Chef Dimitra
Cycladic Kolokythokeftedes (Κυκλαδίτικοι Κολοκυθοκεφτέδες)
Cycladic kolokythokeftedes are summer courgette fritters, green with dill and mint, salty with feta, and fried until the edges crisp around a tender center.
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Chef Dimitra
Thassos Htapodokeftedes (Χταποδοκεφτέδες)
Thassos octopus fritters are a fasting-table meze: tender boiled octopus, onion, mint, dill and a splash of ouzo, fried until the edges turn dark and crisp.
Chef Dimitra
Cretan Chochlioi Boubouristi (Χοχλιοί Μπουμπουριστοί)
Crete names this dish by the pan motion: snails set mouth-down in salted flour, fried in good olive oil, then hit with rosemary and vinegar.
Chef Dimitra
Thessaloniki and Volos Gavros Tiganitos (Γαύρος Τηγανητός)
Small fresh anchovies, lightly floured and fried hot, are the northern ouzo meze of Thessaloniki and Volos: cheap, quick, salty, and eaten with lemon.
Chef Dimitra
Cycladic Kolokithakia Tiganita (Κολοκυθάκια Τηγανητά)
Cycladic kolokithakia tiganita are thin summer courgette rounds, salted, floured, and fried lacy-crisp, with tzatziki cold beside them and aubergine fries on the plate.
Chef Dimitra
Tomatokeftedes Santorinis (Ντοματοκεφτέδες Σαντορίνης)
Santorini's meatless tomato fritters, crisp-edged and soft inside, depend on dense summer tomatoes, sharp onion, mint, oregano, and one patient draining before the flour goes in.
Chef Dimitra
Macedonian Cheese Saganaki (Σαγανάκι με Κεφαλογραβιέρα)
Macedonian saganaki is kefalograviera floured lightly, fried hard in olive oil, and hit with lemon while the crust is still gold and crisp.
Chef Dimitra
Revithokeftedes Sifnou (Ρεβιθοκεφτέδες Σίφνου)
Sifnos makes its chickpea fritters from soaked raw chickpeas, onion, herbs, and cumin, fried in olive oil until the edges turn rough, golden, and crisp.
Chef Dimitra
Athenian Bakaliaros Tiganitos me Skordalia (Μπακαλιάρος Τηγανητός με Σκορδαλιά)
Athenian March 25 salt cod, crisp in a puffed beer batter and served with garlic skordalia, the Lenten fish dish Greece keeps for Annunciation day.
Chef Dimitra
Pitaroudia Rodou (Πιταρούδια Ρόδου)
Rhodes' chickpea fritters are spooned, not shaped: a loose batter of chickpeas, tomato, onion and mint, fried until the edges crisp and the middle stays soft.
Chef Dimitra
Aegean Island Kalamarakia Tiganita (Καλαμαράκια Τηγανητά)
Aegean island fried squid is flour, hot oil, lemon, and nerve. Fry it for a minute or two, no longer, and it stays tender under its crisp coat.
Chef Dimitra
Northern Greek Keftedakia (Κεφτεδάκια Βόρειας Ελλάδας)
Greek Macedonia's small fried meatballs are onion-sweet, minty, and faintly cumin-warm in refugee kitchens, with one quiet rule: rest the mince before the flour and oil.
Chef Dimitra
Lahanodolmades Yialantzi of Macedonia and Thrace (Λαχανοντολμάδες Γιαλαντζί)
Macedonia and Thrace keep these cabbage rolls for the fasting table: soft leaves wrapped around dill-bright rice, simmered with lemon and olive oil until the pot smells clean and green.
Chef Dimitra
Cretan Fried Kolokithoanthoi (Κρητικοί Τηγανητοί Κολοκυθοανθοί)
Cretan kolokithoanthoi are squash blossoms filled with herbed rice, folded gently, and fried until the petals crisp around a soft, green summer filling.
Chef Dimitra
Dolmadakia Yialantzi Politika (Ντολμαδάκια Γιαλαντζί Πολίτικα)
Constantinople's meatless vine leaves, yialantzi, are rolled around herbed rice, currants, pine nuts, lemon, and olive oil, then rested until tender and bright.
Chef Dimitra
Tsaitia Lakonias (Τσαΐτια Λακωνίας)
Tsaitia Lakonias are Monemvasia's thin fried rolls: handmade dough wrapped around dry-squeezed greens, fennel, dill, and mint, crisp enough for a meze plate and humble enough for supper.
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