The Greek beach picnic is not a complicated proposition. It is a short list of ingredients, each one bought from someone who knows what they are doing, assembled with a knife and some patience, eaten with your hands.
The six ingredients
1. Bread
A horiatiko psomi — country loaf — from the village baker, bought that morning. A ciabatta or sourdough from a good city bakery works fine. Not pre-sliced; you want to tear it.
2. Tomatoes
From a farm stand, not a supermarket. Ask for horiatikes (country tomatoes). They should feel heavy for their size and smell like tomato even through the plastic bag.
3. Feta
Buy it from the cheese counter, in a chunk cut from a larger block floating in brine. Avoid the vacuum-sealed supermarket pucks. PDO Dodoni or Mt. Vikos are reliable brands if you have no counter nearby.
4. Olive oil
Bring a small bottle. If you are in Greece, buy a 250 ml bottle from any village producer; it will cost less than the airport souvenir and taste ten times better.
5. Olives
Kalamata, Amfissa, or the brilliant small Thassos. Buy loose from a market stand if you can.
6. One cold vegetable
Cucumber in July. Watermelon slices in August. Roasted pepper from a jar in October. One thing cold, one thing bright.
Assembly
Tear bread. Slice tomato thickly, place on bread. Drizzle oil. Crumble feta. Add one olive on top. Eat with both hands. Repeat for your companions.
The three things not to forget
- A small sharp knife — the single most useful object on any picnic.
- Salt. Local picnic food is often under-salted on purpose. Bring a small shaker.
- A towel to sit on. Our Under the Palms doubles beautifully as a picnic throw and shakes clean after.
The wine
A chilled Assyrtiko or Moschofilero travels well in a cool bag. Drink it from paper cups; glass belongs in restaurants.
The last rule
Pack out everything you bring in. The best beaches in Greece are kept by people who leave less behind than they arrive with.