Greek Christmas Food: The Ultimate Guide

Greek Christmas Food: The Ultimate Guide

Greek Christmas recipes are by far the epitome of Greek cuisine. If you are planning to spend Christmas in Greece or you are looking to experiment with Greek Christmas foods recipes then you are in the right place. Indulge yourselves in a delicious guide made by Alios Tours foodies and prepare your Greek Christmas dinner the right way.

Read more: Greek Independence Day Food Traditions 

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls In Egg & Lemon Sauce – Lahanodolmades

Cabbage rolls filled with minced meat and rice and topped with a thick egg and lemon sauce is a favorite winter traditional dish. In Greece, we call them “Lahanodolmades” (lahano=cabbage, dolmades=rolls), with “Avgolemono” (avgo=egg, lemono=lemon).

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls are served as an entree to share; what we Greeks call family-style serving. The lemony gravy sauce, along with the boiled cabbage and meat’s ground flavor place the dish among the most popular Greek Christmas recipes.

Greek Pie with Pastirma

Pastirma pie is a traditional Greek Christmas table dish coming from the Greeks of Asia Minor. But you will ask, what is pastirma? Pastirma is made usually from beef or water buffalos. The meat is salted and rinsed before being dried and pressed. Then, the pressed meat is covered with spices and smashed garlic. The entire process takes a full month.

The pastirma pie is very easy to make. You will need Greek phyllo, pastirma, Greek kasseri cheese (or provolone if you can’t find kasseri), tomatoes, and black sesame seeds.

Read more: A whole new world: The Greek Pie

Christmas Salad

And of course, no Christmas dinner table will be completed without a greek salad. A traditional Greek Christmas salad consists of seasonal vegetables and greens. The ingredient that is never missing a Christmas salad is pomegranate. It gives color and levels up the taste. I always make my Yiayia’s Christmas salad with lettuce, spinach, pomegranate, parmesan, walnuts with honey balsamic vinaigrette.

Stuffed Turkey

Stuffed turkey is not a common dish in Greece unless it’s Christmas. On Christmas Eve the stuffed turkey is the star of the Greek Christmas dinner. It’s a difficult recipe, with long hours of roasting in the oven but the result totally deserves the effort. The filling consists of minced meat (60/40 ground beef and pork), rice, resins, chestnuts, orange juice, red wine, and various spices. When the filling is prepared, we stuff the turkey, sew the holes, and roast it in the oven. My grandmother says that the stuffed turkey needs 1 hour of roasting for every kilo, ie a 3kg turkey takes 3 hours to cook.

45 minutes before the turkey is cooked, add to that greek Christmas food some halved potatoes and let them cook in the turkey’s juices. An there you have it, the best Greek Christmas recipe!

Greek Christmas Cookies

Melomakarona and Kourambiedes are the most popular Greek Christmas cookies! It is very rare to find them any time except Christmas and that’s what makes those Greek Christmas cookies unique. Usually, the baking period starts in late November and the last batch is baked before New Year’s Eve.

 

Honey Cookies With Walnuts – Melomakarona

Melomakarona are made with flour, olive oil, orange juice, cinnamon, dipped in honey-made syrup, and topped with sprinkled walnuts. The recipe is very easy and once you try it you fall for their taste.

Read more: “Honey honey”: Greek Honey In gastronomy

Almond Cookies – Kourambiedes

Kourampiedes are another typical Greek Christmas cookie. They are made with butter, flour, rose water almonds, and then they are dusted with icing sugar. I have to admit, I love the buttery taste with crunchy bites of almonds. Be careful, they are so delicious that you might develop an addiction!

What Christmas traditions do Greeks have?

Though Greece is not a country traditionally associated with Christmas, the winter holiday is actually quite important to the Greek people. In Greece, Christmas is a time for family, greek christmas food, and religion. One of the most important Greek Christmas traditions is the Advent calendar, which helps to count down the days until Christmas. Greeks also decorate their homes with wreaths and Christmas trees, and they exchange gifts with family and friends on Christmas Eve.

Another popular tradition is the custom of breaking a plate during holiday dinners. This practice is said to bring good luck, and it helps to ensure that everyone at the table has a piece of luck for the coming year. Whatever traditions Greeks choose to celebrate, the holiday season is a time for family, food, and fun.

Read more: The Greek Christmas Foods You Need to Try