The first day of the lent, traditionally in the realms of the orthodox church, is the one when Christians start their physical and spiritual cleansing, until Easter. Even though the customs suggest that you shouldn’t consume olive oil, Greeks usually follow just a vegetarian diet on “Clean Monday” as we call it, including lots of fish. Throughout the whole country you won’t be finding a table missing lagana bread, fish roe salad, olives and halva. Usually we choose to serve a variety of dishes that can stay on the table for a while. Some other recipes that you can traditionally enjoy on that day are dolmadakia, giant beans, eggplant salad, octopus either boiled or grilled, cuttlefish with spinach, black-eyed beans, clumps with pilaf and more.
Most of the dishes, could be prepared a day or even two before serving. It’s definitely better to make sure you go shopping for anything you might need at least two or three days before you start cooking or even a week could be a good idea, since the stores usually get pretty busy during this time and many of the most common ingredients are not available for long.
Another reason why I would suggest that you get your cooking done beforehand is that you always need to preserve some time for flying a kite too! A fun activity for all and one of the most awaited traditions in the Greek context.
Here you can find some ideas to enrich your menu and of course give an original touch to it. However, I wouldn’t suggest not making some of the traditional recipes mentioned before and taking those flavors away from your guest as they are directly linked to the day and awaited by the guests themselves too.
Buckwheat Salad with Raw Beetroot
Our “theme menus” and “tips” always have new additions to inspire and help you. Don’t hesitate to send me all your questions and comments, and I will be replying soon.
