[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":333},["ShallowReactive",2],{"country:greece":3,"feed:country:greece":42,"links:country:greece":284,"country:musttry:greece":309},{"slug":4,"name":5,"nativeName":6,"iso2":7,"continent":8,"subregion":9,"cuisineIntro":10,"cuisineDeepDive":11,"signatureIngredients":12,"eatingCustoms":21,"mustTrySlugs":22,"regions":26,"heroImage":39},"greece","Greece","Ελλάδα","gr","Europe","Mediterranean","Greek cooking is the Mediterranean diet before anyone called it that: olive oil used in quantities that alarm visitors, vegetables treated as main courses, sheep's and goat's milk cheeses, mountain herbs, and fish where the sea allows. It is a frugal cuisine at heart — shaped by rocky soil, Orthodox fasting calendars that produced a huge repertoire of vegan dishes (ladera, beans, greens), and centuries of trading and occupation that left Ottoman fingerprints on the pastry and the coffee. The flavors are direct rather than layered: ripe tomato, oregano, lemon, garlic, brined olives and feta doing their work without disguise. Meat was historically for Sundays and feast days, which is why the lamb on the spit at Easter still feels like an event. What holds it together is the table itself — shared plates, bread for the oil, and no hurry whatsoever.","Olive oil is the non-negotiable foundation — Greece has among the highest per-capita olive oil consumption in the world, and it is a cooking fat, a dressing and a finishing sauce all at once. An entire category of dishes, ladera (\"the oily ones\"), consists of vegetables — green beans, okra, peas, artichokes — braised in olive oil and tomato until silky, eaten warm or at room temperature with bread and feta. These are mains, not sides, and they are the everyday backbone of the cuisine.\n\nThe dairy is sheep and goat, not cow: feta brined in barrels, hard salty kefalotyri and graviera for grating and frying (saganaki), and thick strained yogurt that anchors both breakfast and sauces like tzatziki. Cheese appears at nearly every meal, most famously as the slab of feta laid over a horiatiki salad.\n\nHerbs are used dried as often as fresh, and that is a feature, not a shortcut — Greek oregano (rigani) is picked wild on hillsides and is far more pungent dried than most fresh oregano abroad. Dill, mint and parsley go into fillings and fritters; cinnamon and allspice, an Ottoman inheritance, warm the tomato-based meat sauces of the mainland, which is why moussaka and pastitsio taste faintly of sweet spice.\n\nTechnique is unhurried: whole fish grilled with lemon and oil, lamb or goat roasted slowly with potatoes that soak up the juices, pies (pites) of greens or cheese wrapped in phyllo, pulses simmered into fasolada and gigantes. The grill and the baking dish matter more than the sauté pan.\n\nMeals are structured around mezedes — small shared plates of dips (tzatziki, taramosalata, fava), fried cheese, olives and seafood — that can either precede a main or simply become the meal, always with bread and usually with ouzo, tsipouro or wine. Lunch is late, dinner later; eating alone and quickly is regarded as a minor tragedy. The kafeneio and the taverna are social institutions as much as places to eat, and the check never arrives until you ask for it.",[13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20],"olive oil","feta","oregano","lemon","tomato","yogurt","olives","phyllo","Meals run late — lunch around two or three, dinner rarely before nine in summer — and last as long as the conversation does. Food arrives to the middle of the table for everyone's fork; ordering individual plates at a taverna is possible but slightly misses the point. Bread appears automatically and is used to mop olive oil and sauces without apology. A short glass of ouzo or tsipouro with mezedes is an institution, always taken with food, never alone. Coffee is its own ritual: a Greek coffee or a cold frappé can legitimately occupy an entire afternoon. Guests are fed insistently, and refusing a second helping usually just delays it.",[23,24,25],"moussaka","greek-salad","tzatziki",[27,30,33,36],{"name":28,"description":29},"Crete","The island whose diet launched a thousand studies — raw olive oil in serious quantities, wild greens (horta), dakos rusks with tomato and mizithra cheese, snails, and slow-cooked goat. The most distinct and self-sufficient regional kitchen in Greece.",{"name":31,"description":32},"Peloponnese","Olive country — Kalamata olives and much of Greece's best oil come from here — with a hearty inland tradition of roast pork, pasta dishes like the wedding noodles of Mani, and citrus from the coastal plains.",{"name":34,"description":35},"The Islands (Cyclades & Aegean)","Wind-dried tomatoes, capers, barley rusks, local cheeses from tiny herds, and fish grilled the day it was caught. Santorini's fava and cherry tomatoes and Naxos's graviera show how much flavor thin volcanic soil can concentrate.",{"name":37,"description":38},"The North (Macedonia & Thessaloniki)","Greece's food capital by many accounts — Thessaloniki's bougatsa, koulouri and mezedes culture carry strong Ottoman and Sephardic Jewish influences, with more butter, more peppers (including sweet-hot boukovo flakes) and richer pies than the south.",{"src":40,"alt":41},"\u002Fimages\u002Fcountries\u002Fgreece.jpg","Overhead photograph of Greece kitchen staples — olive oil, feta, oregano and lemon — on a dark wooden table",{"items":43,"total":281,"page":282,"limit":84,"hasMore":283},[44,80,107,131,153,176,204,225,245,265],{"slug":45,"title":46,"nativeName":47,"romanized":48,"countrySlug":4,"baseServings":49,"prepMinutes":50,"cookMinutes":51,"restMinutes":52,"difficulty":53,"course":54,"diet":57,"mainIngredients":64,"images":68,"keywords":72,"publishedAt":78,"updatedAt":78,"authorSlug":79},"fasolada","Fasolada (Greek White Bean Soup)","Φασολάδα","Fasolada",6,20,90,480,"easy",[55,56],"soup","main",[58,59,60,61,62,63],"vegan","vegetarian","dairy-free","gluten-free","nut-free","halal-friendly",[65,17,66,67],"carrot","onion","olive-oil",[69],{"src":70,"alt":71},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Ffasolada\u002Fhero.jpg","A deep bowl of Greek fasolada, creamy white beans with carrot coins in tomato broth under a slick of olive oil",[45,73,74,75,76,77,13],"greek bean soup","white beans","vegan greek","ladera","winter soup","2026-08-19","dishroute-kitchen",{"slug":81,"title":82,"nativeName":83,"countrySlug":4,"baseServings":84,"prepMinutes":85,"cookMinutes":86,"restMinutes":87,"difficulty":88,"course":89,"diet":91,"mainIngredients":92,"images":97,"keywords":101,"publishedAt":78,"updatedAt":78,"authorSlug":79},"galaktoboureko","Galaktoboureko (Greek Semolina Custard Filo Pie)","Γαλακτομπούρεκο",12,35,55,240,"medium",[90],"dessert",[59],[93,94,95,96],"semolina","milk","eggs","phyllo-dough",[98],{"src":99,"alt":100},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fgalaktoboureko\u002Fhero.jpg","Squares of golden filo pie filled with pale semolina custard, syrup pooling around the crisp blistered top",[81,102,103,104,105,106],"greek dessert","semolina custard","filo pie","lemon syrup","milk pie",{"slug":108,"title":109,"nativeName":110,"romanized":111,"countrySlug":4,"baseServings":49,"prepMinutes":112,"cookMinutes":113,"restMinutes":114,"difficulty":88,"course":115,"diet":116,"mainIngredients":117,"images":121,"keywords":125,"publishedAt":78,"updatedAt":78,"authorSlug":79},"gemista","Gemista (Greek Stuffed Tomatoes and Peppers)","Γεμιστά","Gemista",45,80,30,[56],[58,59,60,61,62,63],[17,118,119,120,67],"bell-pepper","rice","potato",[122],{"src":123,"alt":124},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fgemista\u002Fhero.jpg","A roasting tray of Greek gemista, stuffed tomatoes and peppers with blistered tops packed around potato wedges",[108,126,127,128,76,129,130],"stuffed tomatoes","stuffed peppers","greek vegan","rice filling","summer baking",{"slug":23,"title":132,"nativeName":133,"romanized":134,"countrySlug":4,"baseServings":135,"prepMinutes":136,"cookMinutes":51,"restMinutes":112,"difficulty":88,"course":137,"diet":138,"mainIngredients":139,"images":142,"keywords":146,"publishedAt":152,"updatedAt":152,"authorSlug":79},"Greek Moussaka (Eggplant and Béchamel Bake)","Μουσακάς","Mousakas",8,60,[56],[],[140,141,120,17],"eggplant","ground-beef",[143],{"src":144,"alt":145},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fmoussaka\u002Fhero.jpg","A square of Greek moussaka showing layers of eggplant, meat sauce and golden béchamel",[23,140,147,148,149,150,151],"béchamel","greek","casserole","baked","tselementes","2026-08-18",{"slug":24,"title":154,"nativeName":155,"romanized":156,"countrySlug":4,"baseServings":157,"prepMinutes":158,"cookMinutes":159,"difficulty":53,"course":160,"diet":163,"mainIngredients":164,"images":166,"keywords":170,"publishedAt":152,"updatedAt":152,"authorSlug":79},"Horiatiki, the Real Greek Village Salad","Χωριάτικη σαλάτα","Horiatiki salata",4,15,0,[161,162],"side","appetizer",[59,61],[17,165,14,67],"cucumber",[167],{"src":168,"alt":169},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fgreek-salad\u002Fhero.jpg","A horiatiki Greek village salad of tomato, cucumber, olives and onion topped with a whole slab of feta",[171,172,14,17,173,174,175],"greek salad","horiatiki","village salad","no lettuce","summer",{"slug":177,"title":178,"nativeName":179,"countrySlug":4,"region":180,"baseServings":135,"prepMinutes":85,"cookMinutes":181,"restMinutes":182,"difficulty":88,"course":183,"diet":187,"mainIngredients":188,"images":193,"keywords":197,"publishedAt":78,"updatedAt":78,"authorSlug":79},"koulouri-thessalonikis","Koulouri Thessalonikis (Sesame-Crusted Bread Ring)","Κουλούρι Θεσσαλονίκης","Thessaloniki, Macedonia",18,120,[184,185,186],"bread","breakfast","street-food",[58,60],[189,190,191,192],"flour","yeast","sesame-seeds","molasses",[194],{"src":195,"alt":196},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fkoulouri-thessalonikis\u002Fhero.jpg","Thin bronze bread rings completely covered in toasted sesame seeds, stacked on a street vendor tray",[198,199,200,201,202,203],"koulouri","thessaloniki","sesame bread ring","greek breakfast","petimezi","street food",{"slug":205,"title":206,"nativeName":207,"romanized":208,"countrySlug":4,"baseServings":135,"prepMinutes":209,"cookMinutes":51,"restMinutes":114,"difficulty":88,"course":210,"diet":211,"mainIngredients":212,"images":215,"keywords":219,"publishedAt":78,"updatedAt":78,"authorSlug":79},"pastitsio","Pastitsio (Greek Baked Pasta with Béchamel)","Παστίτσιο","Pastitsio",40,[56],[62],[141,213,94,214,17],"pasta","kefalotyri",[216],{"src":217,"alt":218},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fpastitsio\u002Fhero.jpg","A square slice of pastitsio showing pasta tubes, spiced beef sauce and a thick golden bechamel top",[205,220,221,222,223,214,224],"greek baked pasta","bechamel","cinnamon beef","tray bake","sunday lunch",{"slug":226,"title":227,"nativeName":228,"romanized":229,"countrySlug":4,"baseServings":157,"prepMinutes":50,"cookMinutes":84,"restMinutes":182,"difficulty":53,"course":230,"diet":231,"mainIngredients":232,"images":235,"keywords":239,"publishedAt":78,"updatedAt":78,"authorSlug":79},"souvlaki","Souvlaki (Greek Grilled Pork Skewers)","Σουβλάκι","Souvlaki",[186,56],[62],[233,16,15,67,234],"pork-shoulder","garlic",[236],{"src":237,"alt":238},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fsouvlaki\u002Fhero.jpg","Charred pork souvlaki skewers beside a warm pita filled with tzatziki, tomato and sliced red onion",[226,240,241,242,243,244,15],"greek street food","pork skewers","kalamaki","grilled pork","pita wrap",{"slug":246,"title":247,"nativeName":248,"romanized":249,"countrySlug":4,"baseServings":135,"prepMinutes":209,"cookMinutes":250,"restMinutes":50,"difficulty":88,"course":251,"diet":252,"mainIngredients":253,"images":256,"keywords":260,"publishedAt":78,"updatedAt":78,"authorSlug":79},"spanakopita","Spanakopita (Greek Spinach and Feta Filo Pie)","Σπανακόπιτα","Spanakopita",50,[56,162],[59,62],[254,14,67,95,255],"spinach","scallions",[257],{"src":258,"alt":259},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fspanakopita\u002Fhero.jpg","A golden spanakopita cut into squares showing layers of crisp filo over green spinach and feta filling",[246,261,262,14,263,59,264],"spinach pie","filo","greek pie","dill",{"slug":25,"title":266,"nativeName":267,"romanized":268,"countrySlug":4,"baseServings":49,"prepMinutes":158,"cookMinutes":159,"restMinutes":136,"difficulty":53,"course":269,"diet":271,"mainIngredients":272,"images":273,"keywords":277,"publishedAt":152,"updatedAt":152,"authorSlug":79},"Tzatziki (Greek Yogurt, Cucumber and Garlic Dip)","Τζατζίκι","Tzatziki",[270,162],"sauce",[59,61],[18,165,234],[274],{"src":275,"alt":276},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Ftzatziki\u002Fhero.jpg","A bowl of thick white tzatziki dip topped with olive oil and dill, with pita bread alongside",[25,18,165,234,278,279,280],"dip","meze","greek sauce",10,1,false,{"links":285,"total":281},[286,289,292,294,297,298,301,303,305,307],{"slug":45,"title":48,"iso2":287,"minutes":288},"GR",590,{"slug":81,"title":290,"iso2":287,"minutes":291},"Galaktoboureko",330,{"slug":108,"title":111,"iso2":287,"minutes":293},155,{"slug":23,"title":295,"iso2":287,"minutes":296},"Greek Moussaka",195,{"slug":24,"title":154,"iso2":287,"minutes":158},{"slug":177,"title":299,"iso2":287,"minutes":300},"Koulouri Thessalonikis",173,{"slug":205,"title":208,"iso2":287,"minutes":302},160,{"slug":226,"title":229,"iso2":287,"minutes":304},152,{"slug":246,"title":249,"iso2":287,"minutes":306},110,{"slug":25,"title":268,"iso2":287,"minutes":308},75,{"items":310,"total":332,"page":282,"limit":332,"hasMore":283},[311,318,325],{"slug":23,"title":132,"nativeName":133,"romanized":134,"countrySlug":4,"baseServings":135,"prepMinutes":136,"cookMinutes":51,"restMinutes":112,"difficulty":88,"course":312,"diet":313,"mainIngredients":314,"images":315,"keywords":317,"publishedAt":152,"updatedAt":152,"authorSlug":79},[56],[],[140,141,120,17],[316],{"src":144,"alt":145},[23,140,147,148,149,150,151],{"slug":24,"title":154,"nativeName":155,"romanized":156,"countrySlug":4,"baseServings":157,"prepMinutes":158,"cookMinutes":159,"difficulty":53,"course":319,"diet":320,"mainIngredients":321,"images":322,"keywords":324,"publishedAt":152,"updatedAt":152,"authorSlug":79},[161,162],[59,61],[17,165,14,67],[323],{"src":168,"alt":169},[171,172,14,17,173,174,175],{"slug":25,"title":266,"nativeName":267,"romanized":268,"countrySlug":4,"baseServings":49,"prepMinutes":158,"cookMinutes":159,"restMinutes":136,"difficulty":53,"course":326,"diet":327,"mainIngredients":328,"images":329,"keywords":331,"publishedAt":152,"updatedAt":152,"authorSlug":79},[270,162],[59,61],[18,165,234],[330],{"src":275,"alt":276},[25,18,165,234,278,279,280],3,1787360043016]