European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 8, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Living today greek classics hellenic appetizers Are worthy of the gods by Sharon Hudgins special to stripes Magazine North americans and Northern europeans who travel to Greece for the first time Are often disconcerted to discover that the evening meal Doest begin before 10 and Many greeks  think of eating dinner before 11 or the guidebooks warn about greek dining but for some reason you never really believe the travel writers until you actually set foot on hellenic the hungry tourist is then faced with the problem of avoiding starvation Between the midday and evening when in follow the local the greeks eat their main meal in the Middle of the and except in cooler mountainous areas the evening meal is postponed As Long As to stave off the greeks Stop by their neighbourhood order a Glass of ouzo or and nibble on Small Servings of their favorite its a very pleasant Way to pass the time after to spend an hour or two before dinner or simply to eat your own meal before the socially approved dining when served in Small amounts As an accompaniment to drinks at any time of the actually these snacks Are known As or from the turkish word for As the first course of a regular they Are referred to is the greek word for whatever they Are they consist of Small portions of a wide variety of foods raw or hot or simple or complicated served on a plate about the size of a salad or dessert Maze or Orek Tika generally Are meat or vegetable or combination whose Type and composition depend on the the particular Taverna that happens to be serving and of course the inclinations of the greeks  think of drinking wine or liquor without some sort of meze to accompany it from a simple plate of almonds to a delicate Tyr Opita Flaky thin pastry filled with some of my fondest food memories from the year i spent in Greece Are connected with the eating of meze and Orek Tika in tavernas from Thessaloniki to from mets Ovon to a shopping trip to the open air food Market in downtown Athens would not have been Complete without a Stop at my favorite Taverna on the Corner of two crowded the came straight from the and i left the Choice of meze up to the Taverna never was i disappointed either in the food or in the Bill presented afterwards it was hard for two people to spend More than some of my favorite Orek Tika likewise came from the attic Peninsula served As part of the noon meal at a country restaurant near the first time i dined i  believe that i was expected to eat a Large meat course after consuming a delicious array of appetizers homemade and Flavoured with fresh so just what kinds of foods Are served As meze or Orek Tika in Small portions of almost everything that greeks would eat in larger portions As part of a meal plus Sunflower dried and other sorts of Finger Many of these Are never listed on the menu you must inquire about what is available that or ask what the Cook use the following list of As a guide to what might be possible to order at a greek dont expect every Taverna to offer such an extensive array of on the other you might be pleasantly surprised to discover a specially that int included on the following angina res Salata Artichoke salad avg a la Rous russian eggs sheets of Flaky Filo pastry encasing poultry or fish mixtures Cucumber salad with Olive Oil and herbs Elies olives several including dark Winey Kal Arnata tiny Black olives from and even olives marinated in retsina wine Fasolo Salata or Gigantes drained fava Beans or butter garnished with Olive herbs and sometimes onions feta cheese sheets milk sometimes garnished with dark Green Olive Oil and fresh herbs Fried smelts grilled sardines Kef Teakia bit size meatballs to Koletsi grilled lambs entrails Loukanina thin slices of homemade sausages Mani Taria Tursi pickled mushrooms marinated shrimp nuts walnuts onto pod Tursi pickled octopus Saganski Fried thick slices or served with fresh Lemon juice squeezed Over it Small skewers of grilled fish or meat snails sometimes in a spicy Tomato sauce Span Kopita spinach baked inside of Flaky Filo pastry Tahini made from ground sesame file photo the consistency of Peanut and served with crusty bread Taramo Salata creamy dip made from fish pinkish in served with crusty bread Tomato salad with Olive Oil and herbs Tyr Opita cheese encased in Flaky Filo pastry following Are the recipes for six very popular dishes that Are often served As meze or you can easily make All of these greek dishes at consider combining them with ready made foods feta cheese to make a tasty summer Melitza Tsalata is a Good example of the seasoned pureed foods that greeks refer to As but which americans would Call Tahini and Taramo Salata Are also in this made from cooked eggplant that has been blended with Olive Oil and Melitza Tsalata is such a popular dish that almost every Taverna serves it although the Quality varies considerably from place to the Best Melitza Tsalata is made from eggplants that have been charcoal grilled before being mixed with the other Melitza Tsalata whipped eggplant dip 1 Large eggplant 1 Pound 1 Small onion 2 Large cloves of garlic i cup dry breadcrumbs 2 Tablespoons Lemon juice i Teaspoon dried oregano i Teaspoon Salt Teaspoon freshly ground Black Pepper to i cup Olive Oil fresh Parsley Garnish preheat the oven to 375 degree place the unpeeled eggplant on a baking and bake for 45 the flavor is even better if you charcoal Grill the whole run cold water Over the eggplant for 3 or 4 minutes after you remove it from the then remove and discard the eggplant chop the eggplant pulp and place it in a medium size Peel and chop the onion and Combine stripes Magazine August 7965