Flavors of Naxos

 Naxian cuisine is primarily based on fresh ingredients and less on complicated culinary techniques. Some of the more important ingredients used are various herbs, that prosper in the Cyclades, and naturally olive oil. Housewives create dishes by using few but potent ingredients in unique combinations, minimal­ist recipes, many of which are “object d’art” of flavor. For example, wild greens aside from being boiled and served as a salad, comprise a basic ingredient for various pies, while vegetables are mixed with porridge and assorted herbs creating what are called “keftedes” (vegetable patties) some of which are base on tomato, others on zucchini etc. (tomatokeftedes,  kolokithokeftedes etc).

 

 

This local diet,rich in vegetables and frugal in meat products, has been much appreciated in retrospect during the last few years, when so much has been said and written about the Mediterranean cuisine, its high dietary value, and its ultimate connection to longevity.
And so we are now all starting to bashfully peek in grandmother’s humble saucepan!