Greece Culinary Travel with Aglaia Kremezi

The award-winning cookbook author, journalist, and teacher shares her favorite Greek restaurants, markets, and other culinary destinations

T he largest and southernmost of the Greek islands combines the best elements of East and West in its culinary traditions. It remained under Ottoman rule longer than most parts of the country, and the coexistence of Greeks and Turks has influenced the culinary habits of both peoples. Here people use yogurt in cooking and baking, and many common dishes have Turkish names.

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Horta—wild greens leafy greens harvested from the hills and fields since antiquity—play a very important role in the everyday table of Crete and are cooked in more creative ways than anywhere else in Greece. While horta are usually blanched or steamed, in Crete they serve a unique raw salad of different greens—bitter, sweet, tangy, and succulent—simply drizzled with lemon vinaigrette. Yahnera is a lemony stew of mixed greens with onions, ramps, wild fennel, and potatoes. Omelets made with horta and scallions are usually accompanied by a dollop of thick sheep's milk yogurt. Lamb or kid is stewed with horta, and complemented with avgolémono (egg and lemon sauce). The women who sell horta in the farmers' markets of Heraklion and Chanea display neat bunches of distinctive mixes for salads, savory pies, and stews.

The hills and mountains of Crete are also fragrant with aromatic herbs. Some are unique to this island, like malotyra or mountain tea (sideritis Cretica), and the very fragrant diktamo (origanum dictamus), which are brewed in boiling water and enjoyed after a meal, in the morning, or as therapeutic infusion for all kinds of ailments. Some believe that diktamo is an aphrodisiac, and locals often call it eronda (love potion).

Summer vegetables like tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, and green beans ripen early on this fertile island, and there are an increasing number of organic farms—you will be amazed by the quality of the local produce at the markets.

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Goats and sheep have been herded in Crete for thousands of years, and the island has a long tradition of cheese-making. Kefalotiri, a hard intensely flavored sheep's and goat's milk cheese, is available in various stages of ripening. The semisoft anthotyro (also spelled "anthotyri") of Crete (not to be confused with the ricottalike cheese of the same name sold in Athens) is a unique strong and fragrant yet salty-sweet and creamy cheese, made mostly from goat's milk. It is only available on the island and is not a DOC cheese, although I consider it one of the best in Greece.

Olive oil has been exported since the 16th century. Excellent fruity and peppery olive oil, from conventionally cultivated or organic orchards, repeatedly wins first prizes in international tasting contests. The olive oils of Crete are mainly extracted from koroneiki olives, and there are nine registered DOC olive oil regions (Protected Designations of Origin) on the island. The cooperative of Sitia produces one of my favorite olive oils—fragrant and fruity, with wonderfully balanced bitter and peppery notes.

Kalitsounia and sarikopites, small turnovers, are filled with xynomizithra—sweet or slightly sour, fresh ricotta-like creamy cheese. Hortopites (greens pies) are strongly aromatic, with plenty of wild fennel. The phyllo of Crete is made from a very interesting dough that contains lemon juice, olive oil, and a fair amount of raki —the strong grappalike home-distilled alcoholic drink of the island. Kserotigana, fried ribbons of phyllo, are an addictive sweet, drizzled with honey and sprinkled with almonds and other nuts.

Crete has developed into a popular agrotourism destination; you are likely to find well-cooked traditional dishes in taverns and restaurants in Heraklion, Chanea, and other cities, and especially in small villages far from the touristy beach towns.


Wines/grapes native to this region: Archanes dry red (from Kotsifali and Mandhilaria grapes), Dafnes sweet and dry red (from Liatiko), dry and a sweet red (from Kotsifali and Mandhilaria), and a fruity white (from Vilana grapes).