Course
25 Greek Main Courses
The dishes a Greek table is built around: baked pastitsio and moussaka, slow stews, roast lamb, and the one-pan ladera that carry a whole meal on their own.
A Greek main course is rarely a piece of meat with things arranged around it. It is one tray or one pot that carries the whole meal: moussaka, pastitsio, a pan of gemista, a stew left alone for three hours. Bread and a salad go next to it and that is dinner.
The list has the baked dishes and it has the grilled meat: pork souvlaki, paidakia, bifteki with feta inside, and gyros made at home without a vertical spit. A good part of it has no meat at all. Baked giant beans, briam and spanakorizo are main courses in Greece, not sides.
Cyprus has four dishes here. If you have never cooked Greek food, start with pastitsio. It forgives more than moussaka does.
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.
1. Moussaka
Mousakas · Μουσακάς · moo-sah-KAHS
When people say Greek food, this is usually what they mean, and it is also the dish that gets ruined most. Water does it, not bad ingredients. Cook the meat sauce drier than looks right and keep the bechamel thick. It is no weeknight dinner, but nearly all of it can be made ahead.
Yiayia’s tip: Salt the aubergines even if the packet says you do not need to. Modern aubergines are far less bitter than they used to be, so salting is often called unnecessary. That misses the point. Salting collapses the cell structure and drives out water, which means the slices absorb less oil and hold their shape in the bake.
Make Moussaka2. Pork Souvlaki
Souvlaki · Σουβλάκι · soo-VLAH-kee
Little skewer is what the word means, and to a Greek it is the meat, not the wrap. Order one in Athens and two bare skewers may arrive with bread, lemon and raw onion. The meat is nearly always pork, and shoulder has the fat to survive a hard fire. Beef barely comes into it.
Yiayia’s tip: Leave gaps between the cubes. Meat packed tightly against itself on a skewer cannot brown on the touching faces. Small gaps let the fire get in and give you crust on all sides.
Make Pork Souvlaki3. Pastitsio
Παστίτσιο · pah-STEE-tsee-oh
The baked pasta Greek families make more often than moussaka, because it costs less, forgives more and nobody at the table refuses it. Two things make it Greek and not Italian: cinnamon in the meat sauce, and a bechamel layer as deep as the pasta underneath it.
Yiayia’s tip: Lay the pasta the same way. If you are using long tubes, lay them all running in one direction. Cutting across the grain afterwards gives clean square portions rather than ragged ones.
Make Pastitsio4. Baked Giant Beans in Tomato
Gigantes plaki · Γίγαντες πλακί · YEE-ghan-des plah-KEE
The beans come mainly from Kastoria and Prespes in northern Greece. They are larger and creamier than a butter bean and drink up sauce without collapsing. This is a ladera dish: the olive oil is the sauce, not a mistake in the recipe. It is vegan as it stands, and on every Greek fasting table.
Yiayia’s tip: Old beans never soften. Dried beans more than a year or so old can refuse to cook properly no matter what you do. If a batch is still hard after an hour of simmering, the beans are the problem, not your method.
Make Baked Giant Beans in Tomato5. Pork Gyros
Gyros · Γύρος · YEE-ros
Nobody has a vertical rotisserie at home and nobody needs one. Marinated pork slices are pressed onto an upright skewer in a tin and roasted as one piece, so the fat runs down and bastes what is below. Then the meat is sliced thin and crisped in a hot pan. Most home versions skip that.
Yiayia’s tip: Freeze briefly before slicing. Forty minutes in the freezer firms the joint enough to slice thin and evenly. Trying to slice soft pork shoulder thinly is genuinely difficult.
Make Pork Gyros6. Gemista
Γεμιστά · yeh-mee-STAH
Stuffed tomatoes and peppers, and two rules govern them. The rice is raw when it goes in, and nothing is filled past two thirds, because rice cooked first goes to paste and a full tomato bursts. The potatoes wedged in the gaps catch the juices. Many Greeks think them the best thing in the tray.
Yiayia’s tip: Salt and drain the tomato shells. Ten minutes upside down removes excess water that would otherwise make the rice sloppy.
Make Gemista7. Briam
Μπριάμ · bree-AHM
It looks like ratatouille and works the opposite way. Ratatouille keeps each vegetable separate. Here courgette, aubergine, pepper, potato and tomato all go in one tray and cook until they stop being separate things, their water and the olive oil turning to sauce. Forty minutes gives roasted vegetables. Ninety gives briam.
Yiayia’s tip: Use a big tray. A deep pile takes far longer and steams rather than browning. A large shallow layer is what you want, even if it means using two tins.
Make Briam8. Veal in Garlic and Vinegar Sauce
Sofrito · Σοφρίτο · so-FREE-toh
Venice ruled Corfu for four hundred years and the Ottomans never took it. This is how that tastes. No tomato, no cinnamon, no oregano: thin veal braised in white wine, vinegar, a great deal of garlic and parsley. Three dishes define Corfiot cooking: pastitsada, bourdeto and this, the most delicate of them.
Yiayia’s tip: Do not brown too hard. Sofrito's sauce should stay pale. Deep browning gives a darker, heavier sauce that belongs to a different dish.
Make Veal in Garlic and Vinegar Sauce9. Kleftiko
Κλέφτικο · KLEF-tee-koh
Kleftis means thief. The klefts were mountain fighters under Ottoman rule who stole a sheep and had to cook it with no smoke to give them away, so it went into a closed pit over embers. A sealed parcel does the pit's job now. Twenty-five minutes of work, then four hours unopened in the oven.
Yiayia’s tip: Two layers, paper inside foil. Foil alone can react with the lemon and leave a metallic edge on the meat. Baking paper next to the food and foil outside it gives you a reliable seal without that risk.
Make Kleftiko10. Prawns with Feta and Tomato
Garides saganaki · Γαρίδες σαγανάκι · ghah-REE-des sah-ghah-NAH-kee
Prawns in sharp tomato sauce with feta on top, finished under the grill or in the oven. Saganaki is the pan, not a cheese. Timing is the only way to spoil it: the sauce needs twenty minutes and the prawns three or four. A splash of ouzo flamed in the pan gives the taverna taste.
Yiayia’s tip: Do not let the feta fully melt. Feta softens and browns rather than melting smoothly. Pull it out while there are still distinct pieces, which is the texture you want against the sauce.
Make Prawns with Feta and Tomato11. Stifado
Στιφάδο · stee-FAH-thoh
A stew defined by its onions. They go in whole, a kilo of them to a kilo of meat, and come out sweet and translucent. Red wine vinegar gives it a sharpness no other Greek stew has, with cinnamon, clove and bay behind it. Beef is usual. Rabbit is arguably the more traditional choice.
Yiayia’s tip: Blanch the onions to peel them. One minute in boiling water then into cold, and the skins slip off. Saves half an hour and a lot of unpleasantness.
Make Stifado12. Cypriot Stuffed Vine Leaves with Meat
Koupepia · Κουπέπια · koo-PEH-pee-ah
In Cyprus the everyday word for stuffed vine leaves is koupepia, and the everyday kind has meat in it. This is what a Cypriot household makes on a Sunday. Mint runs through the filling where dolmades would have dill, and many families pour avgolemono over at the end. The rolling takes an hour.
Yiayia’s tip: Roll tighter than feels necessary. The rice triples in volume. A loose roll is a roll that opens in the pot.
Make Cypriot Stuffed Vine Leaves with Meat13. Cypriot Sausages in Caul Fat
Sheftalia · Σεφταλιά · shef-tah-lee-AH
A sausage with no casing. Cypriot cooks wrap the minced pork in caul fat, the lacy membrane from around an animal's abdomen, and over charcoal it does two jobs: it holds the shape, and it bastes the pork as it melts. Inside is onion, parsley and a trace of cinnamon that few people can name.
Yiayia’s tip: Ask a butcher directly for caul fat. It is rarely on display but most butchers carry it or can order it in for you, since several cuisines use it the same way.
Make Cypriot Sausages in Caul Fat14. Cypriot Pork in Red Wine and Coriander
Afelia · Αφέλια · ah-FEH-lee-ah
Pork, red wine, coriander seed and time. The list barely goes further, and nothing else cooked in Greece or Cyprus tastes like it. The seed flavours it, not the fresh leaf. The pork is marinated, browned and braised until the wine is a thick, dark, sticky sauce, with the lid off or half on.
Yiayia’s tip: Crush the seed fresh. Pre-ground coriander loses its aromatic oils quickly. Crushing whole seed just before cooking is what gives afelia its real character.
Make Cypriot Pork in Red Wine and Coriander15. Cypriot Baked Macaroni
Makaronia tou fournou · Μακαρόνια του φούρνου · mah-kah-ROH-nyah too FOOR-noo
Cyprus's version of pastitsio, and the difference is on top. There is no bechamel. Halloumi is grated into beaten egg and poured over the pasta, where it sets like a savoury custard, salty and springy. The meat sauce underneath has the same cinnamon. With no roux to go wrong, it is the easier dish.
Yiayia’s tip: Grate the halloumi coarsely. A fine grate disappears into the egg. Coarse shreds keep some texture in the finished topping.
Make Cypriot Baked Macaroni16. Spanakorizo
Σπανακόρυζο · spah-nah-KOH-ree-zoh
Spinach and rice cooked in one pot until the rice has taken on the green. It is one of the ladera dishes, where the olive oil becomes part of the sauce, and among the quickest. Keep it wetter than a pilaf, loose enough for a spoon. Dill and lemon go in at the end.
Yiayia’s tip: Do not underestimate the spinach quantity. It reduces to roughly a quarter of its raw volume once wilted. What looks like too much going in is exactly right.
Make Spanakorizo17. Leek and Rice
Prasorizo · Πρασόρυζο · prah-SOH-ree-zoh
A winter pot, for the season when leeks are best. They soften over a low heat in a good deal of olive oil until sweet and almost jammy, then simmer with rice into something halfway between risotto and soup. Same method as spanakorizo, but paler and sweeter. Lemon goes in off the heat.
Yiayia’s tip: Wash sliced, not whole. Slicing the leeks before washing exposes the grit trapped between the layers, which a quick rinse of a whole leek can miss entirely.
Make Leek and Rice18. Fried Salt Cod with Garlic Dip
Bakaliaros skordalia · Μπακαλιάρος σκορδαλιά · bah-kah-lee-AH-ros skor-dah-lee-AH
The dish of Greek Independence Day, March 25th, a date inside Lent. Salted, dried fish is allowed under the stricter fasting rules where fresh is not, which is how salt cod became the fish of the day. The skordalia is no side dish. It is half of the plate and deserves equal care.
Yiayia’s tip: Do not rush the soak. Twenty four to forty eight hours with regular water changes is what draws out the curing salt properly. Taste a piece before frying to check.
Make Fried Salt Cod with Garlic Dip19. Paidakia
Παϊδάκια · pah-ee-THAH-kee-ah
Thin lamb rib chops, among the most ordered dishes in any Greek taverna. There is almost no technique in them, so the lamb you buy and how hot the grill gets decide everything. A grill that is not hot enough gives grey, steamed chops. Leave them alone, two to three minutes a side.
Yiayia’s tip: Do not over-marinate. Beyond about four hours, the lemon's acid begins to cure the surface of the meat rather than simply flavouring it.
Make Paidakia20. Bifteki
Μπιφτέκι · bif-TEH-kee
More a steak shaped by hand than a burger, and it takes a knife and fork, not a bun. Grated onion, herbs and, in some kitchens, a little soaked bread make it softer and juicier than plain beef. Many versions hide a core of feta. Medium-high heat, not fierce, so the centre cooks through.
Yiayia’s tip: Seal the edges properly. A poorly pinched seam lets the feta leak out onto the grill as soon as it melts. Press and smooth the whole edge firmly closed.
Make Bifteki21. Lemon Roast Chicken and Potatoes
Kotopoulo lemonato · Κοτόπουλο λεμονάτο · koh-TOH-poo-loh leh-moh-NAH-toh
The tray tied most closely to Sunday lunch in Greece. Chicken joints and potato wedges roast together in lemon, oregano, garlic and olive oil, and the potatoes come out tasting of the chicken as much as of the lemon. Use bone-in pieces with the skin on. After the marinating it mostly looks after itself.
Yiayia’s tip: Give the potatoes a head start. Twenty minutes alone in the oven before the chicken joins them is what lets both finish tender and golden at the same time.
Make Lemon Roast Chicken and Potatoes22. Spit-Roasted Pork
Kontosouvli · Κοντοσούβλι · kon-doh-SOOV-lee
The name means short spit. It is the souvlaki idea stretched from minutes to hours: large chunks of marinated pork on a thick skewer, turned over the coals for two to three hours. The fire should be moderate and steady, never fierce. Without a motorised spit, somebody turns it by hand every few minutes.
Yiayia’s tip: Choose shoulder, not loin. The fat content in shoulder is what survives hours of slow cooking without drying out. Lean cuts are the wrong choice for this method.
Make Spit-Roasted Pork23. Corfu Beef and Pasta in Spiced Tomato Sauce
Pastitsada · Παστιτσάδα · pah-stee-TSAH-thah
Corfu spent centuries under Venice, and this is where it shows. Beef braises for close to three hours in tomato with cinnamon, cloves, allspice and bay, nothing like the oregano and lemon of the mainland, then goes onto thick tubular pasta under grated hard cheese. Make it a day ahead, because the sauce deepens overnight.
Yiayia’s tip: Brown the beef properly first. This step builds much of the sauce's depth over what is otherwise a long, gentle braise. Do not rush or skip it.
Make Corfu Beef and Pasta in Spiced Tomato Sauce24. Giouvetsi
Γιουβέτσι · yoo-VEHT-see
Named for its pot, an individual clay dish traditionally used for cooking and serving. Beef braises in a tomato sauce warmed with cinnamon, then orzo, kritharaki in Greek, goes into the same dish and drinks the sauce as it bakes. The sauce should look too loose at that point. The orzo takes a lot.
Yiayia’s tip: Do not rush the beef stage. The braise needs its full two hours to reach the fall-apart tenderness that makes this dish worth the effort. The orzo stage is quick by comparison.
Make Giouvetsi25. Cretan Spit-Roasted Lamb Facing the Fire
Antikristo · Αντικριστό · an-dee-kree-STOH
The Cretan way with a whole lamb or goat, where the rest of Greece turns a spit. The name means facing: large cuts on skewers stand upright in the ground around the fire and cook slowly from a distance. The meat leaves the bone with hardly any char. Food for Easter or a name day.
Yiayia’s tip: Burn the fire down to embers first. This method depends on steady radiant heat, not direct flame. Starting too early, over open fire, chars the outside before the inside cooks.
Make Cretan Spit-Roasted Lamb Facing the Fire
More Greek Main Courses
78 more, 103 in all.
Corfu Spicy Fish StewBourdeto ΜπουρδέτοMain Courses · 55m · serves 4
Thessaloniki Kebab with Yogurt and TomatoGiaourtlou ΓιαουρτλούMain Courses · 45m · serves 4
Northern Greek Preserved Confit PorkKavourmas ΚαβουρμάςMain Courses · 2h 50m · serves 8
Mani Cured and Smoked PorkSyglino Maniatiko Σύγκλινο ΜανιάτικοMain Courses · 2h · serves 8
Peloponnese Egg Pasta with ChickenHylopites ΧυλοπίτεςMain Courses · 2h · serves 6
Dodecanese Orzo-Style Pasta with TomatoSitaraki ΣιταράκιMain Courses · 35m · serves 4
Smyrna-Style Cumin Meatballs in Tomato SauceSoutzoukakia ΣουτζουκάκιαMain Courses · 1h 10m · serves 6
Makarounes KarpathouMakarounes Karpathou Μακαρούνες ΚαρπάθουMain Courses · 1h 30m · serves 6
Stuffed Aubergine "Little Shoes"Papoutsakia ΠαπουτσάκιαMain Courses · 1h 30m · serves 6
Aubergine Baked with Onion and TomatoMelitzanes imam Μελιτζάνες ιμάμMain Courses · 1h 20m · serves 4
Baked Aubergine with Feta and TomatoMelitzanes me feta Μελιτζάνες με φέταMain Courses · 1h 5m · serves 4
Grilled Sardines with Lemon OilSardeles ladolemono Σαρδέλες λαδολέμονοMain Courses · 25m · serves 4
Lentils and RiceFakorizo ΦακόρυζοMain Courses · 50m · serves 4
Yogurt-Marinated Chicken SouvlakiSouvlaki kotopoulo me giaourti Σουβλάκι κοτόπουλο με γιαούρτιMain Courses · 37m · serves 4
Constantinople-Style Braised ArtichokesAnginares ala polita Αγκινάρες αλά πολίταMain Courses · 1h 20m · serves 4
Pontic Greek Dumplings in Yogurt and GarlicManti pontiako Μαντί ποντιακόMain Courses · 1h 50m · serves 6
Corfu White Fish StewBianco ΜπιάνκοMain Courses · 55m · serves 4
Aubergine in Yogurt SauceMelitzanes se saltsa giaourtiou Μελιτζάνες σε σάλτσα γιαουρτιούMain Courses · 55m · serves 4
Vegan Stuffed Aubergine with RiceMelitzanes gemistes Μελιτζάνες γεμιστέςMain Courses · 1h 40m · serves 6
Lamb Braised in TomatoArni kokkinisto Αρνί κοκκινιστόMain Courses · 2h 5m · serves 6
Chunky Aubergine and Tomato StewMelitzanes yahni Μελιτζάνες γιαχνίMain Courses · 1h 10m · serves 4
Lamb SouvlaSouvla arni Σούβλα αρνίMain Courses · 4h 30m · serves 10
Roast Lamb Leg with LemonArnaki lemonato Αρνάκι λεμονάτοMain Courses · 3h 40m · serves 6
Fried Red MulletBarbouni tiganito Μπαρμπούνι τηγανητόMain Courses · 25m · serves 4
Macedonian Stuffed Cabbage LeavesGiaprakia Thessalonikis Γιαπράκια ΘεσσαλονίκηςMain Courses · 2h · serves 6
Kalymnos Courgette and Herb FrittataSfougato Kalymnou Σφουγγάτο ΚαλύμνουMain Courses · 1h · serves 6
Cretan Smoked Marinated PorkApaki Kritis Απάκι ΚρήτηςMain Courses · 40m · serves 8
Turkey Stuffed with ChestnutsGalopoula gemisti me kastana Γαλοπούλα γεμιστή με κάσταναMain Courses · 5h · serves 12
Fried Dogfish with Garlic Potato DipGaleos skordalia Γαλέος σκορδαλιάMain Courses · 40m · serves 4
KokoretsiKokoretsi ΚοκορέτσιMain Courses · 3h 30m · serves 8
Lobster with PastaAstakomakaronada ΑστακομακαρονάδαMain Courses · 1h 15m · serves 4
Aubergine-Wrapped Rice RollsDolmades me melitzana Ντολμάδες με μελιτζάναMain Courses · 1h 30m · serves 6
Roast Goat with LemonKatsikaki lemonato Κατσικάκι λεμονάτοMain Courses · 3h 40m · serves 6
Sausage Braised in WineLoukaniko krasato Λουκάνικο κρασάτοMain Courses · 50m · serves 4
Beef Braised in TomatoMoschari kokkinisto Μοσχάρι κοκκινιστόMain Courses · 2h 35m · serves 6
Baked Chicken with OrzoKotopoulo giouvetsi Κοτόπουλο γιουβέτσιMain Courses · 1h 20m · serves 4
Pontic Greek Wheat and Meat PorridgeKeskek ΚεσκέκMain Courses · 4h 30m · serves 8
Sausage and Pepper StewSpetzofai ΣπετζοφάιMain Courses · 50m · serves 4
Pasta with Fresh Mizithra CheeseMakaronia me mizithra Μακαρόνια με μυζήθραMain Courses · 20m · serves 4
Whole Baked Sea BreamTsipoura psiti Τσιπούρα ψητήMain Courses · 40m · serves 2
Stuffed Whole SquidKalamari gemisto Καλαμάρι γεμιστόMain Courses · 1h 20m · serves 4
Cypriot Halloumi and Mint RavioliRavioles ΡαβιόλεςMain Courses · 1h 20m · serves 6
Cypriot Jute Mallow StewMolehiya ΜολόχαMain Courses · 1h 20m · serves 4
Lamb on Smoked Aubergine PureeHounkiar begienti Χουνκιάρ μπεγιεντίMain Courses · 2h 20m · serves 6
Politiko Spiced Beef StewTas kebap Τας κεμπάπMain Courses · 2h 20m · serves 6
Cypriot Lentils and Rice with OnionsMoutzentra ΜουτζέντραMain Courses · 1h 5m · serves 5Get one proper Greek recipe a week
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