Vegetables have a special place in the Greek menu and they are used frequently. Carrots, potatoes, and small beets are year round staples, while aubergine (eggplant) and courgette (zucchini) head the list of seasonal favorites. These may be made into pickles, stuffed and baked, or sliced and layered into casseroles with sauce and cheese.
As in most Mediterranean countries, Greek fruits are noted for their luscious ripe tastes and are enjoyed fresh or lovingly preserved in thick heavy syrups to be served to guests accompanied with a glass of fresh cold water. Served in this way, fruits are called spoon sweets. Sometimes these are also made from selected tiny vegetables such as tomatoes. Lemons and other citrus fruits are used most widely. In season there is also a choice of grapes, figs, quinces, strawberries, cherries, apricots, plums, peaches, and many varieties of apples. Special autumn favorites are peponi, a Greek melon resembling both a honeydew and a cantaloupe, and karpouzi, a richly flavored type of watermelon.
Vegetables have a special place in the Greek menu and they are used frequently. Carrots, potatoes, and small beets are year round staples, while aubergine (eggplant) and courgette (zucchini) head the list of seasonal favorites. These may be made into pickles, stuffed and baked, or sliced and layered into casseroles with sauce and cheese. Even the zucchini flowers are considered a special treat and served batter dipped and fried. Kolokithokorfades is a zucchini flower specialty where the flowers are gently filled with a cheese mixture before being dipped in batter and fried. Artichokes, okra, broad beans and lima beans, cauliflower, fresh peas, tomatoes and cucumbers as well as many wild greens such as mustard, dandelion, and spinach are collectively known as horta.
Horta is cleaned, chopped and boiled, then served with lemon juice and oil. But other vegetable preparations may be more elaborate, including bechamel sauce and cheeses; layered between phyllo pastry and cheeses; or scooped out and baked with fillings. Dolmadakia are meat and rice stuffed vine (grape) leaves. Vegetables can also be a part of pilafs (with rice), yeast dough, and sometimes breads (zucchini bread) and vegetables can be a light meal when combined with eggs to make omelets or souffles.
A meal (other than breakfast) without fresh or cooked vegetables of some kind is rare. A main course of meat or cheese is accompanied by salata. This term is loosely used to include cooked, chilled vegetables served with oil and lemon and a sprinkling of herbs or the Greek salata, a carefully constructed mountain of fresh greens (sometimes over a mound of potato salad), garnished with black olives, cubed Feta, tomato and cucumber chunks all shimmering with oil and lemon juice and fragrant with fresh oregano.
Olives are of special importance in Greece. Greeks prefer their olives black, but these may be brined, pickled, or even spiced and are a part of almost every meal. Sometimes bread and olives form a simple meal.
