Mon, Oct 8th 2007, 00:00
Greece is an ancient land entrenched in history. Greek Cuisine shares this history.
Greek Cuisine: Styles and flavours have been introduced by the neighbouring cultures too. Famous Greek dishes have their origins in Turkey and the Middle East, such as moussaka, which has Arabic roots, baklava pastries and tzatziki (Turkish), or keftedhes (Persian).
Meals are deeply rooted social occasions in Greece. (The ancient Greek word symposium literally translated means drinking with company.)
You can be sure that the atmosphere in typically Greek restaurants and tavernas is very relaxed, informal and unpretentious. A meal usually starts with a platter of assorted appetizers known as meze.
The meze would be followed by a choice of grilled meats, or seafood such as octopus or squid. Greek cuisine is noted for its lamb dishes and kleftiko (meaning "of the thief") is a true Greek delicacy. Lamb is marinated in garlic and lemon juice and slow-baked on the bone. This is traditionally prepared in a pit oven and the meat cooks so tender it just falls off the bone and melts in your mouth!
Meatballs are another speciality - with oregano, mint, cumin, cinnamon and garlic, and served in a tomato sauce,
No place in Greece is farther than 85 miles from the coast and seafood forms a large part of the Greek diet.
Freshly grilled octopus is a favourite in any taverna, while psarosoupa is the Greek version of fish stew common all through the Mediterranean and is made from meaty whole fish. Fish commonly served in Greek restaurants are anchovies, cod, flounder or tuna. Marithes are very small fish that are fried whole and served with lemon wedges.
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