Greek
Spanakorizo (Spinach and Rice Cooked in the Spinach Water)
A Greek rice dish in which the spinach is wilted first and its own liquid cooks the rice. Dill goes in by the handful, the olive oil is not rationed, and the lemon is squeezed over after the heat is off. The liquid is not poured in and measured; it comes out of the vegetable, so the rice goes in after you can see how much there is. Eaten warm or at room temperature, with feta alongside.
Kokoretsi (Offal Wrapped in Caul and Wound with Intestine)
Lamb or goat offal — liver, heart, lung, sweetbread — threaded onto a spit, wrapped in a sheet of caul fat and then wound tightly all over with the small intestine, and turned over charcoal for hours. Offal of this kind carries almost no fat of its own, and where other fires deal with that by keeping fat away, this one wraps the leanest thing on the animal in nothing but fat. What stops it dripping is the turning: the fat renders, travels round the surface instead of falling, and the intestine on the outside tightens over it.
Gyros
A Greek wrap of marinated pork or chicken grilled until crisp-edged, piled into a soft pita with tzatziki, tomato, onion, and even fries. At home, thinly sliced meat seared in a pan makes it quick and easy.
Taramosalata (Cured Roe Whipped with Oil and Bread)
A Greek meze: salt-cured fish roe beaten with soaked bread, olive oil and lemon into a pale emulsion. It is a mayonnaise built in the opposite order — the emulsifier has already been cured for weeks, so the seasoning arrives before the cook does and the adjustment is made by diluting rather than by salting. Traditionally eaten on Clean Monday, the first day of the Orthodox Lent.
Horta (Boiled Wild Greens with Lemon and Oil)
Wild leafy greens boiled and dressed with nothing but lemon juice and olive oil. It breaks almost every rule this site’s blanching guide sets out: twenty minutes rather than twenty seconds, the cooking water kept and drunk rather than discarded as the guide says to do for bitter greens, and no ice bath and no squeezing — the oil goes on while the leaves are still hot. There is one reason for all of it. These are not spinach but tough wild greens, and the aim is not a bright colour but a bitterness that has been talked down.
Saganaki (Pan-Fried Cheese with Lemon)
The fried-cheese meze of Greece. This site’s dairy guide sorts melting into three behaviours — mozzarella stretches, parmigiano melts in, cheddar clumps. Saganaki is the fourth case, the one not on that list: a cheese that does not melt at all. Kefalotyri and graviera are low in moisture with a tightly knit casein network, so in the pan the surface browns while the inside only softens and never flows. That is why it reaches the plate as a slab you can cut, with a squeeze of lemon, eaten the moment it arrives.
Galaktoboureko (Semolina Custard in Filo)
A Greek pastry: a stiff semolina custard baked between sheets of filo, then soaked in cold syrup. What makes the custard unusual is the semolina. A custard set with starch or egg is something you spoon; semolina swells grain by grain and sets so firm that once cold you can cut it with a knife — which is why a slice holds its shape instead of running out.
Spanakopita
A Greek pie of spinach, feta, and herbs layered in thin, crackly phyllo pastry and baked crisp. Shatteringly flaky outside, savory and moist within. With shop-bought phyllo it is an easy vegetarian treat to make at home.
Moussaka
Roasted eggplant and potato layered with a spiced meat sauce and topped with a silky bechamel, baked until golden — Greece's iconic casserole. Like lasagna, but the cinnamon-scented sauce and creamy bechamel give it a distinctly Greek depth.
Souvlaki (Grilled Skewers)
Greece's classic street and home food: meat marinated in lemon, oregano, and garlic, skewered and grilled. Wrap it in pita with tzatziki — once it's marinated, grilling takes just 10 minutes.
Tzatziki (Yogurt-Cucumber Dip)
A cool, tangy Greek yogurt dip of strained yogurt with cucumber, garlic, olive oil, and herbs. No cooking and ready in 10 minutes — scoop with pita and vegetables, or spoon over kebabs and grilled meat. Squeeze the cucumber dry and it's foolproof.
Greek Salad (Horiatiki)
The traditional Greek salad (horiatiki) — ripe tomato, cucumber, red onion, and olives topped with a slab of feta, drizzled with olive oil and plenty of oregano. No lettuce; simple ingredients, Mediterranean at its best.