Greek mezze platter (easy appetizer spread tips)

What is mezze?

Mezze (or meze) is a type of small dishes of savory appetizers that are (almost always) served as an accompaniment to drinks.

They can be warm or cold, and they can include fresh vegetables, cheeses, dips in small bowls, seafood, rusks, warm homemade pita bread or pita chips and many more. Basically, you can make anything a meze as long as you can serve it in the size of a bite.

In that sense, the meze recipes are endless and there's no right or wrong way to make them.

In Greece, the places where you can enjoy meze dishes are small traditional greek restaurants called mezethopoleia (meaning the places that serve meze).

Usually, when you're in a such place, you order some alcohol and a selection of small plates with different kind of foods, prepared in small bites, so that you can munch on them while enjoying your drink.

How to make a mezze platter (steps)

1. Get a platter

Any kind of serving platter, wooden board or large plate will do.

2. Use one or two dips

I suggest something with legumes and something with dairy so that you have different flavors. The dips can be served in small bowls if you use a board or can be spooned in-between the rest of the items if you use a serving platter or large plate.

For the legume-based, this homemade hummus is a delicious dip and always a crowd-pleaser. You can also make a smoky Baba Ganoush (Lebanese eggplant dip), a Greek fava (yellow split pea puree), or this white bean dip from loveandlemons.com.

For the dairy-based, I love to mix some Greek katiki cheese with freshly grated black pepper, fresh herbs or dried oregano and 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil.

Katiki cheese is a white fresh cheese, with a fine, smooth texture, very pleasant aroma and a refreshing, slightly sour taste.

Other options are Homemade Labneh (a cream cheese made from yogurt), a spicy feta dip called tirokafteri (Greek spicy feta dip) or the famous tzatziki sauce (Greek yogurt, garlic and cucumber dip).

3. Add a variety of vegetables

The vegetables can be fresh, roasted, pickled or sauteed.

Sliced tomatoes (or cherry tomatoes), cucumbers, and Kalamata olives are a must. If you add some roasted red peppers from a jar (piperies Florinis in Greek) you'll have the basic vegetables you find in any Greek appetizer platter.

If you're near a Greek grocery store you might be able to find Greek stuffed grape leaves (Dolma) which is also a great addition.

4. Boil a few eggs

Soft or hard boiled eggs with a drizzle of olive oil and sprinkled with some sea salt and black pepper are heaven! Especially when the eggs are still warm, they're irresistible!

5. Slice some cheese.

Feta cheese would be the most obvious choice for many people, but there are more Greek soft cheeses you can choose, such as Myzithra, Anthotyro, Malaka. A matured yellow Greek cheese like Kefalotyri or Graviera (similar to Gruyere) is also a great option.

If you can't find those, just use your favorite cheese. Parmesan, Cheddar, Emmental and Gouda, though not Greek, will also do the job. If you have a bit of extra time, you can also make these mini feta cheese balls with herbs.

6. Use some kind of bread.

Everything form breadsticks to pita bread, pita chips and rusks will do.

If you don't have any of that, fresh bread, toasted bread with a drizzle of olive oil and crackers are also great.

7. Add nuts and fruit.

Most nuts will pair very well with the different elements of the platter and will fill any empty spaces. The most popular options are almonds, walnuts and pistachios which can be fresh or roasted (I prefer them roasted because the flavor is a lot better).

Fresh fruit is not commonly used as greek appetizers, but grapes, pomegranate, pear and apples can find a place, especially next to the cheese. Dried apricots, raisins and prunes can also be added.

8. Add anchovies

Anchovies are full of umami taste and pair very well with ouzo and tsipouro. Don't use them if you want the platter to be vegetarian.

9. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and fresh lemon juice.

Is it really a Greek mezze platter if you don't add olive oil? An extra virgin, early harvest olive oil will add the perfect peppery notes to the platter.

Some lemon wedges can also be offered next to the ingredients, since some of them ask for a generous drizzle of fresh lemon juice.

Ingredients

For this mezze platter, the ingredients used are:

• Katiki cheese (Greek fresh cheese with a creamy texture)
• Greek fava - yellow split pea puree (you can also use hummus)
• Boiled eggs
• Kalamata olives (or a mix of green and black olives)
• Sliced cucumbers
• Cherry tomatoes
• Hard or semi-hard Greek cheese (Graviera or Kefaotyri)
• Roasted red bell peppers from a jar
• Pita bread and bread-sticks with sesame
• Almonds and walnuts
• Anchovies
• Olive oil
• Dried oregano
• Capers

Make ahead

All the dips and sauces that go into this mezze platter can be prepared one or two days before and stored in airtight containers inside the fridge.

The cheese can also be sliced ahead of time, while the store-bought ingredients (like the red peppers in a jar, the olives, the capers, etc can be bought several days prior).

I suggest slicing the fresh vegetables and fruit just before serving to keep them as fresh as possible.  

If you're short of time, you can make the mezze platter a few hours before, wrap it well with plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge until your guests arrive.

Leftovers - Storage

If you have any leftovers, transfer them into separate airtight containers and store in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Drink pairings

As mentioned previously, a mezze platter is meant to be served with drinks. Try it with the following:

Greek ouzo. Ouzo is served in narrow, tall glasses and it needs ice, so make sure you have ice cubes. Many people dilute ouzo with water in order to make it less strong. If you can't find ouzo, use sambuca instead.

Tsipouro. Tsipouro is served in shot glasses and it is also called Tsikoudia or Raki in certain parts of Greece. It's usually consumed cold from the fridge but you can also drink it at room temperature. It's never diluted with water or ice.

Instead of Tsipouro you can drink Grappa.  For a more refreshing drink, you can also serve this cucumber, lime and tsipouro cocktail with your mezze platter.

Tips

• Use any kind of large plate, serving tray or wooden board as a platter.
• Any greek food served in small bite sizes can be added!
• Try to mix together many different elements and foods with different flavors, textures and color.
• Sprinkle with dried oregano and sea salt flakes for extra flavor.
• Serve with lots of pita bread.
• Additional seafood options are boiled shrimps, grilled octopus and Mediterranean baked octopus recipe (in foil).
• Additional meat options are slices of greek salami, fried meatballs and apaki. 

FAQ

What does a meze consist of?

Mezze is a selection of appetizers usually served next to drinks. They can be hot or cold and include a variety of foods like meat, cheese, seafood, vegetables, bread, olives and spreads. Think of it as Greek tapas.

What is the difference between tapas, antipasto and meze?

The most important difference is the origin of each dish. Tapas is Spanish, antipasto is Italian and mezze is Mediterranean/Middle-Eastern.

Of course, each dish is prepared with the ingredients and under the influences of the local cuisine, but their main similarity is the ease of preparation and the variety of flavors they offer.

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