Greek Food

Right, I have finally figured out how to upload photos, ALL BY MYSELF, which is quite a feat.


However this does mean you have to come back in time with me. Let me explain. When I first thought about doing a blog on my favourite subject I happened to be on holiday with hubby. Two idyllic weeks in Pefkos Rhodes, in a self catering apartment about 15 minutes walk from the main town. Relatively quiet with enough restaurants for one every night, and a couple of decent bars. I explained my plan to hubby, and enlisted his assistance in taking pictures of the food we ate over the fortnight. He wasn't really as up for it as I was, and occasionally cringed behind the carafe of wine as I happily snapped pictures of Greek delicacies, although he does feature as an unwilling subject in a couple of the snaps!


The photo above is Lamb Gastras. The Gastra is apparently the ceramic pot that the lamb is cooked in, and came complete with a number of cracks and chipped edges. Certainly not something that would be allowed in this country! The lamb was cooked with rosemary, mustard, wine, fresh spices and potatoes and was so incredibly filling and delicious. The mustard added a slight heat, and the rosemary some wonderful fragrance. This was our first night meal and a perfect start to the holiday.


The image on the left is a filo and feta parcel. We first had this dish a couple of years ago on another Greek island and it was a combination of flavours that really blew us away. The salty feta is encased in a crisp parcel of filo pastry and baked in the oven. They drizzle huge amounts of honey over the top and sprinkle with black or white sesame seeds. Now I am not a fan of feta, far to salty for me, but combined with the crispy pastry and the sweet honey that cuts through that saltiness, it really is good.



Lamb chops are synonymous with Greece for me, and always remind me of story my mum tells of when she and my sister went away for a week to one of the Islands. The village where they were staying only had about 4 restaurants and was situated on the harbour. One night they were out for dinner and ate at this tiny little place. They ordered lamb chops and were pleasantly surprised when the hugest mound of them arrived on their table. They sat and used their fingers to pick them up and get every last little scrap of meat off what were by all accounts the nicest lamb chops either of them had ever had. As they were leaving the restaurant there as a minor car accident in the lane outside. Being the post exciting thing to happen in this small village for a while everyone came rushing out, including the chef of this establishment. Who turned out to be one of those quintessential older Greek women, straight from a postcard...., complete with the most disgustingly dirty apron you have ever seen in your life. Both my mum and sister said if they had seen the apron before they ate, it would have really put them off, but they were still happy to declare them the best lamb chops in the world! The above lamb chops couldn't compete with that accolade but were still damn good. Juicy but well cooked (no pink bits for me) with plenty of seasoning and a nice accompaniment of tomatoes, onion, tatziki and some rather good chips.

One of the best bits of any holiday to Greece has to be the Gyros. Nothing like those horrid kebabs that so often seem to end peoples nights out in the UK. The shop that sold these was a tiny little thing, with maybe 4 or 5 little tables out the front. A proper Greek version of a fast food joint, but proper home cooked fast food!

There were three choices of meat available, chicken, pork and lamb. Whilst the lamb looked
something like the standard donner meat you get in this country, the chicken and pork were basically chunks of proper meat pushed through the spike and left to rotate until crispy and glistening with good old fashioned grease. You could have a mixture of meat, which hubby decided to go for, but I stuck to the pork. Highly seasoned, with some good spices in there to add a little heat, chips, tatziki, tomatoe, onion, all wrapped in a soft flat bread and presented in some greaseproof paper. Heaven! And all for the bargain price of €3. Hubby went for the man sized option for €5 which had all three meats, plus the chips and salady bits but all served on a big wooden board. Personally I could have eaten there every night and after one too many fruity cocktails I had serious thoughts about opening a PROPER Gyros shop back in our home town.


Cant go to a Greek Island and not eat fresh fish! When I was younger and far far less adventurous than I am now I always used to order half a roast chicken and chips when we were abroad. I know I know, sacrilege. And then when I got it, I used to make my mum sit and de-bone it before she could eat her tea. Thankfully I have now grown out of this, and can even de-bone my own fishes. think the waiter was a tad surprised though when I asked for it on the bone instead of filleted. Delicious soft, white flesh, with a buttery lemon sauce. mmmmmm


On our penultimate night we were sat having a drink after our meal and were deciding where to go on our last night. We finally decided on the place we went to on our first night and on a wander past we had a quick look at the menu. We had been fairly adventurous on our holiday, and had tried a number of local dishes that we hadnt seen before on our travels of the Greek Islands. And then something caught my eye. Tsoukalato Fournisto. Lamb shoulder marinated for 12 hrs in a white Grenache with mountain herbs. Then cooked in an air tight ceramic dish in a wood oven for 12hrs with potatoes, onions, garlic and parsley. mmmm. It had to be ordered 24hrs in advance and was for two persons, so with hubbys agreement we went in, booked a table and ordered what was to be known as THE PIE! When we arrived the next evening we did the whole "we have pre-ordered" thing, and were shown to lovely table upstairs on the balcony. Starters were ordered and devoured, and then we waited for this culinary masterpiece to arrive. And when it did arrive we almost died. From a distance, and from the angle we saw it, when the waiter carried it in it looked like a pie! All I could see was this 6inch deep ceramic pot with what appeared to be a crust around the top. 6 inches of filling with a crust. OMG, how would we ever get through that! At first I thought they had messed up our order, but upon its deliverance to the table all was revealed.

What we had presumed was a pie crust, was actually a kind of dough used to seal around the edge of the pot. We were encouraged to break parts of it off and dip it in the juices inside. We started doing that, but the dough was quite stodgy and plain, made more to be useful than tasty. However what was inside was magnificent. Tender as anything lamb, with the taste of the wine and herbs. Loads of poatoes and vegetables which we weren't expecting. After the first couple of mouthfuls we both started to wish we hadn't had starters, as we wanted to do this bad boy justice. We soldiered on, and managed to finish the whole thing. Never felt so full in my life, but it was one of the best things I have ever eaten.




Its now fairly obvious to me why I put 5 pounds on in two weeks! We ate out every night, lunches were either sandwiches made in the apartment with ham and bread rolls we had brought from home, and then Asda 9p noodles when the bread ran out. So that's lunch and dinner sorted, but what about breakfast? Breakfast always bothers me when Im abroad. Im a cereal girl but I don't do dairy, and there was no way I was carrying 2 cartons of soya milk in my suitcase. Hubby doesn't usually eat breakfast, and if he does its just a piece of toast. So what to do? We all know the bread when you go abroad isn't great, but I have come up with the perfect solution. Eggy bread! Whisk a couple of eggs together with a fork and add a drop of milk if needed. Drown your bread in the mixture and then do the other side. In a pan, heat up some butter and little oil to stop it burning. Place slice of bread in the pan when the butter starts to foam. When brown on one side, sprinkle the other side with sugar and flip over. Meanwhile chop up one really really ripe peach. Sprinkle that with a little sugar as well and then throw it in the pan next to the bread to warm through. Serve the cooked eggy bread with the warmed through and slightly caramelised peaches. If you have run out of fruit, take some of those little pots of jam and smear across the eggy breaded goodness. Delicious!