Greece, Travel

A Foodie Destination – Greece

Suzanne

It is true, I am not a blogger of food, though I am a lover of food, and we get to sample quite a few delectable morsels while housesitting and travelling.  Then I thought why not share my thoughts on what we have found, cooked and of course eaten along the way!

By the seaside with seafood

One delightful experience was a quaint local fish cafe, where we had the freshest squid and octopus we have ever tasted.  The squid was lightly floured and fried [not at all greasy], and that is surely a compliment from the Squire who used to catch these delicate species on a regular basis many moons ago.  Eating where the locals do is always so much more rewarding than a menu that has been geared for the tourist.20170907_135324_editedI even managed to take a photo of the above food before I finished it!

With our experience of having eaten very fresh seafood, we were determined to visit the local market in central Athens for more fresh produce so I could whip up an easy soup in our apartment, which did not have an oven, though it did have a big pot!!  The soup was a lightish meal, and we were over having a salad each night.20170902_123824_edited

 My interpretation of the above soup we had in Rhodes.  
 Fish Soup for two [Psarosoupa]
Ingredients  

20170905_114700_edited
400 grams Fish or even add shellfish
1-litre good quality fish stock [or make your own from the fish bones and vegetable scraps]
2 large, sliced Onion
2 diced Carrots
2 stalks, chopped Celery      4 diced Potatoes                                    Saffron/Bay Leaf
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil – only use good quality as the taste is prominent in the soupChopped Parsley/basil and a lemon
Preparation
  1.  Gently saute the onions and at the end add the garlic, so it doesn’t burn.  Then a small amount of saffron.
  2. Add the stock, heat until boiling then simmer.  When making your own stock reduce the fluids by half of what is included.  I use the same method when making pasta sauces.
  3. Include the potatoes, in 15mins add the other vegetables.  Previous fish soups I have made have added more vegetables such as capsicums, spring onions, celeriac and tomatoes.
  4. Clean and cut the fish.  Cut into even sizes.
  5. Add the fish to the stock and gently simmer until the fish is cooked, usually around 10 – 15 minutes.
  6. Chop up herbs and juice a fresh lemon
  7. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with fresh herbs.
  8. Drizzle olive oil and the lemon juice over the top of the soup.
  9. Break up crusty bread to soak up the juices.
 Enjoy your meal – καλή όρεξη

Greece is a country for the senses.

Your ears will dance to the beat of the street music, impatient drivers honking their horns and, with passing conversations.  Your nose will welcome the sweet smell of the delicious Greek food [stuffed vine leaves, mousaka, greek yoghurt, fresh pastries, fetta cheese to name just a few] as you pass the many bakeries and cafes.  Your taste buds will be delighted.

Then there is the ice cream.

After an enjoyable light dinner, we wanted to capture the sun descending down the back of the city buildings, and wanting dessert at the same time.  Not far from our apartment and where we wanted to go, we found a place to indulge our love of ice-cream.  The business in question is DaVinci Artisan Gelato who sells sugar-free ice-cream and ones that were not sugar-free, nor fat-free. The Squire thought the real fig ice-cream was worth the sugar boost! SUZYV (41)_edited

When leaving the shop, we felt like kids with their first ice-cream of the summer.  Lots of fun trying to lick the drips which were becoming harder to keep in check as the ice cream was melting faster than we could lick!.

A yummy way to end a day.Greece a foodie destination_edited

Previous posts about our love of food can be food here:

Let me count the ways

Marché – Oui and Non

The Morning Market [Pazar] 

Published by Suzanne

Travel and Life Musings from New Zealand and Beyond. . . . . . .

45 thoughts on “A Foodie Destination – Greece”

  3. Great post and photos again!

    As a lover of seafood and having caught my own for many years, I’m very fussy when it comes to eating seafood. So, I’m pleasantly surprised when we come across a restaurant that does squid or baby Octopus just right and still believe that Greeks are the best at cooking both.

    We have loads of fresh and typically seasonal vegetables in Calabria. 😉

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    1. Yes, my lovely husband is very fussy with seafood as he was a fisherman for many years!! Good to hear Calabria has loads of fresh vegies, we are coming, one day 🙂

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      1. Ahhh, now I understand why he’s so patient. Living on a boat and catching fish off the side or spear fishing made me very fussy. I won’t ever buy fish/seafood from Asia and if the eyes are even slightly cloudy, I won’t touch the fish.

        There’s a wine festival on starting the 15th not far from Cosenza, but most importantly, the chocolate festival is on at the end of this month. It was amazing last year! 🙂

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        1. I remember you writing about the chocolate festival, now we need to come and visit 🙂 Chocolate and cheese, life wouldn’t be the same without it!!

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            1. Okay, you have convinced me 🙂 Just need to do some organising around housesits. We shall wait and see how it goes.

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            3. Oh darn, we are in NZ at that time of year. Not to worry we can source the chocolate without the festival 😀

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            5. That’s what I thought!! We go back to NZ in Oct for about a month each year, since housesitting over here.

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    1. Thanks Jonno yes we do love it as much as you too. We too have met some wonderful kind people who are now friends and we are to drop in for a cuppa if we had the opportunity 🙂 Fortunate aren’t we😀

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    2. Whoops wrote the wrong answer to the wrong person. Many apologies!! Glad to hear you enjoyed my post and it evoked happy memories. Thanks for commenting ☺

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    1. You’re welcome April. Yes I agree with you the deserts are too sweet. Though apart from the ice cream I didn’t have any sweets, as I could see all the syrup over them, which put me off. Greeks are supposed to use more honey as the Turkish variety use syrup. With the price of honey I’m sure that most now use syrup. We love the Mediterranean diet.
      Suz

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  11. I love exploring the cuisine of the areas we are visiting – whether in this country or another. I am so looking forward to soup season (we are not quite there yet) and will keep your recipe in my files. Yum! I thought the picture of the nearly eaten salad was funny… I’ve often forgotten to take a picture until it was almost too late. Oh, and fig ice cream… I’d be in heaven.

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    1. The soup was delicious even in warmish weather. I never used to take photos of food until I became a blogger! Hence the half eaten food as I too forget to click before eating!! The fig jam was also heavenly not too sweet just packed with fruit. Yummy 💚

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  12. Oh that soup looks fantastic … I will make it when Hubble next graces me from whatever mountain top he is Boffining on. He adores fish soup. As do I, fortunately. And fig ice-cream – I drool! I so loved this post … full of good things and sunshine and delight. Thank you ..

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    1. Thanks Osyth, I do enjoy your way with words. We love soup, and it was something easy to make up with one pot on a 2 element gadget at our airbnb apartment 🙂 Plus there was nothing worth eating fresh in the vegetable section of the supermarket. Oh the fig ice-cream was so yummy I have basically taken sugar out of my diet though that day I made an exception!!

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      1. I keep trying on the sugar … it is mostly gone but not eradicated. I think fig ice-cream is an honorable fall from grace! Thank you for the kind words about my words … they just sort of form.

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    1. Yes, we much prefer to have soup during the more cooler nights of Autumn and Winter. Though over this way it doesn’t get that cold and the soup was something light and there was no lettuce or rocket leaf to be found worth eating at the supermarket! 🙂

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  14. That ice cream looks delicious. I would splurge on that, despite our usually small sugar intake. Tasting the local food is just another exotic experience that makes traveling so special, rewarding and exciting. And, the local eating establishments are usually much cheaper than the touristy ones as well. Plus, they have a more unique atmosphere.

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    1. Couldn’t agree more with you Liesbet. We do tend to cook for ourselves or buy food from the markets for picnics. With occasional cafe visits, which makes me feel more special 🙂

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    2. Yes, forgot to mention to you Liesbet that we do not have refined sugar on a regular basis. Interesting how many people are now reducing their intake!! Though it is good to have a treat now and again 🙂

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    1. Thanks Clare. Are you referring to the first photo, they are olives, I took the photo from below looking up. The olive leaf is long and thin, where the citrus is larger. We grew numerous of both back in NZ, I love both trees.
      Suz

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        1. No worries Clare, when I looked again they could be mistaken for small limes 🙂 Your defence is a good one, it’s one I use on a regular basis 🙂
          Suz

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    1. Tiffany, I loved the stuffed vine leaves, the seafood, the olives to name just a few things. Turkey so far has the best fresh vegetables!!
      Suz

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