Greek Taverna

Moussaka

2006-02-10T15:11:00.000-08:00

Greece, as a Mediterranean country, is famous for its unique cuisine. Every part of Greece, from Athens to the smallest island, has its own special food, but there is one recipe that it is cooked all over Greece, from South to North and from West to East, and that is moussaka.
Moussaka along with bean soup is considered very often as Greece’s national food. A delicious combination of minced meat, aubergines and tomatoes, moussaka is a fantastic dish, which makes it difficult for someone to resist at it.
For many years, women and men in Greece prepared moussaka with patience and care, in order to honor their guests, but also to celebrate special events of their lives, such as birth and marriage. Today this tasteful food is included in the menu of almost every Greek restaurant or taverna and thanks to its superb taste satisfies the appetite of Greeks and foreigners as well.
But what makes moussaka so delicious and therefore so popular? Moussaka belongs in the minority of foods that are considered both flavorsome and nutrient. It combines vegetables with meat and béchamel sauce, and being as a result a healthy and tasteful dish in the same time. Moussaka is also a food well known all over Balkans and Middle East, but what makes the Greek recipe so special is the addition of béchamel sauce, probably introduced by Nikos Tselementes, the most famous chef in Greece.
Although, due to its popularity, there are many variations of moussaka, below follows a recipe, most often used in Greece.
INGREDIENTS

• 15 ml. (1 tablespoon) chopped parsley
• 700 gr. (1 ½ lb.) aubergines
• 175 gr. (6 oz.) onions
• 225 gr. (½ lb.) tomatoes
• 150 ml. (Ό pt.) olive oil
• 425 ml. (Ύ pt.) béchamel sauce
• minced meat
• 150 ml. oil
• salt
• pepper

PREPARATION

We put the oil inside a pot, then we add the onions and after they are mixed we also put the minced meat. Afterwards we add the tomatoes and some water and we let the ingredients to be boiled. Meanwhile we wash and clean very carefully the aubergines. Then we cut them into slices (not very thin though) and we fry them. When they are done, we put salt and pepper all over them, and only half of them we use to put at the bottom of a pan. Over them goes the minced meat and over the minced meat we put the remaining aubergines. Finally we add the béchamel sauce and we bake it at the oven for 45 minutes (180-C). Good luck and enjoy!

by Zoi Tsalta

Greek Wine - Retsina

2006-02-09T05:52:00.000-08:00

We can be certain that wine had a special place in the Greeks lives in such an extend that Dionysus, the good of wild vegetation at the beginning, was associated with the grape and its blessed product almost exclusively.
Hundreds of vine varieties are still cultivated in Greece. Today the main varieties are: Agiorgitiko, Mavrodafni, Naoussa, Nemea, Patras, Samos, Santorini and Retsina.
Retsina is a Greek resinated white (or rosé) wine dating back at least 2700 years. Like ouzo, retsina is a 100% Greek product. It is not produced in any other part of the world except Greece.
Its unique flavor is said to have originated from the practice of sealing wine vessels, particularly amphora, with pine resin in ancient times. Before the invention of impermeable glass bottles, oxygen caused many wines to spoil within the year, and pine resin helped keep the air outside.
Dionysos, the Greek wine god himself only supposedly knew the secret recipe of retsina.
Today, Retsina is produced in almost all parts of Greece, but the best is considered that of Attica.
Retsinas are either white or rose and should be served cold. Retsina is ideal as an accompaniment for all types of Greek cuisine. Like most Greek beverages, it is undeniably at its best when combined with Greek foods, especially the savory mezedes served as appetizers.
Try retsina in its native environment and you may well respond to it like a true Greek yourself.

by Christos Paschalidis

Ouzo

2006-02-09T05:51:00.000-08:00

Ouzo (ούζο) is a Greek anise-flavored liqueur. It is not produced in any other part of the world except Greece and it is the national drink. Ouzo is exported throughout the world.
Ouzo starts as a strong spirit made from pressed grapes or raisins. The distinctive smell of ouzo comes from the addition of anise as a flavouring.
The history of ouzo is unclear. Its precursor is raki, a drink distilled throughout the Byzantine and later Ottoman Empires.
Modern ouzo distillation largely took off in the 19th century following Greek independence, with much of the production located on the island of Lesvos, which claims to be the originator of the drink and remains a major producer.
In modern Greece, ouzeri can be found in nearly all cities, towns, and villages. These cafe-like establishments serve ouzo with mezedes: appetizers such as octopus, salad, sardines, calamari, fried zucchini, and clams, among others. It is traditionally slowly sipped (usually mixed with water or ice) together with mezedes shared with others over a period of several hours in the early evening. When water or ice is added to ouzo it turns milky white.
This Greek drink has identified with the Greek soul, hospitality, the sea and the blue sky..
Ouzo drinking is an art. Or maybe it's a way of life, the Greek way of life.

by Christos Paschalidis