Course

Greek Meze and Appetisers

Meze is not a starter course so much as a way of eating: many small plates, all arriving at once, meant to be picked at slowly over a long conversation.

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Greek cooking organises itself around the table rather than around courses in the French sense. Dishes arrive together, plates are shared, and the distinction between a starter and a main is often a matter of how much of it there is. The grouping below is a practical one for cooking from, not a rule anyone in Greece would recognise.

The dishes filed here include Keftedes, Saganaki, Htapodi sta karvouna, Halloumi, Dolmades and Kolokithokeftedes. Each one is written out in full, with the reasoning behind each step rather than just the sequence, because the difference between a good version and a poor one is almost always in the detail that recipes leave out.

Every recipe on Kalliopi's Kitchen carries the dish's Greek name and a pronunciation, its region where that is meaningful, ingredient quantities in both metric and imperial, and an honest note on what commonly goes wrong. Nutrition figures are calculated estimates and are labelled as such.

Greek Meze and Appetisers

37 recipes on the site so far.

A plate of golden brown Greek meatballs with lemon wedges and fresh mintKeftedesKeftedes ΚεφτέδεςMeze and Appetisers · 45m · serves 6A slice of golden fried Greek cheese in a small pan with a lemon wedgeSaganakiSaganaki ΣαγανάκιMeze and Appetisers · 15m · serves 4Charred grilled octopus tentacles dressed with olive oil, vinegar and oreganoGrilled OctopusHtapodi sta karvouna Χταπόδι στα κάρβουναMeze and Appetisers · 1h 30m · serves 4Golden grilled halloumi slices with lemon wedges and dried mintGrilled HalloumiHalloumi ΧαλλούμιMeze and Appetisers · 11m · serves 4Rolled stuffed vine leaves arranged in a dish with lemon wedges and olive oilDolmadesDolmades ΝτολμάδεςMeze and Appetisers · 1h 50m · serves 8Golden Greek courgette fritters piled on a plate with tzatziki and lemonCourgette Fritters with FetaKolokithokeftedes ΚολοκυθοκεφτέδεςMeze and Appetisers · 55m · serves 6Crisp Rhodian chickpea fritters piled on paper with lemon wedgesRhodes Chickpea and Tomato FrittersPitaroudia ΠιταρούδιαMeze and Appetisers · 45m · serves 6Golden fried Cypriot koupes bulgur shells on a plate with lemonCypriot Bulgur Shells Stuffed with MeatKoupes ΚούπεςMeze and Appetisers · 1h 40m · serves 8A bowl of pale homemade taramosalata drizzled with olive oilFish Roe DipTaramosalata ΤαραμοσαλάταMeze and Appetisers · 15m · serves 8A plate of golden fried Greek revithokeftedes chickpea frittersChickpea FrittersRevithokeftedes ΡεβιθοκεφτέδεςMeze and Appetisers · 45m · serves 6Cretan hochlioi boubouristi fried snails with rosemary and vinegarCretan Fried SnailsHochlioi boubouristi Χοχλιοί μπουμπουριστοίMeze and Appetisers · 35m · serves 4Sliced noumboulo, Corfu's smoked cured pork filletCorfu Smoked Cured Pork FilletNoumboulo ΝουμπούλοMeze and Appetisers · 30m · serves 10Stuffed Florina PeppersPiperies Florinis gemistes Πιπεριές Φλωρίνης γεμιστέςMeze and Appetisers · 55m · serves 6Santorini ntomatokeftedes tomato fritters, golden and crispSantorini Tomato FrittersNtomatokeftedes Santorinis Ντοματοκεφτέδες ΣαντορίνηςMeze and Appetisers · 40m · serves 6Tinos and Mykonos Cured PorkLouza Tinou Λούζα ΤήνουMeze and Appetisers · 30m · serves 10Golden Greek fried baby squid rings with lemonFried Baby SquidKalamarakia tiganita Καλαμαράκια τηγανητάMeze and Appetisers · 30m · serves 4Greek gavros marinatos, marinated anchovy fillets in olive oilGavros MarinatosGavros marinatos Γαύρος μαρινάτοςMeze and Appetisers · 30m · serves 6A tray of golden Greek tiropitakia trigona cheese triangle pastriesCheese Triangle PastriesTiropitakia trigona Τυροπιτάκια τρίγωναMeze and Appetisers · 1h 10m · serves 8A plate of golden Greek marides tiganites fried whitebait with lemonFried WhitebaitMarides tiganites Μαρίδες τηγανητέςMeze and Appetisers · 23m · serves 4Fried Metsovone smoked cheese saganaki with lemonFried Smoked Cheese from EpirusSaganaki Metsovone Σαγανάκι μετσοβόνεMeze and Appetisers · 18m · serves 4Fried Peloponnese Sfela CheeseSaganaki sfela Σαγανάκι σφέλαMeze and Appetisers · 18m · serves 4Sliced pastourma cured beef coated in red fenugreek and paprika pasteCured Spiced Beef from Asia MinorPastourmas ΠαστουρμάςMeze and Appetisers · 40m · serves 10Baked feta with honey, sesame seeds and chilli flakesBaked Feta with Honey and SesameFeta psiti me meli Φέτα ψητή με μέλιMeze and Appetisers · 17m · serves 4Greek kolokithoanthoi gemisti stuffed courgette flowersStuffed Courgette FlowersKolokithoanthoi gemistoi Κολοκυθοανθοί γεμιστοίMeze and Appetisers · 1h 10m · serves 6Karpathos Hand PiesPougia Karpathou Πουγιά ΚαρπάθουMeze and Appetisers · 1h 10m · serves 8Fried Batzos Cheese from MacedoniaSaganaki me batzo Σαγανάκι με μπάτζοMeze and Appetisers · 18m · serves 4Minced Meat Phyllo TrianglesBourekakia me kima Μπουρεκάκια με κιμάMeze and Appetisers · 1h 20m · serves 8Cretan Savoury Cheese Hand PiesKalitsounia almyra Καλιτσούνια αλμυράMeze and Appetisers · 1h 10m · serves 8Plain Fried Courgette FlowersKolokithoanthoi tiganismenoi Κολοκυθοανθοί τηγανισμένοιMeze and Appetisers · 25m · serves 4Pan-seared Greek manouri cheese drizzled with honey and sesameGrilled Manouri Cheese with HoneyManouri me meli Μανούρι με μέλιMeze and Appetisers · 20m · serves 4A pan of Greek mydia saganaki mussels in tomato and feta sauceMussels in Tomato and Feta SauceMydia saganaki Μύδια σαγανάκιMeze and Appetisers · 40m · serves 4Fried Fresh AnchoviesGavros tiganitos Γαύρος τηγανιτόςMeze and Appetisers · 30m · serves 4A dish of Greek feta psiti me ntomata baked feta with tomatoBaked Feta with TomatoFeta psiti me ntomata Φέτα ψητή με ντομάταMeze and Appetisers · 35m · serves 4A dish of Corfiot savoro, fried fish under vinegar, rosemary and currantsCorfu Fried Fish in Vinegar and RosemarySavoro ΣαβόροMeze and Appetisers · 40m · serves 4Symi Shrimp Fried WholeGarides Symis Γαρίδες ΣύμηςMeze and Appetisers · 15m · serves 4Bougiourdi, Thessaloniki baked feta with tomato and peppers, bubbling in a clay dishThessaloniki Baked Feta with PeppersBougiourdi ΜπουγιουρντίMeze and Appetisers · 35m · serves 4Slices of Greek lakerda, salt-cured bonito, with raw onion and olive oilLakerdaLakerda ΛακέρδαMeze and Appetisers · 45m · serves 10
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