GASTRONOMY OF KEFALONIA
The Ionian Islands in Western Greece, and especially Kefalonia, have been significantly influenced by the Venetian occupation and their gastronomic course has been shaped by this northern-Italian influence. The Venetians were the ones who brought the tomato to the island of Kefalonia for the first time and because they consumed large quantities of olive oil, they were responsible for planting many olive trees on the island. Olives have been cultivated there since antiquity, but the Venetians paid those islanders who planted other olive trees throughout Kefalonia. Today, olive oil is still an important product of the region.
The land of Kefalonia thrives under the Mediterranean sun and offers us a wide variety of local delicacies, from olive oil and wine to dairy products and pure honey .
Kefalonia brings together a rich variety of fine products such as: Wine, vinegar, honey, olive oil, cheese, beers, sea bream & amp; sea bass, sheep ice cream, noodles, herbs, garlic, tsipouro, jams, liqueurs, pastocydon and ecological soaps, which impress with their quality.
Pies, greens and meat characterize the traditional cuisine of Kefalonia, with recipes which you may not find anywhere else.
While we have all heard of the Kefalonian meat pie, few know that local housewives make it from three separate types of meat (pork, tragio and beef), few know its variations (in Lixouri plums) and even fewer know how many other pies are made in Kefalonia.
The main ones are the artichoke pie, from refined artichoke hearts, cheese pies from the unique cheeses of the island, green pies and cod pie from salted cod.
The people of Kefalonia also love the hot garlic (made from potatoes) with which they usually accompany the fried cod and the boiled zucchini, which on the island are called baby gums!
Wild herbs or wild cabbages (celery, zucchini, lapata, kakalithres) together with spinach, leeks, onions fry them and make cigarettes, a very favorite dish.
In meat there is a wide variety of meats and dishes: hare with red sauce, rooster hare with thick spaghetti, baked rooster with potatoes, rabbit vinegar, beef prokado (a technique where we implant in the meat garlic and cloves, and some more recipes, and such as pasticcio with goat or lamb or pork with potatoes and quinces.
All of the above are accompanied by the local wines of Kefalonia Robola, Mavrodafni and Moschato.
The classic sweets of Kefalonia are the mandoles (from mandorla which in Italian means almond) are made from caramelized almonds.
So for those who want to find out for themselves other gastronomic “joys” the Kefalonian cuisine will excite them with its, findings, giving them another reason to visit our unique island !!!
