Traditional Greek foods

Moussaka

What better place to start than an all time Greek favourite? Perhaps, it’s not the most challenging dish, but when made well, it hits all the spots! In many ways it is the Greek equivalent of lasagne as some of the dish is similar, but when you eat it in an authentic Greek taverna has a character all of its own. So what is it?

This family friendly dish is made of thinly sliced potatoes, lamb and aubergine. The top layer is a creamy and rich béchamel sauce.

The key ingredients:

• 3 medium aubergines
• 800 grams lamb mince
• 1 onion and 2 cloves of garlic
• 3 tablespoons dried oregano, 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon and 2 bay leaves
• Can chopped tomatoes
• 500 grams finely sliced potatoes

With Moussaka, you can make a huge quantity in a big dish and then it’s really great to reheat or even freeze. Great with a side of Greek salad too!

Flaounes

The wonderfully named Flaounes are cheese-filled pastries that are an Easter food for many of the Greek-Cypriot community. These are to be enjoyed with a cup of tea and eaten anytime of the day! The cheese filling is usually made with sheep or goat’s milk and is possible to buy in good delicatessen shops. This is quite mild like a pecorino-style cheese.

Tzatziki

This surely has a place in the heart of most gastronauts and fans of savoury Mediterranean foods. It is one of the greatest ways to use Greek yoghurt and is the perfect accompaniment to grilled meats and a whole host of other foods.

Ingredients

• A whole fresh cucumber
• A large pot of Greek natural yoghurt
• 1 small garlic clove
• A handful of finely chopped mint leaves

Fooddiez Method:

Grate the cucumber using a coarse grater as it’s even yummier if it has a bit of body to it. Add a pinch of salt. Leave for a few minutes then squeeze out all the excess liquid from the cucumber. Select a good-looking bowl and mix in the yoghurt, squeezed out cucumber and garlic. It’s looks great with a few twists of fresh black pepper and a hit of olive oil to finish.

That’s it! Keep cool until you are ready to serve and it’s so much better to eat really fresh so only make as much as you need!

Tapenade Skordalia

This is such a brilliant take on a more northern style of mashed potato! It just becomes regional with the wonderful addition of olive tapenade, garlic and glugs of fresh olive oil. Yes this is the kind of dish when, if you have the right ingredients you can taste the sunshine! This is another great Greek dish for trying at home!

Skordalia Ingredients:

• 800 grams of floury style potatoes
• A generous glug of olive oil
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon of olive tapenade

Method:

1. The only thing you need to consider is the tapenade as it is great to make but much simpler if you can buy it from a convenient source. This is a very rich sauce of olives, anchovies and capers.
2. Cook the potatoes, drain and mash.
3. Crush the garlic in a pestle and mortar with salt, which will form a nice rich paste.
4. Thoroughly mix in all the ingredients until you make a creamy light mash.

This is a fantastic side dish with any charcoal-grilled meats or fish.