Great Eats Greek Style

It may have been weeks since I was in Greece, but I am still thinking about the delicious foods I tried while I was there. Fortunately, I am the luckiest teacher I know, and a student in my class has been spoiling me with some Greek homemade goodies since my return. In the spirit of all things delicious I thought I would write a post all about some traditional Greek eats you shouldn’t miss if you ever travel to Greece.

1. Gyros/Souvlaki- My all time favorite Greek food. I loved it so much I even wrote a whole blog post about my favorite place we found to get gyros in Oia. Rumor has it there is a place in Boston called Gyro City that is supposed to have authentic Greek food to die for. I know where I will be going soon

Moussaka- What’s not to love with this baked dish? Eggplant, minced lamb, tomato and cheese and a variety of sweet herbs and spices. Served piping hot this was a perfect dinner one night.

Baked Feta- This was something that both my sister and I loved so much we have already attempted to recreate the magic of this dish at home. The nice thing is, it is just as simple as it sounds. Literally made up of feta, tomatoes and peppers, just drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil and voila! You have the perfect app for any occasion.

Tzatziki- Oh tzatziki, how I have tried to recreate this dish in vain! I don’t know what the secret is, but I can’t quite make mine the same as the tzatziki I ate in Greece. I will just have to keep trying out recipes until I find the one that gets the consistency just right.

Greek Salad- No this isn’t covered in creamy dressing (although I do love the American version). Greek salad in Greece is nothing but fresh tomato, feta, cucumber, olives and red onion. A splash of olive oil, salt, pepper and maybe a squeeze from a lemon, that’s it!

Grilled Octopus- This was a dish I couldn’t leave Greece without trying, and it didn’t disappoint. I love the chance to try something new or a native food wherever I travel to and so octopus was definitely on my list of must try foods. Final verdict: YUM!

Olives- My love affair with olives began in Spain and continued throughout my time in Greece. I mean olives go with pretty much everything. Too bad olives just are not the same when they travel halfway around the world to get to you.

All baked goods- Feta pie, yep. Warm ham and feta pie, yep. Melt in your mouth ham and tomato sauce, yep. They all were wonderful. Anything wrapped up in a flaky, freshly baked crust is alright in my book. When you can find it for just 2.50 Euro, even better!

Greek Yogurt- Now I jumped on the Greek yogurt bandwagon years ago when everyone in the US started eating it by the tubs. But nothing is quite the same as the Greek yogurt from Greece. Add a lake of honey on top and you have a pretty darn tasty dessert. It may not be chocolate, but it was sweet and hit the spot. Not to mention I haven’t met a dessert I didn’t like.

Everything was so tasty no matter where we ate. The key to this I believe is using fresh ingredients. Either that or when in doubt, drench the food in olive oil, everything is better with olive oil.

What are some of your favorite Greek foods?

Katy