Recipe: Great Grecian Personal Pan Pizzas

Great Grecian Personal Pan Pizzas

Happy & Healthy Cooking,

Fun-Da-Mentals Kitchen Skills

• knead :

  to work dough by pushing, pulling, and folding it by hand or with a stand mixer.

• measure :

  to calculate the specific amount of an ingredient required using a measuring tool (like measuring cups or spoons).

• mix :

  to thoroughly combine two or more ingredients until uniform in texture.

• whisk :

  to beat or stir ingredients vigorously with a fork or whisk to mix, blend, or incorporate air.

Awesome Greek Food Ingredients!

Olives are the most important food to people of Greece, and they always have been. In ancient (Grecian) times, the three most widely consumed foods were wheat, olive oil, and wine, and these formed the basis of Greek’s diets. 

Most Greeks were farmers and they ate the food that they grew. Since Greece had a mild climate, they were able to grow many different fruits and vegetables as long as there was plenty of rain.

Finding a great meal in ancient Greece would have been very easy. They ate a variety of delicious dishes, some of which are still around today.

Olive oil gives Greek food its special, distinct taste. There are many different kinds of olives; however, only a few are considered Greek olives. Green Conservolia olives are often used to make olive oil. Deep purple Kalamata olives are the most well-known Greek olives. Kalamatas are often found in Greek salads and on Greek pizzas. Halkidiki green olives are grown on the Halkidiki peninsula. Amfissa olives from central Greece can be black or green. Tsakistes are cracked green olives from the Attica region of Greece. 

Vegetables were (and still are!) a huge part of the Greek diet. In the past, most Greeks ate a diet that was almost vegetarian. Among the most common vegetables and plants eaten by Greeks were asparagus, fennel, cucumbers, chickpeas, and celery. They also gathered and boiled dandelions to eat. The bulbs of certain plants, such as iris, were also edible.

Honey was another important Greek food. It was used much like we use sugar, as a sweetener in many different foods. It could also be used as a medicine. Greeks were fond of honey because they believed that Zeus was fed milk and honey as a baby. For them, honey was almost magical. Many families kept beehives and took good care of their bees!

Let's Learn About Greece!

Ancient Greece

• Ancient Greece was a civilization in the northeastern Mediterranean region that existed from about 1100 BCE to 600 CE. Democracy began there in Athens in the 5th century BCE.
• The first Olympics were dedicated to the Olympian gods and were staged on the plains of Olympia. Ancient Olympic sports included running, chariot racing, mule-cart racing, boxing, discus throw, long jump, wrestling, and pankration, a wild cross between wrestling and boxing with no rules except biting and eye-gouging!
• A few of the well-known figures from this period were: Alexander the Great, who ruled over the whole empire from 336 to 323 BCE; Hippocrates, a physician referred to as the Father of Medicine; Herodotus, called the Father of History, who wrote his "Histories" about the Greco-Persian wars; Socrates, considered the founder of Western Philosophy; Plato, an author and philosopher who founded the first academy of higher learning in the West; Aristotle, a student of Plato's who also founded a school of philosophy; and Thales, a mathematician, astronomer, philosopher, and one of the Seven Sages of Greece.  

Modern Greece

• Greece, in Southeast Europe, is officially called the Hellenic Republic. Its government is a unitary parliamentary republic with a president, prime minister, and parliament. The capital and largest city is Athens, and the official language is Greek.
• Greece declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1821 and was recognized as an independent country in 1830. 
• The size of Greece is about the same as the US state of Alabama but has twice as many people, over 10.5 million. 
• The country of Greece consists of 6,000 islands, but only 227 are inhabited. Nearly 80 percent of the country is hills and mountains. 
• About four-fifths of the people live in urban areas in Greece, and almost everyone is literate.
• Greece has three times the number of annual tourists (about 31 million) as residents. It is one of the most-visited countries.
• Greece is the third-largest producer of peaches and the fifth-largest producer of olives in the world. 
• In the past, most Greeks were farmers, and they ate the food that they grew. Since Greece had a mild climate, they could grow many different fruits and vegetables as long as they got enough rain. Vegetables were a considerable part of the Greek diet and still are. Most Greeks eat a Mediterranean diet that includes plenty of olive oil, legumes, fruits, veggies, grains, and fish. They generally consume less dairy and meat.
• Greek cuisine includes "fasolada" (soup of white beans, olive oil, and veggies), "moussaka" (eggplant or potato dish with ground or minced meat), "souvlaki" (grilled meat on a skewer), and "gyros" (pita bread filled with meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie, veggies, and tzatziki sauce). 

What's It Like to Be a Kid in Greece?

• Greek kids have three stages of education: primary school for six years, gymnasium (junior high) for three years, and lyceum (senior high) for three years (this stage is not mandatory).
• Kids may participate in sports such as soccer, basketball, baseball, swimming, and handball. 
• There are many museums and ancient sites to explore in Greece. Families love being outdoors and enjoy hiking and going to the many beaches. 
• There are several different sweets that Greek children enjoy. These include "pasteli" (sesame seed candy), "bougatsa" and "galaktoboureko" (phyllo pastries filled with semolina custard), and "baklava" (nut-filled phyllo pastry soaked in a honey syrup).