The most fundamental sauce in Greek cuisine.

Souvlakination ladolemono recipe

Last week I posted a video basting souvlakia with a ‘marinade’ as they were grilling. People got really excited about it and kept asking what it was. The video was actually just a (dirty) joke but here we are.

The truth is that I didn’t actually use it for the marinade, but did something that many Greeks do, which is use it to baste and dress souvlakia. The sauce was ladolemono, which you will encounter very often in Greece. It means ‘oil-lemon’, and it’s made of oil and lemon, two of the main pillars of Greek cuisine – making it perhaps the most fundamental and widely-used sauce. You can add some other things too – more on that below. It’s easy, but you need the right ingredients, and the right balance.

The University of Ladolemono - the inspiration

Pittagoras

Apart from Greece, food and souvlakia in general, ladolemono now reminds me of Pittagoras in London. When I went to see Ilias (Pittagoras co-owner, and a Kefalonian) in Tooting, he made pork souvlakia/kalamakia from scratch while I was there. You don’t necessarily need charcoal to do this; it works on the plaka i.e. griddle plate, or in a griddle pan too. He simply added oil, lemon, seasoning and oregano to a bowl, gave it a brisk stir to combine, spooned it onto the souvlakia as they were cooking and then dressed them to serve.

While the souvlakia were cooking, he briskly stirred and spooned the ladolemono onto the souvlakia, which sent the kitchen into a cacophony of sizzle and smoke. I still cannot unsee the look of Ilias leaning over the griddle with a glint of pure joy and sheer focus in his eyes. There was something so mesmerizing about watching him whisk together the oil and lemon, which then becomes this glossy, creamy, airy, thick emulsion until it splits back into its parts again. A master at work, a ladolemono connoisseur. He is the third generation of souvlatzides in his family, and it shows.

When I went to Kefalonia a few months after, my cousin and I went straight to his father’s souvlatzidiko, which was right down the road from our apartment. The full circle moment was getting to see his dad baste his souvlakia with ladolemono, and that same piercing glint of steely composure in his eyes. Holding half a lemon with his tongs, he brushed the souvlakia with the ladolemono as they completely blanketed the charcoal grill in a ram-packed souvlatzidiko that was trying desperately to close while more and more customers kept on arriving, all of whom Ilias’ dad served (he eventually had to turn the light off in the shop to deter any more latecomers). Obviously the souvlakia tasted great. Meaty and tender at the same time.

Ilias at Pittagoras making ladolemono

Maklithari

Many of you saw me getting emotional last August because someone made some really good souvlakia in a village somewhere in Kefalonia. There was a light, caramelised crust on the outside, the meat tender and juicy inside. But the flavours were incredible. I asked the owner of Maklithari, Petraggelos, what his secret was. Very simply, he told me that he doesn’t marinade the souvlakia, but just adds salt and puts them on the grill. He then bastes them with ladolemono as they are cooking, and tops them with oregano at the end.

Something happens when lemon and good oregano interact – the oregano comes to life with a wild freshness and fragrance that elevates any dish. Here, the smokiness of the souvlakia also infused the ladolemono that was left behind in the plate. I’ve never cleaned a plate so well in my life using a slice of bread, which, I made sure, drank up every last smear of the ladolemono. Once I did so, I said at the time that I’d carry on dipping the bread into that ladolemono in my mind for the next year. 9 months later, I’m still doing so.

Aside from the souvlakia being so perfect, what made that plate so unforgettable was just how balanced the ladolemono was, and the fact that Petraggelos added exactly the right amount, and at the right time. The oregano too would have been bitter had he added it any earlier. Likewise, the ladolemono was perfectly balanced – not too much lemon nor oil. The right ratio…

Souvlakia at Maklithari taverna in Kefalonia copyright Souvlakination

Myrtos by Asimakis

The best example of ladolemono served as a sauce/dressing in London is at Myrtos by Asimakis, which you can read about here. He serves a beautiful thick, creamy, and airy ladolemono with his Kefalonian sea bass. You can’t help but think of the ambrosia of the Gods. The recipe below also includes the one extra ingredient that ties it all together. Nothing else except Michelin-star chef precision when it comes to the specifics of how and when to emulsify the ingredients together in order to produce that light and creamy result. It’s probably the most thought and meticulous attention to detail that I have come across anyone putting into a ladolemono.

O Meraklis

One final use case that left a lasting impression was at ‘O Meraklis’ in Kolonos, Athens. Christos from Messolonghi runs the place with his wife and has pre-grilled souvlakia bathing in a pool of ladolemono until he finishes them on the grill to order. Of course, the souvlakia are infused with the flavour of the ladolemono and are very tender. He almost confits the souvlakia over the heat of the grill. You can see more in the video here.

How to use ladolemono

Ladolemono is a staple of Greek cuisine, and the ultimate ‘sauce’ or dressing for almost any dish, any ingredient, any occasion. You could say it tastes like Greece. Depending on what it’s used for, some people might add more lemon or more olive oil, depending on how prominent you want the lemon to be.

Basting with ladolemono

Ladolemono is commonly used to baste souvlakia (and also kontosouvlia or souvles) as they cook. To do so, you can use a lemon that’s been cut in half and squeezed, a sprig of thyme, a brush, a spoon, or squeeze it using a bottle with a nozzle.

Many souvlatzides will add the ladolemono after the souvlakia sear, to impart some flavour, keep the meat moist, but also create some smoke (more flavour) and help create a crust on the outside (the oil creates an element of frying).

Marinading with ladolemono

Another possible use is as a marinade. While this can work, some people prefer a more neutral taste, or to be able to taste the meat without confusing the palette with any overpowering flavours. It’s a matter of choice. It can help to tenderise the meat if you allow it to marinade for 12-24 hours or overnight.

As mentioned above, I’ve also seen souvlatzides submerge souvlakia in ladolemono after the first grilling, before finishing them off with a second grilling to order.

Using ladolemono as a dressing or sauce

Finally, many souvlatzides add ladolemono to the souvlakia after cooking, as a dressing. Some may also simply squeeze some lemon or pour some lemon juice then top with salt and oregano. The choice is yours. Taverna at The Mar Vista in LA always seem to catch the best sunlight when creating their beautiful videos, basting and finishing their kontosouvli with ladolemono as you’ll typically find it in Greece.

Ladolemono also goes well with a range of dishes like chicken and potatoes, fish, salads… basically anything that goes with oil and lemon. It’s very common that you’ll receive a little cup of ladolemono with a fish dish in Greece. If you’re going to use it as a final dressing, you should add something else to the oil and lemon to ensure it emuslifies...

Souvlakination dressing souvlakia with ladolemono

How to make Greek ladolemono: oil, lemon (& sometimes mustard) sauce

To make the ladolemono you need good, single-origin extra virgin olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon juice. It is also very common to add mustard, which emulsifies the sauce and holds it together so it doesn’t split. This works well if you are using it as a dressing that you want to hold. For basting souvlakia, I don’t use mustard in the ladolemono personally, although it’s quite common to do so.

In a bottle, jar or a bowl, add as much oil and lemon as you like, but with a ratio of 70:30 oil:lemon. You can go 60:40 if you’d like it more lemony, but any more lemon and the sauce won’t be as creamy when you combine it. Others may flip the ratio for a stronger lemon taste. Season, add a pinch of oregano, and a spoon or two of mustard as you see fit if you are using it. Shake the bottle/jar well or stir briskly with a whisk, fork or spoon until the ladolemono combines and becomes thick and creamy, almost sticking to a spoon. If you aren’t adding the mustard, briskly stir it or shake the bottle each time you are using it to baste so it can combine again (without the mustard the emulsion doesn’t hold). You can also make it in a cup using a frappe machine, which will help froth it up too and hold together a little longer.

Ladolemono is so central to Greek cuisine that you will probably be making it often if you make Greek food, which means it’s good to be practical and figure out what works yourself rather than measure everything out each time. Some lemons are larger than others, and there are times when you might need only a little ladolemono. To help you understand, though, and perhaps as a starting point here are some sensible measurements, as a guide, below.

Greek ladolemono oil & lemon sauce recipe

100ml single-origin extra virgin olive oil
The juice of 1 freshly squeezed regular lemon (40ml)
A pinch of salt, pepper and oregano
Optional: One tablespoon of mustard. Any smooth mustard will do.

The mystery souvlaki marinade people went mad over for some reason was just ladolemono: recipe