One of the draws of any Greek destination is the food. A cruise does not necessarily give you enough opportunities to eat while ashore so the few times we did on this recent trip were very gratifying. A quick lunch of gyros with cold Greek beer was our go to patio meal and was both delicious and inexpensive. Upon our return we decided to try to recreate what we could and continue to eat like a Greek god at home.
Starting small we worked to perfect two simple staples of Greek cuisine, tzatiki and Greek Salad. I have provided our favourite recipes below for you to try before moving on to more complicated dishes.
Tzatiki
- 1 cup of grated cucumber (no need to peel or remove seeds, use largest holes on grater)
- ¾ cup of Greek style plain yogurt (the thicker the better)
- 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp. fresh dill
- ½ tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 medium clove of fresh garlic, minced
- Sea salt to taste
Start by squeezing the grated cucumber over the sink to remove the excess moisture. Transfer to mixing bowl. Add yogurt, olive oil, dill, lemon juice, garlic and salt and stir to blend. Allow about 5 minutes for the flavours to blend and then add additional dill, lemon juice or salt to taste. Can be served immediately or chilled for later. Recipe can be doubled and keeps well in the fridge for about 4 days.
Greek Salad
- 1 large green pepper
- 1 large tomato, or 12 cherry tomatoes
- ½ small red onion
- ½ English or field cucumber
- Kalamata olives
- Feta cheese (sheep or goat is preferable)
- Red wine vinegar
- Extra Virgin olive oil
Greek salad is traditionally served in flat bowls. Divide the peppers, tomatoes, red onion and cucumber, coarsely chopped and piled into two bowls. Drizzle with red wine vinegar. Add Kalamata olives and a chunk of feta cheese to each bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and fresh chopped parsley or chives if you have them. When served, break off a chunk of the feta and scoop up anything else that will fit on the fork.
This is just the basics. From there explore other cuisine unique to Greece. The tzatiki is excellent as a dip with pita chips or other vegetables or slather a pita before adding a skewer of grilled chicken or pork, tomatoes and cucumbers for a delicious souvlaki meal. Also, if you can get it at your local LCBO, Greek wine is delicious as are Greek beers. They are a perfect match to any meal.
I plan on attempting moussaka next so I will let you know how that goes.
καλή όρεξη