TRADITIONAL RECIPES
THE RENOWNED CRETAN GASTRONOMY
The philosophy of the Cretan cuisine is based on the freshness of the materials, in the simplicity of the preparation and the balance among the few elements that need to be combined in order for a meal to be prepared. Essential ingredients, are the virgin olive oil and the fresh seasonal fruits, herbs and vegetables from the Cretan land.
Our hotel is following a more extent approach to our local cuisine, based on the dietary traditions of the past, that prove the timelessness of flavors, fragrances and colors. Our goal is to introduce you to the herbs, fruits and vegetables of our island, that have high nutritional value and are inextricably linked with the famous Cretan longevity.
CRETAN SALAD
- 2 middle sized tomatoes
- 1 cucumber
- ½ onion, sliced
- ½ green pepper
- 1 barley rusk
- 100-120 gr. feta cheese or sour soft local cheese “Mizithra”
- Olives
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
We break the barley rusk in a bowl .
We cut the cucumber and the tomato in the middle, we add the green pepper, the onions, the olives and at the end the feta or soft cheese on the top.
Lastly, we sprinkle a lot of olive oil and oregano!
(In another version we can add boiled potato and egg)
Good luck and Good Appetite!
DAKOS (OWL)
The name comes from the shape of the barley rasks, that reminds the eyes of the owl.
- 2 barley rasks
- 1 large red tomato
- 80 gr. Sour soft cheese “Mizithra”
- 100ml Extra Virgin olive oil or more
- 1 tsp oregano
- Sea Salt
We pass the tomato over the thick opening of the grater into a bowl and we add half quantity of olive oil, sea salt and oregano. We sprikle the rusks with olive oil and with a spoon we spread the tomato. Then we put on top the soft cheese, some more olive oil and the rest of the oregano.
Good Luck and Good Appetite!
"KALITSOUNIA" CRETAN PIES WITH WILD GREENS
The Cretan pies (kalitsounia) are the healthiest snacks, since the stuffing (the greens) have great nutritional value.
- 1kgr of wild Cretan Greens ( you can replace them with spinach)
- 3 bunches of spring onions
- 1 bunch of wild fennel
- 400gr of Cretan soft Cheese “Mizithra” or feta cheese
- 150ml of Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt & Pepper
- Egg & sesame for the sprinkling
- For the Dough
- 500 gr flour from hard wheat
- 500 gr flour for all purposes
- 15gr salt
- 50ml Extra virgin Olive oil
- 1 shot of tsikoudia (raki)
- Water as much as needed in order to make a medium soft dough (enough to unstuck from hands)
Wash the greens and leave them to dry. Stack them together in bunches, remove the thick stalks they might have and slice them. Afterwards, mix the ingredients and taste them, in order to know if the salt is ok. We use the pasta machine to open the dough sheets , about 2mm thick. Cut our dough sheets into square sized pieces, fill each one with the mixture of greens and fold the 4 corners towards the inside and close it like an envelope.Use a brush to spread the egg and then sprinkle some sesame on top. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180οC, for about 20-25 minutes.
Good Luck and Good Appetite!
STUFFED VINE LEAVES (DOLMADAKIA)
The stuffed vine leaves, in the old days, used to be prepared with cabbage leaves and crusehd wheat for the stuffing, instead of rice. We present you here the recipe with the rice, which is more commonly used nowadays:
For 40 pieces
- 40 pieces of vine leaves
- 1/2 kilo of blue rose or Carolina rice
- 1 large onion, grated
- 1 tomato, grated
- 180 ml olive oil
- 1 bunch of parsley
- 1 bunch of wild fennel
- 1 bunch of spearmint
- Salt & Pepper
- Juice of 1 lemon
Blanch the vine leaves into boiled water for 1 minute and leave them to cool. Slice the herbs ( Parsley, Spearmint & wild fennel) and mix them with the rice, the olive oil, the tomato and the onion. Afterwards use a spoonful mix of the above, to fill the leaves. Fold the ends towards the inside and roll them. Then, place them side by side inside a pan whose bottom is covered with stalks of fennel, parsley and thick slices of onions. Cover them with water and leave them to boil, until they absorb their juices. (45-50 minutes)
Good Luck & Good Appetite!
FRIED SNAILS IN VINEGAR AND ROSEMARY SAUCE
Snails are a favorite delicacy of the Cretans, since the Minoan Times. It was the food of the poor, since they were easily found everywhere and easily prepared. Here, we suggest the most known method of cooking, fried snails in vinegar and rosemary sauce.
Wash the snails and clean them extensively. Boil them 3 times in salted water, adding some vinegar and fennel. Salt the snails, flour them and cook them in sizzling oil for 3 minutes, with their openings facing the pan.
Lastly, increase the heat and when the heat is at its peak, add some local vinegar and rosemary on top of it. Then, cover it and remove it from the heat. Let it “rest” for 2 minutes and serve.
Good Luck & Good Appetite!
CUTTLEFISH WITH WILD GREENS
Ingredients:
- 1 kgr of small or medium sized cuttlefish
- 1 large onion, minced
- 150 ml olive oil
- 0,5 kilo of wild greens or spinach
- 200ml local red wine
- Salt and pepper
Clean the cuttlefish .Make a circular cut around the beak of the cuttlefish and remove it, pulling the entrails with it and taking care not to puncture the ink sack. Slice them into large pieces and sauté them in olive oil and onions. When the sautéing is at its peak, add wine over the food and leave it to evaporate. Add the greens, salt and pepper, and lower the heat, so the food will boil slowly. Pour some fresh olive oil on top and then serve.
Good Luck and Good Appetite!
CRETAN RICE WITH CHICKEN
Cretan rice is a festive food. It is served in all joyous occasions, weddings, baptisms, etc, while the chicken may be replaced with goat or sheep meat.
Ingredients for 6 persons
- 1 home grown or free grazing chicken (1,5 to 2 kilos)
- Salt
- 600 gr. Carolina or blue rose rice
- Juice from 2 lemons
- 150 gr sheep’s meat butter (optional)
- We slice the chicken and we put it in cold water to boil.
We remove the foams that reach the surface of the water during the boiling. When the chicken is boiled enough, we remove it from the heat and we strain the broth.
We measure the volume of the rice & accordingly, the volume of the broth X 3. (for example: if 600gr of rice are 2 cups, we count 6 cups of broth). We boil the broth and we taste it continuously, to check the salt. We add the rice and stir. Usually, it takes about 16-18 minutes for the rice to get ready. We add the lemon juice and taste it again.
If we use sheep’s meat butter, first we heat it up until it melts, then we leave it to fry in maximum heat inside a sauce pan and we pour the rice slowly.
We leave it covered for 1 minute, in order for the butter to leave its fragrance and we serve while hot. We can accompany it with local sheep yogurt and freshly grated pepper.
Good Luck and Good Appetite!
PORK WITH CELERY
Pork in the old days, used to be cooked also as a festive meal, mostly during Christmas. The most common variation especially in our area, Platanias, is the one with the celery that is mostly cooked for the celebration of Saint Dimitrios, on October 26th.
Ingredients for 6 persons
- 1,2 kilo of pork (leg or shoulder in cubes)
- 200ml olive oil
- 2 onions chopped
- Juice from 2 large lemons
- 1 kilo celery
We wash and clean up the celery, and then we slice it in pieces. We scald it in boiling water and we leave it to strain. We heat up the olive oil in the casserole and we sauté the pork with the chopped onion. We add water and we boil it for 40-45 minutes. We add the celery, salt, pepper and we lower the heat. When the pork is ready, we add the lemon juice, we taste and then serve!
Good luck & Good Appetite!
GOAT WITH LOCAL GREENS IN OIL & LEMON DRESSING
Stamnagathi is a wild green of Crete, mostly found in Omalos plateau and in various areas near the sea. Its tender leaves are surrounded by thorns and has a rather bitter flavor. It can be cooked with goat or lamp and it can also be served as a salad, boiled or raw.
Ingredients:
- 2 kilos goat meat
- 5-6 fresh onions
- Olive oil
- Salt & Pepper
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 kilo of stamnagathi
- Juice from 2 lemons
- 1 spoon full flour
We sauté the goat in olive oil, till it colors up. We add the chopped onion, till it is also sautéed and afterwards we add water until all ingredients are covered by it.
We cover the casserole and leave it to boil in low temperature until the meat is almost ready. We have already cleaned and washed the greens, which we add raw into the boiling food, so they can be cooked together. That gives the food a little bitter flavor.
We do not stir, as the meat will dissolve and we try to squeeze the greens in between the pieces of the meat. If needed, we add a little water.
We leave them to boil for about 10 minutes and afterwards we turn off the heat and add the egg & lemon dressing (we stir the egg yolks with the lemon juice & the flour and we add the broth slowly)
We taste, add salt or lemon and serve.
Good Luck and Good Appetite!
SWEET CHEESE PIES
Ingredients for the dough :
- 1 kilo flour
- 1 sachet baking powder
- 1 cup of sugar
- ½ dessert spoon baking soda
- 1 cup of oil
- 1 cup of milk
- 4 eggs
Stuffing:
- 1200 gr. Soft cheese (mizithra)
- 2 cups of sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 spoon fresh butter
- ½ dessert spoon cinnamon
- 2 vanillas
- 1 lemon zest
We mix the ingredients until they become a soft dough and we leave it to “rest”, covered with a kitchen towel for half hour.
We prepare the stuffing, by stirring well all the ingredients.
We shape the dough to be about 1,5cm thick and we use a water glass or a small plate (depending on how large or small we want the pies to be), in order to cut the portions. We place in each portion 1 spoonful from our stuffing and we “pinch” the dough using our index finger and thumb. We sprinkle egg in each one of them and we put them on a greaseproof paper in a pan and bake them for 170oc for 15-20 min.
Good Luck and Good Appetite!
SFAKIAN PIE
Sfakian pies are known for their special taste, which occurs from the pure ingredients they are made of, especially the honey that they are served with.
For 10 pieces
- 500 gr. flour
- 2 spoon olive oil
- 1 shot of tsikoudia (raki)
- 1 glass of water
- 500 gr. of soft cheese (mizithra or pichtogalo)
- Honey, for serving
We knead the flour with the olive oil, the tsikoudia, the salt and water (as much as needed) in order to prepare a soft dough. We knead until the dough does not stick in our fingers. We split the soft cheese in 10 same sized balls that we place inside the pieces of dough. Using a rolling pin, we knead the dough to the size of a small plate (18cm). We fry in an anti-stick pan, using no oil and we serve with thyme honey.
Good luck & Good Appetite!