The flavours of Greece

Much of Greece’s charm derives from a sense that nothing much changes here from year to year. But there is one area where change has occurred and it is a welcome one. For years Greek food was, famously, a matter of kebabs, moussaka, Greek salad and taramaslata; simple, but sometimes lacking in variety. Yet Greece has always been rich in produce – from seafood to olives, from pastries to colourful vegetables, fragrant honey, fruits and wine. Now a revival in regional Greek cooking is being spearheaded by local enthusiasts and, at its best, it is rediscovering a breadth and expertise to compete with the leading cuisines of Europe.

Some of the best flavours are found in apparently simple dishes. Horta – wild greens, served with olive oil and lemon juice, gigantes – butter beans in spicy tomato sauce, saganaki dishes of cooked local cheese, and vegetables stuffed with pine nuts, rice and herbs, spicy meat, cheese and vegetable pies. An eclectic range of seafood and meat dishes, seasoned with local herbs, is usually grilled or cooked in a clay oven and more intrepid eaters can discover the marvellous flavours and textures of smoked fish, stewed rabbit, garlic salad and lentil and caper puree. The popularity and versatility of vegetable dishes also make Greece one place where the vegetarian will never feel short-changed.

Wine has been produced and drunk in Greece since antiquity but while retsina is ubiquitous, the marvellous wines of the Peloponnese, Crete, Macedonia and the Aegean have been something of a secret. Even now they are only beginning to appear in wine shops in the UK. However in Greece itself, if you are willing to ask advice and pay a little more, some truly exceptional wine can be found.