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Cretan restaurant recipes

BRESAOLA MORSELS WITH SKIM MILK CHEESE & HERBS- FROM KYMATA

Ingredients:
40 g. Bresaola
60 g. Skim milk cheese
Cretan lettuce
Lolla Rossa
Rocket(Ruccola)
salt & pepper
1 tsp of both oregano and thyme
250 g, Virgin olive oil
150 g. Balsamic Vinegar

Cooking process:
Cut the Bresaola into thin slices. Prepare the skim milk cheese mousse, by using a blender to mix the skim milk cheese, s&p, oregano and thyme, until creamy. Place the mousse in a corning dish and fill with the slices of Bresaola, forming morsels.
Serve the morsels with a salad mixture which has been marinated in vinaigrette.


 

CRETAN FISH SOUP-FROM CALDERA

Ingredients:
2 kg fish (cod, grouper, bream)
2 med-sized tomatoes, sliced to 4 pieces
1/2 kg courgettes
1/2 kg carrots, sliced
1/2 cup olive oil
1 bunch of parsley, chopped
2 large potatoes, cut to 4 pieces
2 large onions, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup rice
Juice of 2 lemons
Salt, freshly ground pepper

Cooking process:
1. Use a large pot and fill it half with water.
Add 1/2 cup olive oil and a little salt. Also, add the parsley, carrots, onions and tomatoes and let boil for 20 minutes.

2. Score the courgettes lengthwise and add them, along with the potatoes. Then add the fish, cut to 2-3 slices if large.

3. Let all boil for 30 min. approximately. Then transfer all (fish, potatoes, courgettes & carrots) into a large dish using a perforated spoon. Keep the vegetable stock.

4. Spoon out a few carrots, courgettes, potatoes and blend them to a pulp and add pulp to the stock.

5. Bring the stock to a boil and add the rice. Add water if necessary. Continue boiling for 20 minutes. Before turning off the heat, add the lemon juice.


 

LAMB WITH STAMNAGATHI AND AVGOLEMONO- FROM ELIA & DIOSMOS

Ingredients:
1.5-1.8 kg lamb shoulder and/or leg
6 spring onions
3 onions
1 cup Cretan virgin olive oil
1/2 kg Stamnagathi
2 bunches of dill
1 head of Romaine lettuce
whole peppercorns, sea salt
For the Avgolemono Sauce:
3 eggs
4 lemons

Cooking process:
Remove bones from the lamb. Wash the meat and drain off the water and dry with cloth towel. Salt to taste with coarse sea salt. Coarsely chop all the onions. Place oil and onions in bottom of large, heavy pot and put the meat on top. Cover and on high heat cook 8 minutes. If required, add a little water along the way. After the 8 minutes, stir slightly with a wooden spoon only. Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking. If lamb is very young, will only take 20-25 minutes in total. If older, 40-50 minutes. Halfway through the cooking, add the washed stamnagathi, dill and lettuce and 1 tsp. whole peppercorns.
For the sauce, separate the yolks and whites. Beat the whites until firm in a stainless steel bowl. Add the yolks, then 1/2 the lemon. Add 2 soup spoons of cooking liquid very slowly to egg-lemon mixture (to avoid curdling) and rest of lemon. Pour into the lamb, stirring with 2 wooden spoons from top to bottom. Add s&p to taste.


 

ZUCCHINI & CRETAN CHEESE PIE WITH NIGELLA SEEDS- FROM NYKTERIDA

Ingredients:
2 kg. zucchini
4 medium potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
2 kg. soft goat or sheep's milk cheese (myzithra)
300 g. feta cheese
2 chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp. chopped fresh mint
1 cup Cretan extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. sesame seeds
1 tsp. nigella seeds (black sesame seeds)
salt and pepper

Cooking process:
1. Thinly slice the zucchini. Place in a colander in layers, sprinkling each layer with salt. Let drain for several hours.
2. Mix the drained zucchini with the thinly sliced potatoes in a large bowl. Add the tomatoes.
3. Lightly oil a large baking dish. Spread one layer of potatoes on bottom of pan. Spread soft cheese on top. Cover with a layer of zucchini. Sift a thin layer of flour over the mixture and spread a little of mint and cheese. Repeat the process. Spread a final layer of cheese. Sprinkle the sesame on the top of the dish. Bake in a medium oven (170C) for 1.5 hours. Let cool slightly and serve.