14-Day Greece
Itinerary

Moussaka

Greece's greatest layered dish — sliced aubergine and potato base, a layer of spiced minced lamb with cinnamon, allspice and tomato, then a thick blanket of béchamel baked until the top bronzes and the layers set into a sliceable terrine; every Greek family believes its version is the correct one; the cinnamon in the meat is non-negotiable.

Souvlaki

Greece's perfect street food — marinated pork or chicken threaded on a skewer and grilled over charcoal, served in a grilled pita wrap with tzatziki, sliced tomato, red onion and a shower of paprika; the Athens souvlatzidiko (souvlaki shop) is the city's social hub; consumed at every hour from noon to 3 a.m.

Spanakopita

Greece's great pie — layers of hand-rolled phyllo dough brushed with olive oil, filled with spinach and crumbled feta, fresh dill and egg; baked until the phyllo crackles into dozens of translucent golden layers; sold in every bakery as a triangle; the phyllo must be homemade in the villages of Epirus where the tradition originates.

Dakos

Crete's ancient peasant salad — a barley rusk (paximadi) soaked briefly in water to soften its iron-hard crust, topped with grated ripe tomato, crumbled mizithra or feta, capers, olives and a generous pour of Cretan extra-virgin olive oil; the oil must be from Crete's Koroneiki olives; eaten for breakfast or as a meze with raki.

Baklava

Greece's most celebrated sweet — dozens of paper-thin phyllo layers alternating with crushed walnuts and pistachios perfumed with cinnamon and clove, baked golden then flooded with a honey-lemon syrup that soaks into every layer; the Thessaloniki and Athens debate over which city makes the superior version is ongoing and unresolved.

Grilled Octopus

The defining image of Greek island dining — a whole octopus tenderised by being beaten on rocks, sun-dried on a line and then grilled over charcoal until the tentacles char and crisp; dressed only with olive oil, oregano and lemon; eaten at a terrace table overlooking the Aegean with a glass of Assyrtiko; sublime simplicity.