Greek Cuisine

One of the Worlds Oldest Known Cuisines

Greece is a Mediterranean Cuisine with strong ties to Middle Eastern Cuisine; Hundreds of islands and vast coastlines; no land in Greece is more than 85 miles from a sea coast.

Common Ingredients include a wide variety of seafood, lamb, eggplant, olives and olive oil, mint, honey, yogurt, spinach, garlic, saffron, pine nuts, rice, figs and dates, tahini, and ouzo.

Cuisine includes a multitude of small dishes called Mezze; similar in style and use to Spanish Tapas. These include small portions of composed salads, marinated meats, sliced cheeses, cured olives, and pita bread with various garnishes.

Todays Menu:

Spanakopita

Greek Salad

Shish Kabob

Dolmatas

Moussaka

Fried Dough with Honey and Nuts

Other Common Dishes:
Gyros: rotisserie cooked lamb, thinly sliced, served with pita and tsatziki (cucumber yogurt sauce)
Moussaka: layers of ground lamb, fried eggplant and bechamel sauce (lasagne style)
Dolmas: filling enclosed in an edible wrapper: fillings include ground lamb and pine nuts, rice and mint. Wrappers are commonly preserved grape leaves or cabbage
Spanikopita: spinach and feta cheese wrapped and baked in phyllo dough
Baklava: layered nut pastry - phyllo, lemon syrup, nuts

Traditional Spain Day 1

Todays lesson covered several traditional style Spanish dishes: Gazpacho, Tortilla Espagnola, and Paella.

Paella is a dish that most likely was developed in the region of Valencia, as did many other rice based dishes. Paella is the dish that served as inspiration for the Creole dish Jambalaya. Based on medium grain rice flavored and colored with the indigenous spice saffron and then garnished with a variety of proteins [chorizo sausage, chicken, various shellfish and vegetables]

The Tortilla in question here is far from what we first think of when we hear the word tortilla. This tortilla ("small cake") is more of a frittata, an open faced omelet, in this case filled with potatoes and onions.

Gazpacho began as a creamy white soup derived from almonds, garlic, olive oil and sherry vinegar, but when the "New World" delivered tomatoes and bell peppers it was transformed into what we now sometimes label a salad in a soup bowl. A chilled puree of perfectly ripe vegetables is concentrated and strained and then served with cuts of those vegetables, and/or grapes or other creative garnish. Perfect for hot weather but well received anytime quality ingredients are available.