Janine Kelso offers a bite-size, region-by-region guide to Greek food, from lobster in the Peloponnese to spicy meat patties in the north
Greek food is tasty and uncomplicated, and a real pleasure for visitors to the country. Follow our advice on turning a trip to the country into a gourmet experience.
The Greek menu
It is usual to begin your meal with a selection of mezedes, or small snacks. This might consist of dishes such as taramosalata, a rich fishy salmon-coloured puree, or souvlakia, grilled pork on skewers often served up with tzatziki, a mix of yoghurt, cucumber, garlic and mint.
The main course is normally a fish or meat-based dish such as mousaka, which consists of layers of fried aubergine and potato slices with spicy minced meat. End the meal in style by enjoying cakes or pastries with coffee.
Greek essentials
There are no rich sauces, but olive oil is a key ingredient, which is added liberally to every dish.
Feta cheese is made from sheep’s milk, although it may include some goat’s milk, too. Feta usually comes from mountainous regions where the sheep travel long distances so they feed on a variety of plants without getting fat – all contributing to the taste and the extremely white colour.
Greek honey stands out from its counterparts because it’s darker in colour, has a flowery aroma and an intense flavour. Greeks like to drizzle it over yoghurt or use it as an ingredient in sweets with sesame seeds or chopped nuts.
Dolmadhes consist of rice wrapped in vine leaves, then cooked in water, oil and lemon juice.
The Peloponnese
Greece’s fertile southernmost peninsula, the Peloponnese, has many vegetables and fruit, olives and olive oil, cheese and honey.
The mountains here are home to roaming sheep, goat and game, while the sea provides locals with delicious shellfish and crustaceans.
- Lobster and crab are normally chargrilled or pan-fried and flavoured with herbs, sea salt, olive oil and lemon juice.
- Kaimaki is a sweet, thick cream, the perfect complement to pastries or walnuts and honey.
- Arni me votana is a lamb casserole with herbs, vegetables, beans, carrots, tomatoes and potatoes.
Athens
Greece’s bustling capital has a diverse and varied cuisine thanks to its mixed population, a melting pot of communities who moved from the countryside and the islands.
Some of its top dishes include:
- Mprizoles, a beef or pork steak cooked with olive oil and lemon juice.
- Sparangia kai aginares, which is boiled asparagus and artichoke hearts in olive oil and lemon juice.
- Also try sweet pastries filled with nuts and honey.
Northern Greece
Food in the north of Greece is spicier than the rest of the country thanks to an influx of Greek immigrants, resulting from the Asia Minor war in 1922.
- Soutzoukakia are meat patties spiced with coriander, pepper and cumin.
- Tas kebab is a casserole made of goat, mutton or beef.
- Gemista are oven-baked vegetables stuffed with rice, pine nuts and herbs.
Central and western Greece
Local specialities include cheese and spicy pies, but there is plenty more to get your teeth stuck into.
- Spetzofai is spicy sausage sliced up and combined with herbs and vegetables.
- Bourtheto is a coastal dish in which small fish are coated in a spicy tomato sauce.
- Glyko kastano, a chestnut pudding flavoured with honey and orange.