Greek food is a pure reflection of the Greek culture—lively, energetic, exciting, a panoply of amazing flavors, all about family and friends, and great fun!
I challenge anyone to define any country with such a collective zest for life! A reflection of the warm culture, Greek food is usually served and shared family style.
Make the mezes (appetizers) for a cocktail party buffet, as entrées to a full-on feast, or as part of a complete lunch or dinner spread. For Greek Orthodox Easter, a slowly-spit-roasted whole lamb or suckling pig will make for a major feast.
If you visit Greece at Eastertime, in the smaller towns and villages, you will see families out on the side streets, gathering as someone operates the manual rotation of the spit, which rotates the lamb over smoldering coals. The intoxicating, wafting aromas of lamb, oregano, garlic, and lemon are mesmerizing.
As for the beverage recommendations for your dinner party, I love retsina, but some people just can’t get used to the pine-resin taste and aroma of this dry, white wine that is unique to Greece.
Also, I don’t usually care for rosé wines, yet those made in Greece are delicious. There is also something wonderful about Greek beers. If you can find Mythos or Alpha brands, you will be pleased.
Then, of course, we have ouzo. The heady, anise-scented aperitif is yet another gift from Greece to the world. Serve ouzo in small, juice-size glasses, on the rocks, and/or with a bit of water, and consume with caution, or you’ll be dancing naked in the streets and sporting one heck of a headache the next day! I’m not speaking from experience!
After dinner, enjoy aromatic Greek coffee with a snifter of the world-famous Greek brandy, Metaxa. Particularly in the hot summer months, rather than Metaxa, the after-dinner choice of liqueur is rakia, also called tsipouro or tsikoudia (particularly in Crete) or raki (in Turkey).
Rakia is the Greek version of Italian or Spanish grapa. It, too, is made from the seeds of the grape. This rather potent distillate is served after a meal to aid in digestion.
Several restaurants on mainland Greece will offer complimentary after-dinner rakia, but everywhere in Crete, expect very generous portions of tsikoudia.
Opah!Then, after you leave your restaurant, fully sated, at 1 a.m., you can head to the nightclubs to dance and chat until the sun comes up. You won’t have a difficult time replicating the sensation for your own Greek Gala evening!
I hope to upload all the recipes on this page very soon. Thanks for your patience.
Mezes
- Taramosalata (carp-roe caviar dip)
- Tzatziki (cucumber-yogurt dip)
- Meltzanasalata (grilled eggplant dip)
- Keftedes (Greek lamb meat balls)
Main Dishes and Sides
- Greek Salad
- Whole Baby Lamb
- Moussaka or Pastitsio
- Dolmades (stuffed grape leaves)
- Spanakorizo (spinach rice)
- Horiatiki (steamed, wild mountain greens)
Beverages
- Lemonade
- Gazoza sodas
- Retsina
- Rosé wines
- Ouzo
- Beer
- Sounion Sunset
- Greek coffee
- Metaxa brandy
Desserts
- Galaktoboureko
- Baklava or Kataifi
Put on some Greek music, such as Mikis Theodorakis or something more contemporary, and rejoice! Opah!
