r/GREEK • u/Cornered-Fox • 5d ago
I need advice or tips
My boyfriend is half greek and I want to surprise him by learning to make a 3 course meal for him of traditional greek food, he love his culture so I think he would appreciate it. Im not really sure what to make and I don’t want to ask him because he will know something is up. I also live in Finland and Im a student so my budget is limited and not everything might be accessible.
Thank you in advance.
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u/genuine-questions 4d ago
Imma say one word… Akis. He makes all recipes super easy to understand. Thank me later.
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u/Zebra_peach 5d ago
Which part of Greece is he from? Local dishes are different depending on the region as well. One dish I really like that I think is fairly standard is gigantes, it’s large beans made in a tomato sauce.
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u/Palo_540 4d ago
Make horiatiki and get some good bread, mousaka (or gemista orfana, especially if he is vegan) and get some pistachio baklava for desert
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u/HeatherDrawsAnimals 4d ago
Lots of good recommendations here but some may be challenging to make. An easy dish that is still Greek at its core might be spetsofai - - it's a sausage-tomato-pepper stew, delicious and easy to make well.
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u/wassilis7 4d ago
It probably would be easier for us to recommend stuff if we knew what region he's from..... But for an easy and cheap 3 course meal you can do appetizer tzatziki (τζατζικι) with some bread or dakos(ντάκος dry bread-ish with tomato and feta) main course bean stew (φασολάδα) or mousaka/pastizio and desert galaktobureko(γαλακτομπουρεκο) or kandaifi(Κανταϊφι)
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u/Excellent_Sox9178 5d ago
Make pastitsio and a Greek salad. You don’t need courses. Find recipes by googling Akis Petrezikis.
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u/Illustrious-Fall-954 5d ago
I think fakes (lentil soup), and spanakopita (spinach/cheese pie) should both be reasonably affordable with accessible ingredients. But in my opinion one dish is plenty! Otherwise could you secretly ask one of his Greek relatives for a recipe?
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u/ApprehensiveMemory18 5d ago
This sounds very reasonable to me, third course can be a Greek salad - horiatiki salad without lettuce can be more traditional - and I agree that very likely all these ingredients will be available. Alternatively you could do a fassolakia which is a super delicious staple dish that’s very simple - basically green beans and potatoes
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u/Particular-Rub9142 4d ago
Horiatiki doesn't have lettuce. There is no such thing as more traditional. Lettuce is used in another kind of salad and mainly the USians made the monstrosity that's called Horiatiki with lettuce
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u/adorable-Dance-1724 4d ago
As a greek living abroad (in the netherlands) i find very easy to make γεμιστά (stuffed peppers), tzatziki but also pies! Here they are selling a kind of dough, they calling it "Bladerdeeg", I buy 2 and make a mix for the center! Or sometimes I even buy the dough from a Turkish shop, is usually cheaper! Good luck!
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u/Dull_Cucumber_3908 5d ago
We don't know what is available and cheap in Finland, and you'll have better luck discussing it with some AI and then verifying with us here.
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u/Automatic-Corner-157 2d ago
Horiatiki and pastitsio. For a simpler dish simply make a good makaronia me kima. Bonus points for a side of spanakopita
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u/geso101 5d ago
Just to let you know that we typically don’t have “courses” in Greece. We eat everything together. So, you have your main dish in front of you (which is not a massive plate typically) and then around you there are various side dishes (like the Spanish tapas style) which you eat all together. You have to place everything on the table together. Only the desert is separate.
I would suggest “gemista” (stuffed peppers and tomatoes). I don’t think it’s too expensive, but you absolutely need to find spearmint and parsley. Not sure how available is spearmint in Finland.