Recipe Tips & Techniques for Newcomers to Greek Food

Avgolemono sauce (egg-lemon) is delicious added to soups, as a topping on vegetables, and experimenting with it in your own recipes can have wonderful results... or not. A tip from Christina Marshall.

Learn more about buying spices and nuts, two ingredients in Greek cooking that are often purchased incorrectly. A tip from your Guide.

Spread the food out or squash it together? A tip from Aggeliki Anagnostopoulou.

Greece is known for fabulous lamb dishes - from the very small kebabs (souvlakia) to whole spit-roasted. Here are tips for shopping, cooking times, portions per person, and more.

That milky-white water in the pot after boiling potatoes contains nutrients and starch, so don't get rid of it before considering how it can be used. A tip from Aphroditi Argyropoulou.

Lemon juice is a favorite ingredient in many Greek recipes, and there's a secret to getting the most juice from each lemon. A tip from Kaiti Konstantaki.

Some recipes that call for grated lemon peel really need a strong lemon taste that regular lemons may not deliver. A tip from Kaliroi Krasanaki.

Biscotti (paximathakia in Greek) are twice baked cookies that need to be cut almost all the way through before baking. See how this is done.

Greek recipes are often made in large quantities. Decreasing the quantity is often a simple matter of dividing ingredients, but what happens when the recipe calls for 1 or 3 or 5 or another odd number of eggs? Here's how to divide.

Dyed red eggs are a tradition at Greek Easter, symbolizing the blood of Christ (red color) and rebirth and new life (egg). Learn how to dye red eggs using onion skins to achieve a deep red color.

Handling and cooking foods with strong smells can leave hands and the kitchen with unwanted odors. Get rid of them quickly and easily.

Make soggy fried potatoes a thing of the past with these simple steps.

Paper-thin sheets of phyllo dough can be used to create many shapes. Learn to create rolled packets with step-by-step photos. The rolls can be filled with creams, custards, and other fillings.

These favorite Greek cookies are made with olive oil, not butter. The dough is softer and oilier than some other cookie doughs. Here are photos to help you work with the dough to form small cookies rolled in sesame seeds.

Vegetables stuffed with a rice mixture (meatless) or with meat and vegetables are Greek classics. Follow the process of scooping and stuffing to make these recipes with photos for every step.

Using photos as a guide, learn to make pita wraps the way Greeks do it.

Don't want to smash the garlic in order to peel it? Here's an easy way that's especially good for recipes calling for whole cloves. A tip from Glykeria Mperikou.

These honey cookies (Melomakarona) are traditionally shaped in circles and in rounded ovals. Follow easy steps to making them the perfect shape every time.

Step-by-step photos showing how an expert Greek home cook stuffs and rolls grape leaves to make one of the fabulous Greek recipes for Stuffed Grape Leaves.

Whether you make dips ahead of time or have leftovers to store, here are some helpful tips to make sure they always taste great.

Syrup-soaked pastries made with phyllo dough are Greek favorites (think baklava and galaktoboureko). Make sure your pastry is always light and flaky, even after being soaked with syrup with this tip from your Guide.

If you're not happy with the quality of your olive oil, try this trick to produce a more authentic result in the final dish.

If the skin of a tomato is tough, Greek cooks often peel it before using. Learn the secret to make this an easy task. A tip from Kaiti Konstantaki.

Souvlaki are small kebabs of meat and poultry grilled or broiled on skewers. Here's wisdom about making souvlaki from Kaiti Konstantaki.

Tomatoes are at their best in summer months, but they form the base of many Greek dishes enjoyed throughout the year. For casseroles, sauces, and other cooked dishes, learn how to make the substitution from fresh to canned.

Many Greek recipes call for the traditional combination of olive oil and lemon juice. They can be mixed together (to make "latholemono" sauce) and used separately. Learn when to use which version.