For me, food is the most important element of a holiday in Greece – unless it’s spent in an all-inclusive holiday ghetto with a daily buffet of cuisine of nowhere fodder. That’s a decisive no-no – Greek food is to be had in tavernas, harbour restaurants and kafeneions.
Look out especially for the tavernas that don’t have a menu but instead the owner or waiter takes you round to the daily dishes counter and presents what’s on offer that day. It will all be freshly prepared, using cheap and simple, locally sourced produce, and the bill will be surprisingly good value. Just don’t over-order – the portions are generous!
Wine with your meal is as good a value as the food, if you go for a carafe of house white or red – amusingly measured by the kilo.
Here’s a bunch of recipes to bring back the Greek holiday flavours – though in truth nothing ever tastes the same as it did in Chania or Lindos.
You’d think this is one dish impossible to replicate at home: no way can you grill meat stacked on the elephant leg in your kitchen! And you can’t, but this recipe is a very tasty and perfectly easy approximation. Serve with pita and tzatziki for authenticity!
Classic moussaka is gorgeous, and quite a lot of work to prepare. You can make an easier version called papoutsaki, stuffing the meat into aubergine halves and baking under cheesy bechamel but the real deal is worth tackling every once in a while.
For breakfast there’s yoghurt and honey, and for lunch it must be a Greek pie or pita. My favourite one is spanakopita, with cheese and spinach. In Greece they also use handfuls of local greens called horta instead of spinach but you can stick to what greens you have.
Meat pies are less traditional and more of a western influence but this recipe is gorgeous: a spanakopita bulked out with leftover shredded roast lamb. By all means use chicken instead of lamb.
Lamb and spinach filo pie
RECIPE
Saganaki prawns, saganaki cheese, the name of the dish comes from the round skillet they slip into the oven for mezedes participation. Feta is more commonly coated in flour or breadcrumbs and fried, then served in the little dishes, here also with caramelised figs.
Feta saganaki with figs
RECIPE
The combo might be a little ad lib but the flavours are fully authentic. The lamb especially will blow your mind! Layered with couscous sweetened with dried apricots and salad leaves bejewelled with pomegranate seeds, this salad is a complete winner!
Lamb and couscous salad
RECIPE
Yes, I know – it’s not exactly the Greek salad as you know it, but the combination of fresh cucumbers, salty feta and sweet honey is a very Greek flavour. It’s a minimalist version of the original salad, arguably better for it without as ripe tomatoes and as sweet onion as they have in Greece.
Cucumbers with feta and honey
RECIPE
A variation of the above, the salty-sweet combo is the simplest summery perfection. Made much better with a whole watermelon prepared at home rather than the sad supermarket cubes in a plastic tub.
And we could not miss koftas, served with a simple harissa dip. Lamb koftas are perfect for a barbecue and just as tasty griddled in the kitchen. Make a bowl of tzatziki instead of the harissa dip if you prefer it less spicy.
Lamb koftas with harissa dip
RECIPE
And Greece has so many delicious cheeses, most of which we hardly know! This is manouri, a gentler than feta type of cheese, albeit made from sheep and goat’s milk too. Here it is lightly grilled, served on a bed of (also lightly grilled) gem lettuce halves and some spiced cannellini beans.
Grilled manouri cheese salad
RECIPE