Top 10 dishes to try in Greece
Steeped in history and lapped by the Mediterranean sea, Greece is home to some of the finest ingredients in the world. Sample them in a traditional Greek dish along with a glass of ouzo.
Greece has long been a family holiday favourite with its beautiful blue waters, child-friendly beaches and an abundance of
delicious food made with fresh ingredients. Make sure you sample all the country has to offer with our pick of traditional dishes…
Don’t leave Greece without trying…
1. Taramasalata
A mainstay of any Greek meal are classic dips such as tzatziki (yogurt, cucumber and garlic), melitzanosalata (aubergine), and fava (creamy split pea purée). But the delectable taramasalata (fish roe dip) is a must. This creamy blend of pink or white fish roe, with either a potato or bread base, is best with a drizzle of virgin olive oil or a squeeze of lemon.
2. Olives and olive oil
Greeks have been cultivating olives for millennia – some even say that Athena gave an olive tree to the city of Athens, thus winning its favour. Greek meals are accompanied by local olives, some cured in a hearty sea salt brine, others like wrinkly throubes, eaten uncured from the tree. Similarly, olive oil, the elixir of Greece, is used liberally in cooking and salads, and drizzled over most dips and dishes. Many tavernas use their own oil.
Try making your own rosemary-flavoured olives and put that jar to good use with our top 10 ideas for using up olives.
3. Dolmades
Each region in Greece – in fact, each household – has its variation on dolmades, whether it's the classic vine leaf parcel, or hollowed out vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers and courgettes, stuffed and baked in the oven. The stuffing often consists of minced meat with long-grain rice, or vegetarian versions boast rice flavoured with heady combinations of herbs like thyme, dill, fennel and oregano. Pine nuts can also be used.
4. Moussaka
Variations on moussaka are found throughout the Mediterranean and the Balkans, but the iconic Greek oven-bake is based on layers of sautéed aubergine, minced lamb, fried puréed tomato, onion, garlic and spices like cinnamon and allspice, a bit of potato, then a final fluffy topping of béchamel sauce and cheese.
5. Grilled meat
Greeks are master of charcoal-grilled and spit-roasted meats. Souvlaki, chunks of skewered pork, is still Greece’s favourite fast food, served on chopped tomatoes and onions in pitta bread with lashings of tzatziki. Gyros, too, is popular served in the same way. At the taverna, local free-range lamb and pork dominate, though kid goat is also a favourite.
6. Fresh fish
Settle down at a seaside taverna and eat as locals have since ancient times. Fish and calamari fresh from the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas are incredibly tasty and cooked with minimum fuss – grilled whole and drizzled with ladholemono (a lemon and oil dressing). Flavoursome smaller fish such as barbouni (red mullet) and marida (whitebait) are ideal lightly fried.
7. Courgette balls (kolokythokeftedes)
Sometimes a patty, sometimes a lightly fried ball, be sure to try these starters any chance you get. The fritter is usually made from grated or puréed courgette blended with dill, mint, or other top-secret spice combinations. Paired with tzatziki, for its cooling freshness, you just can’t lose.
8. Octopus
Along harbours, octopuses are hung out to dry like washing – one of the iconic images of Greece. Grilled or marinated, they make a fine meze (appetiser), or main course stewed in wine.
9. Feta & cheeses
When in Greece, fresh cheese is a joy. Ask behind market counters for creamy and delicious feta kept in big barrels of brine (nothing like the type that comes in plastic tubs in markets outside of Greece). Or, sample graviera, a hard golden-white cheese, perfect eaten cubed, or fried as saganaki. At bakeries you’ll find tyropita (cheese pie) while at tavernas, try salads like Cretan dakos, topped with a crumbling of mizithra, a soft, white cheese.
10. Honey & baklava
Greeks love their sweets, which are often based on olive oil and honey combinations encased in flaky filo pastry. The classic baklava involves honey, filo and ground nuts. Or try galatoboureko, a sinful custard-filled pastry. A more simple sweet is local thyme honey drizzled over fresh, thick Greek yogurt.
