Gamopilafo (Risotto) Gamos means wedding in Greek and pilafi is risotto, so, you understand that this rice dish is offered at traditional Cretan weddings. But you can find it nowadays in many Cretan taverns. The rice symbolizes the deep roots of the marriage, the fertility of the couple and the…
Ofto Antikristo (roasted meat around the fire) Ofto Antikristo is goat or lamb meat. It was prepared by shepherds centuries ago usually in mountain areas. You can find it almost anywhere in Crete nowadays. The traditional way to cook it: the animal is divided into four pieces, every piece is…
Fried snails (Chochlioi buburisti) Snails are been consumed for thousands of years in Crete, especially in the villages near the mountains. In the Cretan dialect chochlios is snail. Snails, in this famous dish, are first boiled in salted water for 5 minutes and then in another pan fried with flour…
Dakos or Koukouvagia A fantastic Cretan meze -as we call it in Greek. Meze means appetizer. Its main ingredient is paximadi, which is dried bread. The paximadia are lightly soaked in water and olive oil to soften, and then they are topped with grated fresh tomato and mizithra, the creamy…
Marathopites, traditional Cretan pies There are some Cretan flavors that take a while to prepare but it is worth your time and effort. One of those is marathopita from the Cretan herb Marathos (whose aroma is incredible) made into a pie. For Cretans, local herbs and greens are valuable food…