What is Greek cuisine? Greek dishes are dishes based on cheese, vegetables, olives and seafood, to which spices, lemon juice and olive oil are used.
National cuisine of Greece
Greek cooking was influenced by Turkish, Slavic, Italian and Arabian culinary schools, as a result of which it became an independent landmark of the country.
National dishes are prepared using meat (lamb), cheese and seafood, from the first courses lentil soup is popular - "fakes", and, for example, in Crete vegetables are in high esteem - they are stuffed here, fried, steamed, baked (it is worth trying "briam”- Greek vegetable stew), as well as fish (as a rule, it is baked over an open fire).
Main dishes of Greek cuisine:
- Stifado (a stew with onions and oranges);
- Patudo (lamb stuffed with cheese and liver);
- “Pastizio” (pasta casserole with meat filling);
- “Way-glika” (pie stuffed with walnuts);
- “Melizana psiti” (baked dish with tomatoes, eggplant and cheese).
Where to taste the national cuisine?
For inexpensive and tasty dishes, it is advisable to go to a tavern (there, for example, they serve "moussaka" - stacked layers of potatoes, minced meat and eggplants with a "béchamel" sauce) or a psistaria tavern (here they serve meat fried on a spit or charcoal, for example, "Paidakya" - lamb ribs).
In Athens, the national cuisine can be tasted in “Acropolis View” (the atmosphere of this restaurant is imbued with the spirit of Ancient Athens, where you should order the dish of the day from the chef); in Thessaloniki - in the tavern "1901" (here it is recommended to order mussels, "moussaka", beef and lamb with sauce); on Halkidiki (Hanioti) - in the restaurant “Arhontico” (here you should enjoy feta cheese baked in spicy herbs, as well as “souvlaki” - skewers of different types of meat on skewers); on Corfu (Paleokastritsa) - in “Nereids Restaurant” (it is recommended to try fish and seafood prepared in different ways, as well as lamb with baked potatoes).
Cooking classes in Greece
On the island of Ikaria, you will be taught how to cook healthy and simple Greek dishes (chef Diana Cochias) in the form of pancakes with honey and cinnamon; shrimp in a creamy sauce; Soufiko (Greek version of ratatouille); tzadiki with garlic-cucumber-yoghurt sauce (training will take place at a 100-year-old villa). And before cooking, you will be invited to visit food suppliers - Diamanto Plaka cheese factory, Kollia bakery, Nicos distillery.
Not sure when to come to Greece? Of course, during the Aeginian pistachio festival (September), the chestnut festival (Arna, Peloponnese, October), the Thessaloniki Food Festival (Thessaloniki, January) and the Agro Quality Festival (Athens, April-May).
