Greek cuisine is rich in many dishes made from local ingredients.  Being in the country by the Aegean Sea we can taste among other local meats, cheeses, fish or seafood.  Today we will focus on the latter two.

 The most famous and loved fish and seafood dishes are:

 – Fish such as tuna, perch, sardines,

 – Crustaceans, for example: shrimps, lobsters or mussels,

 – And others, for example: octopus, squid and cuttlefish.

 With the ingredients listed above, we can confidently start cooking.

 We associate Greek cuisine with simplicity and that is exactly what it is.  The ingredients that are used in most dishes are readily available and liked by most people.  And here are some sample dishes:

Fish from the oven.

 Ingredients needed:

 – fish such as cod, salmon, trout, perch

 – salt and pepper

 – olive oil

 – 1 lemon

 – juice of 1 lemon

 – 1 clove of garlic

 – green parsley

 – dill

 – aluminium foil

 Preparation:     

 Rub the cleaned fish with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Place on aluminum foil and drape with lemon slices.  Squeeze the juice of one lemon and mix with olive oil in a 1:1 ratio.  Add parsley and dill and pour this mixture over the fish.  Wrap the whole in aluminum paper, in such a way that the fish has access to air.  With this method, the fish will bake in the steam created from the juices, olive oil, lemon and herbs.  Bake the fish for about 30 minutes at 180°C. Such prepared fish goes perfectly with baked potatoes or Greek salad.

Saganaki shrimp.

 Ingredients needed:

 – shrimps (fresh or frozen)

 – 3 tomatoes

 – 1 spoon of tomato puree

 – 0.5 cup olive oil

 – 1 onion

 – 2 cloves of garlic

 – salt and pepper

 – 50ml ouzo

 – 200g feta cheese

 – hot pepper (optional)

 Preparation:

 Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, then add the finely chopped onion, garlic and capsicum.  Sauté for about 1 minute.  Put the prawns into the hot frying pan and wait until they become pink on both sides.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Pour 50ml of ouzo into the pan and wait for it to evaporate leaving a crisp aniseed aroma.  Finally add the diced tomatoes and puree.  Stirring gently, add the crumbled feta cheese.  Cover the pan and simmer the whole thing for about 5 minutes over medium heat.

Grilled octopus.

 Ingredients needed:

 – 1 octopus (approx. 1kg)

 – ground coarse salt

 – 1 lemon

 – 150ml olive oil

 Preparation:

 Pour water over the thawed octopus and bring to a boil.  Put a wine cork in the boiling water, which contains substances that soften the meat.  Cook covered over low heat for 5 minutes.  After this time, the octopus should turn a lighter color.  Take it out and drain it.  In the meantime, fire up the grill and briefly roast the octopus on it so that it has a crispy crust (just a few minutes).  Place the whole octopus on a plate, add fresh spices and pour olive oil over it.  Garnish with lemon slices.

 We hope you can feel like a Greek after tasting the dishes from our recipes.