Food in the Athens A to Z
59 entries filed under Food in the Athens A to Z Travel Dictionary. Each name opens the full entry.
A
Avgolemono
A silky egg and lemon sauce or soup (often with chicken and rice), a cornerstone of Greek home cooking.
B
Bakaliaros skordalia
Battered fried salt cod with garlic purée, eaten across Greece on 25 March.
Bifteki
A flat Greek burger of minced meat with onion and herbs, grilled and served with chips or rice rather than in a bun; 'bifteki me feta' has cheese sealed inside.
Bougatsa
A breakfast pastry of crisp filo filled with semolina custard (sweet) or cheese, dusted with sugar and cinnamon.
Briam
Summer vegetables, mostly courgette, potato and tomato, baked slowly in olive oil.
D
Diples
Thin ribbons of fried dough soaked in honey and scattered with walnuts, made for weddings and Christmas.
Dolmades
Vine leaves stuffed with rice and herbs (sometimes minced meat), served warm or cold with lemon.
E
Ekmek kataifi
A layered dessert of syrup soaked shredded pastry topped with thick custard and whipped cream, usually finished with cinnamon or crushed pistachio.
How to make Ekmek kataifi syrup soaked kataifi with custard and cream
F
Fasolakia
Green beans stewed with tomato and olive oil, a classic ladera, or oil cooked, dish served warm or at room temperature.
Fava
A smooth purée of yellow split peas dressed with olive oil, lemon and raw onion; a classic meze.
Feta
Greece's protected origin brined sheep's (or sheep and goat) milk cheese, tangy and crumbly, used in salads, pies and dips across the country.
G
Galaktoboureko
A custard pie of semolina baked in filo and soaked in syrup, a beloved Greek dessert.
Gavros
Fresh anchovy, either floured and fried or marinated in vinegar, and a standard ouzo meze.
Gemista
Tomatoes and peppers stuffed with rice and herbs, baked in olive oil; a summer classic served warm or at room temperature.
Gyros
Meat roasted on a vertical spit, shaved into pita with tomato, onion, tzatziki and chips; the everyday cousin of souvlaki.
H
Halva
Two different sweets share the name: a dense sesame block sold by the slab, and a soft semolina pudding made at home.
Horiatiki
The 'village salad', tomato, cucumber, onion, peppers, olives and a slab of feta with oregano and olive oil; no lettuce.
Horta
Boiled wild or leafy greens dressed with olive oil and lemon; a simple, ubiquitous side.
Htapodi sti schara
Octopus hung to dry in the sun, then grilled over coals, the classic companion to ouzo.
Htipiti
Feta blended with roasted red pepper, chilli and lemon into a rough, spiced dip.
I
Imam baildi
A meze of aubergine slow cooked with onion, garlic and tomato in plenty of olive oil, served at room temperature; the name means “the imam fainted”.
K
Kalamaki
In Athens, a plain skewer of grilled meat served on the stick, ordered separately from the pitta; elsewhere in Greece the same thing is often just called souvlaki.
Kalamarakia
Squid cut into rings, floured and fried, on the menu of practically every seaside taverna.
Karydopita
A dense walnut cake soaked in syrup, usually served in small squares.
Kebab
Minced lamb or beef kneaded with grated onion, cumin and paprika, then pressed onto flat skewers and grilled.
Keftedes
Fried meatballs mixed with onion, bread and herbs, eaten hot or cold as a meze.
Kokoretsi
Seasoned offal wrapped in intestine and slow roasted on a spit, a classic Greek Easter dish also sold year round at some grills; strongly flavoured and not for everyone.
How to make Kokoretsi spit roasted offal wrapped in intestine
Kolokithoanthoi
Courgette flowers stuffed with rice or cheese, then fried or baked. A short early summer season only.
Kolokythokeftedes
Fried courgette and herb fritters bound with cheese, a standard meze in tavernas across the city.
Kontosouvli
Big chunks of marinated pork turned slowly on a spit, a grill house and village festival dish.
How to make Kontosouvli large marinated pork on a rotisserie
Koulouri
The sesame crusted bread ring sold from street carts, Athens' classic breakfast on the go.
Kourabiedes
Buttery almond shortbread buried under icing sugar, made at Christmas.
Kritharaki
Rice shaped pasta, known elsewhere as orzo, and the base of giouvetsi.
L
Loukaniko
Greek pork sausage, often flavoured with orange peel, fennel seed or leek depending on the region it comes from.
Loukoumades
Little fried dough puffs drenched in honey syrup and cinnamon, sometimes with walnuts, a traditional sweet.
M
Marides
Small whitebait fried whole and eaten with a squeeze of lemon, heads and all.
Melitzanosalata
A smoky dip of roasted aubergine mashed with olive oil, lemon and garlic.
Melomakarona
Christmas biscuits soaked in honey syrup and topped with crushed walnut.
Meze (mezedes)
Small sharing plates, dips, seafood, cheeses, vegetables, eaten slowly with ouzo, tsipouro or wine.
Moussaka
The baked casserole of aubergine, spiced minced meat and béchamel, traditionally a midday dish.
P
Papoutsakia
“Little shoes”: aubergine halves filled with minced meat and finished with béchamel.
Pastitsio
Greece's baked pasta dish, long tubes layered with spiced meat and béchamel, a cousin of moussaka.
Patsas
A rich tripe soup traditionally eaten late at night or early in the morning, served at specialist patsatzidika near the central market.
Portokalopita
A moist orange cake made with torn filo pastry and yoghurt, soaked in citrus syrup and served in squares.
R
Ravani
A semolina sponge drenched in sugar syrup, sold by the square in bakeries.
Revithia
Soaked chickpeas baked slowly for around three hours with onion, bay and olive oil, finished with lemon.
Rizogalo
Cold rice pudding dusted with cinnamon, eaten as a dessert or a breakfast.
S
Saganaki
A slab of cheese pan fried until golden and served sizzling with lemon; also used for small skillet dishes.
Skordalia
A thick garlic purée thickened with potato or bread, served mainly with fried salt cod or beetroot.
Soutzoukakia
Oval spiced meatballs with cumin and garlic in tomato sauce, a dish brought to Greece from Smyrna.
How to make Soutzoukakia Smyrna style cumin meatballs in tomato sauce
Souvlaki
Athens' signature street food, grilled meat with pita, tomato, onion and tzatziki; the bare skewer is a 'kalamaki'.
Spanakopita
A savoury pie of spinach and feta in crisp filo; the cheese only version is tiropita.
T
Taramosalata
A pale, tangy dip of cured fish roe blended with bread or potato, olive oil and lemon; a Lenten table staple.
Tiropita
Cheese pie in filo pastry, sold by the piece at every bakery and a standard Greek breakfast on the move.
Trahanas
A dried grain of cracked wheat soured with milk or yoghurt, made into a thick winter soup.
Tsoureki
A sweet braided bread scented with mahlepi and mastic, baked at Easter.
Tzatziki
The cooling dip of strained yoghurt, cucumber, garlic and olive oil that accompanies grilled meats.
Y
Youvarlakia
Meatballs rolled with rice and simmered in an egg and lemon broth, a winter comfort dish.
How to make Youvarlakia rice and meatball soup with avgolemono