Greek recipes

Dear guests of holiday house "Villa MAQUIS" in Crete. For those who want to eat at home and prepare some typical Cretan dishes, here are some recipes. Success and Kali Orexi.

Cretan dishes for making yourselves

1) NTAKOS (Dakos)

Is actually a Cretan alternative to the Greek salad. Made with RUSK (typical dried bread from Crete) with peeled tomatoes in "MYZITRA" cheese and shredded black olives.

Recipe: Place some "rusk" on the bottom of a plate, sprinkle generously the peeled tomatoes cut in "macedoine" and season with salt and pepper and olive oil. Put a tuff of  fresh "Myzitra" on top and decorate with black olives cut into slices. Finish with fresh oregano.

2) Boureki: it does not come more Cretan than this.

A dish from Chania and very well known in Crete, less so in the rest of Greece. purely vegetarian but delicious when properly prepared. This oven dish is based on fresh zucchini and "MYZITRA"

Ingredients

Instructions: how to make Boureki from Chania

• Cut all the vegetables in round pieces.
• Sprinkle some olive oil at the bottom of a roasting pan and place a layer of potatoes and season them. On top of the potatoes place a layer of zucchini, season them and sprinkle them with some flour.
• Grade both mizithra and graviera and sprinkle half of the quantity on top of the zucchini. Sprinkle all the spring onions, mint and parsley according to your taste.
• Place a layer of potatoes, season them and then place the tomatoes and season them.
• Then again place a layer of zucchini. On top of them sprinkle the rest of both cheeses and sprinkle them with mint and parsley.
• In a bowl whisk the eggs and the milk and pure the mixture on top of the veggies. Drizzle some olive oil on top.
• Bake in a preheated oven at 165C for 45-50 minutes.

3) Tzaziki

Can not be forgotten on the table and is used for almost everything. It is refreshing on hot days.

• recipe: easy to make. Take half a cucumber and partially strip the skin. Grate finely with a grater and squeeze the grated cucumber because it contains a lot of moisture. Crush half a clove of garlic. Add everything to 150g Greek yogurt and season well with plenty of salt and pepper. Add 2 tbsp olive oil and mix. Ready! Refrigerate overnight because the look would have permeated.
  

4) Avocado dip

Avocados are common in Crete and often used in the recipes. In the south of Crete there are some Avocado plantations. The trees of this fruit with high calories are male and female, and you need two to get fruits.

• recipe: take the pulp of 1 avocado and add the juice of half a lemon lemon. Add 100gr Greek Yogurt and mix with the hand blender. Season with salt and pepper. Stir pieces of smoked salmon under the knit and serve.

5) FAVA dip

A variety of lentils is FAVA, well known in Crete, but not available elsewhere. Widely put on the menu of all restaurants and each with its own recipe. The shop on the corner of the square in Vamos has the best FAVA beans.

• recipe; take a cup full of FAVA beans and fry them well with a lot of olive oil in a bowl. Pour warm water over it and add a cube of chicken stock. Simmer further until a bond forms. Mix with a stick mixer. The trick is to estimate the exact amount of water and the exact cooking time of the beans. But experience teaches. Finish with olive oil and serve immediately (if you wait too long it has become concrete).
  

6) IMAM

It is on the menu in every local restaurant. Based on aubergines.

• recipe 1: scoop half an eggplant and fill it with a tomato sauce. To do this, use the meat from the tomatoes, an onion, the rest of the aubergine and season well with oregano. Crumble a slice of feta and decorate it on the aubergine. Transfer to 160 ° C for a 45min.
  
  
• recipe 2: Take an eggplant, different colored peppers, zucchini and cut into large pieces. Put in an oven dish and season well, pour over a lot of olive oil. Place in the oven at 160 ° C for an hour.

7) GEMISTA

Oven dish with stuffed vegetables, usually tomatoes and peppers.

• recipe: for the filling; boil rice, fry minced meat with onions and mix. Season well. Fill a decapitated hollowed pepper or tomato. Put in the oven at 160 ° C for 1 hour.
  
  

Typical dishes of Crete that you should try at a restaurant.

CHORTA OF STAMNANKATHI (Wild Greens)

A dish that is not common in Western cuisine is this Chorta, very well known among the Greeks. It is actually a weed that was originally picked by the women along the road. There are different types, each with its own name. In the restaurants it is usually called "wild greens". Chorta does not occur in Crete and it is more of a vegetable of winter and spring (when it is still green). In Crete people usually serve Stamnankathi. This vegetable has the bitter taste of endive, not to be confused with spinach. She is blanched, served warm / lukewarm. Season well with lemon and olive oil. Delicious as a "side dish".

KALTSOUNIA

Filled crescent-shaped pastries. The filling is usually with Myzitra and with green herbs (spinach, dill, fennel, ..).

The best I have eaten in Gavalochori at Monica (restaurant on the big square).

MARATHOPITA

Pita means sandwich and Maratho means dill. It is a flat pancake tart filled with fresh dill, usually mixed with other fresh herbs. More difficult to find in the restaurants. The best I have eaten at Arismari in Gavalochori.

LACHANO DOMADES

Domades are very well known all over Greece. You certainly know rolled wine grape leaves filled with rice and vegetables. But the Lachano domades literally vegetable rolls are a Cretan variant. The wine grape leaves have been replaced by leaves of blanched white cabbage with the same filling. Topped with an egg-lemon sauce "afgo-lemona", this dish is delicious. Hard to find in the summer as it is a real winter dish. In Gavalochori at Monica are the best, but also in Vamos at Maroubas.

For those who dare:

• snails: a delicacy in Crete
• Staka: made from sheep's milk cream and served lukewarm.
  
  

Restaurants that are allowed to use the “Cuisine of Crete” label must serve at least 65% Cretan dishes using only local products and local olive oil and comply with legal hygiene and food safety standards.

Chania region:

• taverna Tzaneris and Archontissa, 
• restaurant Botanical Park of Crete, 
• Piperia restaurant, 
• restaurant bij het Mistral Hotel, 
• Kouzina EPE, 
• Traditional Cretan Gastronomy Center Ntounias 
• Kamares taverna.