GREEK GASTRONOMY                           WINERIES

 

In Greece, generally, the food is not only a biological need but a way of life. Therefore, it is usual to be combined with entertainment at restaurants and taverns especially during the evening hours.

 

So, depending on the category of food there are several options to choose from.

To begin with, we have the appetizers, specialties like santorinean fava (puree of yellow split peas), horiatiki - the Greek salad (tomato, cucumber, olives and feta cheese), taramosalata - a fish roe spread, plaki (a plate with beans), melitzanosalata -eggplant salad, dolmadakia (grape leaves stuffed with meat, rice, onions served with lemon sauce). Moreover, there are the entrée including grilled meat (lamb, veal, beef or chicken) or seafood such as octopus, squid, snapper, lobster or shrimp with pasta. To accompany them choose a Greek wine or, specifically, the ones produced at Santorini, as they are widely known. And for the end, choose one of the Greek pastries that you can combine with a strong Greek coffee.

 

Most hotels an a la carte menu with international dishes in order to satisfy all tastes and budgets, either restaurants with international and Mediterranean cuisine or  cafés serving snacks or fast food restaurants. Of course, typical Greek tavernas usually serve traditional dishes.

 

Following a typical menu of traditional Greek flavours usually served at taverns:

 

Firstly, the mezedes - appetizers usually include keftedes (meatballs), xtapodi (octopus), garides (shrimps), kalamaraki (squid), dolmadakia (stuffed vine leaves), taramasalata (pate of smoked fish roe), feta (white goat cheese), tzatziki (yogurt dip with cucumber and garlic) , melitzanosalata (eggplant dip), loukanika (sausages), tiropitakia (small cheese pies), bourekakia (small meat pies), spanakopita (spinach and cheese pie), fasolia (white beans).

 

Then, for the main dishes you can choose from moussaka (layers of eggplant, minced meat and potatoes topped with cheese sauce and baked), yuvetsi (a shrimp or veal casserole), pastitsio (macaroni with minced meat and béchamel sauce, baked) gemista (either tomatoes or green peppers stuffed with mince meat or rice), dolmades (cabbage or vine leaves stuffed with minced meat or rice and served with an egg and lemon sauce), yiouvarlakia (stewed meat balls with rice), soudzoukakia (meat balls with tomato sauce and garlic), fasolada (bean soup), gigantes ( large dried beans with onions and tomato sauce), melitzanes (fried eggplants), kokkinisto (meat with tomato sauce), stifado (meat with onions), frikase (meat, onions, herbs), kokoretsi (skewer of liver and kidneys), saganaki (fried cheese served with lemon), astakos (lobster), kavouri (crab), stridia (oysters), midia (mussels), barbounia (red mullet), lithrinia (bass), ksifias (swordfish), glossa (sole), marides (whitebait), kakavia (bouillabaise), arni (lamb), moshari (veal), katsikaki (kid), hirino (pork), kotopoulo (chicken), souvlakia (piece of meat grilled on small skewers).

 

You can accompany your food with a drink like Santorini’s wines, which are famous for their taste or, especially seafood such as crab and octopus with ouzo.

 

Finally, finish your meal with a dessert such as cake, baklava, kantaifi, ravani, ice cream and “spoon desserts” (sweet cherry, bitter orange, fig in syrup, etc.).

 

•    THERAN GASTRONOMY

 

The emeritus professor of archeology and director of the excavations at Akrotiri, Mr. Christos Dumas indicates that the dietary habits of a society depends on its natural environment where it develops in. The island is fertile but dry soil and dry climate and, therefore, specific crops are growing and certain domestic animals live there. Of course, over the years different versions of the same basic materials have been created, which exalt the dishes to not just simply cooking but to gastronomy.

 

Local products

The ecosystem of the island is not very welcoming, because of its dry climate, allowing to a few species to adapt and endure over the years. However, despite their limited harvest, the fruits are known for their great taste. The well-known products of Santorini are: Santorini’s fava (yellow split peas), Tomataki (small cherry tomato), caper (and caper leaves), white eggplant, “Chlorotiri” (a kind of goat cheese with creamy texture), pistachios, kardamides (a kind of green herbs) and the famous wine Assyrtiko.

 

Creative Cuisine

Etymologically, the word "gastronomy" is derived from the ancient Greek words "gastros" (stomach) and "law" (knowledge or law). Gastronomy is the study of the relationship between a culture and food, and is related to both the Fine Arts and the social sciences and even the natural sciences regarding the digestive system of the human body. The modern Greek cuisine consists of ingredients coming from its ground and the sea, such as olive oil, olives, feta cheese, yogurt, saffron, mastic, honey, wine and ouzo, combining ancient and newer traditions.

 

•    SANTORINEAN MEZEDES (APPETIZERS)

 

Santorini has some dishes that are eaten hot or cold and are eminently preferred. These are:

-      Tomato fritters or Tomatokeftedes: fried minced tomatoes with herbs and flour

-      Fava combined with olive oil, onions and capers

-      White eggplant in rolled slices stuffed with cheese

-      Fried zucchini with honey and yogurt sauce

-      Garides: shrimp flavored with garlic and peppers combined with yogurt

-      Kalamari: battered and fried baby squids.

 

As regards with the appetizers there are usually specific choices depending on the drink you have: so when you drink wine you have the krasomezedes (wine-appetizer) and when you drink ouzo you have ouzomezedes (ouzo-appetizer).

 

•    GREEK TRADITIONAL APPETIZER DRINKS

 

There are a lot of Greek  traditional spirits, such as ouzo, raki, tsipouro.

 

Ouzo is made with a certain combination of pressed grapes and herbs, and it includes aniseed, which mostly gives its smell, licorice, mint, wintergreen, fennel, hazelnut and it is a product of distillation. Pure alcohol is mixed with water and small quantities of ethereal oils.

It is served with just ice or water,too and it is traditionally accompanied with mezedes, such as seafood (octopus, fried kalamari) or smelt delicacies.

 

Raki is a not so sweet apéritif, usually anise flavored, which is produced by twice distilling.

Tsipouro is a strong distilled alcoholic drink, produce from the must-residue of the winepress.

Tsikoudia is the Cretan version of raki. It has a stronger flavor and it is produced by distillation,too.

All of them are served neat, without even water.

 

•    TRADITIONAL RECIPES OF SANTORINI

 

Split-pea fritters ( “favokeftedes”):

 

Ingredients:

-      3 cups cooked fava

-      1-2 green onions, chopped

-      2 bunches of parsley, finely chopped

-      1 bunch of mint or dill, finely chopped

-      ½ teaspoon pepper

-      ½ teaspoon salt

-      oil for frying

 

Instructions:

Mix the beans with the onion, herbs, salt and pepper. Roll them into small balls and press gently to flatten. Fry them in plenty of hot olive oil. Serve warm!

 

Honey-coated almonds (“Koufeto”):

 

Ingredients:

500g. blanched & skinned almonds

1kg of honey

1 cup of brandy

Instructions:

Cut the almonds in half and spread them on a tea towel to dry. Put them in a saucepan with a cup of honey and fry them while stirring over medium heat. Every now and then sprinkle the mixture with brandy to get a brownish-golden color until the almonds become crispy. To test, remove the pan from the heat and taste the almonds while roasting them. When they are ready remove them from heat, stir well and add the remaining honey. Drain them on a platter and serve when the mixture has cooled completely with fork.

 

•    FISH STORIES

Naturally, fish and seafood are prominent in Greek cooking. Mainly at taverns and fish-taverns you can find fresh fish especially on the islands or close to coastal areas. You can accompany your fish with a fresh salad or a glass of white wine, and smaller fishes or seafood, such as crab, with local sauces and ouzo. Shellfish such as scallops, are usually served boiled with a simple sauce with olive oil and lemon. Octopus and squid are usually stewed in wine or grilled with vinegar or fried. Cuttlefish is fried until it becomes crispy, while the larger fishes, the slices of sea bass are served fried or grilled, swordfish is cut into pieces and served on skewers with tomato, onion and bay leaves in between.

 

A helpful guide is the translation of the fishes into their Greek names:

swordfish - ksifias, lobster - astakos, squid - kalamari, octopus - ktapodi, red mullet - barbouni, shrimp - garides, whitebait - marida, sea bream - sinagrida, fried cod - bakaliaros, oysters - stridia, bass - perka, gilthead - tsipoura, crab - kavouri, clam - midia, mackerel - skoubri.

 

•    RECOMMENDED RESTAURANTS IN SANTORINI