Cooking on Naxos

Anyone who knows me and follows me on Instagram and co knows that I love to cook. I think you need passion for cooking. I firmly believe that anyone who wants to cook can cook.

A friend of mine despairs every time she asks me for a recipe. At my dinner and events, she tries on a certain dish and asks me for the recipe. The problem with that, there are many things that I have learned from my family and that are passed down through generations. There is no recipe for it. I look at new things (on TV or in the cookbook) and cook like the recipe. However, I like to change ingredients and I do not take it so well with the measurements.

So if I want to submit a recipe, then it is often called “a bit of salt, a bit of basil”, etc. Many people need but precise instructions such as: “a teaspoon of salt, three basil leaves ..” etc.

I had this wonderful opportunity to attend an authentic cooking class on Naxos. Of course I did not take that on …

Naxos

Naxos can be reached by boat or by plane from Athens. I came by boat from Andros on the way there and flew from Naxos to Athens with a small plane from Aegan Air on the way back. The airport is really small and clear and there are small frogs running across the square and in the concourse. Really. Very small frogs jumping through the hall.

If you want to experience Naxos directly from the beginning, you should book a tour. Naxos Tours leads you to all the hotspots of the island and you get an overview of where everything is in the city center right at the beginning. But do not worry, I’m sure you’ll be lost a little bit in the small alleyways between the stairs. Despite the tour. For somehow, one street resembles the other. Nevertheless, I am a fan of such tours. I like to hear a bit about the history of the place and the country where I am right now.

Cooking class with Katerina

The cooking class Katerina is the cook and the landlady. Together with her mother they cook with international visitors. The house is the house where the parents really live. And the kitchen is the way it is lived.

The house is located in a small village in the middle of the mountains. The place is really very small and everyone knows each other here. It makes sense to take a few steps through the village, because it is really worth seeing.

Our Cooking Group

I was with two Americans in the house of Katerina. A sympathetic couple from Indianapolis (I think). Katarina told us something about the Greek cuisine. Many dishes, which we know from the Greek next door, are really only created for Germany. What you should definitely try in Greece is the local cheese. A real greek salad not with feta, but with local cheese is just a blast!

Cooking together

Katerina had decided to make zucchini stuffed with us and a Greek salad. The dish is really rather simple and easy to cook. You can certainly replace the minced meat with a vegetarian variant. But since I’m not a vegetarian, that suits me as she cooked and cooked it.

You will need: zucchini, minced meat (beef), rice, wine, broth, spawning onions, dill, a large onion, vinegar, salt, oil, egg.

Preparation

The zucchinis are hollowed out. She used a device similar to Apple Kernel Remover. Vorschickt the zucchinis are hollowed out and the inside kept in an extra bowl. Then the minced meat in a bowl is mixed with the above ingredients. Then the zucchinis are carefully filled with it.

The zucchinis are seared in a saucepan with a little hot oil. Then quenched with water and a little wine. Now simmer on a light flame with the lid until soft and cooked.

At the end, take a little brew from the pot and mix it carefully with egg yolk. This mixture is then added to the pot just before serving. This creates a kind of sauce. Just be careful that the egg does not clot.

We also made some stuffed dumplings with feta and olives.

It was really super easy and I’ll gladly give you (if you’re interested) the exact recipe (with measurements).

I cooked it at home and modified it a bit (instead of dill – parsley) and it tasted so delicious !!

Restaurant

Who is a little longer on Naxos, will certainly be pleased about a restaurant tip. Naxos has countless cozy restaurants along the marina. Unfortunately, I can only tell of a restaurant, because I have just tried this. But that was so amazing that I can at least recommend Meze from the pure of my heart.

Meze Meze is located at the port of Naxos. It is a family run restaurant and their specialty is fish. Fish in all variations and forms. Fresh directly from the sea. It’s always so hard to decide what to try, because the menu is full of beautiful things.
I have opted for these, which I have circled below. It was recommended to me by the owner and I have definitely done everything right. Unfortunately, my shorthand was not bigger, because I could not eat everything …

My favorites were the mussels with the feta cheese with tomato sauce. Oh, I can not really say that, because even the fish salad was a dream … or the Greek salad with the local cheese …

Greek Salad

Mussels with Feta Cheese

Basically, I could have eaten Greek salad every day anyway. Because no matter where, every time he was spiced and prepared differently.

The End

At the end of each meal on Naxos there is the kitron liqueur. It is a liqueur made from the leaves of the lemon tree. He is grass green and quite high percentage.

Wine

As a wine lover, I shake each time I order a wine from the Greeks in Germany. Every time I say to myself: NEVER again. I was a bit reserved when they offered me wine. And surprised when I took the first sip. A good wine that has absolutely nothing in common with the wines of our Greeks. According to mythology, Naxos is the island on which the god Dionysus, the god of wine, grew up. He loved the island so much that he made their land fertile, full of vineyards that produced good wine (and apparently still does).