Greece National Foods

GREECE

Food is always a exiting part of a vacation and this is especially true when you get to a new country. You can always tell a lot about the people and the lifestyle of a country by seeing how they eat. The Greek lifestyle is reflected most in the food they eat and when and how they eat. In Greece you will find great variations both when it comes to meat dishes and to fish dishes. In this writing, I give you a list of Greece national foods. You should at least try these dishes to generate a wider understanding of the lifestyle and culture of Greece.

Fasolada

Fasolada

Fasolada, fasoulada or sometimes Fasolia (sometimes written fassolada or fassoulada) is a soup of dry white beans, olive oil, and vegetables, sometimes called the "national food of the Greeks". Fasolada is made by simmering beans with tomatoes and other vegetables such as carrots, onion, parsley, celery, and bay leaf. Lima beans are sometimes used instead of white beans. It is often enriched with olive oil either in the kitchen or on the table. Greek Fasolada does not contain meat. 

Moussaka

Moussaka

Moussaka is an aubergine (eggplant) or potato based dish popular in Balkan cuisine and Mediterranean cuisine. The Greek version includes 3 layers of meat (precooked with spices, herbs, onions, garlic, tomatoes), aubergine (sautéed in olive oil) and topped with a white sauce/Béchamel sauce then baked.

There are variations on this basic recipe, sometimes with no sauce, sometimes with other vegetables. The most common variant in Greece may include courgette (zucchini), part-fried potatoes or sautéed mushrooms in addition to the aubergine.

Feta cheese

Greek Feta Cheese

Feta is a soft white brined curd cheese with small holes traditionally made in Greece. It is a crumbly aged cheese, commonly produced in blocks, and has a slightly grainy texture. Its flavor is tangy and salty, ranging from mild to sharp.

Feta is used as a table cheese, as well as in salads, pastries and in baking, notably in the popular phyllo-based dishes spanakopita ("spinach pie") and tyropita ("cheese pie") and combined with olive oil and vegetables. It can also be served cooked or grilled, as part of a sandwich or as a salty alternative to other cheeses in a variety of dishes.

Saganaki

Saganaki

Saganaki refers to various Greek dishes prepared in a small frying pan. Saganaki is best-known as an appetizer of fried cheese. The cheese used in cheese saganaki is usually kefalograviera, kasseri, kefalotyri, or sheep's milk feta cheese. Regional variations include the use of formaella cheese in Arachova and halloumi cheese in Cyprus. The cheese is melted in a small frying pan until it is bubbling and generally served with lemon juice and pepper. It is eaten with bread.

Other dishes cooked in a saganaki pan include shrimp saganaki, and mussels saganaki, which are typically feta-based and include a spicy tomato sauce.

Greek Salad

Greek Salad

Greek salad is a summer salad dish made with pieces of tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, green bell peppers, onion, sliced or cubed feta cheese, and olives (usually Kalamata olives, other types of olives may be used as well), typically seasoned with salt and dried oregano, and dressed with olive oil. Common additions include the pickled leaves, buds or berries of capers (especially in the Dodecanese islands), rocket (arugula) leaves, vinegar, lemon juice, and chopped parsley.

Kleftiko 

Lamb Kleftiko

Kleftiko is basically lamb meat seasoned with garlic, lots of oregano, lemon juice and wild greens, then wrapped in fig leaves and slow-baked on bone for many hours, sometimes even entire days, in a sealed pit that was usually buried to hidden the smoke from sight.



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