A Taste of Greece

My brother and sister-in-law are archeologists and spend many of their summers in Greece. My (now) husband and I had the pleasure of visiting them in May 2014. The food exceeded my expectations and I now love creating new recipes that were inspired by the trip. This blog includes a simple Greek salad and a lamb dish. (see below)

Some of my favorite dishes in Greece include: fava dip, grilled octopus, souvlaki, greek salad, gyros wraps, keftethes (meatballs), saganaki (fried cheese), and frappe (iced coffee).

A little about the trip: We went to Greece in May and spring was a great time of year to go because the tourist crowds had not become too large and the weather was great. We planned our trip into 3 sections:

1. Tour Athens with my brother

2. explore some Greek islands on our own

3. meet my brother on the Peloponnese Peninsula so he could show us some incredible archeological sites!

Mykonos, Greece

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Itinerary

Day 1: We arrived in Athens and checked into our hotel. We met my brother for a delicious dinner at a restaurant called Mahn Mahn. This was my first taste of Greece and it did not disappoint! I recommend ordering grilled octopus and fava dip - these were some of my favorite dishes!

Day 2: We explored the Acropolis and the Acropolis Museum. We also walked around the Monastiraki and Plaka neighborhoods for some shopping, a late lunch and iced coffee!

Parthenon, Acropolis, Athens, Greece

Day 3: We left my brother and flew to the island of Mykonos. Mykonos is known as a party island, but it was actually pretty quiet in early May. We stayed at the Mykonos Bay Resort which was a short walk to the downtown area. It was also right on the beach and we had a lovely view of the ocean! We arrived in Mykonos before noon so we spent the day exploring the town and buying souvenirs at the gift shops.

Day 4: We continued to relax in Mykonos until about 3 pm. We then took the ferry from Mykonos to the island of Santorini. This ferry ride took about 2.5 hours. We took the Cable Car from the port to the main town of Fira and then walked to our hotel - Smaro Studios in Firastefani. This hotel is a family house that was turned into a B&B style hotel. Their breakfast was delicious and every room had a view of the ocean! (Funny story: this was pre-GPS on our phones and we did not come prepared to find our hotel. There are many streets without names and it is very hard to navigate the addresses in Santorini! Although it was stressful at the time, it makes for great memories and a great story now!)

Day 5: We spent the day exploring the island! We visited Akrotiri, a 17th century BC city, the red sand beach, and many of the small towns on the island. After a long day of site seeing we took a local bus to the town of Oia to watch the famous sunset!

Mycenae, Greece

Day 6: We continued our site seeing in Santorini which included Prehistoric Thera, the black sand beach, and getting lost around the island! We had a late night flight back to Athens around 9 pm and checked into the King George hotel. Their breakfast room had a beautiful view of the Acropolis and I would recommend having breakfast at the hotel if you stay there!

Day 7: We took a local bus to the sea town of Nafplio to meet my brother on the Peloponnese Peninsula. This town has a mix of Greek and Italian charm since it has a history of influence from both cultures. Now that my brother was done working for the week he drove us around the peninsula to many of the sites including Mycenae and Corinth. Mycenae is an archeological site and was a large civilization from the Bronze Age (circa 1600-1100 BCE). If you are interested in history, I would definitely recommend this trip!

Day 8: During our final day we went to the National Historical Museum in Athens to view collections from various periods of Greek History. At night we went to a Eurovision party with my brother's friends. If you are in Europe during the Eurovision song contest, I'd definitely recommend spending the evening watching it on TV!

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Greek Recipes

#1 Traditional Greek Salad

Total time: 10 minutes

Ingredients: Green Bell Pepper, Red Bell Pepper, Tomato, Cucumber, Red Onion, Feta Cheese, Olives, Lemon Juice, Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper, Oregano

Step 1: Cut the vegetables (green and red bell pepper, red onion, tomato, cucumber) and add them to a large bowl

Step 2: Toss the vegetables in olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and oregano

Step 3: Top with feta cheese and olives.

#2 Lamb in Red Wine Tomato Sauce

Total time: 20 minutes prep + 2 hours baking

Ingredients: Lamb Chop or Shank, Olive Oil, Onion, Garlic, Celery, Carrot, Red Wine, Chicken Stock, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, bay leaves, thyme, salt, pepper

Step 1: Sear lamb on high in an oven-safe pan on the stove with olive oil to create a crust on the outside. Then remove the lamb and set it aside on a plate.

Step 2: Chop 1/2 an onion, 2-3 garlic cloves, 1 celery and 1 carrot.

Step 3: Turn the stove heat on medium, add another tbsp of olive oil, and cook onion, garlic, celery and carrot.

Step 4: Add 2 1/2 cups of red wine, 2 cups of chicken stock, 28 ounces of crushed tomatoes, 2 tbsp tomato paste, 2 bay leaves, thyme, salt and pepper (to taste).

Step 5: Add the lamb back into the pan.

Step 6: Cover the pan and bake in the oven at 325*F for 1.5 hours.

Step 7: Uncover the pan and bake at 350*F for another 30 minutes.

Options for side dishes: roasted fingerling potatoes, mashed potatoes, or grilled vegetables!