Ideas and recipes needed for Greek night please

[Monr0e]

We are having friends for dinner soon

They last hosted us and did an amazing Spanish tapas evening. We have opted to do a Greek themed menu however I am not the most confident of cooks and not sure where to start. Any ideas or recipes would be very useful, especially if any can be made ahead of time!

Thank you 🇬🇷

Mousakka can be prepped ahead and then just popped in the oven when guests arrive. A Greek salad and some pitta bread goes well with it

Lemon potatoes

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/186811/greek-garlic-lemon-potatoes/

I usually put in more garlic than the recipe and a bit extra lemon juice (so less water)

This chicken is nice too

https://thesaltymarshmallow.com/greek-lemon-oven-roasted-chicken-thighs/#wprm-recipe-container-4285

First course: meze. Spanakopita or other filo pie, cut into little squares. Greek salad. Lots and lots of olives. Hummus, taramasalata, tzatziki, warm pitta or sesame bread. https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/gigantes-plaki (you can buy these ready made in a tin in a delicatessen). Stuffed vineleaves (ditto).

Main course: moussaka is lovely. Otherwise, maybe lamb kleftiko? Potatoes as mentioned above.

Pudding: buy some baklava and cut into tiny squares. Platter of fruit.

Hope it goes well! I love Greek food.

It’s currently Greek week in Lidl I’m sure that will give you some ideas and basic ingredients.

Yes, get to Lidl. Lots of stuff in the frozen department, as well as jars of olives, baklava, sweet things like churros, cans of stuffed vine leaves etc.

Mezze to start.
Then Rick Stein's kleftiko made with a whole lamb leg over potato wedges with loads of lemon: just let it cook for hours, brown for 30 mins and crumble feta over it. So delicious and cooks itself while you all pick through the mezze.
Finish with whipped yogurt, chopped nuts and honey, a fruit platter.

The best and easiest Greek cook to follow is Akis in my opinion. akispetretzikis.com/en

All his recipes are in English and a lot of his videos have English versions too. He is easy to follow and everything is delicious.

I would go for a few pies, meat, cheese and spinach. And then some meat on skewers with pittas and dips, so people can do souvlaki. Couple of salads.

Amazing, thank you everyone

Will be heading to my nearest lidl this week!

If you're heading to Lidl, stock up on the olive and garlic crisps. They're probably not traditional, but they're delicious!

I just did this for lunch for my in-laws today!

All 5 different tinned mezze dishes (vine leaves, aubergines, green beans, butterbeans, chickpeas) from Lidl
baked feta with honey and harissa
flatbreads
hummus
mini cucumbers and tomatoes

How did it go @Monr0e

Lamb pilaf with orzo - Mary Berry. Easy and can be made the day before. Greek salad to start with. Not sure about dessert - not a fan of Greek desserts.

Dod it go down well?

We've had to rearrange so haven't gone ahead yet

But I now have a good idea about what I'm going to do

I was thinking a meze of dishes to start, with
Baba Gannoush
Spicy feta dip
Tzatziki
Hummus
Pitta breads
Falafel
Olives
Spinach and feta parcels
Tabbouleh
Then doing main dishes of
Greek lamb
Chicken Souvakli
With Greek roast potatoes and veg and Greek salad
And leave all the other bits and pieces out too
Does that sound OK? Too much?
It seems a lot when I write it down 😆

Sounds amazing!

I hope my invitation is in the post, OP, as that sounds wonderful.