332 Greek and Cypriot recipes · Every dish with its Greek nameCyprus · Crete · The Cyclades · Epirus · The Peloponnese · The Mainland · Asia Minor
Kalliopi's KitchenGreek food recipes

Pantry Staples

Vinegar

Ξύδι · Xydi

Advertisement

Lemon is Greek cooking's default acid, but vinegar takes the jobs lemon cannot do. Red wine vinegar is the standard bottle in a Greek kitchen, and it appears wherever something needs preserving rather than simply brightening: pickled vegetables, marinated anchovies, and the fried fish kept for days in savoro, where vinegar, rosemary and currants do the preserving work between them.

A bowl of fakes, lentil soup, is finished with a splash of vinegar at the table rather than in the pot, which is why many households keep the bottle beside the salt. Cretan hochlioi boubouristi, snails fried in olive oil, are deglazed with vinegar and rosemary in the same way, the sharpness cutting straight through the oil they cooked in.

Distilled white vinegar is not part of the tradition and tastes harsh in these dishes; a decent red or white wine vinegar is what the recipes assume. Vinegar and lemon can stand in for each other in a dressing or a salad, but not in a pickle, where the acidity is doing preserving work and a swap gives a jar that will not keep.

Recipes with vinegar

36 recipes on the site using it.

A bowl of thick white tzatziki with olive oil pooled on top and a sprig of dillTzatzikiTzatziki ΤζατζίκιDips and Sauces · 15m · serves 6A Greek village salad with tomato wedges, cucumber, red onion and a whole slab of feta topped with oreganoGreek SaladHoriatiki salata Χωριάτικη σαλάταSalads · 12m · serves 4A bowl of rough-textured aubergine dip with olive oil, parsley and a scattering of walnutsSmoky Aubergine DipMelitzanosalata ΜελιτζανοσαλάταDips and Sauces · 45m · serves 6Thin 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 6Thin slices of veal in a pale garlic and parsley sauce with rice alongsideVeal in Garlic and Vinegar SauceSofrito ΣοφρίτοMain Courses · 1h 35m · serves 4Charred grilled octopus tentacles dressed with olive oil, vinegar and oreganoGrilled OctopusHtapodi sta karvouna Χταπόδι στα κάρβουναMeze and Appetisers · 1h 30m · serves 4A pot of Greek beef stifado with whole small onions in a dark cinnamon-spiced sauceStifadoStifado ΣτιφάδοMain Courses · 3h · serves 6A bowl of thick Greek lentil soup with olive oil and a small jug of vinegarLentil Soup with VinegarFakes ΦακέςSoups · 1h 7m · serves 6Cypriot Pickled Cauliflower and TurnipMoungra ΜούντραDips and Sauces · 30m · serves 10A bowl of Greek skordalia garlic potato dip drizzled with olive oilSkordaliaSkordalia ΣκορδαλιάDips and Sauces · 35m · serves 6Cretan hochlioi boubouristi fried snails with rosemary and vinegarCretan Fried SnailsHochlioi boubouristi Χοχλιοί μπουμπουριστοίMeze and Appetisers · 35m · serves 4Constantinople-Style Cabbage SlawPolitiki salata Πολίτικη σαλάταSalads · 20m · serves 6Greek pantzarosalata beetroot salad with garlic yogurtBeetroot Salad with Garlic YogurtPantzarosalata ΠαντζαροσαλάταSalads · 1h 20m · serves 6A bowl of Greek lachanosalata cabbage and carrot saladCabbage and Carrot SaladLachanosalata ΛαχανοσαλάταSalads · 15m · serves 6Greek gavros marinatos, marinated anchovy fillets in olive oilGavros MarinatosGavros marinatos Γαύρος μαρινάτοςMeze and Appetisers · 30m · serves 6A pot of Greek fakorizo lentils and riceLentils and RiceFakorizo ΦακόρυζοMain Courses · 50m · serves 4A bowl of Greek patatosalata potato salad with red onion and herbsPotato SaladPatatosalata ΠατατοσαλάταSalads · 45m · serves 6A bowl of Greek fasolia salata white bean salad with red onion and parsleyWhite Bean SaladFasolia salata Φασόλια σαλάταSalads · 1h 15m · serves 6A pot of Greek bamies latheres okra in tomato sauceOkra in Tomato and Olive OilBamies latheres Μπάμιες λαδερέςSide Dishes · 1h · serves 4Sliced Cretan apaki smoked pork, pan-fried and served with lemonCretan Smoked Marinated PorkApaki Kritis Απάκι ΚρήτηςMain Courses · 40m · serves 8Cretan Rabbit Stew with OnionsKouneli stifado Κουνέλι στιφάδοMain Courses · 2h · serves 6Pickled AubergineMelitzanes toursi Μελιτζάνες τουρσίDips and Sauces · 45m · serves 12A bowl of Greek fakes salata lentil salad with red onion and parsleyLentil SaladFakes salata Φακές σαλάταSalads · 45m · serves 6A bowl of Greek angourodomata cucumber and tomato saladSimple Greek Cucumber and Tomato SaladAngourodomata ΑγγουροντομάταSalads · 10m · serves 4A bowl of Greek karotosalata grated carrot salad with garlicGrated Carrot SaladKarotosalata ΚαροτοσαλάταSalads · 15m · serves 4Almond Garlic DipSkordalia me amygdala Σκορδαλιά με αμύγδαλαDips and Sauces · 20m · serves 6A bowl of Greek patsas tripe soupTripe SoupPatsas ΠατσάςSoups · 4h 40m · serves 6A bowl of Greek skordalia me psomi bread-based garlic dipBread-Based Garlic DipSkordalia me psomi Σκορδαλιά με ψωμίDips and Sauces · 20m · serves 6A bowl of Cypriot talattouri, yogurt and mint dip with cucumberCypriot Yogurt and Mint DipTalattouri ΤαλαττούριDips and Sauces · 15m · serves 6A dish of Corfiot savoro, fried fish under vinegar, rosemary and currantsCorfu Fried Fish in Vinegar and RosemarySavoro ΣαβόροMeze and Appetisers · 40m · serves 4Kalymnos Barley Rusk SaladMermizeli ΜερμιζέλιSalads · 20m · serves 4A small dish of Greek pickled kritamo rock samphire in olive oilPickled Rock Samphire SaladKritamo ΚρίταμοSalads · 30m · serves 10Epirus Wild Greens PieBlatsaria ΜπλατσαριάBreads and Pies · 1h 45m · serves 8Slices of Greek lakerda, salt-cured bonito, with raw onion and olive oilLakerdaLakerda ΛακέρδαMeze and Appetisers · 45m · serves 10Greek tas kebap, spiced beef stew in a thin sauce served over ricePolitiko Spiced Beef StewTas kebap Τας κεμπάπMain Courses · 2h 20m · serves 6

More pantry staples

Olive OilHoneyWalnutsAlmondsBrandyCapersOlivesOuzoPetimeziRose WaterSaltSesame SeedsSugarTsipouroWine