Cretan cuisine is known for its unique ingredients and flavors. Based on simple techniques, it’s the variety of local produce that distinguishes the dishes: mountain herbs and greens, bulbs, unique cheeses, fresh fish, the famous Cretan oil, and raki.
Here are some of the most famous and typical traditional dishes you can try during your visit to Chania:
Cretan Cheeses
It seems that almost every Cretan village has its own signature cheese. They are usually made from sheep or goat’s milk. You have to try graviera, a harder cheese that’s sweeter when new, but nutty and flavourful after aging. Soft, creamy cheeses abound like pichtogalo Chanion, or myzithra, a young whey cheese with a lovely mild taste.
Fried snails (Chochlioi boubouristi)
Greeks have been eating snails since 2 AD. Locals forage for them in the mountains after it rains, but there are also snail farms. They’re cooked in different ways, but they’re best coated in a light dusting of flour, fried in olive oil and finished with salt, vinegar and rosemary.
Staka Cheese with Eggs
Staka with eggs is a simple dish where poached eggs are served on top of staka, a roux made from buttery local cream mixed with flour that’s been seasoned with salt and pepper. It’s extremely comforting and works as a spread, dip or side dish.
Cretan Fish and Seafood
At fish restaurants, the catch of the day is displayed at the entrance on ice, so you can choose the fish you want. Larger fish are grilled or baked, and smaller ones are fried; all are served with lemon or ladolémono (olive oil with lemon juice). The most common fish species are barboúni (mullet), xifías (swordfish), koliós (mackerel) and various types of bream. Seafood is also often grilled, such as ktapódi krasáto (octopus with red wine and tomato sauce); soupiá (cuttlefish with rice and spinach) or garides saganáki (shrimp in cheese sauce).
Stamnagathi
Crete is famous for its weeds and greens called horta. You’ll spot them in salads, stuffed into pies or as a side with meat and they’re highly nutritious. Stamnagathi is a legitimate superfood filled with vitamins, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron and antioxidants. It’s served boiled with olive oil and lemon juice.
Antikristo (barbecued lamb)
A traditional way to barbecue meat, Antikristo is lamb cut into four, skewered, salted and then arranged around a fire. Traditionally cooked by shepherds in the mountains, it’s a super delicious dish, toasting the meat with its own fat until the skin becomes brittle crackling.
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