Authentic Greek cuisine and recipe ideas

Masterfile

My first meal in Rhodes was a Greek plate, filled to the brim with tzatziki, pita, feta and halloumi cheese, hummus, kalamata olives and fruits and vegetables. It was a nice introduction to the cuisine of the island, though fairly predictable (and salty). 

The evening was spent dining by the Aegean Sea watching the sunset. I enjoyed a mezze, or selection of small dishes, of grilled octopus, baked eggplant in an ouzo-feta-tomato sauce, cheese saganaki (breaded and deep-fried), and keftedes (Greek meatballs).

After a day of quad-biking adventures around the island, my friend Margo and I treated ourselves to another nice meal in Rhodes at Antonis Tavern. Cold pints of local beer with cheese-stuffed courgette flowers (deep-fried, of course), grilled vegetables, tzatziki and pita, rice pilaf and souvlaki skewers with chicken, beef and lamb. Between two hungry girls...we ate it all.

Though I didn't get a chance to take pictures, I spent my mornings eating traditional Greek yogurt with honey and drinking Greek coffee (not unlike Turkish coffee). I also tasted many dolmades (rice and meat wrapped in grape leaves), deep-fried cheese snacks, gyros and ouzo - an anise-flavoured liquor similar to sambuca. Frankly, I'm surprised I didn't roll out of Greece.

Try creating your own Greek feast at home with these simple recipes:

Tzatziki Greek potatoes

Great Greek salad

Spinach and feta phyllo tart

Feta and olive stuffed chicken

Lamb burgers with feta & mint

Lemony chicken souvlaki with herbed bulgur pilaf

Lamb koftas with tzatziki