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What is your Greek Easter Menu?

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mastichas09

Active member
It's time to start deciding what to serve for Easter! I thought I would share our menu (much simplified this year). I am curious what other people do!

Our menu:

  • Grilled leg of lamb
  • Salad
  • Roasted potatoes
  • Spanakopita (appetizer)
  • For dessert - various Greek pastries, like koulourakia (of course)
 
This year we went out to eat. Usually we roast a lamb and have Greek village salad, potatoes, and some appetizers like tiro pita or spanakopita. But, we just weren't able to do that this year. I loved going out - it was at a Greek restaurant. It felt nice to not have to do all that cooking.
 
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JOIN THE DISCUSSION AND READ OTHER GREEK INFO:

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Feta gets most of the attention when people talk about Greek cheese, but there are so many other varieties worth trying. I’m curious which Greek cheeses everyone enjoys most beyond feta.

Graviera is one of my favorites because it works so well on a cheese plate, grated over dishes, or just eaten with bread. Kasseri is another one I really like, especially melted. I’ve also been interested in trying more regional cheeses like metsovone, manouri, kefalotyri, and formaela.

Some Greek cheeses seem to be much easier to find outside Greece than others, so I’d also love to know which ones people regularly buy and where they usually find them.

What Greek cheeses do you keep coming back to? Are there certain ones you associate with a particular region, dish, or family tradition? And if someone has mostly eaten feta, which Greek cheese would you recommend they try next?

What is the secret to making really good Greek lemon potatoes?

I've been making Greek lemon potatoes for years, and it's one of those dishes I make completely by feel. I don't measure anything, and I never really thought about how I make them because it's all second nature to me.

Recently, I tried teaching someone how to make them. Everything seemed straightforward while we were cooking together, but when they went home and tried making them on their own, all kinds of things went wrong! The potatoes weren't cooking evenly, the texture wasn't quite right, and the lemon flavor didn't come through the way it should.

It made me realize how much I rely on instinct when cooking traditional Greek food. I rarely write down recipes, so explaining every little detail is harder than I expected!

For those who make Greek lemon potatoes regularly, what tips would you give someone who's just learning?

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How does your family season dolmades? Do you use mostly dill and parsley, or do you add mint as well? I’ve also seen recipes that include green onions, oregano, or even a little cinnamon, especially when meat is part of the filling.

I’m curious whether you season the rice mixture pretty heavily before rolling the grape leaves or keep it simple and let the lemon and olive oil provide most of the flavor. Does your family add lemon juice directly to the filling, or only during cooking and serving?

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Is one traditionally preferred in certain regions of Greece? I've read that lamb is often associated with older Greek recipes, but beef seems to be very common in modern versions of giouvetsi.

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