oil 120gr water 90gr dried bread crumbs 1-2 garlic cloves 1 medium onion 2 Tsp chopped parsley 1 egg beaten salt and pepper to taste Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix with your hands. Form bite-size meat balls with

Laderá in Greek means braising vegetables with olive oil (ládi) to taste. These dishes are mostly cooked in summer when there are many fresh vegetables, but also because of the heat, light dishes are most enjoyed. Green beans is the most classic ‘’oil cooked’’ dishes. All over Greece there are many local varieties of green beans that differ in size and shape. Of course, there are frozen green beans,all year long in the super market, but I believe that vegetables should be consumed fresh when they can be cultivated outdoors in the right season.  Green beans are always cooked with onion, tomato and parsley, while the quality of olive oil defines the final taste. Extra virgin olive oil gives to vegetables a light and really superior taste. The most suitable and popular side dish for vegetables is cheese, - feta or any other local cheese, such as graviera or kefalotyri. Braised green beans Serves 4 1kg green beans 200gr olive oil (or to taste) 1 medium onion 200gr chopped tomatoes 4 Tsp

“The street filled with tomatoes, midday, summer, light is halved like a tomato, its juice runs through the streets. (….) The tomato offers its gift of fiery color and cool completeness. Pablo Neruda   “Ode to tomato”   Every summer I look forward to harvest the first ripe tomatoes in order to make kayanas with the right taste. That magnificent combination of tomatoes and eggs is my favorite main course for the hot summer days. It is also nice over toasted bread as an appetizer in a summer lunch, or as a rich sauce for pasta. Kayanas can be seasoned with oregano, basil, mint or garlic but please only one of them; tomato has to be the King of flavor. This food reminds me of my childhood, when my mother used to cook it with tomatoes from our garden. I could eat that every day for the whole season! Serves 2 ingredients: 600gr peeled and finely chopped tomatoes 4-6 eggs 150gr olive oil 1 Tsp sugar salt, pepper, oregano In a saucepan put the tomatoes, sugar some salt and pepper and simmer

Rosa Damascena In the old days when modern methods of preserving fruits all year long didn’t exist, there was still a need to serve your guests some always available dessert. This led people to invent fruits preserved in syrup. A spoonful of such a preserve and a cup of Greek coffee were and still are the common welcoming treat. ''... add the lemon juice and magically your jam turns to a beautiful red'' Rose jam, though, is quite different since it can only be made from   a specific species of rose ( Rosa Damascena ) , the same one used for rose oil extraction. These roses are mostly cultivated in monasteries all over Greece where this jam is part of their income, but it is also served as a treat for the visitors. It is not usual to find these roses in house gardens probably because they blossom only for a couple of weeks every June. They have very thin petals and a very intense aroma. I believe you can try this recipe with roses from your garden with similar character

I’m Panos. I come from Greece and I’d like to share my enthusiasm for Greek cuisine with you. This is a blog that aspires to initiate you into traditional Greek cuisine as it is still being cooked all over Greece , but also   to help you discover all those special ingredients locals use in cooking. It may be a difficult time for Greece , though I believe that all forms of culture, including food culture, are essential and independent parts of our lives beyond any economical or political circumstances. Food has a very important role in my life since my work is to cook with my mother in our family tavern,   - something we love to do. I’ll be looking forward to your comments and remarks about everything presented here. Enjoy!