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Travel Cuisine 2 min read

Top five foods to try in Greece

Travelling to Greece will have you leaving the Mediterranean country with a deep love for tasty traditional cuisine. Greek culture has some of the world's most delicious food, from hearty slow-cooked meat dishes to rose-flavoured cakes for dessert.

Top five foods to try in Greece

Travelling to Greece will have you leaving the Mediterranean country with a deep love for tasty traditional cuisine. Greek culture has some of the world's most delicious food, from hearty slow-cooked meat dishes to rose-flavoured cakes for dessert.

Although we recommend trying as much food as possible, we've put together a list of our top five foods to try in Greece to help you out.

1. Moussaka

Known far and wide beyond Greece, this dish exudes excellence - both creamy and juicy, and is so filling you won't need any side dishes.

Combined with sliced aubergines, layered with fresh tomatoes, minced meat flavoured with garlic, onion, and cinnamon, and topped with béchamel and grated cheese - this is all oven baked to perfection!

2. Kolokytokeftedes

Crispy on the outside and moist on the inside, these delectable zucchini treats are best eaten hot.

Made from grated zucchini's, flavoured with onion, fresh mint, and crumbled feta, all bound together with a light batter of egg and flour, and fried to perfection - found almost anywhere in Greek is the ultimate veggie starter, and is a great hit with vegetarians.

3. Pastitsio

Very similar to Italian lasagna, but instead made with small macaroni, pastitsio is Greek comfort food at its best.

Made by layering minced beef or lamb with macaroni a béchamel, flavoured with cinnamon, nutmeg, and other Greek herbs, topped with grated cheese before being baked in the oven - a dish that will have your mouth watering at every bite.

4. Spanakopita

In Greece, you'll find that there is a wide variety of flaky phyllo pastries filled with anything and everything, from aubergines or meat to greens or cheese.

One of the most classic and authentic pastry pies you will find is spanakopita - phyllo pastry layered with feta cheese and spinach flavoured with dill.

5. Baklava

The Greeks love their sweet treats, but then again who doesn't! Baklava is the quintessential Greek food experience - trust us.

This dessert mostly consists of nuts, butter and sugar, but the sugar can be opted out for honey - after baking, sweet syrup is poured over the crispy phyllo - a delicious dessert that brings a festive mood with its unique flavour and flaky crust.

Filed under: Greece
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Tara Jenneker
About the author

Tara Jenneker

Traveller, writer, and part of the Encounters Travel team. Covers destinations, culture, and real stories from the road.

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