Occasion
25 Summer Greek Recipes
August cooking, when the oven stays off. Tomatoes, cucumber, rusk, cold dips, grilled fish and fruit for dessert.
This is August cooking, when the oven stays off. Tomatoes and cucumbers do most of the work: a Greek salad, dakos on its barley rusk, sliced tomatoes with oil, cold yogurt and cucumber soup.
What does get cooked is mostly vegetables in olive oil. Green beans or okra in tomato, gemista, baked aubergine with feta. Fish goes on the grill, sardines above all.
Coffee is cold: frappe, iced espresso, iced cappuccino. Dessert is yogurt with honey and walnuts, or fruit, or mahalepi, the chilled milk pudding from Cyprus.
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. Greek Salad
Horiatiki salata · Χωριάτικη σαλάτα · hor-YAH-tee-kee sah-LAH-tah
Horiatiki means village salad: what was growing outside, chopped and oiled. There is no lettuce in it. The feta goes on top as one thick slab, never crumbled, and you break bits off as you eat. The dressing is olive oil, a splash of red wine vinegar, salt and oregano, straight into the bowl.
Yiayia’s tip: Room temperature, not fridge cold. Cold blunts tomato flavour badly. Take the tomatoes and feta out of the fridge half an hour before you build the salad.
Make Greek Salad2. Cretan Dakos
Dakos · Ντάκος · DAH-kos
Barley rusk was baked twice to last months at sea, and it comes out rock hard. Dakos is how Crete brings it back, with water and olive oil. The tomato is grated so its pulp soaks down, and the cheese is soft, mild mizithra. It is no Greek salad on a rusk.
Yiayia’s tip: Buy real barley rusks. Wheat rusks and dried bread are not the same. Barley paximadi has a nuttier, denser quality and holds up under the tomato. Greek delis and larger supermarkets stock them.
Make Cretan Dakos3. 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 Gemista4. Scrambled Eggs with Tomato and Feta
Strapatsada · Στραπατσάδα · strah-pah-TSAH-thah
August food, for the weeks when tomatoes peak and the oven stays off. The Peloponnese calls it kagianas, and some households will argue that is another dish. It is not. The tomato has to cook down to a thick, jammy paste before any egg goes in, or the scramble sits in pink liquid.
Yiayia’s tip: Low heat for the eggs. The tomato wants high heat and the eggs want low. Turning the heat down between the two stages is the single most useful thing you can do here.
Make Scrambled Eggs with Tomato and Feta5. Mahalepi
Μαχαλεπί · mah-hah-leh-PEE
A milk pudding set with cornflour and no eggs, which makes it a soft blancmange more than a custard. The Cypriot one takes a pinch of ground mastic, which leaves a faint resinous scent. It is eaten cold under a syrup of rose water or orange blossom. Hot-weather food, not for after a heavy meal.
Yiayia’s tip: Whisk the cornflour into cold milk first. Adding it directly to hot milk gives you a lumpy pudding no amount of stirring afterwards fixes.
Make Mahalepi6. Cypriot Fresh Cheese with Honey
Anari me meli · Ανάρι με μέλι · ah-NAH-ree meh meh-LEE
Three things on a plate: anari, honey and crushed walnuts. Anari is the soft whey cheese left over from making halloumi, close to ricotta, mild, milky and faintly sweet. With so little there, a thyme honey with character does far more than a bland one. One of the oldest desserts in Cyprus.
Yiayia’s tip: Fresh, not dried anari. Dried anari is salted and firm, meant for grating over pasta. This dish specifically wants the soft, fresh, unsalted version.
Make Cypriot Fresh Cheese with Honey7. Sesame and Honey Bars
Pasteli · Παστέλι · pah-STEH-lee
Ancient Greek writers mention this as food carried by athletes, and it has barely changed since: toasted sesame seeds bound in hot honey and pressed flat to set. No baking, and under half an hour. The honey must cook until properly thick or the bars stay soft. It keeps for weeks with no special storage.
Yiayia’s tip: Watch the sesame closely while toasting. It goes from perfectly toasted to burnt within moments. Stir constantly and pull it the second it smells fragrant.
Make Sesame and Honey Bars8. Frappe
Frape · Φραπέ · frah-PEH
An accident. At the Thessaloniki International Fair of 1957 a Nescafe employee could not find hot water for his coffee and shook it with cold water instead. It has been the default cafe order through spring and summer ever since, with its own vocabulary: sketo for no sugar, metrio for medium, gliko for sweet.
Yiayia’s tip: Only instant coffee whips into foam. Conventionally brewed coffee will not produce the thick foam that defines a proper frappe. Instant is essential, not a compromise.
Make Frappe9. Sesame Bread Ring
Koulouri Thessalonikis · Κουλούρι Θεσσαλονίκης · koo-LOO-ree theh-sah-loh-NEE-kis
Bought, as a rule, not baked. Carts and kiosks sell these sesame rings every morning in Thessaloniki and every large Greek city, and people eat them walking to work or school. The city in the name is where the baking has old roots, back to Ottoman times. Eat them the day they are made.
Yiayia’s tip: Do not skip the syrup dip. This is what makes the sesame seeds stick properly to the dough. Sprinkling seeds onto dry dough leaves half of them falling off during baking.
Make Sesame Bread Ring10. Green Beans in Tomato and Olive Oil
Fasolakia lathera · Φασολάκια λαδερά · fah-soh-LAH-kyah lah-theh-RAH
Green beans, with potato and onion, cooked far past the point where other cuisines stop, on purpose. A bean cooked ladera, in olive oil and tomato, is meant to be soft all the way through, never crisp. Finish it uncovered so the sauce thickens. Summer food, often a light main with bread and feta.
Yiayia’s tip: Do not skimp on the olive oil. It becomes part of the sauce itself over the long simmer. A ladera dish made with too little oil is a noticeably thinner, less satisfying dish.
Make Green Beans in Tomato and Olive Oil11. Baked Aubergine with Feta and Tomato
Melitzanes me feta · Μελιτζάνες με φέτα · meh-leed-ZAH-nes meh FEH-tah
Less than a moussaka, more than a tray of roasted vegetables, and nowhere near the work of the first. Aubergine slices are layered with a quick tomato sauce and baked under feta until it softens and colours. The feta has to be thick, or the dish is plain. Eat it hot, with bread.
Yiayia’s tip: Roast the aubergine properly first. This concentrates its flavour and removes the raw bitterness that skipping this step would leave in the finished dish.
Make Baked Aubergine with Feta and Tomato12. Grilled Sardines with Lemon Oil
Sardeles ladolemono · Σαρδέλες λαδολέμονο · sar-THEH-les lah-thoh-LEH-moh-noh
Outside Greece the sardine mostly comes in a tin. Along the Greek coast it is grilled fresh, a few minutes on hot coals, then dressed with olive oil, lemon and oregano. The dressing goes on at the end, never as a marinade. On a lukewarm grill the fish steams instead of searing.
Yiayia’s tip: Freshness is not negotiable here. This dish has almost nowhere to hide a fish that is past its best. Buy from a source you trust and cook the same day.
Make Grilled Sardines with Lemon Oil13. Yogurt with Honey and Walnuts
Giaourti me meli kai karydia · Γιαούρτι με μέλι και καρύδια · yah-OOR-tee meh meh-LEE keh kah-REE-thyah
Three ingredients and no cooking, so each one is on show: thick yogurt, honey and roughly crushed walnuts. The honey is where a little extra money pays back most. Greeks eat it at breakfast, mid-afternoon and as dessert after a heavy meal: a lot of work for one bowl.
Yiayia’s tip: Buy properly strained yogurt. Look for full-fat, Greek-style or strained yogurt specifically. A thin, unstrained yogurt cannot hold the honey and nuts the way this dish wants.
Make Yogurt with Honey and Walnuts14. Potato Salad
Patatosalata · Πατατοσαλάτα · pah-tah-toh-sah-LAH-tah
There is no mayonnaise in a Greek potato salad. Olive oil and red wine vinegar go on while the potatoes are warm, when they take the dressing in instead of wearing it on the outside. Red onion, capers and fresh herbs finish it. It travels better in the heat than a mayonnaise salad.
Yiayia’s tip: Boil the potatoes whole and unpeeled. This keeps them from absorbing extra water, which would otherwise dilute the finished salad's flavour.
Make Potato Salad15. Fried Bread with Honey
Friganya · Φρυγανιά · free-gah-NYAH
Greece's French toast, and it exists for the same reason: bread too old to eat plain should not go in the bin. The slices get a few seconds a side in egg and milk, then they are fried and finished with honey and a proper dusting of cinnamon. More dessert than breakfast.
Yiayia’s tip: Use bread that is a day or two old. Very fresh bread falls apart in the egg mixture. Slightly stale bread with a firm crumb holds together far better.
Make Fried Bread with Honey16. Iced Espresso
Frendo espreso · Φρέντο εσπρέσο · FREH-doh es-PREH-soh
The coffee that pushed frappe aside in Greece over the last twenty years. The difference is the coffee: real espresso, not instant, shaken hard with ice for fifteen to twenty seconds until it throws a thick, pale foam, then strained over fresh ice. It needs an espresso machine, or a moka pot pushed hard.
Yiayia’s tip: Let the espresso cool slightly before shaking. Shaking it while too hot melts the shaking ice too fast, over-diluting the finished drink.
Make Iced Espresso17. Iced Cappuccino
Frendo kapoutsino · Φρέντο καπουτσίνο · FREH-doh kah-poo-TSEE-noh
The creamier of the two iced coffees Greeks order by default. The base is the same shaken espresso as a freddo espresso. On top goes cold milk frothed to a real foam, never liquid milk, because the drink is about the layers. A small frother helps, though a sealed jar shaken hard will do.
Yiayia’s tip: Use whole milk, not skimmed. It froths into a noticeably thicker, more stable foam than a lower-fat milk.
Make Iced Cappuccino18. Okra in Tomato and Olive Oil
Bamies latheres · Μπάμιες λαδερές · BAH-myes lah-theh-RES
Okra frightens cooks because it can turn slimy. The traditional answer is a short soak in vinegar before the pods go near the pot. After that it is an ordinary ladera dish, simmered slowly in tomato and plenty of olive oil until the oil becomes the sauce. Shake the pan, do not stir.
Yiayia’s tip: Do not cut into the pods when trimming. Only trim the woody stem end. Exposing the interior releases the sticky substance that causes sliminess.
Make Okra in Tomato and Olive Oil19. Olive Oil and Lemon Sauce
Ladolemono · Λαδολέμονο · lah-thoh-LEH-moh-noh
Most Greeks learn this as a ratio, not a recipe: about three parts olive oil to one of lemon juice, whisked with salt and a little oregano. It goes over grilled fish, meat and vegetables right before serving. It separates quickly, so whisk again before pouring. Oily fish takes more lemon, delicate vegetables less.
Yiayia’s tip: Use good olive oil and fresh lemon juice. With only a few ingredients and no cooking involved, quality here makes a real and immediate difference.
Make Olive Oil and Lemon Sauce20. Cold Yogurt and Cucumber Soup
Tarator · Ταράτορ · tah-rah-TOR
Tzatziki turned into a soup. Thick yogurt is thinned with cold water, then cucumber, dill, garlic and crushed walnuts go in, and nothing is cooked. It belongs to Greek Thrace and the wider Balkans, for the hottest days of summer. The walnuts are what stop it tasting like watered-down yogurt.
Yiayia’s tip: Start with cold yogurt. A soup that begins warm never quite recovers the same refreshing chill, even after time in the fridge.
Make Cold Yogurt and Cucumber Soup21. Strained Yogurt with Fresh Fruit
Giaourti me frouta · Γιαούρτι με φρούτα · yah-OOR-tee meh FROO-tah
A breakfast that follows the calendar: figs and peaches at the height of summer, pears and grapes in autumn, citrus all winter. It is the lighter relative of yogurt with honey and walnuts, and it takes less honey, because the fruit brings its own sweetness. Slice the fruit at the last minute, not ahead.
Yiayia’s tip: Choose fruit that is properly ripe. Thick yogurt is unforgiving of an underripe, flavourless piece of fruit sitting on top of it.
Make Strained Yogurt with Fresh Fruit22. Simple Greek Sliced Tomato Salad
Ntomatosalata · Ντοματοσαλάτα · doh-mah-toh-sah-LAH-tah
Horiatiki with everything taken away except the tomato. No cucumber, no onion, no feta: only olive oil, dried oregano and salt. It is on Greek tables all through high summer. Be generous with the oregano, which stands in for all that is missing, and give it ten minutes so the juice runs into the oil.
Yiayia’s tip: Use only properly ripe tomatoes. This dish has nowhere to hide a bland or underripe one. It is genuinely not worth making outside tomato season.
Make Simple Greek Sliced Tomato Salad23. Orzo Pasta Salad
Kritharosalata · Κριθαρόσαλατα · kree-thah-roh-sah-LAH-tah
A modern dish, not an inherited one. In recent decades cold orzo salad has become a fixture of Greek barbecues and picnics, built from the vegetables and dressing of a horiatiki. Make it ahead: the pasta wants a few hours in the fridge to take up the dressing. It lasts for days.
Yiayia’s tip: Rinse the orzo after cooking. This stops it cooking further and cools it quickly, which matters for a cold salad.
Make Orzo Pasta Salad24. Fresh Orange Drink
Portokalada · Πορτοκαλάδα · por-toh-kah-LAH-thah
The Peloponnese grows some of the best oranges in Greece, and this is the plainest use for them: squeezed, let down with cold water or soda, poured over ice. No cooking, no syrup. Greek households make it by taste, without measuring, because every batch of oranges is different. Make it close to drinking.
Yiayia’s tip: Taste before sweetening. Genuinely good, ripe oranges often need no added sugar at all. Add it gradually, and only if the juice tastes sharp.
Make Fresh Orange Drink25. Stuffed Courgette Flowers
Kolokithoanthoi gemistoi · Κολοκυθοανθοί γεμιστοί · koh-loh-kee-thoh-an-THEE yeh-mee-STEE
Only possible in the short stretch of summer when courgette plants are in flower. Each flower is filled with rice, herbs and feta and steamed gently, nearer a small dolma than the crisp fried flowers some tavernas serve. Filling dozens by hand is fiddly work. Fill them loosely, because the rice swells.
Yiayia’s tip: Use the flowers as fresh as possible. They wilt within hours of picking, so plan to fill and cook them the same day you get them.
Make Stuffed Courgette Flowers
More Summer Greek Recipes
69 more, 94 in all.
Courgette in Tomato SauceKolokithakia yiahni Κολοκυθάκια γιαχνίSide Dishes · 45m · serves 4
LimonadaLimonada ΛεμονάδαDrinks · 15m · serves 4
Pan-Fried Halloumi with Honey BreakfastHalloumi me meli Χαλούμι με μέλιBreakfast Recipes · 13m · serves 2
How to Make Strained Greek Yogurt at HomeGiaourti stragisto Γιαούρτι στραγγιστόDips and Sauces · 10m · serves 6
Simple Greek Cucumber and Tomato SaladAngourodomata ΑγγουροντομάταSalads · 10m · serves 4
Grated Carrot SaladKarotosalata ΚαροτοσαλάταSalads · 15m · serves 4
Walnut and Grape Must CandySoutzouki ΣουτζούκιDesserts · 2h · serves 10
Ionian Rusk with Tomato and OreganoRiganada ΡιγανάδαSalads · 10m · serves 4
Cypriot Salted Yogurt DrinkAyrani ΑϊράνιDrinks · 5m · serves 4
TzatzikiTzatziki ΤζατζίκιDips and Sauces · 15m · serves 6
Pork SouvlakiSouvlaki ΣουβλάκιMain Courses · 32m · serves 4
Smoky Aubergine DipMelitzanosalata ΜελιτζανοσαλάταDips and Sauces · 45m · serves 6
BriamBriam ΜπριάμMain Courses · 2h · serves 6
Yellow Split Pea PureeFava Santorinis Φάβα ΣαντορίνηςDips and Sauces · 1h · serves 6
Grilled OctopusHtapodi sta karvouna Χταπόδι στα κάρβουναMeze and Appetisers · 1h 30m · serves 4
Prawns with Feta and TomatoGarides saganaki Γαρίδες σαγανάκιMain Courses · 37m · serves 4
Grilled HalloumiHalloumi ΧαλλούμιMeze and Appetisers · 11m · serves 4
Courgette Fritters with FetaKolokithokeftedes ΚολοκυθοκεφτέδεςMeze and Appetisers · 55m · serves 6
Rhodes Chickpea and Tomato FrittersPitaroudia ΠιταρούδιαMeze and Appetisers · 45m · serves 6
Cypriot Sausages in Caul FatSheftalia ΣεφταλιάMain Courses · 45m · serves 6
Spicy Whipped Feta DipTirokafteri ΤυροκαυτερήDips and Sauces · 10m · serves 6
PaidakiaPaidakia ΠαϊδάκιαMain Courses · 25m · serves 4
Spit-Roasted PorkKontosouvli ΚοντοσούβλιMain Courses · 3h 30m · serves 6
Cabbage and Carrot SaladLachanosalata ΛαχανοσαλάταSalads · 15m · serves 6
Fried Courgette SlicesKolokithakia tiganita Κολοκυθάκια τηγανητάSide Dishes · 35m · serves 4
Santorini Tomato FrittersNtomatokeftedes Santorinis Ντοματοκεφτέδες ΣαντορίνηςMeze and Appetisers · 40m · serves 6
Fried Aubergine SlicesMelitzanes tiganites Μελιτζάνες τηγανητέςSide Dishes · 45m · serves 4
Aubergine Baked with Onion and TomatoMelitzanes imam Μελιτζάνες ιμάμMain Courses · 1h 20m · serves 4
Gavros MarinatosGavros marinatos Γαύρος μαρινάτοςMeze and Appetisers · 30m · serves 6
Yogurt-Marinated Chicken SouvlakiSouvlaki kotopoulo me giaourti Σουβλάκι κοτόπουλο με γιαούρτιMain Courses · 37m · serves 4
Romaine and Spring Onion SaladMarouloasalata ΜαρουλοσαλάταSalads · 15m · serves 4
White Bean SaladFasolia salata Φασόλια σαλάταSalads · 1h 15m · serves 6
Pancakes with HoneyTiganites me meli Τηγανίτες με μέλιBreakfast Recipes · 35m · 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
Chunky Aubergine and Tomato StewMelitzanes yahni Μελιτζάνες γιαχνίMain Courses · 1h 10m · serves 4
Fried Red MulletBarbouni tiganito Μπαρμπούνι τηγανητόMain Courses · 25m · serves 4
Kalymnos Courgette and Herb FrittataSfougato Kalymnou Σφουγγάτο ΚαλύμνουMain Courses · 1h · serves 6
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
Lentil SaladFakes salata Φακές σαλάταSalads · 45m · serves 6
Chickpea SaladRevithosalata ΡεβιθοσαλάταSalads · 1h · serves 6
Lobster with PastaAstakomakaronada ΑστακομακαρονάδαMain Courses · 1h 15m · serves 4
Aubergine-Wrapped Rice RollsDolmades me melitzana Ντολμάδες με μελιτζάναMain Courses · 1h 30m · serves 6
Charcoal-Smoked Aubergine DipMelitzanosalata kapnisti Μελιτζανοσαλάτα καπνιστήDips and Sauces · 45m · serves 6
Whole Baked Sea BreamTsipoura psiti Τσιπούρα ψητήMain Courses · 40m · serves 2
Cypriot Yogurt and Mint DipTalattouri ΤαλαττούριDips and Sauces · 15m · serves 6
Corfu Fried Fish in Vinegar and RosemarySavoro ΣαβόροMeze and Appetisers · 40m · serves 4
Corfu Vegetable and Pasta SoupBourou bourou Μπουρού μπουρούSoups · 55m · serves 5
Pickled Rock Samphire SaladKritamo ΚρίταμοSalads · 30m · serves 10Get one proper Greek recipe a week
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