Archive for July, 2007One of the less obvious perks of going to the Greek islands is discovering local food specialities that make a welcome change from the mainland staples. Much as we love stuffed eggplant and fava beans, after three weeks diversity is a godsend. Crete in particular had some interesting dishes that were unlike anything we came across elsewhere in Greece.
My favourite was dakos, a round, twice-baked brown bread that has a texture halfway between bread and a biscuit. It’s served with local feta, tomato, black olives and olive oil and makes a delicious lunch.
Another vegetarian favourite was boureki, a baked pie with layers of cheese, potatoes and zucchini. This varied slightly according to the restaurant - the first time it came as a pie, with a flaky pastry top layer. The second time it was served more gratin style, without any pastry. Andy liked the second version best.
We also found more variation in the mezze selection in Crete, including dishes that were grilled, baked or steamed and served with a squeeze of fresh lemon, rather than baked in oil. I don’t think these were indigenous to Crete, but perhaps they had fallen off the typical Greek tourist menu on the mainland.
A quick favourite was grilled mushrooms, served with a squeeze of lemon. These came straight off the BBQ and were a simple but beautifully flavoured dish.
In Hania we tried “wild greens” with lime. These were a single, quite bitter vegetable. Not my favourite dish, but they improved with lime and my body was grateful for a healthy serve of green vegetables. Most restaurants in Crete offer local dishes, but a good place to get started is Grabenon street in Iraklio. This had 3 - 4 good restaurants, away from the tourist strip. We ate at Taverna Deykaliona, at the top end of the street away from the water and recommend the mushrooms and dakos! Mezzes were 2.50 - 5 euros. Vegetarian in Greece: More posts on Greek veggie food For my last post on Greece I’m writing about a subject close to most traveller’s hearts - eating on a budget. Dining out at restaurants in Greece is all well and good, but the consequence is that your waist expands in inverse proportion to your wallet. Apparently Greece’s entry to the European Union (EU) and adoption of the Euro led to price inflation. I can believe it. In most restaurants, ordering 3 -4 mezdes (which admittedly won’t leave you hungry) and wine or beer will set you back around 25 Euros (A$40). So while eating out is fun, and worth a regular splurge, it’s not something a vegetarian budget traveller can afford all the time. But that’s OK, because there are ways to eat more cheaply:
Vegetarian in Greece: More posts on Greek veggie food V Rating: VVV Our Greece Lonely Planet warned of the onslaught of tourism in Thira (or Fira), Santorini’s capital, and gave a stinging review of the restaurant scene, lamenting its poor food, exorbitant prices, and rude service. This description drove us to the quieter village of Oia, and ensured our first visit to Thira for the sunset was filled with trepidation. Fortunately, our Thira experience didn’t match the horrors recounted by Lonely Planet. Yes, tourists were there in hordes, but it was possible to escape the bulk of the tourist shops (and tourists) if you didn’t mind a walk. From our sunset vantage point on a high, public balcony I even witnessed a miracle. As the sun fell in the sky, silence descended. I looked down at the town, seeing all the squares filled to brim with people, but the only sound was the wind skipping over the sea and the reverential click of cameras. The reason for the silence is that Santorini is a largely submerged volcano. The caldera curves like a smile through the sea, forming a thin, high ridge on which the scattered island towns perch. From the height of the caldera, you stare back into its vast, sea-filled centre, knowing that you’re gazing into the heart of a still active volcano responsible for the largest eruption in recorded history. If that doesn’t inspire awe, nothing will. After watching the sunset, we went in hunt of food. Cautious thanks to Lonely Planet’s scathing reports, we decided to try a restaurant called Ampelos which overlooked a small square on the outskirts of Thira. We knew nothing about Ampelos, but its understated exterior and strong vegetarian selection caught our attention earlier in the evening. Thankfully, it didn’t contain any of the evils described in the guide book. In fact, Ampelos won me over early, when the compulsory bread basket came filled with fresh, brown bread and a delicious olive paste.
We ordered the special of artichoke heart stew with peas, potatoes, carrots, dill, green onions and tomatoes. This was the only time we saw this dish on a Greek menu, which was a shame because the artichokes made a hearty vegetarian base for the stew, and a respite from briam.
We weren’t leaving without trying the sublimely soft stuffed eggplant, filled with tomatoes, garlic, onion and fresh parsley, one of the better versions we had in Greece.
The stuffed tomato and capsicum, which came with a creamy, risotto-like, rice filling mixed with pine nuts, dill, parsley and onion, and served with roast potatoes, was another good vegetarian choice.
I can’t vouch for the rest of Thira’s food, but Ampelos had a pleasant, friendly atmosphere, a good range of well-priced meals and some decent local Santorini wine. Vegetarian in Greece: More posts on Greek veggie food On the small island of Thirisia, smack bang in the caldera of Santorini and a product of one of its larger eruptions, we came across some more examples of Greek vegetarian food.
Briam is a vegetable stew, akin to a Greek version of ratatouille, and a good choice for vegetarians so snap it up if you see it on the menu.
A fava bean casserole was also on offer from the bain marie self-service restaurant. Unlike every other version of this dish we tried in Greece, it came in a thin gravy base, rather than a tomato sauce with dill. I prefer the tomato version, but was pleased to find a variant on one of our favourite meals to break up the monotony. Vegetarian in Greece: More posts on Greek veggie food Santorini, may be a tourist-heavy Greek island….
…but Thira, the capital, is a beautiful place to enjoy a glass of the local red and white wine, chilled of course.
Oia, a smaller town in Santorini’s north is famous for its breathtaking sunset views over the Caldera. There can’t be many better places in Greece to contemplate your mortality (Santorini is the site of the largest volcano eruption ever known) over olive paste, sundried tomatoes and bread. Vegetarian in Greece: More posts on Greek veggie food Andy and I visited the museum at Ancient Mycenae and were lucky to catch another special exhibition on food. The exhibition detailed the diet and cooking practices of the ancient Myceneans (circa 2000 - 3000 BC). Despite the antiquity of their civilization, the Mycenaeans had an advanced diet. Analysis of clay pots excavated at Mycenae shows traces of honey, legumes, olives, herbs, grains, oil and wine. Refuse from shellfish indicates that the Mycenaean utilised the coastline to their south, and small animal bones reveal that the Mycenaeans ate meat. In other words, the Greek diet has not changed much in the last 5000 years! I was intrigued by the many clay kitchen instruments that have been found, including cups, bowls, ladles, sieves, cauldrons and tripods for cooking over fire. But my favourite item was a clay grill, which looked uncannily like the one we used in Norway at the Gerainger fjord. GRILLING, circa 2000 BC
GRILLING, circa 2000 AD
Vegetarian in Greece: More posts on Greek veggie food Time and tide may wait for no man, but neither do Greek ferries. With all boats to Santorini full on the day we’d planned to depart, Andy and I had a bonus day and night in Athens. We made the most of our pitstop by visiting the colourful Athens fruit and vegetable markets. By lunchtime the number of stallholders was small, but that didn’t stop them from staging a festival of colour and fresh produce. Olives were abundant.
Ripe, red tomatoes were a pretty enticement.
Summery nectarines, peaches and cherries sat plumply in their containers.
What better evokes fresh Mediterranean produce than grapes?
Now we know why the stuffed eggplant is so good here.
After our market shopping we had lunch in a basement restaurant opposite the market called Diporto Agoras. There was no menu as the restaurant only served a fixed number of dishes daily. I was taken over to the chef to point to our lunch.
The chef was bemused that I skirted over the popular sardines in lemon and meaty stews in favour of the chickpea soup and fresh salad… sadly I had forgotten the Greek word for vegetarian and couldn’t explain my choice. We washed down our lunch with a glass of white wine from the large barrels lining the restaurant wall, a fitting end to an uplanned, but fun, Athenian day out. Vegetarian in Greece: More posts on Greek veggie food |
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