Greece A to Z: M
24 entries from the Greece A to Z Travel Dictionary, starting with M. Search or filter them here, or open another letter.
Malagousia
DrinkAn aromatic white grape revived in the late 20th century, giving perfumed dry whites now planted across northern and central Greece.
The classic plate to drink it with, grilled fish
#Mandilaria
DrinkA deeply coloured, tannic red grape from Crete and the islands, usually used in blends.
The classic plate to drink it with, grilled souvlaki
#Mani
RegionThe rugged middle peninsula of the Peloponnese, with fortified tower houses, Byzantine chapels and the caves at Diros.
#Mastiha
DrinkThe sweet liqueur (and resin) from the mastic trees of Chios, used in drinks and desserts.
A classic made with it, mastiha scented galaktoboureko
#Mavrodaphne
DrinkA red grape from the Patras region, best known for the sweet fortified wine of the same name.
A classic made with it, beef stifado
#Melitzanes imam
FoodWhole aubergines split open and baked with a sweet onion, garlic and tomato filling, eaten warm or at room temperature. Also known as imam bayildi.
How to make Melitzanes imam
- Serves
- 4
- Time
- Prep 25 min, bake 1 hr
Ingredients
- 4 medium aubergines
- 3 onions, halved and thinly sliced
- 6 garlic cloves, sliced
- 400g tinned chopped tomatoes
- 2 tomatoes, sliced into rounds
- 150ml extra virgin olive oil, plus more for the dish
- 1 tsp sugar
- 3 tbsp flat leaf parsley, chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 150ml hot water
Method
- Heat the oven to 200C.
- Peel the aubergines in stripes, leaving alternating bands of skin on so they hold their shape, and pierce them a few times.
- Brush them all over with olive oil, set them in a roasting dish and bake for 25 minutes, until the flesh has collapsed and softened.
- Meanwhile cook the onions in the remaining olive oil over a low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until completely soft and sweet. Do not let them brown.
- Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes more, then the chopped tomatoes, sugar, salt and pepper.
- Simmer for 10 minutes until thick, then stir in the parsley.
- Cut a deep slit down the length of each aubergine, without cutting through the base, and press the sides apart to make a pocket.
- Spoon the onion and tomato mixture generously into each one and lay the tomato rounds on top.
- Pour the hot water around the base of the dish and bake uncovered for 35 minutes, until the tops are lightly caramelised.
- Let them settle for at least 20 minutes. This dish is better warm than hot, and better still the next day.
Melomakarona
FoodSoft, spiced Christmas cookies soaked in honey syrup and topped with chopped walnuts, one of the two classic sweets, alongside kourabiedes, that appear across Greece every festive season.
How to make Melomakarona
- Serves
- Makes 40
- Time
- Prep 40 min, cook 25 min
Ingredients
- 400ml light olive oil
- 200ml orange juice
- 100g caster sugar
- 100ml brandy
- Zest of 2 oranges
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- A quarter tsp ground cloves
- 900g plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 100g fine semolina
- 500g granulated sugar
- 400ml water
- 350g honey
- 1 cinnamon stick
- Peel of 1 orange
- 200g walnuts, chopped, to finish
Method
- Make the syrup first. Boil the granulated sugar, water, cinnamon stick and orange peel for 5 minutes, take off the heat and stir in the honey. Leave to go completely cold.
- Whisk the olive oil, caster sugar, orange juice, brandy and zest together.
- Dissolve the bicarbonate in a splash of juice and add it.
- Fold in the flour, semolina, baking powder and spices with a light hand. The dough should be soft and slightly oily and must never be kneaded.
- Shape into 5cm ovals and press the top of each with the back of a fork.
- Bake at 180C, 350F, for 22 to 25 minutes, until firm and well browned.
- Drop the hot cookies into the cold syrup for 60 seconds, turning once, then lift out with a slotted spoon.
- Scatter with walnuts and cinnamon while still wet.
Meltemi
PracticalThe strong dry north wind of the Aegean summer that cools the islands but can cancel ferries.
#Messolonghi
RegionA lagoon town in western Greece, defined by its siege during the war of independence and by Lord Byron’s death there in 1824.
#Meteora
SightMonasteries perched on towering rock pillars in central Greece, six of an original twenty four remain active. A UNESCO site.
#Methoni
RegionA Messenian coastal village dominated by a large Venetian sea fortress with an octagonal tower.
#Meze (mezedes)
FoodSmall sharing plates eaten slowly with ouzo, tsipouro or wine, the social heart of a Greek meal.
#Milate anglika?
PhraseDo you speak English? Widely answered yes in tourist areas, less so in mountain villages.
#Milos
RegionA volcanic Cycladic island famed for its lunar white cliffs and coloured coves at Sarakiniko and Kleftiko, and as the discovery site of the Venus de Milo statue.
#Minoan Lines
PracticalOne of the two large operators on the overnight Piraeus to Heraklion crossing, with big ships built for the run. Its ticket desk at Piraeus sits at gate E2.
#Monemvasia
RegionA dramatic castle town on a rocky islet off the south eastern Peloponnese, its car free medieval old town of stone lanes and churches connected to the mainland by a causeway.
#Moschofilero
DrinkA pink skinned white grape from the Mantinia plateau in Arcadia, producing light, floral and crisp wines.
The classic plate to drink it with, avgolemono
#Mount Olympus
NatureAt 2,917 metres the highest mountain in Greece and a national park, with marked routes from Litochoro and mountain refuges near the summit ridge.
#Museum of Byzantine Culture, Thessaloniki
MuseumEleven permanent galleries in Thessaloniki covering daily private and public life, worship and burial customs, architecture and art, and commercial and business activity in the Byzantine world. The galleries opened gradually between 1997 and the beginning of 2004 and occupy 3,430 square metres.
#Mycenae
SightA UNESCO listed Bronze Age citadel in the Peloponnese, entered through the monumental Lion Gate, once the seat of the legendary King Agamemnon and a cornerstone of Greek mythology.
#Mykonos
RegionThe cosmopolitan Cycladic island of beaches, nightlife, Little Venice and hilltop windmills.
#Mystras
SightA UNESCO listed Byzantine city near Sparta in the Peloponnese, its ruined palaces, churches and fortress climbing a hillside and offering one of Greece's most striking archaeological sites.
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