Growing up Greek, I remember mums and aunties having dinner ready before five, especially those who didn’t work, or those who worked at home (Greek home seamstresses were the backbone of the fashion industry in Australia!)
It was a good day when the smell of macaronia, moussaka or yemista filled the air. But not every comforting Greek meal came from a pot that had been simmering all afternoon. Some came together because everyone was busy.
Someone had work. Someone had school. Someone was running late. Mum had a million things to do. Yiayia had already cooked three times that week and wasn’t about to start making something complicated at six o’clock.
So dinner became whatever could be made quickly from the things that were always there. Eggs. Potatoes. Pasta. Tomatoes. Bread. Feta. A few vegetables. Maybe some taramasalata. Something tucked away in the freezer.
They weren’t necessarily special meals, but they were always the best, and these are still the meals I cook for my family today when we are busy and I don’t have dinner ready.
Patatakia me Avga
Few things are simpler than potatoes and eggs. Freshly fried patatakia (home cut chips), with eggs cracked into the pan and mixed through while the potatoes were still hot. Crispy edges. Soft egg. Plenty of salt, and a little feta on the side. It was quick, filling and one of those combinations that never really needed improving.
Hilopites with Mizithra
A packet of hilopites (egg fettuccine does the same job) could solve dinner very quickly.
Boil them, drain them and add a decent amount of olive oil before covering them with grated mizithra. The finer the mizithra was grated, the better they tasted! Warm pasta, salty cheese and a bowl you could sit down with after a long day.
Makaronia with Pseftiki Salsa
Then there was makaronia with pseftiki salsa.
The quick tomato sauce from a jar when mum was too busy to grate tomatoes. Just a simple red sauce made from what was already in the cupboard, tossed through pasta and finished with grated mizithra, kaseri or kefalotiri.
A proper family dinner, made in very little time.
Horta
Sometimes the meal was built around something as simple as horta. Boiled greens dressed with olive oil, lemon and salt. Add bread and feta (or tzatziki) and there was really nothing else needed.
Particularly when the greens had come from the garden, from a visitors backyard or from somewhere a Greek relative had decided was perfectly acceptable to forage from.
Tomato, Feta, Cucumber, Capsicum and Bread
Sometimes your meal didn’t require any cooking at all.
Slice tomatoes. Add cucumber and capsicum (bonus if they were the pickled, roasted peppers). Put a piece of feta alongside. Pour over olive oil.
Then bring out the bread. In the eighties, I remember a long ‘Vienna’ bread roll being delivered to my aunties house fresh daily. Crusty and perfect for dipping into the oil.
Because once the tomato juices and olive oil collected at the bottom of the plate came the important part: vouta.
Bread dipped straight into all that salty, tomatoey olive oil. And mind you, this is before trendy Italian restaurants began serving sliced sourdough with olive oil and balsamic for dipping.
Bread, Feta and Olives
Similar platter concept as above, less salad. Or, you could even combine both, or add an egg or sausage for some protein.
Bread, feta (or halloumi for the Cypriot households), olives, maybe some tzatziki or taramasalata. Everything went into the middle of the table and everyone helped themselves.
Horiatiki
And another variation of above. When the tomatoes were good, there was always the possibility of a horiatiki.
Tomato, cucumber, onion, olives, feta and olive oil. Maybe capsicum. Add egg or sausage for quick protein and you have a humble yet filling meal. It was dinner.
Dakos
Not as common in all households, and probably more of a modern ‘re-discovery’ but Dakos has the same kind of simplicity. Some paximadia, tomato. mizithra or feta, olives, olive oil and oregano.
A few pantry ingredients turned into something that somehow felt much more substantial and filling.
Toast
Not every Greek-family comfort meal was particularly Greek. But when you go to Greece its impossible to ignore how popular the simple grilled ‘τοστ’ is.
Bread, cheese (graviera), perhaps ham (shoulder ham, because it looked most like the ζαμπον in Greece, pressed until hot and crisp.
The sort of thing that appeared after sport, after school, late at night or when everyone had come home at different times.
Slathered in butter because those grill lines were absolutely essential!
Tiropita From the Freezer
There was also usually something in the freezer waiting for a busy day.
Often tiropita.
Homemade or bought, a few pieces could be put straight into the oven and dinner was practically taken care of.
A freezer full of pita was one of those quiet luxuries you didn’t really appreciate until you were the one responsible for deciding what everyone was going to eat.
Fried Eggplant
Sometimes one vegetable was enough – the hearty eggplant. Slice the eggplant, batter it, fry it and serve it. Put it on the table with feta and bread. Maybe a tomato beside it. A great dinner!
The Quick Kolokithopita
Then there were the quick dishes that felt like they had been invented specifically by people who didn’t have time for the full version. Kolokithopita without filo was one of them. Let’s call it a zucchini quiche omelette thing.
Grated zucchini, egg, feta, herbs and whatever else your family used, all mixed together and baked. No pastry to roll or layers to assemble, just something warm and familiar straight from the tray.
The Foods That Were Somehow Always There
Then there were the dishes that didn’t need to be made at the last minute because they seemed to already exist.
A pot of fasolada that Yiayia made, yesterday’s fakes. or some spanakorizo ready to be warmed up.
Greek home cooking has always had a certain practicality to it.
You cooked a pot but you made more than enough. And the next day, when everyone was busy again, there was still something good to eat. And always ready to embellish with some crusty bread or oregano and olive oil marinated veggies.
Final Thoughts
Maybe that’s why these meals stay with us. They weren’t the dishes you proudly served when guests came over.
They were after-school food, late night food, last minute meals that were hearty and healthy. The meals made from whatever was already in the kitchen, served with bread and feta and eaten without much fuss. And somehow, years later, they are often the foods that feel most like home.
