A Guide to Greek Dips
Your go-to cheat sheet
In honor of Orthodox Easter this past Sunday, I thought it would be useful to create a dip “cheat sheet”. My mom’s family is Greek and although I am not fluent in the language by any means, one thing I do know how to do is order.
I’ve provided some ideal pairings below but these are all personal, you do you! There’s a time and a place for each dip and right about now, I think I’d like to be on the seaside in Greece sampling them all with some Greek salad and a freshly caught fish alongside a ton of lemon.
Taramasalata
You may recognize tarama as the pink dip! It’s made from fish roe, olive oil, lemon juice and another ingredient which may surprise you - bread.
I once learned how to make it in Athens and was unfortunately faced with the new reality that a lot of chefs in Greece now use sprite in their tarama to lighten it up due to the bubbles and add in that lemony flavor from the soda.
Pairing: pita is king
Tzatziki
Tied with taramasalata as my #1 dip, tzatziki is made by combining yogurt, shredded cucumber, garlic, vinegar, olive oil, lemon and lots of dill. Some people add in mint or additional herbs but we keep it dill-heavy in my family. I also like to add some lemon zest if I’m feeling funky!
I find tzatziki to be the most versatile of Greek mezedes as I can happily Slater it on about anything
Pairing: lamb, chicken, meat, octopus, squid, fried fish or zucchini, greek salad, horta
Tirokafteri
Loosely translates to spicy cheese - spoiler alert it’s really not that spicy
Tirokafteri is made by whipping up some feta and adding in roasted bell peppers, garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar and chili flakes
Pairing: pita, grilled veggies, souvlaki, sandwiches and wraps
Fava
Not hummus, not fava beans! Fava is made from yellow split peas, olive oil, lemon and garlic. You can also add in some cooked onions if you’re feeling extra. It’s also always usually served with random slices of red onion on top?
It’s slighter thicker and grainier than hummus and doesn’t include tahini so there’s no sesame creaminess or nuttiness to it.
It’s a specialty of Santorini
Pairing: pita, crudités (I opt for cucumber and bell pepper with fava), squid, octopus, anything pickled
Skordalia
Looks like mashed potatoes but packs a garlicky punch.
It’s made primarily with garlic, olive oil and a thick starch - anything from soaked stale bread (like taramasalata), potatoes to even nuts.
Pairing: cooked veggies, bright tomatoes, lamb, black olives
Melitzanosalata
Think chunky babaganoush with no tahini! This dip is made from roasty toasty charred bell peppers (YUM), onions, garlic, olive oil and bright lemon, fresh parsley and vinegar.
Pairing: crudités, fish, pita
Patzarosalata
Bright, vinegary pink dip made from beets, some form of dairy (greek yogurt or feta), lemon, vinegar,
Pairing: pita, chicken, souvlaki, cheese
This video below is so old but as you can see here, patzarosalata can be less of a “dip” and more so a side!
Tiktok failed to load.
Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
As for how to serve them, a giant bowl will do the trick… I can assure you it will magically empty itself in mere minutes. If you want to really tap into authentic greek presentation, top each bowl with a random Kalamata olive and maybe even an indiivdual parsley leaf if you’re feeling fancy.
Time to tuck in and enjoy!
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
If you missed it, I posted my Tokyo city guide last week. Let me know if you’d like a Greece guide and stay tuned for my LA guide next week!
I’d love your recipe for Tzatziki. I didn’t realize how many of these great dips were Greek!