Cretan cuisine is a lot more than just a cuisine. It is a way of life, simple, unadorned, without unnecessary spices or flavor enhancers; a cuisine that is extremely delicious.
Cretan cuisine differs from other cuisines because it does not try to mix flavors, even though the use of different ingredients is essential to prepare daily meals.
Each ingredient maintains its autonomy and preserves its identity and taste, coexisting harmoniously and revealing the delicate balances that characterize Crete’s cuisine.
What counts in Cretan Traditional Cuisine is imagination.
The Cretans could eat every day wild greens or legumes, but almost never eat the same food.
Historically, looking back to the roots of the Cretan cuisine from antiquity up to modern times, no significant changes will be found since only a few new ingredients have been added to those used by the prehistoric inhabitants.
The healthy approach to food is not new at all. Even from the Minoan civilization, the Cretans were aware of the health benefits of olive oil, vegetables, olives, herbs, and honey.
Blessed with the perfect soil, locals today use “earth-friendly” methods to grow their traditional produce.
Organic growers sell their natural products to restaurants and to locals.
Cretan cuisine is among the healthiest in the world.
Studies have shown that the residents of Crete have the lowest mortality rates in the world, and fewer cases of cancer and heart attack, and scientists have linked these health benefits to the Cretan way of life.
Roasted Pork with wine:
Marinated meat with wine, oregano, rosemary, salt, pepper, and pepper seeds. Garlic is placed in the meat’s openings.
The meat is left to soak for 1 day.
Cooked in the oven with olive oil and the marinade mixture on top.
Lamb or goat cooked around the fire:
Shepherds’ way of cooking the meat. The animal is cut into four big pieces, salted, and put on wooden skewers.
Stones are used to form a square, and the meat is placed on them. The fire is lit in the middle, and the meat is cooked slowly.
Rabbit with lemon and oregano or rosemary:
The rabbit is cut into pieces, soaked in wine, onions, salt, pepper, rosemary or oregano, and lemon juice. Cooked in a pan and served with oregano-roasted potatoes.
Chicken with Yogurt:
The chicken is soaked in lemon juice and cooked in the oven with salt, pepper, olive oil, butter, and a little water.
When the yogurt is cooked, it is mixed with two or three beaten eggs and a little water is poured over the chicken and put back in the oven for a while.
Baby goat with olive oil and oregano:
The goat pieces are boiled until all the liquid is absorbed. Then it is fried in olive oil and then in wine.
Flour diluted in water with salt, pepper, and lemon is added. Served with fried potatoes.
Aubergine pie with olives:
Aubergines cut into cubes, onions, garlic, olive oil, basil, parsley, feta cheese, tomatoes cut into small pieces, beaten eggs, salt, pepper, and rice are the ingredients that fill the layers of pastry, which are then put in a tray to form a circle.
Snails in red sauce with fried potatoes:
The snails are boiled in water with olive oil, onions, salt, pepper, and cut tomatoes. The fried potatoes are added to the pan after the snails are cooked.
Dakos:
A traditional Cretan salad with round barley rusk, produced in Crete. The rusks are softened with a little water, olive oil, and fresh tomatoes cut into small pieces. On top, a Cretan salted mizithra (sheep or goat cheese) is placed.
Fish with olive oil and Oregano:
The fish is cut into pieces and cooked in the oven with sliced potatoes around it. Oregano, olive oil, lemon, salt, pepper, and a little water are sprinkled on the fish.
Stuffed Squids:
The squids are stuffed with a mixture of their tentacles which are cut into small pieces, spring onions, onions, rice, prunes, olive oil, nutmeg, dill, salt, and pepper. Closed firmly on the top with a large toothpick. Boil and then put on a tray without the excess water. Sprinkled with olive oil and lemon, and then cooked for a while in the oven.
Kalitsounia:
Delicious small round oven-baked pastries are usually filled with unsalted mizithra cheese. And topped with honey and cinnamon, but can also be made with herb filling.
Xerotigana:
Rosebud-shaped pastries are fried then dipped in honey or syrup and sprinkled with pieces of almond
Raki or Tsikoudia:
A Strong local alcoholic beverage made of distilled grapes. In winter, Raki with honey is preferred and is called Rakomelo.
Widely accepted as the traditional drink of Crete and the landmark of Cretan hospitality.
Wines:
The excellent, fertile soil of Crete produces unique-quality grapes that yield award-winning wines.