Delve Into The Exotic Flavors Of Greek Cuisine

Greek cuisine can be described as elegant, historical and simple. With its tradition and its flavours that change with the season and its geography, Greek cuisine is not just your typical Mediterranean cuisine. It traces back from Italy and the Middle East. Their basic grain is wheat but they have also been known to grow barley.

Take a look at some of the exciting dishes you may encounter when choosing to feast on Greek cuisine.

Did you know that the oldest known evidence of wine production was in Europe? It was dated 4500 BC and comes from archaeological sites in Greece. No wonder why Greece is one of the most notable names when the word "wine" comes to mind. Not only that, the earliest attested terms referring to wine would be the Mycenaean Greeks.

There are many Greek wines to choose from: sweet or dry, rose and white, and red.

There are many Greek wines to choose from. Categories range from:
sweet or dry, rose and white, and red.

• Tzatziki
• Saganaki
• Keftedakia
• Spanakepitakia
• Tiropitakia
• Horta
• Avgolemono
• Briam
• Dolmadakia
• Kalama Rakia
• Htapodi
• Feta cheese

Main Dishes of Greece

* Tzatziki- Greek yogurt with chopped cucumbers, olive oil, and garlic. Tzatziki is usually used as a dip.
* Saganaki- Fried cheese
* Keftedakia- Fried beef meatballs
* Spanakepitakia - Small spinach pies wrapped in filo pastry with feta cheese
* Tiropitakia - Small cheese pies topped with feta or kasseri cheese
* Horta - Boiled greens with olive oil, salt and a dash of lemon
* Avgolemono - This is a soup that may include chicken or other meat, vegetables or fish broth that has been thickened with rice and eggs.
* Briam - This dish is a delightful combination of potatoes, eggplant, onions, garlic, tomato sauce together with the Greek staple, olive oil.
* Dolmadakia - Hand-picked large grape leaves filled with fresh rice and onions.
* Kalama Rakia - Fried squid with a splash of lemon
* Htapodi - This includes pieces of octopus
* Feta cheese - Greece is known for their famous feta

Kleftiko/ Klephti?o in Greek translation means "stolen meat". Some can call it Bandit's Lamb. This famous Greek dish is made from slow cooked lamb or other meat.

Examples of Greek Wines & Other Alcoholic Beverages

Kokoretsi is traditionally served as a starter. It's a meal that is customarily made and served at Easter along with Lamb on the Spit. This cuisine is made from the internal organs of a lamb, arranged on a skewer and cooked over the hot coals along with the lamb on Easter Sunday. It can be found at other times of the year in some tavernas. The purpose of this meal was to make use of the organs of the lamb, that was gutted and cleaned ready for the spit, and not to waste any parts of the animal.

* Ouzo- is an anise-flavored aperitif that is widely consumed in Greece and Cyprus. Ouzo is traditionally mixed with water, becoming cloudy white, sometimes with a faint blue tinge, and served with ice cubes in a small glass. Ouzo can also be drunk, straight, from a shot glass. Mixing ouzo with cola destroys the liquorice-like taste of ouzo.

Yuvarlak is a kind of large meatball in sauce. The meat mixture includes rice or bulgur. They are cooked in moist heat and the juices thickened with avgolemono. Avgolemono is a Greek soup made with egg and lemon juice mixed with broth, heated until they thicken but before they boil and curdle.

* Baklava- this famous pastry is topped with nuts, and drizzled with honey syrup.
* Galaktoboureko- a form of layers of custard.

Greece is also a country very rich in culture with every dish symbolizing an event and a bit of their history. The more we know about the history the more we can appreciate the cuisine.

About the Author: by Michelle Ann Gelder

Michelle is undoubtedly an accomplished writer whose niche is composing about very easy, but tasty, house cooking. Her articles or reviews generally stress the benefits of crockpot recipes just like slow cooker chicken recipes, which is considered one of her favorites for making the Exotic flavors of Greek Cuisine.