Greece
In The Glorious Foods of Greece, Diane Kochilas identifies three main strands in the tapestry that is Greek cuisine. One is the shepherd tradition, a way of eating built on milk, cheese, yogurt, grains, foraged greens, meat, and the easily portable savory pies known as pita. Another component is island cooking, noted for its simplicity, resourcefulness, and lack of embellishment. The third branch is the more refined, complex cuisine of the well-traveled Asia Minor Greeks. Dishes such as eggplant caviar, smoked fish, and moussaka with its French-style béchamel sauce are their contributions.
In the Greek Orthodox calendar, fasting or meatless days consume almost half the year, so the Greek kitchen is a great place to look for vegetarian dishes.
Signature ingredients: Goat's and sheep's milk cheeses (feta, manouri, mizithra), yogurt, squid, octopus, tarama (cod or carp roe), olive oil, olives, grape leaves, rice, orzo pasta, filo dough, fava beans (fresh and dried), chickpeas, lentils, wild greens, artichokes, eggplant, tomatoes, beets, lemons, oranges, figs, quince, currants, sesame seed, walnuts, pine nuts, honey, cinnamon, dill, mint, oregano, ouzo (distilled anise-flavored spirit).