Greek Recipes
30 recipes from Greek cuisine, including Gigantes Plaki (Greek Baked Giant Beans), Giouvetsi (Greek Beef and Orzo Bake) and Pork Souvlaki. 17 are vegetarian and 9 take less than 30 minutes.
Greek Frappé
Greece's summer coffee, born at the 1957 Thessaloniki fair — instant coffee shaken hard with sugar and a little water into a thick, stable foam, then topped up with ice, cold water and milk.
Melomakarona
Greek Christmas honey cookies — a soft olive-oil and orange dough spiced with cinnamon and cloves, baked, then dipped while hot into cold honey syrup and topped with walnuts. Made without butter or eggs, they suit the Advent fast.
Galaktoboureko
Greek custard pie — a thick semolina custard baked between layers of buttered filo, then soaked in cold lemon syrup straight from the oven so the pastry stays crisp above the creamy filling. Cooling the custard before adding the eggs keeps it smooth.
Portokalopita
Greek orange cake made with dried, crumbled filo instead of flour — the pastry soaks up a yoghurt and orange-zest batter, bakes into a moist, open crumb and is drowned in orange syrup. Drying the filo first is the whole trick.
Kourabiedes
The Greek Christmas butter biscuits — a short almond dough made with long-whipped butter and a splash of brandy, baked pale, sprinkled with rose water and buried in icing sugar. Whipping the butter for a full ten minutes gives their melting, sandy texture.
Vasilopita
The Greek New Year cake, cut on St Basil's Day with a coin hidden inside — whoever finds it has luck all year. This is the cake version: buttery and orange-scented, with the new year's numbers dusted on top in icing sugar.
Whipped Feta Dip
Greek feta whipped with thick yoghurt, lemon and olive oil into a light, salty cream, swirled into a bowl under chilli-warmed honey — the modern mezze dip, done in ten minutes.
Loukoumades
Greek honey puffs — a loose yeast batter squeezed from the fist into hot oil, fried into crisp golden balls and drenched in warm honey syrup with cinnamon and walnuts. They are made to order and eaten at once, while still crackling.
Dakos
The Cretan meze — a hard barley rusk softened under grated ripe tomato, crumbled feta, oregano and a generous pour of olive oil, which the rusk drinks up as it sits.
Avgolemono Soup
The Greek egg-and-lemon chicken soup — rice cooked in a homemade chicken broth, then thickened off the heat with eggs and lemon juice into a silky, pale-yellow soup with a bright, sharp finish.
Semolina Halva
The semolina halva of Bulgarian and Greek fasting tables — coarse semolina toasted slowly in oil to a deep gold, then hit with hot cinnamon syrup that swells it into a moist pudding you can slice. The slow toasting is where the flavour comes from.
Dolmades (Rice-Stuffed Vine Leaves)
Greek dolmades yalantzi — vine leaves rolled around rice with spring onions, dill, mint and lemon, simmered in olive oil under a plate and served cool. The meatless version is a Lent staple and a classic summer meze.
Lamb Kleftiko
The Greek “bandits' lamb” — lamb on the bone sealed in a parcel with potatoes, garlic, lemon, oregano and feta, then baked slowly for hours until the meat falls apart in its own steam and juices.
Garides Saganaki (Prawns with Tomato and Feta)
A Greek taverna meze — prawns cooked in a small two-handled saganaki pan in a quick sauce of tomato, garlic, chilli and ouzo, finished under crumbled feta that softens into the sauce.
Pork Souvlaki
Greece's everyday street food — cubes of pork shoulder marinated in lemon, olive oil, garlic and oregano, threaded on skewers and charred over high heat, then wrapped in warm pita with tzatziki, tomato and onion.
Giouvetsi (Greek Beef and Orzo Bake)
The Greek Sunday bake — beef braised with tomato, cinnamon and red wine until tender, then baked in the same dish with orzo that drinks up the sauce, finished under grated kefalotyri.
Beef Stifado
A Greek winter stew of beef braised with a mountain of small whole onions in red wine, tomato, vinegar and warm spices — cinnamon, cloves and allspice — until the onions turn sweet and the sauce glossy.
Gigantes Plaki (Greek Baked Giant Beans)
Greek giant white beans baked in a thick tomato sauce with onion, carrot, celery, garlic and dill until creamy inside and caramelised on top — a Lenten main that is as good at room temperature as it is warm.
Spanakopita
The Greek spinach pie — layers of olive-oiled filo around a filling of spinach, feta, spring onion and dill, baked until the top shatters. Squeezing the spinach dry is what keeps the base crisp.
Taramosalata
The Greek Lenten spread of salted fish roe whipped with soaked bread, lemon and oil into a pale, airy cream — eaten on Clean Monday with pitta and olives, and briny enough that a little goes far.
Skordalia
The Greek garlic dip served with fried salt cod and beetroot — warm mashed potato beaten with pounded raw garlic, olive oil and vinegar into a smooth, sharp and fiercely pungent cream.
Greek Orzo Salad
Rice-shaped orzo tossed with the makings of a Greek village salad — tomatoes, cucumber, Kalamata olives, red onion and feta — in an oregano and red wine vinegar dressing that holds up well made ahead.
Gyros
The Greek street-food classic — pork marinated in yoghurt, oregano and garlic, seared until the edges char, then rolled into warm pita with tzatziki, tomato, onion and a handful of chips.
Pastitsio
The Greek baked pasta — tubes of pasta under a cinnamon-scented beef ragu and a thick bechamel that sets into a golden lid you can cut into clean squares.
Frequently asked questions
How many recipes from Greek cuisine are on svcs.bg?
30: 22 cooking recipes, 3 salads and 5 sauces.
What are the classic dishes from Greek cuisine?
Among the recipes here: Gigantes Plaki (Greek Baked Giant Beans), Giouvetsi (Greek Beef and Orzo Bake) and Pork Souvlaki.
What is the quickest recipe from Greek cuisine?
Greek Frappé, in about 5 minutes. Dairy-Free Tzatziki (10 min) and Whipped Feta Dip (12 min) are quick too.
Are there vegetarian recipes from Greek cuisine?
Yes, 17 of the 30 are vegetarian, for example Greek Frappé, Melomakarona and Galaktoboureko.
How is a recipe's cuisine decided?
By its tag: this page lists every recipe tagged "greek". A recipe can belong to more than one cuisine.