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Greek cooking offers an incredibly rich and diverse array of foods
and beverages that are the culmination of literally thousands of
years of living, cooking, and eating. While each Greek meal is fresh
and inviting, it is also a trip back through Greece's history.
The names of foods, cooking methods, and basic ingredients have
changed little over time. Bread, olives (and olive oil), and wine
constituted the triptych of the Greek diet for many centuries, just
as they do today.
Greece is a nation of small farmers who produce an incredible
array of mainly organically produced cheeses, oils, fruits, nuts,
grains, legumes, and vegetables.
These are the foods that form the base of the traditional Greek
regimen, to which they add both variety and nutrition. Greece's
climate is perfect growing for olive and lemon trees, producing two
of the most important elements of Greek cooking. Spices, garlic and
other herbs such as oregano, basil, mint, and thyme are widely used,
as are vegetables such as eggplant and zucchini, and legumes of all types.
With 20 percent of Greece made up of islands - and no part of the
Greek mainland more than 90 miles from the sea - fish and seafood are
a popular and common part of the Greek diet. Lamb and goat are the
traditional meats of holidays and festivals, and poultry, beef, and
pork are also in plentiful supply.
Vineyards cover much of Greece's hilly terrain and the country has
become known for its array of fine wines and spirits, most notably
ouzo, an anise-flavoured liqueur that is the national spirit.
History
Over the centuries, Greek cooking has been influenced by many
other cultures.
* In c.350 B.C., when Alexander the Great extended the Greek
Empire's reach from Europe to India, certain northern and eastern
influences were absorbed into the Greek cuisine.
* In 146 B.C., Greece fell to the Romans which resulted in a
blending of a Roman influence into Greek cooking.
* In 330 A.D., Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the Roman
Empire to Constantinople, founding the Byzantine Empire which, in
turn, fell to the Turks in 1453 and remained part of the Ottoman
Empire for nearly 400 years.
With each successive invasion and settlement came culinary
influences - from the Romans, Venetians, Balkans, Turks, and Slavs -
and many Greek foods have names with origins in those cultures, most
notably the Ottoman Empire. Dishes with names like hummus (the Arabic
word for chickpea) and dolmades (from the Turkish "dolma"),
that can be found in kitchens from Armenia to Egypt, have also found
a home in Greek cooking, and been adapted over hundreds of years to
local tastes and traditions.
While Greek cooking has been influenced by other cultures, as have
the cuisines of most countries, of all of those countries, Greece
must be foremost in the ranks of having a "fusion" cuisine
which is easily traced back to 350 B.C.
* The first cookbook was written by the Greek food gourmet,
Archestratos, in 330 B.C., which suggests that cooking has always
been of importance and significance in Greek society.
* Modern chefs owe the tradition of their tall, white chef's hat
to the Greeks. In the middle ages, monastic brothers who prepared
food in the Greek Orthodox monasteries wore tall white hats to
distinguish them in their work from the regular monks, who wore large
black hats.
* Many ingredients used in modern Greek cooking were unknown in
the country until the middle ages. These include the potato, tomato,
spinach, bananas, and others which came to Greece after the discovery
of the Americas - their origin.
Famous Greek dishes
* Moussaka. There are other variations besides aubergine/eggplant,
such as zucchini or rice, but the aubergine version ("melitzanes
moussaka") is most popular, so "moussaka" alone is
assumed to mean "with aubergine/eggplant".
* Kleftiko: lamb slow-baked on the bone, first marinated in garlic
and lemon juice.
* Stifado: beef-onion stew with red wine and cinnamon. Rabbit or
game (e.g. hare) are also cooked stifado-style
* Souvlaki, lamb and vegetables grilled on skewers, or in general,
anything grilled on a skewer (chicken, pork, swordfish, shrimps).
Click Here for recipe
* Gyros, meat roasted on a vertically turning spit and served with
sauce (often tzatziki) and garnishes (tomato, onions) on pita bread;
a popular fast food. Sometimes confused with souvlaki served in a
similar way. The same dish is called döner kebab in Turkish.
* Boureki, similar to kreatopita, from Turkish börek.
* Pastitsio, a macaroni, meat, and Bechamel sauce casserole
The time of day when the Greeks gather around a table to enjoy a
meal, or some appetizers (mezedes) with ouzo, is a time held in
reverence by all the inhabitants of this country. For the Greeks,
sharing a meal with friends, either at home, at a restaurant or a
taverna, is a deeply rooted social affair. The Greek word symposium,
a word as ancient as the country itself, if translated literally,
means drinking with company. The atmosphere in typically Greek
restaurants and tavernas is very relaxed, informal and unpretentious.
Food preparation, on the other hand, has its own sacred rules. Good
amateur cooks are held in great esteem in their social circles. A
good housewife, in Greece, means a good cook. And a good cook can
spend days preparing a meal for his or her friends.
Greek wines
Apart from giving birth to Dionysus, patron god of wine, Greece is
the birthplace of the first VQPRD wines in history. They were the
wines of the islands of Chios and Thassos, renowned in the entire
ancient world. Due to various historic and social reasons, as well as
natural disasters, the art of wine-making was neglected from the
middle of the nineteenth century until the early sixties. It was then
that the ancient traditions of wine-making started being rediscovered
and today one can find many excellent Greek wines produced all over
the country. When tasting Greek wine, bear in mind that it is a
product of a distinctive categories: 1) the Controlled Appellations
of Origin, 2) the Appellations of Origin of Superior Quality, 3)
local wines and 4) table wines.
Recipes
Souvlakia - Grilled Lamb on Skewers
Ingredients:
1 leg boned Lamb
½ cup Olive Oil
Lemon
1 tsp salt
pepper
oregano
Method:
Cut lamb into 1 inch cubes and thread on metal skewers.
Make up a marinade using the oil mixed with 4 tablespoons lemon
juice, salt and pepper, set skewers in marinade and leave for about 1 hour.
Grill meat over glowing coals, (or hot grill), turning once, until done.
Sprinkle with oregano.
Serve with pilaf or fried potatoes and tomato salad. |
