13/10/2012
Cycladic islands

I just got back from Greece, where it was over 30 degrees, and here I am in the rain in Paris, summer is long way gone. Here are some pictures to dream a little, and to make you discover some local specialties!You can imagine that the Greek salad is the heart of every meal… It has some variants with either feta or mizithra (fresh feta), and consists mainly of tomatoes (delicious, nothing to do with Paris …), cucumbers (same), olives (amaziiing), olive oil (ohmygod), capers, herbs and sometimes a few peppers.The dakos is made out of large croutons topped with tomatoes, olives, herbs and olive oil. You also probably know the moussaka, which I have to be honest, not  appreciated (potatoes, eggplant, meat, béchamel, cheese, very little tomato sauce).The mezze (appetizers) : there are dozens of variations between the tzatziki (garlic, yoghurt, cucumber),  cheese balls or fried eggplant, vine leaves… My favorite was the artichokes a la polita, served warm with lemon sauce, potatoes, carrots, dill – a pure delight.Difficult to find grilled fish (!) on the islands, even if we found some on beaches, where you can enjoy the catch of the day (mullet, bass, swordfish, sardines) with a lemon sauce + olive oil, and cooked wild herbs called horta. However, seafood is more prevalent, such as octopus, grilled or in a salad (so good!). Greeks are rather fond of meat especially lamb, stewed or in souvlaki (skewers). 

As for dessert, there is not a lack of choice. There is a pastry common to all countries which were once under Ottoman rule : the baklava. It consists of puff pastry, nuts and lots of honey. The kataifi, made with very thin filament of filo pastry, contains sweet pistachios, almonds, and cinnamon. The Galaktoboureko is made with extra fine semolina, sometimes flavored with cinnamon, citrus and orange blossom. In the Cyclades especially, you can also find a lot of candied fruits: lemons, oranges, figs, …