The Greek 100!

That didn’t take long, did it. After posting about the British 100 foods (initially created by Helen of Food stories) and (especially) after declaring how much I looooooove creating lists, I just had to compile a Greek 100 list of foods and / or recipes. I’ll try providing links to them when I can, so that those readers who are not Greek can get an idea of what I’m on about. I don’t pretend there’s anything ‘authentic’ or quintessentially Greek about any of these foods or recipes (after all, Greek cooking is very much influenced by- and sometimes is indistinguishable from- cooking in nearby Mediterranean & Balkan countries, including- or especially- Turkey). The only claim I can make is that these foods are all regularly eaten in Greek homes & cooked in Greek kitchens.

And before I forget- as Helen asks in her own list- anything I missed that should have been on here?

The rules remain the same. Here they are:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.

2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.

3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.

4) Link back to this blog, if you would be so kind.

(Note: I’ve made an effort to provide links in English for most of these recipes whenever possible, just so you can get an idea what these recipes / foods are about… but in some cases I could only find the recipes in Greek. If anyone’s interested in a particular recipe that’s only linked to a Greek-language site, please email me & I can send you a quick translation).

MY GREEK 100:

1. Gemista (and here’s Ivy’s version) (stuffed vegetables- a classic Greek homemade food-, usually with tomatoes or peppers. You can either make a meat version or a veggy version).
   
2. Touloumpes (syrup dipped desserts, not that commonly found anymore in Greece, but really really scrumptious. Very hard to find a home-made recipe for them, I have to say…)
   
3. Mydopilafo (a lovely rice with mussels, the Greek version of paella)
   
4. Yiouvarlakia (a delicious, homely, hearty meat soup, made with tiny meatballs, finished off with avgolemono sauce, this is quintessential Greek home cooking- perfect for a cold winter evening).
   
5. Avgolemono (a classic Greek egg & lemon sauce, which we eat…eeerrrm, basically with everything!)
   
6. Manouri (a mild, white Greek cheese, not easily found outside Greece)
7. Feta cheese (the most famous of Greek cheeses; at our home we eat it with literally everything)
   
8. Bougatsa (pies either filled with cheese- feta cheese, for sure- or with a sweet cream, this is one of Thessaloniki’s most wonderful, delicious breakfasts. Not usually made at home, but served at what are called ‘bougatsatzidika’, meaning little cafes that serve bougatsa. To  be honest, not sure if a good home-made version can be made, but I’ve provided a couple of links nevertheless).
   
9. Revani (one of my favourite desserts, made with syrup & semolina- and here are 2 more interesting versions by Ivy)
   
10. Frappes (Of course I’ve tried this coffee. There’s no Greek that can avoid it, really. But I have  to say, it’s the most disgusting coffee drink ever. Still, many consider it the national Greek drink. Anyway, I suppose I did have to include it…Here’s what Maria has to say about it.)
    
11. Fakes soupa (as I say in my own version of this lentil soup, this is the most everyday of everyday Greek dishes. And here is Maria’s version).
    
12. Fasolada & fasolia gigantes fournou (Greeks make various dishes with butter beans- what we call ‘fasolia gigantes’- and some consider ‘fasolada’ (a bean soup) the quintessential national Greek dish).
    
13. Prasoryzo and  spanakoryzo and lahanoryzo (The greek version of risotto! These are rice dishes made either with leeks (prasoryzo), spinach (spanakoryzo) or cabbage (lahanoryzo). Can’t be found in restaurants that often, these are everyday dishes, cooked at greek homes).
    
14. Patsas (would never try this, I think it’s disgusting! But many many greeks eat patsa in the early hours of the morning, after having one too many drinks. They say that patsas helps with hangover! Don’t have personal experience about this…but you could try it).
    
15. Mageiritsa (This is a delicious, rich meat soup, eaten once a year at Easter)
    
16. Kokoretsi (personally I don’t like this meat dish, served at Easter…but most Greeks love it).
    
17. Melomakarona (these honey & walnut cookies be found in every Greek home around Christmas time. Here’s another version).
    
18. Tsoureki (a Greek easter bread or cake).
    
19. Galaktoboureko (a wonderful, creamy dessert, made with filo pastry & lots of milk)
    
20. Greek yoghurt (everyone knows about thick, strained greek yoghurt…Like feta cheese, eaten with almost everything by Greeks)
    
21. Rice with yoghurt (my one & only, best ever comfort food! A light supper commonly eaten by many Greeks. Can’t really provide a link for this! It’s exactly what it sounds like- white rice with Greek yoghurt).
    
22. Tzatziki (I don’t think there’s anyone who doesn’t know what tzatziki is, so it’s a bit superfluous to provide recipes for it…but just in case, I’ve provided 2 links that show how you can make this classic yoghurt dip).
    
23. Melitzanosalata (this is a dip made from pureed aubergine, commonly found in Greek tavernas).
    
24. Roast lamb with roast potatoes (often this is the main Easter lunch dish, but is eaten in other times of year as well).
    
25. Vasilopita (one more link here) & vasilopita trifti (this is the traditional cake that Greeks cut on New Year’s Eve. There’s a foil-wrapped coin inside the cake. Whoever gets the slice with the coin is the lucky person for the New Year! There are different ways to make it. I personally prefer the ‘trifti vasilopita’ version.)
    
26. Glyka tou koutaliou (these are fruit desserts, made with syrup, often served with greek / turkish coffee & a glass of cold water. The exact translation is ‘spoon desserts’)
    
27. Taramosalata (dip, made with fish roe)
    
28. Tyrokauteri or htypiti (A feta cheese dip, can be made quite spicy- hence ‘tyrokauteri’ which essentially means spicy cheese. This is one of my partner’s favourites)
    
29. Kourampiedes (and here’s Kalofagas’ version). (These are usually eaten around Christmas time. They’re absolutely delicious little cakes / biscuits, a bit like shortbread or something like that- but they have a very particular taste!)
    
30. Sofrito (a traditional meat stew, made mostly in Corfu)
    
31. Tyropita, spanakopita, prasopita, prasotyropita etc (Greek pies are traditionally made with filo pastry- ideally, home-made-, but not necessarily just filo pastry, as you can see by the example of prasopita- aka leek pie- that I provide).
    
32. Olive oil (Olive oil- and usually extra virgin- is used with absolutely everything in Greece).
    
33. Kalamata olives (wonderful big black olives from Kalamata, a southern Greek city)
    
34. Souvlakia and gyros (I don’t think there’s anyone who’s visited Greece & hasn’t tried our own version of kebabs. Can be found in every street corner in Greece. The quality of course varies, but you don’t eat gyros because it’s quality food! This is street food at its most delicious- here’s what Maria has to say about it).
    
35. Piperies florinis (this is a very good way to prepare red peppers. These are called ‘peppers from Florina’- I suppose they refer to a particular type of red pepper found in Florina, a small northern Greek city)
    
36. Pastitsio (and here’s another link for this) (basically, this is the Greek version of lasagna! There is no greek cook who doesn’t have a recipe of their own for this- which reminds me, I need to add my own version of pastitsio to my blog).
    
37. Moussaka (like pastitsio, each Greek has their own version of moussaka, which is a baked aubergine, meat & potato dish. Another delicious version here).
    
38. Pasta Flora (not sure if this is actually a traditional Greek dessert…it is however made & eaten often in Greece).
    
39. Kritharaki (this is what non-Greeks call ‘orzo’. Often cooked just in tomato sauce for a quick supper- perhaps served with cheese- but mostly cooked with veal & tomato sauce, & is then called giouvetsi- which is number 53 in the list).
    
40. Loukoumades (and one more link here) (these are fritters or dumplings which are fried in oil & served with honey, usually for breakfast. They’re quite a faff to make- and not a particularly healthy choice!-, but they’re delicious)
    
41. Melitzanes papoutsakia (the literal translation is aubergine shoes! This is a traditional greek / turkish dish, made in the oven)
    
42. Melitzanobourekakia (these are delicious little aubergine fritters: I wasn’t actually able to find an online recipe for these…if anyone has one, I’d be glad to see it)
    
43. Dakos (and one more version). (This is a simple, healthy Cretan dish, made with ‘dakos’- what Kalofagas calls ‘Greece’s own bruschetta’, a kind of rusk- to which you add fresh tomato, olive oil, oregano, garlic & feta cheese).
    
44. Fava (and another version) (a yellow split-pea puree, served with lemon, onion & oregano. The best fava in Greece can be found in Santorini).
    
45. Agkinares ala polita (a delicious, traditional way to cook artichokes)
    
46. Imam baildi (a stuffed aubergine recipe, this is more a Turkish than a Greek recipe, but is eaten in Greece a lot too)
    
47. Briam (a lovely vegetarian dish, made with oven baked vegetables. A wonderful dish for those middle-of-the-week dinners where you’re too tired to cook something more complicated)
    
48. Kolokythoanthoi me tyri (a difficult & rarely found meze; but a really delicious one. This is courgette flowers filled with cheese & then fried in a batter).
    
49. Kolokythokeftedes (and one more version) (a lovely meze- basically this is courgette fritters-, made in various different ways, & served in tavernas across Greece).
    
50. Dolmadakia & lahanodolmades (both are rice, herb & meat mixtures- or just rice & herb mixtures- stuffed into cabbage leaves- lahanodolmades- or vine leaves- dolmadakia. At our home, we usually have lahanodolmades at Christmas).
51. Bakaliaros tiganitos (fried salt cod, a classic Greek dish which is most often made at home or in tavernas during the Lent period. Usually served with skordalia- see entry number 88)
    
52. Mydia (mussels) or Garides (prawns) saganaki (and here’s another interesting version of this) (a classic taverna meze, basically this is mussels or shrimps cooked in a tomato & feta cheese sauce, in a particular type of pot called a ‘saganaki’)
    
53. Giouvetsi (a warming dish, made with meat- either beef, veal or chicken- tomato sauce and kritharaki)
    
54. Halvas simigdalenios (a wonderful, simple semolina dessert, one of my favourites when I was growing up- and still is!)
    
55. Moshari kokkinisto me poure melitzanas (hounkiar begienti) (this is one of my partner’s favourite foods, a turkish-inspired dish- eaten often in Greece, too- made with veal & aubergine puree)
    
56. Arnaki fricassee (a meat & greens stew, topped with an avgolemono sauce).
    
57. Kydonia psita sto fourno (this is quince baked in the oven, usually served with whipped cream. Really yummy)
    
58. Soupia or calamari gemista (squid stuffed with feta cheese)
    
59. Patates giahni (a very plain but very moreish everyday dish. Just potatoes, cooked with onion & tomato. Couldn’t track down a recipe for this, any help anyone?)
    
60. Stifado (and here’s Maria’s version of rabbit stifado) (I love this meat & tiny-onions dish…but have only made it once. I still remember that day!)
    
61. Soutzoukakia smyrneika (commonly found in Greek tavernas, these are oval-shaped meatballs, either served on their own or in a tomato sauce- in which case they’re called ‘smyrneika’)
    
62. Kolokythakia gemista (These are courgettes stuffed with meat & rice, served with avgolemono sauce. One of my favourite homemade dishes).
    
63. Kotopoulo milaneza (chicken alla milanese). (Strickly speaking this is of course not a Greek recipe. But at my home we used to cook a variation of this- boiled chicken with plain boiled rice & an avgolemono sauce, made with the chicken stock)
    
64. Tzigerosarmades (this is a hard to make, quite heavy meat dish, usually cooked at Easter)
    
65. Babas (not really a Greek dish at all! This is the french dessert ‘baba au rhum’…but I include it in my list of Greek recipes, just because it was my absolute favourite dessert when I was growing up, & still remains one of my very favourite).
    
66. Kantaifi & Ekmek kantaifi (A turkish inspired dessert, made with lots of syrup. There’s 2 versions- one with cream (ekmek kantaifi) & one without).
    
67. Ellinikos (Greek) or tourkikos (Turkish) cafes (coffee) (there is an issue of whether this is most properly called ‘greek’ or ‘turkish’ coffee- or indeed ‘arabian’ coffee. Whatever, it really doesn’t matter. Personally, I call it ‘turkish’ coffee just because that’s what I’m used to. Many Greeks start their day with this).
    
68. Kokoras krasatos (red wine chicken) with hilopites (hilopites are small, square pasta shapes, usually cooked in greece either with chicken in a red wine sauce, or with beef / veal. There needs to be myzithra cheese or kefalotyri grated on top).
69. Karydopita (a wonderful, fragrant walnut cake. And another version here)
    
70. Horiatiki salata (this is the classic, very simple greek salad, which in Greece we actually call ‘village salad’)
    
71. Kalamarakia tiganita (squid fried in batter, a meze commonly found in Greek tavernas)
    
72. Kefalotyri (a hard, salty cheese; the Greek version of parmesan, maybe!)
    
73. Baklavas (this is obviously not just a Greek dessert. It can be found in beautiful versions in Turkish cuisine as well. But we do eat it a lot in Greece. And here’s a non-authentic, chocolate version, if you want to be adventurous!)
    
74. Myzithra & xinomyzithra (a wonderful Greek cheese- the latter version, xinomyzithra, can mostly be found in Greek islands, e.g. Milos)
    
75. Strapatsada (the Greek version of scrambled eggs).
    
76. Horiatika loukanika (Greek ‘village’ sausages; basically these are lovely, spicy sausages)
    
77. Spetzofai (a hearty, spicy dish, made with horiatika loukanika- see number 76- peppers & tomato)
    
78. Trahanas (a mild, warming & easy to make pasta soup)
    
79. Astakomakaronada (a luxurious dish: lobster spaggheti)
    
80. Htapodaki sti shara (a classic seafood meze: grilled octopus. Ideally it has to be charcoal grilled)
    
81. Graviera Naxou / Graviera Kritis (2 varieties of gruyere cheese, one from the island Naxos, and one from Crete.  Both delicious)
    
82. Anthotyro (very mild, even- one could say- ‘watery’ white cheese)
    
83. Ouzo (everyone knows what ouzo is…an aniseed alcoholic drink, served most often with mezedes. Personally, I hate it; but most Greeks love it).
    
84. Tigania (fried pieces of pork, with oregano. Really delicious easy dish).
    
85. Patsavouropita (very very simple dessert)
    
86. Makedonikos halvas (a different  type of halva- this one tahini based, & not semolina based-, mostly found in Northern Greece)
    
87. Revythokeftedes (chick pea fritters, really lovely meze)
    
88. skordalia (not one of my favourites, but nevertheless, a classic garlic based dip)
    
89. Gauros marinatos (a meze that goes with ouzo, this is marinated fish)
    
90. kakavia (a delicious fish soup)
    
91. Saganaki me tyri (basically, this is fried cheese in a batter- usually kefalotyri or kaseri. Can be found as part of a mezedes meal in tavernas, but people often make it at home as part of a light (light??!!) supper. Usually served with a lemon wedge).
    
92. Retsina (like ouzo, this is a classic Greek alcoholic drink, served most often with mezedes)
    
93. Kaseri (a semi-hard, very popular cheese)
    
94. Moustaleuria (this is absolutely delicious, and if you have the chance, please do try it).
    
95. Anitho (aka dill. Probably the most widely used herb in Greece- perhaps together with parsley).
    
96. Koulouri Thessalonikis (these are types of sesame bread rolls, sold in the street in Thessaloniki, & eaten by everyone on the go, or as an easy, quick breakfast. No way can you find a recipe for these, as they’re purely street food, but I’ve linked to a picture & description)
    
97. Paximadia (kind of similar to italian biscotti…)
    
98. Amygdalota (and here’s another lovely version of these) (there are countless variations of these almond cookies, mostly found in Greek islands. I love them but unfortunately don’t eat them that often).
    
99. Kariokes & pourakia (chocolate sweets, mainly found in Thessaloniki patisseries. Link, anyone?)
    
100. Merenda! (basically this is the Greek version of Nutella. Can be eaten with crepes or just with bread for breakfast).
     

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