Occasion
25 Greek Mezedes and Ouzo Recipes
Small plates built specifically to be eaten alongside ouzo, tsipouro or raki. Salty, sharp, and designed to slow the drinking down.
Mezedes for ouzo are small plates made to be eaten with a strong drink. They are salty and sharp on purpose, and they are there to slow the drinking down. The same plates go with tsipouro and with raki.
The table is built from a few kinds of thing. Dips: tzatziki, smoky aubergine, yellow split pea puree, whipped feta with chilli. Something fried: keftedes, saganaki, courgette fritters. Something from the sea: grilled octopus, prawns with feta and tomato.
Put out four or five, keep the portions small, and bring more as they empty.
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. Tzatziki
Τζατζίκι · tsah-TSEE-kee
The gap between the real thing and the loose grey tubs in the shops has nothing to do with garlic. The cucumber is salted and squeezed dry, and the yogurt is strained, thick and tart. Low-fat yogurt turns chalky. The garlic should be loud, and the dip is better made a day ahead.
Yiayia’s tip: Do not use a food processor. It shreds the cucumber too finely and whips air into the yogurt, giving a slack, foamy texture. A box grater and a bowl are the right tools.
Make Tzatziki2. Smoky Aubergine Dip
Melitzanosalata · Μελιτζανοσαλάτα · meh-lee-tzah-no-sah-LAH-tah
The first ten minutes decide it. The aubergines are charred whole on a bare flame until the skin blackens and the flesh goes slack, and that smoke is the dish. An oven gives a beige puree that tastes of very little. Greeks still argue about vinegar or lemon, and whether walnuts belong in it.
Yiayia’s tip: Do not rinse the flesh. It is tempting when flecks of black skin get mixed in, but rinsing removes the smoke you spent twenty minutes creating. A few black flecks are a sign you did it right.
Make Smoky Aubergine Dip3. How to Make Greek Coffee in a Briki
Ellinikos kafes · Ελληνικός καφές · eh-lee-nee-KOS kah-FES
Neither espresso nor filter. The grounds are cooked in the water, poured into the cup with it and left to settle at the bottom. The one skill is not letting it boil, because boiling kills the kaimaki, the dense foam on top. Sugar goes in with the water, since stirring later lifts the grounds.
Yiayia’s tip: Match the briki to the quantity. A briki should be roughly two thirds full for the foam to build properly. Making one cup in a large briki gives you almost no kaimaki.
Make How to Make Greek Coffee in a Briki4. Keftedes
Κεφτέδες · kef-TEH-des
Lighter than most meatballs, and the bread does it: stale bread, wetted and wrung out, holds water inside where breadcrumbs would tighten the mix. They taste of mint and oregano, not garlic and parsley, which separates them from Italian polpette. More often a meze than a main, and good cold the next day.
Yiayia’s tip: Wet your hands to shape. Damp palms stop the mixture sticking and give a smoother surface that browns more evenly.
Make Keftedes5. Saganaki
Σαγανάκι · sah-ghah-NAH-kee
The name is the pan's, not the cheese's. A small two-handled frying pan is a sagani, and anything cooked in one is a saganaki, prawns and mussels included. The cheese must be firm and low in moisture, usually kefalotyri or graviera, or it runs into a puddle. Three minutes, then straight to the table.
Yiayia’s tip: Thick slices only. Under about 1.5 cm the cheese has melted through before the outside has coloured. Thickness is what buys you the contrast between crust and molten centre.
Make Saganaki6. Yellow Split Pea Puree
Fava Santorinis · Φάβα Σαντορίνης · FAH-vah san-to-REE-nees
There are no fava beans in it. Greek fava is yellow split peas, and Santorini has its own protected variety, grown there for thousands of years. The peas collapse by themselves, and a wooden spoon gives a silkier puree than a machine. It comes warm, under raw onion, capers and a pool of oil.
Yiayia’s tip: Skim relentlessly. The foam in the first ten minutes is where the muddy taste lives. Take it all off and the finished puree is noticeably sweeter and cleaner.
Make Yellow Split Pea Puree7. Grilled Octopus
Htapodi sta karvouna · Χταπόδι στα κάρβουνα · htah-POH-thee stah KAR-voo-nah
Octopus on a line outside a taverna is the picture everyone knows, and the drying does help. What makes it tender is a long, gentle simmer in the liquid the octopus gives up, with no water added. The grill only finishes it, in about four minutes. Raw on the fire, it turns to rubber.
Yiayia’s tip: Frozen is better than fresh here. One of the few cases where this is true. Freezing does the tenderising work that would otherwise take beating or luck.
Make Grilled Octopus8. 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 Tomato9. Grilled Halloumi
Halloumi · Χαλλούμι · hah-LOO-mee
Cypriot, protected, and made from sheep and goat milk. The curd is heated in whey before it is brined, which is why the cheese browns and softens on the heat and still keeps its shape. Mint belongs to it from the start: a dried sprig is folded in before the brine. Cook it last.
Yiayia’s tip: No oil, hot pan. Halloumi releases its own fat. Oil just makes it greasy and encourages it to spit.
Make Grilled Halloumi10. Dolmades
Ντολμάδες · dol-MAH-des
An hour of rolling and no way round it, which is why Greek families do it together at a table, talking. These are the rice and herb ones, served cold, called yialantzi. The word means liar, because they pass themselves off as the meat version. They belong on a meze table and keep for days.
Yiayia’s tip: Under-fill rather than over-fill. A teaspoon per leaf. The rice triples in volume and an over-filled dolma splits along the seam every time.
Make Dolmades11. Courgette Fritters with Feta
Kolokithokeftedes · Κολοκυθοκεφτέδες · ko-lo-kee-tho-kef-TEH-des
Every Greek island has its own version: grated courgette, feta and herbs, fried crisp and eaten hot with tzatziki and lemon. A courgette is over ninety percent water. The whole method is a fight against that, because water left in the mix means more flour, and more flour means a heavy fritter.
Yiayia’s tip: Squeeze twice. Once after the salting, then again just before mixing. Courgettes keep releasing water and the second squeeze always yields more.
Make Courgette Fritters with Feta12. Rhodes Chickpea and Tomato Fritters
Pitaroudia · Πιταρούδια · pee-tah-ROO-thee-ah
A Rhodes fritter that hardly leaves Rhodes. Ask for one on the mainland and expect a blank look. The chickpeas are crushed, not pureed, so the texture is coarse and nutty where falafel is smooth, with grated tomato, onion and plenty of mint. Cumin goes in too, because the Anatolian coast is close.
Yiayia’s tip: Never use tinned chickpeas. They are already cooked and far too wet. The dish depends on raw soaked chickpeas cooking through during the fry.
Make Rhodes Chickpea and Tomato Fritters13. 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 Bulgur Shells Stuffed with Meat
Koupes · Κούπες · KOO-pes
Cyprus sits between Greece, Turkey and the Levant, and here it shows. These are close relatives of Middle Eastern kibbeh: a thin bulgur and semolina shell around spiced minced meat, shaped into small torpedoes and fried. The shell has to be kneaded hard, like a dough. They freeze well, so cooks make a large batch.
Yiayia’s tip: Squeeze the bulgur properly. Excess water in the shell mixture makes it impossible to shape thin without tearing. Wring it out hard in a tea towel before kneading.
Make Cypriot Bulgur Shells Stuffed with Meat15. Spicy Whipped Feta Dip
Tirokafteri · Τυροκαυτερή · tee-roh-kaf-teh-REE
The dip with heat in it. Its name translates as spicy cheese, and on a meze table it sits beside the cooler tzatziki and melitzanosalata. It is feta whipped with roasted red pepper, olive oil and chilli, in about ten minutes. How hot is up to the household. Start low: chilli cannot be taken out.
Yiayia’s tip: Use good feta. There is nowhere for a bland, watery feta to hide in this dip. A firm, tangy, well-made feta makes a genuine difference.
Make Spicy Whipped Feta Dip16. Chickpea Fritters
Revithokeftedes · Ρεβιθοκεφτέδες · reh-vee-thoh-kef-TEH-thes
A keftes rebuilt around chickpeas, with onion, herbs and cumin, and no mere stand-in for the meat one. They belong most to the Cyclades, where chickpeas are an old staple crop, and to Lent on the mainland. Chickpeas hold more water than people expect, so the mixture must be dry. Chill the patties before frying.
Yiayia’s tip: Cook dried chickpeas until very soft. Well beyond salad tenderness. A proper long simmer softens them enough to mash easily without extra binders.
Make Chickpea Fritters17. Cretan Fried Snails
Hochlioi boubouristi · Χοχλιοί μπουμπουριστοί · hoh-hlee-EE boo-boo-ree-STEE
Snails are ordinary food on Crete, eaten in tavernas across the island, and this is the plainest, best known way with them. They go into hot olive oil alive and the heat pops them partly out of the shell, the boubourizoun of the name. Vinegar, salt and rosemary finish it, and the vinegar matters most.
Yiayia’s tip: Only use properly purged snails. This is a genuine food safety requirement, not a traditional flourish. Buy from a specialist supplier if you are not experienced in purging them yourself.
Make Cretan Fried Snails18. Corfu Smoked Cured Pork Fillet
Noumboulo · Νουμπούλο · noom-BOO-loh
Corfu's cured pork: a whole fillet rubbed with red wine, salt and spices, dried in the air and given a light smoking, usually over olive or oak. It sits nearer to Italian charcuterie than to mainland Greek curing, which leans towards sausages. It takes weeks. Slice it thin, more like a salami than a ham.
Yiayia’s tip: Do not under-salt the cure. The salt ratio is a genuine food safety matter, not just seasoning, since it is what protects the meat during the drying stage that follows.
Make Corfu Smoked Cured Pork Fillet19. Beetroot Salad with Garlic Yogurt
Pantzarosalata · Παντζαροσαλάτα · pahn-dzah-roh-sah-LAH-tah
Deep magenta beetroot under a white spoon of skordalia or garlicky yogurt, and it tastes the way it looks: sweet and earthy, cut by garlic and vinegar. If the leaves came with it, they are cooked as well and dressed on their own. A winter meze, and better after a while in the fridge.
Yiayia’s tip: Cook beetroot whole and unpeeled. Cutting before cooking lets the colour and flavour bleed out. Peel only once fully cooked and cool enough to handle.
Make Beetroot Salad with Garlic Yogurt20. Fried Courgette Slices
Kolokithakia tiganita · Κολοκυθάκια τηγανητά · koh-loh-kee-THAH-kyah tee-gah-nee-TAH
About as plain as Greek cooking gets, and on nearly every taverna table. Thin courgette, a light dusting of flour, hot oil, then tzatziki and lemon alongside. The oil has to be hot enough to crisp the slices, or they drink it and go soggy. They soften fast once they sit, so serve at once.
Yiayia’s tip: Slice evenly. Uneven thickness means some pieces finish frying before others. A mandoline gives the most consistent results.
Make Fried Courgette Slices21. Santorini Tomato Fritters
Ntomatokeftedes Santorinis · Ντοματοκεφτέδες Σαντορίνης · doh-mah-toh-kef-TEH-thes san-doh-REE-nees
Santorini's tomatoes grow in volcanic ash and get almost no rain or irrigation, so the fruit is small, sweet and concentrated. These fritters exist to show it off. There is barely any flour, only onion and mint, the traditional herb where other Greek fritters take parsley or dill. Do not press them as they fry.
Yiayia’s tip: Use the ripest, most flavourful tomatoes you can find. There is very little else in this dish. A bland tomato gives a bland fritter.
Make Santorini Tomato Fritters22. Mykonos Spicy Whipped Cheese
Kopanisti Mykonou · Κοπανιστή Μυκόνου · koh-pah-nee-STEE mee-KOH-noo
The real thing is fermented on Mykonos, has protected status, and is nearer in strength to a strong blue cheese than to feta. Fermenting it is dairy work, not kitchen work, so this version whips soft cheeses with chilli and a splash of ouzo or tsipouro. Spread it thickly on bread or a barley rusk.
Yiayia’s tip: Taste and adjust the chilli as you go. The heat is meant to be genuinely noticeable, not a background note, but it is easier to add more than to fix an overly spicy batch.
Make Mykonos Spicy Whipped Cheese23. Fried Aubergine Slices
Melitzanes tiganites · Μελιτζάνες τηγανητές · meh-leed-ZAH-nes tee-gah-nee-TES
One of the two simplest things on a Greek meze table, the other being fried courgette. Aubergine is the richer of the pair, with a slightly smoky depth once fried. The slices are thin, lightly floured and served with tzatziki and lemon. They soften within minutes, so they go straight to the table.
Yiayia’s tip: Salt properly and for long enough. This draws out the bitter liquid aubergine holds and is what lets the slices crisp rather than absorb oil and turn soggy.
Make Fried Aubergine Slices24. Gavros Marinatos
Γαύρος μαρινάτος · GAHV-ros mah-ree-NAH-tos
No heat touches these anchovies. The fillets sit in vinegar until the flesh goes from translucent to opaque white, the same idea as ceviche, then get olive oil, garlic and parsley. Left in the vinegar too long they turn hard and harsh. A small, sharp plate for ouzo or cold white wine.
Yiayia’s tip: Freeze the fish before you cure it. Vinegar firms raw anchovies but it does not kill parasites. Seven days at -20C (-4F) or colder does. Thaw them in the fridge before you fillet and cure them.
Make Gavros Marinatos25. Aubergine in Yogurt Sauce
Melitzanes se saltsa giaourtiou · Μελιτζάνες σε σάλτσα γιαουρτιού · meh-leed-ZAH-nes seh SAHL-tsah yah-oor-TYOO
Aubergine and yogurt on one plate, a crossover between Greek cooking and the wider eastern Mediterranean, as manti and imam bayildi are. Fried slices, crisp at the edge and soft inside, go under thick garlic yogurt, and paprika butter is poured over last. Serve with bread, or as part of a meze.
Yiayia’s tip: Keep the yogurt properly cold. The contrast between cold sauce and hot aubergine and butter is exactly what this dish is built around.
Make Aubergine in Yogurt Sauce
More Greek Mezedes and Ouzo Recipes
47 more, 72 in all.
Cheese Triangle PastriesTiropitakia trigona Τυροπιτάκια τρίγωναMeze and Appetisers · 1h 10m · serves 8
Cretan Cracked Green OlivesElies tsakistes Kritis Ελιές τσακιστές ΚρήτηςDips and Sauces · 30m · serves 10
Fried Smoked Cheese from EpirusSaganaki Metsovone Σαγανάκι μετσοβόνεMeze and Appetisers · 18m · serves 4
Cretan Smoked Marinated PorkApaki Kritis Απάκι ΚρήτηςMain Courses · 40m · serves 8
Cured Spiced Beef from Asia MinorPastourmas ΠαστουρμάςMeze and Appetisers · 40m · serves 10
Baked Feta with Honey and SesameFeta psiti me meli Φέτα ψητή με μέλιMeze and Appetisers · 17m · serves 4
Fried Green PeppersPiperies tiganites Πιπεριές τηγανητέςSide Dishes · 22m · serves 4
Ouzo Serving GuideOuzo ΟύζοDrinks · 5m · serves 4
Potato FrittersPatatokeftedes ΠατατοκεφτέδεςSide Dishes · 50m · serves 6
Charcoal-Smoked Aubergine DipMelitzanosalata kapnisti Μελιτζανοσαλάτα καπνιστήDips and Sauces · 45m · serves 6
Soft Fresh Cheese SpreadKatiki Domokou Κατίκι ΔομοκούDips and Sauces · 15m · serves 6
Grilled Manouri Cheese with HoneyManouri me meli Μανούρι με μέλιMeze and Appetisers · 20m · serves 4
Baked Feta with TomatoFeta psiti me ntomata Φέτα ψητή με ντομάταMeze and Appetisers · 35m · serves 4
Cypriot Yogurt and Mint DipTalattouri ΤαλαττούριDips and Sauces · 15m · serves 6
Corfu Fried Fish in Vinegar and RosemarySavoro ΣαβόροMeze and Appetisers · 40m · serves 4
Pickled Rock Samphire SaladKritamo ΚρίταμοSalads · 30m · serves 10
Thessaloniki Baked Feta with PeppersBougiourdi ΜπουγιουρντίMeze and Appetisers · 35m · serves 4
LakerdaLakerda ΛακέρδαMeze and Appetisers · 45m · serves 10
Baked Giant Beans in TomatoGigantes plaki Γίγαντες πλακίMain Courses · 2h 5m · serves 6
Cretan DakosDakos ΝτάκοςSalads · 12m · serves 4
Fish Roe DipTaramosalata ΤαραμοσαλάταMeze and Appetisers · 15m · serves 8
SkordaliaSkordalia ΣκορδαλιάDips and Sauces · 35m · serves 6
Fried Baby SquidKalamarakia tiganita Καλαμαράκια τηγανητάMeze and Appetisers · 30m · serves 4
Fried WhitebaitMarides tiganites Μαρίδες τηγανητέςMeze and Appetisers · 23m · serves 4
Stuffed Courgette FlowersKolokithoanthoi gemistoi Κολοκυθοανθοί γεμιστοίMeze and Appetisers · 1h 10m · serves 6
Retsina Serving GuideRetsina ΡετσίναDrinks · 5m · serves 4
Tsipouro Serving GuideTsipouro ΤσίπουροDrinks · 5m · serves 4
Grated Carrot SaladKarotosalata ΚαροτοσαλάταSalads · 15m · serves 4
Ionian Rusk with Tomato and OreganoRiganada ΡιγανάδαSalads · 10m · serves 4Get one proper Greek recipe a week
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