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Herbs

Oregano

Ρίγανη · Rigani

Dried Greek oregano, rigani, tied in a bunch
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Rigani is the single most identifying smell in Greek cooking, and it is worth knowing that the plant behind it, a wild form of oregano that grows on dry, sun-baked hillsides across the country, is genuinely more pungent than the oregano sold in most other markets. Greek cooks use it dried almost exclusively, rubbed between the palms straight over the dish rather than measured, which is the opposite of how basil or parsley are treated.

It is scattered raw over a horiatiki salad and a plate of grilled meat rather than cooked into a sauce, which means the oregano you taste in a Greek salad has never been near heat at all. That raw, sharp, slightly medicinal hit is what a bottle of supermarket oregano, grown for mildness, usually cannot reproduce.

Wild rigani, gathered from hillsides in summer and dried in bunches hung from a kitchen ceiling, is still how many families source it, and dried Greek oregano sold still on the stem, rather than pre-crumbled in a jar, is the version worth seeking out if the flavour matters to a dish.

Recipes with oregano

58 recipes on the site use it. Here are 36 of them.

A tray of Greek moussaka with a browned bechamel top, one square lifted outMoussakaMousakas ΜουσακάςMain Courses · 1h 55m · serves 8A Greek village salad with tomato wedges, cucumber, red onion and a whole slab of feta topped with oreganoGreek SaladHoriatiki salata Χωριάτικη σαλάταSalads · 12m · serves 4Charred pork souvlaki skewers on a wooden board with lemon wedges and oreganoPork SouvlakiSouvlaki ΣουβλάκιMain Courses · 32m · serves 4A dish of baked giant beans in a rich orange tomato sauce with parsley and olive oilBaked Giant Beans in TomatoGigantes plaki Γίγαντες πλακίMain Courses · 2h 5m · serves 6Lemon PotatoesPatates lemonates Πατάτες λεμονάτεςSide Dishes · 1h 35m · serves 6A barley rusk topped with grated tomato, crumbled white cheese, olives and oreganoCretan DakosDakos ΝτάκοςSalads · 12m · serves 4Thin strips of crisped pork gyros piled in a warm pita with tomato, onion and tzatzikiPork GyrosGyros ΓύροςMain Courses · 2h · serves 6A plate of golden brown Greek meatballs with lemon wedges and fresh mintKeftedesKeftedes ΚεφτέδεςMeze and Appetisers · 45m · serves 6A bowl of thick Greek white bean soup with carrot and celery, olive oil pooled on the surfaceFasoladaFasolada ΦασολάδαSoups · 1h 45m · serves 6A slice of golden fried Greek cheese in a small pan with a lemon wedgeSaganakiSaganaki ΣαγανάκιMeze and Appetisers · 15m · serves 4A tray of collapsed roasted Greek vegetables, browned at the edges and glossy with olive oilBriamBriam ΜπριάμMain Courses · 2h · serves 6Slow-cooked Greek lamb kleftiko falling off the bone with potatoes and lemonKleftikoKleftiko ΚλέφτικοMain Courses · 4h 25m · serves 6Charred grilled octopus tentacles dressed with olive oil, vinegar and oreganoGrilled OctopusHtapodi sta karvouna Χταπόδι στα κάρβουναMeze and Appetisers · 1h 30m · serves 4Prawns baked in tomato sauce with melting feta and parsley in a small panPrawns with Feta and TomatoGarides saganaki Γαρίδες σαγανάκιMain Courses · 37m · serves 4Greek scrambled eggs with tomato and crumbled feta in a pan with breadScrambled Eggs with Tomato and FetaStrapatsada ΣτραπατσάδαBreakfast Recipes · 23m · serves 3A bowl of thick Greek lentil soup with olive oil and a small jug of vinegarLentil Soup with VinegarFakes ΦακέςSoups · 1h 7m · serves 6Crisp Rhodian chickpea fritters piled on paper with lemon wedgesRhodes Chickpea and Tomato FrittersPitaroudia ΠιταρούδιαMeze and Appetisers · 45m · serves 6Charred Greek paidakia lamb chops on a grill with lemon and oreganoPaidakiaPaidakia ΠαϊδάκιαMain Courses · 25m · serves 4A Greek bifteki patty cut open showing melted feta insideBiftekiBifteki ΜπιφτέκιMain Courses · 40m · serves 4A tray of Greek lemon chicken and potatoes roasted goldenLemon Roast Chicken and PotatoesKotopoulo lemonato Κοτόπουλο λεμονάτοMain Courses · 1h 35m · serves 4Kontosouvli pork chunks slow-turning on a spit over charcoalSpit-Roasted PorkKontosouvli ΚοντοσούβλιMain Courses · 3h 30m · serves 6Cretan antikristo lamb propped facing an open fire on skewersCretan Spit-Roasted Lamb Facing the FireAntikristo ΑντικριστόMain Courses · 4h 30m · serves 8Zakynthos Garlic and Tomato Bread BakeSkordostoumbi Zakynthou Σκορδόστουμπι ΖακύνθουMain Courses · 55m · serves 4Greek melitzanes me feta baked aubergine with tomato and melted fetaBaked Aubergine with Feta and TomatoMelitzanes me feta Μελιτζάνες με φέταMain Courses · 1h 5m · serves 4Grilled Greek sardines dressed in ladolemono olive oil and lemonGrilled Sardines with Lemon OilSardeles ladolemono Σαρδέλες λαδολέμονοMain Courses · 25m · serves 4Baked Fish with VegetablesPsari plaki Ψάρι πλακίMain Courses · 1h 15m · serves 4Oven Roasted Potatoes with OreganoPatates riganates Πατάτες ριγανάτεςSide Dishes · 1h · serves 4Grilled yogurt-marinated chicken souvlaki skewers with charred edgesYogurt-Marinated Chicken SouvlakiSouvlaki kotopoulo me giaourti Σουβλάκι κοτόπουλο με γιαούρτιMain Courses · 37m · serves 4A small jug of Greek ladolemono olive oil and lemon sauceOlive Oil and Lemon SauceLadolemono ΛαδολέμονοDips and Sauces · 5m · serves 6Kalymnos Baked Lamb and PotatoesFournisto Kalymnou Φουρνιστό ΚαλύμνουMain Courses · 3h · serves 8A slice of Greek kreatopita meat pie showing layered phyllo and fillingMeat Pie in PhylloKreatopita ΚρεατόπιταBreads and Pies · 1h 50m · serves 8Grilled Aubergine SkewersSouvlaki melitzanas Σουβλάκι μελιτζάναςMain Courses · 37m · serves 4Greek lamb souvla turning slowly on a spit over charcoalLamb SouvlaSouvla arni Σούβλα αρνίMain Courses · 4h 30m · serves 10A whole roasted Greek arnaki lemonato lamb leg with lemon and herbsRoast Lamb Leg with LemonArnaki lemonato Αρνάκι λεμονάτοMain Courses · 3h 40m · serves 6A plate of sliced Greek domatosalata tomato salad with oregano and olive oilSimple Greek Sliced Tomato SaladNtomatosalata ΝτοματοσαλάταSalads · 10m · serves 4A bowl of Greek kritharosalata orzo pasta salad with tomato, feta and olivesOrzo Pasta SaladKritharosalata ΚριθαρόσαλαταSalads · 32m · serves 6

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