Greek Cuisine: Interesting Dishes You Haven't Heard Of

Greek cuisine is a variety of tastes and a combination of the most unusual products.

Greek cuisine is a variety of tastes and a combination of the most unusual products. When preparing dishes, the Greeks use vegetables, cheeses, dairy and sour-milk products. They are used to marinating even meat not in mayonnaise, soy sauce or lemon, but in kefir or cream with vegetables. Greek dishes always turn out tender, juicy and fragrant! Let's get acquainted!

1. Pumpkin "Festive"

 

The Greeks love pumpkin, and according to this recipe they cook it for all national holidays and celebrations. In fact, the dish is a casserole in pots, but there is one name from the casserole, because all the ingredients, except for rice, are mixed.

The pumpkin is cut into cubes, mixed with cottage cheese, prunes, cane sugar and cinnamon, everything is laid out in a pot on a pillow of pre-soaked rice. The ingredients are filled with 25% cream to the brim, and the pots are sent to the oven for 40-50 minutes. They eat a dish with a baguette and butter.

2. Greek cutlets with apple

 

Remember the unusual combinations that were mentioned at the very beginning? This is one of them. Greek cutlets are kneaded ground beef with grated green apple, cilantro, milk and spices. Small cutlets are molded, rolled in flour or in ready-made batter, deep-fried. The combination is unusual, but really very tasty.

3. Pineapple juice pies

 

These patties deserve praise in all cookbooks as they taste amazing. The whole secret is that the dough is kneaded not with milk, water or kefir, but with pineapple juice. Yes, it didn’t seem to you, but the Greeks don’t stop there either. A small nuance that can be missed, namely a glass of cognac, can play a fatal mistake if, of course, you drink it and not add it to the dough. The filling is generally simple: nuts, any fruit, canned peaches and cherries are most often used, a little cinnamon and nutmeg. The main thing is to roll out the dough very thinly and firmly fasten the edges after you have laid the filling. Pies are baked in the oven at a maximum temperature of 30-40 minutes.

4. Pasta casserole with carrots and salted cottage cheese

 

Casseroles have a special place in the life of the Greeks, they are served as a main dish with the same popularity as Russian chicken and potatoes. It is this recipe that is prepared on the day of the Greek baptism Fota, carried to friends and relatives.

Cannelloni pasta is boiled until al dente, stuffed with grated carrots, spread on a baking sheet greased with butter and covered with salted cottage cheese, finely chopped spinach, poured with milk. Cook the dish in the oven for 20-30 minutes.

5. Lamb liver with celery and leek

 

This dish is served as an appetizer in many places in Greece on a fried baguette, but it is quite suitable for the main course, as it is very satisfying and tasty.

Lamb liver is cleaned, washed, cut into small cubes and soaked in milk for 2-3 hours. It is then fried with garlic, celery and leeks in a pan. After that, the liver is placed in a pot or a deep bowl, tightly covered with onions, everything is poured with liquid sour cream and covered with spices. The liver is stewed in the oven for about an hour, which is why it is served with greens and a baguette.

6. Bulta in Greek

"Bulta" is a vegetable porridge with sauerkraut and thickener in the form of chicken broth, milk and ground cashew nuts. The composition of the porridge also includes carrots, pumpkin, zucchini, all these vegetables are boiled, ground in a blender, mixed with sauerkraut, poured with broth and milk, and simmered for 50-60 minutes. At the very end, nuts and dill are added.

7. Lemongrass soup with corn and dumplings

 

This soup has such a name for a reason, as the broth is cooked exclusively on lemon zest and celery. Dumplings are boiled separately, like meat (if you want), and fried onions, corn and tomatoes are added along with spices 10 minutes before they are ready (after the broth has been cooked for 20-30 minutes). In serving, the soup is reminiscent of Ramen, but in taste it cannot be compared with any other.