Greek Cuisine
The Greek lifestyle is reflected in the essence of traditional cuisine that surprises with its variety of flavors and ease of processing. Greek cuisine is based on the Mediterranean diet but has influences from both East and West.
The atmosphere in all Greek restaurants is simple, relaxed and friendly. For the Greeks, sharing a meal or a dinner at a restaurant or tavern is a deeply entrenched social custom.
BASIC INGREDIENTS
Although the basic ingredients of Greek cuisine are olive oil, spices and condiments, fresh vegetables, fish and meats, Greek cuisine is so varied that there are wide differences between different regions of the mainland and from island to island .
Vegetables are widely used. Tomatoes, eggplants, potatoes, green beans, onions, peppers, artichokes and spinach are present in many dishes. Olives are the most valued kalamata.
The fish dishes are consumed mainly in coastal areas and islands.
The lamb is the preferred meat of Greeks. It prepares the dish with vegetables. In the main holiday roast lamb is one of the favorites. The “pilafs” are preparations of lamb meat lamb stew that is placed in the center of a bed of rice (“pilaf”). Also consumes a lot of mutton and beef.
The minced beef or pork is present in many dishes to accompany the vegetables, flavored with lemon sauce, salsa ‘avgolemono ‘(mixture of lemon and egg) or spicy tomato sauce with cilantro, pepper and cumin. The quintessential dish of minced meat is ‘moussaka’ rectangular cake that combines layers of meat with eggplant and melted cheese. There are a variety of cheese “feta”, “Kefalotyri ‘Kasseri” and “mizithra.”
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Tags: Greece, Greek Cuisine, Greek lifestyle, Kefalotyri Kasseri, Mediterranean, Mediterranean diet, mizithra, olive oil, salsa, Thessaloniki, traditional cuisine
November 28th, 2010 at 2:57 am
[...] Moussaka – as it is called in Greek – is a bit like meatballs: Each home has its recipe, and your mother always tastes best. Especially with meat sauce are possible variations – you can also make a vegetarian moussaka, if using a vegetable sauce instead of meat sauce. [...]