Have you ever visited a city and thought: “I could live here!” or “I love the culture!” because of the food? In my opinion one of the things that makes a city worth visiting and special is the food! So either you visit Athens for a few days, or you have decided to spend some more time at the Greek capital, it is always a good idea to know which tastes you shouldn’t miss so that your visit will be deliciously amazing!
Dolmades and dolmadakia
This is one of my favourite dishes and many variations depending on the region: stuffed wine leaves with long grain rice, sometimes minced meat and herbs, this appetizer can be always found on a tavern’s menu. Try it with yogurt or the amazing variation with cabbage leaves (lachanodolmades) and a tasty sauce with eggs and lemon (avgolemono). Yam!
Moussakas
Moussakas is one of the most -if not the most- famous dishes in Greece and it happens for a very good reason: it’s delicious and it gets you full even without any other dish on the side! Sweet eggplants, red sauce with minced meat (lamb or beef, sometimes both), slices of potatoes and a spicy bechamel sauce, this is a -baked in the oven- heaven! The new generation boils the vegetables and doesn’t fry them so that the dish becomes lighter, but either way the taste is from another planet!
Saganaki
Cheese and flour work together in this appetizer, which is one of the most famous on a menu! Yellow cheese is covered by flour and then gets fried on a pan. The flour could be seasoned with some extra spices, so that the saganaki can become spicier! This is a must on a Greek restaurant.
Greek salad…
…and you are naturally following the amazing Mediterranean diet! Slices of tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, red onions, together with some olives and feta cheese on the top, sprinkled with olive oil and grinded oregano are mixed up in a bowl, proving that Greek food can also be very balanced! Dipping a piece of bread in olive oil is a tradition and has a special word, it’s called papara. Friends eating together usually ask before making papara. Since this word resembles a dirty one, it’s a common joke amongst friends.
Tzatziki
This delicacy is in fact yogurt based with cucumber extra thin slices and fresh garlic. You can eat it with bread or french fries. Be careful, since garlic can lower blood pressure and may not be a good idea to consume it in large quantities!
Fresh fish
In Greece you have so many opportunities to enjoy fresh fish and you shouldn’t leave before doing so! Either it’s tsipoura, barbouni, kolios or amazing sargos, fresh fish either in the over, on the grill or rarely in the pan is a must! Popular chefs propose to bake and eat the fish only with olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon, while others get creative and add some other amazing herbs such as oregano or thyme. Don’t forget to try the octopus, and the shrimps!
Gyros and souvlaki
Gyros is the meat that gets roasted while vertically turning on a spit and is usually either pork or chicken meat. Slices of meat on a pita matched with slices of tomato, tzatziki and a bunch of french fries is what Greeks call souvlaki. The meat can be either gyros or any meat in chunks that gets cooked on a stick. Variations are available with sauces lighter than tzatziki or french fries off. The most difficult task now is to discover the best in the city!
Zucchini balls
This recipe goes back to the times when Greeks didn’t have enough food on the table because of the war and has become a gourmet dish you can find in any tavern or restaurant! These are balls with flour, zucchini, feta cheese and herbs -usually mint- that get deep fried in the pan. They are supposed to be crispy on the outside and soft on the inside but each cook does his own variation. An appetizer not to be missed!
Loukoumades
Loukoumades is a very popular, traditional sweet based on flour, honey and cinnamon. Just a few ingredients mixed in a little ball that gets deep fried to become golden and delicious! The traditional way to have them is with honey and cinnamon, but the younger generation also loves it with chocolate, strawberries or ice cream! Loukoumas comes from the turkish word lokma, which means bite and it refers to their small size, since they can be eaten in one bite!
Bougatsa
This is one of the most traditional sweets in Greece, Bougatsa and is made out of Filo (layers of crust) with a pastry vanilla cream filling and a topping of sugar and cinnamon. It is a sweet that comes from Thessaloniki, one of the biggest cities of northern Greece. In Athens, you can have it in specialized places or make it at home if you are experienced. Frozen filo is available in the supermarkets, but nothing compares to an amazing fresh, home-made filo you can “open” yourself!
I hope that I gave you a good reason to visit amazing Athens and what to taste once you set your foot in the capital.If you want to join a food tour or a graffiti tour with me, I would be super happy to take you to the places I love the most. Tours take place every day with a local guide. You can order it here if you would like 🙂 If you want more recommendations on things to see and do in Athens you can visit my other posts in this link. Hope you liked my post, if you did you are welcome to share it!
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