Taste of the Greek Islands

Soup

Fasolada is a traditional Greek soup that is made with dried white beans drizzled with olive oil. The soup is eaten with different vegetables and herbs like onion, celery, and tomatoes. Prepare the soup by heating olive oil in the soup pot and add chopped onions, carrots, celery, and sliced garlic and sauté for a couple of minutes. Add tomato paste, tomato sauce, and crushed tomatoes with herbs and spices, and mix with white beans and broth. The soup is simmered for about half an hour until the vegetables are tender.

Patsas is a soup with the main ingredients lamb, sheep, or pork tripe. The broth is enriched with garlic, onions, lemon juice, and vinegar. Occasionally the broth is thickened with avgolemono, a mixture of whisked eggs and lemon juice.

Kakavia is a fisherman’s soup prepared with small fish left from the daily catch. Ingredients added to the soup are onions, potatoes, olive oil, and seasoning. Different versions of the soup can include shellfish, crustaceans, and vegetables like tomatoes, carrots, or celery.

Youvarlakia is a hearty soup with beef meatballs and a creamy broth. The soup is seasoned with fresh herbs. To thicken the soup avgolemono, a creamy egg and lemon sauce is added. The soup is accompanied by bread.

Psarosoupa is a fish soup made with firm flesh fish such as red mullet, snapper, cod, or red gurnard. Vegetables added are carrots, celery, onions or leeks, garlic, and potatoes. When the soup is done, the fish is set aside, and rice is boiled in the broth. An egg beaten with lemon juice can be added to the broth.

Fakes, a traditional Greek lentil soup, is prepared with green or brown lentils, onions, garlic, carrots, and at times pureed tomatoes. The soup is served topped with olive oil and vinegar and is usually enjoyed as a winter meal with bread.

Meat

Kόkoras krasάtos is a Greek variation on the famous French coq au vin. The soup is prepared with rooster, Greek red wine, onions, garlic, Greek olive oil, cinnamon stick, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, bay leaves, tomatoes, and Florina peppers or Florina pepper paste. The rooster is simmered in the red wine sauce until the meat is tender. Traditionally the dish is served with spaghetti-like pasta and topped with grated Kefalotyri cheese.

Greek roasted leg of lamb is a classic with a leg of lamb roasted with potatoes. The leg of lamb is first marinated and seasoned with olive oil and fresh herbs. It is usually prepared for special occasions and served drizzled with lemon juice.

Gamopilafo is a complex dish combining meat like goat, lamb, veal, chicken, or pork with rice. The meat is cooked separately, and then the meat broth is used for cooking the rice, which is flavored with lemon juice and butter. When served, the meat is sliced and placed on top of the rice. The dish is accompanied by lemon wedges.

Phylla, means leaves in Greek. The dish is prepared with vine leaves stuffed with ground beef and pork, rice, onions, tomatoes, salt, and pepper. When the vine leaves have been stuffed, they are placed in a large pot over a layer of vine leaves and tomato slices with water or stock and lemon juice, then cooked until tender. The dish is traditionally served with a dollop of Greek yogurt on top.

Pastitsada is made with cuts of rooster or beef. The meat is seared and sauteed in a delicious tomato-based sauce with onions, garlic, olive oil, wine, and spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves. It is traditionally served over penne or spaghetti and topped with grated cheese.

Kotopoulo is a Greek chicken dish and can be prepared in one pot or baked. The name of the dish means chicken and lemonato or lemony since the dish is cooked with lemon and oregano. Potatoes are peeled and placed in a bowl of water, then drained and cut into smaller pieces. The chicken pieces are placed in a baking dish with the potatoes in between and baked for about an hour. This lemon chicken is served with Greek feta salad.

Kouneli stifado is a traditional stew with browned pieces of rabbit meat cooked with onions, tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic, red wine or red wine vinegar, chicken or rabbit stock, and olive oil. For flavor, spices like cinnamon, bay leaves, allspice berries, oregano, rosemary, cumin, salt, and pepper are added. The dish is served with freshly ground black pepper grated on top.

Kreatopita is a meat pie that combines flaky phyllo dough with ground meat. The filling can include rice, leeks, cheese, bechamel sauce, and seasonings.

Kokoretsi is a dish made with lamb or goat offal chopped in tiny pieces, seasoned with lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper. The offal is skewered, covered with caul fat, and cooked over charcoal. It is consumed as an appetizer or meze on Easter Sunday.

Giouvetsi is a casserole that combines pasta and tomato-braised meat prepared in one pot. The meat is usually veal, and the rich tomato sauce is made with cinnamon, allspice, red wine, cloves, and bay leaves. Two types of pasta can be used small-sized orzo or square-shaped hilopites. The casserole is topped with grated cheese.

Biftekia is a dish that is a cross between burger patties and flattened meatballs. The patties are made with ground pork, beef, or lamb and combined with onions, breadcrumbs, eggs, and herbs like mint and oregano. Then the patties are fried in hot oil but can also be grilled, They're served with fries, red onions, or cooked vegetables.

Stifado is a hearty one-pot stew that is prepared with meat like goat, rabbit, wild hare, and beef but can also include snails, tripe, or octopus. The stew is cooked with lots of onions, tomatoes, wine or vinegar, and garlic. Mushrooms can be added, and spices like cinnamon, cloves, and allspice.

Paidakia is a dish with grilled lamb chops. The lamb chops are marinated in olive oil, lemon juice, and fresh herbs. Then they are grilled on traditional charcoal barbecues. They are served with potatoes, salads, or creamy tzatziki sauce.

Moussaka is one of the best-known Greek dishes – a baked casserole consisting of ground lamb meat and layers of sliced eggplant, covered with a thick layer of bechamel sauce that gets golden and crusty as it bakes. The lamb is sometimes replaced with beef, while the eggplants might be replaced with zucchini or potatoes.

Souvlaki is one of the most popular Greek dishes made with small cubes of skewered and grilled pork, chicken, lamb, or beef, the meat is placed in pita bread. It can be topped with tomatoes and sauce.

Gyros is one of the most popular Greek street food dishes. It consists of meat like pork, chicken, or lamb cooked on a vertical spit. The meat is thinly sliced and placed in pita bread with sauce like tzatziki and tomatoes, onions, lettuce, and cucumbers.

Fish

Astakomakaronada is a dish prepared with lobster meat in a flavorful tomato sauce and served over pasta. Traditionally the lobster is served in shells, and the dish is garnished with parsley.

Tonosalata is a tuna salad with chunks of tuna mixed with various diced vegetables and capers, olives, and herbs. The salad is coated in a creamy dressing or seasoned with olive oil and lemon juice. It is served chilled.

Grilled octopus is a classic dish. The octopus is cooked and then grilled over charcoal. It is served thinly sliced and seasoned with olive oil, a drizzle of lemon, and oregano.

Garides Saganaki is a dish prepared with sautéed shrimp that are traditionally deglazed with anise-flavored ouzo and doused in a rich tomato sauce. The dish is topped with crumbled feta cheese.

Vegetables

Gigandes plaki is a dish with large white beans that are cooked and baked in a tomato sauce. The sauce is seasoned with oregano, parsley, and mint.

Greek-style stuffed squash flowers are filled with rice or cheese and different spices and herbs. Once stuffed, the blossoms are slow-baked in the oven. They can be accompanied by yogurt on the side.

Kolokithopita is a savory Greek pie with a filling of zucchini and feta between two layers of phyllo pastry.

Delicious tomato fritters are made with diced tomatoes with onions and fresh herbs. Grated zucchini and feta can be added. The fritters are combined and fried.

Hortopita is derived from the Greek words horta meaning wild greens, and pita, meaning pie. This is a savory pastry that is filled with a variety of wild or cultivated greens, The pastry is made with phyllo dough, and the filling consists of aromatic herbs, crumbled cheese like feta, and at times eggs.

Strapatsada is made with diced sauteed tomatoes seasoned with fresh herbs. The tomatoes are combined with lightly beaten eggs, and topped with crumbled feta cheese.

Ladenia is a soft flatbread topped with tomato slices, onions, and Greek olive oil. The dough is prepared with flour, yeast, water, and salt. The tomato topping can be enhanced with capers and peppers.

Greek potato salad is made with large chunks of potatoes coated in a dressing made with olive oil, mustard, yogurt, or mayonnaise. The salad includes boiled eggs, olives, and fresh herbs like dill or parsley. Lemon juice is sprinkled on.

Sanakopita is a spinach pie with buttery, flaky phyllo pastry. The pastry is filled with cooked spinach, lemon juice, feta cheese and can include dill.