The Greek Breakfast - Tomatoes, Feta and Bread
79The Greek Breakfast
The Greek breakfast is so simple to prepare, but is a wonderful mixture of taste and nutritional goodness. The Greeks do not eat a large meal until late at night, so this breakfast keeps them going throughout the long and hot day. It is easy and quick to make, but is to be eaten slowly, with company.
Greek Breakfast Ingredients
- Tomatoes: Greek tomatoes are ripe, juicy and sweet. If you want to enjoy the authentic experience, buy ‘On the Vine’ tomatoes. The Greeks believe that a tomato a day is excellent for reducing the risk of cancer in later life, a part of traditional Greek folk medicine.
- Bread: Wholemeal, white or rye are all perfectly good choices. The Greeks eat a lot of bread, and prefer it fresh and warm from the bakery. The type of bread is entirely up to your personal taste and preference.
- Feta: Authentic Greek Feta may be a little sour for most palates, but the milder type found in supermarkets and delicatessens is just fine. If you cannot find Feta, any goat’s cheese, or a sour cheese such as Lancashire or Cheshire will do just fine. Your nearest cheese-counter should be able to help you find the perfect type.
- Olive Oil: The cheapest variety from the supermarket is bland and has little nutritional value. Try to find extra-virgin or virgin oil, with many countries around the world producing good oil. It is worth spending a little and buying the best that you can afford, because it is of great benefit to cardiac patients.
- Herbs: We have the beautiful and fragrant Taygetos Mountain herbs here, but fresh oregano and parsley are perfectly good alternatives.
- Fruit Juice: In Laconia, we have our own orange trees and there is little better than freshly squeezed juice straight from the tree. Any good fruit juice will do, but try to avoid the cheap concentrate, and buy the fresh and healthy variety. If you are feeling a little more adventurous, buy some fruit and make your own.
Chop the tomatoes and feta into bite-sized pieces and place in a shallow bowl. In the summer, we add a lot of salt, but that is only because of the hot climate, so be careful not to overdo it. Throw over a handful of herbs to suit your own personal taste. Finally, apply a liberal drizzling of olive oil. The best and healthiest oil is the green extra virgin variety with sediment suspended in it. This oil has a wonderful and nutty flavour, and it is meant to be mopped up with the bread. Good quality oil is good for the heart and circulation, and contains an abundance of omega oils, and reduces cholesterol.
This meal is washed down with a cup of strong Greek coffee, although an espresso is just as good. Personally, I like coffee with a little vanilla essence or cinnamon added, and tea is perfectly fine for those who do not like coffee.
The Greeks tend not to use individual serving plates, and everything is shared from the central bowl. There is always plenty for all, and this breakfast gives you plenty of energy to face the day, without making you sleepy in the summer heat.
The most important ingredient of the Greek breakfast
is not anything you eat but good company. The best part of the experience is
drinking, eating and talking with friends and family. This, more than anything,
makes the Greek breakfast one of the best meals in the world. I loveto sit on my balcony, looking out over the landscape of beautiful Lakonia
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Comments
Thanks for stopping by, London Girl.
We are pretty much the same here - it gets very cold in the winter, so we also have porridge or good old-fashioned toast and marmalade. On a really cold day, a hot Raki or Whisky goes down well!
I realy like simple ideas
Not really a drinker here, so alcohol for breakfast isn't for me. Tea, on the other hand, is an essential!
Sounds a lot better than left over pizza and stale corn chips!
yuck!
Well, I had a renter for a while who was a darn good cook ... but we got in a fight and she moved out. So, I'm fending for myself again. I figured if it doesn't kill me, it will make me stronger. If I don't have left over pizza, I do sometimes eat granola bars.
I remember left over pizza for breakfast - cold curry is also good, just to really make LondonGirl's stomach turn!
Thanks for answering my request, much appreciated!
Actually, eating tomatoes in the summer heat makes sense since as it cools the liver, keeping you from feeling so hot. I've had this meal outdoors in Greece and with friends and it really does taste good, especially if you love fresh herbs! I still miss that fabulous incredible Greek yogurt that is similar in texture to our American sour cream.
Thanks again for answering and so quickly! Have a great day and tell all your friends hello for me since I'm not there in person to enjoy the food, the comraderie and the beautiful Greek view! :)
WOW!! That is such a great break fast. Being a veggie myself I always look forward to great vegetarian recipes. Now we can shift our earlier tea party to morning hours to consume this wonderful delicacy prepared by our great English host in Greece ;)
No problem, Denny.
Greek yoghurt is beautiful, especially with a liberal helping of Greek honey ;)
We hope that you manage to make it over here for a visit - you must miss the lifestyle sometimes.
No worries, Countrywomen.
Sometimes the simple ideas are the best, if you have good ingredients. Breakfast, tea party and then Greek music and dancing. Should be a good day!
Personally, I always add chopped cucumber to my feta and tomato salads, it's a lovely addition.
Greek salad is certainly the best - a little vinegar is essential, too!
If I want variety, grated carrot, chopped red cabbage and dandelion leaves add a little colour and flavour. I rarely touched salad in the UK, but I eat it daily here.
Oh dear, looks like I'm out of this league since my favorite breakfast is eggs, over medium, either sausage patties or bacon, home fries, whole wheat toast w/butter and definitely coffee.
If I had to choose a healthy breakfast I would probably select a yogurt, a ruby red grapefruit, strawberries and cantaloupe, with perhaps a piece of cheese and juice, either orange, tomato or cranberry.
Greece sounds lovely :)
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for stopping by, Trish.
Always the coffee! Mind you, I have been known to enjoy the odd fried egg sandwich for breakfast, especially in the winter. Strawberries and yoghurt sounds fantastic, too.
For the average Greek, morning coffee includes at least 10 cigarettes, so there is an unhealthy part.
Thank you for sharing the Greek breakfast, although I can eat this for lunch and dinner. I'm not an eggs and bacon person, so this will not be hard for me to incorporate into to my diet sometimes.
Glad to help, laringo.
It is a wonderful meal, but good quality olive oil is the key. There are so many little additions you can make, knowing that it will still be healthy. One of my friends eats pilchards with his breakfast, another likes a little beetroot and Gouda cheese.
Enjoy :)
Sounds lovely as a summer breakfast. For winter, I don't think you can beat half a can of Heinz baked beans with a dollop of Jamaican hot pepper sauce stirred in, on two slices of home made wholemeal toast with real butter. South Indian masala dosas are a great breakfast too and cold curry is fabulous. I steer clear of microwaved night-old kebabs though.
Mmmm, a fried egg sandwich sounds yummy too. And, since I am a smoker, I could kind of blend into a Greek breakfast :)
Lois - I remember beans and Jamaican hot pepper. Beautiful.
Trish - It is the paradox of the Greeks. Everybody smokes many cigarettes, yet they are healthy. It must be the food and climate that keeps them hale and hearty.
Coffee. About 4 big cups. No cigarettes. Definitely no tomatoes and no feta (although I like it at other times of the day). At home I usually have Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal, with blueberries or strawberries or banana (or just plain).
When eating breakfast out -- which is really my favorite meal to eat out (since they refill your coffee cup for free:-), I go the eggs/potatoes/toast route.
Trish -- we should meet up for breakfast sometime!!! MM
Sounds yummy and easy to make, but I probably would have it for lunch instead. I am in the habit of eating a banana and tea for breakfast and then a biscotti. I used to eat the occasional Greek Gyro filled with healthy ingredients while in live in NY.
Thanks for sharing!
Wow tomatoes and feta! Sounds yummy! Here in the philippines we have fried rice, eggs and fried dried fish, some coffee is poured on the fried rice. I like that you have no individual plates and everything's served in a bowl.
It has just gone 5 in the evening here in Thailand but you have got me salivating for a Greek breakfast...How I miss them. I reckon I will just have to go out and eat now. Thanks.
That sounds delicious! I worked for a Greek father and son for three years in my 40s, managing the front end of their garden center/nursery. I started as just a worker and was managing the perennial section when I left. Anyway they often fed us lunch, and had this deal that if we ate lunch at work (on them) they would pay us for the time, but if we went out for lunch we had to clock out. Of course NOBODY went out! lol!
I don't know what it's like in Greece (wow I'd love to see Greece though and find out!) but here, working for Greeks has a certain --I don't know, not 'stigma'--nothing that bad--but it's something like, "Wow, you worked for Greeks and lived? You must be made of iron!" They are aware of this reputation too and are kind of perversely proud of it. It was a great experience. I stilll miss it sometimes.
Sufi, I have to say, even though I smoke, I have been very healthy and my checkups have been good.
Mighty Mom, sounds good to me :)
Yeah I'm with MM on the four cups of coffee part.
Not functional until I get all four.
porridge with blueberries.
and a gallon bucket of coffee
When I lived in Japan we had rice and some sort of preserved fish -- if we stayed at an inn. But that took a little getting used to (the rice, fine -- but for some reason my stomach couldn't handle much else early in the morning).
Anyone know what a complete Japanese breakfast might be?
I like the idea of comparing notes -- thanks, Sufi-
Hi Sufi,
Mostly I'm a muesli girl, but I quite like porridge with maple syrup or pancakes in the winter. I can never drink coffee first thing, although I like it later in the day, so usually I start with hot water and lemon juice (possibly a bit of an acquired taste!) If we're away from home I usually order Earl Grey tea with a slice of lemon and that's good too.
I don't drink coffee at all - it makes me nervous and jittery. So I stick to my Lady Grey tea.
Yeah, but how does Lady Grey tea go with stale pretzles and cold pizza? ;)
MM - Coffee cup refills are the best! I do occasionally enjoy egg, toast and potatoes, but it is too hot in the summer. Four cups of coffee and I might start thinking about work.
Violet Sun - I love bananas and tea, too. The problem is that bananas are quite expensive here, whereas feta, tomatoes and oil are cheap. A nice treat, though. I don't eat meat, so have no idea what a gyro tastes like, but my friends seem to enjoy them!
Buddy - Coffee on fried rice. Sounds like an interesting idea, so I may have to experiment with that one.
Peter - Glad to see that the Hub has inspired a noble appetite. Enjoy the breakfast.
Pam - The Greeks are very civilised about meals. They see it as a honour that you chose to eat with them. 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' is actually pretty accurate. They do like to argue, but it is always good natured, and very rarely crosses the line. You are welcome in this small corner of Greece anytime.
Trish - I smoke like a chimney, but everything has been OK so far. On a hot day, I like a Frappe (iced coffee). An acquired taste but a quick and easy hit. Sounds like you need an IV coffee drip.
Teresa - I have a friend who lived in Japan for many years, so I will ask him.
Amanda - I love tea, but it is expensive here. We get PG Tips, but they are pricy.
LondonGirl - I love Earl Grey, but it is a very rare treat. I have developed a taste for ice tea with a little apricot. Very refreshing.
BDazzler - The times that I have had cold pizza for breakfast usually involves the Hair of the Dog and a few whiskys. ;)
Thanks for taking the time to coment, Folks. I have a few more recipes, but I never use measurements, so it may all be a little rough and ready.
" how does Lady Grey tea go with stale pretzles and cold pizza?"
I can honestly say, I've no idea!
I grew up in the bacon and eggs area of the world, but I prefer oatmeal.
Sufi,
I've often joked that when I die, just bury me with my coffee, cigs and a good book :)
People are amazed how much coffee I drink. It's my drink of choice, and unlike alcohol, it's not harming anyone (if there truly is harm done) but me. I'm also asked, how can you drink hot coffee in this heat? My reply is, how can you drink a cold beer or soda in this freezing cold? :)
touché
Hi Sufidreamer, I have always been curious as to what other people eat for breakfast. It is good you answered this question. :-) It would be nice to try eating a Greek breakfast one of these days. Hmmmm..thinking about the idea...
Thanks for commenting, Erick - I lived in Scotland for many years, so I am a big fan of oatmeal.
Trish: I like that idea - coffee, a good book and a box of cigars, although a malt whisky would be appreciated. I always joked that if my friend dies before me, I will pour a bottle of single malt over his grave every year. Of course, it will have passed through my kidneys first. ;)
In the heat, I have a frappe (iced coffee). Very nice and refreshing.
Hi Ripplemaker - Thanks for visiting. It is good, simple and healthy breakfast.
Is oatmeal the same as muesli, or porridge?
I have a question for you Sufidreamer that has been on my mind for years, are there parts of Greece where people like to pick tomatoes green? My dad had this really odd friend who decided who was going to live with us, and my mom, my sisters, and I kept trying to get rid of him. I am not sure why my dad feels charity for people all the time, but apparently this guy was unemployed and need a place to stay. Not to sound completely against charity because I am willing to help those in need, but he was not our family and he was a fully functioning person and could find a job if he wanted to. Well after a week he would not leave, so I finally found a way to get him to leave when I found out he was picking lots of green tomatoes in the garden. I knew that this was the one thing my dad was protective of because he does not like people messing with his garden. Sorry for going off on this tangent, but he told my dad that Greek people actually love to pick tomatoes green, so ever since I have been wondering if this was true since the guy was not Greek and I have never heard anyone else say something like this.
LondonGirl - Not sure on that one. I love oatmeal porridge, but no idea what it is in the rest of the world!
SweetiePie - I must admit than I have never heard of that one. I have never met a Greek who eats green tomatoes - the ripe, red ones are so juicy and sweet. There are many parts of Greece I have not been to, so it may be regional, but it seems a little strange.
I love mixing cereals for breakfast - a little something healthy like muesli with a little something else like Crunchy Nut flakes, and then fruit on top. I also love leftovers! I'm with you sufidreamer, curry is sooo yum the next day.
Cereals are very nice, but they are very expensive in Greece, so I do not eat then often. Leftovers are great - especially on a Sunday, when I like to have a lazy morning.
We have a lot of different breakfasts in Australia, Greek and Chinese are popular for summer breakfasts
An Australian breakfast can range from a cup of coffee and toast or piece of fruit to a full blown meal.
A family friend used to have two loin lamb chops, two sausages, two eggs, two tomatoes and a huge cup of tea just for breakfast. He was never overweight and lived a healthy life long life. He worked hard on his farm and was very fit and strong till the end.
When I was a child my mother was cooking for me for breakfast “kasha”, usually it was cooked semolina. With drops of strawberry jam it was not bad actually, but I hated it. During school years I ate a boiled egg and bread with butter spread on it for breakfast with a cup of hot sweet tea. There was not much variety in Soviet Union to choose from.
In Israel I had yogurt and croissant with jam and coffee for breakfast. If it was instant coffee, it was always with sugar and milk. Or so-called “cafe-bots”, black Turkish coffee that you don’t boil, but just pour boiling water over it. Ah, also burekas, they can make them in Israel soooo good!
In US I prefer oat meal with tea, or yogurt and coffee. I like to put nuts into my oat meal or yogurt.
I love Greek salad and can eat any time, any season, any amount. But I eat it for lunch, or dinner.
btw, is there pita bread in your corner of the world? I presume it should be...
Personally, I love sausage, homemade biscuits, homemade gravy, home fried potatoes, and fresh eggs over easy. It just doesn't get any better than that. ;)
The guy was German and not Greek, so maybe he made it up. At least it got him to leave :).
Evening, Earnest's Hub. Thanks for visiting.
Australia is such as interesting melting pot - I have many Aussie-Greek friends, and they have a wonderful mixture of Greek passion and Aussie bluntness and dry humour. Interesting about the guy with the chops - goes to show that a physical outdoors job is as important to health as diet.
Reu-Vera: We do have pita here, although it is usually only eaten with souvlaki (lamb kebabs). Yoghurt is nice for breakfast - thick Greek yoghurt with a generous helping of honey. The Turkish coffee sounds fantastic - the Greeks have a strong coffee to start the day. Greece absorbed a lot of culinary influence from Turkey, so many things are similar.
SirDent - Sounds like a good way to start the day. I used to work in the building trade, and sausage, egg, bacon and eggs is the normal British builder's breakfast. Insulates against the cold!
SweetiePie - The guy sounds a little weird!
Aw, greek salads :) Sweet memories :)
Well, look at all the comments. Great subject, breakfast. When I want to go all out, I make a mean suasage gravy, hashbrowns, eggs fried, biscuits and apples fried in butter, brown suger and cinnamon. A real hillbilly breakfast. I then have enough energy to carry me for quite awhile. I go for a good brisk walk with my dogs and parrot and feel great all day.
Sometimes I do cereal in a bottle, beer that is.lol
Thanks for stopping by, C. C.
Beer for breakfast - full of all the vitamins and minerals needed to start the day. As for butter fried apples and cinnamon - they are meant to go together. Getting hungry now!
I am addicted to cereal, but the Greek breakfast sounds very good for lunch! Yum I love feta on pizza
Thanks for stopping by:
We used to have a restaurant in the village, run by Canadian-Greeks. They made amazing feta pizza. Sadly, they retired last year, and they are sorely missed.
"A nice greasy pork sandwich served in a dirty ashtray."
Not sure about the pork, but the dirty ashtray has its uses, especially for eating last night's pizza from.
That's a line from the movie Weird Science.
I'm going to C.C. Riter's house for breakfast! Fried apples, biscuts, eggs, and all that. Yum. If he's not home then I'm going over to eat with Trish. ;) I'll bring the fried apples.
A Greek breakfast sounds very nice sufi. :) Thank you for sharing this.
Mmmm, this sounds incredibly yummy! I'm trying to eat mostly vegetarian, but I have to admit, I'd never thought of tomatoes for breakfast. Now, of course, I'm wondering why not???
imadork - Is that the one with Kelly La Brock? Funny film.
Pam - Thanks for dropping by. The comments have provided many good ideas for breakfast. I intend to try all of them - well, the veggie ones, anyway!
Angie - Hi! Good luck with the eating vegetarian food. I have some nice Greek vegetarian recipes that I intend to post sometime.
After my first trip to London, breakfast wasn't breakfast without a tomato, sliced or grilled, alongside the eggs and toast. (LondonGirl is probably ROTFL, because I just announced I was a T-O-U-R-I-S-T, the only people gullible enough to eat those humongous Full English Breakfasts!) At any rate, tomato-feta salad sounds yummy, but not until lunch!
Hi JamaGenee The Full English Breakfast! I am veggie, so it is a long time since I had one of those. A heart attack in every bite.
Some people do find it a little strange that we eat salad for breakfast, but it has much to do with the climate. For 8 or 9 months of the year, it is simply too hot to eat lunch, so this breakfast sets you up for the day. I must admit, we do tend to eat oatmeal in the winter - it is very cold in the mountains, so calories for warmth are needed. :)
"After my first trip to London, breakfast wasn't breakfast without a tomato, sliced or grilled, alongside the eggs and toast. (LondonGirl is probably ROTFL, because I just announced I was a T-O-U-R-I-S-T, the only people gullible enough to eat those humongous Full English Breakfasts!)"
It's not just tourists who do. I don't know anyone who has a full English breakfast at home during the week, but people do in cafes later in the day - in a nearby cafe, it's packed with taxi drivers and builders eating the full monty.
Tomatoes for breakfast isn't weird to me - my Dad has toast, cheese and raw tomatoes every day, and toaster cheese and grilled toms at weekends.
I must admit, last time I visited the UK, our flight touched down early, and I went straight to Wetherspoons for a couple of pints of bitter and three vegetarian English Breakfasts. Lovely. ;)
I am just about to have some cheese and tomato toasties - we have one of those George Foreman grills and it is great for toasties!
Sounds wonderfu and something I am going to make a staplel. Very in keeping with the whole South Beach Diet ! Much better than fried eggs, grits, bacon, bicuits and gravy they serve here in Texas - heart attack in the making if you think about it.
Hi Mardi - Thanks for stopping by.
Happy to help! I love a fried breakfast occasionally, but only as a rare treat. This breakfast is great on a hot day, so it should be perfect for the hot Texas sun.
Enjoy!
Wonderful stuff for the taste buds, body, and soul. The Italian half of my family enjoys the same sort of thing, but with fresh Mozzarella in place of feta. Delicious. I once knew a Greek gentleman in the land down under who made the most amazing coffee. Delightful.
Thanks, Citizen of Earth.
Mozarella is great stuff - there is a great pizza place in Sparta that uses only the finest Italian ingredients. Very good pizza! The Greeks and Italians have shared many recipes, over the years, and also know how to make great coffee.
I don't usually eat breakfast, but when I do, my treat is bacon, eggs (runny yoke), toast coffee, juice and fruit. BTW, there is no specific way. Any kind of toast, fried/poached eggs etc. I tend to do this (usually,but not exclusiovely) when I'm away from home.
As for porridge and the like, whoever wants it, can have it. I am willing to give all my portions of it away. Can't stand the stuff!
Hi aka-dj
Good to see you!
Fried eggs on toast is a nice treat occasionally - a little HP sauce, too! I love eggs, but they are a little too heavy in the heat of the summer.
Here in the Philippines, a typical breakfast would be rice with any of the following: chorizo, longganisa, hotdogs, ham, bacon, corned beef, eggs sunny-side-up. But I rarely have time to prepare and eat breakfast. I just grab some crackers or pandesal (bread) on my way out the door. :P
Hi Susan, thanks for dropping by.
I love rice, but never for breakfast. You have just made me hungry, so I am going to enjoy a bowl of rice sprinkled with a little soy sauce.
The Phillippines breakfast sounds wonderful, although Cris A's strong coffee and cigarettes also sounds good!
In your recipe, looks like the only biteable stuff are the chopped tomatoes and the curd. Well, you cannot even convince the mouth with that! Would do as an appetiser I guess! :)
I don't like coffee and I don't smoke. Hehe. :P I love breakfast at Jollibee. I usually get the beef tapa meal or longganisa meal. ;)
lol Quicksand - It is on the light side, although the temperature is rising here and a heavy meal sends me to sleep!
Susan - Sounds lovely, although I could not exist without a regular caffeine injection :)
Oh wait, I like iced coffee! And cold coffee beverages at coffee shops, especially the ones with coffee jelly in it. :D But that's not exactly breakfast food. :P
I love iced coffee - very nice on a hot day. We call it a 'Frappe' here, and they certainly hit the spot.
lovely hub.... guess what i am having for breakfast tomorrow, i will pretend th sun is shining and i am in Greece
Thanks, PL - hope that you enjoyed the breakfast. If you come over to stay, I will personally make you a nice Greek breakfast with fresh-pressed oranges.
oooh i am on my way
No worries - I'll make up the spare bed! :)
Great hub, love Greek foods.
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LondonGirl says:
11 months ago
lovely hub! We often eat similar stuff in the summer, but in the winter, we usually have something warm (porridge, for example).