Friday, June 1, 2012
Greek Food is Made of Summer
Fresh, nutritious, unprocessed, colourful and tasty, Greek food is perfectly suited to summer dining. The Greek diet is quintessentially Mediterranean, a way of eating that has recently become UNESCO cultural heritage, as well as a diet buzz word.
Rich in fruit and vegetable but poor in red meat and fat intake, it is just perfect in warmer months. Beyond nutrition or food trends, Greek food’s strongest appeal is its delightful taste. Made of delicious Mediterranean flavours, seafood treasures, cool drinks and fruity sweets, Greece’s aestival diet is the epitome of summer.
Rich in fruit and vegetable but poor in red meat and fat intake, it is just perfect in warmer months. Beyond nutrition or food trends, Greek food’s strongest appeal is its delightful taste. Made of delicious Mediterranean flavours, seafood treasures, cool drinks and fruity sweets, Greece’s aestival diet is the epitome of summer.
Summer finds Greek food at its best. Whether trying it in its native environment or settling for Greek cooking at home, Greek food brings a slice of summer to your plate.
Greek Sea on Your Plate…
A dish of fresh fish or seafood savoured at a seaside table constitutes the archetypical image of a Greek summer, and rightly so: fish and seafood are a favourite all year-round, and an absolute summer diet staple.
Fish Galore
Fish Galore
A look at the map of Greece explains the vast variety, great abundance and premium quality of Greek fishery, and the Greeks’ love for it.
Fish is cooked in various ways, but for most Greeks, the simpler the better: grilled fish seasoned with lemon and olive-oil is the absolute after-sea meal. The same goes pricewise: inexpensive, small fish are the true treasures of summer eating. The delicious sardine is a good example of a cheap-but tasty fish dish.
Sardines are eaten baked with garlic or grilled in vine leaves, but simplicity is usually the winner here as well: the best way to go is grilled with lemon and olive-oil.
The island of Lesvos holds the informal title of sardine capital, with the Bay of Kalloni sardines being a most sought-after mezes. It is in Kalloni that Greece’s biggest sardine festival takes place every August.
Soup is not an obvious summer meal choice, but there is no Mediterranean summer without kakavia, the fisherman’s soup, a luscious, dense stew of numerous fish in varying sizes. The best is served aboard the fishing boat, made freshly with the catch of the day and it is not to be missed.
- Seafood Treasures
The variety of Greek seafood is endless, but all regions have at least some recipes for the three main seafood delicacies: octopus, calamari and mussels. Octopus is savoured with pasta and tomato or in a baby onion stew, but mostly grilled or marinated in vinegar.
The secret for a perfect octopus dish is the tenderizing process -mainly beating on the rocks and sun drying- an image linked to Greek summer eating.
Squid comes mostly in the form of delicious fried calamari rings, but connoisseurs insist there is no summer taste like a whole grilled calamari, plain or stuffed with feta cheese or rice.
Mussels are well-liked all around Greece, but especially esteemed in the North, with more elaborate recipes to enjoy them: mussels saganaki -sautéed with tomato and feta cheese, or in a lemon and dill-flavoured risotto or simply deep-fried.
