Meze (or mezethes as in plural) represent a way of life in Greece, rather then just any old meal. The word made its way to Greece from Turkey; however the Greeks embraced this custom and made it their own. Meze is a small dish, not quite an appetizer, but not a full meal either, a combination of small, bite size chunks of food that is eaten in the middle of the day or before dinnertime.

The point of a meze is to gather around and socialize. The food that is used for meze is often picked to compliment the drinks that are being served. Like many of the dishes typical for Greek cuisine, mezethes are relatively easy to prepare, but that’s the beauty of a meze, it can be as simple or as sophisticated as you want to make it.

Here is a selection of some of the most popular and classic meze dishes and dips. These are basic recipes that I have found and serve as guideline, when it comes to adding spices, garlic or lemon juice I believe you should tinker a bit until you get the mixture just right to suit your taste.

(there are many recipes for hummus, this is a basic one, you might want to add more garlic, lemon juice, pepper or even cumin to suit your taste)

2 cloves of garlic (or more to taste)

540 grams (a can) of chickpeas (garbanzo beans)

60 mls of lemon juice (or more to taste)

30 grams of tahini

Salt and black pepper to taste

Olive oil

In a blender chop garlic, then add the rest of the ingredients apart from chickpeas. Blend for a few seconds then add chickpeas and blend some more until the mixture is creamy. Transfer the mixture in a serving ball and chill in the refrigerator for a few hours. Before you serve hummus drizzle with olive oil.

1 big cucumber

3 cloves of garlic (or more to taste)

2,5 dcls of thick yogurt

lemon juice and olive oil to taste

mint to taste

Peel and shred the cucumbers and dice the garlic. Mix lemon juice and olive oil and then fold in the yogurt until the mixture is smooth. Add the garlic and then the shredded cucumber and mix well. In the end add mint to taste.

there are different versions of Saganaki, I have found recipes with feta cheese, graviera, pecorino romano and even mozzarella, however kefalotyri cheese is most commonly used in Greece

455 grams of kefalotyri cheese

2 eggs beaten

Flour for dredging

120 grams of Olive oil (half a cup)

2 lemons quartered

In a heavy bottomed pan heat the oil (but make sure it does not start to smoke). Cut the cheese into thicker wedges or slices and dredge in flour and then dip in the egg mixture. Fry in hot oil (heat should be medium to high) until the cheese is golden on both sides. Squeeze some lemon on top of the cheese before serving.