Greece is one of the most popular tourist destinations, combining beach holidays, historical sightseeing, as well as discovering its distinctive culture.
What Greek cuisine is famous for: food recipes
1. Spanakopita
Spanakopita means “spinach pie” in Greek. It is usually made of either phyllo dough or puff pastry. But, in any case, the filling remains the same – it is spinach, feta cheese or feta cheese. Traditionally, this pie looks like this-two layers of pastry with a generously thick layer of spinach filling in between.
Ingredients for 6-8 servings:
- filo pastry – 1 packet (400g);
- Feta cheese halved with sour milk-300 g;
- 1 onion;
- 2 garlic cloves;
- 300 g spinach (frozen, defrost);
- 2 eggs;
- 1 tbsp olive oil;
- 80 g butter + 50 g oil;
- 1 bunch of dill.
Preparation:
1. finely chop the onion and fry, squeeze the garlic at the end, cool.
2. Defrost the spinach, squeeze out a little of the excess liquid. Place in a bowl.
3. To the spinach add the feta and cheese, eggs, fried onion and garlic, dill, a little salt and pepper.
4. melt butter, add oil.
5. Grease a baking mould (I have a metal 36×25 cm) with vegetable oil. Lay the first 2 sheets of phyllo pastry across the mould so that the edges hang outwards. Brush with melted butter.
6. Next, place another 2 sheets of phyllo on the bottom of the mould, pulling them together a little so that they are completely in the mould, brush with butter, and place another pair of phyllo sheets, again brush with butter.
7. place all the stuffing.
8. again two pairs of phyllo sheets, oiling each one. Next, wrap the dangling edges of the pastry into the centre and cover with two more, or one more sheet of phyllo (more often there are 11, so 6 down and 5 on top). Brush with egg, you can sprinkle with sesame seeds. Cut immediately into serving squares.
9. Bake in a preheated oven at 200 C for about 40 min. Let cool slightly and serve warm.
2. Dolma (dolma)
This tasty, healthy and nutritious dish is quite popular in Greek cuisine. In Crete, dolma is most often prepared with a filling of rice, onions and herbs and served as a cold appetiser. But in northern Greece, as a rule, minced meat with rice and parsley is wrapped in grape leaves and served as a hot appetiser or a full meal.
Ingredients:
- Grape leaves-300 g;
- minced meat-1kg;
- Round rice-1 cup;
- Onion-1 pcs;
- Garlic-4 cloves;
- salt, spices to taste;
- coriander, parsley – dill, mint and other herbs to taste;
- Sour cream-400 g.
Method of preparation:
1. rinse the leaves of grapes, remove the tails. Pour boiling water over the leaves for 5 minutes.
2. For the stuffing mix minced meat, rice, chopped garlic and onion, herbs, salt and spices in a bowl. Knead the mince until smooth.
3. In a large saucepan, line the bottom with a few grape leaves to prevent the dolma from burning. Wrap the stuffing in the remaining leaves.
4. You will need about a tablespoon of stuffing per leaf. Place the dolma tightly in the pot with the seam downwards.
5. Pour boiling water into the pot and cover the dolma completely. Salt the water. Cook under a lid for 1 hour on low heat.
6. Serve the dolma hot with sour cream.
3. souvlaki
Souvlaki is a Greek kebab. It represents small pieces of meat, strung on small wooden skewers and grilled on coals. It is most often made of chicken and pork.
Ingredients:
- 800 grams of pork (preferably neck), cut into small portioned pieces;
- 50 ml of olive oil;
- juice of 1/2 lemon;
- 2 cloves of garlic;
- 2 tsp. dried oregano;
- pinch of sugar;
- Salt to taste;
- 1/2 lemon, cut into 4 segments;
- pita bread for serving;
- Tzatziki.
Method of preparation:
1. Place all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Leave to marinate for 2 hours.
2. Place the bowl with the meat, covered with a lid, in the fridge and take out of the fridge 30 minutes before baking.
3. If using wooden skewers, soak them for 1-2 hours in cold water.
4. Thread the marinated meat onto the soaked skewers. Pat the souvlaki dry on all sides with a paper towel to allow the meat to brown better and the smoke to settle on the surface.
5. Light the grill and when the charcoal is just smouldering, not burning, place the skewers with the meat. Bake on all sides until half cooked.
6. Place the lemon slices and bake the souvlaki until cooked through, turning the meat and lemon slices frequently